Here's the link...

...to the recipe page I published on foxnews.com. Check out my handy work...

GOEBBELS!!! (pron: ger-bels)

Exciting news!!! I finished my first week of internship at the Foxy, and I have to say that I am really enjoying what I'm doing. Well...not so much the Glenn Beck, but everything else is pretty cool. Today was particularly exciting because I learned and then actually got to publish things for foxnews.com. Now, that may not sound that exciting to you, but it was awesome for me. I felt like a critical cog in the big Foxy machine. But before I had a chance to publish a story on the web site on my own, Producer Matt had to teach me how to publish. And he taught me using none other than...Glenn Beck. Gah. Slightly unrelated but kinda related, Producer Matt is in charge of putting up the video contents and transcript of Glenn's show up on the web, which basically means that I am the one that has to watch the videos and go over the transcripts. So I get to watch Glenn Beck every time I go into work. What joy! I know my grandma will be proud.

So, first things first, I had to watch the second half of Glenn while following along with the transcript to make sure that there weren't any mistakes. In this episode, Glenn is talking about President Woodrow Wilson and how he is "the most evil man we've ever had in office." Now, I don't know anything about Woodrow Wilson or his character, but calling him evil is a little bit harsh, Glenn. Then he does this kind of "six ways of separation from Kevin Bacon" thing where he relates Wilson's Committee on Public Information to Nazi Germany and nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels (hence the title of this post). Again, that's a bit too far, Glenn. Now, I can go on about this (and I don't because this is a blog about me and not Glenn Beck), but the bottom line is that Glenn is just a tad...intense, shall we saw. MOVING ON! After reading through the transcript and cropping some pictures of the Beckster and pressing some magic buttons, the page was published. Though, one thing that I found difficult about publishing this particular page was trying to come up with a suitable headline in which to grab people to look at the page (which is really all that matters in the online world). Producer Matt came by and gave me some advice, which I would like to feature in a new section called "Producer Matt's Life Lesson of the Day."

Producer Matt's Life Lesson of the Day: Be and make things interesting...because if you can't come up with something that sounds interesting to you, then it won't be interesting to anyone else

The only problem with PM's sage advice was that I at all interested in Woodrow Wilson nor his Committee on Public Information. But I made the most of it and got it worked out. If you want to check out my handy work of the day, click here. Oh! One last thing this particular topic...Producer Matt taught me that Woodrow Wilson was a progressive. Certainly good to know for the next time I play Political Trivial Pursuit.

Following the Beckster, I got to publish (on my own, so it's cooler) some summer recipes for the Fox & Friends website. I found that coming up with headlines and descriptions a lot easier and fun because I thought the marinade and BBQ recipes to be a lot more interesting than Woodrow WIlson, but hey. The sad part is that New York hasn't posted my recipe page on the website yet. Rude! But anyway, I can guarantee that it is going to look bitchin'. And the recipes sounded pretty good too. I might have to give them a try.

Stories from the Belly of the Beast

So, after a week of waiting on my butt in my apartment, I finally had my first day of my internship at the big ol' Fox News LA bureau (or Foxy as I like to call it). And trust me, it sure did not disappoint. Now, before you go thinking that there are a bunch of mini Glenn Beck's running around the office, that is entirely not the case. Every one seems very chill and laid back...except when it comes to reporting the news fairly and balanced, of course.

My day started at 9am, which is pretty reasonable because the other news interns have to start at 7am, but since I'm interning for the website I get to start later. Haha, suckers. Except, the only drawback to starting work at 9am is that there is no parking within a 2 block radius of our building. And whatever is available has a time limit on it, so you have to go out every one to two hours to go move your car so you don't get a ticket. Although, I have learned that there is one section of the road that has a four hour limit. Obviously, it is the most coveted place to park, and therefore gets filled the fastest. It is my goal now to get there early enough to get a four hour parking spot. It's the little things.
I got to the bureau and was given a tour by our lovely internship coordinator Frankie (who's a girl by the way). I got to see the main newsroom, which was very "foxy" then swung through over to the Fox Business's offices and their mini studio. It's actually cool because right behind the set where they do the live cutaways for Fox Business is where I sit. So, if you happen to be channel surfing or really like watching Fox Business for some reason, you might be able to see me. But only tune in Monday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings because that's when I work. I know, I'm legit. Then I got to down into the "dungeon" where they keep all of their old tapes for safe keeping, like Electronic Press Kits (EPKs) which are kits that big movie studios send out to news organizations about upcoming movies and all that jazz. We do very important work over at the Foxy.

