Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Memorial Day Weekend – Hanging with a bunch a’ monkeys!

What’s better than a 3 day weekend? I ask you? And I’m not talking about weekends where you decide you just can’t take it anymore and call in sick on Friday because one more day just seems like utter torture even if it IS dress-down day. I’m talking about Monday holidays! Mmmm. Yeeeeah. Those kind of 3 day weekends. Monday holidays are perhaps my favorite holidays ever. EVER! It’s not just having Monday off (which shortens the work week to 4 days automatically), but it increases Sunday’s enjoyment as well! You don’t have to “ready yourself” for the work week on Sunday evening and ruin your “day of rest” with thoughts of the upcoming week. No! Not on Holiday Mondays! Go ahead – stay up watching 3 hours of Jon and Kate Plus 8 marathon weekend. Why don’t you just read 3-4 more chapters of your book? You can sleep in! Better yet – pop in a movie – a nice long one – go really crazy and chuck in Lord of the Rings the Return of the King.. at 9:00pm.. on Sunday NIGHT! It doesn’t matter! YOU don’t have to WORK tomorrow! Sigh… let us bask in the Monday holiday glow… just for a moment.

Okay stop basking… lets talk activities.


FRIDAY! Crappy date and crappy movie. I don’t count that as part of my 3 day weekend – but thought I’d warn you that 1. Angels and Demons is less than “meh” and secondly, I’m going to start saying no to some first dates. Yeah. I think I will. It seems harsh and I know all ya’ll are out there like, “Oh you can give them a chance.” And yes – I will most always say yes to a first date regardless of interest level (or complete and utter lack thereof) so long as they’re somewhat “normal” seeming, just “to see” how goes. But really – honestly – there are some you can probably just say no too. Lets be honest. Dudes - you don't ask out anyone you'd rather not ever go out with - I think it's fair for girls to say no sometimes if they really don't want to go. Right? And I might just have to start saying no more often after being oogled and ogled Friday night by a little pervy. Shudder. Listen dudes, unless you look like a greek GOD puh-lease don’t try and “touch” a girl you barely know on a first date. At LEAST not in the first 5 minutes. Seriously. It’s gross. And I really don’t know who you think you are when you do that either. It makes it very apparent what you want – and it has nothing to do with the neck up. Secondly, ogling her like a the cover of a Playboy magazine your wanting to flip open is definitely, DEFINITELY, unacceptable in every realm of dating and furthermore, the fact that she’s tucking her hands in her armpits, under her legs, and sitting with her back mostly to you all up in some middle aged woman’s grill sitting next to her t the movie just so you’ll FREKAING STOP TRYING TO TOUCH HER AND LEAN INTO HER FACE TO ASK YOUR LOUD QUESTIONS… is a decent hint that whatever “I should give it a chance” idea she may have once entertained is completely and utterly dashed. Yeeeeeah… it was the “porn-stare” dude. Please refrain from porn-stare. Shudder.

Lets move on to Saturday…

Hmmm… took Nik to the airport, hair appointment (it’s okay), general deep cleaning of the apt, some running involved, 3 shirts for $20 at Express (holla!), Target trip, sushi, aaaaand Redbox movie Taken (pretty excellent). Well I had a good day! I like those days where your consistently active – but doing leisurely things. Or doing things you’d like to get done during the week (apt cleaning) but never have time to. What made it even better is that it was okay that my Saturday was completely absorbed in errands and cleaning because I had a second Saturday on the horizon! MONDAY! Bliss bliss bliss…bask bask bask...

But first,

Sunday…BLISSFUL Sunday evening not worrying about working on Monday because it’s a holiday! Holy day improved by Holiday (ba dum chi!).That’s all that needs to be mentioned. I read some good reads, watched some good Jon and Kate Plus 8, baked cupcakes (they were gross. HA! Frosting was good… pictured below… but the cupcakes themselves… nooooo good). I really do enjoy my Sundays. They’re so so… restful. And this particular Sunday was particularly restful. Why? WELL!!!

Monday is Memorial Day! Monday… is a holiday. And on Monday I went to the Zoo. Hogle Zoo. How exciting! I’ve not been to the Zoo in a good long while… years in fact… and was very excited to go! A group of us got together and went with the rest of Salt Lake City to enjoy some wildlife observations on this most glorious Monday holiday. Apparently a lot of people were brilliant like myself and thought “Oh I know… the ZOO!” as well. It was packed - but still a lot of fun.

