Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Profile
I am going to try to add something every single day to my profile, so my readers (what's up, mom and wife?) can learn a little bit about me. Also, if you have any suggestions about how to make my blogs better, please let me know.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Weather Checker
If you have been keeping up with my blog, you can probably tell I have many different idiosyncrasies. One thing that I am obsessed with is checking the weather. I have four different weather apps on my phone, and I never just check one. I always check all four.
I keep all of the places any relative, friend, or wife and I have visited on my list of cities to check. I have intimate knowledge of the weather in Houston, but I do know what’s going on most other places. For example, my buddy and his wife honeymooned near Hawaiian Acres, HI, and I can tell you that it’s mid-80’s high and mid-60’s low right off the top of my head. My wife and I went to Destin, FL, last summer for a wedding and currently their weather is basically the same as Hawaiian Acres but with a 75 low. I check the weather so much that I just have a Jedi-like sense of the temperature. Right now, I have 20 different cities programmed into my phone that I check regularly.
The issue with this is that a normal person doesn’t do this, right? This is more of a Rainman type of thing. Knowing the weather all over America for no reason is like knowing how many Lumpkins’ there are in the phone book. This isn’t just knowledge of useless information. I respect people that can go into a bar, play trivia, and know that Boner from Growing Pains was the son of Chekov from Star Trek. That is awesome information. That information gets you places in life. Knowing that Las Vegas is still pushing 100 degrees in mid-September is useless. Is this the beginning of dementia? I just hit 30 so maybe it’s downhill from here. Next I’ll probably start collecting gnomes and giving them back stories or designing doggy clothes for Sampson and Earl. Come to think of it, I do have some excellent ideas for wizard costumes for them. I found this delightful star and moon fabric at Big Lots! Their catch phrase: “You… shall… not pass… until you give us some steak fat and belly rubs!”
I keep all of the places any relative, friend, or wife and I have visited on my list of cities to check. I have intimate knowledge of the weather in Houston, but I do know what’s going on most other places. For example, my buddy and his wife honeymooned near Hawaiian Acres, HI, and I can tell you that it’s mid-80’s high and mid-60’s low right off the top of my head. My wife and I went to Destin, FL, last summer for a wedding and currently their weather is basically the same as Hawaiian Acres but with a 75 low. I check the weather so much that I just have a Jedi-like sense of the temperature. Right now, I have 20 different cities programmed into my phone that I check regularly.
The issue with this is that a normal person doesn’t do this, right? This is more of a Rainman type of thing. Knowing the weather all over America for no reason is like knowing how many Lumpkins’ there are in the phone book. This isn’t just knowledge of useless information. I respect people that can go into a bar, play trivia, and know that Boner from Growing Pains was the son of Chekov from Star Trek. That is awesome information. That information gets you places in life. Knowing that Las Vegas is still pushing 100 degrees in mid-September is useless. Is this the beginning of dementia? I just hit 30 so maybe it’s downhill from here. Next I’ll probably start collecting gnomes and giving them back stories or designing doggy clothes for Sampson and Earl. Come to think of it, I do have some excellent ideas for wizard costumes for them. I found this delightful star and moon fabric at Big Lots! Their catch phrase: “You… shall… not pass… until you give us some steak fat and belly rubs!”
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Pregnant Ladies
At work on Friday, I had to go to this lady’s office to pick up some paperwork that I needed. When I walked in, there were two other ladies in the office with her. They were just hanging out and working. Two of them I know pretty well and the other I should know but don’t. Let me preface this by saying that working in a school is weird in that there is quite a bit of turnover. I’ve taught at the same place for 7 years and I am the fourth most senior person in my department of 30 people. I basically only take the trouble of getting to know the people who have either been there for 3 years or more or with whom I directly work. One of the ladies in this office is an ESL (English as a Second Language) specialist whom I work with often. The second lady is the wife of the person I’ve known the longest at work. Her husband and I started our teaching careers at the same time; we work in the same office and are about the same age. I’m close enough to them that I went to some of their wedding festivities. The third lady is – someone. I know I should know her. She’s blonde and tall. She’s the tall, blonde lady. She has really straight teeth, too. I have absolutely no idea what her name is. It could be Jennifer or Shaniqua – both would be a surprise to me.
I try not to use names in my blog but this will get confusing really quickly if I don’t. This is what I will call them: ESL, Friend, and the Blonde Question. ESL is super nice and chatty, though I’m not quite sure what her job entails. All I know is that she is the one who nags me when I need to pick up paperwork. Friend is about 8 months pregnant and very obviously 8 months pregnant. I’m not the chattiest guy in the world. Don’t get me wrong, I can talk with the best of them, but I’m not good at making chit-chat. I don’t know if I have ADD or if I’m just a jerk, but I have trouble focusing on people’s conversations with me. I tend to just look that them and think about one thing (Geez, the dimple in her nose is so defined. It looks like someone jammed their thumbnail into the tip of her nose, etc.). I just shake my head politely and say, uh-huh.
