I didn't get a chance to write about last night with Hanna and she beat me to it so I am going to be lazy and just link her entry... I'll add that I had a really good time and of course, my gyro was dee-lish, as always! Thanks for coming over and keeping me and Ginger company.

posted at 2/28/2002 05:09:00 p. m.

In the last half hour I have paid a credit card bill (2 weeks early), written and sent a birthday card, ordered flowers, confirmed a home inspection appointment and made a pest inspection appointment – and it’s not even 10 AM. Yay! It feels good to get stuff out of the way and off the to-do list...

posted at 2/28/2002 09:49:00 a. m.

As a child I always liked what the poem said about Thursday's child...
I always thought it explained my love for travel!


What day are you?


(link thanks to Neurotic Fishbowl)

Hope you have a good Thursday...

posted at 2/28/2002 09:24:00 a. m.

I would not want to work for a company who would fire me over something I wrote in my blog. This poor women used to.

posted at 2/27/2002 04:34:00 p. m.

HOUSE UPDATE: Went for a 2nd viewing last night and had most of my questions answered by the homeowner. Also found out their bottom price and decided to bid at that level. A little more than we had hoped but still under the initial asking price. If only we had the listing agent, we would be able to move a little quicker but the homeowner is going to try to contact her herself. Worse comes to worse, the agent will be back on Monday (supposedly).

I am moving forward though and we will be putting a contract in tomorrow that will take the house off the market. I also have a home inspection set up for Sunday morning and an appointment with my mortgage broker Monday night to begin the underwriting of the loans. Today I spoke with him in preparation and got a “good-faith” estimate of the closing costs and monthly payment so Kenny and I can feel a little more comfortable that we will be within our range.

*Whew* This house-buying stuff ain’t easy! My head hurts already and I've only just begun...

posted at 2/27/2002 12:06:00 p. m.

Brr. This is chilly for Houston, especially after having 60° F days
for the past few days and it being almost March already…

posted at 2/27/2002 09:21:00 a. m.

Bored at work? Then try to Name That Man-Breast... I scored 8/10 and am considered "among the very breast"!

posted at 2/26/2002 11:31:00 a. m.

Seen on a plumbing store sign last night off of Montrose:
"Have you hugged your toilet today?"

posted at 2/26/2002 09:38:00 a. m.

I had an eventful weekend!! Sushi on Friday, house hunting on Saturday and plane flying Saturday night. I think my Saturday was definitely the best day though.

Had a great time flying with E.J. and his friend Marc, a commercial pilot. We flew in a small Cessna over Houston and were even allowed to fly around Downtown at only 1100 feet. What a beautiful sight. Flew right over the Williams Energy Tower at around the same level and got another spectacular view. E.J. did a great takeoff and flew us for part of the way home. Overall, great experience even if I wasn’t able to get many good shots due to the lack of light and constant motion. All of my shots came out like a bunch of blurred lights but at least in the picture to the right you can sort of identify two of the Downtown buildings.

In even more exciting news, Kenny and I found a house!!! We are going to put a contract on it and place a bid as soon as possible but unfortunately, the listing agent is unreachable at the moment due to a family emergency. It’s very frustrating because I have so many questions and Kenny and I want to move on this fast (in order to close by the end of March) but can’t. My poor agent has left the lady 13 messages in 2 days already and still hasn’t heard back. Ugh! She’ll have a house sold if she’d just get a hold of us!

Anyway, I am very thrilled but anxious as well and don’t want to jinx anything yet by giving out all the details. Once I know we are in I’ll post the listing with a photo gallery included. Suffice it to say that it is gorgeous. It’s only 5 years old and is a very “Kenny and Elaine” house with hardwoods and ceramic tile. Stay tuned for further details and cross your fingers that we are the only pending contract.

After the thrill of Saturday, Sunday was extremely lazy. I fell asleep on the couch after Kenny left to West Texas for the week (again, anticipated family health issues) and I was essentially a sloth but that’s OK. Now I am back at work and I need to get back to it so I can move files and folders over to the new office next door. Catch everyone later.

posted at 2/25/2002 01:41:00 p. m.

