Cookie! Cookie! Cookie!

It turns out that my suspicions were true; the cookie monster really was on crack all this time! SO funny. Thanks for the image Peyman!

Random thoughts - November 2005

I ask you all not to think I am a total weirdo, but I must make a few comments.

I was sitting at a bar with my good friend Rabeea the other day when she asked me how I liked Europe. Among many other things, I told her I thought Europe was cool because the electrical outlets were powered to 240 volts. Our US outlets are 115 volts. That means you get over twice the power from a European outlet. Imagine the possibilities. Water would boil in like 2 minutes, a 30 minute meal would take 14 minutes and 23 seconds. I was blown away. Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor would be in love. She laughed, but oh well. 240 volts is fucking awesome.

This weekend is the Big XII Championship. Texas plays a struggling Colorado team here in Houston at the magnificent Reliant Stadium. My good friend Eric is trucking in from Austin for the game, and it should be a good weekend. Texas should dismantle Colorado and head to Pasadena for the 2006 Rose Bowl. I will travel to southern California with Eric, Logan, and Eric's father for that game, which promises to be unforgettable, regardless of the outcome. But I know we will win because USC has a shitty defense. My only concern is covering Dwayne Jarrett. Cedric Griffin got lit up last year covering Braylon Edwards. Hopefully our coaches will come up with a game plan to slow Jarrett down.

Finally, for those of you who were wondering, I am still drinking grape juice, as opposed to grape drink, because, as Dave Chapelle eloquently says about grape drink, "aint't no vitamins in that shit..." And yes, Fade to Pink, I still want some apple drink...it's green!

Europe Trip

This is gonna be real short. A few weeks ago I went to Europe. I had not been off the continent of North America in my entire left, so this was cool. I went to the cities of London and Paris. Both were a damn good time. Although, just as I thought, there is no blue sky in Europe. At all. It's just like New York. But I liked the money. Great Britain has coins for currency and the paper notes start at £5 (approx $10). I think that is fucking awesome. The same goes for euros. There are coins for up to €2 (approx $3.50). For those of you who have never been, London is expensive as hell, but a good time. And they say stuff like "fantasically gay wizard" to describe an enjoyable experience (good party, dinner, etc) someone has. And everyone laughed when I said I was from Sugarland. But they love that I'm from Texas. And I think I managed to convince James's friend Abby that I rode a horse 30 miles to the airport and parked him in a barn.

One final thought, this time about Paris. Paris is a very nice city with some odd shit. First, they have these glorified go-karts called "smart cars" which I recently learned are made by Mercedes-Benz. You can see one in my Europe pictures. I definitely see the need, as parking space is limited (as is the case in most European cities I think), but I can't see how you could fit a ton of groceries in that thing. Second, French wine is fucking delicious, it is served in moderate portions in restaurants (roughly 75cl, or centiliters), and is really cheap. I'm trying to find it here in the US.

At the end, I was happy to get back to the good ole USA. I'm just about done with grad school applications, which makes me happy.

It's a Celebration, Bitches!

I'm four weeks late on this, but it's better late than never. So here goes...

Halloween is always the time for us adults to pretend to be someone we're not, and somehow it's fun. Anyway, I had the privilege to attend my good friends William's and his brother Wryan's halloween party. William and Wryan are two good friends I have from back in New Orleans. I've known William basically since I was born. Literally. Like I met the doctor who delivered me, then my parents, then my brother, then William. Like many others, he and some friends have relocated to Houston in the wake of the Hurricane Katrina disaster.

The party was a good deal of fun; tons of food (some good-ass meatballs), lots of drinks, and good company. I, in typical halloween style, didn't put much energy into my costume, so I threw on my "Vote for Pedro" t-shirt and pretended to be Pedro's campaign manager (please don't laugh). William and Wryan dressed in garb resembling the characters from the 1995 movie thriller Dead Presidents.

On the way, the two stopped to get ice from a local convenience store (mind you, they were dressed up, as it was Halloween night). They grab two bags, then go to check out. The clerk looks at them and asks if the two bags is all they need. William jokingly says "yea, two bags of ice and, umm...everything in the register." The clerk shit his pants. They started chuckling, paid for the ice and left. I would have loved to see that. That shit is funny.

Anyway, it was an awesome time and can't wait till the next get-together.

The Crew - LG

This one is dedicated to the Crew, the two fine young gentlemen that bought my freedom with their sweat and understanding.

Several weeks ago, I made the trip to Austin to see Texas slug Tech while rubbing it in my red raider brother's face. The weekend was great. One more weekend partying it up in the A,TX. Saturday night after the game I received a text from someone on my short list. These simple words would cause me grief for the following week. "Hope you've had a great day today" BLASPHEMY!! The first thing three things that came to my mind as a reply were not the sort to be repeated, so I tried to move on. Sure, don't let it bother me. I tried. Brainwaves still not fully functional at this time, and that was d-day. Key Word: WAS.

Two weeks later on Friday morning, I received a little instant message that says 'morning'. Just 'morning' but thats not the point. The point is who sent me this message. Guess. Instantly I signed off, I dont need this. Last time I got a message, I spent a week with a twister in my head. Five minutes later, I knew it was time. Since July, I have had no desire to see nor speak to this vile creature that would do me this way. Therefore, the table and chairs my parents gave me were still adorning Stacie's apartment. The time is here. I must cut those last strings keeping me connected.

After finally getting a time fixed when I could retrieve my table, I had to find a truck on short, short notice. Michael Gutierrez was more than willing to take some time away from his wife to lend me a hand on 3 hours notice. My other partner would be Jeremy Robertson, a long-time friend and cross country foe. (For privacy reasons I'm not going to say a whole lot about the difficulties I had getting a time when I could go over to her place or my opinions on her specifically through this recount of the proceedings.) As soon as the door opened, we were all business. "hello" walk straight for a chair and out to the truck. The Crew followed taking all four chairs down from the 3rd floor apartment. Upon returning to the apartment, we went straight for the table. Now, I would have carried the table. I promise you. I would have carried the table. But, Michael and Worm were gracious enough to do the heavy lifting for me. With the table on the breezeway, I turned, for what I hope is the last time, to the one who had my heart for so long. As she sat on the sofa and motioned good-bye, I told her what I had to say. I have all my pieces, there is no more reason for you to contact me, messege me, text me. This is it. Of course she thinks not replying to me while I seek to grab my table is what I mean. I reminded her of the two 'contacts' mentioned above and turned to walk. As my feet hit the breezeway, both locks turned behind me, thus closing the book on that chapter of my life. Regrets? .... I dont live to regret.

As for my blog, this is the last post on the subject. I've enjoyed taking the time to write out my thoughts and have learned from these expressions, but now its time for me to set aside these thoughts. I've decided that the remaining ill effects of this experience are not noteworthy as things just seem to repeat and I feel that the usefulness of this has run its course. That said, I'll have to figure out what else to write about.

...and don't you know / its a beautiful new day. (hint: E.L.O! I'll be suprised if someone not in my immediate circle knows this one.)