Law & Disorder

Ennui

2009-11-09T17:02:00.000-08:00

This past weekend I attended my fraternity's LEAD school. Usually I skip most of the sessions, as they are geared toward collegiate students. I just register and attend so I (a) set a good example for my kids and (b) can spend some quality time with alums I don't get to see very often. This year, there were actually a few sessions that interested me. Two were being presented by Adam Carroll, who I knew from previous experience would be an interesting speaker. His first workshop on creating effective presentations didn't disappoint. But as I was about to head off to his second workshop of the day, which was entitled "From Vision to Reality", it suddenly hit me that I don't have a vision; I feel like I've been meandering through life lately. I ended up skipping the session, thinking to myself that it wouldn't be too useful if I don't even have a vision I want to make real.

My lack of vision has been bugging me since Saturday. I keep finding myself thinking about it when I have downtime. I have come to a few realizations so far:

1. I'm happy and satisfied with my personal relationships including my husband, family and friends. So at least that can be excluded as a source of my current state.

2. I think the source of my feeling traces back to when I worked for Big Bad, specifically the really bad performance review he gave me around this time last year. I've spent the year since telling myself that his opinion didn't matter and I should let it all just roll off my back. But when I'm honest with myself, I have to admit that it has had a lingering effect. As much as I've tried to leave it in the past, I haven't been able to. It really stung to hear that I'm a crap prosecutor who shouldn't abandon the field altogether yet, but that I was teetering on the verge. It stung even more that the two other supervisors present, who also had the right to participate in that review, didn't say a word in my defense and just advised me to "let it blow over". When the people who are supposed to mentor you don't believe in you and make it widely known, it's hard to believe in yourself. When all people expect from you is crap, it becomes easy to fall into complacency and only perform to that low standard.

But despite all this I don't hate what I do. I just have not-so-great feelings about some of my co-workers and management. I feel like I need a fresh start. The seemingly easy answer would be to just change jobs, but we all know that's easier said than done. First off, the economy sucks and there are a glut of lawyers who went to better schools and have better credentials than I do flooding the market. Even when/if the economy improves, pedigree is still very important in law hiring and I just don't have it. Secondly, even switching to another county would be very difficult at this point with the amount of seniority I have. Plus, from what I hear, pretty much every DA's office has as much trouble with gossip, back stabbing and general wackiness that my current one does. Three, again, the economy sucks. What kind of spoiled bitch am I to complain about my job when so many people are in dire financial straits?

When I keep thinking about how to get out, all it leads to are the reasons to stay in. And I'd need to stay in at least another 29 years to maximize my pension benefits. FML. Need to win lotto (which is not a realistic vision) stat.

3. Somehow my attitude and feelings related to my job have seeped into my approach to outside activities. Feeling mediocre from 8:30 to 5 for so long has made me feel mediocre at things like ice skating, blogging, working out, cooking, housekeeping, decorating, etc. I feel like I can't excel at anything, so instead I'm just doing the bare minimum to get by. My motto lately seems to be "Why bother?". Please spare me the postive mental attitude stuff; I've tried but I feel like I'm just kidding myself.

So this is me, being emo. I don't have a lot of answers yet, but identifying the issues is the start of solving them, right?

It's Founder's Day!

2009-11-07T08:02:00.000-08:00

Happy 102nd birthday Delta Sigma Pi! You have come a long way since your founding (thank goodness otherwise most people I know would not have been allowed to join). I am grateful for the opportunities you have given me, especially meeting people who I know will be lifelong friends and my favorite brother ever:

The Inevitable

2009-11-06T15:50:00.000-08:00

I really suck at this NaBloPoMo stuff. I knew that inevitably I'd have one of those busy days where I wouldn't have much time to do anything other than prattle off a bunch of random things. I just didn't think that it would happen within the first week. Eff. So here are three things that you don't really need to know:

1. I used some of my vacation time and left work two hours early today. The main purpose is so that I could wash my hair before heading off for our evening plans. You see, I'm one of those every 3-4 day hair washers. I was totally due to wash my hair this morning and planned to, except the alarm did not go off. Argh. Not even copius amounts of dry shampoo could help. I've been sporting limp, grody locks all day and it's driving me nuts. If I waited until after the time I usually leave work, it would have set me way behind for the evening. So here I am, home early on a Friday, just to wash my hair.

2. I have always thought that saggy jeans look ridiculous on boys. I'm also not a fan of skinny jeans on boys either. But based on the kids coming into court lately, the current trend is saggy, skinny jeans. This is quite possibly the worst look of all.

3. I had a raging case of the munchies when I got home. I had some healthy, tasty options available. Bu instead I made the most ghetto-tastic nachos in the world: tortilla chips topped with Kraft shredded cheese, zapped in the microwave and topped with a packet of Del Taco sauce from our large stash. In case of emergency we may not have any useful supplies, but we'd have hot sauce for days.

The First Taste of Fall

2009-11-05T22:09:00.000-08:00

Fall has technically been upon us for several weeks now, but it wasn't until I cooked this dish last night that I really felt like we were in the midst of fall. I think roasting squash does that to me.

