Roo Revealed...

Here is an insight into Roo. Make note of the "In Love" section as it seems to be exceptionally accurate.

You Are An ISTP

The Mechanic You are calm and collected, even in the most difficult of situations. A person of action and self-direction, you love being independent. You seem impulsive, surprising, and unpredictable to outsiders. You are good at understanding how all things work, except for people. In love, you tend to be very easy going and flexible. The only thing you can't stand for is someone trying to change you or your life. At work, you can stay completely calm under pressure. You handle stress well. You would make an excellent pilot, forensic pathologist, or athlete. How you see yourself: Logical, flexible, and unconventional When other people don't get you, they see you as: Indecisive, flippant, and disrespectful

What's Your Personality Type?

I'd Be a Great Alternative Medicine Guru...

I love personality tests. Does that make me vain? Perhaps I just crave validation for the way I am, and since I rarely get it from myself, I can at least get it from the internet. Here is the results of my latest test.

You Are An INFJ

The Protector You live your life with integrity, originality, vision, and creativity. Independent and stubborn, you rarely stray from your vision - no matter what it is. You are an excellent listener with almost infinite patience. You have complex feelings, and you take great care to express them. In love, you see relationships as an opportunity to connect and grow. You enjoy relationships when they are improving and changing. You can't stand stagnation. At work, you stay motivated and happy... as long as you are working toward a dream you support. You would make a great photographer, alternative medicine guru, or teacher. How you see yourself: Hardworking, ethical, and helpful When other people don't get you, they see you as: Manipulative, weak, and unstable

What's Your Personality Type?

The Phillips School of Sophistication

Lesson 1: How to Be Classy
I will use our weekend date as a template to guide you in your efforts to be as classy as us.

First: go to the art museum.

Roo: Who painted that?
Annie: Oh...umm...(try to catch a view of the tiny print information next to the painting without him noticing) Mondrian. (say it like you knew it all along. Then turn your head sideways to better examine the painting while folding your arms and tapping your chin with your finger. This pose lends serious artistic credibility. Believe me.)

Say things like: "Oh, I could do that!" and "Now that's what I'm talking about!" (especially if you are a man looking at a painting of a nude.)

Also, spend as much time in the museum gift shop as you do in the museum itself.

Next: Go to Dinner

Choose a high end, little known restaurant where they use square plates and stack the food all in the middle. If your hair gets in your face, don't bother setting down your fork when you brush the stray strand away and fling the food onto the floor behind you. Try to not let Roo notice that you did it. Also, pass your entrees back and forth between yourself and your date and use your tiny bread plate to cut up the filet mignon.

Next: Dessert and People Watching

Bypass the luxurious restaurant cheescake for Dippin' Dots in a styrofoam coffee cup that you bought from the movie theater even though you're not going to a movie. Sit outside a watch the people walk by.

Roo: Are you silently judging everyone who walks by, too?
Annie: No!
Silence for awhile. Someone walks by.
Annie: Can you tell me if that was a man or a woman?

Finally: Go to the Symphony at Abravanel Hall

While walking to your seat, make note of every place that Jason Bourne or Sydney from Alias could potentially jump off of to beat up bad guys. Then compare the floor layout to the course from Nintendo's Marble Madness video game.

Now notice the beautiful glass artwork in the foyer (and pronounce that foy-ay):
Roo: There is nothing I would like more than to shoot that thing with a shotgun.
Annie just nods.

Listen to the pre-concert lecture where the assistant conductor mentions that Beethoven's 9th Symphony is especially flavorant.
Roo: Flavorant? Is that even a word?
Annie is too busy wondering if we could outsmart security and spend the night in here to listen or respond.

While listening to the music:
Roo: What's a concerto?
Annie: I don't know.
Roo: What did Hayden write?
Annie: I don't know.
Roo: Who is better, Mozart or Beethoven?
Annie: I don't know.
Roo: Who is that guy from Alias that the pianist looks like? You know, the bad guy?
Annie: Roger Moore.
Roo: Yeah! That's the guy.

End the evening by sprawling on the couch in your underwear while watching TV late into the night. Then let your dog sleep in your bed with you.

This concludes our lesson for today. If you have any questions, I'll be here picking filet mignon out of my teeth with a pocket knife.

(Thanks for the fun date, Roo! I had an awesome time!)

California: What's Not to Love?

If you can overlook the rage-inducing traffic jams, horrendously overpriced housing, potentially dangerous amount of air pollution, we think there's an awful lot to love about California. Our recent trip just proved that to us again. Here's what we love:

1. The road trip: Ten long hours in a car, good music, frequent food and treat stops, and the largest thermometer in the world in Baker, CA. This time, we got a ride with our sweet friend Sarah Champion, who is moving to LA. Around Ontario, she went her way into the city and we went ours. We were happy to hear later that she arrived at her mom's house without getting lost in Inglewood which would have meant near certain death. Thanks for the ride, Sarah!

2. There's always somewhere new to go that is surprising and beautiful. We drove up a winding road (and through the tunnel where they filmed Back to the Future--any real fans will know what scene I'm talking about), and up to the Griffith Observatory. Roo loved it for the science and I loved it for its beautiful Art Deco 1930's architecture. It overlooked downtown on one side, and if you look behind you, you'll see the Hollywood sign. We'd never been here before, and I think it's one of the neatest places I've been in LA.

3. The Hollywood Bowl: Every year we have the tradition of seeing John Williams conduct the LA Philharmonic Orchestra at the Hollywood Bowl. We love listening to our favorite movie tunes with people wining and dining all around in the warm evening. We also love the homeless guy at the entrance who earns extra change by making his grungy dog hand puppet sing old showtunes.

I took this panoramic picture of the bowl. There are ten thousand people there, but it still feels cozy.

4. Knocking out my father-in-law on Wii Boxing.

5. The Beach. You may be like Roo and think that you can choose to not swim at the beach...

...but then you walk up on that rock back there to look at the view and a giant wave crashes and soaks you completely. I know because that's what happened to me here. You can't tell, but I'm completely soaked. But the view was nice...