Girlfriend Lessons: Green Means Go

With Valentine's Day behind us, some of us are still looking for love. Well, we all like to party, and nothing beats a theme party. The solution? Throw a "stop light party." The concept is simple: your relationship status is directly reflected in the color you choose to wear to one of these parties.

Red: In a relationship

Yellow: In an open relationship and looking to play

Green: Single and ready to mingle

In theory, this should allow the singles to find each other and allow guys and gals who are in relationships to ward off unwanted advances. 

But what if people bend the rules? Things to watch out for:

Mixing Colors

Wearing a Yellow Green shirt = "I'm single but I keep the old 'standbys' on deck. Maybe you could be one of them ;)"

Wearing all 3 colors at once =  "I like to keep them guessing"

Wearing a red shirt and green pants = "I may be taken, but you're invited to the party in my pants" = potential cheater or a "ball-and-chain relationship" victim. 

All participants wearing red = a couples dinner party. WARNING: Singles, prepare to be harassed about your love life and/or be the 11th wheel.

Keeping all 3 colors at hand = allows the wearer to switch colors as he/she encounters differing degrees of attractive people i.e. "I'd give this guy the green light, but I'm red lighting the creeper over there..."

Road Signs

In conjunction with the colors, some people may get clever and don accompanying road signs.

"No chance, buddy. Keep it zipped."

"I go both ways ;)"

"Psh sweetheart, please. Men are working here."

"Hmm...yeah you're not so much for me, but maybe that guy can help you out?"

"Girls nearing 30 need not apply" - Barney Stintson, How I Met Your Mother

"I like 'em young" 

Children Crossing = PEDOPHILE. 

This gal's looking for a GOOD time.

Hey, whatever works...

On the chest: "I got my boobs done"

On the nether regions: "I used to be a dude"

?!?!

(I don't wanna know...)

Now go throw your own stop light party, but be prepared...

Chasing the Journey Front Man

If you're any sort of rock aficionado, an 80's kid, or a former student of any New England college, you know the band Journey. Even if you don't, I bet you a million dollars you know the song "Don't Stop Believing."

To most of you, Steve Perry is synonymous with Journey. He did after all sing the songs that made the band what it continues to be today. What less of you may know, is that since his controversial departure in 1996, there have been three men who have attempted to fill his shoes. The most recent man happens to be a compact 5'3" energetic jumping dynamo who hails from the Philippines, which *shock* happens to be the motherland for me. 

Introducing...AP

His name is Arnel Pineda, and since his discovery in December 2007, he has been the object of pinoy pride all over the world. How did Journey find him? YouTube. Guitarist Neil Schon found him on YouTube singing a cover of "Faithfully." The rest is history. What a lucky break, eh? Going from singing covers of Journey songs to being the actual Journey lead singer? Wow! 

Reception

The reception has been quite split. Some fans of the Perry Era didn't like Arnel because he's not American and he isn't Steve Perry. To those fans I have to say, they have a point, and while I agree with them, Steve himself can't hit those notes anymore. Some older fans have reacted positively saying AP is a breath of fresh air. 

Then there's the other extreme, the sudden influx of the Filipino community who has decided to support Journey because of Arnel. While this is a great new fan base for the band, I disagree with their liking Journey just because Arnel is Filipino. Let's face it, Journey was and always will be an American band. I classify these types of people as diehard Arnel fans, but fairweather Journey fans. But I will say, after seeing this dude in person, he deserves serious props for being a great singer and a great person.

Introducing...my mother.

So here starts my personal story, and it all begins with my Arnel-crazed mother. Let's call her Alana. 

There is a fan website online where people all over go to chat about AP and whatever else they choose. If you actively chat on this site, you're called what's known as a "Plokker." Alana aka Momma, is a diehard Plokker. I'd even venture to call her the queen of the chatroom.

Alana's Journey & AP Timeline

Summer 2008 - Alana (and family) watches three different concerts on Journey's Revelation Tour: Mohegan Sun (CT), Hershey Park (PA), Bethelwoods (NY) (whattup Woodstock!?).

        Journey at Hershey Park, August 2008

December 2008 - The East Coast Plokkers meet for the first time at a Filipino restaurant in Altantic City. There was plenty of food, karaoke, line dancing and chatter to go around (as to be expected). I should mention that the group made a generous donation to AP's foundation for underprivileged children, which was great.