I had this type of conversation with ESL (Geez, her hair is so long. I wonder how long it takes to dry it. Why would you have your hair that long if it’s such a hassle? It’s so black, too. There is no way it’s that black. She must be hiding something, etc.). I turn the conversation to Friend and here is the transcript as far as I remember it – mind you, ESL and Blonde Question are part of this, too.
Me: You’re due soon, huh?
Friend: Yeah, it should be within the next month.
Me: Huh.
Friend: Yeah, Husband and I are… (something or other).
Me (starting to think about how weird it would be to gain 30 lbs in a few months like a preggo)
Me (noticing she finished talking and isn’t looking at me like she asked a question): Do y’all have the nursery set up?
Friend: Yeah, Husband painted this room… (something or other).
ESL: There are so many babies coming so soon. It’s so exciting!
Me (Yeah, at any given time 4 teachers are pregs at my school)
Me (head tilted, eyebrows furrowed inquisitively): Who else besides Friend?
BQ (eyebrows furrowed like you idiot): I’m pregnant too.
Me (blindly stupid): No way. When are you due?
Me (blindly stupid): No way. When are you due?
BQ: Any day now.
Me (bobbing my head, hands in my pockets, twisting my foot around): Ah. Well that’s awesome.
Is that really insulting that I didn’t know this lady was pregnant? She is a really tall lady (like 5’10”!); it’s more spread out through her body. The baby was laying long ways too I bet! I feel bad about this, and hopefully, she just thinks I am idiot and nothing about herself.
P.S. I was listening to Ratatat, DeadMau5, and Muddy Waters while writing this. Very strange mood.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Sicky
I am sick. I get sick every year around this time, and every time I get sick, I think it’s allergies. I’m not sure what it feels like to have allergies because I never had problems with them as a kid. It’s sort of a new thing to me, so I just confuse it with a cold or flu. This problem is actually just one example of a much bigger problem. I’m not very good at distinguishing problems with my body – even simple ones.
It happens all the time that I confuse hunger and thirst. I feel my stomach growl and assume the problem is hunger. I mean, it’s me, right? The first step is to find some food that is more than I want to eat. I’ve heard that it takes the human body a bit of time to realize it’s full, so I eat a whole bunch because I figure that the more I eat the faster this process will be. After a pound of almonds or a cup of hummus, I realize that I’m not hungry. Ah ha! I must be thirsty. This means I need to drink a few Coke Zeros. I feel like the carbonation really helps the liquid spread through my body more effectively. The bubbles make it flow up to my head, right? My head needs water, too. No, seriously, I’ve had nothing but milk and Gatorade today. I read somewhere once that milk is a great thing to drink for a hangover because it hydrates your body quickly – being sick seems like a good time to drink milk then.
I also haven’t really had anything to eat today. I ordered a pizza but only ate 2 slices – all day! That’s always the hidden benefit of being sick; it’s an automatic 5 lbs off. That means whenever I get healthy again, I can go eat whatever I want. I deserve it, right? It’s a shame because I was gung-ho about going to the gym this week. Now, it’s all for naught.
Well, on the bright side, I did sleep for at least 12 hours today and took two baths – though baths are gross. I don’t even understand how they work. How do you wash your nether regions or just the body parts that are underwater? It just doesn’t make sense. As soon as I rub the soap bar on my body, the soapy film just floats up. To further compound the problem, I’m a fairly big guy, and if I lay flat on my back in our tub, it’s only the length of my shoulders to my knees. This morning I was promptly reminded when I took a bath how tight of a squeeze the tub is for me, but I heroically tried to wash thoroughly (By the way, this is absolutely necessary because I sweat quite a bit when I sleep on a normal night, so imagine when I’m sick). I did a belly up, face plant London Bridge type of thing, so I could get my belly and thighs. Then the true feat was an upside down London Bridge – a Superman, I believe it’s called. It didn’t work – quickly. The only place that got clean was my face, and even that is questionable. I imagine there is a layer of dry soap all over my body, and the shampoo I used is just clumped up in my hair. As you can imagine, it didn’t work out too well. I’ve got a few new aches and pains too.
