Planet Earth

My new favorite show for the moment is Planet Earth. Or as Sean likes to call it "Mortal Stab Wounds From Around Our Dying Planet."

The Discovery Channel is airing a show call "Planet Earth" and it's fantastic. Each hour long show is dedicated to a specific topic, such as Great Plains, Shallow Seas, Desert Plains and so on. One of our Discovery Channels (I think there are about a gazillion variations of Discovery something) is HD. So the show looks AMAZING on our tv. And you know me, show me bright shiny colors and I'm hooked.

Contrary to what Sean says there is very little maiming. He just happens to sit down at the couch at the exact moment the "kill or be killed" fights for survival are on screen.

The most important lesson I have learned from watching this show: I will NEVER go swimming in the shallow seas of Indonesia. There are swarms of attacking sea snakes that feed on the fish that live near the coral reef. Watching that segment on tv gave me heebie-jeebies that I'm still trying to shake off.

Coachella Smackdown

With Coachella only 6 weeks away and the Coachella lineup on my bulletin board at work, I'm starting to prepare my mental "must see" list for the weekend. While I'm excited to see a handful of acts (I'm talking to you Brazillian Girls) I'm really looking forward to seeing Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen in what I have dubbed the "Battle of the Naughty Brit Ingenue."

They're both Brit pop stars who are tabloid darlings across the pond due to their saucy attitudes and penchant for illegal self-medicating ways. (trying to keep this as PG because, well... you know the title of the blog.) Luckily they're playing on different days so there will be no Sophie's choice making there (in a weekend that will be filled with those type of choices). And I'm sure this was a conscious scheduling decision made by show managment.

If you haven't listened to either of these girls I suggest you do so now.

Best Invention Ever

The reusable hot/cold gel pack with ankle guard. Because of this fantastic little device, I can ice my sore ankle and work at the exact same time. Or, if my muscles are feeling tight, I can heat the gel pack and apply gentle heat to the area. It's freaking amazing. Although I have to wonder if my impression of this device is clouded by the slight ache that has become an ever present annoyance in my life for the past 9 days.

I Strained A What?

Saw the doctor this afternoon. I've been reluctant to see a doctor - I mean, it's just a sprained ankle, right? Well, after having no less than 6 people ask me "have you seen a doctor, yet?" I acquiesced. Most notably because because the ankle is still super swollen (it's at least twice the size of my left ankle and it's swollen in weird places) and my foot/ankle is all kinds of shades of blue and green. So the doctor looked at it, poked it, looked at it some more and poked it some more. Had a few x-rays taken. Turns out I strained a tendon. The remedy: doing the exact same thing I've been doing for the past 5 days: ice, elevation, rest. And ibuprofen. The swelling's suppose to go down in 2 weeks and be completely gone in a month.

Thing #1 I learned today: wrapping an ankle in an ACE bandage does absolutely nothing. According to the doctor the ACE bandage does nothing to help the ankle heal.

Thing #2 I learned today: it can take up to a month for swelling to go down. A MONTH! Crazy.

Who Said the Universe Doesn't Like Revenge

5 minutes after this picture was taken...

... I tripped and sprained my ankle. The culprit...


... these shoes + unfamiliar patio = sprained ankle.

Maybe the universe is getting tired of me only doing weird poses whenever someone snaps a picture of me and Sean. And making me trip was its way of getting back at me.

P.S. Thank you Carlos Santana for making a pair of shoes that made the world stop when I saw them at Macy's.

Creating Our Own Happiness

If you're reading my blog you probably already listen to NPR. Which means you probably know about "Morning Edition." Which means you also probably know about the segment "This I Believe."

I didn't get a chance to hear Wayne Coyne (he of the Flaming Lips) recite his segment on NPR, but I heard about it the following day on a completely different radio station (thanks Joe Escalante!). I really liked it and wanted to share it with you.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7572601

My New Toy

I welcomed iPod number 2 into my life yesterday. This doesn't mean I love video iPod any less. It just became a nuisance bringing that to the gym and having it weigh down my arm when I was on the treadmill. (ha! I say that like I actually go to the gym on a regular basis!) This little guy weighs nothing and just clips onto my shirt. Who wants to start the betting pool on how long it'll take before this thing comes flying off my shirt and goes sailing across the gym?

