durex and dates

The highlight of my day so far? The best Father's Day ad ever, courtesy of Durex condoms.

Anyway, I might be light on posting today, since I'm swamped...but I just wanted to remind you guys of the Bartenders Auction tonight at The Uptown Tap. The party starts at 9 p.m., and you'll be able to bid on plenty of your favorite local bartenders. Proceeds benefit PAWS Columbus.

Happy Tuesday!

the monday moan

I'd love to hear your answers to this question, something I was thinking about last weekend...

When, if ever, should you throw away remnants -- ticket stubs, mix CDs, e-mails -- of a past relationship? Is OK to still own those things once you've moved on to a new partner? Do men and women have different views on this?

Discuss. Now.

wasted

No, I'm not drunk blogging.

Instead, I'm referring you guys to this article which is all about wasting time at work. Also known as the reason you're probably reading this blog right now.

Anyway, the article cites a Microsoft study that says the typical American worker spends 45 hours a week at work, but describes 16 of those hours as "unproductive." An additional study by America Online and Salary.com concludes "workers actually work a total of three days a week, wasting the other two."

The lesson? Get back to work.

Just kidding. In an attempt to secure procrastination, this week's Monday Moan will follow shortly.

weekend "hits" & misses

Time to recap another wild weekend in Columbus.

Strangely enough, I started my weekend by getting hit by a car. Seriously. Like a real, moving vehicle. I parked in front of my office Friday to meet my friends at Picasso Pizza. I got out of my car and started walking downtown. Then, seconds later, I was knocked backwards with a tremendous "thud." A car was backing out of a parking spot and didn't see me.

Anyway, I wasn't hurt. But good story, right?

Another thing about Friday...I realized that maybe the First Friday Bar Crawl isn't that cool after all. Here's the thing...there's something like seven bars included in the blanket $8 cover. But to get into any of those bars individually, you have to pay the bar crawl fee. So if you want to go to, say, JUST Savana's, you still have to pay $8. In that scenario, you'd actually LOSE money by doing the bar crawl thing. All in all, bad planning. The bar crawl option should just be for pinballers, and people who want to just go to one venue should be able to pay a $5 cover as usual. Enough said.

It's just another alleged marketing technique that could backfire to make partiers even less inclined to hit Broadway. My friends and I, for example, ended up at Locos...where we saw a pretty serious bar fight. Awesome.

Saturday, I went to the Summer Side Show and yes, I was very much out of place among the plethora of goth teens. Next year I'll remember to paint my nails black.

Another highlight of Saturday night was Nikki Lixx, the band who performed at Scruffy Murphy's. You guys will read more about them in this week's column, but let's just say the band's Catholic schoolgirl uniforms worked. Mmm.

Happy Monday!

feeling adventurous?

Forgot to post this in the weekend roundup, but somebody called yesterday to tell me about After 5, a brand-new Columbus R&B club at 3709 Gentian Blvd. I may or may not head out there Saturday night, but if you guys feel like trying something new, I'd love to hear what you think. Thanks, and happy Friday.

what's going on this weekend?

OK, it's 5 p.m. Friday and we're approaching the home stretch. For those of you whose minds are on something other than work right now (read: everybody), here's a quick roundup of weekend happenings:

*Tonight marks the return of the First Friday Bar Crawl. Pay one cover ($7 or $10, depending on who you ask) and get into a bunch of bars...probably six. Among those bars is The Vault, which is hosting a toga party. Party band Beeramid will entertain.

*Saturday, the Summer Side Show is kind of a big deal. Pay $15 and get all-day access to the 32 bands playing in the Bradley Theater. The 12-hour event starts at 11 a.m.

*If you want more live music later Saturday night, head over to Scruffy Murphy's. The downtown Columbus bar will host Lixx, an Atlanta-based party band whose female members sport Catholic schoolgirl uniforms on the act's Web site. If that isn't an incentive to check them out, I don't know what is.

And what am I doing this weekend? Um, hello...partying like a rock star. In addition to that, though, I'm attempting to finally add some closure to my summer swimsuit shopping saga via a trip to Old Navy on Saturday.

Also, I'm incredibly psyched because I noticed the new Ulta (located just off Veterans near Kohl's and Red Robin) will be having its grand opening June 8, 9 and 10. In summary, Ulta is a giant fragrance/hair care/makeup store that was a favorite of mine in California. Even though the official grand opening isn't until next weekend, I'm going to scope out the premises Saturday in hopes of discovering some open doors.

Wish me luck, have a great weekend and please drop me a note Monday with potential column ideas.

good things come in threes

OK, maybe I have four good things to be thankful for. Beginning, of course, with the most obvious...it's FRIDAY! The week's almost over, guys. TGIF all the way. In the meantime, I have three exciting things to report:

1. Go get a donut. Now. Today is National Doughnut Day, and to celebrate, Krispy Kreme is giving customers a free donut of their choice. Eat it.

2. Wednesday, I had the opportunity to interview former "Project Runway" contestant Santino Rice for an article about summer fashion that will run in Sunday's paper. You probably remember Santino for his dead-on imitations of "Runway" host Tim Gunn. Anyway, the phone interview -- which ironically happened around 11 p.m. -- went extremely well. Even though I was left with one question: What happened to Andrae? (Inside joke.)

3. Finally, this blog crossed the 10,000-hit threshold Thursday, and I want to take a moment to thank all the loyal readers and/or stalkers. I'd like hope my words are read primarily by ex-boyfriends kicking themselves for breaking up with me, but if there are people genuinely interested in my ramblings and worldly advice, thank you. Please feel free to keep in touch with any suggestions regarding the direction of this blog.

Stay tuned for a round-up of weekend happenings.