buttercup

I'm changing this post because I'm tired of seeing that little rant-let every time I come back here, and it wasn't exactly the pinnacle of original thought.

I'm having fun these days now that the roommates are gone for good — got my mojo back, I guess. It was a depressing situation, filled with negative vibes and mutual dislike. Add to that the general crappiness of January and the first half of February and it's been all valleys so far. BUT it's turning around and life is starting to be glittery again. I love it.

Instead of blogging, I have been spending time with Rabbit, crafting (it's been so long since I've done anything crafty), participating in swaps, cleaning up all the nasty stuff that our ex-roommates left behind (I have five words that will give you a good idea of what I'm talking about: tampon shell on bedroom floor. There's also some nasty substance in the fridge which makes me question where the nearest place to get a hazmat suit is), getting my photos sorted out, finding new places to go on the weekends (we found a Cost Plus World Market near us and went for my birthday! I got a little kit that has chopsticks and chopstick rests and little sauce bowls shaped like fish and it makes me so happy that it's ridiculous! Thank you for mentioning Cost Plus, Kathy!), and, you know, other real life stuff that I actually have the energy to do now. I'm just really happy.

I will blog more regularly eventually, but first I need to get used to life being fun again. (Dreaded Emoticon Warning!) : )

Diet Coke > Diet Coke with Lime > Diet Coke with Lemon

There's a pretty interesting article online that mentions Coke asking the Culinary Institute of America to come up with recipes that use Coca-Cola products. A lovely quote:

"'These new recipes demonstrate how beverages can be incorporated into every-day recipes to deliver contemporary, big flavors, with moderate calories in mind . . . '"

WTF? Why would I want to incorporate a beverage that I already know is bad for me, but drink guiltily anyway, into the meals that I try to prepare healthfully? Why can't I just . . . you know, use regular ingredients to flavor a "contemporary" meal, without relying on DIET COKE? Whatever.

I like Diet Vanilla Coke better than the citrus versions, but Diet Coke: Original still rules the roost. This lime stuff? I can drink it without cringing, so it's better than the lemon stuff (although Coke has supposedly reformulated the lemon so it's not as strong), but it's not the best invention ever.

Well, not the bottom, but he's, like, my #6 match at President Match. My list goes Kerry (100%), then Clark (90%), but I think it should be Clark, then Kerry, because Clark seems like a better fit by a smidge.

But really, the President Match site is exactly what I was looking for: something that lines the candidates up issue for issue while also taking into account the importance I place on certain types of issues.

Plus, Bush only got a 31%, and that makes me feel a little better about myself. Heh.

Do you know of any other websites that have similar features as far as the issue-for-issue match-up?

(via UltraTart)

Is the mix tape really dead?

Maybe the mix tape is, but I don't think it's as apocalyptic as the Salon article makes it sound. The only mix tapes I ever made involved hitting "record" on a tape deck while Z104 played their Best of the Year show.

The fact that it's so easy to make a mix CD is exactly why it appeals to me; it's not as intimidating, and I don't have to worry about hovering over the "pause" button for half an hour. I don't believe that a mix CD necessarily means a lower-quality mix, either. I made my first thought-through mix for a CD swap last November. I spent hours playing with a playlist in my head, moving songs around, getting it all put together just the way I wanted it. I thought about it during the long drive home, I thought about it while I fixed dinner, I thought about it while I sorted laundry. So this whole thing with the "it's so easy no one ever thinks just drags and drops boohoo" and the whining is bullshit. I will concede that sometimes it's just a matter of drag and drop*, but how is that any different than a mix tape filled with a radio station's idea of the Best Music of 1998?

*this was the case this weekend: I got myself involved in an alt.country/classic country swap, and I've only just now become interested in that genre, so my pickings were kind of slim, and I haven't listened to the songs enough to put together THE PERFECT MIX. So I picked ones I liked and, well, dragged and dropped. Also, I broke the (apparently known by all but me) rule about having no more than one song by each artist, but somehow I think Earth will continue rotating. Anyway, that's the exception to the rule.

