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100 Things I Learned in 2004, Part 2

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I'm sipping a delicious Earl Grey Creme at Argo Tea, which in addition to having tasteful décor and such fine teas that I almost forget my abiding love of the Americano, has FREE FREE FREE WiFi. Fuck you, Starbucks.

And now, without further ado, communicatrix presents...

100 Things the Communicatrix Learned in 2004, Part 2:

  1. There is no good time to fly out of LAX during the holidays.
  2. If you have kids and you want to make sure they get what you want them to get, put it in writing.
  3. The mixta salad at Patagonia trumps the mixed baby greens.
  4. It is possible to have a crush on a couple.
  5. Sometimes, you have to sell off your old love to facilitate a new one.
  6. I cannot say "no" to the right font, even if it may only ever be used for the pro bono gig it's perfect for.
  7. HBO is worth the extra 10 bucks a month.
  8. Showtime is not.
  9. STARZ really, really is not.
  10. Ricky Gervais is a comedy god.
  11. Sacha Baron Cohen is another one.
  12. Sweetbreads aren't my thing.
  13. After a certain age, it is better to travel less and stay in a hotel room than it is to travel frequently and couch-surf.
  14. The Jewelry Exchange in Tustin is not only in Tustin.
  15. That the Jewelry Exchange is also in Villa Park confirms that I never need visit the Jewelry Exchange in Tustin.
  16. Ani Afshar, on the other hand, I could drop some serious coin at.
  17. How to make a dot leader in Word.
  18. How to make the numbers line up, too.
  19. You can get yourself a really smokin' black-tie outfit for under $50.
  20. Shoes included.
  21. There is not a spam filter on earth that is any match for the volume of crap you will receive upon inquiring about stealth shopper services.
  22. If you get a plantar's wart on your foot and ignore it for two years, eventually it will demand your attention by burrowing its way down to your heel bone and hurting like a mother.
  23. You can go as long as a week between shampoos, provided you cool it with the product and don't let anyone get too close.
  24. You cannot go longer than eight weeks between coloring appointments if you want to continue to pass for under-40.
  25. Red lentil dal is a passable substitute for polenta.
  26. They both taste better cold.
  27. Life is exponentially more fun at 7'2", even if you have to duck a lot.
  28. No matter how great a deal it seems at the time, don't get the free phone.
  29. Especially if it's this one.
  30. The Earl Grey Creme at Argo is freakily addictive and worth every penny.
  31. Do not depend on your doctor to realize that the medication he is prescribing has as its main side effect something that could trigger a relapse of your preexisting condition, even if he refuses to prescribe a different medication because it would have a deleterious effect on the same preexisting condition.
  32. If you are passing a resale store and the perfect game-show-host jacket for your upcoming production appears in your peripheral vision, do not, under any circumstances, turn your head to look at it.
  33. If you decide to look anyway, you will get the most value for your automobile dollar by going through a broker.
  34. There will come a time when you would rather drink antifreeze than another glass of Two-Buck Chuck.
  35. If you were wondering whether it was the mercaptopurine, the mesolamine or the prednisone that was making your hair fall out, the answer is "yes."
  36. Given enough cashews and cheese, even a chronically skinny person will pork out around the middle.
  37. It's worth having a camera stuck up your ass for the fourth time in two years when the photo looks like this.
  38. For a variety of reasons, Chicago is not my kind of town anymore.
  39. For the time being, L.A. is.
  40. If you slather chicken breasts with thyme and olive oil and bake them under a bed of thinly sliced onions for 350º for an hour, the result is chicken that tastes ridiculously good and not nearly enough onions.
  41. When it comes to half-and-half yogurt, Medjool dates and Manchego cheese, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing.
  42. Once one's basic needs have been met, additional money has almost no bearing on personal happiness.
  43. Magical things happen when you add the word “no” to your vocabulary.
  44. Despite his legendary bad press and a lot of yelling, Joe Pytka is not only a good man but a kind and gracious one.
  45. Selling your unwatched DVDs back to Blockbuster is amazingly freeing.
  46. Purging clutter is oddly addictive.
  47. Just keeping your sink clean really does make you feel a lot better.
  48. Fear changes everything for the worse.
  49. Love changes everything for the better.
  50. Blogging rocks.

Read Part 1.