Cartoon legend Chuck Jones dies. May you rest in peace and thanks for giving us so many Bugs Bunny and Road Runner cartoons to watch Saturday morning while the parents slept in...

posted at 2/23/2002 12:57:00 p. m.

Finally saw Brotherhood of the Wolf (Le Pacte des Loups) last night and it was amazing. A combination of suspense, gore and love, the movie was able to throw in so many more elements: the Catholic Church, Native American Indians, French aristocracy, secret societies, hookers and amazing fight scenes mostly featuring the beautiful Mark Dacascos (better known as the lead in the TV series The Crow).

Anyway, the movie is a good watch and very well done with some beautiful artistically rendered scenes and great cinematography. It may not be out in the theaters much longer but rent it when you see it in the video store - if nothing else to see the handsomely tall and dark Mr. Dacascos in loin clothes and covered with a beautiful tribal tattoo. *sigh*

posted at 2/22/2002 09:59:00 a. m.

Wowie! You are Lumos! You're a lot of fun and pretty damn cool, and you do things your own way.
You may often be in a fantasy world, but that's just fine with you!
Most likely you're also a big Harry Potter fan (who isn't, right?).

posted at 2/21/2002 04:15:00 p. m.

For you Survivor: Africa fans, a little update on a CBS snafu that took place during the finale.

posted at 2/21/2002 02:52:00 p. m.

Wow! Watching the Olympics tonight was awesome! USA kicked some ass today! I was really moved watching the competition and seeing our athletes on the podium. Today was the best in this country's Winter Olympics history. Here were the highlights...

-- Six stitches and a silver medal later, 19-year old Ohno finally gets his gold!

We especially kicked butt in the newly re-introduced skeleton competition:
-- U.S. women take both gold and silver!
-- Shae wins gold for his Olympian Grandfather who was with him in spirit.

And this was yesterday but they went up on the podium and received their medals today:
-- U.S. duo wins inaugural women's bobsled competion - and history is made when one half of that duo becomes the 1st African-American to win a Winter Olympics gold medal!

Now I'm looking forward to see how Michelle Kwan does in the long program and how both the Women's and the Men's hockey teams fare...

posted at 2/21/2002 12:25:00 a. m.

These photographs are oddly disturbing and intriguing to me and I've decided that I do consider them art. They are extremely well done and each image raises a new set of questions. Having a sister who is an artist and being an amateur photographer myself, I am relatively open-minded when it comes to what we call "art" but at the same time, because I have a sister who is an artist, I am also critical of all the really lame attempts (how many times do we have to see the blank painting?)...

Anyway, I digress... To me, these images satisfy three of my criteria for being what I consider "good art" - 1) they are unique, 2) they are well executed and 3) they raise deeper questions for me than "What bullshit is this artist trying to make me believe I see?" I realize not everyone will agree and my tastes already lean towards photography and modern art but I am curious to know what the rest of you think.

SIDE NOTE: Speaking of photography, I actually dated someone who argued that photography was NOT art. He was an amateur multi-media artist himself but did not think photography was art because that which you were taking a picture of could not physically manipulated like other media like sculpture or painting can be. I argued with him till I was blue in the face that he was being ludicrous. A photographer manipulates his environment each time he composes the image in the lens and further manipulates it by adjusting the exposure of the film and later the print. This was before digital photography was so prevalent so I didn't even throw out that argument and the limitless opportunities in that field of photography. I wonder if his opinion has changed in the last few years since I last saw him?

(photography link thanks to Robert)

posted at 2/20/2002 01:05:00 p. m.

Dang. I'm still groggy this morning and I can't stop yawning. That cold medication sure did it's trick. It can stop now. No, really. I'm feeling much better now. *yawn*

posted at 2/20/2002 10:45:00 a. m.

Sorry for the MIA – my cough got worse so I rested yesterday. I didn’t get on the computer till later on in the evening and I wasn’t in a posting mood. Anyway, here is a quick recap of the weekend:

Usual Friday night with friends but this time we went Downtown for dinner and met up CJ & Susan at a new bar called the Twelve Spot. I loved the décor and it wasn’t too crowded yet since it’s relatively new. We’ll see how it fares with the rest of the competitive bar scene in Downtown.

