Thank Goodness for Ugly Betty

"Ugly Betty" is a fantastic show. It's bright, fun, humorous, but what I like most about it is the concept. The basis of this concept is built upon the main character, Betty. It is such a great idea to throw someone who isn't the stereotypical beauty into the main focus. Her role is not the supportive best friend or some ancillary character. She's the star. She also looks average. The average person can relate to her, because like her, we all have our foibles, some are plagued with them while others have only one or two... like myself... Ha ha!! Just kidding. Okay, I have three. Just kidding! I have many! Anyway! Okay, what am I trying to say... Oh yes! This show has become extremely popular with a great number of dedicated viewers. This proves that people don't watch TV to see all the "pretty people." We have fallen in love with the inner beauty of the character. Sounds corny, but it's true! Don't tell me it's not true! >=(

So I basically just want to say two things. One, it's great that they've sort of glamorized Betty's looks, or lack of by titling the show "Ugly Betty." By doing this, it's like a mini secession from the familiar practices and ideals of regular TV shows. I applaud the decision makers and creatives for taking a risk with their "out of the box" ideas. BUT! It's also a little contradicting because although Betty isn't the stereotypical beauty on the outside, she is much more beautiful than any of the other characters that are portrayed. The others may look beautiful, but they are something else when you dig deeper!

And two, America Ferrera aka Betty has become hugely popular. She's an average looking gal with an average looking body. I imagine this has given many girls and boys (even men and women) more hope and confidence that they can make it too.

Hmmm... now that I think about it. What if titling the show "Ugly Betty" is offensive to some people? Betty isn't drop-dead gorgeous, but she's not ugly either. So are they saying that people who sort of resemble Betty are ugly? Hmm... Forget it... I'm going to read my Harry Potter book...

Geek Moment #11 - Harry Potter

Not sure if this is a true geek moment, but here goes. On Saturday night, I had nothing to do, so I decided to continue reading book 7 of Harry Potter. Usually, I only limit myself to one chapter. (I want to prolong the finale of the series for as long as possible.) But on Saturday night, I went ALL OUT. I read to my heart's content. I read until I didn't want to read anymore! Thrilling! Satisfying! But the end is approaching... Boo!!

Heroes

After watching the long awaited season 2 premiere of "Heroes," I am so happy to find out that Peter Petrelli (played by Milo Ventimiglia) is still in the series. Well, it's hard to believe that they would kill him off after just one season, but you never know. And dang, he looks pretty good. Hot diggity damn...

As for the premiere itself. Not bad! They introduced a few new characters, not so many that it gets confusing though. The same thing was done last season, and it worked perfectly well. Claire's classmate seems annoying. The purpose of his character seems a little obvious - the person who pressures Claire into revealing her true identity and plays her love interest. Don't know if I like him yet. The episode as a whole was paced nicely, similar to season 1. All in all, there were no bad surprises. And they threw the viewers something unexpected and exciting at the end. Peter Petrelli has suffered amnesia and is somehow locked up in a freight container in Scotland or Ireland! Can't wait until next Monday.

So remember, kids. Don't try to reach me between 9-10pm on Mondays. I'll be busy. Oh, and 8-8:30 too. "How I Met Your Mother" is on at that time. That's a damn funny show!

Men vs. Women

When thinking about the differences between men and women, the first thing that comes to mind is our reproductive organs and the feelings we experience because of them. No no. Not talking about anything sexual here. There are certain things I've always been curious about, but will never truly understand, e.g. the pain a guy feels when he gets kicked in the crotch. And I'm sure there are guys out there who are curious as to how a women's menstrual cramps feel. I asked a friend of mine if he knows how that might feel. (He has a sister and fiancee so I thought that they would have shared some info with him...) His response was, "Cramps? Isn't it just like a cramp you get when you swim right after you eat?" No no no no... That's nothing compared to real menstrual cramps.

So the purpose of this entry is to try to see which is more painful? Getting kicked in the crotch? Or bad menstrual cramps? The only way to determine this is to give a description. I'll go first...

"Menstrual cramps. It feels like someone grabbed my ovaries, tubes, and uterus and squeezed and twisted them really really hard. And while they're squeezing and twisting, a thousand needles are thrust into my organs. The pain is incredible. It sears through my abdomen, my back, my thighs, my knees, through my arms, and into my head. It's gotten so bad that I was unable to walk and speak."

The friend I was speaking of earlier briefly described the feeling of getting kicked in the crotch. He said it feels like every single nerve ending in your entire body is surging with pain. You can feel it through your entire body. But it doesn't last too long.

