04.11.02 - 1:04 p.m.

For the past two days I've felt so calm, so centered. I want to attribute it to the yoga and the morning activity, but I don't think that's all of it. I don't know - even though my job hasn't improved any and I haven't seen Daniel Striped Tiger all week, I still feel good. Good good. Hmmmph. Best just to go with it.

Although I do have to ask this question: what the HELL were they thinking when they switched the Ed theme song? Really - it's just grotesque. Did the Foo Fighters suddenly have a bowling aversion, force Worldwide Pants to pull the song and replace it with the rock equivalent of nails across a chalkboard? I try to close my eyes and think of the silly tall nerdy man to make it better...nope, no, it still sucks.

The episode itself wasn't too bad - a lot less hokey and dramatic than I feared. A lot of unnecessary tension, in my humble opinion, between Ed and Mike - I mean, come ON! The guy's been your best friend since high school. Don't you think you'd offer him the bigger benefit of the doubt instead of assuming he'd been schtupping the secretary in the exam room? If he ever did, you'd probably be the first person he'd tell.

And the "baby hat" comment really needed to go, but other than that, a decent ep. I give it a B. Particularly for Kenny's small but hilarious moments of airtime and for Carol's storyline, which made me think back to Intro and our stupid assignments. The kite story! Beat reporting in Waukegan! Oh, those were the days, my friend. And props to the Stuckeyville Progress editor for telling Carol that actual stories were reserved for actual journalists. Word. My chosen, though not current, profession still has some dignity.

I like cappuccino.

Moving on with Wednesday night telly, let's start placing bets on which Felicity character is going to die. Obviously it's not our formerly curly-haired heroine herself, because no one on that show has enough of a spine to go the Buffy route. Kerry is rooting for Ben because she's sick of his behavior, and while that would also make me a happy clam, I don't think it's going to happen. Next week's teaser shows Ben in the hospital (and it's Lauren's fault! Drinkin' and drivin' while pregnant!), but I think that's just to throw us off the scent. Like Communism, it's a red herring.

My personal picks are Noel or Elena - Elena because she's been averaging, like, five screen minutes per episode and SOMETHING's got to happen, plus Tracy's coming back for the finale and it makes sense for him to return for her funeral. Noel I choose because it seems incredibly logical. He's been redeeming himself into some sort of martyr figure, coming out of his depression into the lovable do-gooder we once knew, and if Felicity's going to end up with Ben, Noel can't be left out in the cold for true closure.

And we KNOW Ben and Felicity will be together. They're not going to have her jump ship at this late date, though I'd like to see her run off with Owen. Owen rules! He believes in you and he won't go off and knock up some transsexual. And then blame it on you, the long-suffering girlfriend who only slept with Noel because her boyfriend is emotionally sterile. Grrrr. Oh, I am digressing. I like my shoes today.

Oh, and Dan? Evan says you can say hi next time you call. Heh heh heh.