Monday, June 16, 2008

Today's Lesson

On my BART ride home today, something was wrong with the brakes so we stopped between 2 stations to have it checked out...45 minutes later (over an hour after I got on the train) we finally pulled into the next station.

What did I learn today? Make sure to use the bathroom right before you get on BART because even if your commute is only 20 minutes long, it could turn into over an hour of you wishing that you didn't drink that 20 oz. bottle of diet coke.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Law Student Turned Music Critic


This past weekend I ventured up to Amoeba to dig through some stacks of records to add to my new collection. It also turned into a "Bianca teaches Matt about the beauty of vinyl" lesson. Seeing that I'm a starving law student this summer, I limited myself to 3 purchases: 1) Chicago's (then known as Chicago Transit Authority) first album. It's beautiful because it's the only album they released under that name since the actual CTA threatened to sue. Gotta love my hometown; 2) The Go-Go's "Beauty and the Beat". Another fabulous debut and contained "Our Lips are Sealed" and "We've Got the Beat". Obviously a necessary addition to the collection; and what I was most stoked about, 3) Fleetwood Mac "Rumors". I remember each and every lyric on this album. My parents were obsessed with it. While it was released in the late 70's and I wasn't born until 1983, I vividly remember my parents playing it, on the turntable in the house and on a recorded tape in the car. I remember my dad used to tell me how it was one of the best selling albums of all time. So as I sat here listening to it, I decided to do a little wikipedia search...

When I decide to look up something on wikipedia and I have some time to spare, I tend to start clicking the links within the article. This usually leads to hours reading random but incredibly enjoyable information (example: last night Tiffany and I looked up "where are they now?" of our favorite childhood stars. I didn't get to sleep until 1 a.m.) So I look up Fleetwood Mac's "Rumors" and I get a link to the best selling albums of all time...

At #1 we have Michael Jackson's "Thriller". Completely acceptable. It's the album that included "Billie Jean" (my personal fav - in my young years I wished the sidewalk would light up as I walked), "Beat It" and "PYT". This is followed by AC/DC and The Eagles (ok, I'll give it to them) and then...The Bodyguard Soundtrack. I thought "this can't be right..." but apparently it is. Ok, when Whitney hit those long, high notes towards the end of "I Will Always Love You", I was impressed. 42 million albums sold impressed? Not really. Following Whitney we have some unsurprising artists: Meatloaf, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin. A little further down the list we have...the Backstreet Boys. Not once, but TWICE!!! 30 million albums each. Higher than other Michael Jackson Albums, Nirvana's "Nevermind", and my beloved "Rumors". Insanity.

Perhaps I think I'm a music critic. Or maybe I've been watching "Almost Famous" too much.

Monday, June 9, 2008

Designer Imposters


When I was 10 years old, I got an allowance of $2/week. I thought I was rich - $2 can buy so much! Candy, string to spend hours using to make friendship bracelets, and when I was feeling extra special, a bottle of Wet & Wild nail polish or designer imposters perfume. My friends and I would walk to Walgreens and spend hours spraying the different scents in the air. Sure we made customers cough and sneeze as they walked past, but all we cared about was finding the best scent for us. Imagine my surprise today after a long day at work when some lady on Bart pulls a bottle out. First I was surprised to see they still existed. Then, imagine how I felt when she popped off the cap and sprayed it...in the bart car...so everyone had to smell it. I was no longer that 9 year old girl, but one of the many adult walgreens customers coughing and sneezing like crazy. I think I can still smell it...

Update: I should have quoted Clueless in this post:
Amber - "Was I the only one listening? I thought it reaked."
Cher - "I believe that was your designer imposters perfume."

Friday, June 6, 2008

My Kind of Town

Some peeps were bugging me to talk about my recent trip home and since things have been bananas lately, I haven't written. So voila...

Chicago = Pizza, Water Tower, Dunkin Donuts, Visits with WA Girls, Al's Deli Cookies, Lake Shore Drive, etc. I love it all. The trip to Chicago was absolutely fantastic. It had been such a long time since I was home during the spring and I forgot how pretty the city can be. My mom's new place is fabulous. It's so great to see her being independent and it's soo much closer to all the fun stuff in the city that I love. I was a little bummed out that I had to get used to a new neighborhood. I totally took advantage of where we lived before. But once I figured it all out, it was great. ALSO, I spent my birthday here:

FANTASTIC. I love my Chicago Cubs and it had been ages since I had gone to Wrigley field. Plus I got to spend the day in the sun resting up from the birthday festivities of the night before. I hope I can go back in August to get a small glimpse of the humidity before school starts. We shall see.