How 'bout a midnight Patti party?

Patti's book! In September! Some serious Diva Dish involved, from what I understand. Now here is my problem, y'all: to pre-order or not to pre-order?? Because I like the feeling of going to the bookstore right as it is opening (easy too, because it is conveniently located across the street from my office) and finding what I want, having it in hand and taking it home. With the pre-ordering, it is easier, I guess, but not as satisfying. I remember I did NOT do the pre-order thing with the Harry Potter series, I always got them at the store the day they came out. Except for the last one, which I DID pre-order, and then I ended up going to NYC (to, funnily enough, see Patti in Gypsy at City Center) and I decided I couldn't wait and bought a copy of it there. I even stopped off at one of the midnight party things, I had just seen the show at City Center -- I was wandering around, looking for a taxi, didn't find one and decided screw it and started walking. I ended up by Columbus Circle where there is a bookstore (Barnes & Noble, I think). I was curious and it was almost midnight, so I went in. There were so many people (in costume!) and it was so nuts, I went back out again and found a cab there. I bought the book the next morning at the Barnes & Noble across from Lincoln Center and spent the morning reading it over waffles at Nice Matin. I read up until the matinee of Grey Gardens that afternoon.

I did not lug that tome around the city with me - although, come to think of it, that was the night I met up with Sarah, Kari, Sally, Bob and Gator and we had dinner and saw Gypsy (so I saw it three times when I was there. You are not allowed to judge me.). One of the Ugly Betty cast members and her boyfriend sat in front of me and totally obstructed my view - the book might have come in handy then because I could have either hit them both over the head with it (just kidding!!) or SAT on the damn thing so that I could see. I remember by the stage door that night there were people reading the book. I mean, really??

Sorry, that was a bit of a digression. The point is though, I have two copies of Harry Potter and the whatever the last one was called, because I couldn't wait to get home to my pre-order. What to do? Pre-order Patti and hope it comes early? Go to the store first thing? What if they (gasp!) don't have it??

Do you think any stores will be having midnight parties? Dress up as Reno Sweeney/Evita/Mrs. Lovett and sing showtunes?? Wouldn't that be awesome? Maybe in New York... sigh...

"You're the Top": Sutton Foster to Star in Broadway Revival of Anything Goes - Playbill.com

Oh hell yes!!! New York, I'm coming to see you next year, that is for sure. And I am looking forward to seeing Ms. Foster when she comes to Chicago - although to me she will always be Coco the sign girl who dated Brett on Flight of the Conchords.

"You're the Top": Sutton Foster to Star in Broadway Revival of Anything Goes - Playbill.com

powerless

Friday had dawned sunny, sticky and humid. I had the day off, did some shopping, met a former colleague for lunch, bought some shoes, sat in traffic in the huge construction-y mess that is now Golf Rd by Old Orchard Center. Around 3:30 it started getting dark and stormy looking. I didn't mind, I like a good rain storm, so I was contentedly watching Jeopardy in dark coolness. 4:00 it's getting darker and darker. Like scary dark. I have a sudden realization that I'd left a pair of shoes outside to dry in the sunshine after I'd stepped in a massive puddle earlier in the week, and that if the dark sky opened up they'd be soaked once again. Sprinted outside to grab the shoes. The wind had picked up, so once back inside, I went straight to the tv to see what was up. Just as I was thinking "Wouldn't it suck to have your power go out and have no air conditioning on such a hot sticky day" we heard a loud explosive sound.

And the power went out.

Frantic calls to ComEd ensued, as the wind whipped and the thunder clapped and the rain poured. I figured out how to use my iPod radio (yay!) to try and find a weather report. Without tv or any other radio, how were we supposed to know when to take cover? There could be a tornado under my nose, for all I knew, and no way to know if I should grab the cats and go to the basement.

The storm subsided, but we were still in darkness. You know how you hear on the news about areas that lose power in big storms and the newscasters say something like "power won't be restored to these areas for several days" and you think (from the comfort of your brightly lit and air conditioned home) "Sucks to be them!!" Well, now we were them. It was our whole block.

