I know I'm not exactly unique in this regard but...

I'd really like to lose a little bit of weight. And get really buff and have an amazing body. You know, I'd just really really like that.

I also really really like ice cream. And sleeping.

But you know, since I've been blogging about stuff I want lately and it's been showing up at my door shortly thereafter, I figured why stop at book and bag? I also really really want a personal trainer and/or nutritionist who can change my life. Or, at least, my body. Anyone want to re-make me? I promise to blog about it every step of the way, or to NOT blog about it, if you prefer, in exchange. Thanks!

(Yes, yes, yes, if we are telling the universe What We Want, we can't fail to mention BIGGEST HUGEST WANT NUMBER ONE, OR ZERO IF YOU INSIST: the love of my life. It's time, I'm ready, bring it on. Happy now? Thank you, universe.)

I have the best friends ever.

Debbie and Alexis, you rock my world. Seriously. Wow. Thank you.


This is just as cool in person (person?) as it looks online. Freaking awesome. Beyond awesome.

I love you.

The Fun Way

So, on the drive home from work today I listened to this long dry debate about "the Safeway plan" in which employees are "incentivized" to make healthy choices by basing their health insurance premiums on their Body Mass Indexes. Blah blah boring.

And then I saw this, by way of the kottke.org twitter feed:



THIS is how to incentivize people to exercise and make healthy choices. Make. Them. Fun.

OMG TALK ABOUT THINGS I MUST HAVE:

Guys, I know that this is a huge secret because I never say it on here, but my name is Erica. Ok? So for the one reader for whom my *real identity* was still a big secret, well, the secret's out. As though that one reader exists. Anyway, here's why RDB comes out from undercover:

THERE'S A SHOW IN CANADA CALLED "BEING ERICA". Why didn't anyone tell me? AND CHECK THIS OUT:



I must have it. More "Erica" merchandise at the show's website. Oh man, I want those undies... AND HOW PERFECT IS THAT BAG??????

You should really thank me...

... because I just wrote one of my most navel-gazing saying-nothing long-winded-no-content-minutia-of-my-life posts ever. And didn't "publish". Instead you get this:

Enjoyed "free museum day" in Los Angeles this weekend: went to Santa Monica Museum of Art first. Neonspecs and I had a great time with the interactive/you-get-to-take-stuff-home bits of the exhibit pictured at right[0]. Then we stopped in at the Paley Center for Media, formerly The Museum of Television & Radio, and spent a good amount of time finding "Nina"s in the Hirschfelds and marveling at the bad floor design... but I called the travertine and Laura called the architect (Richard Meier). We're such good Angelinos.

Third stop was a frustrated attempt to go to a place that claimed to be open on the phone but wasn't, so we were annoyed at them, but then they gave us free cool calendars to make up for it, so then we forgave them.
Third museum-we-actually-got-into was the Japanese American National Museum, the one I was only interested in going to because of its proximity to red-bean-buns (an pan?), which I looooooove. This museum really surprised me; we spent time in the crazy Ed Hardy-like "Glorious Excess" exhibition by Mike Shinoda (of Linkin Park), and the Japanese kokeshi folk toy exhibit, *and* the painful and moving "Common Ground" exhibit of Japanese-American history including much more detailed and intimate information and photographs from the concentration camps and barracks of Japanese internment than I'd ever seen before, not having grown up on the West Coast. And after all of it, I left with a new resolve to do something beautiful with all those goony birds (paper cranes) my friend Ian made me while he was living in Israel, after I taught him how to make them... that's a story for another time.
Thank you, Museums Free-For-All and Laura, my personal curator of cultural Los Angeles.


[0]Hello, blogspot? In "Preview", the picture appears to the right of the text, hence the text is what the text is. But when I publish, it's above and center! Nu?

I fought the law; revisited

So, remember when I went to court and my case was dismissed and it took 15 minutes and I didn't have to pay the exorbitant $265 just for making a U-turn?

Well, I just got my credit card bill and there was a charge on it for $265 and the "merchant name" was COURTS. Arrrgh. But I have this paper here in my hand that says "Cash bail exonerated", nu? Arrrgh.

Anyway, I called the court and they are sending a credit to my credit card. They say. It honestly was very easy and friendly, but man did I get a scare from that bill, after all the ogida finally over with! Hopefully the credit comes through...

Just thought I'd keep you posted :)