I’m back in LA. The scabs almost gone. Yay! Tomorrow morning is my two week follow-up with the ENT, and if all goes as planned, I’ll be back at work following the appointment.

I hope everyone had a very fun and safe New Year’s Eve, and here’s to a happy and healthy 2007!

For some reason, I thought that two weeks after surgery, I’d be good as new. I didn’t realize I’d still have a horrible sore throat, a nasty taste in my mouth, a numb tongue, practically no taste buds, and still be tired. The doctor said I should start feeling better in a couple of weeks and my tongue and taste buds back to normal in a couple of months.
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Remember how DG and I were hanging out? Well, he won’t talk to me suddenly. At the end of December, I called him then emailed him to say hi, and no response. I saw him online and IMd him…nada. I have absolutely no clue what happened. But, with the new year will hopefully come new men.
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Since I’m finally allowed to socialize again, my calendar for January is already filling up quickly! I have a girls’ night with Jen, Ann-Marie, and Marisa planned for Italian (what else, since I’m on this soft-food diet still), a coffee date, a Big Brothers Big Sisters meeting, tickets to the Mortified show with my friend Karrin, speeddating, and an outing with my Little.
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I totally forgot to mention–the day before my surgery, my parents took me to Surfas to get my Hanukkah present–new pots and pans! I love them so much. (The pots and pans and my parents.)
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Today is my dad’s hernia surgery. Please think good thoughts for a speedy recovery.
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Okay, on to TV. Anyone else (I know Dori did) watch Top Chef last night? I can’t say I’m surprised by the elimination, and I hope either Ilan or Sam wins. What about Beauty and the Geek? I liked the premier and will watch the rest of the season. I also have In Case of Emergency Tivod and will probably end up recording Gay, Straight, or Taken as well. What are you watching?

It’s random list time again! Here are some things I am totally over:

• The Valtrex commercial with the husband who has herpes and the wife who doesn’t. And won’t.
• Macaroni and cheese.
• People who say, “I wonder why you’re still not feeling well. I had my tonsils out when I was a kid and I was only sick a few days.”
• My scabs.
• The crazy winds.
• Boys who get hit by The Bus.
• People who constantly talk about the fad diet they’re on.
• Women who talk on the cell phone in the restroom at work.
• Coconut anything.
• Flaky people.
• Tapered pants.
• Boys who don’t even send a “I don’t think we’re a good match, but thanks for the email,” email on Jdate.

I guess I’m a little cranky today. Swallowing scabs can do that to a girl. And please, feel free to add to the list.

Verbatim search questions (and my answers in italics) that landed people here:

• Can i use 87 octane in my pacifica? I have no idea.
• Can a spark of attraction happen on a second date? According to my mom it can.
• How long before you can kiss again after having mono? Not sure. But I kissed someone while I had mono. I’m such a rebel.
• What happens if the pee is sour? Um, what?
• Where can i find a comfortable pair of black cowboy boots? I got a really cute pair of brown ones last year from Shoe Pavilion.
• Is christie brinkley jewish? I don’t believe so.
• Is he over his ex-girlfriend? Are you talking about Mugged Guy? Because he’s definitely not.
• What is juxtaposition? An act or instance of placing close together or side by side, esp. for comparison or contrast, according to dictionary.com.
• Is jdate worth it? Depends whom you ask.
• Why would my actual boyfriend help his ex girlfriend? Maybe he’s nice? Or uh…
• When will i feel better after a tonsillectomy? It’s been three weeks for me and while I’m not yet at one hundred percent, I definitely feel a lot better than I did last week.
• Who will she choose sky los angeles? I have no idea what this means, sorry. Anyone else know?
• If a guy cancel a first date shall i meet him later on? Only if he was mugged at gunpoint.
• Is caddy-corner a word? No, but catty-cornered is.
• What happened to marjorie on what about brian? Good question! I guess you’ll have to tune in next week to find out.

So there you have it.

So as you know, I had my tonsillectomy last month. And my mom took care of me throughout my recovery.

During this time, my dad found out he had to have hernia surgery. Two days after I left my parents’ house, my dad had his surgery.