It's so strange, isn't it, the things you notice when something like this happens. Each time I went into the bathroom, I automatically flipped the lightswitch before I realized oh, yeah, lights are out. You can't read or watch tv (unless you use a flashlight or candle light) you can't go online (well, I couldn't anyway, because I don't have wireless on my laptop). We couldn't open our refridgerator. We ordered out, ate by flashlight and kept a look out for the ComEd guys. They did come, actually pretty quickly. But it was the same thing each time. They'd park, look at the pole, get out a big rod, do something, get in the truck and go away. Late Friday evening, they came back, put a guy in a cherry picker and had him up there, fussing with wires. Then it started raining and storming again, and they went away. Only thing to do was go to sleep, and even that was weird. I do this thing in the morning where I turn over and pick up the alarm clock so I can see what time it is. I did that Saturday morning and was greeted with darkness. I had hoped that I would wake up and everything would magically be restored, but alas.

More frantic calls to ComEd for status updates, and the message was different every single time I called. No news. No estimates on restoration times. At one point I spoke to a person and she said that the estimate was "several days" without power. Eventually we decided to get a generator to save the contents of the fridge (my cheese curds!) and freezer. No sooner had we gotten the thing hooked up and running when the ComEd guys showed up again. They thought everything was fixed (uh, no, guys, sorry) and had to see what was up. We went out to pick up some lunch and when we were back --- the lights were on! The clocks were flashing!! I've never been so happy to turn on a light in my entire life.

rainy days & mondays...

So the weekend didn't turn out to be as crazy as originally projected (except for Friday, which was MORE crazy than I could ever have even dreamed. In a good way). Because it was raining and cold on Saturday, we didn't make it to the Botanic Garden. And there was a bit of a hiccup on the David Sedaris front as well. I had thought that the tickets were for Sunday, had written in my calendar that it was Sunday, had mom convinced that it was Sunday, would have sworn under oath that those tickets were for Sunday. Late Saturday afternoon, it occured to me to get the tickets out and make sure all was in order. Opened the envelope, looked inside...

Yeah. Tickets were for Saturday, that very day, at 3:00. It was, at that point, almost 4:30.

So, yeah. I am a moron, and we should always check the tickets, is the moral of that story. But no David Sedaris. Boo.
Went to Superdawg with Heidi instead, and then we planned our TRIP TO NYC at the end of June (WOOOOO!!!!). It will be awesome - I need a vacation, Heidi's never been to NYC, and yeah. Pretty much awesome.

Was late for the Tony watching - I came in about half an hour after it started. I wasn't very attached, since I hadn't seen anything (except for the Addams Family, which was pretty much shut out of all the major categories. I think it is weird about Kevin Chamberlain getting the featured actor nod over, say Nathan Lane, since I thought you could cut out all the Fester stuff easily...). I mean, I do follow the shows and stuff like that, but I wasn't invested in anything. It looked like a bunch of duds this year, if I am honest. None of the musicals really appealed to me (although, full disclosure here, we did get tickets for American Idiot. I'm curious). And the performances were underwhelming. Is Catherine Zeta-Jones always so god awful??? Or is it just because she lost her voice?? Anyone?

And don't get me wrong here, you all know I love me some Glee, but Matthew Morrison and Lea Michele were essentially pointless filler. Hunktastic filler, in Matthew's case, but really?? That could have been left out completely so that, oh, I don't know, some of the winners could actually make speeches? All the major categories are always left to the end, when they are hurrying to wrap up the show. So they get to say two words or something like "SHUT UP! It's been 29 years!" which is hardly fair to them.

Anyway. Happy Monday - and don't forget your umbrella (ella ella).

chicago celebrates

So lucky for me I had the day off - allowing me to go to the Blackhawks parade!!! I didn't want to take my usual 7:04 am train (FOOL) instead opting for the 8:29 which would, theoretically, get me downtown by 9:00. Plenty of time to grab breakfast and score a decent spot for the parade. See any flaws in this plan yet?? Yeah, a million other people had the same idea. The trains were running late because of all the people in Hawks gear packed onto them. When my dad dropped me off, there was a train pulling up (it was 8:20 and I can only assume the train was the 8:15 running late). Dad thought maybe I could catch that one, and if it was merely a timing issue, I may have been able to make it. But no. Packed.