After peeking in some random people's offices, I finally got to meet (though I had already met) my web producer and the Foxy entertainment reporter that I get to be working with named Matt and Hollie, respectively. Matt is super chill, though he does talk really fast and I'm pretty sure he drinks way too much coffee, but it's cool. He also kind of looks like the guy that plays the dean on the show "Community," which I find quite humorous (photo left). Hollie is from Australia, so basically I just like to hear her talk...all the time. And she talks about entertainment all day, because she's the Foxy entertainment reporter. Then, I actually had to do some work. For my first task, I had to read a transcript of a part of a show while simultaneously watching the show to make sure that the both were the same. The show, however, was Glenn Beck. Gah...oh well, I wanted to intern at Fox News, right? After hearing him spew about bailouts or something or other, I had a chance to actually write a transcript of some interviews that Hollie had done over the last couple of days. One for Pamela Anderson and one for the infamous Elliot Spitzer mistress Ashley Dupre. It's cool. I learned that Pamela is eating a lot of potatoes now, and that Ashley wants to become the next pop sensation...after she writes her tell-all of course.

After writing the interview transcript, I had to go move my car...boooooo. When I came back I found another entertainment reporter named Martha in my little corner. She and Hollie were talking about this Iranian party girl that wrote a book about all of her rock and roll sexual escapades. It was some pretty intense sounding ish...maybe even a little frightening in some parts. Afterward I even had a chance to transcribe the interview they conducted with this woman...and let me tell you it was pretty ridiculous.

While I'm chilling in my little area of the bureau, the Foxy does live reports from the newsroom with reporter Trace Gallagher. I guess he's a big deal. I don't know. But it's funny watching him do his report live while I can also watch him his report on the television. It's trippy stuff.

Shaky pic of Trace doing his thang!

During some time between tasks, I was looking around a getting familiar with the Foxy server program thing that holds all of Foxy's news stories. As I was tooling around I stumbled across a folders labeled "Obituaries." Obviously I opened it. Why wouldn't I? Inside that folder was another folder labeled "Major Obits." Obviously I opened it. Inside it I got to read the already-made obits for such people like the Pope, past Presidents, and of course Fidel Castro. I mean, why not? This may sound morbid but I found all this kind of hilarious.

Later, and what I found to be the most fun of my day, was writing headers and a short description for several entertainment stories. The headers were fun because I got to be creative and silly. My favorite one had to do with the BeeGees performing on American Idol on Wednesday. My header: "It will be Wednesday Night Fever as the BeeGees are set to perform on Idol stage." I know...I am so fricking clever. The short description was a little tougher to come up with because it had to be 40 characters or less...including spaces. Like, that is literally only like five words. It's tougher than it looks. But I pulled it off and I really enjoyed it.

That was it for Day One...more to come as the weeks of internship ensue.

And everything is going to the beat...

Sleepyhead by Passion Pit



My friend Nettie gave me this song on a mix CD she gave me, and now I am slightly obsessed with it. Every time I listen to it, I feel like I should be at a roller rink gliding on roller skates while wearing psychedelically striped hot pants and lights dance off the disco ball in the center of the rink. I don't know why that pops in my head, but it does...and I like it.

Ebonics Translator

I found this...have fun!

Champions League Boredom

Disclaimer: this is by no means an expert analysis of the game...just thoughts that popped in my head.

Well shit, guys. I guess Inter Milan are the new champions of Europe...which is extremely unfortunate but what can you do?

I literally just finished watching the UEFA Champions League final, or as the great mind of Eric Wynalda called it, "The Super Bowl of Soccer." Now, I have been looking forward to this final since probably last years Champions League final (which is probably still one of my favorite soccer games ever because Barca managed to make both Ronaldo and Rooney look like a couple of whiny douche pussy babies), so naturally I should be excited to watch this game. However, I became unexcited to watch this game on April 28th when Inter knocked Barcelona out of the tournament and kept them from defending their title as UEFA Champions. I really didn't care who was in the final, but I watched the game today anyway because I'm a soccer fan and that's what I do.

I probably couldn't have cared less about the German team Bayern Munich, mainly because I don't care too much about German soccer because I find it boring. But I decided to root for them anyway because it was better than the alternative...Inter. Bayern wasn't the team that bounced Barca out of the tournament...that was Inter. Bayern isn't coached by a huge Portuguese douche bag in Jose Mourinho...that would be Inter again. Those seem like two good reasons to root for a team.

This is the face of a douche.