As you can tell, I don’t have anything funny to say. I’m sick. Sick people are supposed to be serious. I’m going to play Starcraft until it’s bed time and get SERIOUS on some Zerg. By the way, my wife is out of town again, so not only am I sick, I’m paranoid. How’s this supposed to work? I can barely keep my bloodshot eyes open to watch TV, and I’m supposed to keep one of them open for male rapists! Also, Meet the Browns is on TV in the other room. It’s going to be a long night.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Kinky Party
I was chatting with my sister-in-law about ways to get strangers to read my blog. She said a good way was to have linky parties, amongst many other great ideas. I typed in linky party before I really knew what it was. I thought, I'm a smart enough guy. I can figure it out. Using my iPhone, I typed it into the Google search bar and low and behold a bunch of party listings popped up. I clicked on the first one and it was a blog called “Richard and Anne: Master and Slave.” Needless to say, this was not a link to a blogging party thing; it was a link to some couple’s nudy, weirdo blog site. As soon as I saw a picture of nudy Richard’s behind while he was frying some eggs, I realized this isn’t what my sister-in-law was talking about. It’s a good thing I never contacted anyone about this. My phone would have auto-corrected and I’d have to buy a gallon of mayonnaise and a monkey costume.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Weight Control Problem (Part II)
One of the main issues I have with this weight control problem is that I’m really impulsive, almost out of control impulsive. If I want something, I have to have it now... and two of it! I don’t really think about the consequences. Now, obviously this is referring to run-of-the-mill, everyday activities – not criminal activities. I don’t think, hmmm, I want some money. Let me get my gun and go to the bank. It’s more like, gummy bears sound good. I think I’ll get this tub, or I need a new shirt; these three will do. In the moment, anything can sound like a good idea. As you can imagine, this gets me in a small amount of trouble quite often.
Today, I had some time off during work and I went to Subway. Yes, the same Subway that over served mayonnaise to me. I was going to be assertive and specific and tell her I only wanted 4 lines of mayo (Subway, we have to end this petty little tiff!). By the way, if you don’t get what I mean when I say lines, I’m referring to the squirt bottles of condiments they use. They just squeeze and run it from side to side making lines. I pulled up to the Subway and I had money to buy a foot long, Italian sub for me (changing it up, baby!) and a meatball sub for my friend. As I was getting out of the car, I noticed a lady sitting inside of the donut shop next door eating her breakfast. I hesitated to get out of the car because I wanted to hear the sports radio guy’s opinion about the Texans, and I looked up and coincidentally met the lady’s eyes for a second longer than I should have – a second longer than society’s universally accepted contract allows. She knows me now.
I went in to order my food, and the whole time my thoughts were pulsating: Get donut holes. Get donut holes. As I am ordering food, all I can think about is buying donut holes. My Italian sub will be good but the donut holes would be even better. I hastily went through the line forgetting to give her directions about the extra mayonnaise. She didn’t give me 6 lines like last time, but she did hold it and squeeze for far too long. When she first started putting the mayo on my sandwich, she must have gotten shocked by something or had a mini-stroke because she squeezed and didn’t let go; she made a puddle of mayo the size of a Coke can top. I gagged when I ate it later. One day, I’ll learn.
I got my food, walked out of the Subway, and put the sandwiches, drinks, and chips in my car (I got the combo in case you were wondering). Then, I stood up, faced the donut shop, and calmly walked in pretending like I didn’t just buy food from Subway. The lady was still there and our eyes met again and a second too long this time too. I saw that a dozen donut holes were only $2. I always feel bad when I purchase items at a mom and pop place like that and spend $2. How are they going to put their kids through college? I ordered 2 kolaches to make it a bigger purchase. I was outwitting everyone there, I thought. I smugly paid for my items, began my walk out, and made eye contact with the lady again. I paused for a second and muttered to her, “These aren’t just for me.”
I started my 3 minute drive back to work and ate half of the donut holes and both kolaches before I got to work. I offered them to some of the people I eat lunch with and no one wanted one. I guess they were just for me.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Man vs. Pugs
My dogs have been plotting against me for a couple of years now. Let me start by saying they are the two cutest dogs in the world, and if I were to have my soul sucked out while I sleep in the middle of the night, I’d want it to be by them.
Allow me to introduce my dogs. We adopted both of them from an organization called Pug Hearts. It’s a fantastic group that saves pugs and puts them up for adoption. These dogs come from all sorts of unfortunate backgrounds. Quite a few have been abused in some heinous ways, and others have suffered from neglect. I don’t want to give you too much of a sob story here, but luckily, Sampson was a puppy when we adopted him and didn’t suffer too many hardships. Earl, on the other hand, had a broken leg and heartworms before we adopted him. He wasn’t too fond of people as you might suspect.
As you can tell, I’m an animal lover and to a fault at that. I pick up cockroaches in napkins and put them outside. I would never hunt or fish. I used to tell my friends that if I had a man in one corner with a knife coming to kill me because he was a serial killer and a wolf in the other corner coming to maul me and I had a gun, I’d no question kill the man. I’d obviously never kill anything or anyone, but you get the point.
Back to the point, don’t feel bad for my dogs because you shouldn’t. These dogs might as well be kings. They run our lives. We give them everything and they live a very cushy, envy-inspiring life. We have a painting of Sampson in our house, for God’s sake!
