You have nothing to lose but Fear and Time

Week 1

2010-10-20T14:01:00.002-05:00

…my plan was to do a daily log of the weirdness that Lupron causes. Because the symptoms online were scary to say the least.

The reality is not much better.

The week with Lupron:

Hot Flashes…Nope

Night Sweats…Nope

Moodiness…Nope

And all those other 32 symptoms we saw online...nada

What’s really happened is that I don’t feel anything. Not in the good way, where I am not experiencing any weird symptoms, so that must be nice… but in the totally APATHETIC kind of way.

I’m thinking of things that stress me, but I don’t FEEL anything. It’s so hard to explain, but that’s the only way I can describe it.

I’m thinking the hyper thoughts, but I’m not feeling that thing that you get in your chest when you passionately feel angst or anger or even find something funny.

Weird.

That’s my only observation so far. …Let me just add that this is also the BEST I’ve felt in a while. I’m always tired or PMS’y so I’m dragged down and nervous all the time. Not feeling that. At the time I got the shot, I was in full on PMS mode, so I definitely noticed the difference.

My neighbor actually told me that my coloring looks good. That was nice. J and knowing I won’t have to worry about my period for 30 days…that’s nice too.

I have my pre-op appt on Nov 2. I will have to pay the difference of what my insurance won’t cover at that time. So I have something that’s going to loom overhead for a little while more.

The M-Word

2010-10-11T21:58:00.003-05:00

I don't think I'll go into all the details, but suffice it to say, I will be having a "procedure" in mid-November that necesitates my getting a shot of a drug called Lupron.

Lupron will bring on menopause immediately. I will get this shot on Wednesday, and 30 days later, mid-November, I will have this procedure that I am not going into.

I thought it might be interesting to put this experience in writing as even I don't know what the world around me is getting into. I'm trying to be good humored about it, but really a normal woman goes thru different stages before hitting full on menopause, so with it happening overnight, I'm worried. My chemistry will go back to normal afterward, so I'm lucky, I'll have at least 10 to 15 years before I need to worry again. I will get a peek into the inevitable.

I know what you're asking, what are the symptoms of menopause? ...besides hot flashes and night sweats? At least that's all I knew, and that's bad enough. I found a list of 35, yes, thirty-five symptoms. for the list go here: http://www.project-aware.org/Experience/symptoms.shtml

I laughed and shared the list with several coworkers, but then started getting really nervous about the implications. "sudden tears"? Really? I tend to hold it together rather well, but now I'm going to cry when they run out of bacon in the cafeteria? Will I need to go home on occasion? Will I "go off" on people because I will be that irritable? Some of these symptoms I already have because of my hypothyroid, so will they intensify or remain the same?

It all has me wondering.

I've gotten some sympathy from coworkers, so I feel better. They will keep an eye on me and hopefully keep me in check, rather than snicker behind my back. I don't think they will snicker...but will they pull me off someone if I jump them? Will my reputation be smeared because of my behavior in the next 30 days? Hopefully, it will pass innocently.

We'll see! I'll try to write every day, unless of course, if I'm in jail. ;-)

Weird weekend leads into weirder week

2010-08-09T10:31:00.002-05:00

A recap of the weekend of July24th…A weekend I will not soon forget…

Let’s see…I escorted the boys to San Antonio, we got up EARLY on Saturday to set up for Renee’s garage sale, then Renee’ felt sick, turns out, after dad took her to the hospital emergency room, she had a kidney stone…Baby Herbie is fine. He had the hiccups and was kicking the mic every chance he got.

BUT…Dori and I were left to make up prices for items since Renee’ chose not to put price tags on anything. …and that was FUN! Customer: How much is this…me: Um $5, right Dori, Renee wants $5? Dori: Yea, that’s right.

SOLD!

I came back home Saturday night, promptly lost my phone. Searched all over for it on Sunday, decided to locate the phone using Sprint’s Family Locator. Expected to narrow down whether it was at the airport or in my car somewhere, my heart skipped when I found it was actually in a different part of town altogether. Kicker is that I’m not about to knock on the door, but neither are the police. I have to write a “Lost Property Report”. I know where the darn thing is for goodness sake!

So to the guy at the apartment complex at Dennis and Northaven, in building 15, either apartment 1036, 1037 or 1038.

You SUCK!

So, out of boldness or sheer stupidity, my friend Sam and I made up flyers and put them on the doors of the apartment. We also wanted to put them at the mailroom but couldn’t find it, so we asked in the office. The guy in there said he would talk to them directly and let them know there is a reward too. We’ll see what happens.

8/9: …I am on a waiting list behind 39 other people and the store only gets 5 per week..nice. ..We gave up on the apartments because the phone cannot be activated, they simply have a paper weight right now. And AMEX can reimburse the cost of the phone to me because I purchased it less than 90 days ago. So by the time my name pops up to number 1, I will only be spending $50 out of pocket.

I’m still bitter though.

My reaction to chicken of the sea

2010-07-15T15:49:00.003-05:00

The other night I made the most awesome tuna-fish salad. I had been craving it all day and went to the store and even got preboiled eggs so I wouldn’t have to wait on those. Pickles, Olives, Mayo and Eggs…Ooooh it was gooood!

Then yesterday, I didn’t realize it, but I had bitten the side of my tongue and I think my teeth felt weird all day.

It was in fact because my tongue was SWOLLEN! Even so, an allergic reaction to something didn’t even occur to me until late in the day. I had eaten normally, but that feeling you have when you first wake up and can’t really talk well stayed with me all day. ..and then I remembered the tuna-fish sandwich. … So I did what I normally do and called my friend, who yelled at me that I could have died and she made me call my doctor. After asking if I was itchy (No) or if my mouth itched (No) or if my throat was closing up (No). Just my swollen tongue, it’s just difficult to say numbers easily. “Call her right now and call me back and tell me what she says!” is how the conversation ended.

So I did. The doctor said that I might be allergic to tuna. Sad huh? I’ve had small reactions to sushi in the past, but I thought it was the roe that is on some of them, never occurred to me that it could be the tuna.

I love tuna-fish salad. -=sigh=-

She said to take 50mg of Benadryl at first and then 25mg every 6 hours for the next 2 days.

…and (as if it was an afterthought), “if you feel your throat closing up, call 911 immediately, because if you try to drive to the emergency room, you probably won’t make it.” Nice.

Seems my newness to sushi made me more sensitized to the cooked tuna. Weird. All of my allergies have been more intense in the last year or so. all kinds of stuff is popping into my head.

So the doctor is sending me to the lab to have me tested for fish allergies. They have tests that can determine exactly which fish I am allergic to. That would be cool because I would still be able to eat sushi, just not tuna rolls.

The end.

well, almost. I was trying to be good, but this morning I took 2 benadryl, not just one. ...realized that when I was on the tollway and my arms were tingling as the drug was kicking in...my thought..."Aw crap, Benadryl makes people sleepy!" I got to work okay, but I warned my team that I might just be a little woozy. I took about 2 hours to complete one task because I kept getting distracted and doing something else!

I'm a dork.

...with a swollen bitten tongue.

...there's still an awesome tuna-fish salad in my fridge.

Single Style - Chicken Patties

2010-02-20T13:48:00.006-06:00

So I had some leftover Rotisserie Chicken that was calling my name, but I didn't want to just do the same ole same ole....Now that it's Lent, memories of Salmon Patties and Tuna Patties flew into my mind. Chicken Salad, Tuna Salad and Egg salad all have the same ingredients, why can't Chicken, tuna, or Salmon patties be the same?
I don't even know how much chicken it was...maybe a cup or two. I looked in my handy dandy Better Homes and Gardens red-checkered cookbook and found Salmon Patties. Immediately, I knew I wouldn't be using this recipe because it has a LOT of ingredients! But I got the idea. I then decided to check out FoodTV.com since I love the 5 ingredients idea of food. The trusty Paula Dean has a great basic recipe that I could compare to the other and find similarities. One Egg, and Crackers/bread crumbs was basically it.
Off to the Pantry.
I've got nuthin'... just flour and very basic spices.
Then the fridge...Eggs! Yes!!! what else???
..5 beers, a bag of condiments, string cheese...nothing that popped out at me for salmon or chicken patties.

Well, I had it in my head that I had to do this so I resorted to the usual...used what I had. For the dry ingredients: 1/2 a bag of Shake and Bake (I can't remember making Shake and Bake Chicken!), 1 bag of Wendy's croutons from a salad purchased who knows when, some Garlic powder, Table Blend Mrs. Dash and some flour.
Mixed and chopped it all in the handy dandy Magic Bullet Blender.
Threw all of that in the bowl with the deboned Rotisserie Chicken.
Mixed thoroughly by hand. I threw in a little shredded cheese to help bind.
In another bowl, mixed together one beaten egg and some Mayo (about 3 packets --lol)
Stirred all that in with the Chicken it's ready for the pan! It smelled good!

I used an ice cream scoop to drop them into the oil. Then, with a spatula dipped in the oil, flattened out the scoop.
I'm telling you they looked like Salmon Patties, so I knew I was on the right track. I tried not to mess with them and flipped only once. When complete, I placed them on a paper towel a la Salmon patties.
Served on a hamburger bun slathered with more mayo (yes, I have a lot of Mayo packs in my condiment bag.) and a slice of cheese.
Voila! Workin' with what I've got people. :)
I usually don't have bread at all, today was just coincidence. If I hadn't had bread, I would have probably tried to replicate Lenten Friday dinner by adding Macaroni and Cheese as the side item. But I don't have that either! So there would be another recipe showing you what I do when I crave it!
For another day. :)

Now...some recipes that will let me use some of those ketchup packets!

Flower and Max

2009-07-04T14:12:00.003-05:00

I always thought it was kind of cute and funny that Max would eat ALL of his food when Flower would come into the kitchen. He gathers up his toys when Flower walks across the living room. Flower is what...less than 6 inches tall? ..why is that intimidating?!
Now I understand why.
I was in the kitchen making my own breakfast and heard Max give off a tiny little whimper and heard his little feet going back and forth in the way he does when he doesn't know what to do and needs guidance.
Flower was in his food! He had reached up and had one tortoise arm in the food and was looking around to find just the right kibble of Beneful. I scrambled to look for a camera, but missed the best picture of them all. Max had reached down into his dish, at the same time that Flower was in there, and grabbed a small mouthful of food and went to the other side of the kitchen to eat it. He did look like his feelings had been hurt too. I felt bad for him, but I've always told him that Flower is above him on the totem pole. I'm just glad he didn't get food aggressive with Flower. I'm glad I can trust the two alone together.

Happy Heart Day!

2009-02-15T10:01:00.003-06:00

Things have been going pretty fast and now I am not as busy juggling several projects at work, and as a plus, I'm not sleeping through my weekend!

I recently met some really fun people and last night I went to "Cupid's Revenge" at Chi Gallery. The photographer, Debra Gloria, is a friend of a friend and I was honored to go. I loved the photos and at the end of the evening I found out that I know one of the models! I think it was a plus that I did not know ahead of time. Beautiful and sensual is how I would describe them. um...and HOT...would be another! :)
Made a stop at Jack's and then on to Sue Ellen's to round out the night. Fun Fun Fun!
I realized at the end of the evening that I prefer valet parking to trolling around searching for my own parking space, and I don't have to carry my keys!

Gotta give a shout-out for a new hot spot for the ladies -- Jack's Chill Grill. It's off of Commerce St just outside downtown. I love the feeling of the whole place. Inside is a concrete floor with lots of seating, pool tables, and on occasion, they set up the Wii! Outside is all gravel with little fireplaces for sitting out and conversing within earshot of the live band inside!

Speaking of live bands, the last time I was out there, I met Kathy Corbin! She mentioned that one of things she has to do is pick bands to perform at Jack's. Ding Ding Ding!! So I said she should contact Erin McKeown! I gave her the info and we'll see what happens. I'm excited. Just hope they don't invite her to perform in September! Why do we invite people to Texas at the hottest time of the year?!

As might've been observed, I've joined Facebook. I have a myspace site, but with all the eye-noise on myspace, I prefer Facebook. Except...the speaking about yourself in third person part. I was thinking about it and instead of me telling you what I am doing...or I mean what Roberta is doing, we should be able to update our friend's status' . That would be funny and cool! ...Let's see...Rupert is brown-nosing with the boss...Doug is hitting on a girl that is just not having it!...Jonny is ordering more breakfast than is allowed for a family of four!...
I think that would be more fun...should I suggest it to Facebook?

