Last year I kept this entry locked all year, but I'm not sure why. I'm weird like that, I guess.

Not this year, though! Updated as the year goes on.

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Tags: books 2008, movies 2008, music

1. It is my wedding anniversary! TWO YEARS, believe it or not. Last year, I wrote up a hugely long entry with all the details of the day, and I think that this year I will go back and print out all my wedding-y entries and, like, make a little book. If LJ self-destructs, I'll lose A LOT of stuff, but anything wedding-related would really destroy me.

2. Because of the aforementioned anniversary, Alex and I exchanged minor gifts this morning. In keeping with the tradition that I randomly started last year, I gave Alex something cotton-related (last year it was paper, and it was a Harry Potter book). I'd been kind of stumped, but I ended up getting him a couple of silly t-shirts from his childhood (and damn near bought this one for myself). Alex, adorably, had typed up and laminated the following:

I couldn't remember the name of the place you like, so, this coupon is good for ONE PEDICURE AT THAT PLACE YOU LIKE.

Heeeee.

3. I got my hair cut this morning! I ended up saying Fuck It to the whole Anita situation, and went to Aveda, and I am so glad I did. (Thank you The cut isn't too drastically different (a new stylist, I didn't want to risk something major right off the bat), but it looks fantastic. She didn't load it up with product, which was an annoyance of mine with Anita, but it's still shiny and soft. Plus, she was sweet and fun, and it was half as much as I've been paying! Yay!

4. After my haircut, she sat me down in the makeup chair and put some pretty pretty lip gloss on me. Does this always happen? Because I love it. And it means that I have new lip gloss (in Grapefruit Pulp, which is a pretty pinkish).

5. GOSSIP GIRL DVDS TODAY. Oh they are so shiny and pretty. I can't wait to start watching. (And listening! They come with a downloadable version of the audio book! Read by Christina Ricci! This excites me, clearly). Alex has already come to terms with the fact that we will be watching GG all weekend.

6. All weekend when we are IN THE MOUNTAINS. We're leaving Thursday afternoon and heading to Breckenridge and we are going to sit around and watch Gossip Girl and play cards and drink wine and just relax. Happy anniversary to us!

7. ALSO anniversary-related is dinner tonight at Osteria Marco. OMG this place is so good and I am SO PSYCHED to go eat one million calories and get comped a bottle of something delicious (a friend of a friend's boyfriend works there and has promised us bubbly beverages) and ajsisjhiodmfhoamifmmmmmmmHUNGRY.

Tags: alex, real life omg, tv, wedding
I'm feeling: lonely
I'm listening: on the phone with my mom!

Some background:

I've been getting my hair done by Anita for going on five years now. When I started seeing her, she was at salon U, and I started getting my brows done by Alejandra there as well. About a year later, a bunch of people from U left dramatically, and one of them started her own salon, I.

I moved over to the new place, of course, as that's where Anita and Alejandra went. About a year and a half after THAT, Alejandra left waxing completely, and is now my piercer. I started getting my brows done by the owner of the salon, who eventually began to really bother me, and so I jumped ship and started getting my waxing done at a new place (where I still go). I've continued to see Anita, however, and so has Alex.

For a while, I thought that my issues with the salon were related to that specific person - she made me wait often and her personality kind of sucked. Then, I slowly started to realize that I felt like I was getting the exact same haircut from Anita, even when I would ask her for something different. If I wanted something much shorter, that was fine, but subtle (and hell, even not-so-subtle) changes were hard to come by. She's been talking for a long time about a move to Australia, so I was already planning on leaving the salon completely when she left town.

A couple of months ago, I had scheduled a quick bang trim before my vacation. I showed up right on time, and Anita looked up, surprised to see me, and told me that she still had at least 20 minutes to go on the haircut she was working on. She said I could come back two hours later, but it was a Saturday and I had plans, so I didn't bother. I was annoyed that no one had called me - neither Anita nor the receptionist - and it seemed to me that it was an issue with both Anita and the salon as a whole. Neither of them noticed that she was so far behind? Really?

