Why I Love The Biggest Loser

For those of you that don’t my guilty pleasure, it’s The Biggest Loser. I started watching the show when I was studying abroad in Sydney where we only had three channels (no joke). I might have loved TBL Australia because Shannon, the trainer, is a dreamboat. However, I still do enjoy the U.S. rendition. Here’s why:

· I always love a good competition.

· I love watching, reading and learning about fitness. Of course I am that girl that buys every US Weekly & People Magazine about how Kelly Osbourne lost 14 pounds in 10 days.

· The ad plug-ins are hilarious and remind me of the Saved By the Bell episode on subliminal messaging.

· Okay yes I will admit I might feel a little better about myself when watching. I mean I hate to admit it, but we are all thinking it.

· The contestants really do have amazing stories and it is truly unbelievable to see how much weight they lose.

· Somehow these contestants really think there is some huge strategy to winning. Hello, haven’t we all learned by now the key is a balance between diet and exercise, some of us just choose to ignore that formula (especially at 3 a.m. on Friday night at In ‘n Out).

· I really like seeing everyone’s personal temptations. Who knows what mine would be? Done guessing, ok peach cobbler.

· After watching a 2 hour episode I somehow feel like I too have worked out. That maybe isn’t a good thing…

Who I wish wasn't eliminated?

Sean

Why you ask? Because he’s hilarious and said, “I want to take a cupcake and rub it all over my body!”

How can you not love someone that says! He is hilarious and hopefully he didn't go home and actually a rub a cupcake all over his body. I'll miss you and your rosy cheeks Sean.

Who else out there watches TBL? I know there are a few of you out there…

xoxo mel

Furnishing an apartment priority #1: Beach Cruiser!

Lets disregard the fact I need a desk, dresser, lamp and bedside table. The #1 essential when moving to Santa Monica is a Beach Cruiser. Ever since I came out to LA in July and visited I have been dreaming about getting my very own beach cruiser with a large Dorothy style wicker basket. (Toto will have to come later). I have done extensive research trying to obviously find the best deal on my new cruiser and finally found the ONE.

My personal favorite things about the bike:

1. It is the same color as my mini: Vanilla

2. Although I am not a pink person, I do enjoy the splash of pink on the rims.

3. The detachable wicker basket. (it’s perfect for all those picnics I plan to go on).
4. Ummm duh the cheeseburger bell.

Since this bike has quite a few splashes of pink, I thought a cheeseburger bell would be the perfect final touch to tone down the cruiser. If you think I am never going to ride this thing….you’re wrong. It is now my official means of transportation around this town (unless a hill is involved because I opted out for gears). I ride it to work, the beach, yoga, the grocery store…you name it. If you think this is just a phase, I must prove you wrong once again. Throughout this past year I have really been building up a love of cruising.

March 2009 Cruising in Bali, Indonesia

July 2009 Cruising along the Champs Elysee in Paris, France

If you are now wanting your very own cruiser, I HIGHLY encourage it. Hello my fellow Houstonians, the city is flat, and we all know Austin is prone to bikers. I purchased my bike at Chubby's Cruisers where you two can get one of their 300 different cruisers shipped to you! They also have a fabulous array of bicycle accessories. Oh, and I forgot the best part, they are magicians.

Aluminum beach cruiser $220

Bike Lock: $35

Wicker Basket: $35

Lights: $15

(ticket if I don’t buy lights: $160)

Pump: $20

Cheeseburger bell: $8

Stuffing a beach cruiser into a Mini Cooper: Priceless

xoxo mel

It’s the end of the blog as we know it!

Ok just kidding.. but I got your attention, didn’t I? It is official, as of Wednesday, September 23, 2009, I am no longer air mattress living. That is right, I have a bed. Not only do I have a bed, but I also have an apartment! It has been a very big week. JP and I moved out of our cousin’s place and into a two bedroom apartment in Santa Monica. I failed to report the move sooner because we were in fact still on the air mattress for a few days. I didn’t want you guys to get too excited there.