Saturday was spent house-hunting. We didn’t find anything that wowed us but we started to get an idea of what is out there. We’ll continue the hunt this coming Saturday. Saturday evening was spent over at Robert’s with a group of friends. Robert, always a wonderful host, made a wonderful gumbo and afterwards we all watched Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead – a clever, alternate look at some minor characters’ that show up in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Very witty and even though I’ve seen in several times now, I still continue to find new things!

Throughout the weekend I had already been getting sicker so Sunday I stayed home… laundry was done, a bit of apartment clean-up was accomplished, a DVD was watched. It was just a nice, lazy Sunday. Monday was also another lazy day since I still wasn’t any better – this dang cough was just getting worse. I only left the house to meet up with friends for lunch and then straight went home for a nap. I did get some stuff done around the house but in general, I tried to care of myself. I’m not completely out of the woods yet – my congestion is worse and my cough is still here, persistent and annoying - but I felt well enough to go to work today so here I am!

Speaking of work, I should get back to it! Later...

posted at 2/19/2002 10:17:00 a. m.

I am ERNIE.
Everyone loves to hang out with me. I am fun, friendly, and popular. I am a real crowd pleaser. I have probably been out on the town my share of times, yet I come home with the values that my mother taught me. Marriage and children are important to me, but only after I have fun. I should not let the people I please influence me to stray.

Which Sesame Street Character Are You?

(link thanks to Hanna)

posted at 2/18/2002 07:28:00 p. m.

Yes, I'm home today - we got the day off for Presidents' Day. I'll post more this evening but I need to go and try to rest. I am sick again! It seems whatever I had a week or two ago never went away completely. I started off with a cough Friday night and now I am congested yet again. The cough has gotten nastier too. Yuck. I hate being sick.

So, I'll catch everyone up later!

posted at 2/18/2002 02:38:00 p. m.

This is great!! (Boobka gets the credit for finding it but the creation is credited to Davezilla)!
This Old Weblog with Bob Villa

posted at 2/15/2002 10:37:00 a. m.

Hope everyone had a good evening. Kenny and I had to wait a little bit despite reservations but in the end, we had a good dinner at Americas. I was also happily surprised with another James Avery charm (a cute silver double heart), a small stuffed frog plush that said "I Love You" and a new desk chair (Kenny bought it on the whim)! I'm still getting used to it so we'll see if it's a keeper. Thanks honey!

posted at 2/15/2002 09:15:00 a. m.

To love someone deeply gives you strength.
Being loved by someone deeply gives you courage.
--Lao-Tzu

Happy V-Day everyone! I hope that we can look beyond all the commercialism and hype and remember that Valentine's isn't about chocolates and teddy bears and roses but actually is a day to honor the ones we love. In the spirit of things, may you take a moment to tell someone you care about, whether it is a sibling, a grandparent, a friend or a lover, that they are important to you today!

A little Valentine’s Day history: "Today is Valentine's Day, originally the Roman feast of Lupercalia, a fertility celebration. The holiday was Christianized in 270 A.D., and the date changed from February 15 to 14 to commemorate the martyred Saint Valentine. By the late Middle Ages, the modern tradition of exchanging declarations of love had evolved."

(quoted from The Writer’s Almanac)

posted at 2/14/2002 11:11:00 a. m.

Weblog awards are even being discussed down in Chile!

posted at 2/14/2002 10:04:00 a. m.

I learned a new word today...
jingoism: Extreme nationalism characterized especially by a belligerent foreign policy; chauvinistic patriotism.

(It came up in this article from last week that tells about the controversy behind the WTC flag being flown at the Olympic opening).

posted at 2/13/2002 05:38:00 p. m.

Show & Tell...
Hee, hee! My floaty pen order came and my "Shedevil" pen has a new home! It was such a unique design, I just had to get it!

Also, Robert was really nice and brought me back some awesome and unique Mardi Gras beads from New Orleans, just for me! Aren't the frogs cute?

posted at 2/13/2002 10:09:00 a. m.

On a whim I redesigned the H-Town Blogs site. Now it's no longer just a Blogger template!

posted at 2/13/2002 10:03:00 a. m.

