urkel grue.

do any of you guys/gals use google voice? way back when, i jumped at the chance to get a google voice number, but now that the dust has cleared i realize there is no way in heck i am telling everyone in my life about a new cell number. i actively work against that idea! even in new york, i kept my 847 number, the same cell phone number since my first pink nokia cell phone in high school. so, ugh.

through a lot of research (and emailing the nice folks at lifehacker), i figured out that i could still use the google voicemail service. after a few quick setting changes, all voicemails are now sent directly to google voice, and i get an email with the transcript and audio of the message. i dont know about you guys, but i hate listening to voicemails. i dont know why, but there is something about it that just feels arduous and arcane (almost as bad as when i have to use a fax machine). they always get lost in my phone, there is no way to file or save them or mark as unread. i'll get a voicemail about something i need to deal with later, but then just forget about it because it sits lurking in my "saved messages". with google voicemail, i can see the email notification right away, read the transcript and/or listen to the audio, and then either save it neatly within my gmail folders, keep as new or whatever. just like email.

the hilarious part is that the transcription isn't perfect. you can pretty much get the gist of a message, but i wouldn't rely on the transcription alone at this point. last night, i called myself to leave a voicemail just to test out the transcription. the voicemail i left was my shopping list. when i spoke very clearly (as you would when reading a list), it captured everything perfectly. but when i stumbled, trying to remember what other items i needed, the transcription got all crazy. the last bit goes: "was St. That'sit, titles". Not sure what google was trying to capture there...

the moral of the story is, i would definitely recommend it to anyone who would like to be able to organize their voicemails... at least, what few voicemails you still receive these days. please feel free to email me if you'd like me to walk you through the steps!

new blog features!

hello faithful and new readers of rebloga! i wanted to let you know about a new feature that i will be trying out. at the end of each post, you will now see a line asking you for your thoughts. you have the option of clicking "awesome" or "lame", much like facebook's "like" option.

try it out, and let me know if something seems to not be working!

thanks kids. xo

my kind of town.

some wintry millennium park pictures...


also, i found the UGLIEST bridal party ever! (at least i think it's a bridal party. does anyone wear purple and teal to their own wedding?) what bride makes their entire bridal party stand outside in 20 degree weather to take pictures?

i flip my latkes in the air sometimes.

just in case you haven't been on facebook in the past two days, check out the craze that is sweeping the Jewish nation. you're welcome.


Chag Sameach, everyone!

16 years ago...

...this was me on my 10th birthday.

they say it's my birthday!

happy birthday to me and jon stewart! but i imagine that he is not also 26 years old today...

let me do you a favor.

i am going to save you time AND money. how's THAT for a tuesday morning?!

(ok - if you're AT ALL planning on seeing unstoppable... maybe you should stop reading. vague spoiler alerts ahead. but the whole point of this post is don't waste your time seeing it so, i don't know. you're all adults (presumably) so - you decide.)

so, last night i went to see unstoppable. seemed to be right up my alley - action, explodey scenes and denzel washington. it was perfect. yet, it seems my movie snobbery may have slipped up a bit here. if felt like the director wanted me to understand a lot more about trains than i do (i don't know, maybe boys know about trains?) and no part of the movie made sense. rosario dawson was a)bad and b)not believable. denzel was just really no good. what happened here guys?? why did you think we would believe a movie where the best plan to stop a speeding train is to hope you can get it to flip over? and at the same time, you send in a marine to fly over the train suspended from a helicopter for seemingly no reason??

anyhow - just watch the snl sketch below from last weekend's show. it's EXACTLY the movie, and much more hilarious. and i think snl's new guy (jay pharoah) is PHENOMENAL and so spot on as denzel. enjoy the video, and enjoy having 2 hours of your life back in advance. your welcome.

i heart the midwest.

a few crap shots from my roadtrip to indiana this weekend.

i also probably should have stayed because allegedly i am a rockstar in indiana...

what's the time?

just had to show you all my new watch, 1 of 2. Two new watches in one weekend!! i think i have reached my quota for the year now....

this must be the place.

one of the reasons i really like my new job is because i can pretty much listen to my iPod all day. i always work better with music and it's just impossible to listen to the glaring silence of my office all day.

of course, listening to music for 8+ hours of the day has quickly put me into a rut with most of my favorites. there is only so much ok go, wallflowers, counting crows and talking heads i can take (shocking, i know).

what music do you listen to while at work? is it better to listen to chill music or pump up music? since i was recently asked for music suggestions, im turning my own request on you - what's good in music these days, and what should i be listening to to get me through the day?

because i don't watch enough tv as it is.

ok friends - i need your help. what in the hell do i watch on tv? i know what you're thinking... "rebecca is such a tv junkie, what does she need our help for?" and, you'd be correct. the issue is there is just nothing GOOD on anymore. at least i have modern family, or else i'd be totally screwed.

i started watching the event, to fill the hole in my heart where lost used to be, but it's just not the same. i have even started paying attention to the hotel room numbers and license plate numbers just in case they come into play later. but i assume they won't.

the office has been going downhill for years. 30 rock is a good thursday standby, but it makes my schedule pretty comedy-heavy.

after a little amazing race, family guy, svu... what do i do?? i need a good, solid drama. i tivoed the walking dead, but a reliable source has warned me that it is SCARY, and rebloga does not do scary.

so here is where you jump in. what are your brilliant suggestions? i know how smart you all are, so help a girl out. please comment below with your recommendations!

im only allowed upstairs.

you may have seen some pretty great costumes this weekend. we saw everything from 3 blind (and slutty) mice (seemed like a ploy to get boys to carry them across the street), michael cera's character in juno, and a gang of karate guys, to Russell (the Wilderness Explorer kid in Up) and some Ghostbusters.

but. does this lovely lady look familiar?

we saw a FANTASTIC Dooneese costume after dinner on Saturday (S.P. the blue crayon with Dooneese): Can anyone top that costume sighting?? Leave a comment if you can...

this will be me tomorrow.

Michael: I'm an early bird, and I'm a night owl. So I'm wise, and I have worms. Oh, breakfast.
Ryan: I got your sausage, egg and cheese biscuit.
Michael: Yummy, yummy. Thank you, Ryan.
Ryan: What was the thing, ah, you needed me to come in early for?
Michael: Um. The sausage, egg, and cheese biscuit. But thank you. And why don't you take a couple hours. The office is yours. "Home Alone," "Risky Business." Take your pants off, run around. Whatever you gotta do.
Ryan: I'm just going to take a nap in my car until work starts.

basically my life.

dear l.b. and b.c.:

thank you for brightening up my day.

hearts,

r.l

(sorry this is so small... if it was an iPod it would be a shuffle.)

this is kind of phenomenal...

and would be a good halloween costume as long as you don't mind everyone sitting on you.