Last night we went to probably the best party ever. It was Eva's 40th birthday and she and Rob threw a bash at this club in Gresham. Well, when I say a club, not like a night club more like a private club. And not like a country club -- it was this giant room like a log cabin with a huge dance floor and lots of tables and places to sit. They had awesome food and a great band -- they played stuff like "Brown Eyed Girl" and "Louie Louie" and EVERYBODY danced. It was wild. Dancing fools. We did the hokey-pokey. Crazy. Open bar -- I guess I should mention that. We had the best time. Rob and Eva have the best parties.

Meanwhile, tomorrow is my last writing class and although I had a very productive weekend, I'm not going to have my project ready to turn in tomorrow. I made a calendar with page goals to get me finished by next month before Xmas. Been working on xmas shopping and menu stuff. Tons of stuff going on.

This is a real story: US breadmakers hold crisis talks over impact of Atkins diet. I'm totally pro-carb if you're wondering.

Two things: one US v. Japan Taste Battle - hilarious. I think Bob brought home a bag of those guacamole chips -- there must be magic ingredients in those kinds of foods that make you want to eat them because no one would eat something like that naturally. When I worked at Jack-in-the-Box hundreds of years ago I swear there was a similar ingredient in the special sauce that went on the chicken sandwiches because one bite and I couldn't stop eating. Two Average Joe is the best thing on television right now.

I have to resist the urge to complain about how hard it is to get here and type a few things on a regular basis. It takes longer than you might think.

Last week we went to see Elf at the 99th Street Cinema. This theater has a hideously designed traffic pattern - obviously created by a person who wants to punish people in cars. The road that feeds out to the highway is shared with a Walmart plus gas station -- just getting into the place was nuts and there was a gigantic line with a ratio of three children per adult (except us) so I was thinking it was going to be a nightmare. Luckily I was wrong -- other than the minor distraction of glowing, phallic lollipops that the two girls next to me were eating -- the kids around us were perfect angels and the show was super sweet and funny. My expectations were only medium so it was a nice surprise. Will Farrell is fantastic. I recommend it.

Stormy weekend. We have a tree out front which I have identified as an ornamental cherry and it went from 60 to zero in terms of its leaves over the course of the day. Actually, it seems like most of the neighborhood trees lost all their leaves during that period.

On Sunday we went to see Master & Commander: Far Side of the World. I haven't read even one of the Patrick O'Brian books and I'd like to someday, but the reading pile is out of control and I don't see it making in anytime soon. The movie is great -- I'm ambivalent on Russell Crowe -- don't love him or hate him -- and I loved him in this show and it's super detailed and I am happy I don't ever have to be a sailor in the early 1800's because it looks awful.

I went and saw Revolutions on Friday and I'm with the crowd who thought it was pretty lame. I'm not a tough customer for those kinds of movies. I like to be entertained for 2 hours and see some cool stuff. And true, the cool stuff was REALLY cool but the lame stuff was REALLY lame and interfered with the few cool parts and almost all the dialogue was horrible -- it sounded like everyone was reading it off cards. Complete the trilogy but then go home and get ready for Return of the King. AND there was a trailer for Troy with Brad Pitt and Orlando Bloom in Greek warrior outfits. Ladies, the line forms behind me.

Trilogy Tuesday - Does this mean I'm too late? (Actually, I don't think I could sit down for that long -- but I would sure like to try.)

I'm going to see Donna Tartt next week with Ronnda. I still haven't read The Little Friend. It's sitting right here. I started it one night when I had terrible insomnia but I realized it's not a book I want to read half assed so I saved it for when I can be more fully present with it. I read something about House of Sand and Fog which is coming out as a movie and has been sitting on my shelf forever -- that might be my next read.

I spent most of the weekend hunched over the computer or my notebook working on my writing project. I decided to rethink it which means I am tossing most of the 45 or so pages I have -- which is fine but I had hoped to finished before Xmas vacation and that's going to be a stretch now. I'm probably over-thinking the whole idea but ultimately I want to please myself and I need to understand what all is going on between the characters.

Bob and I are both getting tomorrow off. We're going to do our Xmas shopping and possibly see Mystic River.

Yesterday I finished this book Hannah loaned me: This Little Ziggy by Martin Newell which is about this guy who was in a glam band, The Mighty Plod, in England in the 70's. This guy was a rolling circus -- drugs and getting beat up and cops and unwise ideas with the energy to carry them out but he's completely likeable and I was rooting for him the whole time. At one point he describes this hippy princess he's started dating as "a nice person in a bombed-out Annie Hall way." Also at the end when he's trying to get his band up to the next level he says: "Being brilliant is simply not enough" and I think this is a good lesson for all life.

In the latest Entertainment Weekly (Keanu on cover) the DVD section has a listing for the Anna Nicole Show and I swear for a split-second I looked at it to see if they were actually charging money for it.