Here is Sampson. He is a cutie pie but not really a pug. He’s taut and tall.
Here is Earl. He’s more of a traditional pug. He’s kind of chubby and is the clown of the dog world.
Now you feel sorry for them and know how cute they are. Here’s the deal: they are plotting against me. I am the alpha dog, and they know it. I put them on their backs constantly and feed them. They know what’s up. I’m the president; Sampson is the vice president; Earl is the secretary of state; my wife is the working class (Ha ha, just joking).
Sampson is neurotic and becomes obsessive about toys or other things that might be under the couch. He’ll stand by the couch and paw at the upholstery (yeah! Got that word after four tries). The other day Sampson was pawing at the couch. I was watching Pardon the Interruption.
Tony Kornheiser: Tim Tebow can’t…
Sampson: scratch, scratch, scratch
Michael Wilbon: Yeah, but he’s the golden…
Sampson: Scratch, scratch, scratch….
Me: Ok! You win! Geez.
I have to lay flat on my tummy to look under the couch because I’m too big to just squat down. As I’m looking under the couch, I see there is nothing there. As soon as I notice this, I feel a little doggy arm overlap my arm. I look over and Sampson’s face is 3 inches from mine. I feel another little doggy arm touch my other arm, and I look over. Earl is 3 inches from my face. He sneezes. He gets doggy snot all up in my grill. They planned this. They knew how to get me on their level, and they took it to me. They’re starting the coup by humiliating me.
I’m a tad worried. We’ve been leaving them out during the day and trying to get away from kennel training. I suspect they are planning.
Sampson: When the fat one gets home, he’ll eat something.
Earl: Yeah, something we can’t have.
Sampson: Yeah.
Sampson: We need to let him know he can’t just sit around here spending all the time with the working class (read above!) and eating all the cheesecake.
Earl: Yeah, I want some cheesecake, too.
Dogs: Whispering…
One of them poops on the floor while laughing egomaniacally.
This is a growing concern in my household. Growing. Like a tree!
(Evil looking, huh?)
(There is much more on this and I’ll address it later. This is just a taste of their monkeyshines.)
Monday, September 13, 2010
Reckless and Too Hard
I am reckless and do things too hard. Not in a James Dean do drugs and run a car off a cliff way but in a normal people don’t do that kind of way (I think there should by hyphens in there but that seems like too much work). I have a huge problem with my tooth brushing skills. I know it’s weird for a grown man to say this, but I apparently don’t do it right. I’m pretty sure my parents and elementary school taught me how to brush correctly, but at some point, I took it upon myself to do it my way. I brush my teeth so hard that a toothbrush doesn’t last longer than a month. I brush so hard that the bristles turn sideways far too quickly. In a month, my toothbrush looks like Keanu Reeve’s hair in Parenthood. My toothbrush ends up with a “butt cut.” I get to a point where I’m using mostly the plastic of the brush along with the bottom of the bristles to brush my teeth.
The bigger brushing problem I have is doing it too hard. It is an all too common occurrence for me to wake up and think to myself, hmmm, the back of my gums hurt. I basically pound the back of my mouth with the tip of my brush. Does this happen to anyone else? Am I just too aggressive for this activity? I think I am. Sometimes I take out my contacts with so much gusto that I poke my eye. You’d think that after 17 years of wearing contacts that I’d have mastered this. Nope, not me.
Another big problem I’m having right now is with my left forearm. I think I have tendinitis in it. I have trouble lifting the heavy pan out of the cupboard sometimes. I have to use both hands to pull it out. I was carrying my grade book the other day and it slowly slipped from my fingers because my forearm hurt too much. “Have you been lifting too much weight?” you might ask, or “Do you have an old football injury?” No, I played 2 years of middle school football, and I doubt the residual effects of those strenuous years are coming back to haunt me now. My arm hurts from playing and sucking at golf. I swing too hard ALL of the time, and because I suck, I slam the face of the club into the dirt 90% of the time. I played golf 3-4 times a week this summer; in that time, I shredded my forearm. My left arm exists for symmetry alone. It is completely useless. I can point to things on the fast food menu and push buttons on the remote with it. It’s all because I am reckless and do things too hard.
I know what you’re thinking: one problem might solve the other problem. I’ve tried my weak left arm, and it isn’t strong enough to brush my teeth. I’m stuck with either bruising the back of my mouth with my right hand or doing a less than adequate job with my left. I’m will sacrifice myself for others and save them from stinky breath. You don’t have to thank me; consider it a public service.
The last problem I’ve been having this past week is utter recklessness with my chewing skills. I bit the right, inner side of my lip this past weekend, and it’s become a bit of a problem. I bit it on Sunday. I bit it again later on Sunday and drew blood. I bit it this morning and drew blood. So far today, I’ve bit it 5 times and counting. I was eating at Subway tonight and I bit it TWICE while I was eating my sandwich!