While my dad was recovering from his surgery, my sister got really sick. Unfortunately, her boyfriend was also sick so he was unable to take care of her, and I couldn’t chance catching anything because I’m not completely healed, so … on Saturday, my mom drove from San Diego to LA, picked up my sister, then drove back to San Diego. My sister was quarantined in her room, away from my dad.

Yes, my mom was taking care of both my dad and sister at this point.

A few days and (what turned out to be) a bad sinus infection later, my sister took the train back to LA. Time for my mom to relax now, right?

Nope.

Today was my dad’s first day back to work following his surgery. While he was working, my mom went to the dermatologist to have a weird thing on her skin looked at. The doctor said it’s either squamous or a pre-cancerous cell, and nothing to worry about. Yay.

While my mom was at the doctor, my dad took the dog to the vet because he fell off the seat at the office (yes, the dog goes to work with my parents everyday–the patients love him), started shaking, then vomited. Turns out the dog most likely had a seizure, possibly due to these controversial dog treats he got into the other day.

After leaving the vet, my parents headed back to the dermatologist because the area where the doctor removed my mom’s skin thing from started bleeding.

Did I mention I have to go back to the ENT tomorrow because I still haven’t lost all of my scabs?

Fortunately, all of these health issues are relatively minor and I am beyond grateful that everyone (the dog included) will be just fine. May the rest of 2007 be healthier than the first couple of weeks.

Last night’s monthly girls’ night with Jen, Marisa, and Ann-Marie marked a return to a normal social life! We went to one of my favorite Italian restaurants, Pomodoro, (no, not the chain of the same name) in Westwood. I had such a blast catching up with everyone, even if I am totally paying for it today with a sore throat. I am so looking forward to our next dinner and our girls’ spa weekend away! Speaking of which, does anyone have any Palm Springs/Palm Desert spa package or accommodation suggestions?
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Yesterday was also my twenty-second day post-op. I think this is the longest I’ve gone without being sick in over a year. Pretty damn amazing. Now if my taste buds would come back and I could get rid of the metallic taste in my mouth I’ll be all set.
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Tonight is dinner with Eve and Marnie, neither of whom I’ve seen in months, even though Eve lives walking distance from me. Crazy, I know.
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Even though I’ve been eating pasta nearly once a day due to still not being allowed to eat regular food, I’m continuing to lose weight. Coworkers are really noticing and it makes me feel awesome. Maybe I should get one of these so I can keep it off.
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Marissa got me hooked on this site (I know, late to the party), where I was surprised to learn that Hard Rock Cafe (at the Bev Cen) and the Hamburger Hamlet (in Hollywood) have closed. Guess what’s going in the Hamlet’s place…an H&M. Seriously, do we need two so close together?
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Tuesday after work I stopped by the Hollywood post office (the one on Cherokee) to pick up the Food & Wine Magazine’s Quick From Scratch Chicken Cookbook I won from Paula of The Cookbook Junkie. Anyway, that post office is a joke and their procedures are straight out of a Saturday Night Live skit. There’s a special door to line up in front of for package and held mail pickup. Every now and then, the door opens and the employee takes a customer’s slip then quickly disappears back behind the door. Ten or so minutes later the employee reappears with the package and repeats the process with the next customer. Everyone in line thought it was a joke and we were all cracking up. Is that how every post office does it or is Hollywood special?
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I bought an Entertainment book. Does that make me old?
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In other news, someone got to my blog by searching for this. I don’t even want to know.
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And finally, I got home late last night so I Tivod most of my Wednesday night shows. However, I did watch Top Chef, and while I’m not surprised by the elimination, could there have been any more product placement? Come on, that was ridiculous!

