She turns illusions for money.

What is your pet peeve, the one thing which really drives you mad? 
Submitted by Beki.  

I like to think that I'm a pretty even-keeled person, but there are a few things that really drive me crazy... and not in the good Britney Spears way.

• I get really annoyed when people use "I" as an object in a sentence, e.g., "Santa brought gifts for you and I."  Me, people!  ME!!  The objective form exists for a reason!

You know, I was going to write out a whole list of other pet peeves, but I actually couldn't think of anything else.  On this happy note, I should probably end this entry and go back to watching the live action version of The Year Without a Santa Claus.

This site is now the #1 Google hit for "she turns illusions for money."

I think Firefox 2.0 might be awesome enough to get me to switch from Safari.  At the very least, it finally has built-in spellcheck!

I just saw someone's Vox entry, entitled, "How did I do with my LDS predictions?" and I totally assumed that "LDS" referred to Latter-Day Saints, as opposed to League Division Series.  How apt, given the recent Yard Work "Warren Jeffs" crossover.  Anyway, I'm extremely pleased with the ALCS (not sure if I'll root for the Tigers or the A's, though I'm inclined to go with the Tigers, despite my love for Moneyball, because such is the extent of my love for Pudge), and I'll be pleased with the NLCS as long as the Cardinals lose.  Freaking Pujols.  Why do I hear myself saying that year after year after year?

Wedding planning's been plodding along quite slowly.  I don't have much time to think about it at work, so I've put Brandon in charge of, well, just about everything.  He's doing an excellent job with the planning and organization, though.  I don't care who gets it all done, as long as I get to check it off on my handy list from this summer's issue of Martha Stewart Weddings.

Speaking of... stuff... we're apparently supposed to be getting some snow on... THURSDAY.  You heard me.  October freaking 12th.  On one hand, I'll possibly get to wear my recently purchased Uggs (bought for function, not form) and test them in the snow.  On the other hand, I'm still a bit lacking in the sweater department, because many stores are still trying to get rid of their summer stock.  Curse you, Chicago weather!  Cuuuuuurse youuuuuu!

Finally, I'd like to share with you all the latest picture of me and Erin from the most recent time we went out:

What's your musical horoscope?  (Put your music player on shuffle and write down the first 10 songs that come up.)

Looks like I'm playing catch-up with this vox thing yet again.  And I'm choosing to do this QotD from several days ago, because I just can't resist these damn music-related memes:

"This Fire" Franz Ferdinand
"Kalamazoo" Ben Folds
"Caring is Creepy" The Shins
"Crush" Jennifer Paige
"Wide Open Spaces" Dixie Chicks
"Bel Air" Old 97's
"Come Fly With Me" Frank Sinatra
"If It Feels Good Do It" Sloan
"La Redécouverte" Yann Tiersen (Amélie soundtrack)
"House That Used To Be" Old 97's

I did leave off on my post-Montréal trip French lessons quite a while ago, so maybe it's a sign that I'll be learning what "la redécouverte" means.  (Thanks to my hard core AP test-passing Spanish skillz, I think it means "the rediscovery.")

This QotD appeared back in July, when I wasn't paying as much attention to the internets.

Soda? Cola? Pop? What do you say? Any other regional words that set you apart?

I love surveys like these, and I also love websites like the Pop vs. Soda page and this handy Yank or Reb test (apparently, I'm more Yank than Reb, but I definitely answered several questions in a specficially Texan way).  To answer the question, I say "coke," which makes sense if you look at the predominance of red on the aforementioned Pop vs. Soda page.  I remember being shocked that Brandon also said "coke," since he was from Indiana, and "pop" was the predominant term among all the midwestern kids at Northwestern (including with students from areas you wouldn't necessarily consider the midwest, like my roommate from Denver and another friend from Pittsburgh).  However, as Brandon quickly explained, southern Indiana is nothing like central/northern Indiana, and is, in fact, far more similar to Kentucky.  Sure enough, most of his family members have far stronger southern accents than any of my high school summer camp friends from central and east Texas.  Here's a demonstration of how one should use the term "coke" when referring to a soft drink:

Waitress: What kind of coke would you like?

Diner: I'll have a Diet Dr. Pepper, thanks.

Dr. Pepper, of course, is the official "coke" of Texas, and according to the all-knowing wikipedia, it regularly outsells Pepsi and Coca-Cola.

I can think of a few words that are specific to Texas, in particular Houston and southeast Texas, which shares some vocabulary with Louisiana.  From the quiz I posted above: a long sandwich with lots of cold cuts and toppings is a po boy (you won't see it listed as anything else on menus in Cajun restaurants, I guarantee that); the tiny lobster-like crustacean that crawls around in creek ("crick," if you're really backwater) bottoms is a crawfish; the road that runs along an interstate highway, and in Houston, allows you to enter and exit the highway easily every few miles, is a feeder; and that bug that rolls into a ball when you touch it is a doodle bug.

And there you have it: Caroline's 5-minute guide to talkin' like a real Texan.  Have fun, and save me a Diet Dr. Pepper, y'all!

It's quite sad that my life is far more interesting on the weekdays than over weekends, but that's just how it is these days.  Thursday was Teal's going-away party, so Erin and I went to the Motel Bar to see her off, and we realized there that we were the only two women in the entire place who weren't wearing tube tops.  A few days later, I received an email from Sarah, asking me about shirt dresses, and I replied that I probably won't see any around here for at least another few years, because Chicago women still haven't gotten the tube top memo yet.  Sarah promised that she'd always keep me apprised of her New York-based fashionista ways, but whatevs.  Maybe you'll see me in a shirt dress in another three years.  Anyway, we had a blast with Teal and Joe, and we're actually planning on seeing both of them again this week, for one last final barbeque-based hurrah before she takes off for Harvard.

