A Beautiful Annoyance

I've been meaning to talk about this for a while.

See that gorgeous creature we like to call a peacock?

Well, that creature ain't so gorgeous when it's squawkin' in your very own backyard.

Every. Single. Night.

Why this thing's not in a zoo, I couldn't tell ya. What I can say is that months ago, we were greeted (or rather, awakened) by an obnoxious and unidentifiable noise. A squawk, if you will. Living in the valley, where coyotes, rattle snakes and the occasional stray dog roam free, my family and I figured this was just another bird sent to our neighborhood purely for annoyance purposes. After all, why else would a squirrel croak in our pool? These sorts of things happen here.

Unfortunately, this was not an isolated incident. Instead, this anonymous bird thing became a loyal visitor.

Every. Single. Night.

I get a call from Liza one day, and in lieu of hello, I hear this.

"I know what that noise at night is! It's a PEACOCK!"

"A what?!"

"A PEACOCK! I was driving down our street and it crossed in front of my car!"

And so it was. A peacock in our backyard (or somewhere around there, as we'd never seen it up until Liza's epiphany). To make sure this was in fact where the noise was coming from, I decided to Google what a peacock sounded like. The sound byte that came through my computer speakers was all too familiar. And that was that. A peacock it was.

Not too long after that, our prayers were answered. The peacock squawk, as I came to call it, came to a delightful halt.

Thank Allah, I thought. It came to its senses and galavanted back to the zoo.

For about a month, the neighborhood slept peacefully in our peacock-less little enclave.

Until it didn't. It was my mom who delivered the alarming news.

"The PEACOCK's back! I saw it near our street again."

Crap.

And so, if you're ever in the neighborhood one fine evening, it's entirely possible you hear any variation of the following:

• Shut up!
• Go back to the zoo!
• Ugh, be quiet already!
  

And now you know why.

Time Goes By So Slowly

This could very well by one of my longest posts to date, seeing as it's 3 pm and I'm not free for another 4 hours. Ah, one of the many joys of being an adult...

As I travel (ever so slowly) down this path called adulthood, there are certain...things, if you will...that I'm just not as willing to put up with as I used to be. I think they call this intolerance.

A few examples of some of these things (I'm so specific, I know): flakiness, self-absorption and lying, to name a few. These things have all been dealt with separately, during different periods of time. But only now am I allowing myself to sweep them all up in the metaphorical dustpan and throw 'em away. To state it simply: I'm more aware of it, I'm more discontent with it and therefore, I'm less willing to put up with it. My intention in writing this is not to be mean at all, but rather to state an observation I've noticed in/about myself.

Whoa there Ali. Are you growing up?

In other news (and perhaps backtracking on that whole growing up thing), I'm a bit scared of this swine flu. Yes, yes - I know you can't live your life in fear and bladdy blah blah, but I am one of those people who tend to go a bit haywire when things like this happen and become the talk of the town (or the nation). Illness - any kind, really - often scares the bejesus out of me, and I suppose this is no different. However, I have no intention of buying a mask or running around screaming, "Run for your lives! Down with the pigs!" I'm paranoid and slightly hypochondriacal (yes, it is a word), not nuts.

Actually, I think that's up for debate. Anyway...

I bought a Skor today. You know, the candy bar. I never buy candy. But I did today. I had a craving, I mozied on over to the 7-Eleven near my office and I didn't buy just one candy bar. Oh no, I bought two...for the price of one. A Skor and a Hershey's bar. $1.79 for any two candy bars?

"This is why America's overweight," I told the not-so-English-speaking cashier.

I got a confused/intimidated/'Why are you talking to me? Just pay me and leave please' smile and that was that.

Sometimes, I wonder why I feel the need to open my mouth sometimes. But then it magically opens again, and I don't think it has any intention of closing anytime soon. Oh well, worse things have happened.

This story is killing me. For anyone who knows me well, this should come as no surprise.

This picture never ceases to put a smile on my face.

San Francisco, Spring Break 2004.
Danielle, Lori and me.
How time flies.

An assumption of some of the thoughts going through our head at that moment in time:

• I love San Francisco!
• I wish our boyfriends back home could see this.
• We're gonna be best friends forever.
• Where should we get our prom dresses?

