Anyone who's read my blog with any regularity knows that I'm a big TiVo aficionado. I'm a big television aficionado, and TiVo makes that much, much easier. When TV watching is stressful -- labeling tapes, being home at the right time, battling with the VCR, keeping up with schedules -- it loses some luster. When TiVo does it all for me, I am satisfied.

Lauren and I espoused the Joy of TiVo to our families so much that both her and my parents have purchased their own TiVos. And with TiVo's new pricing model (eliminating the "Product Lifetime Subscription" in favor of a cell-phone type model -- the phone is free, with a slightly higher monthly charge), I even motivated a coworker to purchase his second TiVo with the lifetime subscription while he still could.

And each one of these three TiVo purchases had one thing in common: I got "TiVo Reward Points" each time.

TiVo Reward Points are like currency. Only, currency that you can only use for silly TiVo things.

We are now the proud owners of a bright red TiVo remote. It sits in a drawer. We haven't put in batteries, and thus haven't programmed it to work with our TV. We already have two remotes, one for each TiVo. I consider this one a backup.

We're also proud owners of a delightful pair of TiVo slippers. They're extra-large, like my feet. And they even have little antennae sticking out. Cloth ones, of course.

And fret not, dear friends. With one more TiVo purchase that refers me, we'll get enough TiVo Reward Points for Lauren to get her small TiVo slippers, too.

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?

If you read my blog regularly, get a life.

No, that's not what I was going to say!  I meant to say, if you read my blog regularly, you probably know that my wife and I watch a lot of television.  We don't watch "filler" or junk -- we watch shows that really, truly entertain us.

One of those shows is 24.  (Although we own the first season on DVD, that's the only season we've never seen...)   We've thoroughly enjoyed the second, third, and fourth seasons, but let me say this: The two-hour season premiere of 24 last night was the Best. 24. Ever.  I mean, wow.

So as not to ruin anything for those of you who haven't yet seen the episodes from last night, I'll use invisible text to sum up the episode (highlight the next space to read it): [Holy freakin' cow man!]

Other highlights of the weekend included several games in my continuing season of Madden 2004.  (For the uninformed, former football coach and current blowhard announcer John Madden has his name attached to the best NFL video game series on the planet.)  I'm playing through a season as the Eagles, and we're currently 8 and 1.  It's a nice change from reality.  I must say that playing a game of Madden almost feels like an actual sport, given the tension, energy, and mental athletics that go into playing.

Spoken like a true lazy couch potato.

And as if hours of physical video game playing and a heart-pounding 24 weren't enough for one measly weekend, we also had a few friends over for drinking and board games, which -- along with peanut butter & chocolate and me & Lauren and honey & mustard -- is one of my favorite combinations.

I know I've blogged about this before, but it's my blog, and I'll blog about what I want to blog about, so there!

I have gray hairs.  I don't have a lot; I'm not salt and pepper.  Yet.

But there's a gray hair in the front, and a couple on the side. 

All told, probably fewer than ten.  Probably closer to five. 

Unless the entire back of my head has grayed and no one has told me.  Checking... Nope, that doesn't seem to be the case.

I have decided that officially I Don't Care about going gray.  That is, I won't allow it to bring me down.  I don't feel a need to dye my hair.  Yet.

No, I don't think I would ever get to that point, unless I go completely gray before I'm 30.  That'd be rough.

But it does seem strange to be graying -- even if only just slightly -- at 25.  Graying is for old people.  And old, in my book, is defined as "older than Lex Friedman."

See, this year for Hannukah, one of my gifts to Lauren was a Nintendo GameCube.  (No, this was not a bowling ball engraved with the name Homer. Lauren and I both enjoy casual video gaming. We always go with older systems -- and always Nintendo -- because the used games are considerably cheaper, and we don't feel the need to break the bank on our video gaming fun.)

But video games -- those make me feel young.  When Lauren-as-Luigi frees his mansion from its ghosts, or I as Donovan McNabb make a game-saving 12-yard touchdown scramble, or when the two of us zip around Rainbow Road in Mario Kart -- I feel young.  At heart.

Mostly.

Except sometimes, I feel like an old gray-haired guy refusing to grow up.

That's when I decide to cheer up.  So I eat an entire bag of cheetos and make fart noises with my mouth.

While I was on vacation, we spent a day in Queens, NY, with family and friends. Mostly Jewish family and friends, in fact.

One of the folks in attendance mentioned how much fun she had had at a Christmas party earlier that week, when those in attendance had sung "The 12 Days of Christmas" together. Each person had been assigned a day (e.g., one person sang "and a partridge in a pear tree" each time around).

We decided to emulate that singalong -- with a twist: Each person would make up the items for that day.

My father-in-law started:

"On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:
A thooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong."

That's "thong," stretched out by many syllables.

Others would enter the rooms to see what was going on, and would be put on the spot to participate, often against their will. Whatever they said would be worked into the song.

The finished ditty went a bit like this:

On the 12th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:
Twelve "I want cake"s
Eleven cans of something
Ten bags of ice cream
Nine babies screaming
Eight shots of tequila
Seven weird people
Six random singalongs
Five bellybutton rings
Four sets of twins
Three candy stripers
Two Jewish chicks
And a thooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong.

Didja miss me?  I know you did.

The vay-cay was great.  Our first and last days in Jersey were very, bitterly cold, but the days in between were actually pretty mild.  But we all know the best part about seeing family for the holidays:

PRESENTS!

Hahaha.

But seriously, I am getting boatloads of presents.  From my sisters, my parents, my in-laws, and -- of course -- my wife.  We're a family that enjoys gift-giving.  Of course, I've gotten Bull[censored], Bull[censored], and more Bull[censored] -- but that's because I asked for it :)

I am drowning -- in a good way -- in new DVDs and books.  Me likey!

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!

Dear rubber pig,

I know I've written to you as part of my "office toy conglomerate" already. But today, I wanted to single you out and remind you to mind your bidness.

See, you -- as you know -- are propped up against a picture frame holding a photo of my lovely wife Lauren. But sometimes, it almost looks as if you're hugging her.  I can't say I blame you -- she's quite huggable.

But it can look shady.

And those eyes!  Those black, painted-on eyes!  You sure are looking up adoringly at her charming visage.

So I'm gonna say this, and I'm gonna say this just once:

NO FUNNY BUSINESS.

Thank you.

I just had not Writer's Block, but rather... Writer's Avalanche.  I wanted to blog about TOO MANY things at once.

First, I wanted to blog about the amazing vacation my wife and I just took in Palm Springs.   So relaxing. So beautiful.  So fun.  And that's just Lauren!  But seriously... our trip included the Palm Springs Zoo & Desert Museum, a tram ride up nearly 8,000 feet to the top of a mountain, and a brief visit with relatives who were staying in a massive home once rented by Elvis.

I also wanted to blog about how today is my birthday, and isn't that grand, and boy am I old, and I love presents, and blah blah blah.  But my Grab inbox is already overflowing with birthday wishes, and I don't want to stoke that fire any more!

And, before Thanksgiving, I was hoping to blog a list of 50 things I'm thankful for.  But I forgot to do it, because the day before Thanksgiving was a short work day and -- of course -- the start of vacation time.  Maybe next year.

For the time being, I'm going to get some work done.

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!

My dream vacation would involve going on a Mediterranean cruise.

I would take my lovely wife with me, and maybe Charlie too :)

And I would definitely be sure to leave the laptop at home!

...cracks me, and herself up.

She is sitting beside me, with her laptop atop her lap, laughing and just generally enjoying herself as she reads...

...her very own blog.

She's cute.

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.