Okay. Your turn! How does it feel for you?? The person with the best description wins a trip for two to the beautiful oil fields of Nigeria! Just kidding. That would be a horrible and depressing vacation, but that's another story. Okay, any takers?

Phone on the Throne

Please. If any of you do this to me, you must stop immediately. Do not talk to me on the phone while you're on your porcelain throne. It's been done to me before, and I could not accept it then, and still won't. It's just gross. True, if you don't know about it, it's all good. But what happens when you need to flush the toilet? And what about the echoes that comes with talking in a tiled room? I view unloading yourself as a very private moment. At times, I can't even do it when there's someone else in another stall. And then there are people who can have full on conversations with people on the phone. There's this woman on the floor of my building who I've encountered in the bathroom. I've never seen her face, but I can recognize her voice. It may be completely quiet, which it should be, and all of a sudden, she starts blabbing away. Blah blah blah blah blah. Shit is coming out from two orifices, her butt and her mouth. Geez. The poor innocent person on the other line! What if there's silence at the perfect moment, and the other person hears "Doink. Splash." "Uuuuhh, what was that?" And she responds, "Oh! I'm taking a dump right now! But don't mind me. Go on. What were you saying?" How horrible is that! But I guess some people don't mind. But I do, so don't do it to me.

Ha ha ha!! I can't believe I'm writing about this...

Our City's Divas

I make regular visits to San Francisco, but I can say only a handful of them are as interesting as what I experienced last night. A few friends and I met up at a nightclub/bar called Divas for an amateur drag queen talent show. On weekends, all three floors of this establishment are open to their patrons. The first floor is the bar with a small stage, the second has a bigger stage for more elaborate performances, and the third has a dance floor.

On this particular night, only the first floor was open. We were one of the first ones there so we found good seats close to the small stage decked with a curtain of silver tinsel. The bartender, Alexis, was a lovely woman. I found her big hair, beautiful smile, and deep voice strangely comforting. We ordered some drinks. The special of the night was an "oatmeal cookie." This was good but strong. As we chatted and sipped our strong drinks, more people started walking in. Some were average looking men, and the majority were "divas."

One homeless-looking person wearing a trench coat walked in. He walked to the end of the bar and back, sneaking peeks at people, even me and my friend. He stopped at a diva sitting at the bar, and I didn't see this, but my friend said he started making out with her. She was Asian with straight black hair, red lipstick, tight clothing, and a hint of a mustache. While he had her distracted, one hand tried grabbing for her hand bag! There was a little commotion but he left quickly. I saw that diva mouthing curses at him and a group of them staring at him with dirty looks.

This was already around 11:30, so one of my friends and I wanted to get a little food before the show started at midnight. As we were walking out, we saw a group of five divas, all with very masculine physiques, stomping out of the bar searching for the thief. This scene was hilarious. Imagine these women. One was the bartender who had big black hair and was wearing a sequined red dress and heels. Another looked exactly like John Goodman but with big blonde hair wearing a sequined turquoise dress and heels. Another was the Asian diva with her tight white tee and jeans. Another had shoulder length red hair with a blazer and slacks. I don't remember the last one. This group of women approach the man and surround him like a pack of hungry wolves about to pounce on a helpless deer. Some words were exchanged, and the man hurriedly ran across the street to safety. Darn. No fight. My friend and I turned towards our destination as the angry pack headed back to the bar.

As we were walking down Van Ness to Tommy's Joynt, we pass another homeless person holding something big in one hand. I looked curiously at his hand and thought, "What is that? White and gray feathers? EEWW!! It's a stuffed bird!" What the heck! It's not everyday you see a man walking down the street holding a taxidermic bird...

Okay, back to the bar. The show was entertaining. One of my friends got several kisses from one of the divas and even a little pseudo lap dance. Ha ha. One of the performers was great. She was so sultry, it was mesmerizing. Among the audience, there were some drag queens who were actually pretty, but all of them (with the exception of a few) were haughty and had attitude, but that's why they're appropriately named "divas." They were all so feminine with exaggerated swinging hips, skin-baring clothing, and long false lashes. One of my friends and I agree we feel like being a little more feminine the next day. Heh heh...

As we got up to leave, the bartender stopped us and asked if we enjoyed ourselves and if we're going to come back. Feeling the pressure of all eyes on us, we all said "yes," but I think I'd like to go back. The ambiance was nice, it was clean, the people are far from being boring, and the bartender Alexis and the host Victoria's Secret were so inviting and wonderful.