Lamb Chops with Garlic & Rosemary
Full Recipe available at: Food Network

Since it was my first time making this, I followed the recipe exactly. I didn't really make any modifications that would warrant me writing out the steps in my own words. And did you know how wrathful food bloggers are when people just copy and paste recipes? I would NOT want to step on those toes. Next time I make this dish I will cook the sauce down a bit more, since we had a ton left over.

As for the squash, I halved two small acorn squashes and scooped out the seeds. Then I filled the hollows with a pat of butter and sprinkled kosher salt, brown sugar and cayenne pepper over the tops. After roasting the squash (with the cut side facing up) for 45-55 minutes in a 400 degree oven, I let it cool slightly. Then I scooped out all the flesh (don't lose any of that melted butter) and mashed it all together in a bowl. This turned out to be super flavorful and made the condo smell great to boot. Even Jack couldn't resist the call of the squash; he grabbed the peels out of the trash while we weren't looking! He usually only does that with ribs.

Bitch Please

2009-11-04T18:14:00.000-08:00

Sometimes all it takes for me to try a new wine is an interesting label in pretty colors. I know the photos suck, but you'll just have to trust me that it's a pretty shade of pink.

I knew I was going to blog about this wine when I bought it at my new favorite wine store Total Wine. I couldn't wait to use the title. ;-) Here is the space where I had hoped to write, "I'd like some more Bitch please." Except that the wine, much like my photos, kinda sucked. Even after being poured through my trusty Vinturi, the wine tasted thin and acidic. How an earlier vintage rated highly is beyond me. At least it was under $10.

What I really should be bitching about is Verizon's internet service. It is consistently hit-or-miss between the hours of roughly 8pm until 10pm. Their tech support has never been able to figure out why. While not ideal, this usually this works out alright for me. I have use of the computer from the time I get home until dinner, which is usually around 8. Then Eddie gets to play his computer games while the internet is spotty. But due to an busy evening and poor planning on my part, I never found a good time to post yesterday. I kept getting kicked off. Which means I failed NBPM of day 3. Day 3 people! Just call me loser.

The Book Challenge: October Recap

2009-11-02T07:37:00.000-08:00

45. Keeping the Moon by Sarah Dessen

46. Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen

47. The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory

48. Cause Celeb by Helen Fielding [So the backstory here is that I had wanted to read this book years ago, when Ms. Fielding was in the midst of all her Bridget Jones glory. But parts of the storyline seemed a bit too close to my own life experiences at the time. Now, years later, I figured I could read it without cringing too much at some of the parallels. Then the ex-boyfriend who this book reminded me of e-mailed me out of the blue after six years. What timing.]

49. Time of My Life by Alison Winn Scotch [I had wanted to read this as soon as Y_L had posted about it on her blog. It sounded intriguing: What would and could you do if you found yourself in your past armed with knowledge from your future self? Of course my name came up on the hold list for this one right after I got that e-mail.]

50. The It Girl #8: Adored by Cecily von Ziegesar

51. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

52. The Wedding Girl by Madeleine Wickham

Sound the horns! Drop the confetti! Pop the champagne! After a dreadfully slow start, I have reached my goal with two full months to spare. But the reading doesn't stop here. I have a full stack of books fresh from the library awaiting me. Let's see if I can make it to 65 by the end of the year.

Maybe This Will Get Me Back On Track

2009-11-01T14:31:00.000-08:00

It's no secret that I fell off the blogging wagon back in March and never quite got fully back on board. I don't think it was a lack of material that did me in; it was breaking what had become a habit. Last week I started seeing mentions of NaBloPoMo on various blogs and knew that it would be a good way to get back into the habit. My decision to participate was sealed when FCD said that she would also be participating and that we could be each other's support.

NBPM isn't the only 30-in-30 challenge I'm doing this month. I have also committed myself to doing 30 workouts in 30 days with a certain group of inspirational ladies. While I started off strong and got a head start on on that one yesterday, I'm already fizzling out. I got completely trashed last night and woke up with the worst hangover ever! Well, it's probably not actually the worst, but it's been so long since I've had one that it completely and utterly sucks. Maybe I can handle some yoga later, but for right now staying still seems like a good idea.

The Book Challenge: September Recap

2009-10-02T18:52:00.000-07:00

37. Little Earthquakes by Jennifer Weiner

38. L.A. Candy by Lauren Conrad (yes, that Lauren Conrad)

39. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

40. Sleeping Arrangements by Madeleine Wickham (aka Sophie Kinsella)

41. The Towering World of Jimmy Choo: A Glamorous Story of Power, Profits, and the Pursuit of the Perfect Shoe by Lauren Goldstein Crowe & Sagra Maceira De Rosen

42. Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn & David Leviathan

43. The Gatecrasher by Madeleine Wickham

44. Born Confused by Tanuja Desai Hidier (a great read for ABCDs or even just ABDs)

I'm close to my goal! With six books from the library that I just checked out, I should easily hit 50 books this month. The question then becomes whether I should just continue my normal reading habits or whether I should embark on the longest book I have ever purchased.

