'Cause I'm a Blonde. B-L-O-N-D!

So, one evening I came out from the cave that is my bedroom in the basement and found my parents watching Earth Girls Are Easy, one of the weirdest, stupidest movies from the '80s. It happened to be on t.v. and they like Jeff Goldblum, Geena Davis, and Jim Carrey (who doesn't?). I was a little horrified, as I remember it being somewhat racy. I guess my parents aren't as innocent as I'd always thought.

Guess they had to grow up sometime. Then again, I was 13 or 14 when I last saw it. Maybe it wouldn't shock me so much now.

But there was one song that made the movie worthwhile to me as a teenager:

'Cause I'm a Blonde as sung by Julie Brown

Because I'm a blonde I don't have to think,
I talk like a baby and I never pay for drinks.
Don't have to worry if I'm getting a man
if I keep this blonde and I keep these tan
Cause I'm a blonde yeah, yeah, yeah
Cause I'm a blonde yeah yeah yeah

I see people working and it just makes me giggle,
cause I don't have to work, I just have to giggle
Cause I'm a blonde B-L-O-N-D!
Cause I'm a blond don't you wish you were me?

I never learned to read and I never learned to cook.
Why should I bother when I look like I look?
I know lots of people are smarter than me,
but I have this philosophy:
"So what?"
Cause I'm a blonde yeah yeah yeah.

I see girls without dates and I feel so sorry for them
cause whenever I'm around, all the men ignore 'em
Cause I'm a blonde nyah nyah nyah!
Cause I'm a blonde nyah nyah nyah!

They say to make it you need talent and ambition,
well I got a tv show, and this is my audition...
Umm. . .
okay. . .
what was it?. . .
ummm don't tell me. . .
oh, yeah, okay:
"Duck Magnum, duck!"
Cause I'm a blonde yeah yeah yeah!
Cause I'm a blonde yeah yeah yeah!

I took an IQ test and I flunked it of course.
I can't spell BW but I got a Porsche
Cause I'm a blonde B-L-I-N-D.
Cause I'm a blonde don't you wish you were me?

I just want to say that being chosen as this month's Miss August is
like a compliment I'll remember for as long as I can.
Right now I'm a freshman in my fourth year at UCLA but my goal is
to become a veterinarian cause I love children.

Cause I'm a blonde yeah yeah yeah!
Cause I'm a blonde yeah yeah yeah!

Girls think I'm snotty and maybe it's true.
With my hair and body, you would be too
Cause I'm a blonde B-L- . . . I don't know!

Cause I'm a blonde yeah yeah yeah!
Cause I'm a blonde yeah yeah yeah!

I wish I hadn't lost the audio tape. It was fun to lip sync to.

On My Mind

Just some things I've been thinking about today:

1. It's possible the pants I'm wearing are too tight for polite company, and yet I don't feel fat in them. Weird.

2. Will Bella and Edward live happily ever after? I have 100 pages left of "Breaking Dawn" and just need to finish already!!! Seriously, I woke up last night all anxious because I need to know what happens.

3. I am super-excited for August 25. That's the day the powers that be announce the new cast on "Dancing with the Stars" on "Good Morning America".

4. At my friend's wedding reception Friday, I decided to stand in the humiliating group when the bride threw the bouqet, mostly because I knew there was one girl there who detests it more than I. I was relieved when I didn't catch it, but very proud that I made the effort.

5. I am actually enjoying running on the treadmill again. Yay! Physical activity!

6. It it just me, or are the womens US gymnist outfits hideous? I just can't get over the horrid shade of red!

7. Getting closer and closer to my condo closing and everything's coming together! Woo-hoo!

8. I heard today that Delicate Arch collapsed and felt so sad. What a loss! Then I found out it was Wall Arch, which is still sad, but didn't affect me quite as strongly.

9. Why is a conference room full of Engineers and Product Developers so intimidating? I know them all, and they are very nice individually. Hmmm.