I guess I have to rephrase it as "Roberta is thinking that Facebook should allow me to update all my friend's status'!"

Well, hope everyone had a nice Valentine's weekend!

Wow

2008-12-14T13:12:00.002-06:00

Things have been a bit whirlwind around me lately, all these holidays are sneaking up!
I have 2 weeks off work at a time when I think everyone around here needs a break.
I actually had 10 days to take, so I took 3 at Thanksgiving and I am taking 6 starting on the 19th. That leaves one day that will just be lost because I ran out of year.
The projects here at SWA have been amazing and it's been awesome to be a part of them. I was thrust into a position that I didn't think I was ready for back in the summer because the more tenured .com testers were placed on another project. I think I've held my own and rolled with the punches, but with that, I've also run out of year! Some major players in the development end are also taking the last 2 weeks off because we really didn't have enough slowdown to take any kind of break since the summer.
I believe all the hard work will pay off in the new year. As always in technology, people only notice when something goes wrong. All the hard work is behind the scenes and the customers should not notice a change.
On a really cool note, I'm actually going to travel a little with my job. Yeah, I know, I work for an airline! My jobs have never involved traveling, so going to Chicago on occasion will certainly be a new experience. I think the only other time I have travelled was to fix a server in Houston, not even a night's stay.
I had an opportunity to go to Seattle next week, but that fell through, so now I just want to get out of town to SOMEWHERE. I'll end up in San Antonio for Christmas for sure. I need time to decompress. It's been a very work-centric year.

OMG, ya gotta try this!

2008-11-10T08:25:00.002-06:00

Oh my Gawd, this is an awesome recipe:
It's also called "The most dangerous cake recipe in the World"

MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE
1 Coffee Mug
4 tablespoons flour(that's plain flour, not self-rising)
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons baking cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
Some nuts (optional)
Small splash of vanilla

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well . Add the egg and mix thoroughly.
Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.
Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla, and mix again.
Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes on high. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed!
Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.
EAT! (This can serve 2 if you want to share!)

**If you don't have the chips and cocoa, it still makes a tasty cake!***

And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world? Because now we are all only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of the day or night!

O-O-O-O-Obama

2008-11-07T14:40:00.002-06:00

We'll see what the next 4 years bring...
...besides the new puppy in the White House.

Life is a Bumper Sticker

2008-10-10T10:01:00.003-05:00

I was following this huge honkin' Toyota Tundra today and spotted the sticker that it was sporting...
It's a Texas Flag with the words "Toyota Tundra" in tiny white letters across the top.
The White Field says "Born in Texas"
the Red Field says "Built by Texans"

As I sat behind it in traffic, I realized that I am that sticker. :)
Minus the "Toyota Tundra" part, I need to put my name at the top of the flag.

(Granted,I left for about 15 years, but I came back.)

Erin McKeown Sept 20 HOB, Dallas

2008-09-01T23:22:00.004-05:00

At last, she's coming to Dallas!
She's cute as a button and has a voice like an angel.
Okay, that's a little strong, but I've been looking forward to seeing Miss McKeown live ever since I ran across her music reviewed in Velvet Park magazine about 5 years ago. Yes, I do think she has an awesome voice.
So..go...if you don't believe me, stop my You Tube and check her out with Melissa Ferrick singing "Ring of Fire". Or a fun one, "These Boots are made for walking" at he Michigan Womyn's Festival.

Catchup

2008-08-26T19:30:00.002-05:00

I've been neglecting this blog so here's a wrapup!

1. Facts of Life: Onstage at the Rose Room...EXCELLENT !! it was funny and also took me back to those days.

2. Sarah Bettens: HOT! Great show. A little disappointed that hardly anyone was there, but damn, it was 150 degrees and we were standing in a parking lot! Fabulous nonetheless

3. Restaurant Week: 1. Dean Fearings at the Ritz-Carlton - Fabulous food even though I couldn't see it by the time the entree arrived. Thank you to the nice man who told me I was poking at a Shrimp Enchilada. It was surrounded by tasty pork tenderloin medallions and the salad was a suprise to the senses. Not just because it was tasty, but because it was dark! We ate on the patio next to this beautiful fountain. The fountain lit the conversation beautifully, but then when the food arrived, we had no downlighting onto the table. funny anyway. Afterward, we were taking a quick peek at the rest of the establishment when this nice TALL man gave us a tour. He turned out to be the sommelier that has worked for Dean for 20 years. Jo and Gerri were great company. We must do that again...next Restaurant Week. :)

4. Resaurant Week: 2. Stephan Pyles -downtown. OH MY GAWD. I chose the wine pairings with each course and was not let down. Chocoholics would be delighted. Great company again with Gerri and Teresa

5. Restaurant Week: 3: Craft in the W Building. Different style. Wonderful food. Gene and I should have sat next to each other because we were drooling over the same foods. When we got to desert -- a delightful lemon desert with 3 types of ice cream... the conversation went like this: Me: Gene, how's the desert, is it lemon? is it tart? (me always asking questions) Gene: Nah...it's...(just as I place the decadence in my mouth) AWESOME. ....and he was right.
Also at the table were Gerri, Teresa and Angie (Gene's wife and my friend).

6. One last note...the bathrooms in all of the were COOL. Should not be missed.

2-2-2.....grrrr

2008-08-26T15:11:00.000-05:00

So I keep passing these mini-taxi-vans with "469-222-2222"
In San Antonio, we have this service and they provide free rides home when you're drunk. It might be the same idea here.
It's a cruel joke. Who will be able to hit the number "2" seven times in a row?

--"2-2-2-2-5...damn!"
--"2-2-2-2-3...-=ugggh=-"
--"2-2-2-2-2-2-7..sh****t Almost!!!"

Gives me a little chuckle inside. :)

Catchin' up

2008-08-03T14:09:00.002-05:00

I was catching up with a friend of mine last night and we decided would go to Buddies to celebrate her birthday in style...it was Leo Night at Buddies. She got her free Schnapps shot (watermelon) and we tried to make it through the "show" that the staff members put on, but we couldn't bear it any longer and slipped out of there to Sue Ellen's.
That place still impresses me. It's soooo much better than the other location although I am sad that the girls don't really have representation on the strip. The boys have tucked us around the corner.
Here's a link to my Sarah Bettens pictures. I was really psyched to see her last week. She was everything I expected her to be. ...and she'll be back in Dallas in October, at the Granada.
I was presented with the opportunity to change a friendship to something more and I was caught off guard. Which caught me off guard! Am I not ready?
My social life is finally starting to get the variety it once had years ago and I don't think I am ready to relinquish the control that I have finally gained back. It's been a long road and I feel my only obligation can be to the furry creature snoring at my feet as I write this.
It was a sad realization really. I thought I was further along than that.

OMG!

2008-07-07T16:57:00.002-05:00

wow, it's been a long time since I've posted!
Anyway, something VERY significant happened the other day....
Brace yourselves.
Flower is a boy.
Yep, you read that right. A boy.
It was suggested that I name him Fleur, instead of Flower...but what about my tattoo???!
Maybe Fern.
I'm kinda shocked. 11 years and I didn't know! I'm still in a state of adjustment/denial that my baby is not who I thought he/she really was. I guess it was his own little coming out moment, eh?
I argued with someone that Flower in Bambi is a boy anyway, so I don't have to change his name. Adjusting to the pronoun changes, bear with me! ...She said that to her, Flower on Bambi is a girl. Thinking hard about it, I don't really recall a gender for Flower.
So for now, Flower is still Flower. ...a manly boy flower...

Ahead of the Clock

2008-04-30T06:55:00.001-05:00

Ahead of the clock.

For whatever reason lately, my dog has been waking me up at 4:30ish (AM!) that he wants to go out. He has always been good about waiting for my alarm clock to go off and even knows that I will hit the snooze. For nine minutes he sits by my pillow alternatively watching the red lights and turning around to lick me. As soon as the music turns on, he leaps out of bed and dances around while I drag myself around the apartment to the bathroom and the kitchen and finally to his leash. Lately, I've been snuggling with him for the hour before my alarm and all is well.
Well...he's much smarter and more observant than I ever thought. He gets his leash on his own now, when he sees me head over to put on my shoes he will pull the leash off the hook. And once or twice he has pranced around the house with my "dog walking" shoes. (not fun chasing him down at 5:30am)
So...I rolled over this morning and I was sleeping on my glasses. The glasses that I plainly remember taking off and putting on my nightstand.So my thinking is that he was "giving" me my eyeglasses at 4:30am this morning.
We'll see if it happens again. As long as he doesn't eat them, it's a happy world.

mmmmmm

2008-03-27T14:03:00.002-05:00

Am I the only person that likes stale Cheetos?
ah'don care...I still like 'em!

Gone Krogerin'

2008-03-19T13:29:00.001-05:00

Back in the day I loved these potato chips called O'Grady's.
The Au-Gratin flavor was my favorite.
They were thick-thick-cut rippled chips. Man, they were awesome!

Well, cruising through Kroger yesterday, I discovered that Ruffles makes thick-cut now.
Yayyyyyy!!! You know I snapped up a bag. From what I could see they had "Original" and "Cheddar-Baked Potato". Memories of Augratin had me reaching for the Baked Potato.
Frankly, the Baked Potato doesn't seem to have a strong flavor, but it makes sense that potato and baked potato don't taste too different. :)
They tried to season it with a cheesy flavor, but it wasn't enough.
NOW, my issue:
If it's a new product, why have an "Original" flavor? Isn't the original flavor both regular and Cheddar baked potato?
Silly.
What's so wrong with "Plain"?

What??!

2008-03-18T06:45:00.001-05:00

The Dalai Lama is threatening to quit. Can he do that???
Talk about drastic times call for drastic measures!

XXXOOOXXXOOO

2008-03-07T11:35:00.002-06:00

The tally is now 1 hug and 4 kisses from Mr. Herb Kelleher.
We just ran into him as he was stepping out to his keen cherry red Astin Martin.
Must be running to lunch at Al Biernat's.

JPG

2008-01-24T06:21:00.000-06:00

I was browsing photofriday.com and found out that JPG magazine is created using only photo submissions from its website.
So I joined. There are occasions when I am just really pleased with a photo I take. I submitted the photo on the right. I was flying to SA and the light was just right. They have to be a certain resolution and cannot be scans or edited in any way. So this can only showcase pictures from the last few years.
Based on the themes that they are asking for, I might have a few more.
Who knows! I might be in print one day!

Merry Christmas!!! (belated)

2007-12-28T12:56:00.000-06:00

Never trusted that fat man. Notice I am trying desperately to get off his lap.

(Roma, TX - Grandmother's house 1970)

Mastering the Dance

2007-12-18T14:06:00.000-06:00

Tamara Hansen.

Friend and author of "Mastering the Dance" passed away Saturday night, December 15.

I'm sure she's up in heaven making all the angels giggle.

Rest in Peace.

http://chronichope.blogspot.com/

Bad Combination

2007-12-12T07:25:00.000-06:00

The Setup:

1 dog,
1 pair of jeans with credit cards and money in pocket
20 minutes in the bathroom while he waits for me to shower. (The idea is that he won't destroy anything by not being left alone)

Results:
As far as I know, I still have all my money. No little bits of other paper currency.
That's all I found of the card.

The Karma of it all:
1. That was the only card he ate. (the most important, of course)
2. I received my new check card last week and the new pin number yesterday.
Whew!
-=Click on the picture for a closer look=-

Billy Joel

2007-12-10T16:38:00.000-06:00

Billy Joel still rocks.
He hasn't aged well.
But...I guess we knew that in the 80s.

Woooooo!!!!!!! The stadium was filled with the blue glow of cell phones.

Fun with Pups

2007-11-27T13:57:00.000-06:00

I bought marshmallows for some reason the other day, so I thought I'd see how Max liked them too.
He learned to chew them up and chased one around kitchen when it missed his mouth. (Cuz he doesn't catch food in his mouth. People just end up pelting him in the head. He must be too "refined" to catch food in his mouth, I keep trying - he keeps refusing.)
Soooo....last night, I was sitting on the couch about to snack on a few marshmallows and I tore one in half. Mr Max was sitting there as usual begging so I slapped it onto his snout sticky side to nose! Man, I wish I had my camera! He went cross-eyed and backup up quickly while shaking his head, but the darn thing wasn't moving! I put it on the top of his nose, not in front so his tongue couldn't reach it either. It was a great couple of seconds. He wised up and reached his paw up and brushed it to the floor and ate it. Good doggie.