Look how I’m trying to be a monkey… ahem

Justin wins the monkey look alike contest. Good for you man. Cough.

A real monkey!


Are you... peacocking?!?

Terilyn! Quick! Run! There’s a pink Fly perched on your shoulder trying to give a “cool backwards” peace sign! No no no… it’s just me everyone! I wear fly sunglasses now. Sure wish someone would’ve told me they made my face look like a poop eating insect before I bought them. Mumble, grumble. Bzzzz
Speak up! I can’t hear you! He he he – get it? He has big ears. It’s like irony… or a lame joke… or something.

Classic Hogle Zoo Pic. Drinking from the gapping lions mouth. Do you like how far down I have to lean to get some water? Got myself a nice squat pic going on here.

And finally – the pacing Cheetah. Can I explain how this cat was seriously eyeing all the chubby babies perched on their Dad’s shoulders? I’m serious. After he was down pacing hungrily for awhile… he took a step back and I swear on all that is good and awesome about Monday holidays, gauged whether he could get enough of a running start to jump the fence and snag one of those plump wiggling balls of yum for his meal. I could seriously see it in his face “hmmm… dude I’m thinking I could totally make that…”


After the zoo extravaganza, Terilyn and I had ourselves some deliciously American traditional burger, fries, and a shake, and then went and saw Terminator Salvation. I thought it was pretty awesome myself. Better than Wolverine... not the calibur of Star Trek... but still awesome. All in all I found it a rather delightful weekend - a delightful 3 day weekend! Which as you know are the best weekends to have.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Bike Festival of the San Rafael… It’s Swell! Get it? Bah!

Aren’t I so clever? San Rafael Swell… it was Swell. Fine! Roll your eyes! I found it hilarious. One day I will take my show on the road – then you’ll see.

This weekend I went to that little gem in the middle of Utah – the oasis in the middle of a desert – Emery County – for the annual San Rafael Swell Bike Festival. All around good times. My mom is an avid biker and has participated in the San Rafael Bike Festival for years… YEARS I tell you! I’d gone once several years back – and because of school and work – wasn’t able to make it back again until this year. And what an excellent year it was! The Festival headquarters is stationed in Green River, along the Green River (wha!??!) and smack dab in the middle of the most unique and breathtaking desertscapes you’ll ever feast your eyes upon. This is why Utah is such a haven for outdoor enthusiasts; you have the Red Rock of southern Utah, the slot canyons of Zion’s National Park, Bryce Canyon in Cedar City, Arches, the towering mountains of the Wasatch Front, the woods and lakes of Cache Valley, and the harsh landscapes and breathtaking views of the deserts. It’s really an amazing little state full of variety and wonder. Tear. Good old Brigham Young knew what he was talking about – This is the place!

At any rate – enough of the sentimental blather – on to the adventure! Misty and I left SLC Friday morning – and hit a few hiccups in our schedule. I had taken my bike down to Bingham Cyclery on Broadway and 3rd West (because you really care where it’s located) on Tuesday afternoon, making them promise to have it tuned and ready to go by Friday morning at 10am, but alas, twas not the case. So we left SLC later than we anticipated. The Bike Festival begins its weekend of biking enjoyment with a 3:00 group ride on Friday afternoon. Misty and I were not optimistic about our timeframes, thinking we would likely be late for that ride because we had to wait for my bike, and subsequently wait for her bike in Price. It was an estimated 4 ½ hr drive to Green River from SLC… and it wasn’t promising.

WELL! Praise the Lord we arrived in Green River at exactly 3:00! The Festival is particularly centered at the Green River Museum and Park. It’s the mutual meeting ground for the riders and most importantly, for the FOOD! Num num. At any rate – we arrived right at 3:00 to see bikers helmeted and ready to go. Throwing caution (and modesty) to the wind – Misty and I changed in her Forerunner (sweet little vehicle – she’ll appreciate the honorable mention) – slathered on some sun screen, slapped on a helmet, forgot our gloves and cameras, and we were off! I’m so happy we made the first ride! It was about 17 miles round trip – but at the end of the first 8 miles – we had the opportunity to see “The Geyser.” I’m sure there’s an official name – but I only ever heard it called “the Geyser” seen here (I snaked these pics from my Mom’s Facebook page (that’s right – she’s down)).