All this while I'm trying to work. Sheesh! Good thing women multitask!

More Vegas Memories

I've been home from Vegas for a week already! Fortunately, that's not nearly enough time to forget our adventures -- not that I could or want to!

Steph picked me up from work on Thursday, and on the way to get Candice, we saw a random sculpture garden on 90th South. They looked like solide metal, but then a buyer picked one up and walked away... so it must have been hollow.

We chose to fly to Vegas because none of us were excited about the idea of driving all the way. Besides, the last time I drove to Vegas it took 12 hours to get home! Lousy fires in Southern Utah last year... Anyhoo, no sooner had we stowed our carry-ons and belted into our seats, but Candice proudly handed Steph and I our activity books! She had made Steph a 2008 Election book, and printed a "I Heart the Hoff" book. They were hilarious! That Candice, she thinks of everything.

We were excited to reach Vegas, pick up our rental car, and check into the Excalibur -- my first time staying on the Las Vegas Strip! We ate a late dinner and went to bed somewhat earlyish, because we knew the next day would be a busy one.


Friday morning we slept in a bit and it felt good. Fortunately, we were all up and pretty much ready to go when the fire alarm went off. We looked confusedly at each other for a moment, then grabbed our purses and took the 5 flights of stairs to get outside, where we found just one other room had evacuated with us (and it looked like a couple of them hadn't gotten out of bed yet). We thought it odd that no one else was outside, so we checked with the information desk -- yeah, it was a drill they didn't announce beforehand. Grr. So, we went back to the room to grab a few more things, and ate breakfast at the Round Table breakfast buffet.

Then we headed to the Star Trek Experience! Hooray!! (See the post below entitled "They Beamed Me Up!" for more details).

We left the Star Trek Experience later than we should have, and were really rushed to change and then get to the Winn hotel in time for Cirque du Soleil's "Le Reve". We were in danger of missing it and having our tickets given away. Luckily, we made it with two minutes to spare. I must say I am very proud for all three of us for being as patient and calm as we were! The show itself was A-MAZ-ING!! They perform on a water-logged stage for the most part, and there were syncronized swimmers and acrobats that grabbed other acrobats out of the water, lifted them into the air and dropped them from crazy heights. It was awesome! I didn't get the story at all, but who cares when the delivery is that awesome?

After the show, we walked around the Winn which has the Minolo Blahnik store and Cartier and a bunch of those fancy designers I only hear about on the Oscar red carpet or New York's Fashion Week. It was so fun seeing Candice just light up at the Minolo Blahnik store. She never would have believed they'd even let us in the store. Well, not only did they not throw us out, the saleslady let her try on a pair and walk around in them! Hooray! I love seeing my friends so happy! Then we went to the Venetian for some delicious gelatto. I don't really know how gelatto is different than ice cream -- that's how middle-class I am. But it was yummy, and we were all glad to just sit and rest our feet for a few minutes.


Saturday we all wanted to see the Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay. Candice and I decided to be brave and actually TOUCH the stingrays! They were soft, and I had the feeling they might have been a little squishy, but I really didn't want to test that theory out. I marveled at the elegance of the jellyfish -- they really are hypnotic -- and I admit I was a little afraid of all the sharks. It was amazing to have them swim over me, along with all sorts of wacky little fish. At one point, I felt a little like I was living "Finding Nemo". We saw Dory-fish and turtles and sharks. Oh my!

After a quick trip to In-n-Out Burger, we stopped by the Coca-Cola Factory and tried a bunch of different soft drinks from around the world. Most were pretty bland, but I swear the one from Italy was liquid death! That's really the only way I can think to describe it. Oh, well, maybe it was black licorice that had fermented too long, or something. I tried twice just to make sure it was as horrible as I first thought and yeah, it was. Gross! We also stopped by the M&M Factory, but ended up only staying just long enough for a few more souvenirs.

