Sayonara, over and out.

I'm going to Boston tonight to meet up w/ my college girlies. Five girls in one hotel room - yee-haw! Megan's wedding is Saturday, so that's the occasion.

The best finale of the season

So just in time for sweeps week, my new baby nephew came into this world. His birth went head-to-head against the American Idol and Contender finales. He won out though, being the coolest in the bunch. His name is Andrew Joseph Aguayo (for now - baby's daddy is deciding whether he wants to give the baby his stepdad's last name or use his biological dad's). Anyway, he weighed 8 lbs 1 oz and measured 21.5 inches. He's good and healthy and we're all glad. Here's the pup:

Buncha friggin' geeks

Quick weekend recap:

Friday night my nephews pussy-blocked my quiet night at home with lesbo porn. We ended up playing foozball and watching some of Star Wars Episode 1.

Saturday a big 'ole geeky gang of us got together and watched Star Wars Episodes 1 and 2 and the animated Clone Wars Series. We then got our super cool asses to the theater and watched Episode 3. Here's the 12 of us minus Mike (he's taking the picture) at the theater.


And here's Brian and me. Just gotta throw us in there. :-)


Surprisingly, I had a really good time. I really liked Episode 3. Like everyone says, it's much better than 1 and 2. I'm glad I saw it in the context that I did. I now have a new-found respect for George Lucas' little epic. I can't wait to go and watch Episodes 4-6 now. (What a geek!) Can't help it. It's like Tori Amos says: "like a good book, I can't put this day back."

I did have one question for those who've seen it. I've heard theories that much of the movie's dialogue was directed at the current Bush administration. References such as "only the Sith speak in ultimatums" and "if you're not with me, you're against me" do sound eerily familiar. Does anyone have anymore info or insight as to Lucas' intentions?

Was that a stop sign??

Last week I had the unique opportunity to meet a man whose legs had been taken by an inattentive driver. It's truly a tragic situation. The driver had looked away from the road to eat some chips (he was running late for work and had to grab a quick breakfast) and then plowed the man right down. One person's momentary mistake cost another person his legs and so much more.

We took extra care not to say anything offensive, but unfortunately there were inadvertant mentions of "standing up" and "walking around" and what-not. What was just a temporary awkward situation for us was actually a horrific permanent modification of every component of this man's life. Think about it for a second. This man cannot walk his daughter down the aisle. He can no longer grab the leash and take the dog out for a simple walk. He can't swim with his grandkids or take them on a hike. Nevermind the basics like showering, using the bathroom, getting into a building, or having sex.

So what should happen to the man who was driving? That's my first question.

The next question pertains to a new law before the Nevada legislature. It's called the misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter law. Basically, it creates a charge for when someone dies because of a driver's negligence. In reality, the law is a feel-good law. It doesn't change the current penalty for being a bad driver. Already in Nevada, all traffic violations are *technically* misdemeanors with a possible maximum $1000 fine and six month jail sentence (unless the specific law says otherwise). The new law has the exact same penalty.

The argument for the law though is that it goes on someone's driving record that someone has been killed. Basically, it provides more accountability for drivers and makes sure that victims are recognized.

There are a few criticisms of the law though. First, it doesn't apply in situations involving serious injuries, like with my friend who lost his legs. So causing a coma, brain damage - that's not recognized. Only death. Second, the law may punish too much behavior. For example, a lady backed over her toddler in her driveway the other day and killed her. Mom didn't know the baby had run out and she didn't look back closely enough to see if there were any kids behind her car. But this lady would *technically* have violated the law (unsafe backing + death). Third - and honestly, the one I'm most worried about - is that existing felonies - like drag racing resulting w/ death, reckless driving w/ death, etc. are now more likely to be reduced to the lesser charge of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter.