Interesting side note: I usually order the same thing at Subway. 12 inch white with ham and cheese. I’ve gotten into this nice, gluttonous acceptance of my tubby reality where I order extra mayonnaise. Usually, they put two lines of mayo on my sandwich, and lately, I’ve been asking for two more lines. I like Subway mayo; it tastes better than my house mayo. Today, the girl let me have it. She put 6 lines on it. I was thinking that’s a lot. From the first bite to the last bite, I gagged every time. It was too much mayo. So you have to imagine, I’m gagging on this sandwich (don’t even suggest not eating it) and wiping blood from my mouth. Sort of messed up.
I need to change my reckless/too hard ways. I’m destroying myself one bruise, torn tendon, poked eye and gnarled piece of lip at a time. What’s next clipping my toenails too far so they bleed… more often? Breaking one more toe running into a wall… more often? It just needs to end.
The bigger brushing problem I have is doing it too hard. It is an all too common occurrence for me to wake up and think to myself, hmmm, the back of my gums hurt. I basically pound the back of my mouth with the tip of my brush. Does this happen to anyone else? Am I just too aggressive for this activity? I think I am. Sometimes I take out my contacts with so much gusto that I poke my eye. You’d think that after 17 years of wearing contacts that I’d have mastered this. Nope, not me.
Another big problem I’m having right now is with my left forearm. I think I have tendinitis in it. I have trouble lifting the heavy pan out of the cupboard sometimes. I have to use both hands to pull it out. I was carrying my grade book the other day and it slowly slipped from my fingers because my forearm hurt too much. “Have you been lifting too much weight?” you might ask, or “Do you have an old football injury?” No, I played 2 years of middle school football, and I doubt the residual effects of those strenuous years are coming back to haunt me now. My arm hurts from playing and sucking at golf. I swing too hard ALL of the time, and because I suck, I slam the face of the club into the dirt 90% of the time. I played golf 3-4 times a week this summer; in that time, I shredded my forearm. My left arm exists for symmetry alone. It is completely useless. I can point to things on the fast food menu and push buttons on the remote with it. It’s all because I am reckless and do things too hard.
I know what you’re thinking: one problem might solve the other problem. I’ve tried my weak left arm, and it isn’t strong enough to brush my teeth. I’m stuck with either bruising the back of my mouth with my right hand or doing a less than adequate job with my left. I’m will sacrifice myself for others and save them from stinky breath. You don’t have to thank me; consider it a public service.
The last problem I’ve been having this past week is utter recklessness with my chewing skills. I bit the right, inner side of my lip this past weekend, and it’s become a bit of a problem. I bit it on Sunday. I bit it again later on Sunday and drew blood. I bit it this morning and drew blood. So far today, I’ve bit it 5 times and counting. I was eating at Subway tonight and I bit it TWICE while I was eating my sandwich!
Interesting side note: I usually order the same thing at Subway. 12 inch white with ham and cheese. I’ve gotten into this nice, gluttonous acceptance of my tubby reality where I order extra mayonnaise. Usually, they put two lines of mayo on my sandwich, and lately, I’ve been asking for two more lines. I like Subway mayo; it tastes better than my house mayo. Today, the girl let me have it. She put 6 lines on it. I was thinking that’s a lot. From the first bite to the last bite, I gagged every time. It was too much mayo. So you have to imagine, I’m gagging on this sandwich (don’t even suggest not eating it) and wiping blood from my mouth. Sort of messed up.
I need to change my reckless/too hard ways. I’m destroying myself one bruise, torn tendon, poked eye and gnarled piece of lip at a time. What’s next clipping my toenails too far so they bleed… more often? Breaking one more toe running into a wall… more often? It just needs to end.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Austin, TX - Part II
I never take pictures when I go places. I have an iPhone and 90% of the pictures I’ve taken with it are of my dogs. I have pictures of them posed in oh so many cute ways. Here is one with Earl wearing a babushka. He looks like a Russian peasant woman just in from tilling the soil.
The temperature in Austin was great – 89 degrees and not a touch of humidity. If anyone ever reads this that doesn’t live in Texas, you’d probably think, is this guy crazy? 89 degrees is hot! Well, Houston is 90 degrees with 200% humidity. This is not hyperbole; it’s so humid that needles on a pine tree even get frizzy. Girls, you know what’s up! Here is a shot of Austin from my hotel. It’s just of I-35. It’s where my hotel was facing, but I’m sure you can tell it’s a nice day. Also, Austin’s terrain is pretty hilly. I must have found the one flat angle.