Then we raced back to our hotel room, packed up, turned in our rental car, and said "Good-bye" to Las Vegas!


... Except Las Vegas didn't want to let us go.

Apparently, you have to check in with Delta at least 45 minutes before the flight. We arrived about 35 minutes early, so they wouldn't let us on. Say what?! It's not like the plane had LEFT! And we didn't even have to check-in any bags!! Not only was the news crummy, but the people behind the counter didn't even pretend to be nice about it. Can we say Customer Service training? Candice arranged for us to get on the next flight home... which was at 6:30am the next day... and would be $150 more EACH. Grrr. We were so tired already it never occured to any of us to rent a car and drive home. Steph booked a room for us that night, and we took a cab back to the hotel. The lady at the check-in desk felt sorry for us, so she gave us a discount. Thank you nice lady!!

So, what do three fun-loving gals do on an unexpected night in Las Vegas? You guessed it! Thunder Down Under was even in our same hotel!

Just kidding. We went to the Tournament of Kings jousting show instead, but there were a couple of questionably-dressed men in the show. We were seated in the Ireland section, so we cheered for our champion, even though he didn't win ANY of the events. Humph. The food was pretty good, though, when they let us eat it (seriously, who decided it was a good idea to make the audience sing, bang on the tables, and raise our mugs every twelve seconds during a dinner show? I don't get it). We had a good time cheering and being generally silly... I think we were getting tired. Well, not getting tired, we WERE. We went back to our room after the show and were all asleep by 9:30. So much for the night life!!

The next day we woke up at a scary hour like 4am, but we made it to our flight with plenty of time to spare! We made it home, and now I've been home a week. I'd post more photos, but I have pretty much already posted all I have! I need to get copies of Steph and Candice's shots. They have so many good ones!

Thanks again Candice and Steph for a brilliant time! You two are awesome travelling buddies!

(And still in my head I hear Monica Gellar shouting "Anni-VEGAS-ry! A-NEVADA-versary!")

Sashes aren't silly!

Still one of my favorite lines ever; it just makes me giggle anytime I think about it. We sisters all joked all the characters needed to put our favorite lines on the back of our Little Women jackets. DeeDee/Beth's would have been "It might have something to do with your face, sir."

Of course, it may not be funny out of context.

Oh well!

Elisha, Carly, DeeDee and I as the March sisters in Midvale Arts Council's Little Women the Musical

They Beamed Me Up!!

So, the trip to Las Vegas was one of the coolest vacations ever. Pretty much everything we did ended up being a little crazy and a lot of fun. I am so lucky to have Steph and Candice as my traveling companions this time around!

The main reason we went was so I could visit the Star Trek Experience at the Las Vegas Hilton before it is torn down in September. I am so so so glad we did! Candice was worried that it wouldn't live up to my expectations. It was different than I expected, but in so many ways it was better.

First, I love theme parks, and it didn't hurt I'm a fan especially of this theme. The powers that be wasted no time getting us in the groove, and a Ferengi was wandering through the ticket line greeting people and posing for photos. I admit, I felt more than a little shy and silly. Thankfully, Steph and Candice weren't about to let him walk past me! They both took photos of me with the shyest Ferengi I could have imagined... I'll post a photo once I get them from their cameras! We bought tickets for the two rides, the History of the Future museum, the backstage tour, and special photos on the bridge of the Enterprise 1701-D (that's the ship on Star Trek: The Next Generation) and a Borg chamber. The museum was where we first met the Klingon Commander wandering around. I tell you what, he seemed to have a crush on our darling red-headed Candice! He had definite opinions about the politics on our planet, and couldn't believe that we make it to the 24th Century.

Me and Steph with the Klingon Commander


Looking out at Deep Space Nine

We started by wandering around the museum, which was made up of a timeline starting in the 1950s and then outlining events through all 5 (yes, there are 5) Star Trek series, and props and costumes from the movies and shows. It was neat to see how they all came together. Next, we experienced the "Borg 4D" attraction. Unfortunately, the 4D feature was broken, so we just watched the video in our super-comfortable chairs. You could tell the places where stuff was supposed to fly out at you. Oh well. It was still fun.