Now I get back from the gym just in time for some FOX UEFA pregame show, starring the brain trust of Curt Menefee (who normally does FOX's football programs), Eric Wynalda (who is a moron), and former USMNT coach Bruce Arena (really, why is he here?). They go on blithering about how Inter is about defense and how Bayern are German. Thank you, Captain Obvious! Finally, those idiots are done talking and the game is underway. I am immediately bored. The announcers for the game were Martin Tyler and Andy Gray. I'm not sure which one was which but there were several occasions where I could not understand a bloody word they said. Like, I know you're English and stuff but I do expect to at least have an idea what you're saying...since we speak the same language and all. A few minutes pass and I find out that Dutchman Robben was playing for Bayern. Now, some people might be like, "How could you not know that?" And I didn't know that because, again, I don't really care about German club soccer. Anyway, I feel like Robben has been around for, like, ever...not to mention he looks like he's about 45-years-old. Except, I checked his wikipedia page and the dude is only 26. WTF?! He has got to be the oldest 26-year-old I have ever seen. I think it's the receding hair line. I don't know. But it seemed that every time he got the ball he would either get "fouled" or would kick it right into an Inter defender. Sorry...but last time I checked a solid soccer ball could not go through a human no matter how hard you kick it. Pathetic. And he was the best Bayern had since Ribery wasn't playing. Double pathetic.

More minutes pass and Diego Milito scores for Inter thanks to some lackadaisical Bayern defense in the middle of the box. Balls! We go into halftime and I have to hear more nonsense from Menefee and his dynamic duo. I get lunch. Then the second half starts and Bayern has their first...and last...solid scoring chance of the game. The game then becomes even less exciting than the first half and then Milito scores again. Double balls! Basically Bayern has only twenty minutes to score two goals if they at least want to send this game into overtime...which of course they are incapable of doing. They show a stat box talking about percentage of possession with Bayern controlling over 65 percent of play. Tyler and Gray talk about (I think) how Bayern can control that much of the ball but not score. Well...maybe because it doesn't matter if you have the most ball possession if you can't do anything with it. Having the most ball possession doesn't win you games. I believe scoring more goals than the other team is how you win games...call me crazy.

The referee finally blows the whistle and Mourinho and his Italian minions go off celebrating. Since I didn't care to see any of this, I turned off my TV and came here to write a blog entry about how boring and ultimately disappointing this game was. All I'm saying is that the Barca vs. Inter semifinal leg should have just been the final. Bayern was nowhere near a worthy adversary for Mourinho and his merry band of douches. They were just...boring to watch. Maybe that's what I get for watching too much Barcelona soccer aka GOOD SOCCER!

Breaking Ally: My Relationship with Twilight

Nearly two years ago, while I was still studying abroad in London, an insufferable phenomenon swept through the house. It was...the Twilight phenomenon...and all the girls were enchanted by it. Now, for those of you that have been living in Amish-ville for the last couple of years, The Twilight Saga is a series of four vampire-based (yep...vampires) romance novels written by American author Stephenie Meyer (who's a Mormon, btw). The books track the lives of Bella Swan, a girl who lives in Forks, Washington (whaddup!) and how she falls in love with a vampire named Edward and how she deals with her best friend Jacob, who happens to be a werewolf. The books have sold over 100 million copies worldwide and now they're making movies about the books.
Now that you are caught up on how ludicrous (or Ludacris, if you prefer) this entire concept is, you know just how annoyed I was that all of these girls that I was living with were practically wetting themselves over these books. You know how there's a Team Edward and a Team Jacob? Well I was on Team I-Don't-Give-A-Crap. For serious, every one of the other fives girls living in my room were obsessed. They would stay up until all hours of the night so that they could read the novels. Some went to the Twilight movie premiere, hoping to get a glimpse at Robert Pattinson (who is not attractive at all, sorry!), the guy who plays Edward. One of my roommates even stole a Twilight movie poster from the side of a phone booth...not unlike the one you see to your right...and put it up in our room. It was then and there that I vowed never to read a Twilight novel nor see any of the Twilight movies. I was very proud of myself for making this seemingly unbreakable resolution.

Fast forward to the summer of 2009 and my non-Twilight pact was still going strong. That is, until one day was I was at home absolutely bored out of my mind, I found myself on our DIRECTV On-Demand channel. Low and behold, the Twilight movie was one of the options. It was at this point that I was just so damn curious as to what all the fuss was about that I had to watch it...and I did. And let me tell you, the movie was absolute GARBAGE!!! Poorly acted, poorly directed...just plain poor. I was upset with myself that I had broken my vampire fast on much a crappy movie. But then I renewed my vow to never watch another movie nor read a book from the Twilight Saga.

