Christmas

Cousins

My Fair Weather

Yesterday I went to the State Fair of Texas. The day started out really ugly. The morning was windy, cloudy and chilly. By noon though the sun was out and the rest of the day was history - we had perfect fair weather for the rest of the day.

I ate...a hamburger, some coke, a hot dog, some lemonade, some fudge, a crepe and a fried PB&J with banana. Yikes, I better get some good exercise this weekend.

I saw...Zombies dancing to Michael Jackson's Thriller, a juggling chef, some racing pigs, BMX stunt bikers, a really tall guy (not Big Tex, although I saw him too), Marilyn Monroe made out of butter, some strange arts and crafts, an 800 pound pig, and a lot of new cars, some nice, some ugly, some way too big, and others that were way too pricey.

I really enjoyed...the Crazy Mouse ride, the fried PB&J (surprising, huh?), the Card Stacking Man (does he get a lot of paper cuts?), the long-jumping dogs, the weather, and my date.

I was weirded-out by...the chair invention that wraps around your knees (the guy selling it said that he uses his for yoga and meditation), the strange-and-way-too-confusing end of time chart depicting the seven stages of the history of the world, the juggling chef's whistle, the fried coke, the Parade of Lights, and all the food on a stick.

The following foods were on a stick...sausage, cheesecake, fried potato slices, chocolate dipped strawberries, fried pickles and of course corn dogs and ice cream (those are classics).

I think...THE FAIR IS AWESOME! Where else can see luxury cars, racing pigs, butter sculptures, as-seen-on-TV inventions and a tacky parade all in one place?

True Story...

This past Saturday I went biking in Fort Worth and part of the trail was blocked off by a lion and a buffalo. The lion was standing up on his hind legs with a fierce look in his eye, like he wanted to attack and the buffalo was just standing there. They were really big and since they were blocking the trail we had to bike around them.

Innocent Fun

This weekend I went to see a belated fireworks show in Addison. As with any fireworks show it started off slow, gradually building up to the finale. And it was quite a finale. As the show climaxed and the fireworks went off in an overwhelming frenzy, I realized that fireworks make us act like little kids. Try to envision it: 6 adults representing 8 college degrees (so far) using words like "mitosis" and "Bunsen burner" in casual conversation. Then the finale comes and all of that disappears. All we could do was smile and laugh, and then cheer and clap like a bunch of little kids. It was great, innocent fun.

Summertime

This summer Chris and I bought season passes to Six Flags. I must admit that at first I was not a big fan of the idea. Besides the usual distaste for lines and heat, I was afraid I wouldn't use it enough to make it worthwhile. Okay, so maybe I know this girl who bought a season pass one summer with a couple of friends and then we never used them, I mean they never used them. But I reasoned that they never went because it was hard to find a time when all three of them wanted to go. With Chris I figured that since we spend such a large quantity of time together, we were bound to find the time to go. Going against everything past experience had taught me, I gave in to my reasoning and bought a pass...and I am so glad I did! Six Flags is great when 1) you have a season pass, and 2) you actually use the season pass. We go for a couple of hours, ride a few rides and then leave. We go in the late afternoon and evenings after it has cooled off and the crowds have disapated. Six Flags is no longer an all day event that leaves your head aching, your body dehydrated, your skin red and blistered and your feet on the verge of mutiny. Now I can go to Six Flags and leave when I get tired, hungry or when it's too crowded and not feel guilty for not getting the most out of my outrageous ticket price. It's great! This summer is shoring up to be a great one.

So I was going to end the blog there, but I couldn't resist adding a bit more after what just transpired. As I was typing that last sentence (the one in bold) I accidently typed a "w" at the beginning of shoring...he he he. Pretty funny. Just think if my summer was "whoring" up to be a great one...now that would put a totally different spin on this blog entry. Instead of six flags, I would have to write about...well, use your imagination. I have to keep this G

You Know You're a Redneck if...