I don't know but the thought of eating "Christian candy" does not appeal to me...

posted at 2/12/2002 06:15:00 p. m.

In the upcoming weeks my office will be moving in with our neighbors next door, the local office of our parent company (we are a subsidiary). We are doing so in order to cut on rent costs and because we really don't need the extra space (there are several empty spaces). So, yesterday I got to see my new desk and I was very happy to find out that I got a window desk finally. I also got a larger cubicle than most - my desk is the same size but since the building has a slight corner bend where my cubicle is, I get a foot or two more. Woo-hoo! The view is also now facing South towards the Galleria Shopping Center instead of North. Both views are great but it’s a nice change after 4 years. Downfalls are that we are near the break room, my computer screen now faces more people and we are all more crammed in together (it will be noisier) but what can I do? Anyway, once we get over there, I’ll take some pictures and share!

posted at 2/12/2002 11:34:00 a. m.

My CityScape submissions were finally posted! Yay! Thanks Jeremy!
-- Barcelona
-- San Antonio

(Hanna has some posted as well so look for them too!)

posted at 2/12/2002 10:26:00 a. m.

I'm officially a hooptygirl! *smooch*

posted at 2/11/2002 05:41:00 p. m.

My friend E.J. has waaaay too much time on his hands. He actually spent time last night making this image. BTW, that is my husband Kenny on the left (on Frank's body).

posted at 2/11/2002 02:58:00 p. m.

Car Battery Update: All is fixed. I went to Wal-Mart Friday afternoon and got a new battery free of charge since the old one was less than 2 years old - the length of the original warranty. Yay!

Weekend Update: Same old, same old. Sushi on Friday and drinks afterwards at Ashbury's. We had a good group with us including Christina, a new-comer that Kenny met at his pool league as well as Jeph, E.J.'s friend who recently joined us as well. I personally had a really good time talking to Hanna.

Saturday I took my Mom on some errands (her car is *still* broken) and then went out to the Rodeo BBQ with Bailey & Irene. We had a good time and ate some great BBQ over at the Falls County Go Texans tent. I even had fried mountain oysters for the 1st time - they were actually really yummy! Here you can see the four of us enjoying ourselves after a few Jell-O shots, double Crown & 7’s and a few beers...

Sunday was lazy - most of it was spent at home, watching The Curse of The Jade Scorpion (wacky movie starring Woody Allen and Helen Hunt) and organizing stuff around the house. In the evening I had to go out for a night of volunteering for Orchestra X.

Now I am back at work, not doing much work. I did manage to get some personal stuff done like pay some bills, take advantage of low rate balance transfer offer and even talk to a realtor. Now what is it they pay me to do here??

I will leave you guys with a parting shot: - Here is Kenny & me Saturday night - I think this is one of our best self-portraits!

posted at 2/11/2002 12:41:00 p. m.

The first H-Town Blogs Happy Hour last night was a success! I met some great new people, enjoyed the conversations and finally have some faces to put behind the words. Hanna took more pictures so please head on over to her photo album and see the rest of them. Thanks everyone for coming out! See you at the next one!

Afterwards, Robert took me back to my car - I had left it at the garage at work and Hanna had just picked me up - only to find out I had a dead battery. Fortunately, Robert was still there and he took me back home. Armed with some jumper cables, Kenny then drove back with me and we were able to jump-start it and get the car back home. It kept enough charge over-night to start this morning (barely) so it looks like it's just the battery and not the alternater (whew). This afternoon's plans include a visit to Wal-Mart's auto center. Let's hope a $50 battery is all I need!!

posted at 2/08/2002 10:44:00 a. m.

I just wanted to promote this little site,
All Different , All Equal
and ask everyone who agrees with its message
to grab a button and add yourself to the list!

posted at 2/07/2002 01:25:00 a. m.

Need help in the bedroom? Hee, hee - this site always amuses me! (not really graphic but try not to have the boss behind you as you go through the site)...

posted at 2/07/2002 01:08:00 a. m.

