T 'n T (This and That for June 8, 2008)

UPDATE: OK. A few days ago, I posted this. I probably won't know anything until sometime this week. I don't want to tell you what is going on (it's not a health issue so don't fret) because I am so afraid of jinxing myself. I even picked up a penny tonight in the church parking lot. Just keep good vibes coming my way. Thanx.

Heights Fun Run: Yesterday was an anniversary of sorts. AttyHou and I did The Heights Fun Run. I told the story a few months ago about what we did 11 years ago prior to the run.

As expected, it was hot and humid. I did OK. My PR for a 5K is 23:58 and I did that back in 2000 or 2001. Trust me. I wasn't near 23:58 yesterday. I'm not as young and thin as I was back in 2000 & 2001.

I saw but didn't have a chance to speak to Running For Gold. I've never met him but I keep up with his running prowess. He was probably cooled off and in his car on his way home by the time I crossed the finish line all hot and sweaty.

I know it sounds like I was miserable but it was fun. It did make for a long day though. You see...
I had to get up early to take The Calvinator for his morning stroll prior to the run. After the run, I did a weight workout then it was time for Calvin's mid-day stroll at the park, then I went to AttyHou and Everyday Italian's to sit out by the pool. Then we went to a wonderful soiree at Joel & Arnold's in the 009.

I guess I got home around 1130p and then passed out on the couch. I woke up around 330a and went to bed.

Don't Get Around Much Anymore: Last night at the soiree, I spoke with several people that I haven't seen in a long time. There was a period of time in my life when I was out and about Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. Sometimes, I'd throw in a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday just for good measure. Don't forget those Sunday brunches at La Strada!

I'm not sure what happened. I know cigarette smoke started bothering me. I really didn't like coming home from being out and smelling like I had been in a bar even though I had been in a bar. Also, I started getting more involved in organizations and associations. Plus, there was a period when I was doing quite a bit of business travel so when I was in Houston, I wanted to just stay home.

During the period of me being out and about I did meet quite a few nice people and last night I saw several who said the same thing, "I don't go out much anymore." What none of us said: "We're old, bitter, jaded, cynical and alcohol sodden." LOL It was good to see some old familiar faces.

Show Dog (not Showgirls): Last week I took The Calvinator for his summer cut. He looks really cute with his lion coiffure. Well ever since then, people keep wanting to pet him or they smile at him ('cause I know it ain't me they're smiling at), etc.

Today we went for a 27 minute walk at Memorial Park and we were sitting in the jungle gym area cooling off. (The Tim-o-meter guesses it was in the low 90s.) One guy comes over and wants to pet Calvin. Then another guy comes over and asks, "What is his breed?" I replied, "He is a mix of Wheaten Terrier and something else." He says, "He looks like a show dog."

No one has ever given him THAT kind of compliment. It made my day. The comment was lost on Calvin.

Tagged: Idle Random Thoughts has tagged me. At least she didn't tag me for HNT (Half Naked Thursday) or Nude Vlog like some bloggers have done to each other! So here are my answers:

4 Jobs I've Held:
Waiter
Shoe salesperson
Bank teller
University Director of Admission

4 Movies I Could Watch Over and Over:
Young Frankenstein
Dick
Camp
Unzipped

4 Places I Have Lived:
Haltom City, TX
Fort Worth, TX
San Antonio, TX
Houston, TX

4 TV Shows I Like:
Top Chef
Amazing Race
Ugly Betty
Today Show

4 Things I Do Everyday:
Shower (usually more than once)
Walk Calvin
Go to Starbucks
Read blogs

4 Favorite Foods:
Mexican (from just about anywhere)
Annie Marie's homemade rum cake that my parents ship to me from Ft. Worth
cheese (cheddar, pepper jack, swiss, smoked gouda...just to name a few)
Jambalaya (made by me)

4 Places I'd Rather Be:
San Diego
Sydney
New Orleans
in a big house (not the big house) on a beach surrounded by friends and Calvin

Ramblings of A Caffeinated Mind 13.0

Hey. Did you notice? 13.0

Significance? This blog is a year old. Yes. 1 year old. Happy Birthday to Str8 Up With A Twist!

While Str8 Up With A Twist was on hiatus for a few days the milestone passed. (BTW...hiatus always makes me think of Hyannis which makes me think of the Kennedy's but more on them later.)

I would like to thank all of you who read this either on a daily basis or on an occasional basis. I didn't set a counter on it until August and then I accidentally deleted in November so I can only assume how many hits I have had.

