Birthday Brat!

I love my birthday. It's my favorite holiday out of the year. I still countdown to it, just like I have done my whole life. I will probably still do this forever because it is a day that I can do or say whatever I want & nobody can say anything to me because "It's my birthday!" This year I really did not overly say this phrase like I did last year but I did use it today, even though it's the day after my birth. I had some family come over & somebody needed to pick up Pop Pop & I didn't wanna do it so I used my magic words. I celebrate my birthday for at least a week so hopefully I can continue to say this for another bit & get away with it.

I love my birthday. I love how everyone texts me & calls me & writes on my facebook wall. It makes me feel like I'm super popular. In addition to the popularity, I do feel really blessed that I had so many people who cared enough to wish me a happy birthday, I really appreciate those little things. Birthdays are a big deal to me so I get kind of insulted if somebody I'm close to doesn't wish me a "Happy Birthday", to be honest. Diana, you are pardoned.

I love my birthday. I got to see my best friends & all of us were together for the first time in ages, all in honor of moi. Meghan & Mary Kate both came over, as did Lauren & Jade. It was really great to see them & it was a lovely evening. The real celebration is on Friday & I am beyond excited for that. I think we're going to have a really good turnout. People are coming that I haven't seen in a very long time & all of my worlds are going to come together, again all in honor of yours truly! I have my friends from home, some Marist kids & even some Miami. My brothers & Kelly are also coming, which is exciting because we never get to go out together. It should be so much fun & such a debaucherous event that I cannot wait! My outfit is so L.C. too, which makes me even more excited because I want to wear it every day.

Did I mention I love my birthday?

Celebrity Baby Names

I'm writing this blog in honor of Ashlee Simpson & her new bouncing baby boy, Bronx Mowgli Wentz. What makes celebrities think they can name their children whatever they want? Do you think just because of who their parents are that they won't get made fun of by having a middle name that's reminiscent of a certain Jungle Book character? The kid's initials are BMW. Give me a break. That is the epitome of celebrity materialism.

Apparently the five boroughs also make great baby names. With the addition of little Bronx, we now have 4/5 of them. The Beckhams have taken care of Brooklyn, since that was where he was conceived. What the Beckhams were doing conceiving babies in Brooklyn, I will never know. We also have Queen Latifah, who I know is not a baby but she is a celebrity so she fits right now. We've got Apple Martin, which covers Manhattan (the Big Apple). All we need now is a little baby Staten. That pregnant man is pregnant again, maybe he can jump on the NYC bandwagon. Katy sent me an article on other places celebrity babies are named after.

As long as we already mentioned the Beckhams, they also have Romeo & Cruz, which I actually think are cute names. I also think Coco is cute, but it reminds me of a dog's name. That's probably because that's Amanda's dog's name. Shiloh is the name of Jade's cat & that is much cuter for a cat then for a baby. The Jolie-Pitts are repeat offenders. I mean come on, Knox? Lucky for them the kid will be stunningly beautiful with those parents. I'm pretty sure the adopted ones already had names when they got them so I won't count that against them. The name Suri has been accepted because she's just so adorable but I don't see it catching on for too many regular babies. Tom Cruise's ex, Nicole Kidman channeled Wednesday Adams from the Adams Family with her little Sunday. She should probably have 6 more & stick with that trend. Gwyneth Paltrow said she chose Apple because apples are sweet, which is the worst reason I've ever heard. Why'd you choose Moses then for your second kid? You've got Harlow Madden, named after Jean Harlow. Also Scout Willis, named after the "To Kill a Mockingbird" character. Who knows why Jessica Alba chose the name Honor? Let's not forget Sylvester Stallone's daughter Sage Moonblood, which I'm not even going to begin to try to explain.

I get they are all trying to be unique with their names but each one really just tries to outdo the next. I would like my children to have unique names but there are limits. I won't go naming them Yankee or Vodka or anything ridiculous like that because I happen to like it. I don't think naming them after a place is so awful but it shouldn't just be a random place like Alabama. I've always loved Texas, so I have Austin as one of my names if I have a boy. I also like Savannah for a girl, even though I have never been to Georgia I just enjoy the name. Whatever your reasoning, just remember your kids have to live with that the rest of their life. I am personally happy that I don't have celebrity parents just for that reason.