OC Restaurant Week, Take 2

2009-09-30T19:07:00.000-07:00

10YT was very motivated to take full advantage of OC restaurant week. After an appointment fell through for me a couple Saturdays ago, I signed up to be her dining buddy once again. This time we went to Old Vine Cafe, which several of our friends had raved about in the past.

I started off with the Caprese of Mozarella Buratta: Buratta, Flash Fried Arugula, Grape Tomatoes & Citrus Infused Extra Virgin Olive Oil. This was perfection. The flash fried arugula added a really nice bit of texture and salt to the dish.

10YT had the Crispy Blue Salad: Certified Organic Greens, Crispy Proscuitto, Fried Onions & Maytag Blue Cheese Dressing. This looked delectable.
We were both in a berry champagne cocktail kind of mood.

For my main, I ordered a Pulled Pork Panini: Tender Pulled Pork & Chef’s BBQ Sauce with Smoked Gouda Cheese. The pork was very tender and well seasoned. It could also easily feed more than one person.

10YT had ordered the Porcini Mushroom Mac & Cheese: Macaroni, Porcini Mushrooms and a blend of Artisan Cheeses. I sampled a portion; it was heavenly. We had opted to sit indoors, which afforded us a lovely view of a shady nook at The Camp.

For dessert we both had cheesecake. I judge a cheesecake by its crust and this one did not disappoint at all. It was also the perfect portion: just enough to satisfy one's sweet tooth, but not enough to make one feel sluggish.

Two thumbs up for Old Vine! I hope to return soon.

Not Quite Nirvana

2009-09-30T00:00:00.000-07:00

I'm still woefully behind on blogging about the spring and summer, but how about something a bit more recent in the meantime? Two weeks ago I met up with some friends for brunch at Nirvana Grille at the start of OC Restaurant Week.

Champagne is a good start to any brunch. 10YT agrees with me! Rather than buying individual champagne cocktails, the four of us split a couple bottles and added our own peach, pomegranate or blood orange purees. Blood orange definitely packed the most flavor.
Mrs50% and I started off with the salmon toasts. These were yummy. So were the chicken wontons that 10YT and Serendipitie ordered.
Mrs50% had the Nirvana Rancheros, which looked fantastic.

10YT and Serendipitie had the heirloom tomato sandwich served with thyme fries.

I ordered the Nirvana Poached Benedict served with house potatoes. It was good, but needed just a tad more salt. It was a good decision to order a side of bacon (more on that later).

10YT had apple pie for dessert.

Mrs50% had a molten chocolate cake that was divine.

Remember my side order of bacon? I saved half of it so that Serendipitie and I could jazz up our desserts.

Much to our dining companions disgust, Dipitie and I both ordered roasted figs served with maple ice cream flecked with pieces of crumbled goat cheese. This was good on its own, but a piece of crumbled bacon took it to the next level. The saltiness of the bacon set off the sweetness of the dessert and provided a nice contrast in textures.

So far so good, right? Good company, good food, decent service ..... what could I possibly complain about? How about the waiter stalking me down as I was exiting alone and inquiring about the amount of the tip we had left?

That's right. Our waiter stopped me as I was leaving the ladies' room and asked me if the amount we each paid on our respective cards was intended to cover a tip as well. When I said "yes" his response was that we left him only a 10% tip. I instinctively knew that couldn't be right, but he kept going on and on about it as I was trying to do some math in my head. At this point, a rational person would have asked to see the bill, gone over it and attempt to figure out any discrepancy. I was not that rational person. Serendipitie was. I was the deer in the headlights, please get me out of here, god I hate awkward situations, here take $10 type of person. Thanks Dipitie for getting my $10 back!

One place where I did not spend any of my money was the LF store, which we wandered into after lunch. If you ever feel like old costumes from Madonna's or Michael Jackson's tours in the '80s, head here quickly.

No outing would be complete without a group pic. Thank you ladies for a lovely afternoon!

The Last Skating Post

2009-09-08T22:09:00.000-07:00

We started off the morning at The Farm of Beverly Hills at L.A. Live. If only I could start off every morning with coffee and a mimosa.
R and I both had some variation of eggs benedict. It was good, but the restaurant is mighty stingy with its hollandaise sauce. R had even less than I did.
L had yummy looking french toast and fresh fruit.

I really hate this picture of me, but I left it in here anyways since it's a pic with L, R and Dorothy Hamill (squee!). That's her in the pink shirt behind us, just on the other side of the glass. We were 2 for 2 when it came to Dorothy sightings at The Farm.

After brunch we walked across the street for the Exhibition of Champions. Usually exhibitions have a tendency to be hokey, but this one was actually good. It was a shame that it wasn't televised.

U.S. ice dancers Samuelson & Bates performed a lively disco routine.

The Frech ice dance team not only continued its hooker theme with its costumes, they actually simulated sex on ice this time. I bet there was a lot of pearl clutching going on in the stands.

Tomas Verner brought the house down with a Michael Jackson routine. Who would have guessed that just a few months later Staples would be the site of MJ's memorial service?

This is one half of the Russian pairs team Kavaguti & Smirnov. He was quite popular with the ladies (and the men). The only urge I had, however, was to chop off that sad mullet.