...when you go to the big fire-work warehouse on the fourth of July, you actually hear a guy say, "I want that one; that big-ass one," as he points at the "big ass" fire works that he wants. I hope he didn't blow-up his big ass with those "big ass" fire works!

You Know You're a Redneck if...

...there's a bull loose in your neighborhood. Yesterday I was getting ready to go walking and just as I started down the driveway I was met by a sheriff. He promptly warned me that there was a bull running loose in the neighborhood. After telling him I didn't know anyone around me that owns a bull, I decided that a loose bull was all the more reason to go walking. I wanted to get out and gawk like the rest of the neighborhood. Sure enough, just as I rounded the corner I saw a group of people standing in the road, slowly backing up as this huge bull ran across the road, bucking his hind legs as he went. Apparently bulls do not like to be corralled by a sheriff's car and two men yelling and waving their arms. Add a group of gawkers and a barking dog, and let the circus ensue. The bull never did go into the gate that the men were trying so hard to direct him into, but he did run up and down the road and across lawns, the sheriff following him all the way in his car. As the sheriff plowed over people's lawns, he would yell, "Sorry," to those of us gathered to watch the show. It was amusing to watch him weave around the trees and flower boxes as he tried to herd the spooked animal. Eventually the sheriff got the bull cornered and the show was over, but that had to be one of the most interesting walks I've ever taken. Maybe you're not a redneck if there's a bull running loose in your neighborhood, but you're certainly not city folk.

NYC

Central Park

Chrysler Building

Planeterium

At the top of the Rock

Ellis Island

Restuarant from Seinfeld

Rockefeller Center

Central Park

Our Longest Date Yet

I know it has been a long time since I posted a blog. So much has happened that I don't know where to start. Let's see...term papers, no sleep, finals, no sleep, graduation, no sleep, graduation party....the list goes on. Graduation was great. The actual ceremony wasn't that exciting, although the guy who marched next to me made it a lot more interesting. The whole time he told me all about his boyfriend, their celebration and imminent move to Kansas and their Canadian wedding this summer. I hope you don't think I'm homophobic, it's just that I'm not used to people being so open about alternative life styles, especially to a stranger. In retrospect, that was all about to change.

To celebrate my graduation I decided to give myself a trip to New York City. I had actually been planning this trip since I got back from Europe last summer. Having planned it so far in advance, I was naturally very excited about going. As graduation approached I found it a convenient answer to questions like, "what are you going to do after you graduate?" I know that when people ask that question they don't want to know what you're doing the week after graduation, but rather they want to know about your career plans and all that grown up stuff. At that time however, I hadn't figured all that out, so it was a convenient answer to say, "I'm going to New York City."

What to say about New York? I think the most intersting thing to do in New York is people watch. We found a great little hotel in Manhatten. It was small and in a residential area, and it was pretty reasonably priced. All the reviews we read were really great, so we were pretty excited about it. The reviews however, failed to note that the hotel was in the gay part of town. One of my hobbies is going to the book store and reading travel guides, and I always find it intersting that many travel books have a special section for "Gay Paris," or "Gay New York." I always thought, "how can gay traveling be different from straight traveling?" I now understand a little better. The neighborhood was great; it was quiet, there were a ton of restuarants and the subway was real close. But it was definantly the gay part of town...transvestites and everything. We also saw some interesting characters on the Subway. A few drunks, a lot of homeless people and one weirdo ranting on and on about innappropriate things. Chris and I observed that there are different kinds of beggars in New York. There are some that just sit on the sidewalk or on the subway holding out a cup. It is up to the passer-by to figure out that the extended arm is a request for money. There are others that sing for their money. They sing hymns or they make up their own catchy songs about being down-and-out, complete with harmony and different parts for different singers. After they sing their song, they go through the subway car asking for money. Then there are others that carry signs, only the signs are typed, laminated and have color pictures of the starving children at home. Ironically, we saw this same sign more than once...either that one person really gets around the city or the sign is just a ploy. Chris and I decided that they put so much work into the begging because it's their job...you can't expect them to get something for nothing. Of course, if they can put so much work into begging, it seems like they could put some of that energy into looking for a real job...but that's just my opinion. At first you do feel sorry for them, but after a while you get burned out and start to think it's all a scam.