It's amazing how much we've changed from that picture (I wouldn't be caught dead in a Von Dutch hat today!), yet remained the same...all the same. I know I must sound like the cliche to end all cliches, but it's true. We reunited this past New Year's Eve and while each of us has clearly evolved, our cores are unchangeable. And that, to me, is pretty lovely.

What remains unchangeable to you? I'd love to hear about it.

Insignificant Happiness

The lovely Gidget tagged me in this cute little meme a few days ago and I'm just now posting it. Shame. On. Me. But better late than never, right? Right.

Here are ze rules:
1. Mention the person who nominated you (as I so appropriately did above).
2. List six unimportant things that make you happy.

That being said, these (un)important things make me one happy camper...

1. Seeing the latest Us Weekly in the mail. Seriously, this is exciting because I know I'll have absolutely no excuse to not hop on the elliptical at the gym. (I refuse to crack that tabloid open unless I'm working out. It makes sense to me.)
2. Free iTunes songs. Saving money - even .99 - is a wonderful thing nowadays (and every day!).
3. I have to go with Gidget on this one - laughing until I'm crying my eyes out is the best feeling, hands down.
4. Coffee in the morning (preferably in bed, on a weekend...but I'll take it no matter what).
5. Molly and Emma spooning. Nothing like your adorable, lesbian dogs to put you in a good mood!
6. Indian food with my dad. We're the only ones in the family who like it, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Oh! And one more rule:
3. Tag six blogs, state the rules and notify them with a teeny comment on their blog. My picks:
-Blogging Bloggerton
-d-blogged
-Sassy Little Ginger
-Self-indulgent Ramblings
-The Mixology That Is My Life
-smile steady

Happy unimportance!

Yipee Aye-Ay

This is my dad on a normal day.

This is my dad right before the Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival.

It makes him happy. It makes him giddy. So the rest of us - my mom, Liza and myself - decided to giddy on up and go to the Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival too.

Because we're just good to him that way.

It was an adventure.

First of all, it must be stated that this is a serious event. People travel from lands far, far away to partake in this experience. And the back story here is kind of cool.

The festival takes place on Melody Ranch, a back lot where many westerns (think The Lone Ranger, Gunsmoke, Hopalong Cassidy) were filmed and a plethora famous actors - such as Roy Rogers, Gary Cooper and John Wayne - walked upon (currently, Deadwood is done here). My dad informed me that Gene Autry bought this ranch in 1952, and although a 1962 fire destroyed a majority of the lot, he kept the ranch going for his horse up until its death in 1990. After selling it to two brothers soon thereafter, the festival was born.

And so, a 45 minute car ride and a sorry attempt at Western slang later (mostly from my father), we arrived in a parking lot and saw a very long line for a shuttle that would take us to Melody Ranch.

Like I said, some of these people take the festival very seriously. So seriously, in fact, that they wear authentic western outfits (or costumes, depending on how crazy you find this fact).

I tried to get a shot of said people. I think you get the idea.

Liza tried her hand (pun kind of intended?) at being a cowgirl while we were waiting in line.

Then the shuttle arrived and we were on our way, my dad as giddy as a school girl.

We stopped into the Melody Ranch Museum, where we saw some props used in movies. I found this to be pretty damn cool. (By the way, those are my parents in the foreground. As you can see, my dad wasted no time.)

(A rather lame and little known fact: we had a copy of that Roy Rogers cardboard cutout back in our New York house. It was odd. Kind of glad it's gone.)

I just love these cars, don't you?

I'd never considered my mom the cowgirl type...

...that is, until she got on a saddle. In a cowboy hat.

Disclaimer: no one - I repeat...no one, is allowed to judge my outfit in the following picture. The hat is my mom's, and I was forced by dear old dad to don the ugly western shirt.

Again, no one.

Anyway, here's the ranch. Get the idea?

Look! A real, live...blacksmith!

I can't tell if that was me being sarcastic or not.

I think it was.

And then I got lassoed. Roped into things. However you'd like to word this is fine by me.

Good thing I can check that off my bucket list.

There I go with the sarcasm again. Apologies.

But there were horses. Oh, were there horses.

Come to think of it...

...we actually (and very surprisingly) enjoyed ourselves.

Yee haw.