This weekend, I:

• Wore a skirt that I haven’t fit into in over a year.
• Caught up with Julie on the phone for an hour while her husband wondered what we were talking about for so long.
• Donated my old CD tower and bookshelves to Out of the Closet.
• Bought then assembled a new baker’s rack and rearranged my eating area.
• Bought a new microwave too.
• Caught up on a lot of TV
• Took my Little to see Detention Span, a teenage improv troupe, then went to dinner. Of course, I was chosen to go on stage and be the bachelorette in The Dating Game. The kids in the troupe were awesome, and I wish I had asked better questions. Next time.
• Froze my ass off. Highs in the 50s and lows in the 30s? Hello, this is southern California.
• Lost the scabs on the left side of my throat.
• Set a coffee date for Tuesday night with the last CL guy I didn’t meet before my tonsillectomy. He needs a name.
• Made caramels.
• Noticed a really foul smell coming from my sink and looked below it to find a vase that happened to be aligned directly below the garbage disposal was filled with black stinky water.
• Called my dad in a panic. He instructed me to turn off the water, which fortunately slowed the leak. I’m still scared I’m going to wake up to a flood in the morning though.

In other news, I forgot to mention I took my profile off of Jdate last week. I just got annoyed with the site. However, I’m still corresponding with one Jdate guy and there’s Tuesday’s coffee date as well. Think good thoughts please. And in other, other news, the Golden Globes are tomorrow night, and they take place right across the street from my office which means getting home is going to suck big time.

I know, I’ve been lagging with the posts. I’ve gotten back into my regular routine and barely have time to breath–it’s so nice to have a normal life again! Anyway, here’s what’s been happening.

Monday morning I woke up with a sore throat and attributed it to the scab sloughing. I worked during the day, sat in crazy Golden Globe traffic in the evening, then headed out to Little Tokyo in search of ramen with Marissa that night. Unfortunately, the ramen place was closed so we ended up at another little restaurant that was still pretty good. That was my first time in Little Tokyo, and I would definitely go back!

Tuesday the sore throat got worse, but it didn’t feel like a pre-tonsillectomy sore throat so I just tried to ignore it. I went about my day working, headed out to a Big Brothers recruitment meeting in the evening, then sat in Westside traffic for an hour to get back to Hollywood in time to change clothes and fix my makeup then meet Leftover Craigslist Guy (LCG) for coffee. [ed. note: Dan, we went to Karma!]

The date was okay–he was cute, really nice, but the conversation was sort of eh. If he asks me out again I’d go, and if he doesn’t I won’t be upset. Interesting side note: He showed me his business card, and I noticed the last name on it was different than the last name on his email. I asked him about it and he said something about strange people on Craigslist, not knowing who he was chatting with, etc. Can’t fault him for that, given my recent experiences.

When I got home from the coffee date, my throat was on fire and I went straight to bed. Unfortunately, I woke up an hour later and was awake the rest of the night watching Blind Date and infomercials. I went to the doctor this morning and he gave me Prevacid. But isn’t that for heartburn, you ask…

Well, last week, I ate a lot of mints and peppermint candies (you know the yummy chewy Christmas ones with little trees on them?) to mask the gross metallic taste in my mouth. Later in the week, I had horrible heartburn, which I never get, so I looked it up on WebMD and wouldn’t you know it, peppermint causes heartburn. After reading that, I took Tums and stopped eating the candies. Unfortunately, I had apparently already caused some damage and basically, burned my throat. So now I get to live with a super sore burning feeling throat and take this new medicine for two more weeks. Seriously. Is this ever going to end?

Tomorrow, my aunt and uncle (who are in town from Houston), are taking me and Bethany to dinner at a restaurant of our choice near Cedars (they’re visiting a relative at the hospital). She and I decided on Taste, as my sister has never been. Should be fun and yummy! This coming weekend is also filled with good stuff, including the movies, a much overdue eyebrow wax, and brunch. And hopefully some time on the couch as well.

Now I must try to get some sleep so I won’t be awake all of tonight.

My sister is looking for a studio or one bedroom apartment in the city (Westside/Hollywood) for around $1000. (I know, very unlikely.) If anyone knows of any availability, please shoot me an email.
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I know some of you New Yorkers are sad about the weather on the east coast. Maybe you should move out west–it snowed in LA yesterday.
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Holy crap, Top Chef was good last night! What the hell was Cliff thinking though?! And did you guys notice Sam’s hair in the previews for next week? It looks so good!

