Conan, Are You Trying To Tell Me Something?

This is way more than I usually expose about my personal life on here, but let's say things are coming to a head and Diane 2.0 has had enough. (Diane 2.0 is what I've been calling the revamped "me" I've been working on since my breakup)

I usually watch The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien online while I eat dinner a few days after they air. Usually, I don't pay attention to the musical guests and just let the episode play out while I do something more interesting.

The musical guest for the episode I watched last night was Demi Lovato's "Here We Go Again", and Kate Voegele's "99 Times" for the episode I watched tonight.

I know it's just a coincidence, but I feel Conan is trying to tell me something very particular about a certain person in my life, who I can't seem to get rid of. No, not my ex-boyfriend. He's long gone, and good riddance. But someone else who I thought I was over with and now I'm in a recursive loop saying to myself, "expecting something different to happen, given the exact same input over a multitude of iterations, is insanity". I hope this makes sense and can help someone else out there.

Let's say, my ex-boyfriend dumped me, and this guy wants to get me back in the loop of saying "Here We Go Again", and each time we have an interaction I think to myself "99 Times".

Hey. At least Diane 1.0 would have texted or called him by now, just to figure out WTF is his problem and to be disappointed with the answer. I haven't done either, and I won't. I already know his answer.

I need to get to the point where I can apply P!nk's U + Ur Hand with this fellow, and I'll really be done.

Yes, my friend. I think saying "Don't talk to me anymore" is a great line. I might even have the guts to use it tomorrow when the lout comes back for another round.

Recipe - Just Oatmeal

I've come to respect a decent oatmeal. Not the mushy, gummy instant stuff. But something hearty, like Silver Palate's Thick and Rough (that's what she said?) Oatmeal. It's pretty expensive compared to the tub of Quaker Oats, but it's so worth it. It holds its own against fruits, nuts, and other oatmeal additions.

Here's how I've been making mine recently:

1 c. water
1/3 c. oatmeal
2 TB dried blueberries
2 TB dried cranberries
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 TB brown sugar (I have no honey, otherwise I'd use that. But it probably doesn't need any additional sweetener.)

I eyeball the amount of dried berries; it's a small palmful each. I also eyeball the amount of cinnamon (just sprinkle enough in to look good) and sugar (one heaping spoonful).

Boil the water, then sprinkle in the oatmeal and berries. Turn the heat to low and simmer 10 minutes. Add the cinnamon and sugar, then consume!

Movie Review - Public Enemies

Public Enemies is the kind of film where the fantasy of cinema is supposed to uphold the fantasy of the viewer and eclipse reality. At least the trailers give one that impression. I found the film almost free of cliche, and that was refreshing to see.

While there are elements of the John Dillinger mythos in the film, Michael Mann's collaboration with Johnny Depp and Christian Bale appears almost sterile at times. There's no clear-cut protagonist or antagonist in this picture, as it's obvious both Dillinger and Purvis are not nice men. However, most of the film does focus on what Dillinger is doing; apparently Purvis doesn't have much of a life outside the Bureau. Bale plays Purvis as a cold and completely uninteresting character.

I enjoyed watching Johnny Depp and Marion Cotillard together. I wish there was more of an intimate, emotional heart to this movie, because I would have loved to see more scenes between Dillinger and Billie Frechette. When Dillinger breaks out of prison, he calls Billie and says, "I love you". It is the only instance where either character acknowleges his/her feelings for the other, and Depp delivers the line so powerfully the viewer is compelled to believe Dillinger's drive to be near Billie and protect her must be love, no matter how messed up and unhealthy their relationship must be.

There is a lot of action and a lot of gun fights in this film, and while I suppose that is to be expected, I was under the impression Dillinger preferred the quick and sneaky getaway as opposed to fighting it out with the cops. The scenes where Dillinger escapes from jail were more exciting for me to watch, most especially his escape with the fake gun.

One big problem I did have with the film is that it never establishes who is who outside of Hoover, Purvis, Dillinger, Frechette, and Anna Sage. There would be a scene involving some big names in 30's crime and I would have no clue which of the suits-and-hats in the frame was the guy who's supposed to be such a big deal. This aspect is especially frustrating in war movies and I was surprised to have to deal with it in Public Enemies. By the end of it I just didn't care which random dude was Baby Face Nelson.

Not knowing much historical detail re: Dillinger and his bank robberies, I would have liked some sort of extra visual clue of the timeframe and location of events. The film starts out that way, but forgets the average viewer probably isn't intimately familiar with the timeline after that.

The cinematography and set dressing is excellent; I've read that filming locations include the actual street the Biograph theater sits on as well as the Little Bohemia Lodge. It's a neat little thrill to see something as it might have been on the big screen like that.

Overall, the film is enjoyable and is the kind of historical action-drama one would want to see in the theaters. But do keep in mind that it feels more like a documentary and less like a big gangster flick.

