What Entertains Me: 04/01/2008

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Cause I'm the Tax Man

So...I got my tax refund, but it was wiped out by the local taxes I owed for 2007, and 1/4 of 1.5% of my estimated taxes for 2008. No fair! I have to send in quarterly taxes now, which I'm not used to. That's where one of my savings accounts comes in. I've made one into my local tax account. I'd rather make it my HDTV savings account, but oh well. Guess taxes are more important, since the tax man will get you eventually if you're not paying your taxes. Sometimes, I wish we'd have a fairer tax system (no, not the fair tax...I don't see that happening anytime soon). It'd make life easier for a lot of people, I think.

Word

I think I've met my match when it comes to word games, like Scrabble and Upwords. Yes, you guessed it...it's my new main squeeze! I was expecting to smash him, since he's more of the mathematical type of person. But he's beaten me almost every single time! And I work in publishing! I'm supposed to win, heh. Guess not, since he's beaten me by like 100 points (just one time, though). It's still fun, though, because I've never dated anyone who loved playing word games like I do. Yes, I, who am uber-competitive, do not mind losing to this guy. Hmmm...

You...Play Golf? No Way!!

I almost fell off my chair the other day when my boyfriend told me two of his bandmates were golf addicts. They do NOT look like your typical golfer...although, what does a typical golfer look like? I have no idea, really. Anyway, he mentioned he plays every now and then, which also surprised me. So who knows? Maybe I'll be buying him Titleist golf balls for his birthday or something. He's the first guy I've ever dated who's even touched a golf club...putters notwithstanding. So, we played an X-box version of golf, and you know what? I had fun! So, I'm thinking that maybe, just maybe...I might try it. Now, knowing my history with sports involving hitting a ball with a racket or bat, I'm not sure how well it'll go. But I'll never know if I don't give it a shot. :)

It's Quiet...Too Quiet

Okay, so maybe I've not been watching as much TV or reading as many entertainment or gossip blogs as I used to, but doesn't it seem like it's been a long time since someone like Paris Hilton getting another DUI or Britney Spears has been out of the limelight? Isn't it about time for us to hear about Britney's latest addiction treatment? Or maybe not. I'm kinda glad that things have settled down in that respect. Of course, there will always be some celebrity scandal brewing. But for now, it seems fairly quiet in Hollywood. Must be time for something big!

Boys and Their Toys

Okay, as I may have mentioned before, I've been dating someone now for about 2 months. We met on Valentine's Day...yes, I'm not lying, it was Valentine's Day.

Anyway, so, he just bought a house in November, and he's trying to set up a home theater in his basement. He's got all of the equipment, but he doesn't have any home theater furniture. Well, he doesn't have much furniture, period. He was going to get this sofa he found "as-is" at IKEA for $110, with the slipcover. But, they sold it before he could get back with a truck to haul it in. Bummer. So, he's keeping an eye out for some cheap, decent-looking furniture for this room. Because once he does, it will be a sweet setup. I know I'll be over watching movies...that is, when he's not playing in one of his bands. :)

Click

I think I've found my hobby, finally, something that I love doing...photography. Well, I actually fell in love with it in college when I took a photography class, developing in a darkroom and all. I had my parents ancient Konica manual focus camera, when everyone else had their parents' SLRs. I felt slightly inadequate at first, until my art professor practically drooled over my camera, telling me it was a classic. That made me feel a little better. Then I started taking pictures and developing them, and I started feeling really, really good about it. Granted, I had no flash, so all of my pictures were in broad daylight. But, I found some really interesting subject matter that lent itself to great pics (black and white, mind you). When I had to display my portfolio, one of the other art professors was very taken with a lot of my work, and told me I should think about pursuing a career in photography. I would have loved to, but I didn't have access to a dark room, or any of the equipment for developing film. So, I dropped it.

Fast forward to 2008, when I started dating someone who plays in two local bands (In Ten Cities and The Smoky Basement Project). I started taking pictures of the shows with my fairly decent Kodak, which has manual settings for f-Stops, apertures, shutter speed, etc. But because the shows are all in very low-light conditions, I've been having to use flash, which takes away some of the ambience of the lighting that's used. Enter the Olympus E-Volt E-510, which I fell in love with online and bought this weekend. It's shipping next week (thank you, Dell...what, are you building it or something??). My next step is to find some classes I can take, especially using Photoshop (really interested in swapping out backgrounds).

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

It's About Time!

Next Friday, I finally...FINALLY...get to see a dermatologist. I made the appointment back in December. He's apparently one of the best in the city. He better be, after waiting this long. I'll be curious to see what sort of acne treatment he'll put me on. I'm hoping he'll try aldactone, a diuretic which is similar to the progesterone that's in Yasmin, also known to me as the "Miracle Worker" for my skin (not so much for my mood, though). A friend of mine used to go to him and said he's a big fan of Accutane...so I'm hoping he doesn't want to jump straight to that. I really, really don't want to go on it, unless nothing else works. My general practitioner has me on topical clindamycin, which I combine with benzoyl peroxide. And that works to clear up my breakouts, but not to control them, unfortunately (namely the cystic stuff which is totally hormonal). So, wish me luck!

Time after Time

The other day, I was going through my jewelry box and drawer, and I realized I have a TON of watches...a TON. But, none of them works. I've been too lazy to get the battery replaced in any of them. So now I'm wearing a cheap digital watch, which has actually lasted longer than any of the luxury watches I have (well okay, they're not luxury watches like Tag Heuer, but they are nice). How about that, sports fans? My favorite is my Anne Klein II watch, and I keep meaning to take it to a jeweler to replace the battery. But, as with most things in my life, I procrastinate...so it's just sitting there, gathering dust.

Bargain Shopping

So I've been scouring clearance racks lately (Target, I love you!), and that's always fun...especially when I accidentally rifle through racks that have maternity clothing on them! Whoopsie! Although I have to say, maternity clothes have come a long way. Some are really, really cute! If I ever do get pregnant, at least I know I'll be able to look stylish...although after 9 months, I'm sure that'll be the last thing I care about, heh. If my pregnancy is anything like my mother's...well, I'll be very, very pregnant at 9 months, so I'll be lucky if anything fits! But that's not something I have to worry about...although I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to be worrying about it sometime soon. Maybe someday, I will. :)

Paris Hilton's Grade Card

Tonight I saw this little report on Paris Hilton, and how well she's done on her pledges to help create halfway housing for women, do more for MS, work with children, not drive drunk, and not party as much. Well, she's actually cut down on the partying, and she hasn't driven drunk. But the other pledges? Hasn't done a thing with them. Oh well, I guess she can only do so much with her time and money, right? Damn. At least she hasn't been in alcohol rehab or anything, but still. You'd think she might have made a little more effort on some of the causes she said she'd champion. Maybe once she gets older, she will. Or is that too much to ask, too? Who knows.