In other TV news, what was up with that background music during the makeover reveals on Beauty and the Geek?
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In random news, is it common knowledge that cornish game hens are actually baby chickens? I just learned this recently.
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Rumor has it, the weird building with the square hole in the middle that is the new home to CAA is now open. Has anyone checked out the food court yet? My coworkers and I are always looking for new lunch places.
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And finally, yesterday was the anniversary of the Northridge earthquake. I’m probably the only one that remembers the date, but living in Northridge at that time makes it hard to forget.

I spent the majority of the weekend alternating between my bed and the sofa, as well as between sneezing, coughing, or blowing my nose. Yep, I have a cold. However, this is good news because it’s only a cold and did not turn into anything bad like it would have prior to the tonsillectomy. So, yay for colds! Or something.

Anyway, between sneezes I actually made it out of the house a couple of times. Here are some random tidbits from my weekend:

• Thursday’s dinner at Taste with my aunt and uncle was wonderful–they seriously are the coolest aunt and uncle ever. Also, turns out a former neighbor of mine is a server at the restaurant, and he said to request his table next time I’m there. Awesome.
• Made it to the Victoria’s Secret sale and got some great deals.
• Had brunch with Randi at Grub (which some of you may know as Betty from Top Chef’s restaurant). The place is really cute and food was good.
• Did laundry.
• Finally got my eyebrows done–it had been over a month, entirely too much time!
• Noticed a line down the block in front of Sprinkles. What is up with that? Their cupcakes aren’t even that good.
• Went to the market.
• Slept. A lot.

And now, I do believe my couch and Kleenex box are calling my name.

It’s that time again. Unfortunately, I haven’t read much lately, save for more chick lit–Looking For Mr. Goodfrog (and it’s a Red Dress Ink book, shhh, don’t tell anyone). However, on my nightstand is The Book Thief, which so many of you apparently loved. Thanks for the suggestion mom!

What are you reading? And, if you read a book that someone posted about in the comments in part one, part two, part three, part four, part five, part six, or part seven, let us know!

For your reading pleasure (and to somehow convince myself the past two hours were not a a total waste), I now present snippets of a few of tonight’s speeddating conversations:

Speeddate #1
Him: So what’s your sign?
Me: Leo.
Him: Oh cool. So tell me about Leos.
Me: Um, I don’t know anything about astrology.
Him: I’m a Libra. You’ll probably want to break up with me now because we’re indecisive.
Me: Okay.

Speeddate #2
Him: Wow, those are some boots!
Me: Thanks, I like them.
Him: You could totally kick my ass with those couldn’t you?
Me: Don’t you know it.

Speeddate #3
Him: Where are you from?
Me: I’m originally from Michigan but grew up there then in San Diego.
Him: So you’re American?
Me: Yep.
Him: I grew up in Iran. I’m Persian.
Me: I see.
Him: My parents are Iranian. Where did your parents grow up?
Me: Detroit.
Him: But what are they?
Me: Detroiters?

Speeddate #4
Him: I know you!
Me: You do?
Him: Yeah, we know a mutual guy.
Me: Who?
Him: You dated [The Ex] right?
Me: Yes, I did.
Him: He and I were fraternity brothers, we were both founding fathers of the house.
Me: Holy crap. Small world.
Him: I used to go to Chi Chi’s with you and [The Ex] all the time.
Me: Holy crap. Small world.
Him: (blah blah blah)
Me: Holy crap. Small world.

There were a few conversations that weren’t as painful, and I did put two yeses, so we’ll see what happens. But holy crap. Small world.

If you haven’t watched Top Chef yet, you may want to skip the TV part (and comments) for this post.

An addition to my Things I Won’t Miss Should They Go Away Forever list: Pinkberry. (Plain yogurt that is frozen? I don’t get the hype. It’s gross.) Please stop. Go away. Enough. No more.
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Last night my friend Karrin and I went to the Mortified show. As always, it was great. I first saw Mortified in 2003, and the show just keeps getting better and better! And the venue, King King, was really cool too–they even have their own parking lot, which meant no driving around Hollywood searching for a parking spot.
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I ended up with one match from Speeddating. He called last night as I was on my way out to the show. Pretty cool!
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In TV news, I haven’t yet watched Beauty and the Geek, but I did watch Top Chef. I’m disappointed Sam got eliminated (and by the way, how cute is he with a hat?), but after reading this, I wasn’t terribly surprised.

