California Again

I am sitting here, again back at my parents' house in California. While I was away, they redid the kitchen. It looks really nice, but I have to say that it is a little weird to see the kitchen I grew up with like, disappeared. Flight from Arizona was uneventful, which is the best kind of flight, really. I have to say, the Phoenix airport is like, really nice. In terms of non-crappy shops and eateries. They had a Brighton Collections store. But it kind of has a stupid name -- Phoenix "Sky Harbor." It kind of sounds like a poorly-conceived base for superheroes in a comic book or something.

So here I am, looking towards a pretty uneventful week. Which is nice. It's my parents' wedding anniversary on Tuesday, so I am trying to think what I can get the both of them that is under $100. And I am trying to be more original than a bottle of champagne, even if it would be a nice bottle. So that is probably my mission for tomorrow, amongst some other more mundane errands.

Not going to lie, one of my most favorite parts of coming back to California is getting to see my parents' dog, Coco. Coco (aka Kokomo... don't ask, it's kind of complicated) is an adorable 9-year-old German-Shepard/Golden Retriever mix. He is a very sweet dog, but bless his heart, he is not the smartest of animals. Is actually the only dog I have ever known that legitimately chases his tail. It's kind of awesome to watch. If I ever catch him in the act I will try to capture it on video and upload it. But he is just a real sweetie. If you have read this blog, then you know I LOVE PUPPIES (aka Doggies). So I pretty much spent the first ten minutes I was home cuddling the puppy. :-) I miss having a doggie, but it was gratifying to know that after 9 month, Coco still remembered me.

Coco, the cutie puppy

And because I love dogs, and because I use any excuse to add doggie videos to this blog, in honor of being around one again, here is a posting of my favorite Youtube doggie video. I know, it is old news, as many people know about Mishka the Talking Husky. But even though it is an oldie, it is a goodie.

Apparently, Huskies can do this because they howl, they don't bark

On a completely unrelated note, I rediscovered the best scene from the Ben Stiller movie, Tropic Thunder. It is played for you below:

Seriously, Tom Cruise should have gotten an Oscar for his performance in that movie -- he was definitely the best and strongest part of that film. Also, after having seen this movie and the more recent Rock of Ages, I am pretty convinced that Tom Cruise is at his best when he plays completely crazy, over-the-top, off-the-wall characters. He does it so well, and so convincingly. It's kind of awesome. And I personally like this clip because, other than being hilarious, it is actually kind of cathartic: if I am really pissed off at someone, I can just play this clip and pretend that I am Tom Cruise/Less Grossman, and the person that I am pissed at is Flaming Dragon. :). So there's that.

Also, as a bonus, this clip:

That's about it for today. Not much to report, and I realize the post was kind of random, but am trying to get back into a semi-regular blogging pattern, even if only for spring break.