Now if I can just figure out how to put my workout playlist onto this little bugger.

I'm Back

After spending 8 days in Indianapolis (with an unexpected layover and stay in Dallas) I'm finally back home! It feels good to sleep in my own bed and be surrounded by my own stuff. I think what I'll miss the most is having my bed made for me every day by housekeeping... wait, that happens at home (substitute the word housekeeping with Sean). So, what I will miss most is coming home every night to find 2 chocolates on my pillow.

Rather than write a novella-sized recap about the week, here are a few things that I can remember. As the cloud of exhaustion clears from my head and I recall other funny or memorable moments, I'll add to this list:

• Walking to dinner Tuesday night I was reminded why I left Minneapolis for Orange County: I saw a guy scraping ice off his windshield and digging his car out of the street. Looks like the snowplow came through and cleared the street. Too bad his car was still in the street.
• Carrying a box cutter in my back pocket during set up was the best idea ever. Next year, I'll take the Gerber tool. (Do you hear that? That's the sound of my dad beaming and realizing that I am in fact his daughter.)
• Indianapolis does not plow its side streets!!! According to the newspaper article I read, the city does not make it a habit to regularly plow side streets. So when the mayor made an announcement saying they would (due to the horrendous storm that hit the city) it made the paper. Do these people not have family or friends in Chicago? Mayoral elections have been lost due to unplowed streets. People of Indianapolis - rise up! Demand that your streets be plowed!
• After 8 days of setting up and working the show, the connection between my brain and my mouth slowed down to a crawl. I would think of the words in my head but they wouldn't quite come out of my mouth. I sounded like a drunk 3rd grader speaking a language that wasn't native to my tongue.
• My brand new show pants from Banana Republic? Great. Cramming a walkie talkie, box cutter, cell phone, chapstick, keys and pen in the back pockets of those same $100 pants? Not so great.
• Some how my body found a "college lifestyle" reserve somewhere hidden within the recesses of my body. Even though I only had 2 hours of sleep the previous night, I was able to function like a put-together, well-rested, competent adult. I haven't been able to function on no sleep since college. I have NO idea how I pulled that off.
• Sleeping in a hotel room 8 nights has completely dried my skin out. My skin was never this dry when I lived in Minnesota or Illinois, so it's not the winter weather that did it. Next time I travel I'm going to bring my humidifier. Seriously, my skin is so dry it's scaly. Any suggestions?
• I found another dim sum buddy! Although I think I freaked her out because, and these are her words, I'm 'hard core.' Hard core = getting to the restaurant before it opens to stand in line for 30 minutes (as opposed to getting to the restaurant an hour after it opens and waiting in line for 1 hour and 30 minutes).

All in all, we had a great a show and I'm pleased with how it all turned out. I'm happy to be home and sleeping in my own bed.

My First 5K...

... has lead to participating in one 5K every month.

Sean and I participated in the Pacific Shoreline 5K this weekend. He ran it, while I walked it with my friend M (who can really book it even though she's pushing a stroller with 70 lbs worth of kids in it). It was a lot of fun. And somewhere between the walk from the banana stand to the shuttle back to our car, Sean convinced me to participate in one 5K every month with the intention of eventually running every one.

I'll keep you posted.

Why I Love LA

Random celebrity sightings.

This month's random celebrity sighting:

Saturday night we went up to LA to see the M. Ward concert. As we were waiting in the valet line for the car Jason Lee walked right past us and stood in the same valet line. What makes these random celebrity sightings so cool is the fact that we have them at venues and events that we go to on a regular basis - most commonly at concerts. There's something utterly cool about seeing someone you see on TV at a concert for a band you listen to all the time. Like, seeing Sandra Oh stand in the same line you're in to see Thievery Corporation (random celebrity sighting #1).

The Countdown's Begun

Three days in the desert.

Over 30 hours of some of the coolest music you've heard.

Hours of dancing in the dj tents in 100+ degree weather.