Did you know that there is such a thing as synchronized skating?! As much of a skating fan as I am, I still think it's weird.

Here's me and R, ready to take the ice for our pairs number! This is a long running joke between us dating back to a skating charades game we all played back in '02.

Brian Joubert actually skated to music that wasn't from The Matrix! And it was wonderful!

The U.S. ice dance team of Belbin & Agosto are very obviously fans of So You Think You Can Dance. Their routine to "Bleeding Love" was clearly insipred by Mark & Chelsie's performance in season 4 of the show.

Apparently Brian Joubert loaned his music to Domnina & Shabalin. They performed to music from The Matrix. What is it with ice skaters and this piece of music?

The final curtain call. As I said before this is the final skating post .....................................................

.... at least until January 2010 when I'll be attending the U.S. National Championships in Spokane, WA! :-)

The Book Challenge: August Recap

2009-09-04T17:36:00.000-07:00

I did a lot more reading than usual this month. Maybe all that vacation time had something to do with it. ;-)

27. The Reader by Bernhard Schlink

28. Legally Blonde by Amanda Brown

29. One Fifth Avenue by Candace Bushnell

30. The Queen's Fool by Philippa Gregory

31. Secrets of a Shoe Addict by Beth Harbison

32. The It Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar

33. That Summer by Sarah Dessen

34. This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen

35. Skating Shoes by Noel Streatfeild

36. Thirteen by Candice F. Ransom

I read the last two books while I was up in S.F., visiting my parents. I have always been an avid reader, but I thought I had packed away or donated most of the books I read as a teen. It was a pleasant surprise to come across a stash of my old favorites in the guest room closet. Skating Shoes had actually been out of print for quite some time (it's being re-released this fall!) and I must have read Thirteen at least twice a year through junior high. It was interesting to see the similarity of themes in young adult fiction from twenty years ago (#35-36) to the present (#32-34). While today's stories feature a bit more sex, drugs & drinking, the underlying plots in both eras seem to focus on friendships, rivalries, body image and finding one's identity. Perhaps there is some truth to the saying, "The more things seem to change, the more they stay the same."

The Main Event

2009-08-27T21:06:00.000-07:00

Since the main event of the week, the ladies' long program, wasn't scheduled to start until the late afternoon I spent the morning getting pampered at my usual spot. After leaving Marina's capable hands I met up with R and V for the yummiest lunch I had all week.
There should be a pic of the mixed appetizer platter here. I'm guessing we tore through it before I remembered to take a pic? Oh well. Gaze upon the beauty of my pork burger with yam fries instead.

The cinnamon water complemented our desserts well.

After fueling up for the main event we walked over to Staples. Along the way we encountered many members of Yuna Kim's fanbase. In addition to wearing matching shirts, they were passing out free South Korean flags outside the arena.

As with the men's winners, there was an outdoor public ceremony for the ice dance champions. See the dude in the black sleeveless shirt? Umm, he never looks that hot in any of his skating costumes. I mean, I really had no idea that he could look hot at all. It was a pleasant surprise for many of us.

Candace Didier of France wins the award for toughest girl ever. About ten minutes before I took this picture she had an insanely hard fall onto the ice 1/4 of the way into her program, right onto her hipbone. After lying motionless on the ice for a few moments in an arena that became dead silent, being assisted off the ice by a plethora of staff and screaming in pain for a few minutes as medical personnel examined her, she came back out and finished her program. That's pretty hardcore, especially when you consider the fact she had no shot at a medal even at her best.

This guy had a plea for resident headcase and U.S. champion Alissa Czisny.

Despite a crowd that filled Staples up to the rafters . . .

. . . Alissa held it together and had a lovely skate. Too bad she had messed up so badly in her short program. There was no digging out of the hole she had dug. Her final placement, combined with final placement of Rachel Flatt, was not enough to give the U.S. ladies three spots at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Do you know what happened the last time the U.S. could only send two ladies to the Winter Games? Tonya Harding's creepy husband decided to break out the club and take matters into their own hands to guarantee her a spot. It might be a little dangerous to be an elite female skater in these upcoming months.
It's too bad that none of the U.S. ladies in recent years have the type of consistency that the Kween had. I have to say, she also consistently looks fabulous. The color of her dress was awesome and she was perfectly accessorized down to the interlocking Cs on her handbag. It must run in the family; her older sister always looks spectacular as well. It takes a certain kind of woman to pull off wearing stilettos at an ice rink.

Of the top contenders, Mao Asada of Japan was the first to take the ice. One of the few women who can land a triple axel, she had two planned for the evening. Her first attempt was successful; the next one was not. She skated the rest of her program adequately, but a bit mechanically. While the Code of Points has helped increase the credibility of scoring in ice skating, it has also had the effect of producing a lot of performances that are skate-by-numbers. It saddens me that we may never see simple, beautiful moves anymore, like a perfect layback spin or a lengthy spread eagle, because it just doesn't offer enough points.