January 2009 - Alana gets to speak with AP on the phone personally. I can't disclose the details but let's just say she's got an in. *Sealed lips*

February 2009 - Lani Misalucha Concert with special guest, Arnel Pineda. Now this is where things get interesting. The East Coast Plokkers assemble once again, this time as VIP's guaranteed a meet and greet with the artists. Woohoo! I'm on video duty, my cousin Romeo is primary photographer and my dad is photographer 2. 

1pm - Plokkers meet at a Filipino restaurant (deja vu much?) and eat, talk and play games to their hearts content. 

        5pm - Depart restaurant and go to Newark Symphony Hall for the concert. This is the part where we get our oh-so-cool VIP wristbands.

        7pm - The concert starts. I know I haven't mentioned her, but Lani (the headliner) is quite a talented person with a great sense of humor. I was very pleasantly surprised. Who else can sing and bounce like Beyonce but perform "Nessun Dorma" flawlessly? That's what I call versatile. Arnel gives a stellar performance punctuated with numerous shoutouts to the Plokkers, much to the delight of the group. We were the loudest, rowdiest ones there, naturally. We also really get to see his personality and charisma, which are both off the charts.

       10pm - Concert's out. The Plokkers await their chance at a photo op with the man of the hour. This is how that turned out: 

                  Chaos! The Plokkers are unhappy with the disorganization. Hint: AP is...you should know this one by now. Alana is the creeper with her hand on AP's shoulder. Lani is the one in the gray sweater. Mom gets a brief chance to give AP the presents we bought for him and his fam. 

11pm - Lani and Arnel sign autographs. Mom gets Lani's autograph on her CD. She also gets her second round of facetime with Arnel, and this is how it goes:

                          

Alana: Arnel, you may not really know who I am but I'm Ate Alana.

AP: Oh my god! Ate! Thanks so much for _____ ______ and ______ (can't disclose).

  HOW THE HECK DOES HE KNOW MY MOM!?! She totally crept in there!!!

              * Alana proceeds to get every single thing she brings in with her signed, along with additional hugs and greetings from the big (little) guy*

12am - Unsatisfied with the earlier reception, the Plokkers discover where Arnel's hotel is and they wait in the lobby with the event organizer. This is how that turned out:

                 

                                              Me, my cousin Lucille and Lani Misalucha

          and...

      

                  The East Coast Plokkers with Arnel Pineda (center) and Lani Misalucha (bottom left). Finally a proper group picture!

All's well that ends well I guess. I felt like a serious stalker. First of all, we found out where he was staying. Secondly, we WENT there at midnight when the two of them had a 4am flight to catch for San Diego. I have to commend Arnel and Lani for greeting the group openly and being such great sports. They really are such down to earth and awesome people. 

Take home lesson 1: I'm personally not groupie material, but my family sure is. 

Take home lesson 2: Persistence means never having to be satisfied with just an autograph...

I'm sure there will be more AP related adventures to come, if my mom has anything to say about it. 

Guy-Friendly Book Review: "Physics of the Impossible" by Dr. Michio Kaku, PhD

So gents, AE's back with a chance for you to indulge your inner nerd. If you read my "Celeb List: Geek Hot Guys" you'll know that nerdiness is fully condoned here. So if you're one of those guys who bought one of those Star Wars Special Edition light sabers from Sharper Image (before it went out of business), or you're just a science geek like AE and me, read on.

            Let’s face it gentlemen, there isn’t a single one of us out there who hasn’t seen the entire Star Wars Trilogy (not the Hayden Christiansen bastardized trilogy).   We’ve all spent countless dollars on novelty light sabers, die cast millennium falcons, and R2-D2 action figures.  But how much of that movie is actually possible by today’s technological standard?  Dr. Kaku attempts to answer that question along with many of our favorite science fiction phenomena. 

Let me begin by saying that this is not a book for your average layperson.  Kaku is a professor of Theoretical Physics at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.  Unless you finished with an undergraduate degree in a hard science, I recommend you brush up on your basic physics and chemistry before diving into this beast. 

Given the proper background however, this book is very enjoyable, fascinating and thought provoking.  Kaku analyzes what is necessary to accomplish all of our favorite “impossibilities:” teleportation, starships, faster-than-light travel and even the perpetual motion machine (better known as the Holy Grail in the physics world).  Believe it or not, some things such as force fields and starships are not all that far out of our reach given our society’s current technology. 