Luckily my mom had her camera and she took some excellent pictures of the beauty and grandeur of “the geyser” as well has some hard-core pics of us in our riding attire... and of our finding our inner flower

My mom, me, and Misty doing Downward Dog (the bright colors of our shirts really make this pic! Wouldn’t you say?)

After our first ride, we ate a spaghetti dinner at the museum and then gathered for “the Drawing!” Dun dun dun! Every year they have a drawing for some pretty sweet prizes, and this year was no exception. They give away an extremely nice bike every year – and of course they did it this year as well, but they also gave a way a bran new top of the line $800 bike frame as well! Of course Misty won the bike frame! Psh! She would! But my mom also won a pretty sweet prize – it was a contraption you can use as your “indoor cycling training” during the winter. You detach the back wheel of your bike and plug it into this contraption and it acts as a very nice stationary bike, except you get to still use your own bike instead of trying to adjust a gym cycle everytime. I’m sure there’s some sort of official term for such a contraption – but I shall just call it “the contraption” worth $450. They also gave away a saweet GPS device, a Camelbak full of all sorts of goods, and a two night stay in a cabin at Jeremy Ranch in Park City (of which Misty’s Mom won! Rigged I tell you!). I didn’t go away empty handed though – everyone got a “goody bag” (earth friendly Albertsons bags I might add) containing a bike computer that logs your mileage, speed, saves your rides, etc. It’s probably about a $50 value. We also got our official San Rafael Swell Bike Festival shirts. They were… you guessed it… SWELL! Bwahahaha!

That night Misty and I were going to camp (many of the riders get hotels so they can shower and sleep), but after the drawing it was rather dark and I am not a fan of trying to set up camp in the dark – so I opted to sleep in a hotel room and Misty camped. Ha! She really did! By herself. We both got a shower though – washed the geyser sulpher and sweat off our bods. Tasty.

Saturday morning we ate an excellent breakfast and prepared to embark on our next ride. There were approximately 5 rides to choose from ranging from beginner to advanced. The one advanced ride, Bull Bottom, I didn’t even consider. Ha! I think I’d only do that ride if I hadn’t done the group ride the night before. My butt was feeling the ache! Feeling it real good – and I don’t think I could’ve handled such an intense and technical ride after a rather intermediate ride the day before. Most of the “hard core” folks actually hadn’t ridden the day before – so they were refreshed and ready to hit it. There’s also one beginners ride, Nefertiti, which I’ve never done. Then there were 3 intermediate rides: the Black Dragon, Cliff dweller, and PLANET VULCAN (aka 3 fingers). Now go ahead and GUESS what ride I chose! Come on guess! That’s right! Planet Vulcan. I was going to do Black Dragon, it being a very “technical” ride and I really enjoy technical rides (slick rock, rocks, gravel, donkeys, that sort of thing) but when I heard that there was a ride that included footage from the new Star Trek movie – well needless to say you didn’t have to tell me twice. I was totally Geek’ed out and ready to ride Planet Vulcan! My mom also went on this ride, and the below shows exactly how geek’ed out I was.


This here be the beginning of the ride – and that backdrop is part of Planet Vulcan (as indicated by my telling you to “Live Long and Prosper”)



If you can get past the large amount of leg I am showing in this picture, behind me is more Planet Vulcan (this was about 5 miles into the ride).

We rode through the desert, ups and downs, some technical and happily there was some slick rock for my enjoyment, and ended in a slot canyon where we lunched. Below are some pics of the Native American writings found on the slot canyons cliff face:

Here’s my mom - Hi Mom! And myself. For some reason I’m in “man stance” – trying to look all hard core or something.

And a bit more Planet VULCAN!



I did crash once. Yep! Endo’ed. Meaning I end overed… meaning I went over my handle bars into a bush and then rolled out of it. I was going a little fast over some large loose rocks and veered off the trail right into a large bolder and bush. I landed in the bush, and tried to roll out one way, but the bush forced me the other way, so I stood up with stickers and dirt all over me. Unfortunately no one even SAW IT! I mean if you’re gonna wreck you first, want people to see how cool it was (if it’s cool) and second, procure a sweet bruise or at least break some skin. I skinned my knee, and that’s about it. Lame.