The city is great. There are so many people, so much to do and so much walking. Among my favorites were the Brooklyn Bridge, Rockefeller Center and Battery Park. We both really enjoyed eating at the Tom's Restuarant, the restuarant from Seinfeld. The guy who works in there, Pete, was really funny. One night Chris and I were craving cereal. It was pretty late and we knew that Tom's restuarant would be open and served cereal, so we jumped and the Subway to satisfy our late night craving. Upon exiting the subway station, we went East instead of West, and knew that something was wrong when we noticed that we were surrounded by shady characters, liquor stores and what appeared to be low income housing. After walking a few blocks we turned around and headed the right direction. Once we got to Tom's Restuarant, we took out the map and realized that we had accidently wondered into Harlem...at midnight. But the cereal was really good. The Empire State Building was somewhat of a let down. It was so crowded. The observation deck is really small and they let people keep coming up, even when there isn't room for them. But the view were awesome, and almost worth the crowds. I would reccomend going up the Rockefeller tower instead. The observation deck is much larger and the walls are glass so you can really see everything. Chris was most exvited about going to the Guggenheim. It was desiged by one of his favorite architects, Frank Lloyd Wright for those of you who don't know, and the building is quite famous. He was bummed out the day we were going because it was raining. Oh yeah, it rained on us a few times. The first time it happened we were totally unprepared. By the time we got to the Subway station we were totally soaked. Anyways, it had rained the morning we went to the Guggenheim and Chris was disappointed because he wouldn't be able to take any pictures of the outside, but once we got there we realized that was the least of our worries. Not only was the outside of the building covered in scaffolding for renovations, but the majority of the inside was closed off for the installation of a new exhibit. Chris was so upset. I guess we'll have to go back sometime...

All in all, Chris and I were there for a week. When he dropped me off after we got home, he told me it was the longest date he'd ever been on. It was a fun date though, and I'm so glad we went.

Done with Undergrad!

My Mimi and I after the Graduation Ceremony.

The Zoo at the Zoo

As I progress further and further into the world of adulthood, I have learned to appreciate new things, one of these being the three-day weekend. What's better than a lengthened weekend and a shortened work week? Well, don't actually answer that because I know that there are plenty of things better than an extra day of vacation, like family, friends and the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness. But on a level of instant gratification a three-day weekend is pretty swell. This past weekend I took advantage of my extra day off and went to the zoo. I thought it was a great thing to do over a three-day weekend, and apparently so did the rest of the DFW metroplex because it was crowded. The crowds caused lines and the lines caused impatience and sometimes this impatience was expressed with a less-than-friendly demeanor. There were 7 of us that went to the zoo together. One of my friends arrived before the rest of us, so she got in line to get a ticket. The line was long, and she was pretty close to the front when the rest of us arrived so a couple of us jumped in line with her to buy tickets for the rest of the group. No harm done, right? Well, not according to the stroller-pushing couple in line behind us. As we got closer to the ticket window and started switching people in and out of line, the man behind us started making comments about having no manners, which made the rest of the wait pretty uncomfortable. We took the moral criticism like adults and got our tickets only to realize that we had 7 people and only 6 tickets. In the distraction of the few words that were exchanged back and forth between "us" and "them," Chris's brother panicked and bought only one ticket when he got to the window, forgetting that he was supposed to buy a ticket for someone else also. So we all ended up waiting while one person stood in line to get another ticket. I guess we got what we deserved. Other than our dramatic entrance everything at the zoo was pretty much how I remembered it; except for the dinosaurs. I dont recall ever seeing dinosaurs in a zoo. I suppose they are, or were, animals but I dont think that if they were still alive I would want to go somewhere to look at them locked up in cages. Anyone remember Jurassic Park? Dinosaurs and zoos do not go together, especially since theyre extinct. Do you know how to put an extinct animal in a zoo without making it a useum exhibit of pictures and bones? You find nice green places along the main walkways, build a replica of the dinosaur, give it a few moving parts and a motor, and add some speakers that emit scary dinosaur noises every now and then. I though it was weird to come to the zoo to see fake animals. Isnt that the opposite of what a zoo is supposed to be?