Whatever. Eventually I caught a train. I got downtown at 10:00. Parade allegedly to start at 10:30. No breakfast, no leisurely strolling to score a good spot. I grabbed a vitamin water and a snickers and joined the red and black shirted throngs on the street. Originally headed to Wacker and Washington but got nowhere. Turned around and walked on Madison instead. I was aiming for Daley Plaza, but just like FORGET IT. There were people everywhere. I was not surprised or anything but the original plans were out the window. I ended up on LaSalle and Washington, across from City Hall, and I wedged myself into a pretty decent spot. Much experience in this regard, from weaseling my way into spots at concerts, etc. It's a good thing I am little, is all I can tell you.

There were people everywhere - standing in windows in their (airconditioned) offices, sitting on top of bus shelters and newspaper boxes, climbing up street lamps, sitting in parking garages and leaning out the open parts. The crowd was friendly and excited - at one point an inflatable soccer ball appeared and made the rounds of the crowd (mainly on my side of the street). I even got a hand on it once (after it hit me in the head). There were chants of "Let's Go, Blackhawks!" and confetti showered down on us (and sometimes whole newspaper pages).

It was hot - we were packed in like sardines and all of a sudden it was 70 degrees and humid. Originally, I'd planned to bring an umbrella but was not able to find one small enough to stick into my bag. I figured I'd pick one up downtown (ha). I didn't but it didn't much matter - it didn't rain and also there wouldn't have been any room to open it anyway.

And then there they were!!!!!! On top of double decker buses, there was our team! And there was the Cup! We cheered and hollered and clapped and gave those boys the party they deserved when they won the thing in the first place.

When they finally passed, the crowd started streaming into Washington Street after them. I attempted to make my way to the rally and actually got to Wacker. It was pretty near impossible to get to the corner of Michigan and Wacker from where I ended up - it was all stanchioned off. Did I mention it was hot? And that I was wearing my red Hawks t-shirt with number 31 on it (Niemi!!) and jeans?? So I attempted to get to Michigan Avenue via Lake St. and it was just hugely crowded. So I never did get to the rally, I went and bought a cold drink and something else to wear instead. What? I was supposed to meet a friend for lunch and museum touring, and I didn't want to go all smelly and sweaty and gross.

But I was there, joining the city in the biggest celebration we've had, I think pretty much ever. And it was unbelievably exciting and wonderful. It was great to see the city come together, and a once in a lifetime "you've gotta be there" kind of event.

Now, I am exhausted. I will post pictures tomorrow.

action packed weekend!

Tonight: Sex and the City2 with my girls

Tomorrow: I am planning to attend the parade/rally for the Blackhawks and then go to MSI with a friend and her darling little girl.

Saturday: allergy shot and the Botanic Garden (what a lovely pair!)

Sunday: David Sedaris at Steppenwolf and also the Tony's!!! I haven't seen any shows this year, as I have not been in NYC since 2 Decembers ago (BOO) but I've been following via Playbill, Broadway World, etc etc etc so I know about the shows and I'm excited, as always, to watch. I wish there was more than one day and one telecast celebrating theater but I guess I've gotta be happy with what I've got for now, right?

here come the hawks, the mighty blackhawks....

Well, how awesome was THAT?? What a great time, I was on the edge of my seat throughout the game. Honestly. It must be so hard to be a commentator for hockey, it is so fast-paced, half the time I didn't even know where the heck the puck was. Sometimes like in football, the commentators go off into lala land and they're not even talking about the game, but in hockey, something is happening every minute. Wow. Just wow. I got SO into it, I was yelling at the tv, making up rude nicknames for the Flyers players and saying things like "Penalty box for you, bitches!" etc. Where does it come from? I don't know. I thought I was going to pass out from the anxiety and then it went into overtime, and I sat with my hands clasped. I probably have bald spots from where I was tearing my hair out.

