The Weaker Sex?

Despite all that women have gone through over the years to make equality among the sexes a mainstream idea, after today I've gotta say that I wouldn't be opposed to admitting that women may be the weaker sex.

Whoa, whoa, whoa there all you extreme feminists. Before you even begin to type a comment, let me explain. Today I spent almost eight hours loading and unloading boxes, lifting and pulling things around and carrying and pushing heavy objects. Of course, I wasn't alone in this task. My co-worker, who also happens to be female, had the good fortune to join me in this pursuit.

Right about now my (and I'm sure her) arms and legs are starting to get tight and tingly. Even my fingers and joints are starting to ache. Right about now I'm seriously thinking of popping an Advil and putting myself out of this misery.

It could be because of the extreme discomfort I'm feeling that I've come to realize that yes indeed the two genders are not equal. In fact, I know it's due to the achiness in my arms and legs. But, if all I'd have had to do was admit that women were the weaker of the two, I'd have damn well done it if someone else would've humped those boxes for me. I don't even think it'd have been beyond faking a fainting spell to get out of pushing heavy things around. Seriously, a right Southern belle, hotter than hell fainting spell wouldn't have been beyond my means. I'd even flutter my eyelashes before I hit the ground.

Grey's Anatomy Season Opener

Tonight's Grey's Anatomy was a pretty good prologue for this season. It addressed a lot of questions that I'm sure many fans have had lingering in their heads sine last season. The biggest news is that Mer/Der is here to stay, especially now that Rose is out of the picture. I'm one of those who didn't really like the Mer/Der relationship (too many on again, off again bits). I thought Derek and Rose made a great couple, but oh well. Another one bites the dust.

I was also hoping that Alex and Izzie would get back together. I've been waiting a long time for that to happen, probably since Denny died (even though I loved Denny to pieces). However, from the looks of things, it doesn't seem likely that it'll happen this season. Or will it?

Could there also be some kind of side adventure for Cristina? Will she venture outside of her well-formed box to try new things and take risks? Her interaction with Dr. Hunt in this episode seems to hint at it.

Tonight was the first time I noticed that George sorta walks gay. I don't mean that in a bad way, and I know it's totally stereotypical to think that hetero- and homosexual people walk a certain way, but it was so glaringly obvious tonigh. Has he always walked that way or is it only now because the actor is out of the closet?

Poor Lexie, she's in love with George like George was in love with Meredith. Same deal with the roles reversed. Will George notice her as more than just a friend?

And by the way, where are all the other interns? I know that they briefly showed Christina's interns but they're basically a mob of identical people. Where's the individuality?

The most interesting storyline this season seems to be the new lesbian couple, Callie and Erica. I think it's good to explore this on tv. I'm not sure if it's the first time or not, but all's fair in love and war so why not?

This season looks likes it's turning up the heat. Can't wait to see what happens.

I Like Stripes

Heroes vs. Prison Break Update

Apparently Michael Schofield and friends won the battle for my heart. I ended up watching Prison Break all the way through. Guess that means I'll have to either watch Heroes online or wait for the DVDs to come out.

I did notice last night that Netflix is letting you watch the entire two seasons online. They're quality is a lot better than streaming off other sites so I might just re-watch the first two seasons until the third one is out.

Darn those networks for making me choose.

Heroic Escapes or Prison Powers?

The night I've been dreading has finally arrived. The fall TV season is now in full-blown operation, and those darn networks are making me choose a fave. How can I choose a favorite evening drama? It's like having to choose your favorite child.

They did it several years ago, making me choose between Grey's Anatomy and CSI, and now they're doing it again. I was as crushed then as I am now.

This season I've got to choose between Heroes and Prison Break. I never had this conflict before until my friends kept insisting that I watch the gorgeous (and not to mention incredibly intelligent) Wentworth Miller break outta prison. I caught up over the summer by Netflixing the seasons. I was more curious than anything else, especially since the first season was all about his tats. Niiiice!