Fast forward to November of 2009, and the second Twilight movie, New Moon, is about to be released. At this point, I had begun and finished watching the first two seasons of the HBO series, True Blood, a vampire-base TV show (and if you haven't watched it you totally should because it is AMAZING!), so I was somewhat looking forward to the release of the new movie. So I went with my friends, thinking that I wouldn't like the movie at all because it would be as bad as the first one. My experience at the theater was one that I wish to never experience again. My friends and I were probably the oldest one there, quite definitely the only ones that drove themselves there at any rate. Everyone around us were little 12- and 13-year-olds. Then once the movie started, they all started screaming as loud as they could, like they had seen a picture of Pau Gasol or something. Then, whenever Taylor Lautner, the guy playing friend Jacob, would take his shirt off (which was often) they would all scream again. Although, really, what's not to like...except the fact that he's jail bait? Aside from the screaming tweens, it turned out that while New Moon was by no means Oscar-worthy, it definitely wasn't as bad as Twilight. It was then when I lost control. I felt that since I had already broken my promise to never see the Twilight movies, I might as well just be completely over it and read the books. So I went out and bought them.
At first I didn't even want to read the first two books since I had already seen the movies, but all my friends were like, "No Ally you have too...so much stuff happened in the books the weren't in the movie." So I read them anyway...in a matter of two days. Let me tell you, for someone who does like to read like AT ALL, these books were the easiest read. Mainly because the font was of adequate size and because the "prose" made it seem like a 10th grader had written it. One thing that my cousin Kristin said about the Twilight novels was that they were like crack. Actually, I would rephrase that and say that the Twilight novels are more like meth. One you have the first hit, you keep coming back for more. And the more you have, the more it rots your brain out.

This is your brain...This is your brain on Twilight

Nevertheless, I finished them and decided to wait and read the next two books until Christmas break. Well, Christmas break turned into spring semester, which inevitably turned into summer break, so then I decided to read up on the last two novels. Now, these ones took me a little bit longer to read, mainly because they were like over 700 pages. Why they were that long I do not know.

Well...I am happy to say that I finally finished the entire Twilight Saga last night, and all I can say is that the books were a huge piece of crap. I wasn't satisfied with them at all. The story was mildly interesting, at least enough to keep me reading. But after a point I just really didn't care about the characters anymore, but I had devoted so much time to reading this filth that I might as well finish it. And Stephenie Meyer (the Mormon)...you are atrocious at writing. Like literally, my 12-year-old cousin could have written Twilight and made a hundred million dollars. I mean, that's the best a BYU education can get you? Although, maybe it is. And I'm sure the Church is happy to be getting 10% of whatever she earns. But seriously, I am embarrassed for myself, as well as America, that we somehow enjoy these kinds of books. I mean, I am ashamed that I spent a better part of this week reading and learning about something that doesn't exist. I will never get my last 750 pages of my life back. At least True Blood comes back in a couple of weeks..wahoooo!!!

Oh well...next stop: Bill Simmon's Book of Basketball. It may not have vampires or werewolves in it, but at least I can learn about something that pertains to the work I want to go into. Anyone else have some reading suggestions that I can tackle this summer???

Nike heard my cry...

...and finally released their World Cup commercials!!!

Check it

Confession: I HATE the Lakers!

This may come off as some sort of blasphemy since I live in the greater LA area, but, for real though, I absolutely detest the Lakers. Don't like the players (especially Kobe), don't like the coach, don't like how people go ape sh*t over them...and especially don't like the stupid little Laker car flags that people have. I mean, a bumper sticker I can understand...but a little flag that you attached to your car window. Can you please get over yourselves for a minute???

I don't think that this hatred really started to percolate until after I started my internship at KCAL Sports, which is the main carrier for Laker games. Before working there, I just had a healthy dislike of the team...mainly because they won all the time and I'm used to teams that genuinely gawd-awful or find a way to disappoint their fans. But after working at KCAL, my dislike started to grow into disgust, which has finally matured into a heaping dose of hostility. I don't know why, but every time I am at KCAL, there is always a Laker game on (except for yesterday, thank God!) and every time I have to sit and hear all the people get riled up over the game. They're always yelling about cussing about how the refs never give fair calls to the Lakers (I mean, get over it) and then start jumping up and down every time Kobe makes a lay-up. All their noise is making my ears bleed and all I want to do is scream, "IT'S JUST BASKETBALL PEOPLE!!!" Also, last time I checked, Kobe Bryant wasn't God...in fact I'm pretty certain that he's a rapist from a few years back. And what's with Phil Jackson. No one is THAT calm!

Stop smiling, you a-hole!

