sarah. word.

Naysayers R Us

So I've learned a lot about how people act when you start up a blog. For example, if they don't like something you said, or they just don't like you, they'll post it in the comments section. And that's ok, because blogs aren't all about rosy flowers and praise and happy times. It's a forum for discussion... and as a new member of the on-air world, my skin thickens with each passing day.

But then you get the weird anonymous posts that are either 1) lewd, 2) mean, or 3) misleading.

1) Lewd is lame, and it's either underage boys, green-eyed monsters, or just lonely adults looking for some online fire. The third scenario is clearly the worst. Might I suggest a nice run on the beach?

2) Mean is just, well, mean. Who wants mean people around? I don't. And I know you don't.

3) But what really gets me is the dude that posts in the comments section as ME, and says things I would never say, just to upset my readers. What a bummer. There's really nothing I can do, because I said at the beginning of this little blog project that I wouldn't resort to turning off comments. I really like your comments, and I read them religiously. But what I can do is refrain from posting in the comments section at all. That way, if there's something posted by me, you can rest assured it wasn't me. I'll try to stay on top of taking out the other crap too. You guys don't deserve to read that shit when you come to my house. :)

Ok, now that we've cleared that up... here's my pic of the day (from my favorites vault). I really don't understand this one, or remember it for that matter. Long live the SarahCam!

I'm also trying to figure out if certain food consumption before bed increases instances of vivid dreams. I dream abundantly every night, but sometimes they're bad dreams. Aside from the obvious stress culprit, I think it might be what I'm eating. Thoughts?
s

I crave a tuna melt like never before.

So Kevin and I were just talking about our shared love for tuna melts. More specifically, the tuna melts they make over at the New York Street Cafe, which is half a block from our TechTV studios. For some reason, these tuna melts take an exceptionally long time to make (15 minutes of salivation is just unnecessary, don't you think?), but oh, the reward is so very satisfying.

Now, because of our conversation, I must have a tuna melt before I wither up and die right here. Hold the onions, please.

I've gone back and forth from love to hate and back again with the local restaurants and cafes around our offices and studios. Inside our main office building is a basic run-o-da-mill breakfast/lunch cafe called Cafe Moda. When I first started working here, I was totally dependent on Moda to keep me alive, for I had absolutely no time to actually venture BEYOND my building for nourishment.

Problem with captive audience cafes like this is everything inside them is too expensive. I grew to like Moda less and less. $6.00 for half a spinach salad? Hell no, I won't pay! And I didn't want anyone else to either. So I founded a company-wide protest group, TSAM (TechTV Staffers Against Moda). Many joined, but quickly fell from TSAM grace as their bellies ached and clocks ticked. TSAM is now officially on review with the Board of Directors because of insider trading (yes, I crossed the picket line. I was so hungry!). So, Moda's back. I love spinach salads. Whatever.

Then there's the NYSC across from the studios. They, too, have what I consider to be ridiculous prices when it comes to simple avocado sandwiches. For a good month, I refused to enter their premises. I chose instead to live off the soda crackers and Cup-o-Soups stocked inside our studio kitchen. But slowly as my body began to eat itself in protest of salt-in-a-cup snacks, I gathered up my pride and slithered back to NYSC for an avocado sandwich. Now, I'm in there almost every day. Sometimes for just a sumptuous peanut butter cookie, other times to devour the mighty tuna melt. Today is all about the latter.

So anyway, I think the moral of my story is that I'm weak and lazy and choose to spend my hard-earned $$ rather than pack a lunch. But I'd like to think I'm also paying homage to my local cafe. I don't know... I'm just really hungry and I need a f***ing tuna melt before I freak out.

Today's pic clearly represents my endless enthusiasm for my job, and of course the nook game we like to call "King of the Hill. " Two people stand on the edge of the nook. They push each other till someone falls. The winner does a little dance. I'm really good at this game.

Here's to another fabulous week!
s

The English Language is Sneaky.