Whew!

2007-11-26T17:01:00.001-06:00

Long month, November!

My sister got married on the 17th and everything was beautiful. It was a little hectic the day before, but everything fell into place by the wedding day.
Slade wore a top hat at the reception, so pimped like that! Renee' wore my mom's wedding shoes. We thought they would fall apart since they are from 1964, but they held up and were apparently rather comfy all day. They were the pointy kind from back in the days of boufant hairdos and slim leg tuxedo pants. I cleaned up good and enjoyed being dressed up too. Although my feet hurt for a few days after those darn heels! The champagne was flowing! My nephews, Mike and Samuel, were in the wedding party and looked quite dapper too.
After the reception I went out with the cousins to Pat O'Brien's in downtown San Antonio (just walking distance from the church) and consumed one too many Hurricanes and beer. Not even the menudo we had at Mi Tierra could calm the throbbing headache I had the next day! I woke up after noontime, something that harks back to my college days! I got sick and then went back to sleep until my mother knocked on the door to tell me it was 4:30pm! (again, similar to college days!) I can't keep up with the youngins like I used to. Well, I was a youngin' back then! I hit the road at 6:00 and sang in the car to keep myself distracted. I was hoarse for a week.
I'll have to be more careful for Krissy and Lucio's wedding in March. Oh yes, that will be fun too!
For Turkey day I headed back down there with Max in tow. He had the priviledge of staying in the house and he was suprisingly well behaved. My mom really does like him, she just doesn't want to admit it. I'm waiting for the phone call where she complains about the hair he spread around the house, but none yet. He's a good boy and after he's over the sensory overload of being in a new space with all these people (the kids were there too so it was a full house) he calmed down and just hung out. He watched a movie with my brother and I in the loft and needless to say, we had to hold our noses several times cuz he tooted over and over! Stinky boy! And if he'd explore, the top step creaked, so I would call him back or whistle and he minded every single time. I'm a proud mama.
And that's just what I did by coming home on Saturday. I just hung out on Sunday, slept in and took several naps. So did Max.

PDA

2007-11-07T15:00:00.000-06:00

Got this link today from an old friend from High School.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21661718/?GT1=10547
The town is where I went to school while living in the adjacent Air Force Base. (From 4th grade through 10th grade.)
Seems this young lady violated the no PDA rule at the Junior High and got caught hugging her friends.
The weird thing is that the same rule existed 20 years ago. ...or more because this is the JR High. -=gawd, I'm old!=-
Just very odd. She was hugging girls, so it's not like she was hanging all over a boy and it was inappropriate.
Silly.
That's about as bad as it gets in Mascoutah. At least that's what I remember of it.

Omens

2007-11-02T15:26:00.000-05:00

Sign that I'm a grown-up: I recently paid for a copy of Vista for the PC I'm building. Really, never used by another person, the license is all mine! Totally voluntary too!

Sign that I'm a geek: My computer monitor is about to exceed the size of my television set.

Sign that I am a Dallasite: (aside from using the word "Dallasite"!) My pup is scheduled for boarding at Pete&Macs for Renee's wedding weekend, then Thanksgiving and Christmas...full Daycare everyday and a suite with a cool-arse cot for him to sleep on. I'll probably be on my sister's couch during that time!

Road Trippin'

2007-10-08T12:14:00.000-05:00

I flew down to SA for my sister's wedding decoration making party and had a good time.
But as it got closer and closer to the time that I had to go to the airport, my dad and brother, my designated drivers, were nowhere to be found.
It got to the point where I was about to take a taxi but I'm sure I would have been late by then too. Ya see, San Antonio has a lot of construction in the airport area right now. Naturally, I was getting closer and closer to an anxiety attack.
My dad and brother show up 25 minutes before the plane takes off and we haul arse to see if we can get to the airport. There was lots of bickering in the car because I was going to miss my flight and no matter what, I'd need to get a rental car to get back. I had a dog that'd been sitting in his kennel since 5am that wouldn't appreciate it one bit if took the first flight the next morning.
Well...I missed the flight. We got to the airport late. or should I say NEAR the airport.
So my dad takes all the blame and then says. "I'll pay for your rental car." Then he pauses and says "Ya know, I'll drive you up to Dallas." He asks my brother if he has plans and then we call my mother and we continue on to IH35 and head up here.
Very spontaeous!
So the dog was happy and I got a little bonding time with the men of the family, which is always fun. Plus, instead of driving the whole way, I talked my dad into stopping at an IHOP. But, like days gone by, he wouldn't stop for breaks otherwise, so I was coughing in the car because I had no water. He kept saying that he would give me cough drops, but he forgot them. (-=Thank goodness because I've been spitting those things out since kindergarten!=-) All I needed was water.
My dad said he'd rather drive the 5 hours to Dallas than get home and be yelled at by my mother. It was all so funny that no one got in trouble. (except my brother for not answering his cell phone all day)
Happy Monday.

Weird week

2007-10-03T09:39:00.000-05:00

I have a day-trip planned to go to San Antonio for a wedding decoration making party for my sister. Her wedding date is coming up quick!
I Love living down the street from the IKEA! I finally got some furniture that I've been eyeing. Now the issue is getting the dang things out of my Jeep and up 3 flights of stairs to my apartment! They weigh a ton! I think I'm going to open the packet in the car and take things up piece by piece.
I'm finally getting settled though.
So is Max. We have our routine down now. Although this morning, in the rain, I was really hating taking him for a walk. I wish he were like other dogs and would step out, do his thing and turn around because of the rain. But NOOOOO, he's totally okay with the rain! So I'm trudging through the rain at 6am, cursing that I didn't wear long sleeves (or a bra for that matter!)
The good thing is that I brought him upstairs, wrangled him into the bathroom and he let me blow dry his coat, he didn't even do the "shake" when we walked in. -=Pining for a house with a yard so I don't have to take him for walks anymore!=-

Busy Weekend!

2007-09-21T12:27:00.000-05:00

busy weekend. Artscape at the Dallas Arboretum, Addison Oktoberfest, Plano Balloon Festival.

Found these really good ones in Ft Worth:

The Queer Queens of Qomedy - Scott Theater in Ft Worth. www.queerqueensofqomedy.com <--can't get their site up, but they do have a MySpace Page.

Bike/Spoke/Love - 7:30 pm- Sanders Theatre $3/ $10 admission
(depending on your mode of transportation to get there!)Written and directed by Tammy Gomez, award-winning poet and performer.Produced by Sound Culture “a bicycle love story with onstage bicycling, music, and video.” For more info: www.bikespokelove.com
One night only!!! Don’t miss it!!!
(note: arrive early, the Jazz Fest will be happening in that same area)

So don't sit around bored this weekend. No excuses!

2007-08-23T13:52:00.000-05:00

I was making a giftcard purchase while testing today and I had to include a note... for testing purposes, of course.
Ya know, like when you buy a giftcard as a present for someone you can include a note to tell them Congratulations or Happy Birthday.
So here I was, "buying" a $300 Southwest Airlines Giftcard in our Testing area and I was inspired to write a poem to my Mom.
Here it is:

To: Mom
From: Yer Kid

I think you're nicer than rice and keener than beans
and You'll always be sweeter than honey.
So don't give up on me cuz that just won't be funny.

There is an inside joke with my brother that came about when he was in kindergarten and all the kids had to say something nice about the other kids. Each kid got a package of nice things said about them. A little girl gave him this compliment: "Bob is nice, he likes rice."
The joke gets revived every few years in the form of ads for Chinese restaurants and weird things, like an electronics store whose owner is named Bob, dunno why they had to tell us his particular food preference, but if it brings 'em in the door, go for it!

I felt inspired with that poem. Feel free to use the verse (or variations) in a note to your own mother. =)

Pit Bull vs Possum

2007-08-15T12:26:00.000-05:00

Well, I love this place, so far.
I'm not breathing heavy for as long as I was a few weeks ago after climbing up to the third floor.
Getting the boxes out of the way is helping me see the space that everyone but me seems to be impressed with.
I do like hiding all my laundry in the gigantor laundry room, as well as other crap that I might need to hide in the future when guests come.
Max is making a lot of friends. He LOVES the dog run that they have. He and Gracie, his Pit Bull buddy, have a fun time.
Okay, so speaking of Pit Bulls...
There are like 5 of them at this complex. I was expecting big dogs simply because my last place didn't allow big dogs and that's how we ended up here. Big dogs are kinda new to Max, but he's getting used to them.
So, yesterday, we were at the dog run, it was Gracie, Max and Dauber (a Min-Pin). Gracie, usually a good runner, just wouldn't leave the thicket of grass, she was staring at something. So, me, I went in to have a look. Max dropped his toy in the thicket before and was a wimp about getting it out. Then I saw something moving. At first I thought it might be a little bunny rabbit, as I've seen them around, or maybe a cat that's just stuck in the high grass. Nope, it was a medium sized (let's be honest, his teeth were HUGE!) possum p'ssed off that he got stuck in the grass when these silly dogs showed up.
Nate, Dauber's daddy, gets in there to see if he can shoo him out. Max, in the mean time is running between me and Gracie, I think it was his way of tattling. He's a Herder, not a fighter. (lol)
Next thing you know, Nate goes "Whooa! Go for it Gracie!" As he shooed the possum out of the brush, Gracie grabbed it by the neck and killed it. We think.
We all just said..."ooooooh" and then "Gross"... and then "Holy Sh*t"... and then "She KILLED it??With her jaws?!" Nate did a snapping motion with his hands, "Just like that-- Whoom!"
Yucky! Well, Gracie's mom calls her over and poor little dog would've had her tail between her legs if her little stubby tail were long enough. She knew she did bad. She didn't have blood on her jaws or anything, and the possum might've been playing dead, but it was mind-blowing nonetheless! Miss Gracie exhibited some serious natural instinct!
---And Gracie's the friendly Pit!

Lefties

2007-08-13T14:36:00.001-05:00

Heard this one and love it:

Everyone is born left-handed until they commit their first sin.

'nuf said. :)

-=sigh=-

2007-07-31T12:24:00.000-05:00

It's been a loong week. Last Wednesday the movers were supposed to show up between 10am and Noon and they didn't show up until 6pm and left just before 9pm.
I was frazzled all day wondering what I was going to do if they didn't end up getting there to move my stuff and where I would sleep and what I would do with Max. It was very nerve-wracking. I had so many other things to do that day and I didn't get anything done but the move. I asked my sister to come to town to help me out and she was gracious enough to visit this weekend. She's the first relative that has visited me in about 2 years.
I didn't want them anywhere near the old place. Old baggage. I didn't like the way my life and the world around me had become and I guarantee it won't end up that way again.
I have a fresh start now and I can begin again with just me and the puppy. Everything in it is mine and no one else's and I decide how and when to do it all. I think I was still feeling the old burdens at the old place so I didn't make much effort to get things back to me until now.
I haven't gotten around to getting cable so I can't get internet connection yet either. I've been backburnering it. Who knows when i'll do it. I'm not really missing it too much right now. Maybe this weekend I'll notice because I have no huge plans. (Although, right now, I do miss that cake making TV series on FoodTV.) I've been happy watching DVDs.
To top it off, I moved to a new cuber-hood at work. So this weekend I was feeling displaced all around.
Renee' and I were busy bees shopping on Saturday. I missed that crazy girl! I rewarded my move by getting a keen new computer chair at IKEA. It adds a nice touch to the place. It's a Deep RED swivel chair. Totally me.
I took the night off from unpacking last night to watch The Holiday and The Breakup and had leftovers. Everything is slowly finding its place, I'm not going to stress about it.
I am very proud that I got the washer/dryer working too. I had to change the cord on the dryer and was a little worried. Nothing a call to Dad couldn't remedy. I am always hesitant to work with electricity. I mean, the dog can't dial 911.

You are now free to move about the country...

2007-07-12T15:27:00.000-05:00

with a PayPal account!
My first big project with SWA. I've done many projects in my day, but this is a different kind of feeling.
I can point at it (the SWA website) and say, "See that, it works the way it does because I said worked well enough to go public." Projects in the past have been purely back end, or apps that were exclusively internal to the company. Although, I did test MySony.com at Brierley, I wasn't there long enough to see any projects from beginning to end.
It's all so cool. And like when a kid does well, the company had a huge ice cream sandwich social to celebrate. :)
Yayy!

Come on you pansy!

2007-07-05T09:13:00.000-05:00

OMG! I got a great deal on tickets to Spamalot and I was sooo excited. I benefitted from the fact that it was the July 4 show.

