Lucky 7-7-07!

I'm getting MARRIED kids! On lucky July 7, 2007! Check out this article about it, This past weekend, while watching the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding, my boyfriend Caleb asked me to be his wife. It was so super exciting. The ring is gorgeous and more than I could have ever asked for. I am such a jewelry person, so having such an awesome piece on my hand at all times is the BEST. And it reminds me of my amazing man and all the excitement we have to come.

Even more fun has been calling and emailing everyone to share the great news. I have loved catching up with my friends and family. My parents drove down to Athens immediately and brought us champagne and an Emily Post etiquette book (our second Bible these days). Then two of our favorite friends took us to dinner...and omg I couldn't stop getting up and going to the bathroom to call my bridesmaids! So, Mate is going to be my matron of honor and I'm her maid of honor. How much fun! We promise not to bore the blog with too much of our engagement bliss.

Here is a pic of Caleb asking my Dad's permission. It's so weird finding out later that things have happened that you didn't know about! And a picture after the engagement.

--FARIS

Is American Idol too mean?

"Simon telling that guy he looked like a monkey...that was WHACK!"...a comment by one of my first period students that does not usually condone making fun of others. I love my 1st period, by the way. Anyway, I laughed my butt off when I watched the Seattle auditions for American Idol. I thought Simon's faces were hilarious and I seemed to enjoy the bad performances more than the good ones. But, when I got to school on Thursday and talked with my students, I started thinking about how mean it really is. Are these people mentally unstable? Rosie O'Donnell on The View questioned American Idol, saying that they are openly ridiculing mentally unstable people. Well, here's my question for you readers: why the heck do these people try out for American Idol? Even worse...some of the contestants said things like, "my coworkers encouraged me to try out". THAT IS SO MEAN. Would you in good conscience encourage a really dorky person with no talent to go and sit in line for hours and humiliate his/herself on national television? WELL YOU ARE JUST PLAIN MEAN. I'm thinking that YES, some of these people aren't really as weird as they put on...and that they are doing it to just be funny. Like, "Red", I think that he was on there to be funny. His smug little grin when Simon was bashing him gave it away. But other people like girlfriend in the picture above really are just dorky as they come...and shouldn't be encouraged to try out.

On a happier side, I love seeing people do well. The brother and sister pair were awesome...it was adorable how the brother said that his sister was better than he was. Humble people. I didn't know that they existed anymore. Also, there were 2...yes TWO people from my high school (where I teach) that made it to Hollywood. One is a teacher that I know. He is an AMAZING singer (obviously), but he decided not to go because he would have had to abandon his year long teaching contract. I'm sad because it would have been cool to see his cute self on the show...he is a skinny, young white English teacher and he sings like an older, experienced black man. It cracks me up. Anyway...not sure what the girl student that made it decided to do. I guess we'll see.

So what do y'all think, is American Idol too mean?

FYI: I can't get my picture to post because I'm...well...slow. Help!

--Faris

My name is Earl, I mean Alison

Isn't that stupid tv show, "My Name is Earl" about karma? I've tried to watch that show but I don't like it. Anyway, this blog isn't about Earl, but about Karma. You know ever since I got back from Colorado I've had one disaster after another!! I was talking to Mate about it and she says karma is a bitch, but I haven't done anything wrong...I mean sure I'm a little bit vain and like to look at myself in any mirror that's available, and I spend money on clothes that I should give to church, I spend money on shoes that I should give to church, I spend money on Kate Spade stuff that I should give to church, I look up things online that I want to spend money on that I should give to church, I might talk about people behind their backs ONCE in a while, I read perezhilton.com and love wondering if Lindsay Lohan is really putting vodka in her water bottles and lusting after Paris Hilton's newest pair of Louboutin's, but all in all I'm a good person. So, WHY GOD WHY did the ceiling fall in the other morning and why did I jam my toe this morning while plugging in my celly? Seriously, some chicks washing machine broke above Aaron's apt and flooded his house. Oh yeah, and our mascot Bella got out and I had to chase her for 30 minutes during the madness. And then this morning I think I broke my pinky toe and I only have one pair of flats to wear to work and they are leopard print. Enjoy the pics. Oh and no questions about why my fingernail polish is black, people need to watch the E! network once in a while. Black is the new light pink.

Godfather of Soul

R.I.P. James Brown. James Brown died on Christmas day. I didn't know this until I arrived in Augusta, GA a few days later to visit Caleb. The way I actually found out was this...we called Charlsie on Friday night, desperate for something fun to do. She came through. She said, "Hey, a bunch of famous people like Oprah, Usher, and Michael Jackson are in town for James Brown's funeral. Let's go to their hotel and see if we can meet them!" And so we did. We dressed up like famous people...I have never worn that much make-up in my life. Caleb has never looked more metro in his life. We sat in Augustino's, the hotel bar at the Marriott, from about 7:30-midnight stargazing. Well, we didn't get to see or meet the aforementioned stars; however we did have the company of the following in the bar with us: Jesse Jackson (Greenville native), Don King, Rev. Al Sharpton, MC HAMMER (my personal favorite), and a few other important politicos. Some people thought WE were famous. We left the Marriot and headed to the Partridge Inn, another hot spot, thinking that the Bamboo room would host some celebrities. We were told it was "closed for the evening" by a body guard that I recognized the next day on CNN as one of Michael Jackson's 30+ entourage. We made a stop at the statue in downtown Augusta and you can tell from the picture what state of mind I was in. Caption: Faris, Charlsie, the Godfather of Soul, and Maggie. Saturday, Caleb and I watched the funeral on CNN like it was a suspense film. We squealed like little girls when Michael Jackson came out and gave a speech. When was the last time he made a public appearance? OMG that was a fun few days!
-Faris