That night we enjoyed some Dutch Oven cookin’s and discussed our rides with the other groups. The weather was absolutely perfect. I definitely came back with some nice color on my skin – though I avoided getting sunburned like a champion. My nose is usually the first thing to glow bright red in the summer – but I’ve been meticulous the last couple years about making sure my little nose is protected from the sun. I do have some freaky tan lines on my back though – having worn two different kinds of tank top on both of my rides. Meh! At least I’m not a walking wintery Albino anymore (or at least making some progress)… nor a glowing red lobster either. Win win. Who doesn’t love a win, win? Eh?


Misty and I left Green River right after dinner. We made it back to SLC in excellent time! I reached my apt at about 9:15 and Misty headed to Logan about 9:30. So not bad, not bad at all. I don’t think it really takes as long as we thought it did to get there. We did get flipped off once though – bwahahaha – by some old crotchety dude between Green River and Wellington. We weren’t going THAT fast! Psh. Take ‘er easy old timer.

Needless to say it was a great weekend – or rather – a SWELL weekend at the San Rafael Swell Bike Festival. Snort… snicker. Swell.

Monday, May 11, 2009

Doing Growed Up Things the Yuppie Way

I had a pretty enjoyable weekend. Yeah! I did! Thanks for asking. Of course, I didn't take any pictures for you, but I resolve that I will do so from now on. It's funny, I usually carry my camera with me and if anything, have my phone with me, but just don't think about snapping pictures of my life happenings. It would be nice to have some photo documentation that I'm not a complete loser, am I right? So right.
 
Friday was a rather cultured evening. Yes twas. My friend Terilyn and got ourselves some tickets to the Utah Symphony that night a week or so prior. I know what you're thinking "You got tickets for something ELSE on the opening weekend of STAR TREK?" Sigh. I know. I know! But really – Star Trek will be in theaters for awhile and Tchaikovsky's Big 5 was only there for two days. No I don't have a particular affinity for Tchaikovsky, at least nothing to match the geeky childhood fantasies of going where no man or woman has gone before, but I do like the symphony, most all symphonies, and was GHAUSTLY overdue to see one. Note I will likely use such yuppie words as ghastly, spiffing, and absolutely marvelous dahling, as to add to the cultural "atmosphere" of this post… and make up for lack of pics. Indeed!
 
Before going to said "mahvelous" cultural event; we of course, felt it necessary to eat something delicious. I really like scouting out and trying new restaurants in my area (buy local!) and chose a place called Em's right on Center Street. I run by it everyday (alright – I run by it when I go running which is likely not everyday), and thought it looked rather (yuppie word warning) quaint. Yes. Quaint. Mahvelous dahling! An ideal way to describe Em's. I can include a picture of said picturesque restaurant but… the one they have online is in the dead of winter. I'd rather not be reminded of frigid temperatures on a day like this – so follow the link instead.  The food was excellent by the way – and we went all out for our cultural evening of mahvelous!  Meaning we had appetizers (salmon and crab rolls – awesome) an entrée (I had the chicken with goat cheese and pine nuts… mmmm pine nuts) and dessert (ridiculously excellent sorbet). Honestly though, it was the ambience of the place I enjoyed most. Now keep in mind, if this is somewhere you'd like to try you MUST make a reservation. It's true. You can't "drop in" all American style (not that this restaurant is any sort of European or anything), you have to call and reserve your spot. It's so they know how much food to prepare – and I really like that idea. It's like assigned seating at the movie theater - don't be a hater! It wasn't hard for me to get in on the day and time we wanted – so I assume if you CALL BEFORE THE DAY YOU WANT TO GO, you'll get in just fine. The best part of the experience is the yuppies you get to interact with. Ah yes… my people… Avenues yuppies. Spiffing! The symphony, of course, was delightful (another good yuppie word) and I felt it went by rather quickly. I think symphonies top my list of "cultural things I'll pay to see." In fact, I just mentally ordered my "cultural enjoyment" list by preference and will present it to you now:
  • 1. Musicals
  • 1.5. Ballet
  • 2. Symphony
  • 2.5. Plays (Shakespeare Festival coming up! Holla!)
  • Couple spaces
  • Couple spaces
  • Opera (Meh)
 