I think I was beaming through the entire show! I was not let down one bit. I caught myself just plain old smiling throughout!

I highly recommend it....if you're a Python fan. There are new songs and new scenes to accomodate the fact that it's a stage show, but the core of what a fan would expect is definitely in there. The only noticable scene missing was the scene where the BridgeKeeper asks the questions three. That's just because I saw a character that I thought was the BridgeKeeper, but it turned into another scene althogether. Hey, ya can't have everything!

I always just thought that everyone had seen Holy Grail but it was kind of hard to find someone to go with! I guess I was around a bunch of boys growing up...we all ended up being geeks too. hehe. To me, one should not be hired in the tech industry without being able to quote at least one line from that movie.

Hmm...what are other movies that are "required" by our generation? ....Molly Ringwald/Brat Pack movies. ...Wayne's World....Top Gun...Fast Times...Office Space...

SA for the Day

2007-06-25T10:16:00.000-05:00

Took a hop to SA Saturday to do some business at my bank. I realized I could just hop down there, get a good SA breakfast of Barbacoa and Menudo (below), hang out with the family and get back before Max would even notice. (Okay, he noticed, but had no idea I was out of town, just thought I was out late - if that's what he thought at all!) I love that dogs have no sense that I was "going to work" for the 6th day in a row. I was in the bathroom at the bank and I spotted a ton of crickets --like three or so -- and one was attempting to escape down a drain. He had his back legs sticking out of the drain so I had to take a picture. It's blurry because someone came in when I was attempting the second picture. Ya see the drain was between my stall and the one next to mine. I don't need to be known as the perv who was taking pictures in the bathroom of the local bank. Sheesh, I have a dog back in Dallas who needs his mama!
I'm still trying to find the family slides at my parent's house, but no one really wants to go thru all the effort. I did go through the upstairs closet, but that only produced the fact that I think there is one blanket equivalent to every member of the family's ages combined. There was a huge fluffy mess in the hallway. I found my little purple and white blanket crocheted for me when I was about 10 and was a mainstay on my bed until I moved out. Until Max stops his chewing fetish, I can't, in good conscience bring it home. It's too important to bring home.
I only brought a totebag filled with "Keep Berta's ADD at Bay" stuff with me on the plane. I went to Border's and loaded up on a few magazines, an easy Soduko book (that was not so easy) and Alison Bechdel's book "Fun House". I did 4 crossword puzzles before I got tired of hitting my elbow on the window. ( Lefty's shouldn't sit in the window seat on the left side of the plane) When I segued to Fun House, I was pretty much glued to that. I finished it while I was drying my hair yesterday. Totally recommend it. I've loved her comic strip for a while, I think I'll finally go out and get her books. I don't know why I hadn't before. Maybe borrowing lesbian reading from Gianna's bookshelf was safer and easier. Heck, I've been catching "Dykes To Watch Out For" since Ellen was just a stand up comic!

La Rancherita - Yumm!

Breakfast of Barbacoa and Menudo.

Superhero Sighted at Luv Field Car Rental Stand!

2007-06-22T10:49:00.000-05:00

I saw Wonder Woman this morning on my way in to work.
Okay, so it wasn't Lynda Carter or an Amazon woman wearing a red and gold outfit.
It was an older lady with a blue headband and long curly hair.
I don't know what triggered the WonderWoman reference aside from the headband and hair, but that was enough.
So I started thinking about it the rest of the way to work (which was only about 5 minutes).

This woman could have been the Wonder Woman that we didn't know after the series ended. Or even one of her relatives maybe. Ya know, the hard drinking one who is a big softie even though she shows a gruff attitude on the outside to all the kids. A couple too many years of hanging out in smoky bars eating mozzarella sticks and popcorn, drinking Budweiser (not that LITE crap!) and smoking Marlboro Reds.
Yeah, okay, that's who I saw.

-=I'm adding this to my list of famous people sightings - I'll tell you about running into Elvis at the HEB another time.=-

2007-06-13T11:02:00.000-05:00

Couldn't have said it better than this reporter.
http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/atlarge/2007/06/what_last_nights_spurs_win_mea.html

Go Spurs Go!

Time flies

2007-05-25T11:03:00.000-05:00

Ahh...Memorial Day weekend. This year is flying! The Denver trip was soo much fun. Goofing off with cousins that I last saw when I was a pre-teen was fun. We were all giggly the whole weekend.
Mothers Day was a great weekend. I designated my nephew as my companion for Southwest. Since the spouses of married couples get free flights as a benefit, SWA allows single employees to designate a lucky someone for that privilege. Mike has a busy year this year so I figured plane tickets would come in handy for him and be an incentive to visit his dad and grandparents. Well, it worked!
I was driving down with Max to San Antonio for the Mother's Day weekend. My mom didn't know I was going down there, it was a suprise. I had been on the phone with her the previous week when she asked if I was going down to SA for that weekend. I said "No, I hadn't planned on it" Her response was "Whatever..." and she continued with the conversation. My mom does not say "Whatever" ...ever. So there I was on the road, Max stretched out on the back seat.
I was on the road about an hour when I get a call from Mike telling me he got the tickets. We talked about getting together some time in Seattle or meeting somewhere. We talked for quite a while and then at the end he says something like, "I can go to San Antonio right now, if I wanted, right?....Well, Yeah! So by midnight central time, we had arranged his flight the next morning from Phoenix to SA to see all of us. Not only was I a suprise for my mom, Mike was the big suprise!!
I broke the suprise about me to my mom on Saturday morning when I called her and found out that she had no plans, just running errands all day Saturday. She said that the reason they weren't going to cook out was because I wasn't going to be there. (Isn't that sweet!) That would not work into our plan for the suprise so I told her to run only one errand, be home when we got there and that we'd stop off at the store to get fajita fixings because we had another bigger suprise.
I think she thought my sis was going to announce she was pregnant! -=Sorry Mom!=-
Long Story short....lots of crying, laughing, hugging, reminiscing. and picture taking. I have a pic of Mike with his 3 brothers taken about 5 years ago, he was towering over them and they looked so tiny. We took another picture in the same spot. Maybe we'll make that the tradition.

He's still tall, but they're catching up! Mike is 20, Keith and Kyle are 9 and Samuel is 8.

Mike said he wanted to go upstairs and mark his height on the bathroom doorway. LOL. I wonder if he did.

Dub-a-Dub-Doggy

2007-05-16T12:21:00.000-05:00

Living alone with a big dog is one thing. Deciding to give him a bath is either stupid, adventurous, or, as I went into it thinking, being a good momma.
He used to be pretty okay about it because being allowed in the bathroom was exciting in itself. and we could hold him in.
These days, since he can't be trusted for a short period of time in a home with socks, I have him hang out while I am in the shower everyday. Once I am done blow-drying my hair and feel completely done, then he's allowed out. Seldom can he go unsupervised.
So last night, I took him into the bathroom and tried to get him into the tub. Darn, if I didn't I forget to put his collar on him, I needed some kind of grip on the guy when he attempted, successfully, to jump out. He got away and huddled on the other side of the bathroom near the door willing it to open. I placed a treat on the edge of the tub. Nothin' doin'.
But, he is a dog, after all, so he was eyeballing it. I decided to herd him to the tub. Brilliant! I got him out of the corner and got him all the way to the tub, when he tried to get the treat, I grabbed him and tried to lift him into the tub. No Way. He got away again. Then I did get him into the tub, only to realize that I still had to turn on the water and the shower head/nozzle in order to wet him down. He got away when he heard the noise of the water to shower transition (you know the sound).
After many more tries, I was breaking a sweat and he was doing the fear aggression thing. There was only one thing left to do. I grabbed the Shower-Massage, adjusted the temperature...and aimed in his direction. It reminded me of a scene from a movie where the police are shooting water at rioters. Okay, so he was finally wet and I chased him around putting soap on him, he was more agreeable for that part.
Now, for the rinse. I wasn't going to spray down my bathroom any more than it already was, so he did need to get into the tub. It took less tries and as I got going, he tried to jump, I reacted quicker and little Max's neck was now stuck between the side wall of the bathroom and my leg. He stopped struggling (yes, he was breathing) and he was more cooperative. luckily, my leg was in a comfortable position to finish off the rinse. I checked his face and he gave me a lick. Although the look in his eyes gave such a grim message of defeat.
Whew!!! I let him loose and he shook it all out. As I was towelling him off, he jumped up to look at himself in the mirror and kept looking at the hair dryer. Man, I love that he loves the hair dryer! I wish he felt the same for the vacuum, but maybe in time. Anyway, I dried him off as he turned this way and that so I wouldn't miss any spots.
Gawd! I did a quick rinse on myself and waded out of there. When I stepped out after him, he was rolling on the living room floor. geesh!
We were both exhausted so when I woke up this morning, I walked into the bathroom only to find it still had a thin layer of water as well as all the wet towels and throw rugs.

-=sigh=- I was hoping time would have dried everything off.

Amaaazing!

2007-05-10T13:08:00.000-05:00

Okay, I had to share this picture. Looks like an ordinary car parked in a garage, right? Nope..well yeah, but the difference is that my friend parked very close to the pillar. I mean very close. We had to get out and stare at it for a while.
She did not, and I repeat, did not touch the pillar or the bolt or metal strap on the wall. Really, she didn't.
I think you could have fit a few pieces of paper between her bumper and the screw, but it wasn't touching. Not touching!
This is a girl who pulls into a parking spot and commits. She pulls in and turns off her engine. She doesn't adjust her tires or back up and stuff to "fix" the car in the space.
We pulled in, she threw it into Park, turned off the car and pulled out the key. I started walking to the stairwell, but she was just stopped and stared at her bumper car. Amaaazing!

Graffitti

2007-04-27T09:50:00.000-05:00

I have a new link on the side for my tabblo of pictures of Deep Ellum that I took last year and a link to Banksky's website.

I don't know what it is about graffitti, but I've always been fascinated. Not by the ones that are vain vandals (writing names in gang script) but the real artists. The ones that when you drive by you look at graffitti and go "Damn, someone would pay big bucks to have that in their living room."

Maybe it's because I can't bring myself to deface a public building. But maybe that's why it's done! I think I'm jealous because I think I can do work like that, I just don't because I have issues with breaking the law, defacing architecture...and getting caught.

I'd like to learn how to make the stencils too. I'm sure a computer program does it these days.

heh heh...be on the lookout for stencils of a psycho dog on brick wall near you!!

huh? wha? come 'ere...no, go away...check it out!...never mind!!

2007-04-25T08:59:00.000-05:00

I redesigned the template for both this and the question of the moment site and ended up losing the links through my lack of foresight.
So now it's just about total recall of what it looked like. Both sites were pretty straight forward so it's not killing me. just lost links to blogs I liked -- considering my ADD, I probably lost interest after I created the link on the page. ; - P
The only constant in life is change.
Gotta go, shiny lights on the other side of the room that I must explore!

Gone to Denver

2007-04-24T12:56:00.000-05:00

Oh my goodness.
Getting ready to go to Denver has been exhausting. It's this THING that's been on the calendar of my life with a big red circle around it.
Now it's approaching too quickly.
My aunt and uncle are celebrating their 50th anniversary by renewing their vows so if you notice that south Texas has less Mexicans this weekend, ....we're all in Denver. I'll be seeing cousins and assorted relatives that I haven't laid eyes on in about 15 years. I was less nervous for my high school reunion. The only reason I'll recognize some of them is because I've seen their Xmas cards at my parent's house over the holidays.
I was so focused on making sure my parents could get their flights straightened out and have them ready to go online and get any documents they might need that I didn't end up taking care of my own reservations at all.
I have a Must-Fly pass that I received from SWA when I was working with TB and not a SWA employee. I planned on using that pass and since no money is being exchanged, I wasn't in a rush. but Damn! the trip is Friday! A little too much procrastinating. So I called and made reservations this morning before work. Check.
I needed to look for a nice outfit to wear for the wedding part of the weekend. I did buy an outfit over the weekend, but it was a quick decision. and I don't think it was a good one. I had put it off all weekend. On Saturday, Max and I napped the day away and at 5-ish I decided to see if the sun was shining. I rushed over to the Avenue and found nothing even presentable to wear - all much too casual. Shortly thereafter, Gerri called and we ended up taking a walk at Arbor Hills and then sitting down and having dinner. I think the meal cancelled out the walk. On Sunday, rather than shop for the perfect outfit, Gerri and I went to the FtWorth Main Street Arts Festival. When all was said and done, I ended up at Catherines and bought two blouses and a suit in about 30 minutes, right before they closed for the day.
I think I'll take back the suit, but the blouses might suffice. I need to make reservations to board Max and I think that'll be it besides how and what to pack.
Whew! ...and as a plus, a guy in the building next door might buy my entertainment center. I finally advertised it. Hopefully, he'll come up with the money. We'll see.