Later that night, we went to Trudy’s. They have these things called Mexican Martini’s there. They are very tasty, but the waiting staff will only serve you two of them. I asked the waitress what was in them, but she wouldn’t tell me. I told her I have allergic reactions to certain types of alcohol, and she told me everyone does. Touché, waitress. Here is a picture of the Trudy’s sign. Pretty fancy. Notice the bicycles, Houston; they bike to places.
The night progressed and, eventually, we made it back to our hotel. While we waited for some of our friends to get back, a delightful artist/bum asked if he could draw a picture of us. We paid him $5 and this is what we got:
It actually looks like all of us. I was pretty impressed though I was a little concerned because the paper he used was covered in these brown smudges. Brown smudges automatically conjure up images of you-know-what, and the fact that this was coming from a bum made me even more suspicious. I have a friend who said he saw a bum using a McDonald’s cup as a restroom once. Would it be so weird that a bum’s paper could have multifaceted purposes? Oh well.
That is the end of my Austin story for this time. My wife and I are going to Austin City Limits in a few weeks so maybe there will be more to come.
The temperature in Austin was great – 89 degrees and not a touch of humidity. If anyone ever reads this that doesn’t live in Texas, you’d probably think, is this guy crazy? 89 degrees is hot! Well, Houston is 90 degrees with 200% humidity. This is not hyperbole; it’s so humid that needles on a pine tree even get frizzy. Girls, you know what’s up! Here is a shot of Austin from my hotel. It’s just of I-35. It’s where my hotel was facing, but I’m sure you can tell it’s a nice day. Also, Austin’s terrain is pretty hilly. I must have found the one flat angle.
Later that night, we went to Trudy’s. They have these things called Mexican Martini’s there. They are very tasty, but the waiting staff will only serve you two of them. I asked the waitress what was in them, but she wouldn’t tell me. I told her I have allergic reactions to certain types of alcohol, and she told me everyone does. Touché, waitress. Here is a picture of the Trudy’s sign. Pretty fancy. Notice the bicycles, Houston; they bike to places.
The night progressed and, eventually, we made it back to our hotel. While we waited for some of our friends to get back, a delightful artist/bum asked if he could draw a picture of us. We paid him $5 and this is what we got:
It actually looks like all of us. I was pretty impressed though I was a little concerned because the paper he used was covered in these brown smudges. Brown smudges automatically conjure up images of you-know-what, and the fact that this was coming from a bum made me even more suspicious. I have a friend who said he saw a bum using a McDonald’s cup as a restroom once. Would it be so weird that a bum’s paper could have multifaceted purposes? Oh well.
That is the end of my Austin story for this time. My wife and I are going to Austin City Limits in a few weeks so maybe there will be more to come.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Austin -wrote this on my iPhone. Errors probably rampant
I'm in Austin this weekend and being here reaffirms the idea that it's my Mecca. I don't want to live here because the city's magical nature would diminish. It's like if I got to ride a flying unicorn to work everyday, it wouldn't be as cool eventually. It would end up being too much work because I'd have to brush it's hair and shine it's horn. Unicorn maintenance is just a tough endeavor; I'm sure I don't have to tell you.
Austin has this magical atmosphere that's filled with drag rats and weirdos. Everyone should live here for a while and then the world would be a better place. Austin fosters acceptance. My opinions of people who are different from me changed completely after living here for 4 years. I'm a better person for living here. I imagine if I lived in College Station during my college years, I would have passed the time shopping for anti-University of Texas items online (anti-UT stickers, coolers, spatulas, caulking gun, couches, etc.) and adding to my Rush Limbaugh shrine. Note: I'm aware of the irony of saying that I'm super accepting and then dissing A&M. It's stereotyping, not dissing! Seriously, A&M is a fine place and their Arian community produces lots of good people.
Back to Austin, one of the things I love here is the restaurant selection. Im sure you could have guessed I would write that. You're probably surprised I didn't specify and say, buffets. Anyways, there are way more mom and pop type of places here. We went to Kirby Lane yesterday and we're going to Stubb's tonight. If you haven't lived here then you don't know what I'm talking about. That's the way it should be! Unique places? What a novel idea! Also, you can walk around here. In Houston, we're like the fat people in Wall-E. The number of fatties using Rascals at the grocery store to buy more cheesecake disturbs me.
I know Austin isn't perfect. I'm getting old and college kids bother me. But, it's nice to come here and pretend it's perfect.
Austin has this magical atmosphere that's filled with drag rats and weirdos. Everyone should live here for a while and then the world would be a better place. Austin fosters acceptance. My opinions of people who are different from me changed completely after living here for 4 years. I'm a better person for living here. I imagine if I lived in College Station during my college years, I would have passed the time shopping for anti-University of Texas items online (anti-UT stickers, coolers, spatulas, caulking gun, couches, etc.) and adding to my Rush Limbaugh shrine. Note: I'm aware of the irony of saying that I'm super accepting and then dissing A&M. It's stereotyping, not dissing! Seriously, A&M is a fine place and their Arian community produces lots of good people.
