Confessing my geekier secret loves

Patrick Dempsey. Hugh Grant. George Clooney. Especially Dreamy Don Draper, aka Jon Hamm. Yes, they're all gorgeous and they populate my fantasies handsomely. But in the motel that is my mind, there are some less conventional leading men in starring roles.

John Grisham. Best-selling author. Former lawyer. Former Mississippi Congressman. Currently doing a lot of TV to promote his latest book, and every time I see him I'm reminded that he's one of the cutest little eggheads you'd ever want to meet.

David E. Kelly. The power behind Chicago Hope, Ally McBeal, The Practice, Boston Legal, and more shows I can't recall just now. Amazingly and consistently talented, his work has always veered wildly from comedy to tragedy to romance ... just like real life.

Charlie Rose. PBS talkshow host. As comfortable and effective interviewing Condoleeza Rice as he is with Ron Howard. So sophisticated that he's already bored with ideas that haven't even occurred to me yet.

Former Congressman Harold Ford of TN ... and MSNBC. He's a centerist Democrat from the south, and a dishy political commentator with a calm manner and a lovely voice. I could listen to him forever.

There's something so hot about men this much smarter than I. Sigh ...

Fie on that infamous Today Show interview!

Damn the couch jumping incident with Oprah! For all that wackiness tarnished one of our most entertaining movie stars. I'm watching The Firm, and while Tom Cruise may not be a great actor, he's such a charismatic screen presence. It's hard to enjoy his movies, though, without his real-life shenanigans distracting me.

By the way, The Firm was directed by Sydney Pollack, who died last year. I loved his work and will miss him.

Sunday Stealing #19

Sunday Stealing: The "Get to Know Your Friends" Meme

1. What is your occupation right now? As of Friday, I was relieved to discover that I remain an Associate Creative Director at the agency that did not lay me off.

2. What color are your socks right now? I'm barefoot.

3. What are you listening to right now? E! Talk Soup

4. Last person you spoke to on the phone. Mom

5. How old are you today? A day older than I was yesterday

6. What is your favorite sport to watch on TV? Cubs baseball (pitchers and catchers report to training camp next week)

7. What is your favorite drink? Coca Cola Classic

8. Have you ever dyed your hair? For decades and decades and decades

9. Favorite food? Cheeseburgers

10. What is the last movie you watched? Revolutionary Road
11. Favorite day of the year? My birthday

12. How do you vent anger? Yelling and then apologizing later. I realize this isn't a productive use of my energy, and what's worse, it can be mean and hurtful, so I try to remember to remove myself, take a walk or listen to Sir Paul and drink.

13. What was your favorite toy as a child? My plush Lassie dog.

14. Living arrangements? Just me in a condo that looks like a cyclone hit it

15. What was the last thing that you cried about? I don't remember

16. Who is the friend you have had the longest? My oldest friend. We've known one another since Kindergarten.

17. What did you do last night? Unwound. Chilled. Relaxed, worry free, for the first time in months.

18. What are you most afraid of? Being in a plane crash

19. In how many areas of your country have you lived? Just only here. Chicago. The best city in the world.

20. What is your favorite flower? Hearty little marigolds.

A Sunny Saturday in Review

What I did, and what I didn't do, today, the first day all year that the mercury hit 50º!

Did Do. Went out to breakfast. Shopped, picking up jeans … and a book (for me) … and a CD (Broooooooce!) … and a DVD (The Godfather, a birthday gift for my best friend, the only person on the planet who hasn't seen it). Dropped off my receipts and forms with the accountant, and had a nice visit with her. Walked my 10,000 steps, and enjoyed every one of them. Grocery shopped. Blabbed with my mom (she's worried about my niece because she had a spat with her friends). Right now I'm watching an exceptional episode of L&O:SVU with Ellen Burstyn.

Didn't Do. Attack the paperwork. My cat Reynaldo took a year's worth of backup for my 2008 return, as well as bills that need to be paid, and God knows what else, and dumped it all on the floor. Then he dug around in it, making certain that there now is no semblence of order left at all. Why? He was bored. He was jacked up over the open windows and fresh air. He is the kitty equivalent of Marley. He is Satan's spawn. I am willing to entertain any of those explanations. Just looking at that mess makes me want to cry. Yet right now, he looks so cute, curled up like a feline fur shrimp. This is not the first time that his behavior has exhausted and exasperated me. I have come to realize that God gave me Reynaldo to teach me patience and acceptance. For my sweet boy cat is never going to change.