This one's a toughie for me. While I think that there does need to be accountability for ruining another person's life while driving, I'm afraid that every person who experiences a bad twist of fate will end up in jail. Even general law-abiding me. I've run a stop sign before. I didn't mean to. I didn't see it. And I hit someone. Thank God he didn't die. But say he wasn't wearing his seatbelt?

I think people don't take driving seriously enough. We drive with flip-flops. We eat. We drink. We talk on the cell. We put on make-up. We read the paper. We look at directions. We pay attention to our friends. If this law makes people think twice about doing these kinds of things, then I would probably support it. What do you think?

Top Model Finale TONIGHT

From the way it took over the Britney show discussion, it looks like Top Model needs its own separate posting. I am torn b/t Naima and Kahlen. I like Kahlen the best, but I think Naima is just a much better model. But they're so rude to her about being boring. But Kahlen is also boring personality-wise. But Kahlen is a better "project" for the show, whereas Naima still looks & acts the same as Day 1. Hmmm....... I choose Naima. They just have to come around to her.

I'm still nauseous from the Britney show, by the way. I've never been this motion sick before in my life.

Britney makes me nauseous

Just got done watching the new Britney Spears show and man, do I feel sick! Blech!!

Stalking has never been so user-friendly

I thought of a really interesting discussion topic, but then forgot what it was, so until I can remember, I'll just talk about me. This Saturday I pissed the day away in my underpants updating my photo pages. Later that night, my mom hooked it up for Brian, Cherie (Brian's mom), Greg and I to see a classic topless Vegas show, Folies Bergere.



It was kinda cheesy, but overall entertaining. It wasn't overtly sexual. It wasn't a strip tease. It was just a lot of dancing and costumes and nipples. Brian and Greg each recognized someone they knew in the cast, which was a little weird since the girls were half-naked. Anyway, here's a bad picture of us:



Then yesterday we went out to celebrate David's graduation. (Congratulations David!!) We took him go-kart racing and then we went to Baba Reeba's for Tapas. Brad and Vanessa stopped in at the go-carts. Here are some pics:

Brad, Brian, Shannon, David revving up their cars

We splurged on tapas and sangria at Baba Reeba's. Here's us about to dig into our teeny tiny yummy desserts:


So that was my weekend. You can find more pics of our Sunday escapades here.

Muthagrabbah!

DANGIT! I just spent forever posting links and pics to my blog, then I accidentally deleted the whole thing. Now I have to go to the dentist. Grrr!

The funniest rant ever

Thanks for pointing this out Megan: Spreading joy wherever I Go

Ow my knee

We went to Crystal Palace Skating Center last night with my nephews. It was definitely a blast from the past. A good time was had by all. Tony (5) had never rollerskated before, but he's pretty fearless, so he did okay. Jesse (10) was much better, but Brian was definitely the star of the night.

Me? Well, I never really learned to roller skate, so I was quite a sight to see: 6'5", uncoordinated, on skates, inching along, gripping the wall. Not cute. I only fell once though - right on my bum knee. I hoped no one had noticed, but then all through the rest of the night the smart parents that were on the sidelines kept asking "How's your knee?" I must have been pretty interesting to watch, since appararently EVERYONE WAS WATCHING!!

Anyway, here's three pictures I got to take before my battery died.







There were components of the evening that were much the same as when we were kids: skate races, lemon heads candy, the slow-skate, packs of tweens. But there were also a few differences. For example, the chicken dance was replaced by freestyle dance-skating, which was crazy-awesome. I think the rollerblade technology takes the credit. These kids were AMAZING. Skate-dancing in sync, break-dancing/skating, doing back flips in unison. It was pretty bad ass, I must say.

In the words of Tori Amos: "All in all it was a pretty nice day."

Dealbreakers

So, I'm a little behind the times in terms of watching Sex and the City. I've been watching the reruns though, and last night was the last episode of the entire series. It was the one where Carrie dumps the Russian b/c he was too busy for her and b/c he bitchslapped her. So I got to thinking about relationship dealbreakers. Here's a list of some of the dealbreakers I've experienced.