Now that I've been sucked into the world of criminals I'm having a difficult time tearing myself away to watch Heroes. I'm usually not one for comic book-type shows, but I was hooked on this one from the beginning.

I know, most people have TiVo or can DVR shows when they conflict like this, but unfortunately I don't have either. I just got regular cable. So what to do? What to do? I suppose if I get desperate I can watch them online huh? But, somehow it's never the same as watching it as it happens.

Are there any shows this fall that make your absolutely must-see TV list?

Image:
http://www.poptower.com/
http://www.heroestheseries.com/

Missing a Rib . . . or a Dozen

"And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man." (Genesis 2:22)

Apparently, this woman didn't want part of man's rib and had some of them removed. She's gotta still have some to protect her lungs right? Who knows though.

This is simply amazing . . . how many psychoses do you think she suffers from?

Honey, We'll Take the Car

Can you imagine driving around in this thing? This thing's got a jet engine but no windshield? How are you supposed to dodge bugs at that speed? And apparently there's no speed bumps in England.

Say "Money"

I just got back from two and a half hours worth of family time. Normally, this wouldn't be so bad. However, this chunk of my life was spent at the Sears portrait studio doing our first and last ever family portraits.

We were scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. session since that's the time we could all make it out after work. With 12 people all trying to squeeze into the camera lens, it's no wonder we didn't take longer than we did.

I think the photos came out alright - more good ones than bad ones anyway. We'll see when I get my copy of the CD. The only bad thing was that there was only one employee at the studio and she had to serve as photographer, photographer's assistant, cashier, IT support and do it all with a smile on her face. While I give her much props for her fantastic attitude, it was completely stupid of them to schedule only one employee with such a large group coming in.

I really felt sorry for another customer who ended up waiting over an hour for nothing. Since we shut the place down, there was no way she and her baby were going to get their photos taken or even their questions answered. That's completely bad for business.

Also, everyone knows that studios rip you off with their picture packages. Costco is so much more inexpensive. However, we purchased a package anyway like most people. There goes money down the drain.

I did learn that the new "cheese" is "money." I guess cheese isn't cutting it anymore in such slow economic times. The word "money" makes people a lot more happy than "cheese" ever could.

20-Something Dramas

Last night I went to a 21st birthday bash at a karaoke joint. The original plan was to happily sing off-key from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. while kicking off the night with some feel-good juice, then head over to Pearl to continue imbibing the feel-good juice. But as the night wore on, the singing got extended twice so that we ended up renting the room till 11 p.m. And of course, by that time a good portion of the party was really feeling the feel-good juice.

Needless to say, certain members of the party still wanted to move the shindig over to Pearl, but due to some itty, bitty issues like not being able to stand straight and talk straight, it was decided for them that the party was definitely over.

The rest of the merry makers (all early to mid twenty-somethings) were not going to give up the night when the sun was so far from rising. So with Pearl nixed, they decided to check out The Shack in Waikiki, not really because it just opened, but more so because they knew the person working the door. Once this was settled, the real drama began.

Call me old fashioned (or just old), but I don't remember having so much drama when deciding when and where to go out. First, just selecting a place was a half-hour discussion. Obviously, if you know the girl with the list or the bouncer to some club, that's gotta be a good venue choice. I mean c'mon, skip right in why don't you?

The next issue was who would be driving and where would the extra cars go. This led to a heated discussion about what time people were going home and if they were going home at all. I assume the latter half meant one of three things: 1) Crash in town with friends, 2) Crash in town with new friends or 3) Stay up all night and go straight to work the following day. This was a back-and-forth volley worthy of Wimbledon.

Throughout this hour-and-a-half long discussion of the night's plans, texting and cell phone calls were abundant. Texters and callers ran the gamut: old friends, new friends, old flames and potential new flames. Other issues that bubbled up included where exactly is The Shack and where is everyone parking. This led to grumbling that people were tired and didn't really feel like going anyway. Then, of course, came the mandatory pep talk to get them back in the mood. No one was getting off the hook of going out tonight, no one.