20

I was all revved up to post about my somewhat interesting weekend (remember when I mentioned that cowboy shindig?), until I realized that that post must include pictures and those have yet to be uploaded to a place where I can link them on here. Ergo, I got nothing of the cowboy sort as of now. So until then, let's play a nice game of 20 Questions (and one statement), shall we? Be sure to thank Fidgeting Gidget for this post.

1. When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A Broadway actress. That career aspiration continued until just a couple of years ago. Kinda crazy.

2. What have you done in the past week to help someone else?
Cleaned the dishes for mama last night. And (surprisingly) managed to put them in the dishwasher - in the order she likes them in. It had to have been a fluke.

3. Who is the best-dressed person you know?
Hm...I was about to say some celebrity until I read the last part of that question. I'm going to have to go with Liza. All bias aside, my sister really knows how to dress.

4. What is on your nightstand?
A lamp, magazines, my journal, Handle With Care, a ton of pens, hand cream...I could go on and on and on. It's a relatively large nightstand.

5. If you were a cat, what kind of a cat would you be?
I am not a fan of cats in the least, but I'll go with a tiger. They're absolutely gorgeous.

6. If you lived in a house surrounded by acres of trees, what particular type of tree would you want flourishing on your land?
Weeping Willows! They'd give me just another excuse to sit outside and read my heart out.

7. What do you find to be very overrated?
Twitter - which, if I decide it would be in my best interests to join, would make me a major hypocrite.

8. How many email addresses do you have?
3, but I only use one.

9. Have you ever felt replaced?
Who hasn't?

10. Would you rather watch football or baseball?
Baseball. I've tried to understand football, but it's beyond me. And that is that.

11. What is the wallpaper on your phone?
Emma as a puppy. The cutest puppy. Ever.

12. Name a lyric from the song you're listening to.
No music allowed in the office! Dayum.

13. Do you use a feed reader?
Qua?

14. What chocolate do you always leave in the box?
Milk chocolate? I prefer dark. However, if the box was all milk chocolate? Screw it, I'd eat it anyway.

15. What would you do if you found out your ex is engaged?
Hm...tough call. I suppose it all depends on which ex it was, but to make a general prediction - I bet I would analyze it for a while, then be happy for him and move the hell on. Because that's all we can do.

16. Do words hurt you?
Yes

17. Are you a talker or a listener?
I kick ass at both. Seriously.

18. Have you ever walked on the beach at night?
Having lived in the OC for the past 4 years and currently residing a mere 20 minutes from Malibu, I'd have to slap myself if I didn't.

19. Who is your favorite professional athlete?
I'm going with Shawn Johnson...a gymnast and now a dancer? Love it.

20. Which TV show have you seen pretty much every episode of?
Sex and the City

Prepare to yee haw soon enough...

8

Eight things I look forward to:
1) Today's cupcake break w/coworkers
2) The shoot I'm going on this afternoon (first one!)
3) Payday (which isn't until next week, sigh...)
4) The best damn margaritas (aside from The Rio) tonight w/fun people
5) Ze weekend
6) The (not so big) 23 coming up on 5/13
7) Finally going to the gym after a week (not my favorite feeling)
8) Hopefully enjoying the beautiful weather after a couple days of gloom

Eight things I did yesterday:
1) Transcribed my life away (eh, that was overly dramatic)
2) Discussed the stupidity that is Twitter w/Sofia and Gina
3) Got coffee at 7-Eleven (it was nasty and was tossed after about 5 minutes)
4) Had dinner and drinks w/Kristen
5) Caught up w/Drew (and therefore felt sane again)
6) Watched the newest Grey's Anatomy (and teared up)
7) Had a cuddle session w/Molly
8) Read more of Handle With Care (I'm officially hooked)

Eight things I wish I could do:
1) Speak Hebrew
2) Travel the world (I will someday, making it no longer a wish but a reality)
3) Have my own place (again, it's happening...sooner rather than later)
4) Cook/bake
5) Not sweat the small stuff (a work in progress)
6) Visit New York (now)
7) Own a villa in Tuscany
8) Write for a living

Eight shows I watch:
1) Grey's Anatomy
2) Law & Order: SVU
3) The Secret Life of the American Teenager (yes, apparently I'm 15)
4) True Blood
5) What I Like About You (and now I'm 12!)
6) Jon and Kate Plus 8 (what an appropriate number)
7) Sex and the City
8) Friends

The Best Policy

In the midst of my new blogging obsession, I came across this one by a woman named Gidget (whose name reminds me of the movie with the same title...she was so cute, I've always secretly wished I could be her). Aside from being a great blog, I learned about the Honest Scrap Award.

