Jury Duty...Part One

Dear Kate,

Tonight I was scheduled to call in to see if I were to report for my civic duty tomorrow morning bright and early. Seeing as this is my first time being called for the JD (and I'm almost 24--side note: festivities are already in the planning stages), I was somewhat pumped mostly really to see the inside of the Court House. Although the timing is not really ideal, seeing as work is a little cray-cray at the moment, I have to say it would be pretty bomb diggity if I were on a case. Well not something like a murder because that's scary andI have a weak stomach, or a divorce, cause that's sad but maybe something like a neighbor fence dispute or a nice speeding ticket case, just preferably nothing with blood. But I got home tonight I checked the San Mateo Court website to see if I am to come in tomorrow and I got a message saying that I need to call back in tomorrow morning at 11!

I will say this though, the San Mateo County court system is pretty awesome. We only have to call in once (or in my case check back in in the morning) but we don't have to call in Monday through Friday checking in--unlike soooooommmmeee places. And then there are the even more annoying places that make you call in all week then bring you in on a Thursday and put you on a "quick" trial Friday that spills over to Monday when you're supposed to be in San Francisco that weekend. But I'm not going to name names. ;o)

New Season of Dancing with the "Stars"

Dear Kate,

It's been a week since my last blog, but news has been rather slow and I've hit a writers block, but something caught my eye tonight on my celeb websites, "Dancing with the Stars" announced their latest round of contestants. Now I don't watch this show but this list has been so hush-hush this summer, and now that it's finally all confirmed, well talk about anti-climactic.

I don't know who was part of the think tank for this one--well probably the same people who were in on the last round--but boy oh boy, this one is chalk-full of reality and not so sure why they're famous in the first place stars. Although they do have some gems like David Arquette (giving the bloggers and paparazzi something to chatter about if estranged wife Courtney and daughter Coco are in the audience every week) and my fave news correspondant, Nancy Grace (I can just hear her now, "I am sick, SICK, to my stomach when I think of those scores that those judges gave me") the rest are just some who have made the news in the past month or so. For example, Kristin Cavalari the Laguna Beach star who just got dumped by her finacee--she's my age btws and Rob Kardashian who was part of the circus, excuse me, wedding for his sister Kim last weekend, and who can forget George Clooney's infamous ex, Elsabetta something, who, well to be honest I have no idea why she's famous besides dating George.

I think that the lack of stars should be a signal to rename the show to "Dancing with the Residents of the Metropolitan LA area"

Wedding Dress Overkill

There’s a trend that Hollywood has really taken to and Im not all about it. No, it’s nothing crazy like the Boho trend of 2005, but rather the multiple wedding dress trend. Seriously, I just don’t get it. Kim Kardashian, the latest offender, took it above and beyond and had 3, yes 3, costume changes during her nuptials this past weekend. And it was not just changing her dress, but also a hairdo upgrade, and probably some jewelry changes. Even her new hubby had a costume change!

So let’s look at this logically. A wedding typically lasts what 8-10 hours? Possibly longer if it’s a damn good party. But when you factor in all of the elements of a wedding (pre-ceremony, ceremony, photos, cocktail hour, dinner, dancing, and all the mingling with guests--and in Kim’s case, 450 guests), you’re too busy changing your clothes to enjoy the wedding. Not to mention, do you really even have the energy to change your dress, let alone twice?! Most couples talk about how fast the day goes, so who wants to waste it going from wardrobe to wardrobe? Are people going to start taking it to the next level and start changing their clothes in between chats with each guest?

Ok, so we’ve established that it’s a waste of time. But my other bother with it is that it takes away the specialness of your wedding dress. People shop high and low trying to find the perfect dress that they get married in it and she can’t wait to get out of it? Not to mention the cash money that’s dropped (especially in Kim’s case where she had a Vera, which was probably custom). Their argument is that that they want a dress for the reception that they can move around in. What are these people thinking? I only buy clothes I can move around in.

It’s not just Kim though, most celebrity women are doing it, Trista Rehn from the Bachelorette (who I think started it), Carrie Underwood, even my fave Kate Middleton, the list will only go on. Good thing we have people like Sarah Repetto who find their perfect dress stay in it all day, mostly because I would have picked it up and started wearing it myself :o)

Kudos and Boos

Kudos: Kim Kardashian got hitched yesterday! I am sure that you were on the edge of your seats wondering what was going to happen, but she is now a married lady. And don’t be surprised if her new hubby wins the next NBA series seeing as those Kardashian women seem to have a lucky streak about them. When Kim was dating Reggie Bush, the New Orleans Saints won the Super Bowl in 2010. After Khloe married Lamar in 2009, the LA Lakers won the NBA finals in 2010. Just don’t be surprised when it happens, that’s all I’m saying! But congrats to the bride and groom, blah blah blah.

Boos: With all of the hype surrounding the preparation of this wedding, the only photos floating around the internet are crappy ones. We can’t get a decent shot of Kim! US Weekly is trying to show us what Kourtney and Khloe’s dresses look like, but the photo quality is awful and then they try and show us a photo of Kim, but here’s a white tent in the way! Why bother putting them up? Then, why is it so hard to actually get a photo of Kim? She was giving interviews up until Saturday. We get more photos of surprise weddings than this hoopla.

Kudos: Kate and I are taking this workout class, Total Body Transformation, taught by a Raiderette. Well. we’re 99% sure she’s a Raiderette since she’s got all this Raider gear AND is not there to mess around (that means always yelling and trying to trick me into doing pushups--I don’t think so). And boy yesterday was a doozy, she makes us work hard for our coffee, but you do walk out of the class with a firm sense of accomplishment and convinced you sweat off a solid five lbs.