I am only sorry that they didn't win while they were at home, so that we could give them the proper celebration when it happened. On the other hand, I am not sure I could have sat through another game like that, with all the suspense. The parade and rally is tomorrow and I conveniently have the day off, and I am going to try and go. In the meantime, celebrate, Chicago!! Wheeee!

Glee Update: here comes the dentist...

Gleek Alert! Just read that John Stamos will be cast as Will's rival for Emma's affections - her dentist.

insane or inspired??

Oh what a circus... Evita's coming back to broadway (in 2012)!
Ricky Martin Will Join Elena Roger for Broadway Revival of Evita - Playbill.com

Glee-cap: Journey to Regionals

Remember how last week everybody was in a funk? It got worse with the announcement that Sue Sylvester was going to be on the panel of "celebrity" judges for regionals. See, Will? I TOLD you it was a bad idea to mess with Sue's emotions. Hell hath no fury like the fury of Sue Sylvester scorned. Plus, there was the ultimatum delivered by Principal Figgins, namely, place at Regionals or the club is disbanded. At a meeting to decide their set list for regionals, everybody pretty much sat around crying instead. The situation was so futile even Will cried - in his car, as "Don't Stop Believin'" played on his radio.

But wait!!! That gave him some inspiration. "JOURNEY" he wrote on the blackboard the next day. It's not just the winning that matters, he told the dejected crew, but the journey they have taken to get there. What better way to express that than through (wait for it) the music of Journey?? New Directions' Regionals setlist included "Faithfully" "Anyway you want it/Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin'" and of course, "Don't Stop Believin'". They came, they sang, they conquered. But was it enough??

Quinn went into labor just as Vocal Adrenaline took the stage. Jesse rocked out to "Bohemian Rhapsody" - and Quinn was rushed to the hospital. Yeah, "Bohemian Rhapsody" rocked (Jonathan Groff, I kind of love you now). This is serious competition. There was one other group (called "Oral" something or other. I keep wanting to call them "Oral Fixation" but that's not what it was.) which was kinda odd because it was supposed to be Midwest regionals. Where was Chicago, huh??? Did we or did we not just bring the world the most recent American Idol??

Rachel talked to Shelby and tried to convince her to come co-direct New Directions with Mr. Shue. But alas. Shelby told her she wanted a life, a house, a dog... a family. Jokingly, I said, as Shelby, "I'm going to adopt Quinn's baby!!" And later, she DID. I am pretty sure you can't just walk into the hospital and adopt a baby like in one day, but whatever. She adopted her and named her "Beth" just like Puck wanted. At least she didn't go with Jackie Daniels.

The regionals "celebrity" judges were Sue, the news guy, Josh Groban and Olivia Newton-John. Olivia wanted to vote for Oral whoever, because they did a mashup of Olivia and Josh songs. She disparaged New Directions for their ragtag appearance and lack of production values, only to be defended by... Sue. Cut to the stage for the announcement. Oral whatever was announced as the runner up, leaving New Directions face to face with Vocal Adrenaline (another perfect moment for a West Side Story style dance rumble, yes?)

And, the winner is....

Do you need to ask?? This show follows the Whedon model of not allowing any of our beloved characters to be too happy. So naturally, the winner was Vocal Adrenaline. New Directions did not place at all, and so was disbanded. Emma went to bat for the kids with Figgins. "Some things are worth fighting for," she tells Will, and she is totally not talking about their relationship, either (maybe). Will tells her he loves her (then you shouldn't have been slutting it up, Shue) and "dentist or no, this is not over." The kids call him to the auditorium before this conversation can go any further.

They sing a very heartfelt rendition of "To Sir With Love" and who is that lurking around in the background?? Sue Sylvester, of course! She confronts Will in the choir room, as he is packing his stuff up (which is weird, actually, because he has an office somewhere else, doesn't he?). She tells him she came mainly to gloat, but that really, although she had won, she was not sure she wanted to live in a world where she couldn't make fun of his hair and try and thwart his every movement. Because of that, and because what Olivia Newton-John and the others said back at judging really hit home, Sue convinced Figgins to give the Glee club another year.

