Saturday, July 07, 2007

Shoes, Blockbusters, Angst, and a Dramatic Rodent

**Authors Note: There is an urgent request in this post, so if you're usually a skimmer, please at least read the request. I'll make it bold so you can easily find it. Thanks!**

Many of you requested (and a few even demanded!) to see pictures of my new shoes. Well, I find myself in quite a quandary about this. See, I love my shoes, and I'm excited to show them off. But if I always show off my new shoes right away, what will I have to impress you all with come December, when I reprise the wonder that was LaBloShoeMo? So I've decided to show you the shoes only if they come up naturally in other photos, which seems pretty likely so just keep your pants on and your eyes open.

(Actually, I won't mind if you want to take your pants off. The weather's been dreadfully hot lately, and really, how would I know whether you're reading me pants-on or pants-off? What I don't know won't hurt me.)

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So, Friday afternoon, I'm sitting around in my pajamas, eating some Cocoa Krispies and watching TV. I turn to the Game Show Network, just to see what's there and OH MY GOD THAT'S MY MOM!

Okay, I shouldn't have been as surprised as I was, because I knew she was on tons of game shows when she was younger. But still, when you're channel surfing on a lazy Friday, you don't expect to see your 28-year-old Mom playing Blockbusters, no matter what you already knew.

Later, I Googled her name to see if I could find more cool info on her game show winnings, mostly for the purpose of showing Aussie Boy. And you know what I found? A YouTube clip of her final win. My dad, both my grandparents, and my then 2-year-old sister are all at the show to cheer her on (I was but a twinkle in their eyes at this point). Seriously, if you love me, watch this:



Did you watch?

How funny-looking was Seeser? Ha! With the big funny glasses and everything! My favorite part is that after she gets the dollar, she opens it up to check it out. We think she's making sure it's not counterfeit.

Okay, now it's time for THE REQUEST that I mentioned at the top of the post. We have tapes of almost all Mom's game show appearances: Trivia Trap, Scrabble, Million Dollar Chance of a Lifetime, etc. But somehow, over the past few years, the Blockbusters tape got lost. This is obviously a major disappointment to us, as you can't exactly go buy the DVD of the show or anything. So...

Anyone who gets Game Show Network and gets Blockbusters every weekday afternoon, can you PLEASE record the episodes with my mom, Kandi, in them? I've got a $20 gift card to the store of your choice for whoever can get these lost episodes on tape for us. PLEASE?!

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Speaking of my awesome Mom, I'm currently in Las Vegas, spending some time with her and Seeser. It was a last-minute decision, mostly inspired by my realization that four work-free days in a row is going to be hard to come by after July 16, which is when I start my new job. So I decided to take the opportunity of having Saturday through Wednesday free and go visit the family.

Why am I only free until Wednesday? Because on Wednesday afternoon, I'll be headed to SoCal. I still have family and some friends in SoCal, and not having been down there for a visit in almost a year, I've been hoping for months to find time for one. But that's not really what spurred the decision to head down there. No, it was something much, much better: the chance to hang out with Mocha Momma.

What originally looked like it would be a brief visit with one of my blog idols is now turning into a multi-day shindig with Mocha and some other very cool bloggers, including Leah, SueBob, and Erin. Part of our debauchery includes humiliating ourselves at L.A. Angst, an awesome monthly party where writers read embarrassing excerpts from their teenage diaries. And who will be reading this month? That's right, Mocha, Leah, Erin, and... um... yeah, that would be me. The rest of my time in SoCal will include raging parties that even I can't predict now, but believe me, the recap posts will be awesome and photo-heavy.

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Oh, one last thing. Go watch the dramatic chipmunk. I swear, it is the FUNNIEST thing you can do with the next five seconds of your life.

Go!