Streaker?

Did anyone watch the local news on ABC last night, at 10 pm? I wasn't really watching but I looked up when I heard one of those air horns going off during an on-the-scene report, and I swear I saw a naked guy running across the screen Actually, I saw was his backside, white butt and all, but he was obviously naked. The reporter stumbled a little bit and then they switched to a recorded piece. I was just wondering if anyone else caught that.

Current Annoyances

As all things seem to come in threes, here are my current annoyances, in no particular order. Please don't be offended or think that I am in an angry mood. I'm just letting out some steam.

1) My Cat: Not only does he think he is entitled to stay in the house, but he also thinks that my bed is actually his bed. And because it's his bed, it naturally follows that he is entitled to sleep in the middle, leaving no room for anyone else. In an attempt to reclaim my territory I have repeatedly locked him out, only to be subjected to his scratching and meowing throughout the night. When he's crafty enough to sneak into my room, he has managed destroy my property. Most recently, he clawed a hole in my new fish-net stockings while cat-napping on his bed, I mean my bed.

2) Natural Gas Rigs: The once-quite countryside has been invaded by an army of natural gas rigs. They are noisy, they are always running, and they are as bright as a stadium. Most unwelcome is the sound of semi-trucks gearing up and the high-pitched noise of bending metal. I am thankful that these unwelcome strangers in my neighborhood are only temporary.

3) Prepositions: Despite my conscious effort to quit ending sentences in prepositions, I can't stop asking things like "where did that come from," or "where is it at." This has got to be one of the worst rules in English grammar. Who really says, "From where did you get that?" It sounds so proper; too proper.

The Phantom of Pharts

Sunday Chris and I went to see The Phantom of the Opera at Music Hall in Fair Park. Around 5 in the afternoon I decided I wanted to wear a new shirt, and realized I needed some new shoes to go with it. This wouldn't have been a big deal except that we were supposed to leave my house at 6:30. So I rushed into town and did some Kamikaze shoe shopping...and found some really cute brown shoes. I guess women can shop like men, but only when they're under extreme pressure. Chris showed up to my house almost half an hour early, which would have been fine had I not made a last minute run to town. As it was though, I was downstairs ironing, wearing lounge pants and a bra when he knocked on the door; needless to say I had to get dressed faster than I expected. The evening was like a real date, which is something we really don't do that often anymore. If we're dressed up and going somewhere together, odds are we're probably going to church. Chris brought me a rose, he had cleaned his car and was all dressed up too; it was fun and it felt like some of our first dates. The show was really great. Even Chris liked it and he hates musicals. The staging, costumes, choreography, sets and special effects were really cool. And I really loved the seamless scene transitions. The replications of the Paris Opera house were cool too, and very authentic. All of the pyrotechnics were an added bonus, some of which really startled me. Our seats were at the very front of our section, so in front of us was a wide walkway. That was nice because we didn't have any big hair in front on us and we had plenty of room to stretch our legs. During the intermission/interval I was watching the people coming back to their seats when I noticed this one strange guy. He was a young guy, dressed real nice. He walked up the aisle, turned onto the walkway in front of our seats, paced back and forth for a couple of seconds and then went back down the aisle to where he came from. I was thinking to myself, "what is he doing?" Almost instantly Chris and I looked at each other and started laughing. This terrible body odor started moving across our row. The girls next to us started laughing and waving their playbill to fan the awful smell. Excuse my crude language, but that guy pulled a drive-by-farting. It was pretty funny, especially considering the environment.