Restaurant Review - 85C

A friend recently introduced me to sea salt coffee at 85 C in Irvine. I've kicked my coffee habit, but whenever I'm in Orange County I want to go there to pick one up. (They've also recently started selling them in a large size . . .I guess even Taiwanese stores are not immune to the Supersize Me problem)

85 C also sells Asian breads/pastries and cakes which are of very high quality. It's worth it to pick up several different breads to take home and eat the next day. But high quality breads are pretty easy to find; to my knowledge 85 C is the only place in the U.S. selling sea salt coffee.

Sea Salt Coffee is an iced, slightly sweetened coffee enhanced by a topping of foamed sea salt. The salty foam is supposed to enhance the sweetness of the coffee. Try it! It's fascinating.

If you're in the area, I recommend checking 85 C out for their specialty sea salt coffee. They are open until at least 10 PM all nights of the week.

85 C
2700 Alton Parkway #123
Irvine, CA 92606
(949) 553-8585

What Victory Feels Like

I really appreciate Dilbert, but I super-appreciate Scott Adams when he comes up with stuff like this:

Race Report - Village Runner 4th of July 5K

This is the second year I ran Village Runner's 4th of July 5K, and I had a blast this year!

I arrived super early (6:30 AM) to get a parking spot. Last year I think I arrived around 7:00 or 7:30 and had to drive a mile or so away for parking. Not bad, but not ideal either.

The pre-race festivities didn't seem as big as last year's, but that's OK.

I had a lot of trouble breaking away from the pack. I decided I was going to try my best and see if I could break my PR that I set in April (33:30). When I started off races walking, I tried to get into the back of the pack! Why were all these walkers starting up front? Arg!

The sole hill is a mean one. It tricks you into thinking that you're doing good, but you're only halfway up.

I hope I ran consistent or negative splits this time, so yay for me! My first mile was something like 12 or so minutes, and my time at the 2nd mile was 22-something. The guy before the finish line yelled 32:40 before I ran past him, and I just pushed it because I really wanted to beat my time. Because it took me a couple minutes to get across the line, I think I got a 31:00 or 32:00. If I got a 30-something that would just be pure icing for me.

They always have great post-race recovery treats at this race. I grabbed an apple and a banana with peanut butter. Yummy breakfast!

I hope next year they start doing corrals, because it's just frustrating trying to move past all the walkers at the beginning.

Update: My time was 31:25.

Dudes. . . .

Here's a head's up for you. If you want to take a girl out, do not do these things (especially in combination):

1 - Ask a girl out the night-of. She's busy. She has plans. She's executing those plans. Even if she's not, she should be. So don't fuck it up with your head-game of "I'd like to take you out tonight and my time-management skills suck so badly I can't plan this three days in advance."

2 - Don't give her a hard time for not calling you. That's your job. Remember? She's out living Life.

3 - Don't tell her that because you couldn't get a hold of her that you:

• are going out to do something she's said to you multiple times that she'd like to do (in my case, club dancing)
• reject her when she asks if she can come along
• then tell her you made plans with other people

To do any one of these things, but especially all of these things in this order, surely puts you into the realm of douchbaggery. Most especially if you flaked on doing something with her earlier in the week.

Yes, I'm pissed. But I'm more pissed I can't find my visor for my 5K in the morning. :)

Fun With Speed Dating

I decided to jump back into dating with trying out speed dating. The premise is that you pay a company some money (I've seen some as expensive as $50, but the one I went to was $36) and you go to a restaurant or club. Everyone is given a card and a number. Typically the girls will sit at the tables or booths and the guys will rotate around every 5 or so minutes. At the end of the event you write down the names of people you would like to see again, and if they want to see you then the organizer of the event will e-mail you later with their contact info.

I've been to a couple of these events and they're really fun. I don't believe I'll actually meet someone there - the point for me is to meet some people, learn a little bit about human behavior, have ridiculous amounts of fun, and go home without having to worry about if any of those dudes will call later.

The second event I went to was a lot more successful for me than the first. I think this was primarily because it was a combined event of older and younger people, and I just happened to be the youngest woman. Dirty old men! ;)

Anyway, I think I already have one date for next week lined up and several more tentatively planned within the next two weeks, so I don't think I'll need to go speed dating for a while. I'm trying to exercise this theory of dating two or three men at the same time to avoid getting to attached to any one particular dude. So hopefully my theory works in practice. I can't even claim that this theory is my own! I think I've read about it from several different authors. (OK, I've definitely heard of this theory from more than just one author, but Diana Kirschner is the only one who comes to mind right now)

Some of the people I've met at these seem all right, some of them I can tell right off that they are not right for me, and some of them are pretty interesting! (At least for those first five minutes)

If you're in L.A., single, and want to try something fun, I recommend SpeedLA Dating. It's a British import, the owner and hostesses I've met all seem very nice, ladies get a free makeup application, and they serve treats! They have events all over Los Angeles (the two I went to were in Hollywood, but they occasionally have events in Manhattan Beach).