Flashback to 1994

Last night I was lucky enough to catch Weezer’s Memories Tour, where they played their greatest hits from the last 16 years and the entire Blue Album straight through. The show was amazing. At first I was shocked that they broke it up into 2 sets because the first set (greatest hits) was only about 40-minutes long. 

When the band came back it was as though a time warp had swept through the building. The whole demeanor of the evening changed and I was transported back to 1994. Rivers and company did an amazing job recreating the tone of the times. They rocked that mother ship shaped auditorium with a good old-fashioned deafening show.

The whole night made nostalgic for those simple but crazy times of my youth. It also had me pondering the things that really mattered to me in 1994. 

Here are a few of those things:

The untimely death of Kurt Cobain

Graduating HS

My first trip to Seattle where I stalked Eddie Vedder and met some members of Soundgarden

Watching the X-Files

Flannel shirts

Seeing the Grateful Dead’s Summer Tour

Undone – the Sweater Song

Ann Rice’s The Vampire Chronicles (this is when I began my vampire novel)

Brad Pitt in Legends of the Fall (the scene where he rides in on the horse is the best)

Drinking cheap wine bought by my older legal friends (Glen Ellen White Zinfandel, the fat bottle)

Thanks Weezer for helping me take my own personal trip down memory lane.

I Give Thanks For...

Things I am grateful for:

My parents have an incredible wine cellar but only bust out the good stuff on special occasions and holidays like Thanksgiving.

Pine Ridge's 3 awesome cabs that more than satisfied my family of winos.

Friends who have been there to support me.

Turkey, stuffing, pies, and homemade cranberry sauce.

The sun.

Although I know it won’t last forever, my fantasy team is still on top.

The fact that Bikini season is a long way off AND my leggings are spacious.

The Buffy’s fondness for eating human food, tolerating unruly children, and sliding belly first across the incredibly long table.

That I don’t have any unruly children just yet.

Most importantly, I am grateful for my family. We have been through a lot this year and it's nice to come together on a happy occasion.

The Strategy of Fantasy Team Names..

As most of you already know, I am a NBA fanatic. Last year I was too late to participate in the fantasy season, so this year I pounced on the opportunity immediately. I am not someone who joins a league for money or to compete with friends. I enjoy joining a random public league and battling it out with complete strangers. This season I started paying too much attention to the names of the other teams in my league. I have become so obsessed by these ridiculous names, that I have started wondering if there is some sort of hidden strategy behind them.

First of all, I am the only female manager and I have a kickass team. I know it’s early and I am probably headed for a huge fall but so far I have been on top. It helps that I have Kobe, Kevin Love, and D. Rose. The name of my team is Whatev (this is a word I used to say a little too much and also the name of my jewelry line). While this is far from the best name ever it reveals something about my personality as well as my interests.

Listed below are the other names of fantasy teams in my league. I am going to make my own hypothesis about the brilliant strategy behind these 11 team names.

Whitey Ford – this guy is a huge baseball fan probably from NY (since that is where Whitey played) or a racist.

Slammer – this is the quintessential fantasy basketball team name that lacks true vision. It’s like naming your cat, Kitty.

Bulls – this name obviously lacks creativity. He is probably a Bulls fan from Chicago. He has Noah on his team. BORING!

Squirrels – hmmm… his team is small and quick, he likes furry animals, gathering nuts, and Richard Gere.

Throbbers- this sounds like a nasty porn name. I bet this guy spends a little too much time on the Internet.

Jaden- I see him as the quiet sensitive type instead of having a tattoo with his son’s name on it, he names his fantasy team after his kid.

Stormtroopers- Best name by far. I love this geek wherever he is. He is my new hero. Hopefully he will climb the fantasy ranks as long as he stays below me. After all he does have Kevin Durant.

Philippine Crusaders – This guy is from the Philippines and he is passionate and dedicated to his team. Right now they aren’t very good. He has the Baron Davis jinx.

Lakers – once again lack of imagination. I understand you are a Lakers fan. I am too but can’t you come up with a better way of expressing it? The Kobe Beefs or something? Btw he doesn’t even have any Lakers on his team (I have 2).

L. James Champions – the worst name yet. Only a d-bag would name his team that. Guess who isn’t even on the team? He doesn’t have LeBron but he does have Wade. He must be from Miami. That is the only place left that actually likes LeBron.

Beast – I actually don’t know what to think of this one. It’s probably some kinda inside joke. His team is decent but for some reason he is in last place. Let’s hope that Beast takes out the L. James Champions on his way up.

May the best team win or Whatev!

A Few Things I Forgot About Boston

The Charles

As many of you know I am an East Coaster. Born and bred in NY, I have always taken pride in my East Coast roots. This past week I traveled back to the Boston area, a spot that I have not been to in about 5 years. What I discovered (besides that fact that I am now a weather wimp) is that there are many things, I have forgotten about Boston.

1. I forgot what a total pain in the ass it is to drive a frakkin Roundabout. For those of you who have no clue what I am talking about, they are sometimes called traffic circles or rotaries. No matter what you call them, New England drivers always screw them up.

2. The weather can be bitter cold even in November. I forgot what it feels like to have your nose freeze. Thank you, walk around the Charles River. Side note: when I arrived it was unusually warm about 70 degrees. Within 2 days it dropped down to 40.

3. Walking across the street in downtown Boston is hard. They don't actually stop for pedestrians like California. They also have confusing crosswalks. With all the Irish pubs surrounding the city, I am surprised drunk college students don't get run over on a daily basis. Let's just say that my brother and I had a little trouble this Halloween crossing the street.

4. In my opinion the Boston Subway system (The T) is the best I have every experienced. If only it was so easy to get around in all major cities. Plus an added bonus is that the T unlike the NY subway system is relatively clean.

5. Everyone in Boston owns some kind of Red Sox gear. I realize every American city has its share of fans BUT when it comes to die-hard fanatics Boston takes first place. I know this sounds ironic coming from me a Yankees fan. NYers are just as passionate about the Yankees but we also have a huge Met fan base.

6. I am not a young college student anymore and I can't party like one.