Getting to the main stage 1 hour before the band you want to see comes on, suffering through the band that's currently on, all because you want to stand next to the stage while your band plays.

Can't wait.

FYI: we can't get the condo we had last year. :-( So if you know anyone in Palm Springs who'd like to house 4-6 adults for the weekend...let me know.

Of Course I Do

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Inland North You may think you speak "Standard English straight out of the dictionary" but when you step away from the Great Lakes you get asked annoying questions like "Are you from Wisconsin?" or "Are you from Chicago?" Chances are you call carbonated drinks "pop."
The Midland
The Northeast
Philadelphia
The South
The West
Boston
North Central
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

6 Year Old Me Is Ecstatic!

My Little Pony Live

It seems the universe hears my wishes... the timing's just a little off.

Another example: When I was 11 I would have loved to see Debbie Gibson in concert. I saw her when I was 22 in "Cabaret" instead.

Celebrities Are Attention Whores

My new favorite (reality) show is VH1's Surreal Life Fame Games. And it's timing is perfect considering that my reigning favorite reality show (until Tim Gunn and his magnificent vocabulary comes back), Top Chef, is winding down.

From what I can gather, Surreal Life Fame Games is made up of old Surreal Life cast members. (Grandma - the Surreal Life is a tv show on VH1 where old tv stars and pop stars live in a house for a few weeks and basically get drunk, get weird and get on each other's nerves. All while cameras are following them.)

So far, my favorite person on the show: C.C. Deville. Of Poison. I'm not a Poison fan. And I never was. Which is why this is so surprising. And I'm not too sure I would have been a fan of C.C. while he was in Poison. But, now that he's sober - he's fantastic! He's my favorite person on the show right now. He makes me laugh, but I think that's unintentional. I don't think he's trying to be funny. Best thing about C.C.? His reason to be on the show: he's a whore. (Those are his words, not mine.) I love the honesty and the nonchalant tone he used when admitting it. I have no idea what the show's about at this point. But I'm sure there's a winner. And I hope he's it.

Speaking of unintentionally funny: Vanilla Ice. Oh, I'm sorry... his name is Rob Van Winkle. And according to Brigitte Nielsen (another guest in the house) - she and Vanilla Ice use to be an item. Weird, I can't figure that out. Anyways, I'm watching Ice talk about something and he just reminded me of someone other than himself. And then it hit me. I feel like an introduction is in order. K-Fed - meet your future.

It looks like the games are starting (something involving A-list and B-lists). I'm going to start watching and I'll get back to you with other random thoughts on the show.

Another Point Of View...

To read Sean's take on the situation, check out his blog www.myspace.com/sflinn and click on the "Hostage" entry.

Cops in Protective Armor Really Do Look Like GI Joe

This past Saturday was going to be the 2nd annual Groble-Flinn Holiday Cocktail Party. For some reason, though, the universe did everything in its power to prevent it from occuring:

Monday night - I realize the oven doesn't work. Spent an hour trying to figure out how to relight the pilot light, called dad to talk me through out. Then realized - I don't have a pilot light. I have an automatic ignitor (?). Call landlords to send over repair guy. Why the hurry? I have 3 different cookies to bake before Saturday night - where we expect to have approximately 25 people over for the party.

Tuesday - repair man is suppose to come to house. Wrote down wrong address, couldn't get in touch with landlord. Will reschedule, he says.

Wednesday - no repair man. I'm a bit frazzled, realizing I'm going to have to bake 3 different types of cookies in one night, as opposed to spreading the cooking out throughout the week.

Thursday - no repair man. Freak out because half of the items on my menu require the use of an oven. Come up with Plan B - make appetizers that can be fried or nuked. Go to C & D's house to use their TWO ovens to bake cookies. Am up until 1:00 am baking.

Friday - repair man comes. With the wrong part. Can he come back tomorrow morning? *sigh* Yes.

Saturday morning - repair man comes. Fixes oven. Hurray! Except I no longer need the oven because all of the menu items are either served cold, cooked in the crock pot or fried in wok.

