Saturday, 11 January 2003: I think I've found another new show that I can enjoy in Primetime. Last night, I watched the premiere episode of NBC's "Mister Sterling" starring Josh Brolin as a prison teacher who is tapped by the Governor of the State of California to fill in a Senate seat after the death of the previous Senator. The acting is very good as is the writing and directing. I was afraid this show was going to be some feel-good, Capra-esque sort of political drama, but it is not. The writers seem to want to take this show pretty seriously. No, I'm not a freak for political dramas. In fact, "The West Wing" bores me to tears. But there is just something about this show that I like. I just hope that the quality of the writing and acting is kept up throughout the remainder of the season. I can't believe I've actually found a Friday night show that I like.

Friday, 10 January 2003: I came home yesterday like I have been for the last several days... dreading the moment when I open the mailbox. I, like Katie a few weeks ago, was scared that I would find a letter stating that I did not pass my EMT-B certification exam. Katie was afraid she wasn't going to pass her pharmacy tech certification exam, but we all know how that turned out (she passed, for those of you who didn't read last month). My letter came yesterday. And I, like Katie, passed. Woo Hoo! Now we're both certifiable! Yeah baby! Bet you wouldn't want me trying to save your life. Heh.

Wednesday, 8 January 2003: Well, I guess I should start by wishing my brother-in-law Scott a happy 22nd birthday. I know it was actually yesterday. But with all the crap that I typed yesterday, I was afraid this information would get lost in the mix. So, happy belated birthday, Scottie.

Sad news for fans of "Sex and the City." Next year will mark the sixth and final season for the show. HBO announced that they will produce 20 more episodes before wrapping things up permanently. Now, if we could just get them to tell us when seasons 4 and 5 will be out on DVD, we might not be as upset as we are likely to be.

Finally, for those of you Lord of the Rings and Star Wars fans, you've got to read this article. It's hi-larious.

Tuesday, 7 January 2003: After a little over two years of railing against the mind-numbing force that is "reality TV", I find myself in a bit of a moral quandary... I am actually starting to like one of them. Last night marked the debut of the new Fox series "Joe Millionaire" about a regular joe named Evan who makes roughly $19K/year as a construction worker. 20 eligible young women are brought to a castle in France to meet Evan so he can pick out who he wants to spend the rest of his life with. They all believe he has just inherited $50 million which, of course, is a blatant lie.

At first, I thought this was going to be just another stupid reality show like so many others. But, then, as I thought about it, I realized that this one might not be so bad because its ultimate goal is to determine who can actually love Evan for who he is. You see, once Evan picks "the girl", she will be told that it is all a ruse and she will be given the choice of whether or not she really wants to marry him. Is it love or money?

I was a bit taken by the first episode. Evan really is just a regular guy (who sounds an awful lot like Puddy from "Seinfeld"). In his asides with the camera, you can tell he really has deep rooted moral issues with lying to these women. It's eating him up. Why he went through with it anyway? Who knows. But, as he said at the end of the episode, he's already in way too deep to back out now.

The two things that I'm really intrigued about regarding this show are, 1) will he slip at all? He already flubbed his way through telling his middle name. His real name is Evan Wallace Marriott. But, for the sake of the show, his name is Evan Wallace. Then, one of the girls asked him what his middle name was and he was caught very offguard. He had to think a bit and say his mom's maiden name and then explain that it took him so long because he doesn't really like his middle name. Dunno that the girl bought it. And 2) I want to see how he explains that it was all a lie. Of course, I, like everyone else who is watching, wants to see how the girl reacts. After all, that is the point of the show. But, her reaction is very reliant on how he presents the truth. He can be a complete dick about it and just come out and say that it was all a ruse, blah, blah, blah. Or he can do what I think he is going to do which is start out by apologizing and how this whole ordeal has been very tough on him and how he didn't really want to do it, but now, with the end result, he is glad that he did, so on and so on.

I've just got one last thing to say about this show and it has to do with the host. Alex is back, Baby! Yep, the host of the show is the former "Trading Spaces" host Alex McLeod. I used to love her on that show and I've missed her. Now she's back. Of course, she gets little to no screen time whatsoever, but it's the thought that counts. I wonder what's up for her after this show ends.

Monday, 6 January 2003: I can't say that I'm looking too forward to today. For the last two weeks, our boss has been on vacation. Not that we've been partying here in the office or anything, but, since most people took vacation days over the course of the last two weeks, our workload has been very light to say the very least. Last Thursday or Friday, our boss called and told us to be ready to "hit the ground running" today. Aye carumba. I really do not want to know what that means. The very concept of it scares me to my core. Calgon, take me away.