Which we really pretty much knew, since the danged show is renewed for two more seasons. Still, hooray! One more year! Will tells the group the news, and broke out his ukelele to sing "Over the Rainbow"in the style of the Hawaiian singer Israel Kamakawiwo'ole. Rachel takes instant charge, telling them they'd better start rehearsing for sectionals, but Will tells them to take the summer off and enjoy themselves.

One more thing though - when Sue was talking to Will, she said during judging, it was easy to make the decision over who should win and it cut to her filling in her ballot. Her choice for #1?

New Directions.

Happy summer, Gleeks!

Don't Stop Believin'!!!

It's Tonight, Hawks Fans, It's Tonight!!!

if Glee had a year book...

Glee-cap of last night's Journey to Regionals to come later, but first, a year book entry homage to Glee, inspired by some of my actual year books:

Dear Glee!!
OMG, I loved sitting next to you in choir this year. I hope we have some classes together next year (with that cute Mr. Shue!) Have a great summer. See you at the pool. Hope you get some guys.
Don't Stop Believin!!!

Have a time, xoxoxo,
Kristen

Hawkey 101 :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Blackhawks

Everything you need to know about da game but were afraid to ask!!
Hawkey 101 :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Blackhawks

Puckin' A (or, I suppose, Puckin', eh?)

I'm sorry, but it's going to be pretty Hawk-centric around here until the Stanley cup finals are over (ONE. MORE. GAME!). It's weird, I know, since I am not (usually) a crazy sports fan, but I've now become obsessed with this game and our team. It's kind of like Jane come March Madness time. I sat in front of the tv yesterday, watching the game. When we were at the rehearsal dinner on Friday night, the game was on, and I was keeping an eye on it while I was eating (love you, Jane!).

I knew it was pretty bad though when my dad said yesterday that he was going to watch a movie on tv (I think it was 'Entrapment'). I just stared at him, askance. "But the GAME is on," I said. I've even gone to Wrigleyville Sports in Macy's to gear up. I went back there today, and the guy greeted me like an old friend. Oh, dear.

But whatever, right? It's so nice to have something to cheer about in Chicago, even though I still think it's nutty that they're playing ice hockey in June. Like, it's a zillion degrees outside and hockey seems like such a winter sport to me. Anyway. It seems like everyone in the city is pretty excited. I took a walk bright and early this morning, to bring y'all the following:

The fountain in Daley Plaza has gone red in support of the Hawks!

The Picasso is also a big fan...

As are the Art Institute Lions...

isn't it rich???

Night Music Will Soar Longer: Peters and Stritch to Join Broadway Cast - Playbill.com

Ooooohhh, I was so mad that I was not going to get to NYC in time to see Angela Lansbury & Catherine Zeta-Jones in this... looks like I will have to start planning a July trip!

i think it's a sign...

Jane had arranged for a trolley to ferry her guests from the church to her reception. Unfortunately, since the weather turned nasty, we had changed the reception from its original location to inside the church. No need for the trolley. It was still hanging around outside the church when we left, though (I have no idea what it was doing there. Taking people to find their cars??) and this was on the front of it:

The trolley was named after Antti Niemi - the Hawks goalie who'd shown up in that dream I had earlier in the week!! I think it's a good luck trolley and that they will definitely WIN the game tonight!

wuv, twue wuv!!

Jane's wedding was yesterday!! We were up VERY early so that hair could be done (and mimosas could be had...) The only hiccup was the weather. They were predicting a monsoon style wind and rain scenario - not good, considering the reception was to be a picnic and therefore outdoors. We had to move it all inside the church. But it was all very very beautiful, and most beautiful was lovely Jane, the bride.