Now, you may be wondering why I continue to work at KCAL during the summer if I hate the Lakers so much. Well...two reasons. First, their season will be done by the middle of June at the latest. Maybe earlier if the Suns can get their ish together. But the second reason, and by far the most important, is that it is so fun to watch my coworkers cower in a state of depression every time the Lakers lose. Now, I know that it is mean to take pleasure in other people's misery, but it is just so funny to see Laker fans get all miserable. For example, I happened to work the day that the Lakers got their asses handed to them by the Oklahoma City Thunder (RIP Sonics). I swear, I thought that a few of the producers and some of the interns were going to climb to the roof and jump off. It was as if the Pope (or maybe Kobe) had died. Meanwhile, I was over at my station, laughing my butt off. Of course, the Lakers haven't lost a game since then, so look who's laughing now. And the worst part is that they are probably going to repeat as NBA "World" Champions (last time checked, the NBA only consisted of teams from America...and Canada, I guess) since I don't see how the Suns or either the Celtics or Magic can beat them in a seven game series. Balls...but maybe I'll get a chance to go to the victory parade, which might be exciting since I know I might never experience one of those in Seattle.

One last thing...Pau Gasol is ugly. There, I'm done.

I have nothing to say...

...and all I really want to do is look at this beautiful work of art. Yummmmmm

Hometown Glory

Round my hometown, memories are fresh...



I haven't been in my hometown of Woodinville, WA since Christmas break and it was really great to get back and see some family and friends. But my week at home went by before I knew it, and now I am back in my second home of Calabasas, CA. My week in Woodinville started off a little rocky with my trip to the Sounders vs. Galaxy game (aka The Game That Shall Not Be Mentioned Ever Again). Needless to say what would be my Sounders home game was really quite depressing. But after the game, I met up with a friend who I haven't seen in almost a year and we had a really great time. I don't think that I have laughed that much in a good long time.

The rest of my week was pretty laid back with lots of sleeping in and relaxing (having a cold for some of the week helped that a little). Then sadly it was my last full day...and it went almost the same way as my first full day went...with the taking in of a Sounders game, this time from the comfort of my own home. Thankfully this time they won. Afterward I chilled out with my parents watching a movie and having some dinner. That part of the day was pleasant. However, this other part wasn't so pleasant...mostly frustrating and disappointing. To protect certain people from looking like tools, I'm going to speak in hypotheticals...meaning this may or may not have happened to me yesterday.

Let's say you have a friend who says earlier in the week that they might have an opportunity to come by and see you on your last night in town. This sounds exciting to you and you look forward to it. Then, on your last day, you never hear from this friend or know whether they are coming down. So, after a while, you come to the realization that they aren't coming and go on with the rest of your day, like having dinner and watching movies with your parents. Later, like almost midnight later, this same friend texts you asking if it is okay if they can stop by to see you. You say, "Sure", and then get all excited again and stay up to wait for them. However, just an hour later they get back to you saying that they can't make it because they have been drinking and can't drive. Now, you're really ticked off...and it's one in the morning, which doesn't really make matters better. Talk about an emotional roller coaster. Like, WTF! Before you know it, some harsh words are sent through text messages and you don't hear from this friend again. Now you just feel like sh*t. Blahhhhhh. Now...HYPOTHETICALLY...if I had a chance, I would totally apologize to this friend for being kind of a beezy about this whole situation. So...I'm sorry hypothetical friend from this somewhat hypothetical situation.

Another thing that this kind of hypothetical situation can teach a person like me is that when it comes relationships regarding those of the opposite sex (friend of otherwise) I need to hope for the best and expect the worst. I'm not really sure why, but males always find a way of letting me down, yet I keep giving them another chance. I don't know, man. My girl Adele (in her second appearance on this entry) knows what's up.

Fast forward to today...and I have to go back to California (here we comeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!). But before I go to the airport, I have to watch my boys from FC Barcelona totally dismantle Valladolid as they clinch yet another La Liga Champions trophy. I feel like Barca's success this year is a real testament to how hapless Real Madrid is. I mean, you guys went out and spent hundreds of millions of dollars (or euros, whatever) so you can great acquire players like Kaká and Ronaldo (who is a huge douche pansy) and you STILL can't win La Liga. I laugh in your general direction...HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Messi...MAGIC!!!