Next, we had our photos taken, and I tell you what, it was AWESOME getting to sit in the Captain's chair! We weren't allowed to take any of our own photos, but I took the chance to wander around the bridge and take a look at the plaque and everything. So fun! Then we had our photos taken in a Borg chamber. I couldn't stop smiling for that one, so I look sort of dumb, but Stephanie had a great freaked-out look on her face. It was classic!

Candice, me, and Steph on the bridge of the Enterprise. Make it so!


Next we did the Klingon Adventure, which was my favorite part of the whole day. They actually BEAMED ME UP ONTO THE STARSHIP ENTERPRISE! Okay, not really, but it was an AWESOME special effect! One minute we were standing in front of some doors for the motion simulator, and the next we were in the transporter room. They rushed us onto the bridge of the enterprise where an officer was sitting at the navigation console and Commander Riker was on the viewscreen (he was in Engineering with Geordi) telling us the plot line for the adventure. I totally started crying because it was just so cool! I really felt like I was living the adventure! The navigation officer took us to a "shuttlecraft" flight simulator where... oh shoot. I just remembered I wasn't supposed to talk about it. Crud. I really hope this doesn't affect the future timeline.

Seriously, it was awesome.

I'm glad we finished the Klingon Adventure before doing the backstage tour, because they revealed all the secrets of the two rides and a lot of the other work that had gone into the whole Experience. I loved getting to wander around and see all the detail they'd put into hallways that we'd just run through during the Klingon Adventure and the Borg 4D thing. I signed a non-disclosure statement promising not to reveal any secrets, so I won't. However, I will say that all of us in the group thought it was supremely cool to see the motion simulator from the outside (we actually got to watch while the ride was going on).

Sitting at the bar in the Captain's Lounge


What next? Oh! We ate dinner at Quark's Bar and Grill. Candice recommended the Holy Rings of Betazed, which turned out to be onion rings stacked one on top of the other and served with three dipping sauces. Then I had Moogie's Famous Pasta (pasta in a cream sauce with chicken and sun-dried tomatoes) and a Frozen Hirogen to drink (a smoothie with pineapple, strawberry and banana - yum!) Candice and Steph had similarly cleverly-named foods and drink, and we watched part of the movie Star Trek: First Contact which was playing on a big screen nearby. There was no sound for the movie -- the restaurant was too loud anyway -- but I watched the movie for the umpteenth time last week, so I could pretty much fill in the blanks when needed...often word for word.

We were running a bit short on time, but we all needed souvenirs before we left. I, of course, bought for my selfish Trekker self, but Candice and Steph found wonderful items for their loved ones. They were so great. I had a hard time choosing my purchases, but anytime I tried to apologize they'd say "we're here for you!" I hope they someday get an idea of how much I appreciate them. I know for a fact I wouldn't have had nearly as much fun without them. We ran into the Klingon Commander again in the gift shop, and he was surprised to find out I had been the instigator for the entire trip (the "Captain" as it were, as evidenced by my photo on the bridge). We all said our good-byes and then we had to leave.

Boo. I found my dream job and they're tearing the whole place down. Does anyone know anyone with a billion dollars who would want to invest in making millions of Trekkies and Trekkers happy? I'd be eternally grateful. Unfortunately, my own brilliant money-making idea won't be ready in time.

Sigh.

Anyhow, I'll post more photos on my Star Trek Experience whenever Candice, Steph and I get together to exchange photos.

And, of course, I'll have more info on the rest of the trip! Hooray!!

Safe and Sound

Hi all! Candice, Steph and I returned safe and sound, though a good 12 hours later than expected. I had a fantastic time, and am just so grateful for the two of them planning pretty much the whole trip!

More details to come, I promise!