I have known Jane since high school, although the funny thing is, I don't remember when we actually met. Freshman year sometime??? My earliest memory of our friendship was sophomore English class, Jane and me and a bunch of our friends were all in the same class (I don't think that ever happened that way again...) and we teamed up on a kickass final project. I think we really became friends after that, and I remember a great sleepover at Jane's house with everybody (especially our extra-fun pictionary game. Anybody??) and I remember our AP European history class that we had together with Mr. Schwarz... "the trench game" and our class successfully avoiding WWI (we had been split up into countries, and I believe Jane and I were France - the point of the exercise was to see how futile negotiation was and the inevitability of WWI, but instead we all struck up deals with each other and... no war. Hooray!), and working on our final project in Jane's basement... on prom night.

So, so many memories of spending time with Heidi and Jane, my two best friends in the universe - concerts and trips (rock boat!!! wis dells and the sauna phones!), just hanging around, hitting things with spoons (like you do), stealing cheese graters (just the once), shopping (hee!), watching top model and the occasional basketball game (usually in March...) and lots of other stuff. For the shower, I created several scrapbook pages using pictures I had, and let me tell you, there were lots of great ones to choose from. And I know there will be millions more.

And now, Jane is a married lady. I am so happy for you, my friend. The ceremony was beautiful, and the reception was lots of fun. Someone told me once - "It takes a willage." Long story, this one, but the quote comes from someone with a very very heavy accent. I am happy and proud to be in Jane and Brian's collective "willage" (whether you like it or not!!!) . Congratulations!!** May you both truly live happily ever after (if not I will get the Big Bad Wolf, aka Pacey to come and blow your disco Florida Room down!!)

** Someone told me recently that it is not proper to say "Congratulations" to a bride - that it is more correct to say "Best Wishes." I have never ever heard that and think that she is nuts. But is this a thing?? Seriously??

Thanks, Patti!

So, this is how I learned that back in the day, hockey players used to not wear helmets. So that the other day, my dad was telling me that such-and-such a player didn't wear a helmet, I said, well, it was a thing for a while and lots of them didn't wear helmets and I totally sounded like I knew what I was talking about, but it was all because of my obsession with YouTube videos. Whatever.

office fridge in revolt

Our fridge in the office has stopped cooling things. Yesterday, we were able to use the freezer (so I threw my lunch bag in there, only to have a frozen-ass turkey and cheese sandwich for lunch) but then the repair guy came and we had to turn it off, and clean it out, and I lost my new bottle of milk, salad dressing, jelly and possibly other things I left in the fridge and forgot about/got lost in the fridge vortex.

Apparently it needs a new defrost panel, so it has to stay off and open for the next few days. This is such a home away from home for me, I guess I never thought about how much I just stash in the fridge. I got in this morning and started to make breakfast, but our water cooler thing is on the blink as well, so I put regular water in my oatmeal bowl and chucked the whole thing into the microwave - but I left it too long (less than 1 minute 30 sec) and now it is a solid blobby mass. I have no milk to thin it out, as I have nowhere to keep it, and I tried putting more water in, but still. Solid, blobby mass. I went out to Argo for my morning cuppa tea (I am trying white tea now, as it is supposed to have less caffeine) and I am going out for lunch today.

At least I am taking tomorrow off and by the time I come back on Monday, order (and the fridge) will be restored (hopefully).

two really weird dreams...

I guess I have been sleeping really soundly these past few nights, because I've been having some CRAZY vivid dreams. So bizarre that I have to share them with you.

The other night I had a dream that I'd gotten off my train from work and started looking for my car, a red honda crv. I looked around for it and found it... with two people sitting inside. The people were two girls that I'd gone to junior high and high school with and I haven't seen either of them for years (except on facebook). We had a discussion - they were sure it was their car but I pointed out that my key had worked, so therefore it was probably MY car. I agreed to help them look for their car (another red crv) and they started driving around. I told the driver that since it was my car, I felt more comfortable driving and all, so we pulled over so we could switch, and the car started spinning around, all by itself. Weird. As it was spinning around, I noticed that the places were from Washington State and that there were Greece stickers and stuff on the back (the girls in the dream were Greek. They are Greek in real life, too.). Uh oh. Not my car. They drove off, and I was stuck looking for my car. I called my mom, who told me it must have gotten stolen and she called the police. The police sent Miss Jay Alexander (from America's Next Top Model!) as their representative (!) and I don't remember much else, except that Miss Jay was advising me to take the insurance money and get a new car. Then I woke up, quietly freaked out that my car had been stolen - it was that vivid of a dream - and I was all like "you don't even HAVE a red crv!!!" I drive a silver honda civic. But my friend Heidi drives a red crv, and her car was not stolen, but totally stopped working when we got home from Wisconsin on Sunday. I talked to her yesterday - it needed a new battery, but red crvs were apparently on my mind...