Miki Ando, also of Japan, skated next and with much more emotion that her teammate. A couple years ago, the Japanese skating federation all but gave up on Miki. She refused to slink away, however, and made a rousing comeback.

The cheers started to fill the arena long before Yuna Kim stepped out on the ice. The amount of flags and signage was overwhelming. There's a better pic of one of the signs, as well as an explanation as to her preferred method of address, here.

Yuna skated to Scheherazade. Why is this significant to a skating? In 2002, Michelle Kwan also skated to Scheherazade for her long program and brought down the house at Staples. I remember the crowd being on its feet with thirty seconds still to go in her music. I can only imagine what Michelle must have been thinking while watching this teen dynamo skate to what was her music, in her "house". Michelle's version of Scheherazade is one of my all-time favorite programs and I feel fortunate to have seen it live in '02; I had a difficult time not picturing Michelle's moves at certain points in the music. I know I wasn't only the skating fan with that problem.

Yuna's performance was also magical. There was no doubt who the winner would be at the conclusion of her program.

Following the magic was one of the most spectacular meltdowns of the week and really, of the last twenty years. Like Yuna, Carolina Kostner of Italy also skated to a piece of music well associated with Michelle Kwan -- The Song of the Black Swan. Michelle's black swan was triumphant and led her to a World title in 2001. Carolina's swan most definitely did not do the same. She either fell or downsized almost all of her planned triple jumps. At some points she did single jumps. Dude -- I can do single jumps! And I know my level of skating has absolutely no place at Worlds.

The final standings.

There was only one way for us to end the night: drinks, junk food and admiring the handiwork of Yuna's fans:

Candles for Annaleigh

2009-08-21T23:07:00.001-07:00

You can read about Annaleigh here. I became "acquainted" with Brooke through her cooking blog, which popped up as a recommendation in my Google Reader one day. It wasn't until several weeks later that I realized that the blog author was also a poster on one of my favorite messageboards.

Tonight my heart is breaking for that family. It all seems so unfair. The Candles for Annaleigh campaign was started on that messageboard as a way to show support. If you can spare a moment, please send positive thoughts or prayers their way.

The Book Challenge: July Recap

2009-08-02T12:34:00.000-07:00

22. Mommy Tracked by Whitney Gaskell

23. Fat Girl by Judith Moore

24. Dreamland by Sarah Dessen

25. All I Want is Everything by Cecily von Zigesar

26. If I Am Missing or Dead by Janine Latus

I have to admit, most of these books (#23, 24 and 25) were rather depressing, covering topics such as physical & emotional abuse, sexual assault, co-dependency, etc. At times I felt as if I were reading just another case file from work. I think I need some lighthearted reads for August.

The Final Stretch

2009-07-13T22:30:00.000-07:00

I realized this weekend that I better finish writing about my last trip before we head out on our next trip in a few weeks, otherwise I'd have no hope of ever catching up. Just two more skating posts after this one and I'm done!

Friday was a long day, starting with the ladies' short program at 8:30 am or thereabouts. With almost 50 entries, there were lots of zamboni breaks.

While some of the lower-ranked ladies skated inside, the mens' champions had a public medal ceremony just outside the arena. This feature was unique to Worlds. Judging by the crowds, the fans seemed to love it.

R and I opted to make a quick trip to Starbucks at L.A. Live and watched the festivities from across the street.Remember Brian Joubert (far right), who ended up in third place after some silly mistakes? He looked awful at the ceremony. Clearly someone had been drowning their sorrows the previous night.

When we walked back into the arena we glanced over our shoulders and had a Michelle Kwan sighting! The Kween wasn't scheduled to provide commentary until the following day, but she was there to take some notes on the top female competitors. Maybe she's trying to assess her chances for a comeback? One can only hope!!! I did feel slightly bad for some of the competitors though, since at certain points more people in our area were watching the Kween rather than whoever was on the ice.

Joining her in the booth was the legendary Dick Button. Uncle Dick has received some criticism for being too mean (he once infamously referred to a well-liked skater as a "refrigerator break" during a prime-time broadcast), but he just gets feistier and more un-PC with age. Consider him the Simon Cowell of skating commentators.

America's hopes rested on the shoulders of its reigning national champion, Alissa Czisny. Unfortunately, however, her shoulders could not handle the pressure. When she is on, she is truly an elegant, beautiful skater with unbelievable spins. But she is classified, with good reason, as a headcase. It's a shame. I hope that she is ale to straighten out her issues before the Olympic season begins.

As much as I love the sport, I know that one cannot live on skating alone. So I left the arena in the late afternoon to meet up with 10YearsTogether at the Wilshire Grand hotel. Coincidentally, that was the official hotel for all the skaters and officials.

We walked over to Chaya and got a head start on snacking while waiting for the other fab ladies (and one cool dude). If you are ever looking for a good happy hour location, Chaya would fit the bill. Much more food and several more drinks eventually made their way to the table, but I completely forgot about taking pictures once we all started talking.

Mr. Monkey took the official group picture. From left to right: Weezermonkey, 10YT, me, Insomniac, Wan and PinkObssessed.