Work day is over but I'm hanging out here in the office for a little bit before leaving for my book group meeting at 7 PM. Actually got some work done so I feel good - even though my head's been killing me all day. I guess it's what's left of my head cold. Ugh. I did reconcile some commission accounts with my Mexico City office, talked to some customers, cleaned out my in-box, gave the auditors some paperwork (they'll be here till the 22nd - yuck). Not too hard but now I'm up to date.

Speaking of auditors, we use Anderson (of the Enron fame) as our external auditors and it was really hard to resist making some jokes to one of the girls as she walked by the shredder that I was emptying... I stayed quiet though. She' actually a nice girl and is probably pretty tired of the jokes. It would have been funny though... hee, hee.

posted at 2/06/2002 06:22:00 p. m.

Already?? Survivor: Africa just ended and CBS is already introducing the 4th series... Survivor:Marquesas. Looks like an other island adventure!

posted at 2/06/2002 03:06:00 p. m.

Huh. Blogging becomes news-worthy:
BBC News: "I blog, therefore I am"
Time.com: "Pssst. Wanna See My Blog?"

posted at 2/05/2002 01:18:00 p. m.

Oops - I forgot to post my photo album from Mardi Gras this weekend! Here it is!

posted at 2/05/2002 01:05:00 p. m.

Hi everyone - I am back, although not back at 100% yet. Sorry for the hiatus but I just was too tired to sit at the PC for very long and compose an entry. I did have a good weekend with friends though. After the regularly scheduled pool & dinner on Friday night we had friends over for a couple of movies... Series 7: The Contenders was a shockingly good black satire. It definitely leaves you thinking how far some of those reality shows go and where they can end up going. Bubble Boy was a surprise as well in that it was actually pretty funny for what it is - a silly comedy not to be taken seriously. My favorite line: "Have you ever been karmically bitch-slapped by a six-armed Goddess? I'll take that as a no."

Saturday morning was lazy but we finally left the house to go to IKEA (Hanna had never been) and have some Chinese for lunch. Afterwards, Hanna, Robert and I parted ways with Kenny and went down to Galveston for some Mardi Gras celebrations with my friend Daniel. Thanks to Robert, Hanna & I got a lot of beads (without having to flash anyone)! We went out for a few drinks afterward with Daniel and his friends and then headed home before it got horribly late. I was already a bit sick and figured I probably wasn't helping myself by staying out too late.

Sunday I was feeling worse but I couldn't miss out on Cirque du Soleil's Dralion. Kenny and I had front row seats! Again, Robert and Hanna joined us and we had a wonderful time at this amazing show! Wow. What beautiful costumes and great music! The performers were equally amazing! At dinner afterwards though, I could feel I had a fever and that I was unfortunately still getting worse with this darned head cold! Ugh!

So, Monday I called in sick to work and stayed home all day watching TV and sleeping. That evening Kenny made a yummy dinner and together we watched Nurse Betty, a much darker comedy than we had expected. I still don't know what I think of it.

Anyway, I think that about catches you guys up! I now have to catch up on reading everyone else's blogs! Thanks everyone for thinking of me and asking about me - I am getting better but slower than I would like. Hopefully in another day I should be rid of this crud and I'll be back to my bouncy self! Till then...

posted at 2/05/2002 10:40:00 a. m.

I'm home sick today - I'll post in a little bit...

posted at 2/04/2002 12:44:00 p. m.

Take a look at Journalism Josh's wonderful political analysis on the possibility of new M&M colors being introduced.

Very funny, er... serious points are made. Don't be an ignorant voter. Read it and get the facts.

posted at 2/01/2002 12:03:00 p. m.

Ugh. I'm still feeling sick and the sore throat is still around. I'm going to have to cancel some plans I made today so I can force myself to stay in and get some rest.

Last night, on the way back from visiting Hanna out in Humble (Northeast Houston), I was gleefully thrilled to see the annoyingly fast and somewhat dangerous driver ahead of me get pulled over. Hee, hee! Serves him right - he flew past me at around 100 mph and never used indicator lights - he just zoomed around. Fortunately, there were hardly any cars out there so they weren't really necessary but he had pissed me off earlier back on Hwy. 59. I guess the cops are good for something...

posted at 2/01/2002 09:23:00 a. m.