LOVE: 2008

2008 was an awesome year! And I'm truly sad to see it leave. 2008 was a year in my life where I excelled at my job, housecleaned all unnecessary people, developed stronger bonds with my friends and family, and even met a celebrity or two! At work I made a great career decision that led me to work on projects that I love with some of the most talented and fun people I have ever met. (And I think they may like me too because I got a great promotion!) I said good-bye to people/relationships that had weighed me down and kept me from achieving my potential. I also rid myself of moochy girlfriends and people that couldn't keep up with me. My family is my life and this year truly made me realize that I have the best parents in the entire world. I miss them with all my heart now that I don't live close to them 2008 also made my dad's old saying come true, my sister has absolutely become my best friend. We moved past all the fighting and jealousy of our childhood and I love her to death. Oh and for the celebrity thing this year I met Aerosmith (somehow I rode in their limo, after them of course), Melissa Etheridge (she shared her nachos with me), Gavin Degraw (he helped me on the red carpet), Seal (he sang me and two co-workers a song backstage), Panic at the Disco and Dashboard Confessional (we rode the elevator at Hard Rock Vegas together several times)Natasha Bedingfield, Tom Brady and Gisele, David Wright, David Cook (twice), Joss Stone, Gavin Rossdale, A-Rod, Selena Gomez, CT From the Real World, a male-model I wanted to marry and I'm sure few other's I'm forgetting. Anyway...Good-bye 2008 I will definitely miss you and I hope 2009 is half as good!

HATE: Strollers at the Mall...well really anywhere

So this past Christmas, I hit up the mall several times and every single time I was practically mowed over by over eager moms and the screaming children in a stroller. I mean its bad enough that I have to listen/watch people's children cry, pull everything off shelves and look generally dirty and crusty, but do you really have to bring a mini-van sized stroller to the crowded holiday mall? These tank-like apparatuses block aisles, cause chaos and I can't even count the amount of times I have been run over by one (it's really laughable to me that these women seem to think that because the are pushing a small Winnebago that they have the right of way at every juncture.) I mean really when you think about it, why do children even need to be at a mall? It's not like they try on clothes until they are like 5 and I cannot imagine that having a drooling child that needs attention can possibly be enjoyable for the parent. It's really not just malls where strollers and their occupants bother me, on a recent visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art I once again felt like I was in a nursery school classroom. What can your 6 month old possibly contribute to your museum experience, besides ruining it for all the other patrons? Is he going to comment on the African tribal masks or discuss the colors in a Monet? The moral of the story is that even when I have my own kids they will be home with a babysitter until they are of walking age. And I'm sure that there are people thinking well what if a family cannot afford a babysitter...and to that I say if you cannot afford a babysitter you probably shouldn't be at the mall!

HATE: All I Want for Christmas Away Messages

Ever since I have been an AIM user, so since like 6th grade, people have been quoting Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas" in their away messages (and with the invent of Facebook their status updates). While this may have been cute 1. when the song was semi-new and 2. when I was in middle school, there is a point in life where it is no longer acceptable to put "baby all I want for Christmas is you" in an away message. If you are in a relationship then you actually do have that special person for Christmas, thus eliminating the need for this statement entirely. If you are unable to be with the target of your little message it becomes slightly pathetic to post subliminal away messages once you reach past the age of 12. Either way, this overuse of this phrase has become a Christmas cliche that has ruined on of my favorite holiday songs.

LOVE: The Puppy Cam

While I was slightly hesitant at first, I have officially fallen in love with the puppy cam. After my roommate had this on for about 78 straight hours, I finally checked it out and I don't think it has come off my screen since. Yes, watching someone elses puppies for hours on end is slightly creepy...they are just so freakin' cute!!!! and the 20,000 plus viewers a day aren't all creepy losers right?