After the Barca rout, I had to leave to the airport. I said my goodbyes to my parentals (sad face) and then headed to my gate. Unfortunately I was over in the N Gates, which meant I had to travel on the train that the have at Sea-Tac in order to get to my gate. Such an unnecessary hassle. I walk over to my gate...and of course there is no place to sit. I sit my ass on the ground and do some web surfing on my phone (long live iPhone!!!). I could see our plane from the window and I was amazed to see that it strongly resembled a copper river salmon. I boarded my plane and got settled into my window seat. Luckily, the guy sitting next to me was kind of cute. Unluckily, he was sick and slept for most of the flight. Not like I would have gotten the nerve to talk to him. I then engulfed myself into my vampire novel (so sue me!) and the flight went by in no time. Before I knew it, we were touching down at LAX. I got to get off the plane early because I was sitting near the front, meaning that I had a chance to get to baggage claim before everyone else. I said hello to the smiling Kobe Bryant Face (left) that greets everyone as they head to baggage claim and then claimed my baggage. Now I just had to wait for the ever reliable Primetime Shuttle. It came and picked me up, but also happened to pick up a dad with his annoying two year old. I mean, get a handle of your spawn before you get in a car ride with me, please!!! And of course, traffic was absolutely gawd-awful and it took for ever to get to Calabasas. But, alas, I finally made it home, in time for me to write in my blog. Gahhh...such a long day. Now time to get some din then hit the sack so I can get up early and head into the Belly of the Beast (Fox News) in the morning. Yay!!!

What the frick, Nike???

Also, this just popped into my head. Why haven't I been seeing any cool Nike commercials for the World Cup? The tournament starts in less that a month (wohoo!!!) and yet I don't see any commercials. And it's not for lack of trying because I watch TV constantly. But the only World Cup commercials I have seen are the ones that feature the political prisoners and the one with Bono. I know that the host is South Africa and that they overcame all this strife and hardship to finally pull it together to host the world's biggest sports tournament, but I want to be excited about the World Cup coming...not feel bad for South Africa. Though some people should feel bad for them...they've been through a lot. And don't get me wrong, I am ecstatic about the World Cup, I just wish that there was some more pep behind the commercials.

Here's the Nike commercial that was shown before the 1998 World Cup in France. Still one of my favorites.

My Top 5 Vacation Destinations

Last night I was watching Criminal Minds, and this week's episode was about a string of murders that were happening in a remote town in Alaska. While this episode had it's usual Criminal Minds creepiness, all I could think about was how cool it would be to visit Alaska. Through all the blood and murders and such, the little Alaskan town actually looked quite beautiful. This got me thinking...aside from Alaska, what are some other places around the world that I would like to visit? I thought long and hard (well...not really) and came up with my top five vacation spots that I would like to visit at some point in my life. Of course, there are some conditions - I would visit these places if I had a crap-ton of money AND if I didn't have a job. Therefore I could stay at these places as long as I wanted. Now, without further ado...

5. Alaska: With the recent Criminal Minds episode notwithstanding, I have kind of wanted to go Alaska for a while now. The breathtaking scenery, the clean air, majestic wildlife, furry bears...what's not to like. Well, other than the freezing cold that happens most of the year. This is why I would for sure want to go in the summer (because I'm a weather wuss) and I would definitely want to travel Alaska on a cruise. I mean, just because I like seeing beautiful, mountainous landscapes doesn't mean I like walking around in it. At least on a cruise, I can see all beauty while still chilling in my relaxing accommodations. And it will also keep me at a safe distance from all the furry bears. If this doesn't sound like the best time to you, too bad and get your own blog!

4. Málaga, Spain: In my senior year of high school, my Spanish teacher made our class do this ridiculous class project where we had to plan a three-week trip around Spain and had to talk about all the places we would go to. My group randomly chose Málaga as one of our destinations and it was my responsibility to find info about the coastal city in the south of Spain. That's when I found out that Málaga looked totally awesome. Beaches, architecture, cool museums, and chance to see some pretty great soccer (well...only if Barca happened to be playing in Málaga). Still, I've been to Cataluña and LOVED it...so I think that it only seems fair if I visit the Andalucia region in the south of Spain.

3. Costa Rica: Now, I have already been to Costa Rica once before, but it was when I was ten and I don't really remember too much about my visit. In fact, the only two poignant memories that I have of Costa Rica is driving to the coast in my uncle's van while drinking a really warm Coca Cola. I know, this seems like a really random memory, but the mind of Ally Barrera works in mysterious ways. I want to go back to CR because I really want to do the rain forest canopy zip line. I have done a zip line once before, but it took place at a ropes course in Mount Vernon and it was really more like a zip-drop to your death. The one in Costa Rica looks a little more legit. Look at how much fun that woman is having on the right. Also, Costa Rica has some of the best beaches in the world...and almost everyone who know me knows that I love a good beach. White sand between my toes, 70 degree ocean water...I'm getting all uptight just thinking about it. Zip lining and sun bathing on the beach - definitely a great way to spend a vacation.

