Lifestyle Check

In the past week I've worked out twice, eaten reasonably healthy, have cleaned the condo I share with a roommate, and even cooked dinner once.
To me that's strange, because I'm more prone to sluggish behavior than most. If there were no consequences in life, I'll admit that my diet would consist of McD's, Pizza Hut, Hooters, and Chinese food.

In high school, I did pretty much eat that all. Never worked out. Weighed about 85 lbs. Took golf lessons one summer at my grandfather's country club. Got my butt kicked by elementary school students. Took tennis lessons, and it was obvious that I caused the instructor great pain. Gym teachers hated me.

In college, I still at all that. Never worked out. Weighed about 90 lbs. At potato chips during our required freshman gym class "fitness & wellness" otherwise dubbed "fit hell." It was great!

Currently: eat much less. Work out occasionally. Weigh about 110 lbs. That's not much, but a 20 lb. weight gain post-college is a bit of a flag. Personally, I don't care to gain any more weight. I like being this size, but feel being larger would be problematic.

Down in the midsection, I do have a bit of a stomach. I'm beginning to feel slightly self conscious when I wear a two-piece swimsuit.
It would be nice to be physically fit. To be able to do jogging and other light sports. To play a little tennis, go skiing, and such without feeling dead the next day.
Tonight after work, I arrived home, put a load of laundry in, changed, went to the fitness center at the complex, actually exercised for half an hour, walked home, heated up a Lean Cuisine salmon and pasta dinner and watched Designing Women. It seemed so unlike myself (except for the Designing Women part - I've been doing that for about ten years now)

This year, for 2008, I hope to be a slightly better version of myself. A more put together, organized, less freaked out version. It's doable. I know it.

Is That Funny?

One habit I have, and can't seem to break is starting to drive me crazy.
When I'm going about my day, I tend to think of different situations as a Saturday Night Live sketch.

It made me realize how pervasive the television program is when one actually thinks, "Hey, that would make a great SNL sketch!"

Several months ago I dreamed up one sketch featuring an incompetent news photographer who would always get horrible video, ask strange questions, and annoy coworkers.

Today at work, someone ordered a "Primary Day" cake for the newsroom to celebrate the Florida Primary. It was yellow and white, with confetti and American flags all over it. That would be kind of humorous to see a row of them at the grocery store. There could also be ones for other strange occasions, like a 9/11 commemorative cake with twin towers on it, or Yom Kippur. Hey, why not? That totally screams SNL sketch. Some of the cakes could even be obscenely inappropriate.

I wonder if there's SNL fan fic out there?

Sketch comedy is a wonderful form of artistic and comedic expression. From the days of Gilda Radner, to Will Ferrell, to David Spade, to Tina Fey.

Many very successful comedians and comediennes have gotten their start from improv, such as The Second City (john Belushi, Biill Murray, Dan Akroyd, Eugene Levy, James Belushi, Shelley Long, Andy Dick, Dan Castellaneta, Bonnie Hunt, Mike Myers, Christ Farley, Tim Meadows, Stephen Colbert) or the Groundlings (will Ferrell, Will Forte, Ana Gasteyer, Topher Grace, Kathy Griffin, Phil Hartman, Chris Kattan, Lisa Kudrow, Jon Lovitz, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Cheri Oteri, Chris Parnell, Paul Reubens, Maya Rudolph, Ashley Tisdale).

Many of these performers found success in movies and television on Saturday Night Live, MAD TV, and Reno 911!

So do you have any ideas for fun SNL sketches?

Christmas is Coming...

...And I still haven't sent out gifts to my parents. Or any Christmas cards. I suck. I guess my folks will have to consider them after-Christmas presents?

Men vs. Women?

I’ve never perused Modern Bride dreaming about wedding dresses, cake, invitations, and honeymoons. But like most women, I one day hope to be married to that special person.

As a woman, I find men fun to be around, good at conversation, and I enjoy being treated like a lady. Doors opened for me, getting help changing that tire, and being courted. It’s really nice and I appreciate all that’s been done for me thanks to you guys.

But Guys – I have a confession – sometimes I wonder what planet you all came from. Why is it that one minute you’re sweet and the next completely oblivious, rude, and obnoxious?

Like most human beings I have a desire for meaningful, sometimes deep conversations with the people in my life. If someone can’t hold my interest for 10 minutes, there’s no way I’d want to spend my life with them, or even get stuck in an elevator with them. No thanks.

Lately I find my boyfriend and I slipping into a weird pattern into where I feel like I’m dating someone in high school. He hangs out with all his high school friends and spends all of his free time glued to his computer screen playing either World of Warcraft or Hellgate London.
I never dated high school guys, and I have to admit, feeling like that now can get on my nerves.
We don’t get to see each other that often, as he lives four hours away in Fort Lauderdale. He’s generally a nice guy.

