It's turning out to be quite an eventful week. On Saturday, some friends of ours had a baby girl -- their first. We went to see them, and I'm tellin' you, that is the cutest newborn kid I've ever seen, and that includes most of those 4-week-old babies they try to pass off as newborns on tv shows. She was born cesarian, so she doesn't have the cone head or blotchy face like most of them. And so soft! And tiny! Okay, I've got to stop dwelling on it, for my ovaries' sake.

On Mondays we've begun a new tradition with a group of friends -- everyone comes over for dinner and we watch MONSTER HOUSE on the Discovery Channel. Anyone else catch this show? It's great. They take some regular, suburban house and use a theme to remodel it. They pick five craftsmen -- carpenters, electricians, etc. -- and challenge them to finish the work in five days. If they complete it, they win some (apparently top of the line) tools. This week, they did a racecar theme. The dinner table was replaced with a car hood mounted to the wall. It lowers with an electric motor when you want a table (they put some plexiglass on the underside that actually functions as a table). Then, they took out their stove and replaced it with an island made of corrogated metal. It was like a garage to which you'd take your car in for repairs -- it had those long, pull-down tubes, but instead of air and oil (or whatever they contain) it was water and they attached a wisk to one and it spun around.... I can tell I'm not doing this show justice, so see for yourself. Suffice it to say, it's a great new tradition we've started -- food and crazy entertainment amongst friends. Can't ask for much more.

Last night, it was a friend's birthday. We all went to dinner and then to see PIRATES OF THE CARRIBEAN. It's probably my favorite movie I've seen all year long. Action, adventure, comedy, swordfights, special effects, and a girl that looks a lot like Natalie Portman, in my opinion. Disney fans will love spotting scenes taken directly from the Disneyland ride itself. And one last thing -- Johnny Depp is so frickin' talented.

Speaking of birthdays, mine is coming up. It's my 30th. THIRTIETH! Is it possible that I'm 30 already?! Wow, time flies, kids.

And now, off to work. Here's hoping it's a smooth one.