In other TV news, just when you thought MTV couldn’t come up with any other crazy shows, they premiered Engaged and Underage the other day. I watched it while I was home sick. Yes, it was as awesome as you think it would be.
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I heard Satellite by Guster on Indie 103.1 yesterday. So cool!
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Yesterday, in an attempt to show my boss my latest yet-to-try-obsession (McDonald’s cinnamon roll middles, or whatever they’re called), I went to the McDonald’s site and ended up here. Someone please tell me what this is all about. And how do I vote for www.i-am-jewish.com for next month?

Thursday
Confession time: I had a lovely date (courtesy of eHarmony.) We met for drinks at a martini lounge after work and stayed three and a half hours. He’s nice, smart, cute, and really funny. And asked me out again for Sunday night. We shall call him Martini Guy.

Friday
Came home from work and crashed as I was beyond exhausted from my week. Going out every night with the remnants of a cold is not a good idea in my 30s. However, what is a good idea: Mucus Relief PE. Amazing stuff. Thank you Mr. Pavilions Pharmacist for recommending it.

Saturday
Woke up at 8:00 (I know, crazy early for a weekend) and dropped my car off at the repair shop for a minor tune-up and oil change and asked them to see what the annoying squeak was when I braked. I walked the mile back home, did some laundry, and received a call from the repair shop telling me what I thought–it’s time for new front brakes. (My car is almost seven years old and I’m only now beginning to put money into it. Honda is awesome like that. So, do I hold on to it for a couple more years and continue to invest in shoes, or do I buy the new CRV this fall? Decisions, decisions.)

That afternoon, I did some more stuff around my apartment then walked back to the repair shop and arrived there about oh, five seconds before it started raining. Good timing.

Later that night, I met up with Karrin and we grabbed a bite to eat then saw Babel. Great movie, and lots of fun, as always, with Karrin.

Sunday
Up again entirely too early, I took my Little to the Beverly Center for shopping and lunch. Holy crap is the music in Wet Seal loud! We had a fun time as she tried on size zeros and complained they were too big. Yeah, whatever.

After shopping, I came home, cleaned my apartment, and got ready for date number two with Martini Guy. We went for drinks and dinner then came back to my apartment and hung out. We had a lot of fun and once again, the date was lovely. We talked about watching the finale of Top Chef on Wednesday since we both dig the show. Have I mentioned he’s really cool?

Now I’m going to bed in an attempt to not jinx myself.

Even though Ari didn’t tag me for this meme, I’m doing it anyway. Willingly.

A- available? Yes. Know a nice Jewish boy for me?

B- best friend? Julie! Known here as JAB. We’ve been best friends since ninth grade.

C- cake or pie? Cake!

D- drink of choice? Dirty martini with extra olives. Or Diet Coke.

E- essential item I use every day: Chapstick.

F- favorite color? Purple.

G- gummy bears or gummy worms? Both.

H- hometown? Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

I- indulgence? Random kitchen stuff.

J- january or february? I have no preference, I live in southern California.

K- kids and names: None. Hopefully in the future though!

L- life is incomplete without? Family, friends, and my KitchenAid.

M- marriage date: Um, am I psychic?

N- number of siblings: One–Bethany.

O- oranges or apples? Apples. Fuji apples.

P- phobias or fears? Never getting married and having kids. Also, the cockroaches that fall out of the ceiling tiles at my office.

Q- favorite quote? “A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous.”

R- reasons to smile? Chocolate, good dates, healthy family and friends.

S- season? Fall.

T- tag: Anyone who wants to do this.

U- unknown fact about me: When I was a kid, I was on a commercial for a local TV weatherman in Michigan.

V- vegetable you don’t like: Onions. Blech.

W- worst habit: Grind my teeth/clench my jaw at night.

Y- your favorite food? I have to choose one food? That’s not fair. Right now, I’d go with chicken tikka masala. But I reserve the right to change that.

Z- zodiac? Leo.