As much as I wanted to stay, I had to tear myself away from the group and head back to Staples for the ice dance finals. As usual, the ice dance discipline provided the most interesting costumes. Roger took one look at the Israeli ice dance team during warm-ups and figured out that they were skating to Jesus Christ Superstar. Eventually the jumbotron confirmed his suspicion. The man is psychic.

The baby Italians had cute and slightly preppy outfits for their performance set to Love Story.

The French team continued to take its design inspiration from hookers. During one of the breaks I spied Frank Carroll in the next section over. Between his own accomplishments as a skater, the skaters he has coached to the most elite levels and the sheer number of years he has been entrenched in the sport, I truly hope he writes a book someday. I would snap it up in a heartbeat. With all the behind-the-scenes info he is sure to have, I'm sure it would be a scintillating read. The American teams did not disappoint. Belbin & Agosto performed passionately to Tosca. In light of the fact that they had sat out most of the season due to Ben having a major back injury, they were phenomenal. There was only one slight moment of hesitation before one of the lifts, which I probabky wouldn't have even noticed had we not been sitting so close.

Davis & White had an outstanding performance that sadly turned out to be the biggest "wuz robbed" moment of the competition. They finished just off the podium, despite the fact that they skated a difficult piece brilliantly and brought the crowd to its feet. The crowd actually booed when their scores were posted; they deserved much higher. But Meryl & Charlie, ever the class act, did not complain and instead attempted to quietly shush their booing fans while being broadcast over the jumbotron from the Kiss n' Cry area.

The final standings. The Russians were on top despite an underwhelming performance. And the Canadian team, who have been on the scene longer than Davis & White, just edged them out for third place. The more things change in ice dancing, the more things stay the same. My friend Lois was so disgusted with the judging that she boycotted the medals ceremony. I don't think she was the only one.

The Book Challenge: Spring Recap

2009-06-28T15:59:00.001-07:00

I still have a few more skating posts to finish (insert your "yay!" or "boo!" here), but I figured I better update this little project in the meantime since I am old and forgetful.

April

12. Knit Two by Kate Jacobs

May

13. Perfect Fifths by Megan McCafferty

14. Dreams From My Father by President Barack Obama

15. Angels & Demons by Dan Brown

June

16. Gossip Girl by Cecily Von Ziegesar

17. You Know You Love Me by Cecily Von Ziegesar

18. Just Listen by Sarah Dessen

19. The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory

20. The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory

21. American Wife by Curtis Sittenfield

With half a year to go I am slightly less than halfway towards meeting the challenge. I think the remainder of the Gossip Girl series will help me make up some lost ground. ;-)

Not All Of Them Are Gay

2009-06-18T19:12:00.000-07:00

If you haven't guessed yet, this post is mostly about the men's competition. Without fail, almost every non-skating fan I talk to about ice skating asks me at some point whether all of the guys in the sport are gay. Some of them are, but, no, they all aren't. Even if they are wearing sequins. And does it really matter? I've never quite understood why this question gets asked so much. So let's move on.

See all these Canadians that were sitting across from us at the arena?
I couldn't escape them all week. They were staying with a tour group in my hotel, crowding the bar and the elevators. They even followed me to Panini Cafe one morning for breakfast. This lone CA(lifornia) girl sitting on the side patio was forgotten about as the CA(nadian) mob overtook the front of the restaurant. The food at Panini Cafe was okay: good mimosa, good bacon, good bread, good coffee. But my eggs were overdone. Blech. I hate overcooked eggs.

Lunch later on that day at The Farm was a lot better. The fact that we waited twenty minutes for a table while standing shoulder to shoulder with the legendary Dorothy Hamill and current U.S. ladies' silver medalist Rachael Flatt had nothing to do with it. ;-) I swear, those twenty minutes were the most quiet we had been all week. We were desperately hoping to overhear some hot (or cool?) skating gossip. After we were seated I ordered ahi tuna, served three ways.

I also mooched off of V's cheese platter.

The men's short program had more interesting audio moments than visual moments. Did you know techno music is just not for raves? It seems the be the go-to music for most men.

The U.S. men's champion, Evan Lysacek, bucked the trend, but by skating to Bolero. For those of you not as obsessed as I am, Bolero is the iconic ice dancing piece skated by Torvill and Dean at the 1984 Olympics. Their performance revolutionized ice dance. Those two pretty much owned that piece of music for almost two decades. No one else dared to skate to it because how could one possibly live up to the expectations? Over the last five years though, Bolero has snuck back into the repertoire of skating music. I still raise my eyebrow when I hear someone skating to it; I expect them to bring it. Despite his excessive arm flailing, Evan brought it.

Evan's primary compeition was French skater Brian Joubert. Brian opted for a lively techno number, that seemed more like a piece for show skating. Much to the delight of tweens and cougars, he worked in some Chippendale-esque hip thrusts into his routine.

We ended up back at the Yard House that night. From left to right: R, Me, C, A, A's Fabulous Mom, V and L. L is the woman responsible for having brought most of us together. Back in 2002, when we were still all strangers on FSU, L arranged a block of group seating for FSUers for the '02 U.S. Nationals, which were also held at Staples Center. The area has changed quite a bit since then -- all for the better! C befriended us at the '06 U.S. Nationals in St. Louis. Having been seated in the row in front of us, he overheard all our snark and couldn't stay away. We were thankful we didn't scare him away with our chatter. We met A and her mom at Worlds, although A already seemed to familiar through her posts on the board.