Back to Austin, one of the things I love here is the restaurant selection. Im sure you could have guessed I would write that. You're probably surprised I didn't specify and say, buffets. Anyways, there are way more mom and pop type of places here. We went to Kirby Lane yesterday and we're going to Stubb's tonight. If you haven't lived here then you don't know what I'm talking about. That's the way it should be! Unique places? What a novel idea! Also, you can walk around here. In Houston, we're like the fat people in Wall-E. The number of fatties using Rascals at the grocery store to buy more cheesecake disturbs me.
I know Austin isn't perfect. I'm getting old and college kids bother me. But, it's nice to come here and pretend it's perfect.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Weight Control Problem (Part 1)
My wife and I went out to eat the other night, and it was a somewhat big deal because it had been a while since we went somewhere other than Freebirds or Olive Garden. My wife thinks OG is money because they split entrees in half for you. I don’t like that though. We ended up going to Texas Land and Cattle, which is a Chinese food place – no, just kidding; it’s a steak place. It was a nice, low-key night. We talked; we ate; we laughed.
We were going to go to the movies afterwards, but we both decided that we ate too much and going home was the best option. On the way home, we decided to stop by the HEB to get a dessert. The HEB by our house is more like a small village than a grocery store. We went to the “bakery side of town” and perused the delectables. I was in the mood for cheesecake and she was in the mood for brownies or something.
Here is the dilemma that came up: I was set on getting a slice of cheesecake with strawberry filling on top, but they only had plain cheesecake slices. The kind with strawberry filling only came in whole cake form. The solution came quite easily to me: get the big pie. I pleaded my case to my wife. I explained how I wanted the strawberry filling and it tasted soooo much better. I yawned as I showed her the boring, old plain slices. We even talked to the lady behind the counter and asked for a slice with strawberry. No resolution. So the two original options remained.
My wife expressed doubts that I would eat the whole thing, but I assured her that I WOULD eat it. I could even eat it all that night! It never occurred to me until today that she wasn’t worried that I wouldn’t eat the whole thing. She knew I would eat the whole thing, and that was the problem.
I relented and bought the slice and, like a two year old, held the ruling against her. In hindsight though, I can say with my head held high, “I did not eat a whole pie last week!”
We were going to go to the movies afterwards, but we both decided that we ate too much and going home was the best option. On the way home, we decided to stop by the HEB to get a dessert. The HEB by our house is more like a small village than a grocery store. We went to the “bakery side of town” and perused the delectables. I was in the mood for cheesecake and she was in the mood for brownies or something.
Here is the dilemma that came up: I was set on getting a slice of cheesecake with strawberry filling on top, but they only had plain cheesecake slices. The kind with strawberry filling only came in whole cake form. The solution came quite easily to me: get the big pie. I pleaded my case to my wife. I explained how I wanted the strawberry filling and it tasted soooo much better. I yawned as I showed her the boring, old plain slices. We even talked to the lady behind the counter and asked for a slice with strawberry. No resolution. So the two original options remained.
My wife expressed doubts that I would eat the whole thing, but I assured her that I WOULD eat it. I could even eat it all that night! It never occurred to me until today that she wasn’t worried that I wouldn’t eat the whole thing. She knew I would eat the whole thing, and that was the problem.
I relented and bought the slice and, like a two year old, held the ruling against her. In hindsight though, I can say with my head held high, “I did not eat a whole pie last week!”
Sunday, September 5, 2010
It Must Suck to be a Teen
It must suck to be a teenager growing up right now. Well, in terms of the music that is available to them these days, it must suck to be a teenager growing up right now. I’m going to sound like an old man here but music that is being produced right now is horrible. Get off my lawn, too!
The one and single greatest advantage this generation has is access. Downloading music makes accessibility so much easier. When I was a kid, we would have to go to Sam Goody and hope the new CD you were buying had at least 3 good songs. Kids now can listen to their music ahead of time and decide if buying that particular CD is a purchase they want to make. I know you know this; bare with me.
Most teenagers listen to what’s popular in their time. Most teenagers don’t go back and listen to classic rock or rap or whatever, and if they do, it’s to give of the appearance of being wiser than their peers. Like, oh, you’re still listening too Avenged Sevenfold? I’ve moved on pass that. I’m getting to the roots of it all. They’re just being pretentious, but they just know what that is yet. What in the world would a 16 year old care about what Bob Dylan had to say in the 70’s? I’m 30 and I don’t really care. Before I begin my stereotyping, let me say that there are a few kids here or there that legitimately listen to new, interesting bands and have good taste. They just have to work hard. We are in a bad place in terms of the Music Cycle.