Saturday 10:00 am - 7:00 pm - make fruit kebabs, pasta salad, spinach dip, meatballs and sausages and spend an ungodly amount of time making thai potato pancakes (fyi - the amount of work that goes into making them does not equal the satisfaction you get from eating them. easier just to buy the frozen ones and nuke em.) Run out to the store because I need more mini sausages. Moved the dining room table to the side to make more standing room. Discovered that the carpet's FILTHY - to the point that I'm disgusted by it. Send Sean to Target to pick up an area rug. Oh, and we scrubbed the condo to the point that it sparkles.

At 8:00pm I'm FINALLY ready to start the party. I've made it past all the roadblocks the universe has thrown me. I'm victorious over the battle with the universe to hold my Cocktail Party. Right???

http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/homepage/abox/article_1386435.php

Apparently, when the universe doesn't want you to throw a Christmas party, you don't get to throw your Christmas party.

What Went Down:
At 8:15 I receive a call from my friend S (this is abbreviated):

S: What's going on?
Me: What do you mean?
S: They won't let me into your condo. I'm at your pool and can see your porch, but they won't let me in.
Me: Who? What? What do you mean?
S: You don't know what's going on? Your condo is crawling with cops. I just had a gun in my face.
Me: ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
S: I'm going to find out what's going on.
Me: I'll call the police station. (Which ironically - is right down the block from the house).

Situation: the complex is crawling with police in full on protective gear and armed with automatic weapons and sniper rifles. The police aren't letting anyone into the complex. Which means all of our guests are being told to turn away. Sean goes outside to talk to a police officer. Here's the phrase, "sir, stop walking RIGHT NOW." Sean freezes, puts his hands up, takes a step forward and hears the cocking of a rifle. At which point he explains who he is and asks for the cop to explain what's going on.

Long story short: A man killed his wife, barricaded himself into their condo and told police he'd shoot at any police who approached the building. The police believed the man to be delusional. They couldn't see him inside the condo and were afraid he'd get out. He shot at the cops. At 11:30pm the cops went into the condo, where they discovered the man had killed himself.

We didn't learn any of this information until late Saturday night when a friend of Sean's, B, called us. Apparently, after B realized he couldn't get to our condo, got chummy with a cop and listened to the whole thing go down over the police radio. And he kept us informed with half hour-to-hour updates.

The crazy thing (although, what isn't crazy about this situation) is that we had NO IDEA this was going on until S called me to say that cops were preventing her from coming to the condo. The police made no effort to alert anyone in the condo complex that this was going on. Save for the condos directly next door to the delusional's condo.

And this being Southern California, the news of a murder-suicide didn't make any of the news stations or papers save for a short article in the Orange County Register. But when you're competing with stories about men taking people hostage with a samurai sword and men stabbing their mothers 70 times - a murder-suicide seems somewhat quaint.

It's That Time Of Year

It's that time of year, again. As my family knows, the day after Thanksgiving marks the beginning of the Christmas season. Since I can't make it to Chicago for Thanksgiving (and haven't been able to for a few years now) that means I can't help G-ma put up her Christmas tree and have dinner at Bailey's afterward. But that doesn't mean I can't extend that tradition to my own house (or condo as the case may be).

And in the spirit of Christmas, I am going to post a letter that I wrote to my mom and G-ma in December of 2002 - the very first Christmas I had in my own apartment after I graduated college.

To my mother and grandmother,

Sometime this morning I realized something about the Kunde/Jorns/Groble (the maternal lineage) women. It was more of an insight than a revelation. I saw it, I grew up with it, but I never expected to have it show up in me. The female members of my maternal family lineage possess a gene in our DNA strand that make us embrace the Christmas season with more enthusiasm than we usually display during the rest of the year. When I say enthusiasm, I don't necessarily mean we're super happy, super chipper, let's shove the christmas spirit down everyone's throat type of enthusiasm. What I mean is, our rooms explode with Christmas decorations, our kitchens are filled with a frenzy of flying flour and our homes are filled with the intoxicating aroma of freshly baked cookies and the twinkling of colored lights.