Finally, I was fed up enough with my hair that I made an appointment to see Anita this Saturday (tomorrow). I decided that I'd give it one more shot - and I also wanted to use the discount I'd earned for referring three people (none of whom have been back, which says something, I think). Money has been really tight around here, and it's gotten harder to justify expensive haircuts when I'm so bored by them. Plus, you know, the annoyance factor.

Alex went last night to get his hair cut, and when we met up for dinner, he told me that they'd had to reschedule my appointment tomorrow for an hour earlier. No call, nothing.

That basically did it for me, and I scheduled a haircut at Aveda (with someone who just cut Molly's hair) for Tuesday morning - at half the price. I called salon I last night and left a voicemail cancelling my appointment tomorrow.

When we got home tonight, I had a message from Anita. She apologized for rescheduling me without calling and asking if it was okay, saying she hadn't wanted to inconvienence me, that she values Alex and I as clients, and that if I could make it, she'd comp the haircut.

I'm totally stuck, y'all. Help please.

Poll #1242671 So now what?
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All

Hey Kate! I think you should

Sigh. Thanks. I realize that this is kind of a silly thing to be so hyper about, but it's been an ongoing issue for kind of a long time, and I need to figure it out, one way or another.

(ETA: The vote from katesti is actually Alex's vote. I'm seriously stuck here.)

Tags: i'd be the best rich person, real life omg, shut up kate!
I'm feeling: thoughtful
I'm listening: Blades of Glory is on...

Adam Shankman: ...blah blah STEP UP 3D!
Me: *squeeee*
Alex: Okay, now THAT I will see in the theatre with you.

Me: ...blah blah Jonas Brothers blah oh and they wear purity rings.
Alex: (INCENSED) WHAT?! WHAAAAT??! *eye roll* *heavy sigh of disappointment* Now that is just a waste. Don't they know how LAID they could be getting?? WASTE. OF BEING A ROCKSTAR.
Alex (at various moments for the next half-hour): Purity rings. Waste. Epic fail.

Alex: ANYA SQUEEEEEE

Tags: alex, tv
I'm feeling: I CAN HAZ HAPPY HOUR NAO?
I'm listening: Praise Chorus - Jimmy Eat Worl

Yeah, so the poll yesterday has outed me. I've turned into an Efron fan of late.

BUT. PLZ TO LET ME DEFEND MYSELF. (WITH LINKS, although most of them require you to drag to your address bar. Apologies.)

The First High School Musical
I Netflixed this and, of course, LOVED it, but Efron was pretty much a nonentity for me. I was mostly obsessed with Vanessa Hudgens' shoes - no, seriously - and her pretty pretty hair. And the fact that it was directed by the guy who did Newsies. And that guy who LIKES TO BAKE, which actually made me snorfle out loud the first time I saw it. This kid was inoffensive-looking, occasionally orange-ish, and in dire need of a better haircut.

There was NO PERVING AT ALL with the first HSM - just good clean Disney fun.

He wasn't on my radar too much for a while, beyond my general celebrity gossip obsession and, you know, his girlfriend's SCANDALOUS NUDEZ. All that stuff is kind of a blur, until...

Hairspray And The Media Push Surrounding It
That's when he started showing up places bronzed to within an inch of his life, aggressively coiffed, and just generally doing his best Ken Doll. He was doing all these things in nice suits, though, and hmmm, the bronzer kind of brings out his eyes...

BUT MOSTLY, he was a freaky Ken doll, even if I did think he and Blonsky were kind of adorable (sidebar: How fucking INSANE is her current criminal shit? Totally, that's how). Also, I thought the movie looked like it was going to be ridiculous - and not in the good way - so I avoided it.

The Second High School Musical
This was just about the same time as Hairspray, so it was slight Zefron overload. HSM2 also includes the classic of our time Bet On It, so I was pretty much guaranteed to be unable to take Efron seriously, like, EVER AGAIN. Probably.

The Last Few Months
It all kind of started when he and Vanessa kept going to the beach. And he did Rolling Stone and I'm not BLIND here, people.