2. New Zealand: I had a softball pitching coach that was from New Zealand, and he would always talk about just how much more awesome New Zealand was than the United States. I took a slight offense to this because I absolutely LOVE the United States because it is absolutely more awesome than any place else. But upon further research, I discovered that New Zealand is actually pretty awesome. You can literally do anything you want there. They have mountains, beaches, reefs, forests...you name it they got it. Not to mention they filmed the Lord of The Rings Trilogy there, which is pretty effing great. Call me a nerd, but that is almost reason enough to visit New Zealand. And there is another reason why I would like to go to New Zealand - I would then have visited a country on every continent on Earth, aside from Antarctica...which I hardly count as a continent because people don't live there. I mean, really?

And finally...1. Kauai: This has to be my for sure number one because not only is it in my favorite United State (aside from the Great State of Washington, of course) and it is also probably the only one of these vacation locations that I could actually get to within the next couple years. I have been to Maui (many times) and Oahu (once, and will probably never go back again) and both are nice in their own way. Maui is a great place to relax but also has enough things to do so you don't get bored, while Oahu has lots of different things to do but there are just wayyyyyyy too many people there. I mean, that island is way too small to have over a million people living on it. But Kauai is beautiful because so much of it is untouched. Yeah, it has beaches like the rest of the Hawaiian islands, but Kauai is just so green (my favorite color) with flowers everywhere...probably the closest to what Hawaii looked like before all those pesky missionaries got there in the 1800s or something like that. There's more I can say about Kauai...but I guess what's important is that I can't think of a better place to go for vacation (if I had a crap-ton of money and no job, of course)

Thoughts of a Sick Person...and by sick I mean not feeling well

Sorry I didn't post anything yesterday. My body thought that now would be the most appropriate time to get a head cold...just awesome. Anyway, this entry is going to have to be especially long because several things have happened to me over the last 36 hours and a lot of thoughts have popped into my head. I'm still deciding if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

Anyway, about this head cold that I woke up with yesterday. It's one of those things that I get maybe 2-3 times a year...and now one of those times just happened to be while I was on vacation visiting my family. Thanks a lot, cold! I just love it when I wake up and my throat is sore, my head is pounding, and my sinuses are clogged. And the best part about this was that I had to go to the DMV and get my new drivers license. Wahoo!!! Talk about adding insult to injury.

However, I was particularly excited about going to the DMV because it meant I would be getting my new horizontal driver's license. I'm not sure how it goes in other states, but in the Great State of Washington those that are under the age of 21 have to get a vertical driver's license where everything is up to down. Then, once you hit the ripe old age of 21 like I just did, you get your new license where everything goes side to side. I believe the state made it this way so that it's easier for people to see what age people were or something like that. I don't know...I think it's a good idea. And Washington has really kick-ass driver's licenses, as you can see above.

My dad and I get to the DMV office in Shoreline (mainly because it had the shortest wait) and I take my number (416). I sit down and notice that they numbers they are on now are in the 395 range. Great. Thankfully a lot of people are renewing their licenses so it really doesn't take all that long. That and the fact that the DMV people have no patience whatsoever. If you're number is called and you aren't up and ready in 5 seconds it's tough titties because they just called the next number. Another thing that I found really odd was how every time a woman with a stroller would come in, they would just stand there as if the DMV people were just going to call on them to come up to the desk. It's like, Hello...you have to grab a number like everyone else. Just cuz you have a baby doesn't make you more special than me. Well...maybe it does because you have a baby and I don't but that is besides the point. I also realized at the DMV that old people are ridiculous, and that's really all I have to say about that.

Finally, number 416 is called and I practically race up there before the guy has a chance to call 417. He asked me some questions like what my weight and height were...and I totally lied on both. So what if my driver's license weight is 10 pounds less than my actual weight. Who's going to know but me? I get done with the questions then have to do the eye sight test, which I was somehow nervous about. I kept thinking that right as I was about to do the eye test, my eyes would stop working or something...like situational blindness. I don't know. But thankfully my eyes didn't fail me, and I got to renew my license. Now I had to wait another ten minutes to get my picture taken, which is really the moment of truth when it comes to getting your license. You better take a good picture, cuz it's going to be with you for the next five years. And sometimes the people working are so mean and won't let you take your picture over again, even if you happen to look like a retarded squirrel. Needless to say, I was feeling the pressure to deliver a stellar driver's license picture.

My name is called and I step up to the green line. Before she can take the picture, I need to comb through my hair and fluff it up a bit. I mean...five years is a long time to be stuck with a bad picture. As soon as I am done with my hair, the lady takes my picture. The flash is really bright so I am sure that I blinked. She lets me take a look at my picture and it actually looks good. And by "good" I mean it looks reallyyyyyyy good. If I could get stuck with any picture on my license for the next five years, I'm glad I got stuck with this one.