Ever wonder why some words are either spelled or sound exactly the same, but mean different things? I do. Who's responsible for this?

Ok, there's close and close.
Close to you,
Close that door.

Or, read and read.
I read that book last weekend.
I'll read that book Friday.

Um, how bout deer and dear.
My dear, you look ravishing.
The deer are grazing.

She breaks bread at dawn.
My car's brakes squeal and it annoys me.

That thyme goes in my stir fry tonight.
It's time for me to get the hell outta here.

So I'll see you tomorrow.
I'll be heading out to sea when the moon's full again.

As she leaves, a man knocks into her and spills wine all over her
dress.
Wanna run and play in the leaves with me?

Ow...my back so hurts right now.
Baby got back!

We might be late cause we gotta pick up the beer tap.
Tap dancers amaze me.

You're so mean. Go jump off a cliff.
My dear, whatever do you mean by that?

I'd like a piece of that action.
Peace, man.

That's quite a rite of passage.
Make a right here at the light. Oh damn, you missed it.

I could go on and on...it's addictive! Have more?
s

Today's Word is Apoplectic.

My boss, Paul Block, wrote that on the whiteboard in my cube. I had to look it up. Then I had to wonder why he was experiencing apoplexy. But isn't that a great word? I consider myself an officer of the grammar police, but I'm constantly humbled by how many words I've never uttered before.

Here's another one (let the uttering commence!):
ozocerite- A yellow-brown to black or green hydrocarbon wax, found in irregular veins in sandstones and used in making electrical insulation and polishes.

I'd also like to bring back an exclamation whose popularity seems to have waned sometime before I was making exclamations:
"Egad!"
That just makes me laugh. Next time you're surprised, please exclaim that.

Moving right along, does anyone out there have credit card debt? Yeah, me too. I've had a nice big chunk of it since my college days, when I signed up for the now defunct "Webmiles" credit card. Oh, I could go into the whole thing, but let's just say I was young and naive. At the time, web-based miles seemed tres cool. What Internet bubble? Funny how when companies go out of business, miles disappear. And I was buying everything from gas to groceries on that thing. Silly girl.

Anyway, I'm almost done picking away at my credit card debt. I eagerly await the month when I can run free through the daisies and have money for things like DSL and more RAM!! Stupid credit card.

My favorite words to date:
-Bangladesh
-Rubies
-Extravaganza
-Cheyenne

My least favorite words:
-Sleuth (I have taken issue with it ever since my Nancy Drew days, it was written at least once in every book)
-Arachnophobia (I have this phobia, the word itself reminds me of spiders, there is nothing good about it, all bad)
-Phlegm (spelling is all over the map and I got sick typing it)

Today's pic is my best impression of a flippant, yet thirsty, lady:

143 4 Life,
s

6 Degrees of Sarah Lane

So over the weekend I became ADDICTED to a new service called Friendster.
I'd explain it all here, but it's better if you check it out for yourself. Make sure you know someone who's already signed up to help you get started, or be prepared to recruit some troops. Good lord this site's fun!! I only have 8 signed up friends so far, but I have 24,124 people in my Personal Network (and I've already found another Twin Peaks freak, yay!). The possibilities are endless.
Oh, and I'm doing a seg on the show tomorrow (5/20) on Friendster, because, you know, we're all Friendsters in this big circle of life.
s

Am I a Thief?

Last Thursday in my "Blog Report" I showed people how to view source code and copy and paste stylesheets to make their own blog styles cooler. I've since updated my article to make it MORE clear that stealing isn't ok and you need to know what consequences may arise if you do rip stuff off. I still encourage people to play around, but yeah, don't steal beyond experimenting unless you get permission. Thanks to the few folks that wrote me...yes, I know my morals are lacking, but I'll clean 'em up a little for the show. :)

Boy, being on-air is a really interesting experience. Sometimes I really feel like I came across well, and someone will criticize me from left field. Other times, I come away from my segments feeling like I coulda done a lot better, and I'll get some really cool praise in reponse. It's hard to always know. For now, what's most important to me is sharing cool shiiiat with the TSS audience. I'll continue to do that and hope you guys like it.

