Random Thoughts

Lots of randomness for you all today! I have been travelling a lot lately and therefore, my life has been a little boring...but because I'm still random, I have thoughts for you today.

- So I'm sort of famous now. Ok, not really, but sort of. Most of you know that I used to have this little blog called The Cookie Battle where I reviewed restaurants among other things. Well, one of the photos I took with my fancy camera at Chicago hotspot Lou Malnati's got selected to be part of a slideshow promoting the great city of Chicago. You can find it here: http://www.thecityofchicago.com/ How awesome is that??

- I am turning 30 soon. (I know, right? So old). Anyway, since I am now almost officially old, it's totally ok to be a little lame and start a bucket list for things I want to try/accomplish during my 30th year. Suggestions are welcome.

- I am obsessed with this song. OBSESSED.


- I am currently also obsessed with anything Game of Thrones. You know, because rampant sex and head removal are SO my thing. I recently finished the second book and have been dying to start the second. I was excited to finally get to it on the bus this morning when I opened up my Kindle and this happened:

Womp womp :(

- Today marks the start of yet another attempt to clean up my diet. I may or may not have had hot pockets yesterday. Artificial, empty-calorie laiden hot pockets. Fucking delicious hot pockets. I brought a salad for lunch for the first time in about a month. Veggies are necessary after the shit I've been shoving down my gullet for the last month while I've been traveling. We will see how long this "eat clean" crap lasts this time. I give it until 3pm today when the salad doesn't hold me and I am on a hunger rampage in the convenience store downstairs.

Happy sucky day after a holiday friends!

The Best TV Show Ever

I recently got into a dicussion (ok, actually an argument) with a coworker about what the best TV show ever is. A quick note: we were discussing ONLY dramas, because obviously the best comedy of all time is Seinfeld. Any care to argue about that? I thought not.

I consider myself an authority on all things entertainment. I am what I affectionately call an entertainment whore. I read all the books, see all the movies, watch all the TV shows, and listen to all the music. And this spans decades, not just what is of my generation. Anyone that knows me well knows I am the human IMDB.

Therefore, when a coworker tried to tell me that the best TV show ever to air was Lost, I almost lost it. (See what I did there? I'm so funny!)

Because....just NO. Sure Lost was great...at first. But the show in it's entirety was directionless and ultimately had no point. A lot of people wax poetic about how it was a show to make you think, there were so many intricacies, etc. etc. etc. I say no. The writers just couldn't get their shit together to form a cohesive story line and tried so many different avenues that what they eventually ended up with was a jumbled mess with a finale that left me feeling empty and angry that I would never get the time back that I wasted watching the show. Which made me sad for a show that was so different from everything else on TV and had so much potential to in fact BE the best TV show ever.

So by now I'm sure you're wondering if not Lost, then what do I consider to be the best TV show ever? Well this is a complicated question. I do have a favorite, however, I also have some honorable mentions. For dramatic writing purposes and the suspense factor, I will start with the honorable mentions.

First honorable mention: 24

The first season of 24 was hands down the best single season of any show at any time. Even the second season was fantastic. Unfortunately, as time went on, the novelty that made the show so great in the first place wore off. By the end, I was only watching it out of loyalty and the hope that the final seasons would recapture the glory of the first season.

Second honorable mention: Sons of Anarchy

I hopped on this bandwagon a little late; right before season four began. The reason why this is only an honorable mention is because the show is still running and therefore, has the potential to be the best TV show ever, or tank miserably depending on the direction the show goes in. So far, even if the show tanks, I would still place it in my top 10.

Third honorable mention: Prison Break

I was intrigued by the premise of this show from the get go, and by god, it didn't disappoint. It was gripping and innovative. Unfortunately, the final season was so unbelivable and unsatisfying that it effectively killed its status as one of the best TV shows ever.

Fourth honorable mention(s): Dexter and Breaking Bad. Please refer to second honorable mention. These two shows are still running so they have yet to cement their status as the best. I will say, however, that Dexter is on the down swing for me. Much like 24, I am only continuing to watch it out of loyalty.

And NOW, the big reveal.

The best TV show EVER...

