Ramblings Of A Caffeinated Mind 14.1

Upcoming Anniversary
July 31, 2008 will mark the 16th year of my arrival in Houston. The past 16 years have been eventful. There have been more ups than downs. Along the way I have been a ton of wonderful people and a handful of not so wonderful people.

I know today is the the 28th but I'm at that point in my life where if I don't write it down immediately, I forget. Old age? Hmmmm.

Anywho. Just wanted to thank everyone for 16 fun years in the Bayou City. Let's hope there are many more to come.

And somewhere in my boxes of memories (really, there are boxes stuffed with photos, etc.) is a photo of my friend Robb who drove the Ryder truck for me. I took a picture of this little white boi in a big yellow truck at a truck stop off of I-45. (Remember in Jumpin Jack Flash when Whoopi Goldberg is using the pay phone to call the cops and she says, "I'm a little black lady in a big silver box. You can't miss me.")

In case you missed...
Amy Winehouse as a scarecrow. To read the story, click here.

Kaye's Kommunique
The other night I arrived at Quadra (at Status) a bit late. The crowd was thinning out but I still had the opportunity to see a few folks.

Someone that I did not expect to meet was Toma(s) Tillo! Toma(s) Tillo is a long lost brother of Kaye Sedilla. Toma(s) and Kaye found each other earlier this year when she was doing her lounge act in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. He didn't know he had a sister, much less a sister who is an international star, but when he walked into the lounge at Hotel Casa Linda he knew they were related. You see...

Kaye and Toma(s) both have big red hair with dark roots. Toma(s) would not let me take a photo of him but let me just say the resemblance IS THERE and that is how I knew he must be related to Kaye Sedilla.

Although communication with clients at The Betty Ford Center is limited, Toma(s) Tillo was able to speak briefly with Kaye Sedilla...well, let's just say she thinks she is Sopa Pilla. Toma(s) said that until Kaye/Sopa gets over her amnesia they will not be able to deal with her other issues.

Kaye/Sopa thinks she is going to be there for a long, long, time. Her spirits are high, just like her hair. Liz and Liza both sent Kaye/Sopa a message of hope and that really lifted her spirits.

Kaye/Sopa can't remember much about what happened on July 20 but she is sure that she was fabulous and wants to thank everyone who showed up.

If I hear anything else from Toma(s) or Cha Lupe (Kaye's 1/2-sister from the wrong side of the tracks), I will let you know.

Heat Wave
It is hotter than Hades here in Houston. These temps are almost like the temps I lived with in Ft. Worth! OY! At least the humidity is low. And yes, I'm sweating.

Church
Yesterday was my first day to assist with Communion during the 5:00 p.m. at St. Anne's. As a child & teenager, I was an altar boy (acolyte) for many, many years. So this was almost second nature to me but I still got nervous. You see...

There are steps that lead up to the altar at St. Anne's and they are made of marble. The last thing I wanted to do was fall down and drop the chalice. It is standing room only at the 5:00 p.m. Mass and in this day of YouTube, I so didn't want to be featured on YouTube. When the wine is consecrated you just can't wipe it up and get on with your life, there is a ritual that needs to be performed. There is a reason for my fear. You see...

Many years ago I was at the 12:00 noon Mass at St. George's in Ft. Worth. I wanted to sing in the choir that day but they needed an altar boy and my mother insisted that I be the altar boy. So I go to the sacristy to get dressed and the cassock that I select has an unraveled hem. I'm running out of time so I put it on anyway.

Everything was fine until...

Communion was over and I had to clear the altar. I was almost finished and I pick up the chalice with the consecrated hosts. I needed to set it on a small side table that was was at the bottom of the steps (4 of them) I take a step and my foot gets caught in the hem of the cassock. I go flying forward and never step foot on any of the steps (btw...the steps and floor were covered in carpet).

I land on my knees. I am holding the chalice with my right hand and my left hand is covering the top of it and get this...it is upright and I didn't spill anything other than my pride. I so wanted to cry.

When Mass was over we processed down the center aisle and I felt like everyone was staring at me and laughing. My mother comes to the back of the church to get me and I was so embarrassed and mad. She says she doesn't know what is going on. I told her what happened and she said that she was sure nobody noticed because they were all singing and looking in their hymnals.

As we are leaving the church, an elderly gentleman walks up to me and says, "Good catch there!" I burst into tears.

A few months later we were at a restaurant and a lady walks up to us and is talking and then she looks at me and says, "Aren't you the boy who fell off of the altar?"

Hence my fear of falling down yesterday. It CAN happen.

About Last Night

Remember that movie? It starred Rob Lowe and Demi Moore. It was released in 1986. It's one of my favorites from the mid-80s.

What you may not know is that it was based on the play, Sexual Perversity in Chicago. It was renamed because they were afraid movie houses wouldn't put that title on the marquee.

Well, this post isn't about sexual perversity but it is about last night. OY! LOL

It all started innocently enough. I met up with The Fabulous Miss Jolie Shay at Cyclone Anaya's. We were going to have a drink. Well...

We were joined by AttyHou and Wilma Dog Rebecca. It congealed around 3:45p.m. or so. A few drinks. Trips down memory lane. Lots of laughter. Discussions about our parents.

Well, as I am so prone to doing, I made a new friend at the bar who proceeded to buy me cocktails. The other three had left the premises and I actually got a phone call around 7p asking if I was going to Quadra (the birthday party).

In the meantime, I ran into AlnHouston and Heights Ben. (They asked about Kaye Sedilla/Sopa Pilla...more on that tomorrow.)

Well next thing I know, my new friend is a bit over served. I so wanted to go home and shower, walk Calvin and get to Quadra but I was also concerned about my new friend (whose last name I don't know).

UGH! He wouldn't give me the keys to his car. He wouldn't let me drive him home. So I followed him home to make sure that nothing happened to him OR anyone else.

Now here comes the odd/funny part...

He pulls into the garage, gets out of the car, goes to the door and can't find his keys. WTF? LOL

I start going through his pockets, searching the garage floor, etc. The car is unlocked so I get in the driver's seat and the keys are not in the ignition. I'm very perplexed and he is falling asleep on the hood of the car. For whatever reason, they keys are on the floorboard of the passenger side.

I get him in the house and the last time I saw him he was passed out underneath the dining room table. (Been there. Done that in Calgary. I swear it was the altitude that did me in in Calgary.)

I ran home, walked Calvin who was going nuts, showered and made my way to Quadra at Status just in time to say goodbye to everybody! Oops.

Well, here I am all freshly showered with no place to go and someone told me that AttyHou and Everyday Italian were going to Meteor. So I figured if I found a parking spot I would pop in. I did and I did.

It was actually a good crowd and I saw some folks that I hadn't seen in awhile. They were all waiting for the underwear fashion show. Who knows what time it was going to start so I left and went to Jack-In-The-Box for my Monster Taco, Jumbo Jack with cheese (no tomato) and a large Diet Coke. I wolfed that meal down like there was no tomorrow and unfortunately my stomach is telling me today that it did NOT appreciate that late meal. Oops.

So to everyone that I didn't see last night...sorry about that. I did have a good conversation with Kaye Sedilla/Sopa Pilla's long lost brother. His name is Toma(s) Tillo. Yes, that is how he spells it. Will give you the details of that conversation later.

Stay cool everybody!