Here’s a chart:
All other teenagers are listening to the worst music available to them. Seinfeld voice: what is the deal with all of the rappers with robot voices? Seriously, auto-tune might be one of the worst fads in music – ever. I blame Cher for this. I can imagine a bunch of rappers/R&B singers on their way to see Guys and Dolls listening to “Believe” and having the epiphany of a lifetime.
Radio stations are also to blame. The mainstream rock station here is playing songs from when I was in high school. Some of the songs they play are 16, 17, even 18 years old. That would be like a station in 1994 calling itself the source to get modern rock and jamming the Bee Gees. This might be a Houston problem, but I can imagine there are many other places like this. Just checked, they are playing Papa Roach right now. Geez, that’s embarrassing.
The actual “modern” rock played on the radio station is just pathetic and uncreative. I dare you to name one good rock band that isn’t an indie band. Go ahead. I bet you can’t think of any. It’s because there aren’t any. All you hear are bands with a lead singer doing his best Eddie Vedder impersonation (maybe with a little more rasp). They’re probably wearing all black, sporting a reverse mullet, and have nothing interesting to say or sing about.
If you’re a kid right now, you have the robot voice station, varying levels of dinosaur rock, and gruffy voiced guy trying to sound tough but not really willing to go into the metal arena. That’s a tad TOO tough. Are you depressed now high school kid? Your music is vapid and pointless. Maybe this will cause you to create better music so this part of the cycle can end.
I didn’t mention country music because there are no high points. Just all low points.
The one and single greatest advantage this generation has is access. Downloading music makes accessibility so much easier. When I was a kid, we would have to go to Sam Goody and hope the new CD you were buying had at least 3 good songs. Kids now can listen to their music ahead of time and decide if buying that particular CD is a purchase they want to make. I know you know this; bare with me.
Most teenagers listen to what’s popular in their time. Most teenagers don’t go back and listen to classic rock or rap or whatever, and if they do, it’s to give of the appearance of being wiser than their peers. Like, oh, you’re still listening too Avenged Sevenfold? I’ve moved on pass that. I’m getting to the roots of it all. They’re just being pretentious, but they just know what that is yet. What in the world would a 16 year old care about what Bob Dylan had to say in the 70’s? I’m 30 and I don’t really care. Before I begin my stereotyping, let me say that there are a few kids here or there that legitimately listen to new, interesting bands and have good taste. They just have to work hard. We are in a bad place in terms of the Music Cycle.
Here’s a chart:
All other teenagers are listening to the worst music available to them. Seinfeld voice: what is the deal with all of the rappers with robot voices? Seriously, auto-tune might be one of the worst fads in music – ever. I blame Cher for this. I can imagine a bunch of rappers/R&B singers on their way to see Guys and Dolls listening to “Believe” and having the epiphany of a lifetime.
Radio stations are also to blame. The mainstream rock station here is playing songs from when I was in high school. Some of the songs they play are 16, 17, even 18 years old. That would be like a station in 1994 calling itself the source to get modern rock and jamming the Bee Gees. This might be a Houston problem, but I can imagine there are many other places like this. Just checked, they are playing Papa Roach right now. Geez, that’s embarrassing.
The actual “modern” rock played on the radio station is just pathetic and uncreative. I dare you to name one good rock band that isn’t an indie band. Go ahead. I bet you can’t think of any. It’s because there aren’t any. All you hear are bands with a lead singer doing his best Eddie Vedder impersonation (maybe with a little more rasp). They’re probably wearing all black, sporting a reverse mullet, and have nothing interesting to say or sing about.
If you’re a kid right now, you have the robot voice station, varying levels of dinosaur rock, and gruffy voiced guy trying to sound tough but not really willing to go into the metal arena. That’s a tad TOO tough. Are you depressed now high school kid? Your music is vapid and pointless. Maybe this will cause you to create better music so this part of the cycle can end.
I didn’t mention country music because there are no high points. Just all low points.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
10 Blog Anniversary!!!
If you are reading this, please leave comments. You can say, it sucks, or it's poorly written or whatever. But, if you read a post say something! Say, Johnny, you could do better. Anything. You can become a follower if you have a gmail account. I NEED more followers!
Also, its about to have 100 hits! That means I've looked at it 99 times! Yeah!
Also, its about to have 100 hits! That means I've looked at it 99 times! Yeah!
Signs of Maturation
Me at age 24: Friend who is possibly still in college or not in the working world yet while I have a career-type job texts me at 11:30. The ding wakes me up and I think, oh you!
Me at age 30: Anyone sends a Words with Friends play to me at 10:01. I say, “What does this a-hole think I do? I’ve been in bed for 30 minutes already! Geez, people today.”
Sigh.
Me at age 30: Anyone sends a Words with Friends play to me at 10:01. I say, “What does this a-hole think I do? I’ve been in bed for 30 minutes already! Geez, people today.”
Sigh.
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