For anyone that has NOT seen The Shield, you are truly missing out. The Shield had me at hello and to this day, holds the place in my heart. There were six seasons of this show, and every episode, every season, every moment even, was consistently awesome. I have never had a show that was so consistently good every single week. It was actually one of the few shows that I did not watch on the DVR just because I could not possibly wait until the next day to watch it. If you haven't seen The Shield, Netflix it immediately. I promise you will not be sorry you did and you will be a convert. It truly is the best TV show ever.

*Note: I know the other candidates people will throw out there are The Wire and The Sopranos but as I have yet to watch The Wire (it is in my Netflix queue) I cannot comment on its awesomeness. As for The Sopranos, it also had the potential but fell far short of my expectations of it. Aside from the first two seasons and a handful of really great episodes, the series as a whole really was just not that good.

Motion Challenged

When I was younger, my Dad used to make up "politically correct" phrases for certain demographics of people. For example, he would call me "vertically challenged" because I am so short. Before you gasp in horror at my own father making fun of my lack of height, keep in mind that he was very complimentary of me in almost every other way. My mother, not so much, but that's a story for another day.

One of these phrases came to mind the other day when I was driving down the road headed to the pharmacy. I saw a man in a motorized wheel chair zooming down the road. (The phrase that came to midn here was "motion challenged"). Mind you, it was a main road so I don't necessarily know how safe this situation was, but I applauded him in my head for being such a speed demon in his chair.

Flash forward about ten minutes and I am standing at the pharmacy counter having a little argument with the pharmacist about my prescription. It is at this moment that I feel something touching my behind. I turn around, expecting to have to eviscerate some creeper who gets off on groping strangers in public, but instead am looking eye to eye with nothing but air.

A noise below me brings my eyes downward and I am looking at the guy in the motorized wheelchair. Apparently what had touched my butt was his face as he was seemingly trying to get something out of the little fannypack attached to the arm of his chair. He looked up at me and smiled and let out a little laugh.

He did it on purpose!

A man in a motorized wheelchair felt me up. With his face. He clearly did not have full mobility in his arms either as he struggled with the zipper on his fanny pack, so again I applauded him in my head for having the urge to feel me up but only having one means to do so (with his face) and then going for it.

THAT folks, is tenacity.

This story really has no point but at least someone thought I was attractive enough to feel me up...so...winning?

Suicide Weight

Suicide Weight (noun)

Definition: The weight at which suicide is considered because you are too fat to live.

Friends, I am 1.8lbs away from my suicide weight.

Honestly, I don't know how this happened.

Wait, yes I do. It's because of the newly opened Crumbs bakeshop down the block from my work building. It's because of the box of saltines I bought during an irrational moment where I thought that I would have enough self control not to eat an entire sleeve in one sitting. It's because of the emergence of spring and the subsequent insatiable cravings for ice cream now that the weather is warm.

Either way, it happened. And now I have to reverse it. And we all know how much easier it is to gain weight than to lose it.

In an attempt to shed some unwanted pounds, I have committed to working out almost every day.

Sunday I talked myself out of a morning spin class, but then convinced myself that I needed to get a workout in, so took myself kayaking on the Charles River for 2.5 hours. It was a gorgeous day.

I am committed to going kayaking as much as possible this summer. I really love doing it, it's a great workout, and I paid for a season pass a month ago, so everytime I go it's basically free. How's that for motivation?

But I have to be realistic here. I have never had a problem with working out. Even in weeks where I feel like doing nothing and being a complete slug, I still manage to get in at least three solid workouts. And on weeks I'm motivated? At least five or six workouts.

It's not the working out that's the problem. It's the food.

I have a fabulous weekend planned with some of my favorite ladies (Amy, Kacy, Kelly, and Jess) and I know that food is going to be a major problem. Especially since my suggestions for weekend snacks included Salt N Vinegar Pringles and frozen pizza. But I am hoping to get a workout or two in to at least counteract all the junk and booze I plan on slamming down my throat.

This Sunday marks the start of my "everything in moderation" mission. Depriving myself of what I want never works. I always end up binging after a couple of days, and it's never pretty. So starting on Sunday, I am going to have small portions of the good stuff and large portions of the stuff I should be eating more of. And I'm going to try to stop thinking about food all the time. If that's even possible.

So here's to ANOTHER weight loss journey! And I promise never to use the words "weight loss journey" again on this blog. Because they make me want to throw up my breakfast cupcakes.