VT

2007-04-19T09:40:00.000-05:00

Is it just me or does the nutcase that rampaged VT sound a lot like Napoleon Dynamite?

Huh?

2007-04-12T07:18:00.000-05:00

As I was driving home yesterday, I stopped at the intersection of Royal and Marsh.
There, on a cable box or some other electric contraption on the side of the road was some interesting graffitti.
What was really funny was the graffitti's political statement.
It said: "No Crime".
Um...I think the vandal needs to elaborate on that.
To the vandal's credit, both words were spelled correctly. --very rare.

Found the picture!

Butterfly or Freestyle??

2007-04-12T07:13:00.000-05:00

Try this, go to maps.google.com and type:
New York, NY to London, UK.

or click here.

Pay particular attention to step 24.

Free at Last, Free at Last!

2007-04-05T14:11:00.000-05:00

Woohoo. The first company in a long time that actually observes Good Friday! Wow!!
I'll be taking my 3rd non-rev flight in three weeks. I'm getting good at this! The first 2 were just day trips to Houston and to San Antonio, this one will be for the weekend.
I'll be leaving Max at a pet hotel and he's signed up for doggie daycamp where he gets to run wild for hours. Hopefully he behaves!
I realized last night that this is like dropping him off at school. I might just get emotional when I drop him off. Have I taught him well? Will he like it? Will he be mad at me?
We've been tied at the hip for the last 9 months. So many things to worry about. Imagine if he was human!
His first sleepover...my baby's growing up!

I, on the other hand, get to TRY to be at the office parking lot at 5am to get checked in for standby boarding.
I will definitely need a nap at my parent's place. I am on a quest to get some MRE's for the guys here at work. They've never had them and, frankly, I find them tasty. My dad will hook me up. There will be a picnic at my sister's new place and some shopping, I'm sure.
I'm ready for a dose of family.

Happy Easter everybody! (bawk-meowww)

On the Road Again!

2007-03-30T13:37:00.000-05:00

After 4 long happy years at this apartment, I have been "asked" to leave because Max is too big.
Even starving him, he'll never be 30 lbs, which is the apartment requirement. How did I know he was going to be too big?!
He wasn't even supposed to be mine, even he was a temporary.
He could use a yard, so I was looking at buying a house, but got a little freaked out and backed off. Too much money that I don't have.
I'm looking to lease a house now. Something that will gently ease me into home ownership. And I'll have time to save up for a decent down payment (as well as all the other fees).
The sad thing is what a deal my current apartment really is! I won't (and so far, haven't) found anything comparable in price that includes a yard for WonderMutt.
If anyone knows of any houses for lease, let me know!

Ewwww!

2007-03-28T13:26:00.000-05:00

...so I get on the elevator at the third floor and notice the distinct stink of sweat. I am glad I am only going to the fifth floor. I am happy to see the doors open and I quickly step out, glad to inhale fresh air again. Then I realize that the 8 people waiting probably think I made the elevator smell!

Dallas 'ICE' Storm

2007-01-17T09:11:00.000-06:00

Tuesday, the weather was not pretty in San Antonio. My brother emailed me to see how things were for me as well. Since his office closed early he wanted to know if things were still 'bad' in Dallas.
Here's my reply to his questions:

On 1/16/07, wrote:
today wasn't too bad. Yesterday wasn't too great though. I drove 25 miles an hour
and my strategy was that as long as I drove on actual ground rather than
bridges, I shouldn't do too badly. and yesterday was my first day at SWA and what kind of impression would that be? I also had a meeting with the business for User Acceptance testing so I was nervous and I wanted it all over with. It was a crazy day.
Anyway, I got all the way to the SWA parking lot and someone told me that
"free" days are rare since the mechanics have to come in to de-ice planes,
we have it good. But still for your safety stay home and work from there if
necessary. I decided to brave it. So there I am. I made it safely. I get out of my Jeep and shuffle
thru the parking lot. Well, my bag fell off my shoulder and I flung it up to
adjust it....and flipped myself onto my butt! By this time, the ice was
melting. I've seen worse in Dallas. Anway, I hear like 3 people from all
over the parking lot asking if I'm okay, I say "Just embarrassed! Thanks!"
My boss told me the same thing happened to her, but she fell onto her laptop
bag and broke a rib!

So the lesson is that you're not done when you park the car and whatever you do, don't try to reshift your bags on your shoulder when walking on ice!
> :)
His reply:
Cool. I just read ur story to mom. She laughed. I fell twice thismorning and she laughed when I told her! FEELIN' THE LOVE! -boB

I am now free to do whatever I please...

2007-01-03T10:53:00.000-06:00

...including moving about the country.
I was offered a full time position at Southwest Airlines and I took it.
Yayyyy Mee! They were kind enough to let me in on what was going on before Xmas so I wouldn't stress so hard.
Those horoscopes are kind of creepy in their accuracy lately.

Happy New Year!

Monkey gang banger in Da Haaaaauuuuse!

2006-12-27T10:58:00.000-06:00

I almost had to throw down with a monkey on X-mas day, of all days.
Good thing there was a fence dividing us or I woulda been head-bobbing and finger-waving with him.

My parents love to tell a story about when I was in the pre-talking-not-making-words stage and they took my brother and I to the San Antonio zoo. My mom parked the stroller in front of the monkey cage, probably had to go chase my brother. A monkey grunted at me and I grunted back. We apparently had a very pleasant conversation. So much so that the other monkeys gathered around my stroller to get in on it.

Well, fast-forward thirty-something years. It happened again. Same zoo, probably the same cage display. But this time I am in the post-speech stage of life. We were watching a monkey balance on a rope and then very ungracefully swing himself around, Buster Keaton style.
Out of nowhere, a little guy came over to the fence and started making grunting sounds and only makin eye-contact with me, so we all grunted back. He looked up at me and grabbed a leaf of green leaf lettuce and tried to look fierce by cracking it in half, but it just folded. (It was wet and rainy in San Antonio.) So then he bit the bars. ....but what really took us all over the edge was the gang sign he threw at me. He came up to the fence with his chest all puffed out and threw his arms out really wide, bared his teeth and bit the bar to prove he had huevos enough to do that. And his long skinny arms grabbed the fence real fast. Mind you this was all done in one fell swoop. It also kind of reminded me of that kid in elementary school that charges at kids but doesn't ever go any further than that. He just want to make you flinch. but I digress. ...THEN he showed me his butt. I can't recall, but I think he might've even slapped it! It was a scene out of SNL at that very moment. ...That'll teach me! I think I alarmed it because I did show my teeth as I was laughing. I was laughing so hard that I had to make a mental note of the nearest restroom lest I pee right there in front of the monkey mob!
It all ended when Big Momma came out of the house and asked the kid what the problem was. I think he might be grounded for instigating a fight.
My film ran out at the porcupine display or I would have proof to show in court. (Good thing nothing happened.)

This week

2006-11-17T22:13:00.000-06:00

This was an interesting week.
I had a conehead dog for a few days due to Max being neutered. I have to say I can't tell if there is a behavior difference yet. He looked like he was resigned to living with the darn thing for the rest of his life though. The poor guy couldn't play with his toys because his paws couldn't reach his mouth so he either had a toy in his mouth or he lost it at his elbow or somewhere close by because he couldn't see the darn thing. He had no peripheral vision, so he kept slipping off the curb and he kept sliding off the couch since he couldn't tell that we was sitting on the edge. When I took the cone off, he rubbed his head for a good 30 minutes with his little paws and his hind legs too. THEN he turned his attention to the stitches.
I decided that if he were black, I could have made Max into a Flashlight for Halloween. The cone being the beam of light.

I am officially a Southwest person now. I had my second encounter with Herb Kelleher on Tuesday. The first time, he took his hat off and bowed to me to cordially allow me off the elevator. (I had to let him down since I was headed up one more floor.) But Tuesday, he walked into the elevator, put his hands on my cheeks and gave me a sweet peck on the cheek.
Ya gotta understand, women here run up to the guy like he's Fabio and hug and kiss him. They pull out their cell phones to take pictures and the whole rock star thing. He's extremely nice, as is every exec at SWA, I'll give him that. He approaches everyone as if they are old friends. I really didn't know how to react. But...I now have my very own Herb Sighting story to tell at Thanksgiving dinner.

I had three things I had to get off my chest this week and I can't think of the third...oh well.

Hmmm

2006-11-02T14:38:00.000-06:00

Question floating around the office:

Besides money, is there really any difference between a whore and a slut?

Shuffle for the Cure-Crawl for the Cure-Stand Around for the Cure

2006-10-22T11:08:00.000-05:00

Well, Gerri and I finally passed the starting line at 8:33 am. I had received the invitation the day before when she called to invite me on a whim. Sounds like fun, it's a good cause and there is a mall nearby. Also, having walked in the Plano and Dallas walks before, I knew there was a ton of free loot to be had. woo hoo! I ran into Hauself while gathering loot. (Thanks for the great bandana!) I found myself welling up and touched reading the name placards that people had on their back. They had things like "my Mimi" and "Grandma Johnson", aunts, sister-in-laws, and even several men's names.
I saw the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders signing autographs and realized that my little nephew would love getting something from them for his birthday. I was already planning on getting him a lunchbox shaped like a football, so this would stick with the theme. (If any of you tells him what he's getting, I'll have to deny everything.) I tried calling my brother to see if this would all pass muster since I do not know what an 8 year old boy likes. He called after the race and said that girls still have cooties for Samuel and the pictures of the team might be more of a hit for him but the girl's picture would be okay too. Win Win Win!
Pink was the focus of the day, lots of little boys wearing the pink scarves as headbands which I thought was cute.
The course had people cheering for us at a few of the intersections. Towel waving, kids dancing. One guy had disco music blaring from a boombox. The funniest site was seeing two cars trying to leave the neighborhood and realizing that they were going nowhere for a good hour or so. We just waved and smiled.
Although the finish line was a few more minutes ahead, we passed the starting line again at exactly 9:33am. A one hour walk, pretty damn good, I'd say! We hung out for a little while, but everything started catching up so we headed home.
Over 30,000 people united for a single cause on a Saturday morning at NorthPark. That kind of thing is inspiring. Already, it was a beautiful day surrounded by beautiful people.
I never do that much before 11am!

I will never have a feather pillow fight

2006-10-22T10:49:00.000-05:00

I will never own another feather pillow.
I will never own another feather pillow.
I will never own another feather pillow.
I will never own another feather pillow.
I will never own another feather pillow.
...at least as long as I have this dog.

Set up: Middle of the night, Friday night. Have to get up early for the Race for the Cure...apparently the dog does not care about this schedule.

I hear him playing in the room, but it doesn't sound right because he's coughing, so I roll over to look at the floor at 12:39am (yes, I look a the clock when I get up.) I see a pillow...no biggie. I pick it up and realize that it's not all white. The dog has eaten a hole in it. Let me rephrase that. It has an opening like a bag of potato chips - all the way across the top! The dark is feathers. Lots of feathers. Urgh!
So I now need to get up and put the thing in the trash before he digs in some more. Mind you, I have to put my feet on the floor for this task. The floor is soft...and fluffy.
There are feathers ALL OVER the bedroom!!! At this late hour, my mind will not let the concept of cleaning up this stuff enter. What do I do??? Well, I carefully removed the feather covered sheet from my bed and grab a new sheet and climb into bed, dog safely on the other side of the bedroom door. The little feathers were making us both cough. Right before I fall into dream land, I realize that if I had not found the feathers in the bed, I could have choked to death on them.
The headline: Death by Down. A Feather Fatality. How embarrassing.
Well, I get up and do the Race for the Cure and try not to think about the clean up that this will require. I finished up in a few hours because a vacuum seemed the best way to clean up and I had to empty it a lot. Geeesh!