It’s funny because just Monday morning I was thinking I could really stay on this air mattress for a while. JP got a bed delivered on Sunday, so I was flying solo on the air mattress. I bought a bed from a friend who moved but had yet to get it because it required me renting a U-Haul (clearly a mattress isn’t going in the mini). Finally on Wednesday I walked to the U-Haul store from my new apt and rented a very fancy truck. I felt very out of place driving the huge thing and definitely opted to get the $10 insurance policy. There was no telling what I was going to hit. However, no worries JP and I successfully moved the bed at 10pm in the dark, with no injuries to the truck, bed, or us. However, a crazy neighbor smoking a cig out her kitchen window did yell at me for blocking the driveway. Can we all imagine the thoughts going through my head. By the way, did I fail to mention that there are TONS of crazies that live by the beach. Yea, so far I have met two: chain smoking lady from last night, and my other crazy neighbor Cassie. Cassie has a black cat who was born on Halloween, and she thinks one day they will fly off on their broomstick together and ride around Santa Monica (no joke, she told me this in the parking lot). So far 0 for 0 on neighbors. Stay tuned.

Anyways, back to the blog subject at hand, my new bed. Waking up this morning in a real live bed was amazing. I think everyone should sleep on an air mattress for a few weeks to truly appreciate their own bed.

Now the age old question: do I change my blog name since the air mattress is no more? Or here’s an idea, I’ll keep it for guests who come visit me. I could even have them guest post onto the blog about their air mattress living trip. No we’re talking. I’m liking this idea. :)

Ok, who is going to book the next flight out here?

One of LA’s vices: T.R.A.F.F.I.C.

Obviously everyone and their dog knows that Los Angeles is known for its horrendous traffic. So clearly, there has to be at least ONE blog entry about this popular subject. For the record, I would like to start off by saving Houston and Austin are two other cities notoriously known for their traffic, but somehow people don’t harp on that. Having lived in both those cities, I must say LA traffic isn’t THAT bad. I mean it isn’t great, don’t get me wrong. I think the key is to know what you are getting yourself into. For example, when going to and from work in the morning, one must have ample time to fight the morning rush. (If only I had that problem of having to go to work…that’s another issue in itself)

However, I have learned one trick that I think will help everyone out on their next visit to Los Angeles. The traffic has a mind of its own. Yep, that’s right… there really is no rhyme or reason to it. For example, I was driving from Pasadena to Santa Monica last Tuesday at 3:00 pm (seems like I would be safe) and bam! Who are all these people and where are they going is my question.

If you notice looking at my (enormous) speedometer above, I am driving a mere speed of 11 mph. That should not be happening at 3pm on a weekday. Sometimes I really wish that displayed the latest episodes of Gossip Girl instead of my pathetic speed. That would make me want to get on the ten during rush hour. (Note to Houstonians: it isn't I-10 out here..that's so un-LA to say. I-10 = the ten).

My answer to this thing called ‘traffic:’ you can’t fight it. As long as you know what you are getting yourself into, it usually isn’t that miserable. However, I must admit I do have my occasional road rage fits. :) Somehow the Houston driver in me wants to cuss and make gestures at every terrible driver on the road.

Here's a little clip for your enjoyment. Whenever I want to change lanes in traffic, I always refer back to this.

xoxo me

The diary of a shop attendant: LA style

For those of you that do not know me well, I love jewelry and have worked at the most wonderful, amazing, fabulous store, Chardé, in Houston. I have been ever so fortunate to find the Santa Monica equivalent of Chardé and somehow convinced them to hire me. So far it looks like that is all a UT Finance degree will get me. The store is nestled between a celeb bustling restaurant and a cute boutique on a beautiful street near the beach (duh!). I have been working there for 2 weeks now, and have already had a plethora of celebrity sightings. Ok, well actually only three, but those were in two days, so that is really like six.