Saturday I also participated in an event that made me feel cultured but… a little out of my element. First, I did a little service project with my ward at the Food Bank. That was fun – and I'm always a fan of service projects. In fact I even got some sun on my pale little arms loading the boxes! I miss the days of my one month California tan. Sigh (far away glazed look). Ahem. That's not the "out of my element" incident though. I attended a banquet on Saturday night for work. I know, right? Yeah. A banquet with important people and catering and good location and RSVP's and assigned tables and a "little bit better than business casual please" Utah - for the love! I sat with educated people and observed their educated small talk. I say observed because my charm comes from side jokes and dry observations... and poop. Mm, don't know if I'm feeling the academics will think I'm that clever. Teenagers find me funny; I can handle teenagers, but adults? Shudder. That's probably why I chose secondary education – I'd rather talk with teenagers a lot of the time. They're pretty funny. Also, I probably looked like the 10th grade scholarship recipients being recognized that night and the "academics" were all wondering where my parents were. I was pretty nervous, and felt I was too… childish to be there. I remember thinking "wow, guess I'm really an adult, eh? That's too bad" Hm. 20 somethings, what to do with us? It's hard to be a mid-20 something at a banquet where I actually DO belong but look like I don't, let alone in the 'real' working world. Many times, I feel that folks probably don't take you seriously when you're young and spry. There's been times when I've met with parents face to face and think "they're probably wondering what they're doing discussing important matters with this little girl. Who's in charge here?" That's the rub as well – young and female trying to be taken seriously in an old man, suit filled, environment. Adds a different dynamic - adds a lot more thought processes into my work attire too. At any rate, it was a moment of reflection to say the least – BUT if anything – the food was excellent (and free – num num) and I did get a few sly jokes in there after I got used to my surroundings. One fellow I was sitting next to remarked I should "stay away from those boys…" Yes sir, I am! Gee-golly! All they do is pull my pig-tails.  Plusl I'm looking for the men now actually – though – not finding much. ;) Oh snap! Men-children. Grow up already! Start going to some banquets or something…
 
Anyway – that was my rather all growed up weekend. Spiffing yes? Yuppie restaurants, symphonies, and banquets with academic suits. I guess I am pretty much all growed up – doing growed up things – too bad I still look 18. (No really, I am not exaggerating! I must look 18 because Nikelle and I went to see Wolverine a weekend ago and they had a 21+ showing (no teens or babies – it was AWESOME) and the girl letting everyone in CARDED us!! "Do we really look under 21?" I asked her surprised, and she said "Yeah.. ESPECIALLY you!" Snort.) Great...er I mean... absolutely marvelous!

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

A little city tour – and some musical enjoyment

This might be a weird combo post. I have two things I'd like to share with you, dearest Internet, and neither of them are ridiculously exciting or mind-boggling. I know, right? Well, one of them might be a little mind-boggling, but I'll leave that up to your discretion.

First things first…


I've mapped out a running route that takes me through several historic sites of Downtown SLC. Wait!! I realize saying something like "historic sites" just dropped my "exciting post scale" down to level snooze. Well for your in-for-ma-tion I LIKE historic sights but secondly, I think it's pretty damn cool I get to run by all of these things for my daily exercise. Yeah! That's right! Not only do I get exercise on my running route but I get to reminisce about the great city in which I live and gain a better appreciation for its history. Go ahead – top that! I dare you!


Now that I've gotten my threatenings and fist shakings out of the way – I'd like to tell you of the sites I pass during my 5 mile run (that's the mind boggling part). Alright alright, I don't run the 5 mile route every single time. There's a smaller 3.5 mile route I will take on those "man… I really would rather lay here for a time and watch some TV… but I sure did eat a good deal of CRAP at work today so I SHOULD go do something with my jiggly self" days. Yes, that exact thought really does go through my head… jiggly self and all. Not the point – the POINT is – I learn and run at the same time… sometimes. And here we go…


I pass the following historic sites and places, in this order, on my route:


  • The State Capitol Building (on Capitol Hill, I know right?)