For the stereotypical nerd, this book is everything you would want and more.  Kaku discusses the history of each “impossibility”, what we as a society know so far, and the in depth physics and chemistry (oh God! Equations!).  If anything else, you will get a great deal of compliments and impressive looks when reading this book in public. 

-AE

Who Should Read: Science nerds and Jedi Wannabes

May the force [field] be with you, as you steer your starship.

Celeb List: Top Dogs

He's such a cool cat

For all of you animal lovers out there, I'm a dog person. Unfortunately, though I think they are adorable, I am horribly allergic to cats. I don't have a pet of my own right now, and dogs just seem to make the coolest sidekicks. Just think about how many dogs you've seen on TV and in the movies!

If I were to find my dream dog, it would want it to be as cool as these guys on my "Top Dogs" list:

10) Beethoven - You can't help but love this jumbo size St. Bernard. I just love it when he meets Missy and they have puppies together.

9) Brain from "Inspector Gadget" - he's faithful and is a master of disguise. I want his high tech collar for my future puppy so we can talk, haha. 

8) Scooby Doo - "Ruh roh" where are the Scooby snacks when you need them?

7) Brian from "Family Guy" - what other dog do you know stands upright, loves opera, and can speak multiple languages?

6) Lady and the Tramp - I'd cook them spaghetti and play violin in the moonlight whenever they wanted.

5) The Taco Bell Chihuahua - Yo quiero este perro...and a quesadilla.

4) 101 Dalmations - yes, all of them. Stupid Cruella.

3) Lassie - this dog puts me to shame. 

2) Porkchop from "Doug" - just to clarify, the original Doug on Nickelodeon, not that Disney-ed out one. Come live with me, Porkchop! And bring your igloo too...

1) Snoopy - he is the classic and original. I always thought he was the smartest one of the "Peanuts" gang. Yes, even more so than Lucy.

                          Only the truest sidekick would drop trou and lend you his undergarments for your Quailman costume

Got and addition? Leave a comment!

Why The Superbowl is Like a Holiday

      

WHO WILL WIN!?

Hellooo football fans and football apathetics alike! It's Superbowl Sunday! 

Now, this is traditionally a guy's kind of day, but we girls can get in on the action too if you have the right attitude. Maybe some of you ladies are diehard football fans and you love a certain team. Maybe you're like me and you have a very cursory knowledge of the game and only watch when your boyfriend puts it on TV. Or, maybe you're the girl who doesn't see what all the fuss is about and doesn't bother with the sport. 

Well that's about to change, because I'm here to tell you that Superbowl has got something for EVERYONE!

Why the Superbowl is like a holiday:

- It happens once a year, and there's a certain novelty that surrounds the event.

- The week of, TV shows incorporate it into their plot lines, and make Superbowl-related episodes. It's right up there with the "Christmas special" or "Halloween episode." Think about it.

-There are sales in stores around Superbowl time. Bluefly.com has a 10% off everything sale today because it's Superbowl Sunday. Should I mention that Bluefly is an online, high-end designer website?

-People break out special clothing for the occasion. Bring out those game day jerseys everyone!

- DRINKING, and lots of it. Hurray beer! Break out the Bud, Heineken, or whatever floats your boat. (FYI: I don't drink beer). 

- There's very specific spread on the table, just for the hungry Superbowl watchers. For me personally, I've got a Pavlovian response to this particular day:  Superbowl = WINGS!

- The commercials are made especially for this day. And they're usually hilarious!

- There's music, specifically at halftime.

- People are laughing, crying and screaming...at each other and at the TV. It's just like any other holiday! Nothing brings people together like a little pigskin action.

A WARNING: DON'T BE LAME. I'm going to relay a certain (unfortunately) true story of last year's superbowl. One of my closest guy friends and I were watching the game at college and he had to go back to his dorm room for a reason that now escapes my memory. He went back to discover that his female roommates were watching TV, but what was on? A ballet dvd or something. A BALLET dvd!?! He asked if he could switch it to the game, and the girls said "no!" So he was forced to try and watch online feed from his computer in his room, which is just completely unacceptable. 

They could have easily turned off the DVD and resumed watching it later but noooo. I felt badly for him, and I didn't think he had to take that at all. Stand up for yourselves guys, because this only happens ONCE a year!! Gaahhhh!

Moral of the story: anyone who wants to watch the game should be allowed to on this day. So ladies if you've got boyfriends who are all about it, let them have their fun! Turns out, once you stop resisting it so much, you may even have fun yourself!

Happy watching and may the best team win!