But… While talking on AIM the other night, I asked him if he could call me so we could talk. 30 minutes later he did, but judging by the sound effects in the background he was rather distracted by WOW and whatever else he was doing at the time to try and ineffectively “multitask.” (He’s not very good at it, by the way) It’s something he does just about every night.

I was a bit annoyed by all the delayed responses over the phone and told him I was going to “let him go” and get off the phone. Really, I was hoping he would give up the computer game and chat with me for a little bit. He didn’t.

After hanging up, I couldn’t shake that pissed off feeling. And to tell you the truth, I still haven’t. He’s tried to Instant Message me, and I think I got a text from him. No response back from me so far.

Is this an over reaction on my part? I don’t feel like it is.

What's My Age Again?

Last weekend I had to work at this huge alternative concert. For weeks before, I figured the logistics would go horribly wrong and that the amphitheatre would be packed, crowded, and chaotic. It was, but much more so than I anticipated.

One of the cool parts of the day was field producing interviews with two of the bands performing, Angels & Airwaves, and Jimmy Eat World.

Let me preface this by saying that back in high school my friend Amy and I were Blink-182 fans. We loved the music video for All The Small Things, which mocks boybands. And of course, we had teen crushes on Mark Hoppus and Tom DeLonge. (This is not nearly as extreme as my Anderson Cooper crush, though!)

Tom DeLonge is now a member of Angels & Airwaves. According to Wikipedia, he is married with two children. So when I see him and introduce myself, the first thing that comes out of my mouth is, "I remember seeing you running naked across a beach." This was referencing the What's My Age Again? music video wherein the band runs naked through the streets and various settings. His response while touching my arm, "I'm so sorry Are you okay?"

He seems like a pretty cool guy. Regardless of the fact that I saw video of him on YouTube in which he appears drunk during an interview and cusses incessantly. At least he's cute.

Adding That Extra "N"

Moving is frequently cited as one of the most stressful life events, after the death of a loved one, divorce or illness.
While the reasons for moving can be positive – such as the purchase of a house or job promotion – settling into a new home, connecting to a new environment and recreating a home are almost always chaotic and stressful. (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry)

The first time I moved was during infancy, crossing the globe from South Korea to the states at age 10 months…. The second, into a college dorm room at age 18… Then to El Paso, TX for a job at age 21… Now to Tampa for another job at age 25.

There is one noticeable difference between this move and every other. Somehow in this one, my nickname changed.

Growing up, I’ve been called everything from Jenny Benny, to Steffen, to Jen Steffens, to Jenny Jones, to Joneser, to Steve-Jen – and of course – the standard Jen. After college, I tried to shed my teen-girl image by referring to myself as “Jennifer” professionally and personally. In El Paso, everyone from my boss to my coworkers to my friends went with that. I liked it.

Somehow, that all changed with the move to Florida. It’s actually quite odd. Everyone I’ve met here now calls me “Jen” but apparently one “n” was not good enough. It’s now spelled “Jenn.” I’ve never spelled my name in this fashion, but everyone here seems to think that’s quite common.

For my entire life, I’ve thought the common spelling for Jen was “Jen.” Apparently not. It’s Jenn. Either way, I don’t mind how my nickname is spelled. It’s just sort of unusual that until a few months ago, I’d never really had anyone spell it with two “n’s.”

The first person to do this was my boss. In emails she would use Jenn instead of Jennifer or Jen. Then that snowballed into more folks when they would see that on her emails… Then AJ wrote Jenn on my birthday card. And just a few days ago, my step-father’s sister-in-law did the same in an email.

Now, I’m not frustrated or perturbed by this – more so perplexed if anything.

Why do Floridians spell it Jenn, while others across the country do it the Jen way. I’ve assumed for a long time that the world is becoming smaller and cultural differences are slowly disappearing. Perhaps that’s not the case. Living in several different areas of the country has opened my eyes to both the obvious and subtle regional inconsistencies and differences.

Living in Buffalo, I know that soda is “pop” and pizza and wings are the inseparable duo.
Until living in El Paso, I had no idea what a quinceanera was until walking through the mall and seeing a bunch of teenagers who appeared to be dressed like a wedding party.
Still, I really wish I could roll my “r’s” - but that’s not going to happen.
Until living in Pittsburgh, I did not know you could end a sentence with a proposition.
(There was once a sign in a dorm lobby that said “TV needs fixed”)
And now I know that in Florida, I’m Jenn.

What I accomplished this weekend:

1. Discovered the entire 75% off candy aisle at Target
2. Got a facial Saturday morning at our local beauty academy at 1/3 of what a spa charges
3. Talked on the phone with boyfriend for way too long, as usual
4. Downloaded Internet channel for the Wii. Super cool feature!
5. Attended friend's boyfriend's art gallery showing
6. Met and spent the evening with a random group of people, culminating in a car theft
7. Exercised for the first time this month
8. Wore a bikini outdoors in November
9. Made dinner courtesy of Taco Bell's kit in a box
10. Frustratingly found out my health flex spending account card is MIA
11. Watched Revenge of the Nerds III and IV