1) He surfs the internet for gay porn (but he's not gay, he swears!)
2) He cheated on you with a guy (but, again, not gay! Swear!!)
3) He slapped you.
4) He's been secretly addicted to meth for the last 6 months.
5) He has crazy fits of rage, to the point of tearing off all of his clothes and jumping into a tree.
6) He's in love with your best friend.
7) He's homeless and, although he usually lives in a van down by the river, he wants to live in your dorm room now.

What other kinds of relationship dealbreakers are out there? What's been your experience?

I love TV

So... it's sweeps week/season finale time, and I am happy as a slanted clam. Here is a quick list of the shows I watch and LOVE:

1) America's Next Top Model
2) The Contender
3) Veronica Mars
4) The OC
5) Desperate Housewives

Last night was the best. I got to find out who killed Veronica's best friend on Veronica Mars. It was Logan's dad. The episode was really really exciting though. We found out many important things, including: 1) Veronica didn't have sex with her brother (whew!), 2) Veronica's best friend was a super-slut who was bopping both her boyfriend and his dad, and 3)Logan's dad is a psychopath - but we kinda already knew that. It ended with Veronica getting locked in a refrigeratot and set on fire. Although it was the typical unnecessarily slow and drawn out method of murder found in most thrilling endings (think sharks with lasers), it was a good time. I'm curious to see what will happen next season, since the show's whole mystery premise has been solved. I'm sure the show's producers learned a thing or two from Twin Peaks and will hopefully come up with some new and exciting mystery for next season.

The Contender has been the surprise "love-it" show of the season for me. C'mon, boxing? But it's turned out to be a real hoot. It helps that three of the contestants were from Nevada. But they really couldn't have scripted a better show. Last week Jesse Brinkley (all-American kid from Yerington, NV) was losing the fight 3 rounds to 1, but in the last round he got a knockout and won the whole thing. Now THAT is good television. Also fun was seeing Joey Gilbert (a fellow UNR alum and NV attorney) fight his heart out. Ultimately he got booted, but that's okay. We're voting him back onto the show as we speak. Go here to vote to get Joey back onto the Contender. Anyway, it's good stuff and it's not over, so you should watch.

And last but not least: TOP MODEL!! My money is on Kahlen & Naima top 2. I'm still not sure which one will win. Naima is obviously the better model, but she's been kind of blah lately. Then again, Tyra is no Mark Burnett. I won't let her outsmart me. I'm going to go with reverse psychology and pick Naima to win it.

So, that's all for now about tv. I just had to talk about the shows that are near and dear to my heart right now. Watch my shows, they rock!!

This is so addictive!

Ok new wedding question: Any song ideas for the first dance? We want something cute and romantic but intereting - not like Faith Hill or Bette Midler or something lame like that. So far I think we're going with Perfect Day by Lou Reed. But that song sounds a little sad. Any other suggetions?

Everybody Get Drunk Tonight

Um, okay, so I'm just supposed to write about the stuff I do and the crap I think is interesting right? So, basically, this blog will probably end up being about wedding crap and interesting criminal law stuff. So here's a wedding update and a question:

We met with Father Bill from St. Viator yesterday. He was pretty cool - kind of a hippie-type priest. I guess he's going to give us some kind of compatability test soon. Brian and I are excited to see how wrong for each other the church thinks we are. ;-) Actually, it's supposed to foster communication or something, so it doesn't sound like a bad idea. Anyway, wedding date is still set for NOVEMBER 5, 2005.

So here's my question: What amount of alcohol is proper/expected for a wedding? Some people would say it's tacky to have open bar at a wedding. After all, it's not like it's a raging frat party where everyone's expected to get smashed. Others would think it was tacky not to offer an open bar. What about a table wine-only compromise? Just wondering what my target audience's expectations are.

Oh my gosh..

Oh man, all I wanted to do was post a comment! Now I've done it. I have a blog. We'll see how long this lasts.