Trip to San Antonio

2006-09-08T12:01:00.000-05:00

Max was an excellent co-pilot on my trip to San Antonio. It was 5 hours of boredom for that puppy, but he knew the routine on the return trip. Lots of time spent looking out the window and only one bark at a "mean" motorcycle that sped by us. Lots of curious "bah-bah-bah's" with all the new things he saw though. He also figured out that when I leave him in the car, I might come back with french fries or potato chips! You can see the window has many smudges on the inside.
Here's a picture of his sleepiness:

and another:

Max

2006-08-26T15:43:00.000-05:00

Max saw himself in the mirror today. Actually, he was laying in front of the washing machine waiting for me to drop a sock and he looked up and saw me in the bathroom mirror. I decided to look at him and talk to him through the reflection to see what he did. He went into the bathroom and put his paws up on the counter...That's when he saw it. Himself.
A few grunts, but that darn dog didn't go away! So he left the bathroom...Then decided he wasn't going to back down, so he went back in. He must have done this at least four times and got more and more confused each time.
I finally had to nudge him out and close the bathroom door.
He sat in front of the door for a while because he KNOWS that dog is in there!

Under 21

2006-08-24T08:41:00.000-05:00

I left my ID in my car yesterday. I popped into a RaceTrac to purchase a beverage and smokes.

I was carded. I was suprised. Suprisingly.

Should I have been offended? I've seen many people be offended. ....nah!! I didnt' do the "What, I don't look over 21 to get this measly pack o'smokes?!" or better "Let's see YOUR ID!"

I'm thirty-XXXXX years old!! Of course I'm not offended! I know I look young, I have had my share of people asking for my ID in the day, but not in a while!

I just floated back to my car and grabbed the card to bring back to the clerk, then another compliment came when he said, "You must get that a lot, huh?" I couldn't hide the smirk holding back the wide grin.

Had I not had the ID in the car, I think I would have gone without the cigarettes since I was floating on a cloud for the rest of my trip home.

The day ended well following that exchange.

It's true that, whether you know it at the time or not, a nice word can make someone's day.

All-new Yahoo! Mail - Fire up a more powerful email and get things done faster.

Izmir American High School Reunion

2006-08-14T14:32:00.000-05:00

I never told you how my trip to SA went.

My school reunion was nothing how I expected.

Almost 20 years has gone by since my graduation. Let me tell you, we picked up where we left off and we all still look good. :)

We have aged gracefully and I am not the only one who gained weight!

It wasn't a class reunion so much as a reunion of folks who all happened to be there during the same few years. So it really was a social gathering.

Some of us coincidentally graduated there and others were not even close. My sister, for example was in the 8th and 9th grade while we were there. When it comes to our crazy escapades, she was a part of them.

Stealing beer mugs from the pubs, going to discos, ripping off Mercedes logos from the cars, going to the fair to ride the most dangerous, unsafe, rides on earth. Making our way thru the Hang Out on Saturday afternoons where all the coolest kids in the city stood around looking, well, ...cool. Clubbing 4 times every weekend (Friday night, Saturday morning, Saturday night and Sunday afternoon).

Yeah, the geeks got geekier and the rest of us seem to have found our niche on this big blue marble too.

Actually, looking back, I think even the coolest of the cool were geeks at Izmir American High School!

San Antonio was a great location too. We were able to make a few phone calls and track down more people. We've all probably lived in the same town for years and just lost touch.

Ya see, we were a bunch of kids from all over the country tossed together in this little 5 story abandoned tobacco warehouse and expected to be the same after we got back to the States. I think not. So we went our separate ways trying to blend back into the world we left. Think Breakfast Club the day after. A world that didn't change much. We changed.

Sitting at the table eating Doner with 50 other brothers and sisters was a moment that you knew you fit in somewhere.

We do need to plan better though. We were always spur of the moment, loose planners. On Friday night, someone mentioned that SA has 2 Turkish restaurants, but one had closed only 2 weeks before. No one knew which closed but dammit we were gonna go eat some Turkish on Saturday if it killed us. We caravaned our way over and ambushed the place. We had only called them 30 minutes prior to arriving (It took some doing to even figure out what the names were, we only knew them by location.) Needless to say, it took several hours to even start to be served. Even though we were there FOREVER! we were having a good time, all of us in one room with kids and spouses.

Here's something peculiar. The whole time I lived over there, there were people who had left before us and we had never had the opportunity to meet. In San Antonio we all kind of came together. A lot of "oh so YOU'RE ...so and so!" Well, there's the case of Michelle Horn. A name that was always familiar while in high school and even today because even though I didn't know her, I thought I had and just didn't know how since we shared the same friends but at different times. I'd hear my friends say things about Michelle and knew she had moved before I got there, but it was incredibly familiar. It's hard to put this in words. It was always surreal.

I was looking at the piles of photo albums that people threw onto the hotel bed for us to just wander through and reminisce...well, one had pictures of where I lived prior to Izmir -- Scott AFB, Illinois. ...and there was my old neighborhood...and the school gym uniform the girl was wearing was new at the time I lived there...and that girl is someone I knew!!...and her and her and oh my god, that's Kenny Ogilvey, the Scott Baio look-a-like!!! Whose album is this!??! Turns out Michelle lived at Scott at the same time I did. I did know her! I knew of her at least! ....it gets better, she lived in the house that was directly behind mine. The house I lived in for about 6 years. She had lived there for 2 years during 7th and 8th grade. Our school didn't have yearbooks for junior high, so I don't have pictures of the entire class, just our homerooms.

Needless to say, I was floored.

It was a wonderful weekend and we'll be trying to get together annually from now on.

Get your email and more, right on the new Yahoo.com

2006-08-14T14:12:00.000-05:00

testing to my blog

SWA blocks me when I try to email my blog.

We'll see what Targetbase does.

Can you hear me now??

Okay, it adds a bunch of disclaimer crap at the Bottom!! I'll use Yahoo from now on.

Fat Momma to the rescue!!

2006-08-03T12:44:00.000-05:00

Oh my gaw!! I almost peed my pants last night when I saw a TV show called "Who wants to be a superhero"...oh my gosh these folks are NUTS! but obviously having fun at the same time that they keep peace on the planet.
Real People...working class superheroes, hoping Stan Lee can he'p em out a little.

http://www.whowantstobeasuperhero.tv/cast/

My favorite was Fat Momma...she talks to herself when she's running, she's not as fast as the others, obviously!.
And then there's Major Victory who's goal is to be "the Winner, not the Wiener". I loved this guy in action. He is my kinda superhero. His running was funny, he's stop and do a quick dance step along the way. Loved it!! His weakness? Lactose intolerant!!

Overheard...

2006-06-26T10:48:00.000-05:00

at the IHOP in Hillsboro on Friday night...

So, uh, do you have to take some special class to learn how to kiss ass?

Spring Cleaning

2006-06-14T09:07:00.000-05:00

Well, I got this new cool job, I'm considering relocation to a new apartment and just plain starting from scratch with everything. (The GasPipe opening down the street from me jump started the process)
Loose ends seem to be tying up. With the new job, the email address for my blog was misplaced.
Okay, I didn't have the energy.
I finished school...finally. I'm almost finished with physical therapy, and was finally able to make a trip down to visit the family. A trip I needed more than I realized. I delayed returning until the latest possible time and had a hard time walking out the door.
Family is so refreshing sometimes. Observing my parents in their new "oldness". My dad pushing vitamin C on me and asking for a subscription to Nexus magazine, my mom pulling out strawberry cake from the freezer to celebrate my birthday and so she could indulge her sweet tooth. We sat around the little tub of tupperware with forks and had a giggly time. My brother and sister bickered the entire time. She seems to have good luck these days, he seems to be getting the yang of her good ying.
My nephews are getting older, the littlest is sporting a toothless smile these days and demonstrated great competency as a catcher on their baseball team. The twins are in it for the uniform, I think. Although there was discussion to groom Kyle to be a pitcher since he's been a shockingly accurate thrower since he could drool. Those are the best scholarships is what they were saying. Oh the pressure.
My Jeep is now running as it should and now I just need to give it a little more TLC to make it 100%.
So...no more school, no more physical therapy, no more car accident worries, no more missing the family as much... What kind of drama is there to look forward to?
Change the bathroom, get a new sofa...new dining set...new new new!! Clean sweep time!
My school reunion is in July, at least these are pleasant things to stress about.

Enron

2006-05-04T09:27:00.000-05:00

You won't believe what I ran across at the thrift store this weekend! Okay, maybe you have an idea because of the title. there's this great thrift store on Irving Blvd that is part of my thrift store "route" on the weekends. I hadn't been on this jaunt in a while, so I was excited.

I generally go look at furniture, appliances, picture frames and computer stuff and then segue to the clothing, usually men's shirts. I don't trust much else. I did find execllent deals on shoes (Adidas and Doc Martens combined, 10 bucks) for a while there. As a matter of fact, I picked up a pair of Kenneth Cole loafers this weekend for $10. but I digress....

There I am looking at a ton of old shirts, polo, gap, old navy....lots of gimme shirts for various companies and then there it is, like a light beaming from the flourescents above...a light blue (a well earned fade) long sleeved button-down...I push the hanger to reveal the logo....yep.

ENRON. ...I giggled, went to the next shirt then came back to this one...I have to get it. And the price is right, $1.98.

Will I wear it? Should I wear it? Gawd, what'll people say? hehe.

2006-03-14T12:13:00.000-06:00

Seems a bunch of folks have come out of the woodwork and want to have a little high school reunion this summer.

It should be rather intersesting. Being that it was a small small school, we were all pretty tight so people know people and one informs the other and blah bla bla.

I don't know how the dynamics will be though. I invited the friends I still keep in touch with and those whose emails I have located. We're scattered all over, even internationally.

I'll be able to stay at my parent's place because they chose San Antonio in July, yeah, you read that right, --JULY. I don't know if any of us went to Harvard, hehe. Really, it's a central location and you have to take advantage of the summer school break.

I just keep thinking about what people were like in High School and that now they have kids of their own. Will my brother's friends revert to their old krazy party ways and will we fall into the roles we had at that time? hmmm.

I know that dynamic rears its ugly head when I go to my parent's place, my brother and sister and I bicker and moan, and then realize we're adults again two minutes later. It must be very interesting for my nephews to watch.

Will the geeks still be shy? Will the loud ones have loud kids? Will the snobby girls team up again? have they kept in touch with each other? Did they live up to their potential? Did I?

Will I still be on the outside looking in? Standing next to my small group?

Will we even recognize each other? or will we have to have name tags?!

So many questions.

Line in the Sand

2006-02-13T09:43:00.000-06:00

“Everyone remembers the Alamo, but no one remembers where they parked at Sea World.”

Thought I'd try this.

2006-02-03T19:45:00.000-06:00

Thought I'd try this.
Motivation to contribute to the site more:

Four jobs Ive had in my life:
1. Librarian (my first paying gig, $2.
2. Train Engineer (Fiesta Texas)
3. Water Park Life Guard (Fiesta Texas)
4. Night Data Processor at a Telecom Company

Four movies I can watch over and over:
1. My Fair Lady
2. This is why I have a small DVD collection. I dont watch movies over and over.
3. Oh!! Monty Pythons Holy Grail
4. See?!

Four places I have lived:
1. Various places in Texas
2. Hahn AB, Germany
3. Izmir, Turkey
4. Scott AFB, IL

Four TV shows I love to watch:
1. Olympics
2. L-Word
3. Medium
4. Mythbusters or Brainiacs (basically the same)

Four places I have been on vacation:
Vacation? Mexicans don't go on vacation, we just go visit relatives.
1. Rio Grande Valley, South Texas to visit my grandparents
2. Davis, California - to visit my sister
3. Tacoma, Washington Pacific NW including BC Canada visiting my dad when he was up there.
4. Various places in Germany and Turkey

Four of my favorite dishes:
1. Iskender Kebap at Café Istanbul on Lover's Lane (sliced marinated beef and lamb over pita bread, topped with tomato sauce and butter with yogurt on the side).
2. Mom's Lasagna
3. Dad's Fajitas
4. My Chicken Parmesan

Four websites I visit daily:
1. Company intranet
2. Yahoo Mail
3. MSNBC.com
4. cnet.com

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. In the car on the way home
2. Asleep (not in the car)
3. At a happy hour --- any happy hour!! I'm in school on Fridays!!!
4. At Financial peace

Chuck Norris...forever!!!