Uh-Oh. I See Hairspray.
Then the inevitable happened. I was home sick one day and excited about our new fancy digital cable and realized that Hairspray was about to start and finally decided to watch it and the rest is history. (And really, I love everything about the movie. Everything. It makes me happy. I'm sure that that affects all the rest of this.) He's adorable and charming in I Can Hear The Bells (his wink kind of kills me), he's funny and charming in Without Love, and kind of a rockstar in Ladies Choice. Plus, he totally makes out with Blonsky at the end, and I love that.

Where We Are Today
So the High School Musical 3 trailer is out and I, of course, am psyched. Thanks to all Zac's trips to the gym (and learning how to levitate), my thoughts during the trailer were mostly interrupted by Arms! Arms! Arms! (Other thoughts include worshipping Ryan and Sharpay, wondering WTF Troy and Chad are singing and flying about, being psyched to see that Zeke got all tall and hot, and being ALL OVER what is sure to be a DRAMATIC! MOMENT! IN THE RAIN!)

And then there's the Elle photoshoot with Zac, Vanessa and Ashley. I know the brows are a little much, but this one? Rowr. This one's adorable, and this one is dirty and kind of awesome, considering they're Disney kids. (Also awesome in an Eff You Disney way is V's recent Walk Of Shame, heeeeee.)

So....that's the sad sad story of how I fell in inappropriate cougar-y lust with Zac Efron. Mock away, kids.

(Oh, and they gay rumors? Whatevs. I buy he and Vanessa as a couple, but I also get my 'dar pinged all the time. I'm sure he likes boys too, and good for him.)

(Psst, missmp. Your turn.)

Tags: inappropriate lustings, random pop cult
I'm feeling: embarrassed
I'm listening: I Have A Dream/Thank You For The Music - Amanda Seyfried

missmp has done a poll. Go forth and vote. And mock. And possibly make us feel better about ourselves.

Tags: inappropriate lustings, polls, random pop cult
I'm feeling: silly
I'm listening: Salute Your Solution - The Raconteurs

1. I could literally put my head down on my desk and fall asleep right now. This does not bode well for the rest of my day, which includes another four hours of work, one hour at the gym, and two and half hours of band rehearsal. On Mondays during the summer, I usually leave the house around 7 and get home around 10, without having eaten a real dinner, and I do not like that. I didn't do that last week (Traveling Pants 2 preview! Also no work!), but I am today, and it makes me a sad panda.

2. Y'all saw this post in the Pretty thread, right? Humina.

3. The New Facebook has been forced upon me, and so far I don't love it. I'm going to give it a couple days to see if it grows on me, but I'm not holding my breath.

4. We brought EIGHT bags to the grocery store on Saturday and didn't get our bag credits. This annoys me more than it should, especially since the POINT is to save the earth, not get 80 cents off groceries.

5. I locked myself out of the house last Friday (WHEN IT WAS 104 DEGREES AND I HAD JUST WALKED HOME FROM WORK) and I don't think I have ever done that before. It's okay, though, because I met one of our new upstairs neighbors. Their names are Kate and Katie and they're about my age, so I've decided to befriend them. But I don't know how to go about that. Help? (I thought about offering margaritas on Friday afternoon, but they were smack in the middle of the moving and I didn't want to get in the way.)

6. SO TIRED.

7. I just got an email inviting me to sit on the citywide HIV council - apparently I was being discussed at the Mayor's Office as "a great member to represent Medical Case Management." I rule, thank you.

8. OH HEY. I haven't talked about Alex's new job much, have I? That's because he's loving it, mostly. I mean, he doesn't love the pay at all, but at the same time, he's realized that he doesn't get paid enough to get all super stressed about everything, which is good for his mental health. Also good for his mental health is the fact that he really likes all the people that he works with and doesn't think they're wastes of space and need to be taken out back and shot. So. Improvement. PLUS ALSO, his supervisor gave him a card last week just saying thanks for all his hard work over the last couple of months, and included a $25 Ticketmaster gift card. That is the kind of thing that never would have happened at his old job, so he's really appreciative. And so am I, because wow - being married to a guy that doesn't hate his job and thus, like, 60% of his life? Makes a huge difference in MY life.

9. This summer has gone fast so far. I'm looking forward to fall, but also have been slacking off a lot this summer, and will miss that when I have to buckle down again. Sigh.