LOVE: Uggs

So its true Uggs are so 5 years ago, but I still cannot get over them. A work collegue recently wrote a blog entry about how much he hate girls who were Uggs, but I say he is just jealous. I have been to many outdoor winter events where my toes have been perfectly toasty in my Uggs while my male counter parts feet are freezing in their "visually appealing" sneakers.

True, Uggs do make every girl look like she has cankles but I say who cares when it's 8 a.m. on a December morning and you are just running down the street to Dunkin and don't want cold feet. And while it may sound vain, the fact that Uggs are expensive in my mind makes wearing them totally justifiable. (like Juicy Couture track suits, in what other situation is wearing velour socially acceptable?)

That being said there are some points I will agree with my nameless male co-worker on and some rules which should govern the wearing of Uggs:
1. Under no circumstances should Uggs EVER be worn with a skirt or shorts
2. If you live in a climate where the temp never reaches below 50 even at night, you have no need to wear Uggs
3. DO NOT tuck your Uggs into you bootcut jeans, get skinny jeans or wear sweats
4. Knock off Uggs are a no-no and make you look both cheap and like you have fat ankles

So this winter enjoy your warm feet ladies and be sure to laugh at all the boys with frostbiten toes! :)

Love/Hate: The Pick Up Artist

I love to hate the VH1 reality show The Pick Up Artist. Let me start off by saying I genuinely feel bad for the guys on that show. It is truly unfortunate to be 37 and have the only female you have ever kissed be you mother, however there are better ways to improve your social standing than taking advice from a jackass who wears ski goggles on his head (the show is filmed in Texas) and seriously takes a feather boa to the bar to "attract" women. I would a billion times over rather talk to a nerdy guy at a bar than a freak with a false sense of confidence. If "mystery" (yes that is actually what he calls himself) ever approached me at a bar and asked for "a female opinion" (his trademark pickup line) I would walk away, but only after I had picked myself off the floor from laughing so hard.

The funniest parts of the show is the way the "contestants" talk up this loser like he a God and how they have "sexy women" (a term used very loosely on VH1) teach them how to date. This show is pathetic, yet I find myself watching every week.

Love: ISH

I have recently discovered that i LOVE the suffix ISH. It's a great way to make harsh statement less harsh, exaggerate semi-good things and all around a fun thing to say. For example, my friends and I recently met an acquaintance's new girlfriend who was less than attractive. Being that it was a few glasses of wine into the night, I casually made the comment that she looked like a troll. (which she literally did, i think there was an illustration in my children's nursery rhyme book that featured her under a bridge) My friends all looked at me in horror, like I was the worst person alive, even though we were clearly all thinking it. So in order to soften the statement I added an ISH. "We'll she looks trollish"- and all was made better.

I also like to say I'm 20ish. It's so much better than saying im 23...

Hate: Patron

For about the past year or so no matter what bar I go out in, be it a club in NJ (eww I know) a lounge in NY or a pub in CT, the shot of choice for both guys and girls has become Parton. Since when did all of my college educated socially acceptable friends and acquaintances become wanna be rappers? I am not a girl that cannot handle her liquor so my problem with Patron is not its strength (although I have spent many rough Sundays in bed after a night of Parton and Pino) it is purely the fact that EVERYONE orders Patron because it has suddenly become the cool shot.

Nothing is more gross to be then being offered a shot while out by a cute guy and getting Parton! Do I look like my I want to be a video girl? NO Thanks I’ll pass. If you are trying to flash your money how about buying a real high class shot Johnny Walker Blue Perhaps? I may dump it down the bathroom sink (a la my favorite roommate) but at least I will respect you for not being a conformist. One of the most interesting thing about Patron is the fact that whenever I am out it seems to be the shot of choice the homebound, and by homebound I mean those people who despite being in their mid twenties still live at home with their parents. Here is a thought: cut back on the 10 Parton shots you take a week, save up that money/time and move out of your mom’s house. But I guess if I was salesman living with my parents at 25 I’d want to drink something strong enough to make me feel cool too.