And then, last night, I had a Blackhawks-related dream. I don't usually have sports dreams, for obvious reasons, but I guess I was anxious about the game last night. We don't have cable and they didn't broadcast the game on NBC, so I didn't get to watch it. I had a dream where the goalie, Antti Niemi, was hanging around outside the goal, looking sort of out of it. For some reason I was able to talk to him and I was all like, "Dude, what's up? Get back in the goal, because they're coming for you!" and then, woosh, the puck flew in and the other team scored. Apparently, he had missed out on having his favorite pre-game meal (some kind of elaborate dream-pasta that he usually got right near the stadium. It was very detailed. I don't remember a word of it, though.) and so was off his game. Then suddenly, I was somewhere else and I asked my mom (still in the dream) if they had won the game, and she said no. So I woke up, totally convinced that they had lost the game, and sure enough, they lost last night. Maybe somebody better get Mr. Niemi his pre-game pasta for Friday's game...

I haven't had any really good dreams like this for a while, I don't know what's causing them, but if I have any others, I will keep you posted...

Glee-cap: Bring in da funk

This week, New Directions found themselves in a funk. First of all, their arch-rivals from Vocal Adrenaline showed up in their auditorium - and the lying, scheming, but at the same time totally cute Jesse St. James was back among their ranks. Uh oh. It's a regionals smackdown, friends, and these guys mean business. They did a great number to psych out our Gleeks, and also TP'd the choir room. In retaliation, Puck and Finn and some of the guys busted the air out the tires of V.A.'s range rovers. Yes, it's true. After they won sectionals, each member of V.A. got their own range rover. As Shelby explained to Will and the delinquents "we've got a big booster group." Can I get a DAMN and also a BAM JIGGY. To pay back the damage, Puck and Finn get jobs working for the ex-Mrs. Shue, Terri (just when we all thought she was off the show, dang it).

The gang is depressed and it does not help when Sue comes in to measure the choir room as a storage space for the Cheerios' anticipated new Nationals trophy. Then, Will gets depressed too. In a funk, which turns out to be the answer to his show-choir based questions. He tells the group that since funk is all about soul and anger, it is beyond the skills of Vocal Adrenaline who are just a bunch of soul-less automatons. Yes. They need a funk number to add to their set list for regionals and the world will make sense again.

They decided to make Quinn pregnant again this week and show off some of her baby mama rage, in a weird-ass rendition of "A Man's World" backed up by a group of fellow pregnant students. Is it me, or are really pregnant people probably not supposed to do funk dancing? Weird, so weird. I don't think that's the way to win regionals, personally.

There's a whole thing where Will flirts with Sue, in a misguided attempt to take her down. Dude. The point is to mess with the person to get her off her game at Nationals, not to flirt with her, tell her you were just being mean and then making her hate you. William - you will never, ever, ever, ever, win at this game with Sue Sylvester. After Will's rejection, Sue took to her bed (in her track suit, of course) clutching one of her Cheerios trophies. Will, feeling bad, goes to visit her. He chats with her maid in espanol, reminding us, once again, that he's a Spanish teacher!! He apologizes and she tells him he would have made a great trophy husband, noting from her decor that "I like me some trophies." And I like me some Sue Sylvester!!! She makes a recovery and leads the Cheerios to Nationals victory. Reporter: you're like the Michael Jordan of cheerleading! Sue: Yes, I am!!! The highlight of their routine? Kurt, sinigng a 14 minute medley of Celine Dion hits - in French.