  • City Creek (I run "that loop" ya know… the Bonneville Street/City Creek thing…)

  • Picturesque Aves Housing

  • The Govna's Mansion (South Temple between F'n H street (snicker… F'n))

  • The Cathedral of the Madeleine (South Temple between C and D street (I think))

  • The Church Office Building (State and North Temple)

  • The Salt Lake Temple (Middle of the City – duh)

  • The Conference Center (North Temple and Main)

  • My House (sure it's historic! West of the Capitol on Center Street)

Eh? Pretty awesome, yes? Doesn't get much more historical than that. Well here it is all mapped out for you viewing pleasure:




And now for the smooth transition…


This brings me to my activity last night at one of the above historical sites; The Cathedral of the Madeleine. I've actually had the pleasure of attending several services at the Madeleine, a cathedral tour, Ash Wednesday, and as of last night, hearing the Utah Chamber Artists perform in honor of the Cathedral's 100th Anniversary this year. It was our little FHE activity for my Ward. Yes, like running, attending some Ward functions is also a mental debate; "should I? I should.. but do I wanna? Meh… I COULD go… hmmm." Most especially if you're a new little Wardy and don't know anyone yet. And YES – to KNOW people you have to GO to stuff. Eye roll. I am aware. THAT'S why I did go to this little bit of "stuff" – that and I'm a music appreciator. One who appreciates music.


The performance last night was stunning. Choristers of the Utah Chamber Artists were joined by a full orchestra as well as some incredible solo artists (piano, guitar, and trombone). The music was a mixture of gospel, folk, and one of my favorite performances, some sassy Spanish influenced guitar solos. I was surprised at how much I liked the trombone performances as well – particularly in its more "gospel" tones versus the usual "jazzy" genre it's more classically associated with. Love the jazzy trombone (and lets nerd out for a moment and remember that one Commander Riker of Star Trek the Next Generation played the trombone - he made trombones sexy), but it was interesting to see it played in a genre that I wouldn't regularly associate it with. Bra-vo!
This performance was part of the Madeleine Festival of the Arts and Humanities all leading up to the celebration on August 15, 2009 which is the Cathedral's "official" 100th year mark. I have included the link to the Madeleines website below and of course, you can check out all the centennial celebration events on that page… or if you've never been inside the Madeleine (seriously, why not?) you can partake of their 350 degree panorama tour they also have on that website.




So go ahead – take a tour of the city via my amazing jogging route if you feel so inclined and then take the time to stop and check out some of these "historic sites" at your leisure. Running by them isn't quite the same thing as truly experiencing them.


Now how's that for connecting two random posts?

-------------------------------------------------------- Update May 6th
SOMEONE asked me who Commander Riker was. Oh come on now! I've included him below (and if someone can name the ST:TNG character in the pic with him - maybe I'll send you a Trekkie surprise of some sort! Go ahead! Try it!)

Friday, May 1, 2009

Something I shouldn't admit... but here goes

No, I still think the Twilight series is crap. So don't get your hopes up - THOUGH - I will admit that I do enjoy knowing about the story because regardless of the book "quality" - I like discussing books in general. I also like the movie. I will allow you to say of me that I think Meyer would make a MUCH better screen writer than quote unquote "novelist." She should write more movies - she could do it. I'd see 'em

Naw, I saw "17 Again." Now, I'm not embarrassed of that. I wanted to see it - because I like those kind of cheesy "could be okay/could fail miserably" films. For example: She's the Man. I seriously LOVE Amanda Bynes and this movie is hilarious. True, it's based on the Shakespeare play 12th Night which only proves once again Shakespeare's timeless awesomeness and adaptability. But ya know, teen flicky movies. I like 'em. And though "17 Again" started out as a failure and I thought "ohhhh no... I wonder how long this movie is going to last" it easily moved into "alright, this is pretty funny, I'm cool." And it WAS pretty funny.

But that's ALSO not exactly the thing I shouldn't be admitting...

Curious?

Alright! Here it is.

I seriously have a crush on Zack Efron. DAH! There I said it. Don't worry, I did a "birthday check" to make sure I'm not an old lady pervy Cougar (and no one had better call me a Cougar or I'll spear them with my Ute spear!). He's 21. I mean yes that's still sorta young for moi - but meh - the boys hot. And the boy can DANCE! What? I really enjoyed him in that movie. I've never seen any form of the High School Musicals - but I can tell you now I'll probably at least give the first one a go. And puh-lease; it's not just cause this boy is a ruggedly cute little baby faced man-child, he's a pretty decent actor too! I really enjoyed watching him! Perhaps I'd gone in with lower expectations of "teen heart throb acting" (naturally), but he impressed me... impressed upon me. Oh, snap. Anyway - there you have it - the thing I shouldn't admit - ever - but I did. And I did it to YOU dear Internet/3 people who accidentally stumble on my blog. I think Zack Efron is HOT and I have a bit of a crush on him. A bit of a big crush on him. Just think - he could be the next Phillip Seymore Hoffman. ;)