Celebrity sighting #1: Kyra Sedgwick

The dashing (and skinny) Kyra came into the shop last Saturday. The store was fairly busy and I was helping several people at once. Kyra was just walking around the store looking at all the baubles. Finally I had time to help her, and we instantly became best friends. She bought a Turkish evil eye necklace, which I recently purchased from Chardé, and two gold cuff bracelets. When I was showing her one piece, she says, “Oh, you’re good.” Should I send my boss a link to my blog? (probably not). I must admit though, after she left the store I had to ask a co-worker who she was. I knew she was famous, but I could not place her. Whoops.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Ms. Sedgwick, maybe this rings a bell:

Her husband is Kevin Bacon. So basically I am Kevin Bacon’s best friend. That’s right. Really that makes like seven sightings now. Yes! :)

Celebrity sighting #2 & #3: Arnold Swartzenager and Maria Shriver

Now this was a real true sighting because I recognized them! And no, the secret service following them around was not how I figured it out. Maria was maybe not the sweetest person in the whole world. She walked into the store, grabbed a purse off the wall and said loudly in my direction, “Mam, what is this?” I walked up to her and responded, “It’s a bag?” Maria said, “Yes, but what kind of bag? It has a rectangular shape?” "U’mmm really….,” I’m thinking, however instead kindly repled, “It’s a tote bag.” In the mean time Arnold is talking very loudly to who I presume is his nephew. A few Asian tourists walk in off the street and pretend to be looking at some purses and awkwardly stare at the Govenator. Maria sadly did not purchase the $165 tote bag. I guess she was looking for a beach bag, or perhaps even a bucket purse? Who knows. That sighting definitely made the day go by faster, but I was very disappointed in Ms. Shriver’s tude. Maybe she had a rough morning. I will give her that.

To clear up any confusion, here is a picture of a tote bag, in my professional shop attendant opinion.

Stay tuned for more celeb sightings from a shop attendant.

xoxo mel

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Jenny from the Block!

Here are few clips of JP partying in the U.S.A. Hey MTV, I hear you are in the market for a new character in The Hills. Ummm have you met JP??



I think I am going to help Jennifer get famous out here in LA.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY PINK PRETTY PRINCESS SISTER!

love you!

xoxo mel mel

Melanie Stay Where You’re Seated. You’re NOT The Next Contestant on The Price is Right

September 8, 2009 4:28 am Fairfax Avenue, Los Angeles

Stef’s apartment, where the infamous air mattress resides, happens to be in walking distance of CBS TV City, where one of my favorite childhood shows is filmed, The Price is Right. In honor of Labor Day, Stef, JP, and I decided it would be a great idea to go see the show. That weekend Stef’s car had to go to the shop, so she was very keen to take a shot at winning a Dodge Neon. Being unemployed as I am, I too thought it was a great idea. Not only am I unemployed, but am also hopefully moving on from my air mattress living soon, and will be in the market for some furniture. I would love to win a dining room set with matching China. And well, do I even need to pretend like JP needed to rationalize her desire to go? Please.

