CNN.com foils me again!

Well, at least it's not my home page on my personal computer. However, the lame headlines at CNN.com do intrigue me at times, and I cave - even if it's just clicking through to read the lame first 3 sentences (I don't mess with the crap "Story Highlights" mumbo-jumbo). But the one feature that I find myself obsessed with and not being able to turn away from are the photos. When I see that arrow within a story that shows more than one picture is available, it's the jackpot.

I guess since I don't read tabloids (I refuse to pay $4 for a magazine that is all pictures of celebs, although I will glance at one now and again at, say, the gym, or on a long flight), it's my fix.

Sidenote: It's the darkest evening of the year. And The Darkest Night of the Year goes to Over the Rhine, my favorite band's lovely holiday album. Their original song "Mary's Waltz" is gorgeous.

Rip Van Winkle

These days, you can call me Rip Van Winkle or Sleeping Beauty. Basically, I have been back to the humbling midwest for 49 days (more than a month, not quite 2). The New York pining has begun....in bits and pieces. There will always be things I miss about New York - the pizza, the bagels, my friends, the food choices, the walking everywhere, running in Central Park, NYSC, 3 Banana Republic's with amazing sale selections within a 10-block radius of my apt, etc.

Sidenote: Bagels are so mediocre here, and just not quite "right" that they must be toasted. And I have caved in to this.

But back to my post. The thing I absolutely, in no way whatsoever, don't miss is lack of sleep. I actually never really realized how sleep-deprived I was in NY until I came back here. In NY, I would get up one, sometimes two times a night to go to the bathroom because I was awakened by something - car, alarm, loud building tenants, dog barking, garbage truck, yelling, etc. I was in a constant state of exhaustion, no matter how much sleep I got.

Now, in the 49 days that I've been back, I dream again (I kind of want to stop remembering them, as they are fucked up and very macabre. I am positive that Tim Burton directs them), and sleep soundly. In fact, I'm so rested, I don't find myself needing that mid-afternoon caffeine fix anymore. It's quite pleasant.

All said, I do look forward to the day when a 4 AM sanitation truck rumbling my windows wakes me again. I do love me some big-city-livin'. But I also like catching up on 7 years of sleep deprivation.

QVC

Lately, I have been flipping through the 5 or so TV shopping channels that are at the beginning of the channel lineup these days. This was the predecessor to internet shopping. Now, having worked in the book biz, we like these shows - they still sell a crapload of books. Who's buying, who knows? I don't know how you can even watch these channels for more than a minute because they stuff they sell is some of the most hideous garbage I have EVER seen.

Ok, to their credit, there is some decent stuff for sale. The skin care lines and make-up lines seem to be doing well. And at least it's name brand stuff. But who thinks the jewelry is attractive? The clothing? It looks old-ladylike and costume-y. Maybe it's just because I'm over gold jewelry. But the combinations of stones they put together...they must be designed by someone who's color-blind.

This is what my life has bubbled down to. Blogging about QVC. Yikes.

I'm back!

More in the next post...at least it's not a New Year's Resolution this year! I'm going out with a bang, baby....