The (over)use of techno made an appearance in the men's long program too. I forgave this guy for it as he was vastly entertaining, channeling his inner Mr. Roboto.

The other crowd pleaser of the evening was Italian skater Samuel Contesti. He skated a program with a spaghetti western theme. Plus he's easy on the eyes.

This is the joy of victory. Evan Lysacek skated a stellar long program to Rhapsody in Blue.

This is the agony of defeat. Brian Joubert skated a sloppy program to the soundtrack of The Matrix (for like the third season in a row). He broke the cardinal rule of being a good competitor and tried to change his program elements as he skated. That's a big no-no, since muscle memory is a vital part of being a good skater. Changing elements mid-program also shifts your mental focus. If it works out, then it's great. But more often than not it results in silly mistakes, as Brian learned the hard way, falling on what should have been an easy double axel.

The final standings. The pleasant suprise was the silver-place finish by Canadian skater Patrick Chan. He and Brian Joubert had quite the war of words in the press regarding the necessity of doing quadruple jumps. Patrick = no quad. Brian = quad. On this night, the quad lost. It was the first time a U.S. man has won the gold at Worlds since Todd Eldredge's win in 1996.

I only took this picture because Dr. Debi Thomas and Tiffany Chin were presenting the medals to the men. Those two were my idols when I skated as a kid. I still have some of Debi's performances on VHS.

The guys had to do a lot of posing for the media.

After all the media shots were done, the skaters stuck around for their fans. Brian Joubert came over to our section. L hustled down to the front and returned with the most funny and bizarre story of the week. L always gets the best stories and gossip:

Apparently a middle-aged woman came rushing down the stairs toward Brian, holding an envelope. She shouted at him, "Brian I have something for you," while handing over the envelope. Then she insisted that he open it. Most people assumed it was perhaps a photo she wanted him to sign, or a racy photo of herself she wanted him to have. Instead it was a picture of her cat. A cat she named "Brian Joubert", because she is such a huge fan. Skater Joubert politely smiled, thanked her, then tried to return the photo of Cat Joubert. The woman, however, refused to take it back and said she printed that photo out especially for him.

And you all thought I'm a crazy skating fan ;-) ......

Let's Start At The Very Beginning

2009-06-15T18:00:00.000-07:00

Because as Fraulein Maria sang in The Sound of Music, it's a very good place to start. When you read you may begin with A-B-C, but when you attend a skating competition you begin at the practice sessions. And this is exactly where I started my week at Worlds, watching the ladies take the practice ice at Staples on Monday night. As far as practice sessions go, it was fairly uneventful with the exception of being rather crowded for a practice session.

Even though she has not competed since 2005, Michelle Kwan still garnered one of the first posters put up in the arena. (Disclaimer for all photos: Click to enlarge and see details. Can you believe I didn't discover the manual zoom until 3 weeks after the event!?!)

The next morning I woke up early so I could leisurely stroll over to Staples, which would become my home away from home for the following five days. That was probably a good thing since I was woefully underwhelmed with my room at the Millenium Biltmore Hotel.

I actually bypassed the main arena so that I could meet up with my friend at the mens' practice session being held next door at the L.A. Convention Center. We were amazed that they built an ice surface so quickly after the Adult/Porn Expo that had concluded just two days earlier.

Brian Joubert of France seemed to be the most accessible top-level skater all week, both to the media and his fans.

Finally it was time to head back to Staples and find our seats. We were pleased to find out that we were seated just over the judges' shoulders.

Competition ice, ready to be skated on.

And we're off! The first skaters to take the ice were the ice dancers, skating this year's compulsory dance, the Paso Doble. In compulsory dance, the skaters do two rounds of the same exact pattern. They have a little bit of leeway at the start and the end to personalize it, but otherwise it is all exactly.the.same. In other words, it can get pretty damn boring quickly. The Paso Doble however, is probably the most exciting compulsory dance, so at least we had that to keep us going.

A lot of the guys seemed to be channeling Edward from Twilight. I'm not sure how or why vampires = Paso Doble. This guy took the award for most Edward-iest.
The Russian team of Domnina and Shabalin were the one of the favorites heading in to the competition. I thought their opening pose was pretty kick ass. I can't say I've ever rested my skate blade on someone's neck, but it sounds sort of cool. Hmmm, maybe this is where the Twilight connection comes in??

The top American ice dancers, Belbin and Agosto, took the ice shortly after their rivals. In a weird "only in ice skating" twist, both teams have the same coach and train at the same facility.
Another American team, Davis and White, also drew a lot of attention. They haven't been skating at the senior level very long, but they made a splashy debut last year and have been considered serious contenders ever since. One or two decades ago, it would have been impossible for such a young team to be ranked so highly. Figure skating judging may still have a long way to go, but it really has come a long way already.