Today's pic is from a trip to Tahoe with the boyz (Prager's cabin is par-TEEEEEE central!)

Here's a little quiz. I hope you ace it. It's for your own good.

Hope your week's kickin off well....
s

It's Friday and I'm ecstatic...

...and not really because I have a lot planned this weekend. Just want to kick up me little tootsies and have some tea.

So... in a couple of hours I'm off to interview Ellen DeGeneres and Brad Garrett (Everybody Loves Raymond), both voices for Pixar's new digital masterpiece, "Finding Nemo." I'm a huge fan of Pixar's work and I actually liked this movie even more than "A Bug's Life." And last night, I was lucky enough to be the first of a handful of journalists to view the movie inside Pixar's private screening room. Steve Jobs was there to welcome us and thank us all for coming. No prob, Steve- and thanks for dinner! Really entertaining movie, INCREDIBLE spfx, adorable for kids, but some of that adult humor too. Two thumbs up!

I also gotta say that Pixar's facilities kick major ass. What an awesome place to work! And here's a nice little touch- once the lights go down in the theater, twinkling lights appear on the ceiling, very planetarium... and then if you watch closely, you see a few shooting stars. Love it.

I'm heading up north to see my parents tonight. I can't wait to get on the couch and revert back to junior high again. Do you know that my mother made me breakfast every day of my life until I went off to college? Even if I slept in and missed breakfast, it would still be sitting there. It's amazing the cats never ate it. Anyway, three cheers for mom!

My favorite breakfast foods (pre-college):
1. Top Ramen
2. Cheese quesadillas
3. Grapefruit

My favorite breakfast foods (in college):
1. Mac n Cheese (leftover)
2. Top Ramen
3. Pizza (leftover, reheated in the toaster oven, microwave made it rubbery)

My favorite breakfast foods (present day):
1. Fruit smoothie (homemade, no Jamba Juice!)
2. Toast and cottage cheese
3. V8 and a banana

Good god, I may actually be growing up.

Today's pic requires no explanation:

Have yourself a merry little weekend.
s

I've Had Too Much Tea.

Peet's Coffee & Tea has this delicious blend of loose leaf green tea called "Sencha." It's truly the best tea I've ever had. Nice and smooth, not too flavorful, so you don't get sick of it. And packed with caffeine. Yes, PACKED! I switched to tea about 5 years ago when I felt coffee was too much of a strain on my system. But my caffeine addiction needed to be fed. So I found Sencha green tea (loose leaf only), and have never looked back. The only problem is the tea leaves are scattered all over my cube at work and scare people from time to time.

Speaking of my cube, my supply of M&Ms, Oreos, and Rice Krispy Treats is slowly dwindling. Thanks to everyone who dutifully sends me SarahCam caps of those who taketh when I'm awayeth! :) Actually, I've been the office hero for a couple weeks ever since I got the candy shipments (thanks Terry), so it's definitely working to my advantage.

I could use some suggestions for how to spice up the cubecam too, so feel free to comment. Sorry, no tiki hut building or fire pits allowed.

Kevin has introduced an ant farm into the offices here at TechTV, and since I just happen to sit next to him, I get to stare at it all day. I've become rather transfixed with the way these little guys build and burrow and work in teams. Very impressive. On the flip side, I now imagine there are ants crawling all over me every time I get an itch. I love my job!

Today's pic is my very favorite CubeCam capture to date (have I mentioned how much I miss Megan?):

TTFN, BFN, BRB, BBL, TTYL...
EOM.
s

Vegas and other short stories.

