Sad, Excited, and Other Observations

Since I've been behind a desk all week, I've succumbed several times (an hour) to the temptations of the internet. And of course, while I'm working on the exciting and challenging exploits of data entry, my mind has the tendency to wander, thinking about such pantamount questions as "Who was the actress who played the girl in 'The Boy Who Could Fly'?" and "Did Andy Bell sing the theme song to 'The Neverending Story'?". You know, important stuff. Stuff you just have to take a few minutes out of your day to look up.

Well, my musings mused me right over to "Whatever happened to the 'Sweet Valley High' book series I used to read as a kid?". So of course, I did a Google search. Thirty minutes later, I had learned that although the books always had Francine Pascal's name on the front, there were actually a series of ghostwriters who penned the majority of the books. Funny how despite the different authors over the years, the central characters, twins Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield, never stopped being the most beautiful girls in Sweet Valley, never gained an ounce over their perfect 5'6", size 6 figures, and always seemed to have enough money without working, despite their "modest split-level home." I was also sad to learn that really bad things happened to some of my favorite characters toward the end (I stopped reading the books somewhere around my freshman year of high school): the groovy, bohemian Olivia Davidson, who was the arts editor for the high school newspaper, the Oracle, died in the horrific earthquake that hit Sweet Valley at the end of the series; John Pfifer, chief editor to the Oracle, and good friend of Elizabeth's, became a rapist and died during his attempts to blow up his intended victim's house; long-time lovers Elizabeth and Todd Wilkins (my favorite of her boyfriends) were on-again-off-again several times before finally breaking up for good in university; Enid Rollins, cool gal and best friend to Elizabeth, got annoyed playing second fiddle to Liz's first chair and changed her whole identity in university, only to become better friends with Jessica.
So, I was excited to find out what became of my old "crowd", but I'm now sad to see that the entire series (all 143 books) is being rereleased in a 2008 updated version. Instead of the twins driving a red Fiat spider, they'll be driving a red Jeep; Elizabeth writes for the school blog instead of the newspaper; Jessica now wears current designer clothes instead of the retro fashioned described in the 80's versions and the twins are now a perfect 5'8", size 4 (sick, right?). I guess I'm a sucker for nostalgia, so the updated books with their new lingo and new accessories just don't appeal to me. I like the old hairstyles, the old fashions, the old clothes. They're classic.

Leaving the world of Sweet Valley, I thought earlier today about writing about something that has been annoying me a bit recently. This is one of those topics that Adam would advise me to keep as "inner monologue" but I don't have a lot of shame, so I thought I'd post for the world (or at least my friends and family) to read. In my attempts to "go greener" (which I think I do a rather darned good job of) I have started using organic, all-natural deodorants. My scents of choice are lavender and tea tree oil. The problem is, they don't work. At all. Granted, I have a strong body chemistry, but still, if it says it's going to work, it should! I spent this entire summer smelling my own "pit odor" mortified that my colleagues, friends and strangers were wrinkling their noses in disgust. Even Adam told me my pits stank, and he never really notices that type of thing. I've gone through 3 different brands now only to realize that my "body chemistry" is just too strong for the all-natural stuff, although in recent weeks I've noticed the stink has subsided a bit. Maybe my body is losing the evolutionary fight and succumbing to the new deodorant, or maybe the deodorant is intelligently designed to conquer my strong body odor. Whatever the case is, I'm glad the hot weather is starting to wane.

At lunch today, I acted out a "Lean Cuisine" commercial verbatim for my coworkers (I did all the different parts--you know the 2 or 3 women who ate crap the night before, and then the woman who ate the delicious, seemingly calorie-heavy real meal, only to reveal that it was a Lean Cuisine microwave dinner). A guy who was sitting with us told me I have a radio voice. My coworkers all said I should work for NPR. I'm considering whether I have the time to grace them with my considerable talents.

I'm debating whether I should post a tell-all of Park Avenue families my friend and I baby-sate for during our university years. I've told these stories for years at dinner parties and they always leave an impression. What type, I'm not sure, but I'll let you decide for yourself. Next post, "Park Ave Nanny, Confidential".