So I was getting ready to go to the gym, and I had the TV on. Comedy Central was airing a rerun of "SNL" with Kate Hudson, and I said "Mmmmm... Kaaaaate Huuuuudson," in that Homer Simpson-esque tone of voice. One of my roommates heard me and said he had something to show me. So I go into his room and he pulls out his high school yearbook, flips to a page and points to a picture -- a picture of Kate Hudson as a high school freshman. Kate Hudson in 9th grade doesn't really look like the gorgeous star she will become, she looks like someone's cute little sister. Which is what she is in this picture. Apparently, my roommate used to be friends with her brother who was in his grade. He and a group of his friends all had their graduation party at Goldie Hawn's and Kurt Russell's house.

He was also telling me about how his school was fairly popular with the stars and their children, and when he and my other roommate went back to their school's annual fair a few months ago, they ran into Jack Nicholson eating a hot dog, and Dave Winfield was up in the batting cage giving kids pointers. I'm not usually a starstruck person, but having grown up in Boston where the star sightings aren't prevalent, it's still odd to think that they're just normal people living their lives. It's just that most people in the country knows who they are.

I was thinking about all this on my way down to the gym when I was biking down one of the streets here. Now, people here keep their lawns meticulously manicured, so there's a small gap in between the sidewalks and the grass. Can you see what's coming? Yup, I was off in my own little world as my front wheel went into that gap, the bike flipped over and I went with it, skidding down the pavement on my side. I was okay -- after the initial "whoa" reaction -- and got up to get back on the bike to resume my trip to the gym. Unfortunately, the bike wasn't in such great shape. The front brake was broken, jammed up against the wheel and preventing it from turning. So I decided it was a sign that I should just pack it in for the night, go home and watch something mindless on TV instead. I walked the bike back to the apartment on its back wheel, turned on the TV and my brain is beginning to simmer as we speak.