So I just got back from Vegas for my friend Halley's bachelorette party. She's getting married in August and I can't wait! Weddings are fun. I have some pics from the weekend but I need to carefully scan before posting... I wouldn't want to taint my impeccable image. :)

However, there were some things about Vegas that got under my skin. For example, when walking down the Strip, the sidewalks are littered with flyers for various "adult clubs" and other porn entities. Nasty stuff, nothing censored. I guess they've been passed out, dropped, and left as litter. But there are a lot of kids who come to Vegas with their families and walk the Strip with the rest of us. Pretty inappropriate material for a little kid whose eyes are even closer to the ground than mine. Kind of how I feel about porn spam. It should be illegal.

Second, the guys that come to Vegas in large groups (frat dudes, bachelor parties, etc) can be obnoxious as all hell. I know Vegas is a giant playground, but personal space rules still apply, people! I think I've just grown out of the Spring Break mentality. Hey, a little conversation is nice, but just because you're wasted doesn't mean I want to hear about it. :)

It wasn't all bad, though. I mean, come on. Ten girls in cute outfits out on the town? Fun! But the true highlight of my weekend was the pool at the Bellagio, where we stayed. Actually, I should say pools because there are like five of them. Check it out next time you're there. Saturday was sunny, we were all zonked from Friday night, so under the umbrellas we went to bask in the desert sun, drink bloody marys, and swap magazines. Now that's what I call a good time.

Ok, so now I'm back at work and feeling disconnected. This is turning out to be a hellish week of work, since a few of my staff are going to E3 and I have to pick up more than usual in their absence (moan, groan). Hey, that's what I get in the real world. Suck it up, sister!

Here are a couple pics I love from my collection... now you can love them too...

Me, Halley, and Kerry (X-Play) in Kauai last year:

A really cute cat getting a little drink:

Peace all. Have a kickass Monday!!
s

Sarah. Sauced.

Yeah, I was in full form last night. There's something very unique about TV parties and alcohol. Leo was dancing. Dancing hard. Foo Foo was dancing with Leo. Two people on our staff kissed (not the two you're thinking of! scandal! yes!). I'll have pics soon. wooooooooo

We also got a pleasant surprise last night when Megan, Marco, and Annabella showed up! The little one slept through the whole thing. I actually sort of freaked out when I saw Annabella and Megan together. Such a proud mother, such a cute baboo! I was so moved I actually started crying. Megan laughed at me. Then I ordered a vodka tonic on Leo's tab. The password at the bar was 'tiger.' I kept forgetting. Kevin kept reminding me. And the Foo kept dancing.
s

PS- Dr. Weil was on Larry King tonight... yes!

9 days till the Matrix.

Or....technically 8 days cause it comes out at 10 pm on the 14th. I will be walking the streets of San Francisco with a camera that night, looking for the biggest Matrix fans around and showing you the results the next day. Then, after proving my Matrix faith, I will make all who come before me to call me Trinity (that hasn't caught on yet around the office. I'm not sure what the problem is).

I highly suggest you check out my TSS article for the Animatrix links. A really great way to get some background on the Matrix plot. Seriously, that stuff is far out! And when I say far out, I don't know if it's good or bad. Anime is weird. It makes me feel weird. I like it because it's clever and creative and very sci-fi chic, but something creeps me out about the big eyes and unhuman-like movements and almost beautiful violence. I have a lot of friends who LOOOOOVE anime. I want to love anime too. But then Seinfeld reruns come on.

I'll definitely be posting some pics making this here blog a lovely spot to stop and smell the roses for awhile, but please don't hesitate to comment with ideas as well. After all, the blog is really not a self-serving kind of thing as much as a mechanism of sharing.

Something about that last sentence made me laugh.

Oh, one more thing before I go... Studio B is really cold when they turn the lights out, and I'm the only one here and everybody's gone and things keep making funny noises and I'm pretty sure that little girl from The Ring is going to get me.

Outti 5000....
s

PS- Don't forget to hug your pets! :)

This is my first blog. Yea.

Hi all....

Just a little note to say hi. It's Monday, my blog is up, and life is good.

Tonight is rather melancholy though, so I'm just gonna get on the couch and have myself some cheese.

s