Boos: The day after TBT. Actually, as we decided last night, exactly 12 hours after that class. Your body starts to hate you awfully fast and makes you feel the pain for a couple of days after the fact. Definitely moving a little slower today and letting out a loud "OWWW" when I have to stand, move my arms, crunch, well essentially any movement kills.

Kudos: The Killers. Yesterday afternoon, I was going to do a little rest, so I browsed through some Watch Instantly movies and came across the Killers (movie with Ashton Kutcher and Katherine Hiegel). I thought it would put me to sleep in an instant, but it kept my attention for the whole movie. I know I might be the only person on the planet who thought that, but it was a fun and enjoyable flick! And not to mention Katherine’s character is a Symantec employee. A yeah ya!

Boos: Netflix’s latest business plan. This is so stupid, they want to split up the Watch Instantly and Disc deals, which are currently under one nice price, but with their latest deal, it will essentially double the price if you want to continue both services. At first I said, oh well, whatever, but now I keep thinking about it and realize I'm getting taken for a ride! I’m torn on what to do seeing as I stream movies all the time and all the good movies are DVD only so I am contemplating both, but really Netflix? Really? Man just trying to make that extra buck! I'll keep you posted on my decisions!

Off to another week!

Nice little surprise

Dear Kate,

Well the universe was out of whack last week. I was working and my dad was on vacation. Didn't think that would ever happen! But needless to say I was very sad that they were all relaxing and having fun on the beach while I was chillin in my cube, working away, making sure that the world knows about their data information systems. Actually, I can't remember the last time I actually worked the first week of August. Working is way overrated when it comes to missed vacations.

But I powered through the week and made it to Saturday for Leah and Josh's wedding (soooo fun btws!)! While I was VIP at the wedding the fam bam had the big dinner for Nonno Floyd's birthday and a farewell to the beach. It is one of my favorite dinners, so I made sure everyone knew that they missed me, giving them crap that it wouldn't be the same without me, telling them make sure they don't choke on the tiramisu, blah blah blah. Now, mind you I was at a fantastic wedding but I had to make sure they know that they couldn't have any fun without me.

But I suppose I made an impression on them because when I finally checked the mail today I saw that there was a card waiting -- really waiting, I didn't check the mail for 4 days -- and everyone sent me a card saying that they missed me! Now only if I got the card when it came rather than the night before they come home...

Mini-Vacay

In 25 hours, I will be aboard a plane bound for my haven, San Clemente, for a quick weekender. Sadly, due to my previous vacations, I have to combine all of my SC activities into 2.5 days because I can't spend the week down there, but I have faith that it will be off the hook. Surprisingly, I have gotten a head start (meaning more than 4 hours before departure) on the packing--I know shocker--but I'm not going to go on and on about my hatred of packing and just follow my new motto, "throw it in the bag." And this picture so clearly paints that I overpack but hey, I'm proud of it.

You may be asking, what fun things are you doing in San Clemente, Julie? Well, that's a wonderful question, Kate. I plan on kicking it on the pier with my fave Fisherman's Margarita first thing. Then of course, other items on my to-do list include kicking it on the beach, kicking it by the pool, kicking it with the fam, maybe some tennis, maybe. But essentially a whole lot of relaxing and soaking up the sun! I don't think I'll be able to achieve a stable tan in time for the wedding next weekend, well without the help of Lady Jergens.

Even with a detailed list of funtivities like that I still have probably about twice what I really need. But, like I care! I gotta be prepared, you never know who you may run into -- ahem, perhaps a Real Housewife of Orange County -- a girl can dream...

Only 6 hours of work standing in the way though. And you know those hours are going to drag.

Small Town Hazard

Gossip just comes hand and hand with a small town, and there seems to be no escaping it. My number one source, although her reliability has been spotty, is of course, my mom, who gets her a info from her walking group or coffee dates, who get’s theirs from who knows where and so the cycle of he-said-she-said is in full swing. When she tells me anything these days I always say, “name your source” but that doesn’t stop me from believing it and who are we kidding, repeating it.

And this morning was a perfect example of the San Carlos gossip mill. First thing she says to me this morning was “Casey Anthony could in San Carlos!” Hold up, say what? First of all, how would anyone find San Carlos on a map and why? Without skipping a beat, she goes into detail about how her walking group says that there was a private plane traveling west Sunday from Orlando that made a stop in Phoenix, Phoenix to Orange County, Orange County to San Carlos. Then she says, she’s “allegedly” going to be living in San Mateo. So I went online this am and went to my first stop for all things news, People.com. THEY said that she’s “allegedly” in Orange County. Now I was at a crossroads, who to believe, my mother or people.com? I'm leaning towards People. After some further investigation, I was able to confirm the flight pattern (thank you ABC News) is correct but no one knows where she is (as of 7 PM on Tuesday night).

THEN I hear that the biggest excitement this town has seen in a while is a not even true. A source has a source that the legit (although injured) Giants catcher, Buster Posey is not living in the City of Good Living but in the East Bay. Again, Lady Di’s walking group gets burned with their claims (she even gave me the name of a street she was positive that they lived on and I may or may not have taken a special walking route to go scope it out). Sadly another source has confirmed that he's in the East Bay and it looks like there are no celebrities in the 94070.

Let's hope that Lady Di gets her gossip sources in check. And remember when all else fails, check People.com.