I’m a night owl, and generally function far more effectively between 10pm and 8am than I do during “normal” working hours. In fact, I’ll get more done during one all-nighter than I did the previous 5 working days. This may simply be a sign of my hummingbird-like attention span, or it might mean that I’m supposed to be nocturnal and should just go with it.

But either way, one 48-hour day a week is pretty much the limit if I’m going to be at all productive. So why, why, why am I staring at my laptop and a long list of to-do’s at 1:30am with only one night of sleep under my belt since the last time I was in this position?

At least this time the thermostat is working.

So! I’m taking a quick break from the drudgery to blog, because I love to blog and because you love it when I blog. So let’s begin with this:

Ah Brett Favre, when will you finally retire? Still sexy though, still damn sexy. Ah yeah.

Also decidedly sexy is the great guru of calm, Cesar Milan. Yes, it’s true, I’ve got a crush on the Dog Whisperer. What can I say? Any man who can tame a snarling Rottweiler, convince a dippy spoiled rich chick that she needs to stop buying her Pomeranian (named Prada, I’m not kidding) Gucci sweaters and Evian, and still sound just as smooth as Antonio Banderas as Puss-in-Boots gets my vote.

Except for two things… One, he isn’t the original Dog Whisperer – Paul Owens is. But since Mr Owens lacks the sex appeal and Southern California clientele, I guess he got the boot. And the second thing is – well, it’s the Landrollers.

I can’t decide if they’re seriously, seriously dorky, or if I want a pair.

Speaking of dogs, it has recently been discovered that my puggle is actually part mogwai and part gremlin. Interchangeably. On her own whims.

Yeah. Just like that.

She’s frickin’ adorable though, honestly. No matter how many times she craps on the floor, pees on the couch, or refuses to come when I tell her (oh Cesar, where are you when I need you??), I can’t help but be completely in love with her. The vet says she weighs 12lbs and is almost fully grown – I swear she’s at least 15lbs, but I’d be thrilled if she stays this small! Much easier to carry up the stairs.

I love technology. It lets me show everyone how frickin’ adorable my puppy really is. (If you can’t link to that for some reason, try this. I promise it’s worth it.)

On a down note, I am still in shock over the death of Heath Ledger. I’m not a star-chaser, and I generally think people who obsess over the lives of Britney and Lindsay and Paris and whatnot are pretty sad. But Heath was really talented, and was one of those people you just don’t expect to lose from the world. I can’t explain it – it’s just that he was young, attractive, successful, and part of my life via his roles in movies that I’ve enjoyed (10 Things I Hate About You, A Knight’s Tale, Candy), and he was someone you’d just never expect to lose in this manner. I can’t decide if I’m glad or not that they’re saying his overdose was accidental. It’s easier for me to identify with someone in his position who was losing their grip on themselves and their reality, someone in the limelight who was deeply lonely (a la Owen Wilson), than to think that he just partied too hard one night and whoops! OD’d. And don’t even get me started on the fact that an Olsen twin was involved. That’s just embarrassing.

Also embarrassing, Tom Cruise. Just in general.

So most of you know I used to live in LA, and while I was in LA, I sang a cappella with the SoCal VoCals, and when I sang with the VoCals, we recorded a few albums with Gabriel Mann. I adore Gabe. He’s a monster in the studio, a brilliant songwriter, and one of those guys who has made being kind of geeky completely hot. Dead sexy.

See what I mean?

I’ve also performed with the lovely and talented Kyler England, another LA resident, and am completely and totally in love with the music of Adrianne. Her EP, boy songs, is one of my favorite albums right now – versions of “Eleanor Rigby,” “I’m on Fire” and “Girlfriend in a Coma” that are just phenomenal. Amazing.

I tell you all this so that you’ll understand how overcome with both excitement and envy I was when I was told that Gabe, Kyler and Adrianne have formed a power trio, The Rescues. They’re touring a bit, they have songs up on their MySpace page, and I’m currently trying to figure out how to get their debut CD. I would have ordered it without hearing a note. The combination of these three is just…good god I’m jealous.

Okay, it’s almost 4am and I’ve got to hit the hay so I can push through tomorrow. I’ve only got a few days left to finish a whole slew of things, and then Adam and I will be on a plane to Budapest. Yes, Budapest. We’re backpacking around Europe for a few weeks, which I’ve always wanted to do and have always managed to not do. So Budapest, Prague, Vienna, Paris, who knows? We’ll wind up in Amsterdam, and then I’m back in time to hit the road for more college touring in February.

I’ll be blogging from overseas, don’t you worry.