For those of you who are not familiar with the process of how to get on the show, which I suspect most of you are (and care to stay that way), it is a HUGE pain in the rear. We woke up at 4:00am to go walk over to CBS to wait on the sidewalk on Fairfax Avenue until basically 8:30 am. With beach towels in tow, and smiles on our faces, we made our way past all the sketchy rape vans on the road in West Hollywood, and saw the already long line outside CBS. We apparently walked up the wrong way and I just stand next the first man I see, thinking it was the back of the line. Well no, it actually was the front of the line and this man looked at me like I was just about the dumbest person he has ever seen. Clearly his temper was high since he had been securing that #1 spot in line since 8:00PM THE NIGHT BEFORE. Oh, and I can't fail to mention he was in a Hawaiian themed outfit. I politely excused myself and we continued to the actual end of the line to sit behind my new best friends, and the protagonists of this posting, for the next 9 hours: Tina and Toni, two sisters from Chatsworth, California. This was Tina and Toni’s SEVENTEENTH time to wait in line to see the show. They were official with their fold-out beach chairs, picnic basket filled with food, and their encyclopedia of knowledge about how to get on the show. (Tina is in the blue zip up jacket behind JP and toni is on the right in the red). I knew this was going to be a long day. I was lucky enough to sit next to the intriguing Tina, while JP and Stef talked amongst themselves the whole time. Tina has been unemployed for a year and spends her days being in the audience on various shows. Tina and Toni were recently in the audience for the pilot of Let’s Make a Deal, appeared on Divorce Court, Judge Judy, The Drs., Are You Smarter Than a 5^th Grader…the list goes on. She then learned throughout the morning that I too was unemployed, and she so kindly gave me the phone number of a contact who can get me in all the audiences for $8 an hour. Thanks Tina :) I later learned she has a personalized license plate: <3 style=""> She so kindly offered me a glazed donut, a bit of a hot dog, and cheetos from her picnic. We became great ole friends. Her homemade shirt read “Stan Pick Me To Come on Down.” Stan is the producer of the show who asks you what’s your name, where you are from and what you do there, to see if he wants you to get called down. But for the infamous Tina and Toni sisters he goes, “Oh hey ladies, what have you two been up to the past week, it has been a while.” Apparently once they told Stan if he didn't call them down, they would show up naked. (bad visual) For some reason, I don’t know why, Stan was not charmed by my telling story on how I just moved out to LA from Texas and studied to be a nurse (tiny white lie) and looking for a job, or JP’s or Stef’s for that matter. However, he decided it was going to be Toni’s lucky day, and she was called down! Sadly though, she did not win to go up on stage and left with a V-Tech Cordless Home Phone and $200, courtesy of a laser light hair removal company.

After waiting in line for 8 hours, my champagne buzz from the 7am mimosas was gone, my spirit sizzled, and I just wanted to get the hell off that CBS lot. If you read my last post, you will recall how I mentioned the people who try out for the Price is Right are the same ones who swim in their clothes at water parks. Well I don’t like water parks and I definitely don’t swim in my clothes. With that being said, if UT goes to the Rose Bowl this year I might be tempted to gather a group of 15 together to go on the show because then one of us will be guaranteed to be called down, and what can I say, the people watching is priceless.

In honor of turning another year older

24 random thoughts/observations (in no particular order)

1. Everyone looks better with a tan.

2. Cereal can be eaten for any meal of the day. With that being said, the suggested serving size of 3/4 a cup is a joke.

3. Drive thru banks are a great invention. It's sad that I drive out of my way to find one, too.

4. With that being said, checks are annoying and everything needs to be done via direct deposit.

5. There’s nothing better than lying on the beach all day and doing nothing.

6. No, I am not smarter than a 5th grader.

7. The people who wait in line for the Price is Right are the same people that swim fully clothed at water parks.

8. There is a Saved By the Bell episode that can explain any trial you face in life.

9. I still wink at red lights because I am convinced they will turn green like in Corrina, Corrina.

10. D.U.R.M.B. is going to be the next new thing. If you can figure out what this acronym stands for, I will let you in on my future millions.

11. Infomercials at 2 a.m. are actually convincing, especially if they sell fitness products. Guilty.

12. People who order Grilled Chicken at KFC are just as dumb as people who get a ‘healthy’ salad at The Cheesecake Factory.

13. Want my honest answer to my five year plan? I hope I am married with a baby (or one on the way) and not working.

14. According to the New York Times, the key to living longer is having friends, and friendly outgoing people are more likely to live to be 100. Clearly that tidbit needs to be updated because when counting facebook friends we should be close to invincible.

15. In my opinion, having three (or five) alcoholic drinks gives you wings, not RedBull.

16. When cars die and go to heaven, they cross the border and go to Mexico.

17. If something fits, buy it in every color.

18. Drew Carey will never compare to Bob Barker.

19. Everything is always negotiable.

20. People that don't like California are just jealous they don't live there.

21. Remember when we were kids and our parents would tell us to go play outside and dig a hole to China?

22. It’s hard being funny.

23. How did I believe in Santa Claus until I was 10, but gave up on the Easter Bunny at 6?

24. Hey women out there wearing clear bra straps: they are not invisible. You are not fooling anyone and just drawing attention to the saran wrap looking straps on your shoulders.