(Oh, but then come back to comment.) --> Insert winsome grin here <--

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm so sorry that I am not able to help you in your quest of lost Blockbuster episode. I sure hope someone can help; I just canceled that tier of my cable serve a few weeks back when I realized I was spending more time blogging than watching TV. Good luck in your search.

P.S. I watched your mom & it was GREAT!!! She was good!

dancing dragon said...

Oh my gosh, that's the most awesome video. I mean, your family on the game show, not the squirrel... but the squirrel is pretty cool too.

Anonymous said...

It's weird watching your Mum, she seems so like you!

Sorry I can't help with the tapes.

Anonymous said...

That's so cool - how did she get on so many shows? Wow! Famous. :)

That sounds like a crazy blogging day.. but lots of fun. Pictures!

Aussie Boy said...

Just in case more Dramatic Chipmunk is needed in your life:
http://www.kontraband.com/show/show.asp?ID=7082

Put that

Anonymous said...

WOW, I wandered over here from "Blogs are Stupid" and found a gold mine. You are an awesome writer. You actually gave me chills on a few of your posts. Keep up the good work. I'll be back.

Lady M said...

The SoCal trip sounds great! Say hello to Mocha and Suebob for me. :)

Anonymous said...

WOW!! After having to put my pants back on and then take them off again, I wasn't sure what to expect! But that tape of your Mom was AWESOME!!! She seemed so... Lara-ish?? I don't know what was more dramatic. Your Mom winning $50,000 or that squirrel!! But my vote goes to Mom!!!

Sorry but I don't get that channel. It must be the only one I DON'T have!!!

Welcome back to So Cal!!!

Lady M said...

I tagged you for a meme today - if you'd like to play!

Anonymous said...

That is the coolest thing ever, spotting your mom on TV--and YouTube--like that!

Have fun on your travels!

Wolf Lover Girl said...

I want to know the same thing that alyndabear wants to know, how did your mom get on so many shows? And wow $50,000??? That is awesome. And yes funny that sis got a dollar at the end.

And your still blogging while in Vegas? I've been off work for about a week and was lucky to get 1 post in, you're just amazing like that. ;-)

~ Wolf Lover Girl

Teacher Anonymous said...

That was impressive!

Lara said...

proverbs - i spend significantly more time on the computer than watching tv, so i can understand that. and yes, my mom was awesome. :)

dancing dragon - they're both awesome videos!

lala - wait, she seems like me? you've never even met me!

aly - at first, she was just smart and good at interviews. eventually, she actually became so well known that execs would call and ask her explicitly to be on their show. and yes, many pictures of the bloggy folks will be coming. :)

aussie boy - put that... ?

chris - well thank you so much! i'm glad you enjoyed, and will be glad to see more of you in the future. :)

lady m - i most definitely will do that! oh, and thanks for the tag!

r u serious? - i think the chipmunk was more dramatic than my mom, but my mom is cooler and better looking. ;)

mayberry - yes, very cool, for sure. and i am having a great time so far!

wolf lover girl - see my above response to aly about how it happened. and yes, on that show, she won over $50,000. she went on other shows too and won more money. :)

teacher anonymous - impressive indeed!

Mocha said...

Gosh, but your mom is cute. And I want to see you wearing that shirt tomorrow night when you come meet me, ya hear? You'd best be all pink and shiny and ... umm. Yeah, I just want to see it, mmkay?

Angst here we come.

Lara said...

mocha - yeah, she is cute. but then, so am i, so it runs in the family. and yay for angst! :)

Anonymous said...

Is Lost one of yours favorite shows??

There´s a chipmunk mash up that´s hilarious!!
Odd and virals videos

aMom2E said...

I will ask Dad to start tevo-ing that show and we will see what we can find... And I have been out of pocket for a while, so refresh me, what's the word on a new job??

Lara said...

rolim - no, i've never even seen lost. but thanks for asking.

ffbgirl - let me know if you find them! and i'm starting the job on monday, so i'm sure updates will be coming soon to a blog near you. ;)