2006-01-27T09:50:00.000-06:00

This is a FABULOUS site!!! I was crying at my desk.

http://www.chucknorrisfacts.com/

Example Chuck Norris Facts:

If you can see Chuck Norris, he can see you. If you can't see Chuck Norris, you may be only seconds away from death.
Chuck Norris does not hunt because the word hunting implies the probability of failure. Chuck Norris goes killing.
If you ask Chuck Norris what time it is, he always says, "Two seconds 'til." After you ask, "Two seconds 'til what?" he roundhouse kicks you in the face.
Chuck Norris once bet NASA he could survive re-entry without a spacesuit. On July 19th, 1999, a naked Chuck Norris re-entered the earth's atmosphere, streaking over 14 states and reaching a temperature of 3000 degrees. An embarrassed NASA publically claimed it was a meteor, and still owes him a beer.
Someone once tried to tell Chuck Norris that roundhouse kicks aren't the best way to kick someone. This has been recorded by historians as the worst mistake anyone has ever made.
Chuck Norris doesn't read books. He stares them down until he gets the information he wants.
Chuck Norris has the greatest Poker-Face of all time. He won the 1983 World Series of Poker, despite holding only a Joker, a Get out of Jail Free Monopoloy card, a 2 of clubs, 7 of spades and a green #4 card from the game UNO.
When Chuck Norris says "More cowbell", he fucking MEANS it.
Google won't search for Chuck Norris because it knows you don't find Chuck Norris, he finds you.
An anagram for Walker Texas Ranger is KARATE WRANGLER SEX. I don't know what that is, but it sounds AWESOME.
Along with his black belt, Chuck Norris often chooses to wear brown shoes. No one has DARED call him on it. Ever.
Some people like to eat frogs' legs. Chuck Norris likes to eat lizard legs. Hence, snakes.
Wilt Chamberlain claims to have slept with more than 20,000 women in his lifetime. Chuck Norris calls this "a slow Tuesday."
Chuck Norris always knows the EXACT location of Carmen SanDiego.
Some people wear Superman pajamas. Superman wears Chuck Norris pajamas

Lovin' it!!
oh, and this one too: Crop circles are Chuck Norris' way of telling the world that sometimes corn needs to lie the fuck down.

Happy New Year!

2006-01-03T09:38:00.000-06:00

FYI, things are getting better with the whole stolen wallet drama. I am still waiting on my pin number for my debit card, but I've been managing. as long as there is fuel for my

The new year so far has been quiet. It looks like things are ramping up on the work front.

I like to make broad resolutions so I can work on them little by little throughout the year. I like key words, like one year, it was "ORGANIZE" and that was a very productive year.

This year I think my resolution is not going to be just one word as in years past. This year's theme will be "Get your Sh*t Together!!"

Yes, those exclamation points are necessary.

I got started prior to the new year by getting insurance for my car which I have neglected for a long time. And getting the ruby beauty inspected. Now I just have to get the registration and I will have peace of mind.

My dining table is usually full of papers. Well, it still is, but less than before. I spent every spare moment with a shredder on one side of me and a trash can on the other while I sorted and filed the bills and miscellaneous reciepts.

I actually had fun! Thank you Santa for my shredder!

A friend got a pleasant suprise when she got word that her stolen truck was found and is at an impound lot in Ft.Worth. The guy who stole it was found with crack in it. Yay!

2006 is already looking up. Hope good things happen for everybody!

Happy New Year!

Bring it!

2005-12-30T09:34:00.000-06:00

oohh the new year. I have no plans for the New Year night. I haven't decided whether I can deal with a loud or quiet welcome to the year.

Last year was loud and Jan 1 was filled with peace. And of course, complications, but overall, pleasant indeed. A nice balance.

I was going to get reflective and all that but.... life decided to remind me that looking for a fresh start is a good thing.

Although this was an "interesting" year. I know I've been stressed. The year was filled with chaos, uncertainly and me totally off my game.

To top off the last week of the year, I lost my debit card the weekend before Christmas, thus all presents, gas...everything went onto my AMEX because without the card, I have no access to cash.

It's weird, I don't tend to carry much cash anyway, but this became traumatic!

Did you know that you can't cash a check at the Kroger without having a history of having made checks there? I always used my debit card, now I guess I'll throw some variety into the mix. Needless to say, without access to an ATM or the check cashing priviedge of the grocery store, I just did without. Thank Goddess for AMEX!

So I dealt with that and now have a new debit card in hand, and am just waiting on the PIN to be sent to me. (grrr)

THEN, as if that wasn't enough, I lost my wallet in Waco on Monday when I came back to town! Screwed I tell ya!

With no access to cash and no access to money at all I had to resort to writing a check to my manager so I could at least have gas money until this hell warmed up a little.

I called in the police report to Bellmead and the nice lady said "We dont' take reports over the phone" and I said, "Well if I go down there, you better have a cot for me because I won't have any money to refuel and return home!" She kindly took the report over the phone.

I spent Tuesday on the phone boohooing to my friend in Seattle. She offered lots of advise, and wanted to help me with money, but all avenues lead to an ID!

The only photo ID I have is my employee ID.

I know it sucks not to have money, but it's excruciating looking at your bank account and seeing money and ya can't do a darn thing about it.

So here's my list of things you can't do without an ID, not exactly an annual top ten, but observations nonetheless:

Check writing as well as cashing.

Western Union - no one can wire you money if your wallet was stolen.

Pawn Shop - um...ID please.

Check cashing store.

Blood donor - who are you?

egg donation - long process anyway and I'm too old and oh yeah an ID!!

I think the only option I really had was selling my books and CDs/DVDs.

Thank goodness the line at the DPS office was short (it was 7am!) and they barely blinked at the police report. They just compared the signature on my SSN card to the one they have on file and with $24 cash, I have the ID coming to me.

[That was a journey in itself this year. DPS lost my renewal this summer and I went back to have it replaced - the lost driver's license had only been in my possesion for a few weeks.]

What an ordeal! Lots of ordeals -- ordeals with complications!

I do think the year will turn out better.

Bring on 2006!

Annoying Thing Overkill

2005-12-23T10:40:00.000-06:00

For some fun and entertainment.

A follow up to the "Annoying Thing" from last year.

I kept ignoring this on CNN, but I finally decided to actually see what the heck the link was all about.

Go to www.cnn.com. -- stay on the main page.

On the left column, find the "frog" and just hover over it with the mouse. make sure your sound is on.

--For variety, hover over the arrows to change the song then hover back over the "frog".

Don't miss it it might be gone after the holidays!!!

Have a great holiday weekend!!

R (T)

Mon-chi-chi

2005-12-22T12:48:00.000-06:00

Monchichi Monchichi

Oh so soft and cuddly

Put his thumb in his mouth it's really neat!

Fun to wiggle his little feet.

La la la...

Happy Happy Mon-chi-chi!

errr! I can't get that jingle out of my head!!

so I thought I'd share. :)

...who knew we would survive to adulthood?!

2005-12-09T16:22:00.000-06:00

Remember when the playground had a HUGE metal slide in the middle of it's asphalt/concrete play area?

Remember when the playground aide made you swing facing the center of the playground, rather than facing the grass?

Remember leaping off the swings even though it was concrete?

Yeah, me too. good times good times.

Google Name Meme

2005-11-15T14:45:00.000-06:00

Wow, I really like this particular meme that Hauself tried. I did a search for “<Turtle’s real girl name here> is”
Here’s what I found: (my favorite is the very last one)

‘Turtle’ is an Answer Geek! (the first answer, Wow!!)
‘Turtle’ is the current chair of the West Essex Board of Realtors’
Community Service
‘Turtle’ Is Strange (duh)
(Hotel) ‘Turtle’ is close to all public services, such as banks, bars, ... (physically and psychologically too)

Googlism when is ‘Turtle’
‘Turtle’ is an African American because she "didn't wash her hair" (so do I become French if I bite my nails??)
‘Turtle’ is not at all "a suitable mate" for a gentleman of Wooster's description (a description I do not have)
‘Turtle’ is a fascinating personal odyssey of one man's search for significance, enacted by a superb cast and highlighted by very conscious art direction. (Fate, thy name is Stephen Spielberg)
‘Turtle’ is voted out in The X Factor (15 minutes of fame!)
First live showdown ‘Turtle’ is voted out. ... ‘Turtle’ is voted out. (oh the shock, the dread, the shock!)
I joke around with her to set the mood but quickly realize ‘Turtle’ is one serious cookie. ... Long story short: ‘Turtle’ is not only beautiful but extremely (what?! What! WHAT!)
‘Turtle’ is the current chair of the West Essex Board of Realtors (Whapow)
‘Turtle’ is different. (mmhmm)
The consummate scholar, ‘Turtle’ is among the most disciplined learners (a sponge, I tell ya)
‘Turtle’ is the most beautiful supermodel of all time -- ‘Turtle’ is the superset supermodel in the world -- Even though she is American, she is more famous ... (can’t help where I’m born, SON)
Ertoel has done some “tweaking”, and the ‘Turtle’ is now better than ever,
‘Turtle’ is a proactive professional when it comes to helping clients through buying or selling a home
‘Turtle’ is so in tune with people and she is such a good listener (hehe, just had to throw that in)

On page 10 of…a lot:
‘Turtle’' is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (cha ching)
The fact that ‘Turtle’ is guided along by so many accidents, rather than making some clear choices of her own, also sets her back to a non-subversive (what? What?! WHAT!)

‘Turtle’ is admitted to the DC, Texas and US Supreme Court bars. .(they said Bars-again, hehe)
‘Turtle’ is also a Master swimmer, and teaches drownproofing for children under one year ...(drownproofing, whasat? Is that like a spray, like for waterproofing? ScotchGuard for kids??)

I decided to try “was” instead of “is”….Maybe I was trying to glance at my future, who knows. Here’s what I found:

‘Turtle’ was the first Canadian woman to see earth from space.<How cool, eh?!> <Take off Hoser, yer just jealous!!>
‘Turtle’ was an incredibly intelligent, stubborn, funny and opinionated woman. (Duhh)
<My Favorite:> People have asked me to tell the story of the first time Bad ‘Turtle’ was bad. ... It really began the day Bad ‘Turtle’ was born.

Yep - Geek Heaven

2005-11-15T10:02:00.000-06:00

Did you know the guy that created Chuck E Cheese restaurants also invented Pong and was the founder of the Atari corporation?

If you think about it, it's Geek Heaven, really. Pizza, pitchers of sodas, video games, practical seating (Also known as ...Cheap and easy to clean) and you walk out with a crappy plastic slinky with the company logo on it to show for a full day of hard work. The big wig entices you to show up there for your birthday and as many major holidays as possible. Oh, and the owner might give you an appreciative hug before you leave.

Yep.

Go Spurs Go

2005-06-24T19:20:00.000-05:00

Go Spurs Go!!

Yeah!!! too bad I can't be down there in all the chaos!!
The Nicest team won, obviously.
:) Happy Happy Joy Joy!!

The fish lives!!

2005-05-12T00:10:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, I went to Greenville with Pandora. As she was having a good ole time cruising around the yard in a riding mower, I decided to go for a leisurely fishing trip at the little pool of water they call a pond. The owners have it stocked with catfish and I was informed that I could get lucky and have dinner for the evening. ...so there I go, pole in hand, with stink bait, my soda, my chair and my school text. I'm ready to just sit and relax. ...I'm there about 15 minutes, when my line gets caught on the only branch sticking up out of the water. I try to finagle it loose...nuthin'. A final tug breaks the line and I am left with a jumble of slack line. I decided I would just read for a bit since there was a nice breeze. The whole time, by the way, the 3 horses are on the other side of the land, seemingly discussing what the heck I was doing invading their watering hole. Unbenounced to me, they decide to explore. Minutes later I am surrounded by 3 curious beasts, whose big brown eyes could either mean curiousity or "get the hell outta here". I find out it's the former. They start by exploring so closely that I end up standing up from my chair, petting them and talking to them, hoping they understand that I have no snack food close by. They nudge my hands, then my chair, ...slobber everywhere, mind you...my soda gets knocked over. Even though, I find out later, they think they are lap dogs, I'm a little flustered. I can easily get intimidated enough to run. I think they sense that, so they back off. They head a few feet away for the water. The big one steps on my fishing pole, maybe on accident or maybe a warning. I take the hint and head in. Whew!!
Now here's the best part. Later on, the owner and myself head back in to see if we could spot the turtles that bob up every once in a while. Val said " Is that a dead animal over on the shore?" I had been around the whole pond only 30 minutes before with nothing there, we discover it's a snake eating a fish! A big fish!! He has the fish in it's mouth and pushed it up on land to continue the swallowing process. Of all times to leave my camera at the house! So I rush up to the house to get it while she keeps an eye on the snake. Val's husband is deaf so we have to lure him over and I don't know if he really knew what he was going to see when he got there. Pandora decided to pass on the whole idea. Photos would do just fine. When I get back, the snake is in the water, watching us. He has the fish in it's mouth and he's just waiting us out. He attempts to get up to shore a few times, but we keep scaring him back in. I get a few good pictures, a short 15-second video and a story to tell for weeks! Val insists he might be poisonous, so to make a long story short, the skin is hanging up outside Pandora's apartment, drying out.