Seriously, I was tired just watching them run through it all. Ok, it's granted that I'm older than this bunch, but I'm not much older and am still at 20-something myself. However I don't remember ever having this kind of drama just for a simple night out. Do you?

To add insult to injury, back in the day there were no cell phones to make organizing so much easier. Prior to that it was pagers, and we all know that those were of no real use. I guess the answer is that either the kiddies have just gotten more complicated as technology gets better or we were just more efficient at corraling the troops for a night on the town.

With the final goal of having a great time still playing a prominent role in these events, you'd think that technology would make it easier these days to get the show on the road. Somehow, it doesn't seem that way to me.

Images: www.freedigitalphotos.net

Fundraiser for Paliku Winchester

What:
Aloha Pacific FCU is conducting a fundraiser to help Paliku Winchester, younger brother of Waipio's third baseman Pikai Winchester.

When:
Saturday, Sept. 6 from 10 a.m. to noon

Where:
Aloha Pacific FCU’s Hawaii Kai Branch at Koko Marina Center (near Pricebusters)

Who:
Aloha Pacific FCU & Waipio Little League World Championship Team

Why:
Five-year-old Paliku Winchester was diagnosed with lymphoma cancer. The fundraiser is to help offset the increasing cost of his medical bills. Paliku is currently undergoing chemotherapy treatments and is expected to need treatments for the next two years.

More Info:
Cash and check donations made payable to “Paliku Winchester” are being accepted at all Aloha Pacific FCU branches from now through Tuesday, Sept. 30.

On-site events for Saturday, Sept. 6 include: members of the championship team signing autographs for donations; specially priced lunch combo of a hot dog, drink and chips sold for $3 donations; free balloon giveaway to all keiki, while supplies last; and enter-to-win contests and games.

10 Other Reasons Why Pregnancy can be Great

Yesterday I found out that a good friend of mine is preggers. I hadn't seen her in a while, and sho' nuff when I did she was already showing. Now, I'm not one of those who ooh and ahh over the miracle of birth, but I will give you this: pregnant women can get away with murder. With that in mind, I figured I'd make a list of situations during which being pregnant is as good as gold.

1. Never lift a finger again - Regardless of the fact that you can lift a tow truck worth of food to your mouth, anything else will be beyond your capability. Definitely have someone else handle such details as grocery shopping, taking out the garbage, cleaning the house, etc.

2. Choosing where to eat for dinner - Now you have a right to say you don't want to eat at the Thai place and would prefer fried chicken . . . yes, four nights in a row.

3. Anytime you exercise in public - People will admire you for even dragging your butt to the gym so whether or not you're actually working out is beside the point.

4. Shoe shopping or shopping in general - The ultimate excuse to purchase those overpriced pair of shoes = swollen feet. New wardrobe? Can't fit into the old one and surely people can't expect you to walk around naked, can they?

5. Overwhelming desire not to work anymore - Even if you're not sick or tired, you can always say you are so you don't have to come in to work. No one will question it unless they want to deal with the crazy, hormonal pregnant lady.

6. PMS attitude 24/7 - Don't even hesitate to blame it on the baby. This diamond here is worth the stretch marks and 18 years of legal indentured servitude.

7. Unavoidable situations with people you hate - Now you can excuse yourself and hide in the bathroom without drawing attention to yourself or outting the fact that you really, truly hate this person's company.

8. Female driving faux pas - You're a famale driver AND pregnant. People can't expect you to signal before switching lanes. If you're really lucky, you'll never drive yourself again. This is where your male (or even female) counterpart takes over and does all the driving for you. You can nickname him "Jeeves" and start lounging in the backseat like Miss Daisy.

9. TV remote control control - You'll finally have control over the TV remote because you'll spend more time on the couch than your hubby. Once it's in your hands, he'll never get it switched back to ESPN. From here on out, it's TLC's "A Baby Story" or "Jon & Kate Plus 8" - all day, every day.

10. Tango or no go, in the bedroom - Now you can save your "I've got a headache" excuses and wear the prenancy excuse out for a good couple months. No one will know but you.

Images: www.freedigitalphotos.net