Upon watching the opening ceremonies...

Zack, Liz, Kris, and I are watching the opening ceremonies tonight. During the parade of nations, we kept track of the number of athletes fielded by each nation. 109 here, 152 there. Then the US Team entered the stadium, 216 athletes strong. The conversation went thusly:

Liz: 216! We win.

Ali: Suck it, world!

(pause)

Ali: We're so gracious.

Don't judge me; I've been snowbound.

I spent the better part of yesterday watching a marathon of MTV's Jersey Shore. Amanda and Gena recommended it and it did not disappoint. It was such magnificent trash--the perfect methadone to my Rock of Love withdrawal.

The entire cast was orange, and composed of silicone, collagen, steroids, hair extensions, and rum. It was appalling. And hilarious. I'm still recovering.

My favorite

Also, Abe Vigoda is alive? Who knew?

Gah!

I was feeling better this morning so I went out to shovel a path to my garage. Why hello, blizzard. Next door, Jones was standing in the middle of four feet of snow shaking his head, dismayed that he doesn't live in Florida. Anyway, I was shoveling away, listening to my iPod (P!nk is best for shoveling) and I was almost to the garage door when the shovel caught my earbud cord, whipped my iPod out of my pocket and through the air, and disconnected it from the earbuds still lodged in my ears. For a moment I saw its shiny silver backing silhouetted against the bright morning sky and then it was gone. Oh fudge.


Ack! I raced to dig through three feet of snow to discover my precious object. Then I raced into the house (I may have been screaming in horror--I don't know--you'd have to ask Jonas) and dried it as best I could. It actually appears to be working perfectly; the music plays, the Moron Test tests, the Lightsaber app swishes and hums. Thank goodness Apple makes these things idiot-proof because I am the clumsiest person I know.

That was plenty of excitement for one day. The rest of my afternoon will be spent this way:

I can't wait to hear the woman say, "She stepped into the spin, then I'm not sure, but it looked like she got caught in his lederhosen."

Sick, sick, sick.

Well, I feel wretched. I don't know what's wrong with me, but I'm achy, tired, and all-around miserable. Sort of like Marianne in Sense and Sensibility, although thankfully no one is bleeding me from the arm. (shudder) I came home from work last night and and thought, "I'll just lie down for a nap." Well, that nap lasted about fourteen hours. I plan to repeat it again tonight.

The worst is I haven't seen my sweet little niece in almost a week. Blargh!

This is how I feel. (Minus the lovelorn.)

And so it begins...

The Oscar nominees were announced today. I have had this on my calendar for a long time, the way you might mark off a birthday or trip. This is serious stuff.

There weren't many surprises. I'm am most pleased that Jeremy Renner got a nomination for his excellent work in The Hurt Locker. The whole film rested on his shoulders and if he hadn't give such a nuanced performance, he'd have taken the whole film down with him. I've enjoyed his work for a long time now, and I'm happy he's getting some recognition.

I'm also happy for Carey Mulligan. The world at large only now seems to be discovering her, but those of us who live and breathe Masterpiece Theatre are all like, "Duh. She's awesome and has been for a long time."

Despite the inclusion of ten Best Picture noms, the awards themselves don't seems to hold many questions. I feel like all the acting categories are forgone conclusions (Jeff Bridges, Meryl Streep, Christoph Waltz, Mo'Nique) and even Best Picture seems pretty firmly in Avatar's hands (although I'd love to see The Hurt Locker or Inglourious Basterds slip in there, as I am convinced they were both far superior films). But none of that really matters because I'm so psyched that Oscar season has begun and I can immerse myself in movie watching (or at least have an excuse for it.)

The Zombie Scarecrows

Perhaps you've noticed that one of the items in my Planning List (down and to the left) has been "Fielding a trivia night team at the Windber Hotel." Tonight I remove that item from the list because we totally fielded a trivia night team at the Windber Hotel.

Laura, Mike, P, and I, a.k.a. "The Zombie Scarecrows" (points to those who know why we chose that name), took on a surprisingly large number of other teams. The place was packed with beer-guzzling, cheese-stick-munching, trivia hounds. We were in the hunt till the end, but alas, we failed to place. The sports questions were our undoing. Next time, Gadget. Next time.

P was pumped full of Troeg's Mad Elf. We're not sure if it enhanced or impaired his playing skills.