Here's a link if you want to see the picture:
http://www.recios.net/roberta/SnakeWithFish.jpg

Life is uneventful right now!

2005-04-11T13:11:00.000-05:00

Ah. Finding time for blogging. If your life is boring, you don't wanna write
about it and if your life is interesting, you have no Time to write about
it.

Mine has been a combination of both. Timewise, I've been burning out from
school and work and there there's my impending end of contract on the 15th
and the quest for jobs yet again and wondering if I will make it thru again.
This time without a severance package to pull me through.

Okay, that's the mundane stuff.

I had a weird, frightening, creepy, comforting, angelic thing happen to me
last weekend.

I've told the long story over and over, so the short story is that I broke
down crying (bawling) on Saturday. Uncontrollably. When it was all over, not
that I was really calm or anything, I realized that my outburst coincided
with the death of JP2. This incident occurred two hours before I had heard
the news. I have a receipt from Jack-in-the-Crack that reads 1:18pm and my
phone rang at 2:00, as I walked into my house to sleep off my tears. The
pope died at 1:37pm. I was in a state of calm for a few days thereafter.
Trying to understand what it all meant.

For those of you that don't know, I just recently started to go back to
church. It's something that reminds me of home since I was a military brat,
we didn't see too much stability in our surroundings. As a child I learned
that any Catholic church in the world was being taught the same things each
week and that "Amen" crosses all language barriers. When I feel homesick, I
tend to think about going to church. I am, by far, not regular about it yet,
every other week seems to be my pattern.

I don't agree with all of it, but who does? I decided long ago that I was
not going to leave the Catholic church to find one that fit into my
lifestyle or belief of the moment because I know I won't find it.

Enough of that.

I will be going to FIESTA in San Antonio this weekend. To PARTY. I'll
report back. Over and out!

Alright Already!

2005-03-18T21:27:00.000-06:00

It's been pointed out that I have not updated my blog lately.

Let me rephrase that ...I've been getting sh * it for not posting anything
in a while.

I tend to post when I'm at school, don't ask me why, maybe all the chaos
inspires me. Or maybe it's an escape.

So the new Quarter is starting and I have classes on Wednesdays and Friday
nights (yuck!)

Keep a lookout for new and interesting stuff. I can't say if I will not tell
you about my day or whether I will wax philosophical, but I know I learn
about myself when I blog.

Turtle
"You have nothing to lose but Fear and Time"

2005-03-17T10:05:00.000-06:00

Oh wow, what a rollercoaster week. Let me take you thru it really quick:
Tuesday (Noon), get new tires for the Jeep.(sounds unimportant now, but wait)
Tuesday 5ish-driving home: Get a call from my recruiter telling me that my contract will be up on Friday. This Friday.
Tuesday Night: Drink beer. Go to Pandora's just to sit.
Wednesday: Get kinda weepy. In the Jeep I think about how wierd it is to loose your job and not be walked like all the times I've been thru layoffs. This is the nature of layoffs.
Thursday: Everyone at work finds out. They plan a lunch for me. These folks have not invited me to lunch in the last 3 months, so this is interesting. This going away stuff if sinking in and we're joking about all the work that I took off my friend's shoulders is getting piled right back on.
Friday: Get a call from my recruiter that he has a job for me. With this company. For another five weeks. Yes, I'll take it....interesting news, I tell those around me. I talk to my supervisor who confirms the whole thing.
Right before my "Formerly Going Away" lunch she calls me to tell me to keep it hush hush. ...okay, so I tell everyone that is around not to say anything. All these people had gathered for my "Farewell" lunch then my "welcome back" lunch and now my "we have to keep it quiet" lunch.At the restaurant one person insists on paying for mine...no no no, yes, it's okay....no, you really don't understand!! okay fine, go on and pay. (I tried to warn her!)
After lunch,a close coworker is told that today is his last day. so my farewell was not a farewell and it could have been his, but it wasn't. Weird. Can you say "Awkward!" Turns out I am taking his position.
We go thru transitioning his work to me and he leaves, more like sneaks out, it's sad. I feel weird. I round the corner into another set of cubes and a sweet girl hands me a little white gift bag. "What's this for".."cuz you're leaving"...awkward again. Someone peeks their head out of their cube and starts giggling which makes me start giggling. "I don't think you want to give me this, I'll be here on Monday." She takes the present back and the nice person who bought my lunch finds out and I will gladly buy her lunch. We all had a good laugh, but thank goodness I didn't have school, I was stressed beyond belief. Count my blessings is all I can do.
So, I am back at work on Monday for the next 5 weeks, this gives me time for find something else.
The End, I hope.

Priceless

2005-02-16T12:57:00.000-06:00

Priceless
Jack wakes up at home with a huge hangover he can't believe. He forces himself to open his eyes, and the first thing he sees is a couple of aspirins next to a glass of water on the side table. And, next to them, a single red rose!
Jack sits down and sees his clothing in front of him, all clean and pressed. Jack looks around the room and sees that it is in perfect order, Spotlessly clean. So is the rest of the house. He Takes the aspirins, cringes when he sees a huge black eye staring back at him in the bathroom mirror, and notices a note on the table: "Honey, breakfast is on the stove, I left early to go shopping--Love you!"
He stumbles to the kitchen and sure enough, there is hot breakfast and the morning newspaper. His son is also at the table, eating. Jack asks, "son...what happened last night?"
"Well, you came home after 3 A.M., drunk and out of your mind. You broke some furniture, puked in the hallway, and got that black eye when you ran into the door."
"So, why is everything in such perfect order, so clean, I have a rose, and breakfast is on the table waiting for me?"
His son replies, "Oh THAT!... Mom dragged you to the bedroom, and when she tried to take your pants off, you screamed, "Leave me alone, lady, I'm married!"
Broken furniture - $85.26
Hot Breakfast - $4.20
Red Rose bud -$3.00
Two Aspirins -$.38
Saying the right thing, at the right time........Priceless
Don't you wish it was always like that?

60 years ago

2005-01-27T11:29:00.000-06:00

Today marks the 60th anniversary of Auschwitz concentration camp’s liberation and the beginning of the end of the holocaust.
The people who survived are fading from our history. Those still alive were just small children and have to be reminded every day how close they came to death when they look at their bare forearms with the tattoo marking them for possible death. I was only about 6 or so when I lived in Germany and visited Dacau, another concentration camp.
My brother was born while my father was on his first tour of duty in Germany in the late 60’s. Yep, my brother’s a Kraut. They lived on the second floor of a dairy farm. Naturally, the owners of the farm became his godparents and, my surrogate grandparents after we moved back. Needless to say, my ties to Germany are not just from reading books. Even though we were small, my parents wanted us to see and learn as much as we could while we were there. I learned not to ask for seconds at Mama Beckert’s house. She remembers the war and Sunday dinner is a luxury. I learned about feather blankets and hot water bottles. About garden gnomes and castles. About wooden shoes and walking sticks. …And about Nazi’s.
You’d think a kid wouldn’t remember going to a concentration camp. But I do. I remember the open field where the barracks used to be. I remember thinking what a great time we could have if we were allowed to play on that field. Instead we were kept back by a barricade. I thought it was a shame that we weren’t allowed to play on it. I thought it was odd that even though we were outside, we had to hold my father’s hand and be really quiet. The museum with photos of piled bones and piled shoes and articles of clothing. A pile of eyeglasses. And the ovens. I’ve seen the ovens. I remember talking to my mother about the ovens that day. I related it to Hansel and Gretel and the witch who wanted to cook them. This was exactly the size oven she would need to cook children. Strange how children’s minds work. Oddly, I remember it was a day like today. Not a full rain, more like mist the whole time, overcast.
Not until I got older did I really understand what I saw there, and I don’t regret having seen it. I regret the reason that I had to see it. I regret the lives and souls lost because of one man’s ability to sway the thoughts of a nation. The systematic, planned slaughter of an entire race of people. They sat at a table and planned this. It wasn’t a Tsunami that cared not how and who it struck. It wasn’t terrorists aiming at buildings not caring or knowing who was inside, getting it all over in one fell swoop. These people were picking off Jews. Specifically. Quietly.
Those sick F*cks. Cowards. Some lowly soldier had to carry out their bidding. Had to look into the frightened eyes as they crowded into the poison showers. As their bodies shriveled over time from starvation. Once proud people being taken down notch by notch to nonexistence. We can’t let this happen again.
We can’t let people say this was just a story. We can’t let people deny it ever happened.
I haven’t seen anything about Prince Harry going to Auschwitz. People say it was just a joke, but symbols are powerful and have powerful effects. I optimistically think he will understand when he gets there. Innocent ignorance will give way to knowledge and Knowledge is Power.

Welcome 2005

2005-01-17T18:59:00.000-06:00

Things are gonna be betterer this year.
Gonna get my act together and try to stop saying that I'm gonna do something and actually do it.
What I see in the future? Selling my Jeep. Saving lots of money. Sharing the load with my family. Stop wasting time. Travel a little and not just to San Antonio all the time. Find adventure. Cut down on my cola habit. Be conscious of the things going on around me. Participate.
Don't let fear get the betterer of me.
:)

...and the countdown begins.

**Saltina's Meme thing, dohickey:
2. Add a button addCombo which should add the selected items in the List Box to a ComboBox control.

Happy New Year

2005-01-01T12:45:00.000-06:00

Ringing in the new year was a good time at Tina's. I'll let you know when and where the pictures are posted. Being surrounded by friends was fun but I did miss all the people who could not be there.
I didn't have anyone to kiss at midnight, but I did have a very sweet dog named T-bone become my friend. (Although I did not seek her out at midnight)
I learned that figuring out how to turn up the volume on an iPod is a pain in the ass.
I learned there's always room in the fridge for more beer.
I learned I'm not a fan of fancy scotch. Hand me a beer and keep me happy.
I learned that running from the cops cuz they might take your firecrackers away can be done at any age.
I learned it takes much more than 52 tries to get a playing card to slice a banana.
I watched a guy pour scotch and tea into a glass of beer-- and follow through and drink it.
I saw that the biggest kiss of the evening (in my observation) was between a gay man and a lesbian woman.

Overheard:
"Wooooooooaaaoaoh!!!!! 2005!!!!!!"
"I've got double D's"
"Will you marry me?"
"BFF!"
"We met in 2004 and plan to marry in 2005"
"I have corks in my butt"
"I hope 2005 is betterer."
"This is a table --=Slam!=-- Show me God."
"When you burn a poker chip -- it reaks!"

What I think will happen in 2005??

Work will begin in "The Book of Hirsut" to help future generations get a clue that she does not have their answers, but that they are to find their own.
I'll age one year.
I can now to go to the grocery store to get alcohol when in Carrollton.
I'll grow in mind and spirit.
We'll see compassion for humanity magnified.
I will find the good in everything around me.
I will accept the challenges and hurdles placed before me and do my best.
I will try.
I will become financially liquid. (Check me on that one next year)
I will take more pictures.
I will study harder. ...okay, I will study.
I will read things that will help me grow, not just help me escape.

Turtle's found a new Shell

2004-12-29T21:38:00.000-06:00

Someone whose opinion means a lot to me can't seem to post at my Tripod site. It frustrates me too. So I've decided to move my address from turtleshell9.tripod.com to Fear and Time. You can still call me Turtle if you want to. I don't want to be known as "Fear" or "Time". What a wacky set of nicknames that would be!!
A couple years ago, I misunderstood the words to a Melissa Ferrick song and thought she meant "You have nothing to lose, but Fear and Time". I thought I was quoting the song, but I wasn't.She meant, what are you left with...Fear and Time. But I say that's all you have to lose. Tell em Turtle told ya!
I also have QuestionoftheMoment.blogspot.com a freeform site for me to get answers from you, not just blurt out my feelings--That's what this site is for. :)
One for you to hear me. The other for me to hear you. Be as philosophical as you'd like. I'd like your philosophy on ice cream. Some questions may be silly, some deep. You can answer any question you'd like. No need to stay in order. Turtle's Truth or Truth.