10. GIP. Oh Haverchuck, how I love you so.

11. TIRED. OH SO TIRED.

Tags: alex, inappropriate lustings, real life omg, work
I'm feeling: exhausted
I'm listening: The Bomb - Bitter:Sweet

...can we discuss a few things?

1. How FUCKING HOT is Blake Lively? Holy moly.

And since we're on Traveling Pants fashion, I landed on option D for this look, even though I don't love the shoes (but I would absolutely love to be able to pull off that lipstick), I agree about America, but can almost overlook the dress because of how amazing the rest of it is, and am sorely disappointed in AmTam, who was my favorite thing in Traveling Pants 2 and who has the poise and attitude to pull off stuff that is just...better than that, but still slightly off-kilter - remember the premiere of the last one?

Also, a slightly more flattering picture of Blake's bandage dress. Just don't read the comments, as ONTD will make you weep for humanity. As usual.

2. SYTYD was fantastic last night. Probably the strongest episode start-to-finish of the season, though there were some dances in other episodes that I liked better. But I didn't skip anything (well, most of the solos, but that's usual for me), and voted a lot. The finale next week is going to be innnnnnnsane, and tonight's results will stress me out thoroughly.

3. I bought this dress in this color on Monday and I LOVE IT. I had a great experience at the store - I was the only customer (it was 10:30 on a Monday), and the girl was so awesome. Gave me a bunch of jeans to try on, and when I mentioned that I was broke and couldn't justify buying new jeans at full price when it was 100 degrees out, she hunted around online for me and found a couple of eBay links (which she emailed to me after I left). Plus, she made a list of brands that run small when I mentioned that lillaura has trouble finding jeans that fit her tiny ass, she gave me a cloth bag (usual price: $15) that will give me 5% off every purchase when I bring it in, AND she gave me an extra 10% off the dress - which was already 30% off to begin with.

OH ALSO. The day before I had called to ask about a promotion they were running, and when she (same girl) didn't know right away, she called her manager and then called me back at home within ten minutes with the answer.

So, WIN, basically. I called her manager the next day and gave her huge props and will definitely go back and do more shopping there.

4. Have been deeply sucked into the Twilight Sparklepocalypse. Send help.

5. We've seen a mass of movies recently, most of them free. Tonight is Long Way Down (sadly not free) and next Tuesday is American Teen (yeah, I know I said it was THIS WEEK but I was wrong), and last weekend I definitely snuck into Mamma Mia! Which, by the way, was SO MUCH MORE FUN than I was expecting.

6. I only have to work half a day tomorrow HALLELUJAH. And then I am skipping the annual spaghetti party (seriously, who has spaghetti to celebrate birthdays in AUGUST??) and going home and doing something way more fun. Like sitting on my ass, for example.

7. Have you ever had a day where you catch a look at yourself in the mirror and just start laughing? Yeah, that's me today. Eeew.

8. Only 2.5 more hours of work, thank GOD. My brain is fried - this week has been pretty insane.

9. Want. (Not strictly SFW.) Want. Waaaaaaant.

10. Anna Nalick, when is your new album coming out?

Tags: i'd be the best rich person, inappropriate lustings, laura, movies 2008, music, random pop cult, teh internets
I'm feeling: sleepy
I'm listening: Paper Bag - Anna Nalick

OMG Pineapple Express? IS AWESOME. Highly recommended, especially con vino.

Or weed, if you're into that kind of thing. Everyone I went with tonight came out of the movie going, "Aw, I wanna get high."

Tags: debauchery, movies 2008
I'm feeling: drunk

I wqas totally supposed to go to this free screnning of American Teen tonight (watch the trailer and tell me that you don't think it looks totally adorable) but woe, it is NEXT TUESDAY and so instead Alex and I drank margaritas (okay, 1.5, bvut they were STRONG) and now I am drinking wine and playing Guitar Hero: Aerosmith which...kind of sucks, actually, but don't tell Alex that I think that (don't worry, we just rented it, we didn't buy it), and guess what we get to see tomorrow?? PINEAPPLE EXPRESS WHAAAAAAAAAAAT UPPPPPPPPPPPP.

...my turn on Guitar Hero!

Tags: debauchery
I'm feeling: drunk
I'm listening: All The Young Dudes