After all the compulsory dances were over, we all walked over to L.A. Live for dinner. The "we" refers to some great people I met -- some years ago, some just this year -- through FSU. From left to right: A, her fabulous mom, C, V & R.

We were lured in by Yard House's 50% off happy hour drinks and appetizers. I've never been a huge fan of any of the entrees I've tried there previously, but the appetizers were surprisingly good.

Crab Cakes:

Seared Ahi:

Mango Martini:

After dinner we headed back to Staples for the Pairs' Short Program. Apparently I didn't take any photos during that segment. I think R and I were clutching each other in fear way too much. There wasn't much else one could do while watching many of the pair teams launch into throw jumps or rotating lifts. Thankfully there were no spectacular crashes.

Not a "Dear John" Letter

2009-05-11T18:57:00.001-07:00

Dear Blog,

I know you are feeling neglected, but I promise to write in you soon. Work seemed to drain the life out of me for most of April, but there were fun things too that I know you'd love to hear all about. One of these evenings I swear I will sit down and do nothing except shower you with text and pictures, even in the fact of seemingly insurmountable obstacles like Verizon's crappy connection during the hours of 8 to 10pm. You deserve more from me.

Love,
Your absentee author

Kind and Lawyer in the Same Sentence?

2009-04-14T09:17:00.001-07:00

I feel like my leg is being pulled, but according to this website today is Be Kind to Lawyers Day. I wouldn't recommend calling your lawyer to wish him or her well though; those billable hours are sneaky little increments. ;-) Instead, I recommend my favorite suggestion from the 'How to Participate' section of the website:

"Switch your ring tone to the 'dah-dah' sound from Law and Order."

Book Challenge: March Recap

2009-04-13T19:07:00.000-07:00

Cutting for Stone; Abraham Verghese

The Friday Night Knitting Club; Kate Jacobs

The Adultery Diet; Eva Cassady

Charmed Thirds; Megan McCafferty

Fourth Comings; Megan McCafferty

11 down, 39 to go. I have to get back into my library habit.

Finally! A Post About Worlds '09

2009-04-08T22:50:00.000-07:00

When Eddie gets sick, he is a mess for a day, sleeps for hours and wakes up completely fine the next morning. When I get sick, I am still hacking up a lung ten days later. Not fair. So to kickoff my coverage of Worlds '09 I present to you the Gallery of Bad Costumes because I am still weeding through all the other pictures. There were definitely more questionable ones than the dozen below, but these were really the best of the worst. Click to enlarge the pictures in order to enjoy all these outfits in their full glory.

1. This picture doesn't capture the truly atrocious hot pink panels on the underside of the male skater's trench coat. And why on earth would an ice dancer want to wear a trench coat during a competitive performance? Seeing a skater's line and extension is crucial when evaluating an ice dancer. This was fug with no function.
2. This year's compulsory dance was the Paso Doble. As the Paso Doble is supposed to mimic a bullfight, the feathers did not make much sense. Especially the ones on the female's head. Perhaps they were attempting to do Paso Doble meets Swan Lake?
3. The '80s called. They want their costumes back.

4. Hot pink hot pants. Hot pink faux legwarmers. Lavender holographic unitard. Can you say hot mess? Now granted this pair did skate to the theme of Lost in Space, which somewhat explains their get-ups. But apart from being a bit hard on the eyes, these costumes also seemed to be of poor quality. Let's just say that we weren't the only ones who found it a bit chilly inside of Staples Center.

5. I like pink, I really do. But it just wasn't working well on the ice this year.

6. This picture doesn't completely capture what was wrong with this outfit. But I think that we can all agree that sheer black illusion fabric is generally not a good look on a man.

7. The bones were sparkly, but still jarring and scary.

8. Was this gladiator outfit made for a skating competition or for the Halloween sale at Party City? Just say no to turning skating boots into gold lame gladiator boots.

9. There aren't too many other sports where one can dress like a hooker complete with thigh-highs and a garter belt. This French ice dance team embraced the opportunity to do so.

10. Fluorescent green tulle. 'Nuff said.

11. She could open an aerobics studio with the '80s pair in #3.

12. And finally, what do Mickey Mouse gloves have to do with interpreting music by The White Stripes and Kanye West?

Lest you think all these thoughts were bottled up inside me all week, I actually had the very good fortune of sitting with a group of fun and snarky skating fans that I've known for years. Sometimes I wonder what the people around us must think, but so far no one has tried to beat us up for our outspokenness. It's a good thing skating fans are generally civilized.

Fatigue + Hoarse Throat .....

2009-04-04T09:30:00.000-07:00

..... did not equal the effects of overenthusiastic cheering at Worlds.

Fatigue + hoarse throat = flames of hell burning my throat, followed up by a hacking cough and utter exhaustion.

It's back under the covers for me.

I'm back!

2009-03-30T17:19:00.000-07:00

Lots of photos to upload and weed through (including a gallery of bad costumes).

Lots of thoughts about figure skating.

Lots of work to catch up on. (boo!)

Lots of sleep to catch up on as well.

And if all that weren't enough, 94 new entries awaiting me in Google Reader!