A dress mess

In March I ordered my bridesmaid's dress for my brother's wedding, which is in August. It's supposed to get here today. (If not, I'm moving tomorrow so might never receive it.) And it's been a pretty shaky progression since the beginning.

First off, we could pick our own dresses (thank you, Chelsea) - they just had to be in the "nude" color family. So I found one I liked, got the bride's approval, and ordered it. Two weeks later the company called to say the dress I ordered didn't COME in that color. (Why it was an option on the website, I have no idea.) So they said, "We'll just pick something for you that looks similar." Mmm-kay.

And it was supposed to be here by June 9. So not only do I currently not have a dress for my brother's wedding, but if I DO get it I will have NO idea what it looks like! Exciting, no?

Seriously.

I always get a few late-night emails from my boss/colleagues in Europe and Asia, but last night was ridiculous - 9 emails after 10pm. WTF. I mean, I'm not a doctor, people. I'm not on call 24 hours a day. (Well, apparently I am, but not for something uber-important like brain surgery.) The main issue is that my phone vibrates when I get an email, so I kept noticing new emails coming in all night and then got all stressed out about what was waiting for me at the office and got about 3 hours of sleep. Tack on the 3 hours I got Sunday night and Monday night, and you can just imagine the walking (er, stumbling) disaster that is Sarah right about now. Almost thought about pulling a Costanza and napping under my desk. Still might...

Finally! An "F you" on the Bachelorette!

She's still a complete mess, but at least Ashley was able to give Bentley the ol' "f@#* you" after he decided to vacation on ABC's dime and fly to Hong Kong for no apparent reason. Seriously - what WAS that. He and his "dot, dot, dot" and her and her "period" - thanks for the punctuation lesson, kids. Here's another one - this season sucks, EXCLAMATION POINT!

But I digress.

Ben "Afff" is growing on me, as is JP. And I was sad to see Blake the dentist go - especially since I thought Ames and his elevator molesting (could that have BEEN a slower elevator?!) was going to get the axe. And poor Mickey couldn't handle the Bentley sitch and bailed. On a slow boat from China. (Side bar: how the producers keep coming up with clever ways to send these guys packing amazes me, although my favorite is still when Ali left Kasey on the iceberg.)

Again with the digressing.

And again with the pitting the men against each other for sport - this time, via dragon boat racing. What is Ashley's problem? These things are just cruel and unusual punishment, and did the winners even WIN anything? How about a leisurely picnic or something. Give these dudes a break.

Besides competition, the other thing this season keeps bringing in is Chris Harrison, therapist. Poor guy just has to sit there, week after week, as Ashley bawls her little eyes out and whines about Bentley. Usually only seen to drop off the first date card (PS - what happened to the festive date BOXES? Economy?), he's now all over the place. Finally earning his keep.

Final observation: what kind of waterproof mascara does this chick wear? It certainly withstands all the crying. Impressive stuff.

I just want to quit the gym.

Has anyone seen that Friends episode where Chandler and Ross are trying to quit the gym and they can't? Greatness. And I just experienced that first-hand trying to quit DirecTV. Holy drawn-out conversation, Batman. I was waiting for her to offer me her car just to stay with them for a few more months. But no. Stay strong. You don't need $27 off your monthly bill for a year. And no, you don't have a vacation home where you might need DirecTV services. Just say no.

Omigawd Becky

The concert was so awesome. Backstreet Kids on the Block, The New Boys, whatever you want to call them (they tried to get the crowd to chant "N-K-O-T-B-S-B" over and over, but I'm not sure that will catch on), were seriously amazeballs.

I bought myself one of those giant buttons that you used to wear on jean jackets - and might have to bring that look back - but there were so many amazing ensembles running around. Lots of girls were decked out in 80s clothes - even the ones who obviously were born in the 90s - I even saw some girls wearing hats like the one above. Legit 1980s gear. Very impressive.

I wanted a t-shirt (ooh - or "I Heart BSB" underwear!), but they were a whopping $40. A girl we were with DID buy one - all it said was "Jordan, Joey, Donnie, Jonathan, Danny." Genius. But $40.

Joey McIntyre (who, along with Jordan Knight has really aged well) made the astute observation that there was a distinct generational gap in the audience - either you felt like it was 1989 again (woooooo!), or you felt like it was 1999 again (and the crowd goes wild!).

The concert seemed to go on forever - who knew Backstreet Boys had so many hits?! - and I will now have to download all the songs I forgot about (Cover Girl, anyone? Step by Step!) for an all-new, all-star mega mix. Which is really good news for all my friends who get mixed CDs from me every Christmas. You're welcome, ladies.

And I can confirm: Backstreet's back. (Alright!)

Packing = dust bunnies and dusty memories

About 75% packed (damn you, dishes, for taking like 3 hours last Sunday), and it's so interesting to see what I have managed to amass. I've been in my current apartment for 6 (!) years, and that has been the easiest decision-making factor: if I haven't opened this cabinet/CAN'T open it in 6 years, TOSS.

Having central air will allow me to TOSS the five fans I have stashed around in an attempt to not die from heat stroke in the summer.

Having a dishwasher will allow me to TOSS the drying rack where a plate once fell and sliced open my leg, resulting in 9 stitches. (Again, why I now use plastic dishes.)

And more closet space will allow me to not only KEEP my ridiculous amount of clothes/shoes/purses, but hopefully to buy more! (Although my new hefty rent will put the kibosh on that fairly quickly.)

Here's to my final week on Hawthorne. It was fun while it lasted. But it lasted about two years too long. :)

Total Recall

I really don't understand why people send the email recall. 99% of the time, people already read the original email anyway. And by trying to recall it, it draws more attention to whatever the hell the email said. Example: I emailed a colleague in London yesterday, asking for Flip-cam videos for our quarterly update meeting. She wrote me back early this morning (at least, early Dallas time) saying she was too busy for this. Which I thought was a little snooty, but hey - it's England. They're supposed to be snooty.

And then an hour later, she recalled the email. She probably thought it was 4am in Dallas, and I wouldn't have opened the first one. I guess she doesn't know I get up at 3 to work out. For once my insane schedule comes in handy! So I got into the office and replied (very sweetly, I might add) back to her, using the ORIGINAL email so she would know I totally saw it. This all should make for some fun times when I go to the London office next month.