Yes, as I said before, I saw it occuring - in Grandma's house (her decorations and all of the cookies that she would have), in every female member's house in McHenry, and of course in my childhood home. Now, seeing as how I have always been very un-domestic and have never been ashamed of that status I never imagined that I would ever exhibit the same behavior as those who came before me. But, alas, the gene is yielding its head and has taken hold of me. Decorations, lights, tree, presents, and baking, lots and lots of baking have become a part of my daily life this season. Who would have ever imagined that I would bake so much. It's not that I become so incredibly ecstatic about baking (but I don't hate it, either) it's more like this subconscious behavior that just occurs.

One line of thought is that everything we're doing is for the appearance of Christmas - our attitudes and beliefs don't change with the coming of the holiday (we don't all of a sudden start wishing 'good cheer' or 'holiday blessings to one and all'). We may be filling some kind of void that occurs as a result of the holidays or we're overcompensating for something.... who knows. Or (and this is probably most likely) we just become crazy Christmas decorators.
Merry Christmas!

Love,
Katie

(This was just suppose to bring a smile to your face - not to make you concerned about my well-being or anything - I'm not crazy. But at the same time, how else can you explain my sudden "domestic" behavior and rash baking spree during the Christmas season except by concluding that it's something in our genes?)

My New Toy

The Motorola Q. I have no idea how to use it.

Viva Las Vegas!

Viva Las Vegas! Last month Sean and I attended a wedding in Las Vegas. It was suppose to be a quick weekend trip to Vegas for the wedding and reception, but the day before we were suppose to leave I found out that I'd have to go to Vegas that Monday for a site visit for work to meet a vendor we'd be working with for the show. So I was looking at: flying to Vegas Friday night and flying back Sunday night - only to get back on a plane Monday morning to go back to Vegas. Rather than fly back Sunday night and spend 10 hours in Orange County before having to head back to the city of sin, I opted to extend my stay and switch my return flight to Monday.

Rather than give you the boring stories of dealing with a somewhat inept Orbitz customer service rep - I'll skip straight to the good stuff. I was able to upgrade to a suite for $50. That's $50 total, not per night. Upon reaching the room and realizing the bathroom was the size of our living room and that I could lay completely down completely flat in the tub, we were giddy.

The rest of the trip can be summed up like this: Katie spent more money in the gift shop on sudafed, kleenex, vick's vapor rub and chloraseptic than she lost gambling. Craps is our new favorite game. Some buffets are worth $40 a person. The Wynn is a gorgeous hotel. And any place that gives you free drinks for standing around throwing dice gets a thumbs up in my book.

Lessons learned in San Francisco

Sean and I just got back from our first "spur of the moment, we have nothing else to do so we might as fly up to San Francisco for a day and a half" trip.

I always thought I could be a person who flew out of town at a moment's notice. So when I saw that I was going to miss the Scissors Sisters concert in LA, I looked to see where else they were playing. Turns out they were playing in San Francisco the following weekend. I turned to Sean asked him, in a none-too-serious tone, if he wanted to fly up to SF for the day to see a concert. Of course he said yes. Because that is who he is. And rather than give you a minute-by-minute rehash of our trip - here are a few lessons we learned.

Lessons Learned:

If you're going to put contacts in for the very first time in your life - do not wait until 20 minutes before you're suppose to leave for the airport to do so.

Katie will not get on a plane without Sean. But she'll tell you that she will.

As the level of her annoyance rises, the number of snarky comments out of Katie's mouth increases.

Even strangers are not immune to Katie's snarkiness when annoyed.

M. Ward gives Seu Jorge a run for his money when it comes to covering Bowie.

If you're taking a restaurant recommendation from a free paper - set expectations low. Very low.

Hang Ah makes the best BBQ pork buns. And the biggest.

Apparently, 2 bites of garlic broccoli does not constitute a serving of vegetable.

Unleashing both of us in a bookstore is disastrous for our bank accounts. (Would Susie Orman constitute money spent on books as 'good debt'? )

People voluntarily live in base housing on Treasure Island. And they're not in the military.

Scissor Sisters have the best on stage banter between songs. Ever.

36 hours in San Francisco.
2 concerts.
3 restaurants.
3 shopping expeditions.
1 coffee shop.
2 very happy, but very tired, crazy kids.