I was kind of apathetic about the Gibbs thing, but the happiness is contagious, so: woot! The breathless sort of adoration going on right now (as evidenced by the article — both the article itself and the quotes contained within) would get annoying really fast if I didn't just join in.

I will stay happy as long as, next season, I am not so horrified by the way the 'Skins are playing that I refuse to watch the games. Because that's where this season is at right now.

I'm not sure about the Green Party presidential candidates this year. I may go Democratic instead. No one from either pool resonates with me yet, though; this may be the year I actually research the candidates.

The Dirty Girls Social Club, by Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez, is NOT CHICK LIT, okay? Don't accuse me of going soft or anything. I highly recommend this book; I finished it one sitting, which (these days) means it was excellent. It's a really sweet story — I can't really say anything about it other than that without giving everything away, because I will feel the need to go into each sucia's story. One-word review: eeeexcellent.

(The book did make me miss all the close friendships I've had that have slipped away, but that's my own emotional thing, so I won't hold it against Valdes-Rodriguez. Heh. So generous.)

I am so very, very tired of the Atkins diet. If you're on it, please know that I have nothing against you personally — it's the diet itself I loathe. There are more and more tie-in products every week at the grocery store. Our roommates are now on Atkins. My sister's on Atkins. My father-in-law was on Atkins.

Mostly, it's probably the roommates' new diet that annoys me the most, because it means we get to hear, every time they discuss food, how many carbs are in each item they're eating/have eaten/are planning on eating. And the fridge stinks because . . . well, I'm not sure why, honestly, but it smells like MEAT all the time now. Meat, staring me in the face, everywhere I look in the house. I'm not a vegetarian, and it still grosses me out.

Here are a couple of articles/sites that made me feel a little more reasonable about hating the low-carb diet.

The next time I hear anyone exclaiming over the wondrousness of the fact that Ruby Tuesday's has a low-carb menu, I just might turn into a slavering wolverine. And it will not be pretty, and it may get violent.

This article has my favorite quote about the mini-fiasco so far:

"The younger Jessee . . . quipped, 'I'm looking forward to our fifth straight rebuilding season in 2004.'"

Hee.

The whole Spurrier thing has been kind of a letdown. It's not like he was the best coach ever, but he was the first one who I knew anything about, since I only started being interested in football last year. (Uh, by "last year" I mean 2002 . . . it's going to take a while to get used to this 2004 thing.) I could go on a little rant here re: Snyder, Spurrier, and the whole franchise, but I've gone over it enough this week, and I don't think anyone really cares too much anyway. I haven't watched a 'Skins game in a couple of months . . . it's just too painful. Plus, there's no Ramsey right now.

Le sigh.

Here's the mix for "2003: Year of the Rabbit":

back then
"time ago" by black lab
"hallelujah" by leonard cohen

january // hearteater
"cigarettes and chocolate milk" by rufus wainwright

february // caring is creepy
"delicious" by laura dawn

march // waiting / early spring
"oh my sweet carolina" by ryan adams

april // in pieces
"mad world" (from the donnie darko soundtrack)

may // seven years
"blue" by angie hart
"sacrifice" (from "the gift")

june // traveling
"mexico" by leona naess

july // comfort + solitude
"basement apt." by sarah harmer
"cathedrals" by jump, little children

august // normal again
"pretty girls" by neko case

september // trees all around
"beautiful feeling" by pj harvey

october // hate this place
"the hardest button to button" by the white stripes

november // push it
"high on sunday 51" by aimee mann

december // family
"i'll take it from here" by jonatha brooke

january // elsewhere
"firewalker" by liz phair
"tango shoes" by bif naked

after that
"the luckiest" by ben folds
"in my life" by johnny cash

Man, I had way too much fun putting that together.