Interviews…Sminterviews…

How do I even begin blogging about my interview experiences these past three weeks? Well, if you know me, you know I am ALL over the place. Sadly enough my LA job search has mirrored my Sydney search. That can’t be a good sign considering I was a waitress in Oz. I’m exaggerating a bit, but I have been on a ton of interviews. Some have gone well, some have turned into follow-ups, and others have just been bizarre. Since most of my job leads come from Craig’s List, a few sketchy job postings have conned me into thinking they are legit. One position I interviewed for last Friday at 4:10 pm (red alarm #1) was in BFE (alarm #2) and had me stay and talk with a man that looks like he just stepped off the Vegas strip (alarm #3) for 2. 5 hours (alarm #4)! Needless to say, that did not turn into a fruitful position. To embellish just a bit on his appearance, he was in his late 50s, wearing a “Google” polo shirt (as if he use to work there…please) had visible tattoos, a gold pinkie ring, and a nice phat gold chain bracelet. You can only imagine the look on my face when I realized I was interviewing for a position at his company, and then imagine that face at 6:30pm on a Friday when he wouldn’t shut up. Oh Craig’s List, how you failed me on this one. (NOTE to all job hunters: read any position with marketing in its title with extreme caution).

Another funny interview anecdote was a major Sydney déjà vu. A “Chic Santa Monica Boutique” (quoted directly from the Craig’s List posting) called me to interview for a Stylist Position. They must have reached me on a day when I was really feeling sorry for myself because they conned me into coming in for a 2-hour sales ‘audition.’ I show up to the chic boutique realizing it is a cheesy prom dress store…..great. I was on the floor by myself for 2 hours while the manager watched to see how I “worked the floor.” Only one customer came in, and whew the pressure was on! She tried on some cheesy dresses and I sold her on one of them. As she is changing back into her clothes and I take the dress she wants to purchase to the register, the manager shoves four other REALLY CHEESY dresses in my face. I guess I was suppose to show these to the customer?? However, I thought they were ugly so I put them back on the rack. Yea, the manager didn’t like that. I left after working for FREE for 2 hours with her saying, “We’ll keep in touch.” Clearly I never heard back, and let’s be honest….what the HELL was I thinking. I swear I went to college, graduated with a degree in Finance, and made good grades. Why in the hell am I wasting my time trying to get a job at a cheesy prom dress store. Come on Melanie.



The latest in my job search has sent me to Las Vegas for a final round of the interview process with a fashion showroom. They flew their top two candidates to Vegas to work the Magic Tradeshow for four days. They put us up in a hotel room at The Westin. Notice that is a singular hotel room. Yes, I am sharing a room with the competition. I guess the key here is to keep your friends close and your enemies closer. From some great pillow talk convos, I realize she is way more qualified for the position, and I have NO clue how I have even made it this far. Oh, and to top it all off, her best friend works for the company. So seriously, what am I doing here? Oh well, another learning experience, right? Oh and how could I forget, these past four days in Vegas means I am not air mattress living. I am in fact sleeping on an amazing Westin Heavenly Bed. Yes bed, you are heavenly. I promise when I get a job and make the big bucks, I will purchase you. ☺ I had big dreams of coming to Vegas, getting a job, and winning millions on my favorite Wheel of Fortune Slot Machine. I attempted at gambling this evening at the Palazzo, and not only did the pit boss think my ID was a fake, I also lost all my money. (second NOTE to all job hunters: if you don’t have a job, you have no business in a casino). That brought me back to the Westin in full spirits and ready to go back to Cali. Tomorrow is the last day of the show so I shall be home shortly. I have a busy week ahead and am looking forward to the weekend festivities. ☺

Maybe when I reach a mature 24, I will be able to score a job. Fingers crossed.