I guess that's the gist of the evening. I really wish the divas and the thief had gotten into a rumble. That would have been the highlight of my week. Yes, my life can be pretty dull. But one thing's for sure. Life cannot be dull when you're around divas!

Forever a Child

The other day, my parents came home from a wedding banquet. In my mom's hands were a vase with a rose in it and a pink balloon. (I can tell the couple either have bad taste, or they let their parents take the reception planning reigns. Ha ha.) The first thing my mom said was, "Sandy! Sandy! I got you a balloon!!" Oh how sweet of my mom to get "Sandy" a balloon! Little Sandy was taking a shower at the time. And little Sandy is also 25 years old. No, not five, but 25. I said to my mom, "What? You got Sandy a BALLOON?? She's not a little kid." "Well, when I saw the balloon, I just wanted to get it for Sandy."

I thought this was very funny - a mother excited about giving her 25 year old daughter a balloon. As a parent, I guess they will always see their children as precisely that. Children. No matter how old we get, no matter how old they get, they will undoubtedly try to care for us as much as they can, remind us to lock the front door before going to bed, remind us we have to wake up early the next morning because we have work, give us unwanted advice, and the list goes on for at least a mile! My mom said so herself. In her eyes, she sees us as helpless children. I remind her on countless occasions that I'm not a baby, but a grown woman who loves independence. But why do I even bother? She's a stubborn woman, reluctant to see her children as grown ups. But she's also a loving woman, a mother who will do and have done so much for her children. She can give Sandy, or me, a balloon anytime she wants.

(The photo above is of me at almost two years old and my mom in Hong Kong.)

P.S. My dad is guilty of this too, but he doesn't give us balloons. He usually gives us food.

It's Not THAT Bad

For the past week, there has been so much jabber about Britney's 2007 VMA performance. So much hype was built and expectations were high. When the actual performance happened, it seemed everyone was a little more than disappointed. EVERYBODY was talking about it. I was curious to see what all this talk was about, so I finally found a video clip of Britney on YouTube.

After watching the clip, I am more disappointed in all the people talking about Britney than Britney's actual performance. It's true. Her hair looks bad. She's not in her best shape (but still looks better than the majority of us and this is after giving birth to two kids). Her dancing wasn't spectacular or convincing. Her energy was lacking. And she was obviously lip synching. But it wasn't THAT bad. Not so bad that it deserves to be talked about on every late night show, radio talk show, every kind of show. It just shows how much the general population enjoy bringing someone down. Makes the commoners feel better when we can degrade and pick and tear apart someone who is more "privileged" than us (who, in my opinion, is pretty much defenseless at this point). I guess that's why tabloids are so successful. I know I'm guilty of making fun of people, so I'm being a hypocrite here. But when you take a step back and look at yourself, don't you think finding pleasure at someone else's expense shameful? Not something to be proud of.

On a lighter note, I thought Chris Brown's act was so awesome! It was creative, theatrical, and energetic. And how in the world does he move like that?! Bravo, Chris Brown!! BRAVOOO!! (Ha ha... that last sentence is supposed to be said in a British accent.)

P.S. Her song is called "Gimme More" for a reason. That's because all you people want is more more more MORE MORE!!!! LEAVE HER ALONE!!!! You're lucky she even performed for you bastards!... She's only HUMAN!!! LEAVE BRITNEY ALOOOONE!!!!

P.P.S. There I go making fun of people again. Shame on me! =(

Fun Fact #1 - White Sox

Did you know that the Chicago White Sox weren't always called "White Sox?" In 1901, a baseball team was born, and they were named the White Stockings. Years later, after stockings were no longer in fashion, they changed their name to White Sox.

Can you imagine rooting for the White Stockings? Cheers probably won't roll off the tongue quite as easily as "White Sox."

Annoying Neighbors

I haven't complained in quite some time, and what better way to start off my September blog posts than with a complaint. After all, I AM a complainer!

My neighbors may not be the worst neighbors, but they are very annoying neighbors. They irk me for two reasons. One, they have no perception of time and no consideration for others living within earshot of their chatter. So they will have rowdy parties almost every week until 2 or 3 am or later, most of which involve really bad karaoke. This would be fine if they close their windows and door, but they always leave them open. I complained once, and they were apologetic, but a couple of days later, same thing.

Reason number two! One of the guys living there has the most annoying girlfriend! Imagine the winiest voice you can fathom, and that's what she has. It really sounds like she's trying to do a little girl's voice. It's 12:45 am right now, and she's still yapping away. This is so painful. If you're interested in my thoughts about women like her, read my post about "cute women."

Alright! Enough complaining from me... for now! Until next time, friends!