Miss America

When I was a kid, I used to love watching beauty pageants with my mom and sisters. It was always a big event, and we loved "oohing" and "ahhing" over the evening gowns and analyzing the judges' scoring. Miss America was always my favorite because it's the only pageant that has a talent competition. But let's be honest, here: over the past several years, beauty pageants have gone waaaay down-- in nearly every aspect. I watched the 2008 Miss America pageant Saturday night, and I couldn't believe the crappy production value. First of all, the pageant was on TLC: The Learning Channel. Why the hell was a beauty pageant on The Learning Channel? Secondly, it was hosted by a pudgy Tom Cruise look-alike, who had about the same amount of charisma as the real Cruise. There was sub-par choreography (which actually is pretty typical of pageants), at least three less than beautiful women with disturbingly wide-set eyes, and about five pregnancy test commercials narrated by an ominous man's voice talking about a different experience with "peeing on a stick." The whole thing was creepy, crappy, and unsettling. What happened to the good ol' days of Tony Danza-caliber hosts and real talent, not just a thin, wispy rendition of "Over the Rainbow" that would make Judy Garland turn over in her grave? Frankly, I'm offended.

Free stuff

Last night I was reading Cosmopolitan, and I saw an ad for a free sample of Dove shampoo and conditioner. Never one to turn down a free thing, I hopped online and filled out a form to get my free sample. Naturally, that got me wondering...what other free stuff could I find on the Internet? I found a blog that gave me a couple leads to more promotional offers, and before I know it I should have not only shampoo and conditioner arriving in 4-8 weeks, but also samples of Gwen Stefani's new perfume, Aquafresh toothpaste, Maybelline foundation, Aquaphor lotion, and a Schick razor. My goal was to see if I could go a month without buying any toiletries-- I'm still looking for free soap and deodorant samples...

2008 Resolutions

Well, this marks my first official post of the New Year. I finally got around to writing my resolutions. I'm pretty pleased with my goals for 2008. I don't know when I started formally writing resolutions, but it seems like over the years I've become more and more goal-oriented and focused on self-improvement (probably because there's a lot about myself I could improve-- starting with my neurotic personality). I also think it's because I'm competitive. And a perfectionist. But I guess that pretty much describes everyone in my family (and many of my friends, too). Anyway, I feel like I've done a better job of making resolutions that encompass more areas of my life. For example, one of my resolutions is to recycle more...I discovered that for some reason, I actually really care about the environment. I hate being wasteful, so I'm trying to make a concerted effort to stop being lazy about rinsing out containers and other things that could easily be recycled. I also try to stay away from quantifying my goals too much. I like leaving a certain degree of open-endedness on some of them-- like another of my resolutions, which is to go on an independent adventure. Of course, what I define as an "adventure" is completely up to me. I'm also really hoping that my writing becomes more of a priority this year, and that I really buckle down and work hard.