And while it has not (yet?) been passed along to me, it got me thinking about honesty. How much I value it, how much I crave it. Certain past events have made me appreciate this quality in people with a passion. And how can I not? Honesty is the foundation of a relationship, romantic or otherwise. And without a foundation, how can anything grow?

So, in honor of honesty, I'm baring my soul. But just for a moment. And since I am lacking a Starbucks drink and therefore a new quote, I figured this would serve as a good substitute.

A (fairly) simple equation...

A sense of humor + sensitivity + honesty + acceptance (namely, of me - neuroses and all) + laid back (to balance out those neuroses I was talking about) + dog lover + the understanding that sometimes, a cupcake and a martini the best solution = the key to my heart

Thank you and goodnight.

Read All About It (And Then Tell Me What You Read)

I have no shame in admitting that I am a major bookworm. Always have been, always will be. In kindergarten, we learned to read with a series called Roger Red Hat. He looked like this.

Oh, how I just loved those books. It probably helped that (not to toot my own horn, but...) I was quite the avid reader, probably one of the best in my class. I moved on to Billy Blue Hat immediately. Billy looked like this.

Then came Johnny and Jennifer Yellow Hat and finally, Percy Green Hat.

You get the idea.

My point in explaining this to you is, I love to read. I've gone from Roger Red Hat to Harry Potter. I read like a fiend and now you know the point of this post.

Books! Yay.

Here, a listing of a few (okay, a lot) of my favorites. Please, add your favorites! I'll most likely read them.

• Marley and Me (please...don't just go off of the Aniston/Wilson movie)
  
• My Sister's Keeper (though anything by Jodi Picoult is a winner in my book, as she is my favorite author of all time)
  
• She's Come Undone (major props to Mr. Lamb for getting inside a girl's head on his own)
  
• Good in Bed
• The Lovely Bones
• In Cold Blood (Capote...enough said)
  
• A Million Little Pieces (I know, I know - it's fabricated and Frey's kind of a moron for stating otherwise, but that didn't make it any less incredible to me)
• Eat Pray Love (aka my dream life)
• The Kite Runner
• Water For Elephants (unlike Britney's, this circus is sick, sad and emotional)
  
• How to Make Love Like a Porn Star (seriously, Jenna Jameson's memoir is amazingly detailed - sometimes a bit too much, making it even better - and unbelievably raw)
• The Pillars of the Earth (a true masterpiece)
• The Glass Castle (for anyone who feels that they have the craziest family)
• Devil in the Details: Scenes from an Obsessive Girlhood (beyond witty)
  
• The Friday Night Knitting Club
• Barefoot (because we all secretly wish we had a summer home in Nantucket)

What are some of your favorite books?

The Way She Sees It

My Starbucks quote this morning...

The Way I See It #76
The irony of commitment is that it's deeply liberating - in work, in play, in love. The act frees you from the tyranny of your internal critic, from the fear that likes to dress itself up and parade around as rational hesitation. To commit is to remove your head as the barrier to your life.
-Anne Morriss, Starbucks customer from New York City. She describes herself as an "organization builder, restless American citizen, optimist."

I like that one. I also like the idea of posting every The Way I See It quote I get on here. Especially since that is the title of my blog.

Ah. I just love it when the world makes sense.

The heat has been MIA today. But do I really miss it? Kellie raises a good point about this weather conundrum (I do love that word).

To put my life/current thoughts in bullet points...