I got that shot of the Water Tower when Erin and I were leaving the bar on Thursday evening.  We're rarely in that part of town (or even awake) at that time of night, so it was cool to see how all the tourist traps and streets were completely empty.  Almost as cool as the fact that as Erin and I were walking to the bar earlier that evening, several undercover cop cars roared by with sirens wailing, obviously on their way to some exciting mission in Cabrini Green, just a few blocks away from us.  I don't think E and I had ever felt more like sheltered yuppies in our lives.  Well, maybe I did, the first time I went into lock-up at 26th and Cal.

My weekend, on the other hand, was far less exciting, though probably more educational.  I spent most of Saturday watching all (and I mean all) the special features from the Lord of the Rings extended edition DVDs.  Brandon and I had popped in Fellowship of the Ring on Wednesday night, finished The Two Towers by around 2 am on Thursday, went to bed, and finished Return of the King on Friday.  Then I decided to watch the special features in reverse movie order, since I already had RotK in the DVD player (our handy PlayStation 2, in which we have to enter a "parent access" code anytime we want to watch a movie that's rated PG-13 or above) at that point.  Now it's Sunday evening, and I kind of want to watch the trilogy all over again, starting with Fellowship.  I'm a sick woman.  I took a nap this afternoon and dreamt about orcs and elves and Númenóreans.  Maybe I should pop in some Arrested Development episodes to lighten my mood a little.

I don't check vox every day, so I missed out on the last few Q's of the D, which makes me sad.  TIme to make up for my lack of vox attention!

2 Aug 2006: What is your current computer desktop image? Let's see it!

I tend to rotate between my reliable favorites.  The current one can be downloaded from eendar.com:

4 Aug 2006: If you could be on any reality TV show, which one would you pick and why?

Ooh, this one wasn't hard for me at all -- What Not To Wear, of course!  Not only would I get to be picked apart (lovingly) by Stacy London and Clinton Kelly, but I'd get to go shopping at the hippest stores in New York on their dime!  Now, I like to think that I don't really need their assistance, which is probably why going onto the show sounds so appealing to me, but my friends who read this should consider this my official declaration that I would not be offended at all if you signed me up for WNTW.

5 Aug 2006: What's one thing that you'd like to get done this weekend? Is there anything holding you back?

I guess if I had to narrow it down to one thing I'd like to get done this weekend, it'd be grocery shopping.  Girl's gotta eat, you know.  My laziness might be holding me back, but hunger will push me forward.  I'll not bore you with the details of my grocery list.  On a more interesting (and geeky) note, I plan on watching all the special features of my extended edition Lord of the Rings DVDs this weekend.  Yay!  I am so uninteresting.

Play any instrument or speak any language, which do you choose?
Question submitted by cruftbox.vox.com.

Hmmm, this is rather tough for me to answer, since I've always wanted to do both.  I think I'll answer this practically: it's probably easier to learn to play any instrument than it is to learn to speak any language well.  If you already play an instrument (or two, or three), you've already grasped fundamentals, such as rhythm, beats, reading music, etc.  You may not play the newer instruments as well, but with a good amount of practice, I think you'd improve dramatically.  Musical instruments share a common ground in that they all "speak" the language of music.  Languages, on the other hand, can vary dramatically, making it much more difficult to learn new languages when there are absolutely no commonalities in syntax, grammar, and vocabulary.

Thus, I pick the ability to speak any language.  Additionally, I can see myself using multi-language fluency in my career, while I can't imagine that anyone's going to ask me to join a band anytime soon.

What are your three favorite album covers of all-time? Any honorable mentions?

Question submitted by Tamara.

Ooh, this is my inaugural QotD entry.  Nothing like a good old-fashioned meme to help me come up with content here.  To tell the truth, I usually don't pay that much attention to album covers, particularly because I buy much of my music online now.  However, once I sat down and thought about this question, I realized that most of the album covers I can recall off the top of my head are from albums I've purchased online, and I think that's due to the iTunes cover art feature.  Cool!  Without further ado, here are my three favorite album covers of off-the-top-of-my-head:

I think they're pretty representative of my particular interests in visual arts: signs, typography, and weird art.
  You know, one of these days, I should really sit down and analyze exactly why it is I love signs so much, but I'll save that for another entry.  Onto the honorable mentions:

I'm not sure if I cheated by listing the last one, since I actually don't own that album (though I do adore my Kinky shirt), but since the question was about the art itself, I think it's kosher.  Hey, I think that was an unintended double entendre!

I have Vox invites!  I feel so in and hip and with it now.  I also feel as if I should give a rundown of all that I've done since the last time I posted here, but since I'm lazy, I'm going to give it the old splat-c/splat-v treatment from my LJ:

• playing lots of Carcassonne while watching Netflix movies (most recent ones being Batman Begins (twice) and The Bourne Identity)
• watching the World Cup
• baking snickerdoodles
• playing with my sacrelicious blog
• playing with this here bad boy
• calculating the most efficient use of my tickets at the Taste of Chicago
• eating out a bit more than usual
• lamenting my lack of HBO, which is causing me to miss the current season of Entourage
• hoping, wishing, praying to the gods of procrastination that 8 months ahead of time is not too late to begin planning a wedding

Here is a picture of my snickerdoodles.  They make me happy.  I wish they could plan my wedding for me.