Jesse shows up again in bastardly fashion, asking Rachel to meet him in the parking lot. She agrees, even though she KNOWS he's been a V.A. SPY with the plan to mess with her mind before the competition. She floats out there, runs up to him in slow motion, etc, only to get egged by members of Vocal Adreneline. He cracks the last egg, on her face. Lovely guy. Glad he doesn't want to see her get hurt and all.

The guys vow to get revenge - Kurt pointing out "Rachel's one of us. We're the only ones who get to humiliate her!" They are on their way to re-arrange Jesse's (hunky but assholic) face when Will stops them. They call up Jesse and tell him to have V.A. meet them back in their auditorium. Well, they end up singing a funk song and rocked it. Personally, I think it would have been cooler for them to have had a West Side Story style rumble, with each team facing off in an epic and fierce singing/dancing number.

Anyway. After watching this funky number, Jesse grumbles to a cohort "They did a funk number. We've never been able to pull off a funk number." Her reply "Because we're soul-less automatons." He sighs, slumps into his seat. "I'm sooo depressed!"

Psych!

POWER PLAY

Go Hawks, 2-0!!! It is so nice to have a winning team in Chicago!!! I watched the game last night (isn't it kinda weird to be watching ice hockey when it's 90 degrees outside?), even though I could hardly stand the suspense. I really just like it when the game happens and someone tells me the outcome, so I don't sit there, biting my nails during the whole thing, just watching and waiting to see what happens.

Hockey has always been one of my favorite sports, we played it in gym class (not on ice), I remember, and it is one of the rare sports that I didn't suck at. One of my favorite parts of the game last night (besides the winning!) was at the begining, when they showed the Blackhawks being introduced and the stadium going wild. But they didn't televise the other team (whoever they are)coming out. It was like Here Come the Hawks... oh, yeah, and these guys too. I don't think it was a local Chicago broadcast, either, but a national one from NBC Sports, so you'd think they would have introduced the other team as well. Do we finally have a winning team who is not an underdog??

Go Hawks, I hope you go ALL THE WAY! I can't wait for the next game in PA. Maybe there, that team will get the big deal intro and the Hawks will be "and also those guys"???

one more thing

I didn't say much about Jane's beautiful wedding shower on Sunday - possibly because I was in a bit of a comatose state after all of our shenanigans on Saturday night and have needed 2 full days to recover.

We had the shower at Walker Bros. Pancake House in Lincolnshire (where else for our breakfast loving Pancake Queen?) and it was a lovely party - the favors that I worked on on Friday (with help from my dad!) turned out SO CUTE and survived the trip to Wisconsin and back. We had a 1950's rock and roll theme, so the favors were these little coke glasses that I filled up with different kinds of candies to look like soda and topped off with "foam" - aka shiny, pearlized, personalized M&Ms that said "Jane & Brian" and "June 5, 2010" (I had trouble placing my order online and had to call them - I got the best and most friendly service. I mean, they work at Mars and must get free chocolates, yes? I would be pretty friendly too, if I had access to so much deliciousness on a daily basis. At any rate, I highly recommend the personalized M&Ms.)

Funny story - our friend Kim had bought the cake. It was lovely, but she'd had some problems. First, the cake people asked about the bride's colors for the wedding and Kim told them that she knew the bridesmaids were wearing black and purple. They told her that they couldn't use black on a WEDDING CAKE, it was better for funerals (because they do such a booming funeral cake business? Do people even have funeral cakes? What do they say?) but eventually they backed off because the frosting was black and purple (it looked and tasted great!) So she picked it up, paid and was walking out to her car when she saw that the cake said "Congradulations" on it. Now, I know that sometimes people will do that for graduations, because it puts the word "grad" in it, and it is also kind of the way that we say it, but no. Back inside the shop she went and told them the word was spelled wrong. They told her no, it wasn't and that "we use a dictionary here" - finally she spelled the word out and they were like "Oooohhhhh. We fix." You'd think that since it is also graduation season that they'd be doing many "Congratulations" cakes, but I guess not.

Anyway...