After the visit to the DMV, my father and I decided to take in a matinee (or manatee as my dyslexic self sometimes reads it) showing of Iron Man 2. I was excited to see Iron Man 2 mainly because I enjoyed the first Iron Man so much, and also because I kind of think Robert Downey Jr. is hot in a "I used to be a huge druggie but I got over it and made this huge comeback and now that makes me a huge badass" kind of way. And I guess Iron Man 2 was good, though I don't think it was as good as the first one. But we can leave the reviews to people who are much smarter than me. The only thing that I really took away from my afternoon at the movies was just how confusing some of the upcoming pictures are. Take Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, for example. Like, there's a dagger that turns back time...or changes the future? Is the Prince of Persia supposed to be Aladdin? Am I just a moron with this concept? Maybe I am...but I'll probably see it anyway because Jake Gyllenhaal is in it. Then I saw a trailer for the movie Inception. Talk about a mindf*ck rolled into a four minute trailer. It's Leo DiCaprio and he's some kind of cop person and he unlocks people's secrets while they are in their own dreams. WTF? And why is Juno in this movie? I was all sorts of confused. I'll probably just wait until someone bootlegs it then posts it on ch131.com then watch it...kind of like I did with Shutter Island. Which...Leo, what the hell are you doing? I know it's Scorsese and all, but that movie was some effed up ish.

After the movie my dad and I picked up some Matsu's teriyaki (which if you haven't had it yet that is just too damn bad because it is so good) and went back home. At this point my head cold had reached the crappy stage and all I wanted to do was eat and watch soccer. Which I found out that I can only really watch FC Barcelona soccer, mainly because they are just bomb dot com and every other team will never match their level of talent and damn fine soccer playing...especially the Sounders. After watching Barca man-handle whatever pathetic team they were playing, I decided to watch the movie Elizabeth. It's the one they made a few years back with Cate Blanchet as Queen Elizabeth I. I'm sure you've heard of her. I basically wanted to watch this movie because I am OBSESSED with the show The Tudors and I just like knowing my British history. After watching some Liz, I watched even more TV and then finally went to bed.

But while I was watching TV, my stuffed nose was acting quite annoying. It was where only one nostril was stuffed up, so I would have to switch whatever side I was laying on so that the snot could drain from one nostril to another. I'm not really sure how all that works, but that is why the world has doctors so they can figure that stuff out. And sorry if you didn't like ready about my snot patterns. This is my blog and I'll talk about what I want!

Fast forward to me waking up this morning still having a stuffy nose and sore throat. Only the good news was I had an hour and a half massage scheduled at 10am. I took my Tylenol Cold and my nose drops and I was on my way to the massage place. I was questioning whether an hour and a half was too long for a massage, but then I quickly found out that no amount of length is too long for a massage. It was like magic and rainbows were radiating out of my masseuse's hands and into my tense muscles. It was stupendous. Then I came to the realization that if I massage came in human form, I would totally marry it. But only if it looked like Fernando Torres. Yummmmmmmmm...

Good Evening...I'm Ally Barrera

Hi World...it's Ally, and this is my first blog post EVER. I never thought I would have one of these things, but my friend Shannon has one and I have also been following this funny one, so I thought I would give it a try. I was always one of those kids that wanted to keep a diary, and then I would buy the journal and never use it again. Hopefully this virtual diary will be different.

Right now I'm spending some time in my hometown of Woodinville, Washington. Normally I spend the whole summer back home, but this year I'm only gracing my presence in Woo-ville for a measly week. Why, you ask since Woodinville is just the most lovely town to spend your summer vacation in. Well, I have to go back to LA (where I live the other days out of the year because I go to that good school called Pepperdine University) to take part in my kick-ass internship at Fox News. Don't judge me.


Anyway...a special event happened to me today. Ever since I was a senior in high school I have wanted to eat at the Northlake Tavern, a beer and pizza place on the outskirts of the University of Washington. I just haven't been able to eat there because I haven't been 21 or older. I mean...it's a tavern, ya know. Well...since I turned 21 just a few weeks ago, I finally got my chance to eat at the Northlake. And I have to say that it didn't disappoint. When you walk in and see all the cheeky UW crap on the wall you think, "Wow...this is what the late 70s was like." After getting into our booth (which my side didn't have nearly enough padding), my mom and I ordered the combo pizza and I got myself a hard cider. Now, before you start calling me a beer whimp or a "chick" because I didn't order a beer, all I can say is "Get over it...I like cider better." Anyway, after waiting a good 25 minutes for our pizza, we dug right in. And it was miraculous. I have to say that the experience was definitely worth the long wait.