So, Lauren and I spent some of Presidents' Day Weekend in Tucson, visiting my folks. I did do some work over the weekend -- that's the curse and blessing of working for a website like Grab.com!

Our weekend was action-packed, believe you me. We saw Kevin Eubanks (of "Tonight Show" fame) performing with his jazz quartet, and we saw a music that hopes (in vain, methinks) to hit Broadway: "Bombay Dreams." And we ate. A lot.

And we visited the Desert Museum.

And we ate.

And now, as we sit in the airport (our return flight, like the one that got us here, is delayed), we've discovered a modern airport wonder:

Free WiFi.

Meaning, we can surf the Internet -- posting on our blogs and the message boards and checking our email and whatnot -- while we wait for the plane! Woohoo!

I was about to type, "Since that's the case, the plane can take as long as it wants." But then I remembered the best part about going home: CHARLIE! We'll see you soon, buddy! And since when can dogs surf the Internet?

My vacation is almost over. Lauren and I will fly back to LA early, early tomorrow (6:30am Eastern, which is 3:30am Pacific), and then once we're back in LA, I'll actually be going in for a full day's work at Grab HQ. That should be fun! If the site falls down tomorrow, I blame me.

In OTHER news... Remember two blog posts ago, when I wrote about "Lazy Sunday," the Chronicles of Narnia-themed rap on SNL? It's available free on iTunes, and now Slate says the video actually means something for rap.

As it turns out, Slate's wrong. But it's still a good article.

We can't be TOO sad about returning to Los Angeles, though, because it does mean one very, very exciting thing:

CHARLIE! We haven't seem the little guy in nearly a week and a half, and we are (all, Charlie included!) looking forward to the big reunion!

I was tagged by kxgen!

1. Ten years ago - In high school.

2. Five years ago - One month away from starting to date Lauren in college. She's now, of course, my wife.

3. One year ago - Toiling away on the "new" Grab.com in the Grab "war room."

4. Yesterday - Worked nearly 12 hours in the office, and then a few more at home.

5. Today - Work, of course, and a going-away party for a friend this evening.

6. Tomorrow - Work again! We're a little busy. And then hanging with some friends to watch a movie in the evening.

7. Five snacks I enjoy - chocolate peanut butter ice cream, potato chips with cream cheese, Reese's peanut butter cups, pistachios, movie theater popcorn.

8. Five bands (or singers??) I know the lyrics of most of their songs - They Might Be Giants, Weird Al Yankovic, Barenaked Ladies, Moxy Fruvous, Michael Jackson.

9. Five things I would do with $100,000,000 - Buy a huge home, take care of family and close friends, cruise around the world, pursue a career as a television writer, buy several new Mac computers.

10. Five locations I’d like to run away to - Australia. Hawaii. Vegas. Paris. Monaco.

11. Five Bad Habits - Letting the house get too messy. Staying at work too late too often. Not getting haircuts frequently enough. Don't put my keys on the hook, so I can't find them later. Neglect to recharge cordless phones.

12. Five things I like doing - Eating, watching television, reading books, reading blogs, writing.

13. Five T.V. shows I like - JUST FIVE??!?! Arrested Development. Lost. Boston Legal. The Simpsons. The West Wing.

14. Famous People I’d like to meet - Weird Al Yankovic (again). Tom Hanks. Will Ferrell. Lorne Michaels. Steve Martin.

15. Biggest joys at the moment - Lauren and Charlie.

16. Favorite toys - TiVo, iBook, Charlie.

17. Five people to tag - LaurenPretzel, Wemmick, Sroth, HellyKwee, Abigail.

If I were stranded on a deserted island, with plenty of food to eat and water to drink, the four things I'd most like to have with me would be:

(I'm skipping answers like "a yacht" or "a cellphone," which aren't really in the spirit of the question!)

1. Lauren and Charlie (as "my family," this counts as one thing -- I made the Blog Idea of the Day, my rules!)

2. A TiVo and Sattelite-Equipped television

3. A great pillow

4. An endless supply of multi-ply toilet paper.

My adorable maltese Charlie has two ear infections :(

He's medicated and we're flushing out his ears once a day for a while, he'll improve... But it's going to take some time till he feels A-OK.

Best wishes, buddy!

Mmm, I love memes :) If only Grab had a way to make blogging on meme-like common topics even easier! Oh, that's a topic for another day. Anyway, after HellyKwee and others did it, it's high time for me to blog on the topic:

10 Things You Don't Know About Me!

1. I can recite the fifty United States in alphabetical order, from memory, in under fifteen seconds. (I can do so into a tape recorder that will play back the states being articulated successfully when heard at slower speeds.)

2. I went to magic camp for years, studying sleight of hand. My favorite magicians are Penn & Teller.

3. I interviewed "Weird Al" Yankovic when I was 16-years-old, at a concert in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Two years later, I went backstage at a Weird Al concert outside Boston. Al saw me and said: "Lex Friedman, Hershey Pennsylvania!"

4. I once sang on CBS's "The Early Show" on national TV. At 6:30 in the morning.

5. I have a total of 643 MP3's by either They Might Be Giants or Weird Al. Every single one of them is legal.

6. I am colorblind.

7. I wrote five postcards a week to Jay Leno, trying to get a job writing for his show, for one semester while in college. After three months, I got a call from the head of his writing staff, telling me that there was never any turnover because his writers had been with him since day one.

8. My full name is Alexander Curtis Friedman.

9. Until this year, I ate no fruits or vegetables with the following exceptions: Apples, bananas, corn on the cob, artichoke leaves (not hearts), and French Fries. This year, I have expanded my palette -- or, at least, am working on doing so -- to include lettuce, carrots, oranges, tangerines, grapes, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, cherries, tomatoes, string beans, plums, potatoes, and more.

10. I write oodles of songs for the keyboard, music and lyrics, and sing them only for myself, my dog, and my wife.

11. One of the above ten items is a blatant lie.

My doormat:



My dog:



Lauren's camera phone is cool.