Twilight Movie Review

Everyone always says that the book was better then the movie & I think the only movie I might disagree with on that point is The Notebook. I read the book after seeing the movie & it was good, but the movie just added something to it. But I digress, what I came here to talk about today is Twilight. Samantha & I went to see the midnight showing of it last night like the big nerds that we are. I came away pleased with it but I'm realizing that the more I think about it, the more I didn't like it.

This book left quite a bit up to interpretation but there were certain things that were not to be interpreted. The vampires in the book are described as the most beautiful "human beings" she has ever seen. This group that was cast was certainly not that. Edward was attractive but the Edward in my head was so much better then that. Carlisle was also much more Brad Pitt-like then the guy who played him. Esme was also much prettier & taller then the actress who played her. Rosalie was the worst one, though. This character was described as the most beautiful woman to ever walk the earth & this actress was not even mediocre. Even I could've made a better Rosalie.

The special effects in the movie were also far too overdone. I think they tried too hard & just made it look silly. This may sound strange but the actors who played the vampires were far too human for those parts. The acting was poor & made the film far too cheesy. Nothing was really as I pictured it either. If I never read the book & saw the movie first, I would have no desire to read the books because I would think they would be as stupid as the plot of it all sounds.

The fact that I did read the book prior, however made me appreciate the movie. I might sound contradictory but I did like their interpretation of the book. Whereas with Harry Potter, if you didn't read the books there might be a lot of things you would be confused about, this did not do that. They shortened it by combining certain things & taking out the parts that dragged. They stayed very true to the book & they also put in a lot of Bella's thoughts, which I appreciated because I hate when a character's thoughts are such a big part of the book & then they are completely disregarded in the movie version. So all-in-all it certainly did not get 2 thumbs up in my opinion but definitely an A for effort. Get a new casting director for the next one & then we can talk some more.

I Have an Addiction Sir

Okay so I haven't exactly been a Giants fan all my life & I don't claim to have been, but now that I am I don't know how I ever was not. I always liked football but never really felt connected to a specific team like I did with the Yankees. I watched but was not enthralled. I didn't cheer quite as loudly as a real fan might. I was told by a now estranged friend that all Yankees fans are Giants fans so that's what I should be. Although I do not speak to this person anymore, I do owe a large part of my fan-ship to him. 

I did not feel this connection until I went to a Dolphins-Patriots game last year. You might think this is a bizarre time to realize you are a Giants fan but let me explain further. I went with Natalie who happens to be a Patriots fan. As a Yankee fan, I must automatically despise all things Boston so hating the Pats was an obvious choice. So wouldn't this make me a Jets fan? Not necessarily. At the time of this game, the Red Sox were in the playoffs & we somehow found ourselves seated in the Patriots section. When the chants of "Let's Go Red Sox" erupted randomly, I was appalled. Then the Patriots scored another touchdown & the man in front of me wearing a Sox hat turned around & high-fived me. I was not cheering for your team & I will never cheer with you, creep, so never touch me again! I almost threw up in disgust but at this point, I realized where my loyalties were. I had to like a team that Yankee fans like. Hence, I became a Giants fan at that very moment on October 21, 2007.

Coincidentally, the year I become a fan is the year they win the Superbowl. Go figure. I am not a bandwagon fan because I was a fan before a Superbowl run was even in our dreams, so don't go there. I was however a part of that entire run. I needed a favorite player in the beginning so my first choice was Jeremy Shockey, since he was a former Miami Hurricane. (As was Jeff Feagles, but how can your favorite player be the punter?) Once I really became a fan though, it was very difficult to decide my favorite. Osi Umenyiora probably holds the top spot, despite him missing this year. Brandon Jacobs, Justin Tuck & Mathias Kiwanuka all are up there, not to mention little Kenny Phillips, the Giants first round pick this year out of the U.

I have officially been converted & now Sundays without football are like Octobers without baseball...empty. I am now posted in front of the television every week with my #72 jersey on cheering for my team. I also now know every player, their position & number. I scream just as loudly now for the G-men as I do for them Canes & those damn Yankees, if not louder. I look forward to Sundays, simply for my Giants. They are my team now & will be for as long as I live.

The Girl Who Cried Love

I was on the bus today on the way home from the city thinking about my night & how it went & whatnot & started laughing. I came to the conclusion that I throw words around too easily, in particular the words love & boyfriend. Every time I meet a boy who I find remotely attractive, he is automatically referred to as my boyfriend for the rest of the night, if not longer. Whether I know his real name or not doesn't really matter. If I actually like this boy, we are in love without even a first date. The phrase "Oh my God, I love him" is far too over-used in my daily life.