All Washed Out

What a dreary weekend. It rained, and then it rained, and then it poured, and then it rained some more. The weather guy said we got more rain this weekend than we got in the last six months. I usaully don't trust weather men, however I figure they can't mess up when they're reporting what is currently happening or what has happened. I guess I'll beleive the weather man this time, but I'm still weary of his five-day forcast with a two-day bonus...there's just too much room for error when trying to predict a week into the future.

Trip to the Big Blue

Are you ready to hear about my exciting spring break excursion? This morning Fred, Ashley, Chris and I piled into the car and set in for a long drive...well, not that long. It's not like we drove to the coast or to Panama City or anything, but we did drive all the way to Ikea! Ikea...that gynormous blue building that was all the rage when it first opened. I know it's not the typical way for a college student to spend spring break, but I have a big trip to New York City coming up that is going to cost a lot. I have to make sacrifices now so that later I can really live it up. And besides, Ikea was pretty cool. It's huge and there is so much stuff inside. After the first two hours I was suffering from shopper's overload; too much stuff, not enough brain to remember it all. It's a great place for ideas or to just look around. I bought some blinds. Chris bought a chair, a table and a lamp. Speaking of lamps, they have a ton of them. They have table lamps, floor lamps, hanging lamps, and lamps that are mounted on the wall. They have paper lamps, plastic lamps, glass lamps, metal lamps, and all kinds of combinations. They have round lamps, square lamps, and every shape in between, including lamps with octopus arms. All in all, it was a good trip. I can't wait until I have a whole house to decorate.

My Bad Cat

My cat is really the spawn of satan...he is so mischievous. I don't like to let him in the house because he always gets on the kitchen counters, sleeps on the dinner table and likes to dig through the trash. Whenever I make him stay outside, he sits outside my bedroom window and tries to claw his way through the screen...thus the reason I no longer have a screen on the window. Last night it was so hot in my room that I cracked the window open to let in some cool air. Within in 10 minutes my cat was sitting on the window sill trying to squeeze through the little crack in the window. Of course his head was too big, but he kept turning it different directions trying to make it fit. Then he started sticking his paws through, knocking around the vase I had sitting on the window sill, trying to get my attention. I blame him for having to get up and close the window and sleep in a hot room last night. He's a bad cat.

Blonde Moments and More Inappropriate Things

Let me just preface this with the following: I consider myself to be an intelligent person. I generally do well in matters concerning my education, my personal integrity and my general well being. However, there are times when my mind slips into "blonde mode," which usually results in some degree of embarrassment.

That said, yesterday I went to the bank on my lunch break to set up my new checking account and order my new checks, blah, blah, blah. It took almost my entire lunch hour. I was left with only a few minutes to run into Arby's and get something that I could eat at the office. In an attempt to save time and energy, I decided to leave my purse in the car and take only my money and my keys inside with me. As the girl behind the counter asked me if my order was "for here or to go," I glanced down at my keys and instinctively replied "OH MY GOSH!" Of course the girl behind the counter didn't understand my response to her question, but I did. Upon glancing at my keys, I realized that I had taken my office keys into Arby's and had left my car keys (insert long pause) in the car. This was one of my blonde moments. I had locked my keys in the car. To make matters worse, my phone was in the car too. It sucked, especially because there was no spare key. I got a ride back to work and spent half hour calling locksmiths for the best deal. The locksmith I found was pretty reasonable, although a little shady. I guess you get what you pay for. The whole transaction, which took less than 5 minutes, had an under-the-counter feel to it. When the guy got out of the truck, the first thing that struck me was the abnormally large size of his arms and neck. I told Chris (my ride and knight in shining armor) that it looked like he was going to use sheer force to get the car open. But he turned out to be a pretty cool guy...he even showed us how to make our own slim- jim out of a bucket handle and how to use it to unlock car doors. That will surely come in handy if I ever decide to pursue a career in auto theft.