• Received two new books in the mail from PaperBack Swap: Cad: Confessions of a Toxic Bachelor, by Rick Marin and The Year of Magical Thinking, by the one and only Joan Didion. Can't wait to dig into both of them...after Handle With Care, of course.
• I'll be attending a western convention of sorts this weekend (yes, you read that correctly). My dad, the ultimate nerd/wannabe cowboy, brought up that this is taking place and that I'd love it. I wouldn't go that far, but I figured it would make for an interesting blog post at the very least. Yee haw?
• Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt (otherwise known as "Speidi") piss the crap out of me. I heard on Ryan Seacrest this morning that they're having - get this - Michael Buble sing at their wedding. Wait...seriously?! That breaks my heart that a) such a ridiculous couple has the celebrity pull to get Buble and b) that Buble's even giving them the time of day. Not okay in my book. No siree.
• Today is Earth Day! Hug a tree, buy a green cookbook, or just smile at the sky. We're lucky to be here.

That's all I got for now.

Why is my life so damn exciting?

Smelling Summer

I almost forgot to note that this beautiful new layout (also by the amazing, incredible DShan) is for keeps. I realized that this look is much more Ali (that's me) and once I saw the finished product, I fell absolutely, head over heels in love. So this is it folks. Welcome to ze blog!

It is absolutely scorching here in the valley today. And I do mean scorching. Even the breezes are hot. Sofia and I couldn't walk in the sun for a block before nearly fainting from heat exhaustion and turning around.

Okay, maybe a bit dramatic but it really is hot out there.

Then we walk back to our office, where it is practically Siberia, it's so cold.

We don't feel this can be healthy for anyone.

On the bright side (pun intended), this weather does make me happy in that I can practically smell summer on the horizon. For me, summer equals flip flops, summer dresses, the beach and fruity drinks. And therefore, a whole lotta happy.

Anyone with me on that one?

I'm also now newly reminded of Nantucket when I think of summer, as I just finished a great book called Barefoot. It was a lovely escape to a place that is about nothing but summer, and I suddenly found myself longing for Nantucket. I highly recommend this book!

Here's a picture that makes me feel very lucky to live where I do...

Hope you're all smelling summer as well! :)

Drew

I miss my best friend.

Welcome to the Circus!

So, as stated in my previous post...I saw Ms. Britney Spears in concert Thursday night.

It was unreal.

Here, I will attempt to give you my best play-by-play.

The Pussycat Dolls were the opening act. Got to the Staples Center right as they started their set, though I'd be lying if I said I was psyched beyond belief to see them. A bunch of hot girls who - aside from one - don't even sing and instead strut their hot bodies that make every other girl green with envy all over the stage? Nah. Thanks anyway though.

Either way, here they are.

See? Hot bods. Told ya.

(PS - that one on the far, far left is Nicole, aka the only truly talented one.)

Surprisingly, they weren't bad.

Then the circus began, starring (who I'm assuming were) performers from The Big Apple Circus. And considering that the screen said "The Big Apple Circus," I feel this is a safe assumption.

Naturally, the queen Perez himself introduced Britney in an extremely creepy but exciting way.

And down came the woman of the hour.

A blurry Britney, but Britney nevertheless.

(Fear not - I later found that the camera flash is my new best friend, as it made my pictures much clearer.)

I'll give you one guess as to what song she opened with.

"Circus," you say? Give yourself 10 points. And check out that outfit.

Britney in a cage (I forget which song this was). This cage would probably make a better home for Britney than the real world. I don't mean to be cruel, but we all know she's out of her mind.

Out of her mind and fabulous.

I think this was "Boys." My senile memory escapes me. Either way, that is one sexy bra.

And so is this.

I'm guessing Britney liked Slumdog Millionaire, based off of this picture...

She performed "Me Against the Music" (her duet with Madonna) in Indian garb. Weird, but very very cool.

Then she lip synced "Everytime." On top of an umbrella. In the air.

Only Britney Spears, I swear.

And this is about the time when I can only hope that her boys went to bed, lest they be scarred for life.

You had masks, chains...the whole shebang.

Quite the R-rated show at this point.

But we weren't complaining.

(I'm pretty proud of this shot, since we were up in the nose bleed seats.)

Two men straddling each other in the air...

Sounds like a bad joke.

But no, my friends. Ms. Britney decided to join in on the fun and get on top of them, also in the air.

Only Britney Spears, I swear.

A cool shot of the center stage. There were three.

As in three rings.

As in a three ring circus.

I'm here to help you out.

The encore, "Womanizer." Couldn't miss that one!

Ze end.

It was beyond a spectacle. Beyond just a concert.

It was Britney, bitch.

(What a classy conclusion.)