I looked at what keywords have brought people to this site. This doesn't include those of you who have me booked marked or have used a link from a Comments section or from another blog. Here are some of the top keywords:

attyhou

str8up

erik barajas

ryan korsgard

mardi gras party at rich's

world aids day houston

get into the groove

santa speedo run 2007

last night

Interesting huh?

Spunk

My horoscope for Thursday, June 5 said:

Though you might be serious, you have spunk and resilience. Your sense of humor comes out when dealing with someone you care about deeply. A relationship could go from very serious to simply silly in a few hours.

It made me think of the Mary Tyler Moore show (I believe the first episode):

Lou Grant: You know what? You've got spunk.

Mary Richards: Well, yes...

Lou Grant: I hate spunk.

That always makes me laugh because she thought it was a compliment.

I used to get a daily horoscope sent to me but the service is no longer available. I would forward it to Friend Janet and we would try to figure who it was more applicable to. You see...

Our birthdays are just a few days apart. So we would try to figure it out. I mention this because one day in December of 2003 I received an e-mail that said, "blah, blah, blah and look in the mirror and congratulate yourself on how fabulous you are." It applied to both of us and that is by far the most fabulous horoscope I have ever received!

Flasher on Memorial Drive

I'm Not Fit To Run has been trying to acclimate to running in the heat. I used to be able to run in the heat but then I switched to becoming a morning runner and became accustomed to running in high humidity.

So. Being inspired by I'm Not Fit To Run, I decided to give it the old college try. Wednesday and Thursday I was at the park around 500ish/530ish and let me tell you bois and gurls, it was hot!

According to the Tim-o-meter (LOL I just thought of that), it had to be in the low to mid-90s on both days. And it was WINDY on both days. According to the Tim-0-meter, wind gusts had to be at least 20 m.p.h.

Well, I need to issue an apology to anyone who might have been driving on Memorial Drive. You see...

The wind was catching my running shorts and was causing them to fly every which way. So I'm sure you saw my butt and my kibbles and bit. I was doing my best Marilyn Monroe impression to try and keep them down but it wasn't working. Please don't call the cops. There was nothing I could do.

Quote of the day

Everyday I get an email from Runners World. It is called Daily Kick In The Butt. This morning when I opened the email it hit me right between the eyes.

"I think some of the most celebrated moments in human achievement should be those times when everything is going against a person and they are down in the dumps but they simply choose to get up. That's real greatness!" -Ryan Hall

This is Ryan Hall in Houston setting the U.S. record for 1/2 marathon.

Heights Fun Run

I have not done a 5K fun run in 2008 so tomorrow I will be in The Heights doing The Heights Fun Run.

Some of you may think that is an oxymoron: fun/run. It is a run and it is fun. The thing that I like about it is that it has the feel of a neighborhood party even if it starts at 730 a.m.

There is still time to sign up. For info, click here.

Hillary

I haven't given up on her yet. I still have my sign in the window.

I honestly wish things had worked out differently but it is what it is.

There are people out there who are not pleased that she didn't concede the other night. There are people out there who don't want her on the ticket with Obama.

I'm sure deals are being brokered that we won't know about for awhile and if you're naive enough to think that alliances and deal brokering only happen on Survivor, I've got some $4 bills I'd like to sell to you.

I am a bit perplexed as to why Caroline Kennedy is part of the search team. Don't get me wrong, I like Caroline. Being a quasi-conspiracy theorist, I have some thoughts about what has transpired and what is going to go down. Just remember something. Caroline's dad wasn't too thrilled about having LBJ on the ticket and LBJ was too thrilled about being on the ticket but they both knew it was a winning ticket. I'm just saying...

Clouds

The weather today is a bit odd. Still windy. Still hot. Dark clouds sometimes. Vice President Dick Cheney is in town. Coincidence? I'm just asking.

Hard Candy

For the past couple of weeks I have been sucking on Hard Candy and I think I'm addicted.

I can't stop listening to Give It 2 Me in the car or on the iPod nano. I think I've become one of those people that I despise...you know, they dance and sing at the gym and are oblivious to laughs and stares. THEN, the other morning I woke singing Incredible. And I find that every time I have to be somewhere, I start singing 4 Minutes (you know, like in four minutes I'm gonna save the world whenever I get to wherever I have to be?). WTF is wrong with me? LOL

Well, that sort of catches me up for the past few days. Catch up with you soon!