In reality, I have never been able to use the word boyfriend in the literal sense, just the way that I use it. I think I confuse people sometimes because I refer to boys as my boyfriend & they think I actually do have a boyfriend. It made me laugh thinking about that because everyone hears me say this all the time. When the time comes that I do actually have a boyfriend & I refer to him as such, nobody will believe me! Nor will they believe me when I say that we are in love because according to me, I fall in love basically every day. They will just brush it off thinking I'm just saying that again. I am the boy who cried wolf, except I am the girl that cried love!

Just as contacts in my phone have to have a description, so do my boyfriends. Right now, I have an estimated 24,593,948 boyfriends (& my mother worries I'll never find a man HA!). When the time comes that that number dwindles down to 1, I don't know what I will do. Will I still refer to Evan Longoria as my boyfriend or will my real life boyfriend get mad at my free usage of this word? Will me & the attractive man I made eye contact with on the street still be able to be in love when this "boyfriend" comes along? I think I need to add that to the list of qualities in my 1 & only. He must accept me for who I am & what comes out of my mouth, whether it be "boyfriend," "love," or vomit.

Obama Mama

Since history was made last night I thought I would write a little bit about it. Barack Obama was elected the first African American President of the United States! I am so excited about this, I really am. I love Barack (or Barry as his mom referred to him). There are just so many things to be excited about with him winning.

I was talking to Sarah last night & she was just as happy as I, if not more. She said something very interesting, which was "soon no racism...soon." I think in a perfect world that is how it would be but I think there will still be those people out there. For example, going to vote yesterday, a black woman walked out & my mom said, "Oh there's a vote for Obama." I yelled at her because although he did get the majority of the black vote, she should not stereotype people. Stereotyping is just as bad as racism. I think we have come a long way and our generation has come to look beyond the color of people's skin. One of the thoughts in my head last night was that if we have a black president, maybe my parents can accept my black boyfriend (not that I currently have a black boyfriend but there's a good chance I might in the future).

I think that Obama will be a great president. I like the things he has to say & I think that he can achieve these goals. Obviously he can do anything he sets his mind to, so if he wants to change the world, he will. What he says makes me believe in him & what he can do. This country needs a change & I am so happy that we have finally gotten that.

All Hallows Eve

So Halloween has & always will be one of my favorite holidays. I always take it pretty seriously. I was never into being a slutty nurse or a french maid or anything super cliche like that. Nor have I ever been a fan of trying to scare people. I simply go for the best costume of all time every year. I wish there was a costume contest this year because I am pretty sure I would have been the winner. This year I was a troll, a full-on pink haired, jeweled belly buttoned, pointy-eared troll (did you say les troll?).

I really do enjoy Halloween so much though because I love to see everyone else's creativity. The other good ones I saw this year were Lil Jon, Elle Woods & Bernie from "Weekend At Bernie's". Other then that you had your store bought costumes that no real thought was put into, as well as your others who came up with a last minute idea & thought it was great but in reality it was not. Maybe it's a Marist thing but I know I think long & hard about my costumes & so do many of my friends. I've always been that way though so I guess you can't really pin it all on Marist.

I once was a Conehead, which I loved being. Another year my friends & I were the Wizard of Oz & I was the Cowardly Lion, which trust me was not an easy one to put together. College was when the real good ideas came though. Freshman year we were Super Mario Brothers & I was Toadstool. Sophomore year (& possibly my most favorite) was when we were Superheroes. I was Superwoman & it was amazing. Junior year we were the Fanta girls & I was the black one except I was white & had a long blonde clip on ponytail, which was obviously my favorite part. Senior year I doubled as an army girl & then a part of the R4 navy. We all had different costumes but the same hats to unite us & we were so cute. Last year the A-Team was Alvin & the Chipmunks (yours truly being Alvin).

The whole slutty thing really never caught on though with me & that is a part of Halloween that I despise. It was particularly bad in Miami where everyone just ran wild in boobie tassels & thongs (maybe not quite that extreme but pretty damn close.) I'd so much rather be creative & have people tell me that I had a great idea & have a wonderful costume. Call me crazy but I've already started thinking of ideas for next year.