On a less embarrassing note, my normally uneventful and mundane sophomore literature class had some drama today. Seriously, this professor reminds me of Bob Ross sometimes. Anyhoo, This one guy who hasn't come to class since the first week of school showed up today. I guess he thinks that he can skip seven weeks of class, and an exam, and still get by. Whatever. The only reason I know that he stopped coming to class is because he is extremely annoying. He constantly interrupts the professor to make stupid remarks, even when the professor is visibly irritated with him. He has no sense of decency. Today, he showed up late and interrupted the professor as he entered the class room to make some stupid remark. He was carrying like ten different bags....so it was an interruption just getting to his seat. And then it started....his constant interruption. After only 3 or 4 minutes, the professor started scolding him. All similarities to Bob Ross disappeared, and he got down-right ugly. But this stupid guy, instead of just listening, started arguing with the professor. He actually told the professor that he didn't "like his attitude." The professor did not like this, and promptly asked him to leave. He left, but it took a few minutes to gather all his bags, and the whole time he was getting his stuff together this student was cussing at the professor about how he doesn't have to take this and how he was going to see the dean right then. Then, to make himself look worse, this guy asked the professor what his name was...I guess you wouldn't know if you never went to class. Everyone in the room just sat there and silently stared at their desk-tops. To top it all off, this guy stood outside the door and gave the professor the finger through the window. I have never seen anything like that happen in class. Try paying attention to a discussion on romantic poetry after an even like that...impossible.

My New ID and Other Inappropriate Things

Last week I had a new school ID made. All students have to get a new ID because when you get the new ID, the computer also assigns a new student ID number. It's all a part of the school trying to move away from using social security numbers. All of this is very boring and undeserving of mention in a blog, however it does explain why I went to the Mav Express office in the first place. So I went to get my new ID. My old ID was awful. I remember when I had it done. It was my first year at UTA and I made sure that I wore something cute and that my hair was fixed. Well, the ID machine wasn't working very well that day and my picture came out really light...seriously, I look like a ghost. You can't even tell what I'm wearing or that my hair was fixed, much less that I even have hair. It was a terrible let down at the time. The new ID experience was not much different from the first. I woke up early that morning, although not by choice this time; it was one of those really annoying nights where you wake up at four in the morning and can't go back to sleep. On the upside, this gave me plenty of time to actually do something with my hair other than a pony tail. I think I looked cute. Even the guy working in the office thought I looked cute, actually his exact words, spoken in an indian accent, were "you are very pretty." He was totally hitting on me the whole time I was in there. It took forever for my ID to print, mainly because it jammed up the machine. This made me question the "you are very pretty" remark and think more along the lines of "breaking the camera." At the time it seemed very ironic, however now it seems less so. But I got my new ID, and my picture looks much better...I look alive.

On a more interesting note, Saturday night Chris and I went to see a live performance of the Vagina Monologues with Ashley and Fred. :O What an adventure. Chris immediatley took note of the "liberal" audience, which was mainly female, although he was much more keen to sticking around when two lesbians kissed right in front of us. He also found amusement in wearig an "I love Vaginas" button on the crouch of his jeans. I didn't have any idea what the Vagina Monologues were going to be about, but after seeing it I would say that the title is very fitting. It's basically about the compelxity of the Vagina, which made me wonder if there could be a male-counterpart about the complexity of the penis? As for that, I have my own opinion but ultimately I would have to say that organ is out of my area of expertise. Anyhoo, the whole thing was pretty entertaining. It takes a special level of comfort to get up infront of a big group and talk so bluntly about vaginas. I on the other hand, couldn't help but blush as I explained it to my coworkers yesterday. And just for the record, I strongly dislike the words for male and female private parts that I used so freely in this blog. I would never say them to any of you out loud...if I did I would turn 10 different shades of red.

Being Goofy