Hello

OK. Yes. I know. I've been a bit quiet. Not much to say about anything.

It's getting hotter here in H-town. It's so hot (how hot is it?), The Calvinator is cutting his walks short. Seriously. When he has had enough and is ready to turn around he just stops and digs in and won't move. It's sort of like trying to get a mule to budge.

I went running this morning a bit before 800a.m. and it was already in the low 80s. In fact, when we went for our morning stroll at 630a.m. it was already 83 degrees and the humidity was high. I'm one of those people who sweats like a whore in church (no comments please) and I just can't understand those lizard people who don't sweat.

This morning as I was finishing up my 5 mile jaunt at Memorial Park, I saw a familiar face...well, familiar from his blog. It was Active Runner. I had about 1/2 a mile to go and REALLY wanted to finish so I didn't stop to chat him up. I think I surprised him though.

So I showered and went and did some weights and worked up another sweat. And showered again.

Then later on I went to AttyHou and Everyday Italian's pool and was joined by Neighbor Michael. At this point the temperature was in the 90s. OY! I didn't last long because I was sweating like a whore at The Vatican. So yes, I showered...again.

I must ask. Is it normal to take three showers in one day? Am I bordering on OCD or am I OCD?

So that's what's on my mind tonight...well that and whole bunch of other stuff that you may or not may not be interested in, like:

1) I can't figure why gas is so high in Houston when the f_cking refineries are right down the road in Texas City, La Porte and Deer Park? I'm just saying.

2) Is it normal to have a job interview at 800a on Memorial Day? Is this some kind of test?

3) I finally had to look up the words to 4 Minutes and I still don't understand part of it and I'm laughing at myself for not incorrectly singing some of the lyrics. (Lyrics I don't understand: "Keep it up, keep it up, don't be a pri..")

4) I'm wondering if Candy Shop will be remixed?

5) I don't think Betty Suarez went to Tuscon (with Henry) or Rome (with Gio). If she was going to marry Henry, that would mean she has to leave Mode and there goes the whole show. Plus, she would want her family at the wedding. I think she is afraid of Gio because she knows she belongs with him. I think she went on a trip to Mexico to visit family and get her head together.

And while I'm on the subject of Ugly Betty, did anyone else LOL when Naomi Campbell pulled out her cell phone and everybody took cover? And poor Hilda. She gets a hunkalicious love interest only to find out he is still married.

6) Did anyone watch The Bachelorette? Deanna was in her own Candy Shop. My assumption is that they don't let the guys eat any food and then do a vodka drip so the alcohol can go directly into their bloodstream. And the guy who didn't get picked and was howling at the moon? Uh...LOL

I hope everyone is having a safe and fun holiday weekend!

Ramblings Of A Caffeinated Mind 10.0

WTF Saturday

I'm in a mood and I know, I know, I know...I shouldn't let things bother me but they do. Come on. The Cal Mobile has less than 17,000 miles on it and the transmission goes out? UGH. This morning I barely made it up the Shepherd bridge leaving RO on my way back to NoRO and then I had to coast down it, make a quick left, run a stop sign crossing Durham and get into NoRO. If I stepped on the gas it wouldn't go forward but I could put it in reverse and go 90m.p.h.

So being the creative thinker that I am, I backed into a parking lot, got the vehicle turned around and drove home in reverse...and didn't run over anybody. The dealership was open today so it got towed to the dealership.

I know. In the big scheme of things world peace doesn't depend upon my vehicle running. And other people are dealing with bigger issues but I really didn't need this to happen. So all I can say is WTF?

Trail Rides

As I mentioned yesterday, the Trail Ride came to town. Here are some photos of some them arriving in NoRO yesterday on their way to Memorial Park.

They spent the night there and then made their way to downtown for the parade this morning. Then they turned around and came back to Memorial Park and NoRO.

I went running this morning and all I could see up and down Memorial Drive was horse sh_t. And it smelled like horse sh_t.

When you see horse sh_t up and down Memorial Dr. and when you smell it in your 'hood...well, it must be rodeo time in Houston! Cowboy Up!

March 4

I'm getting anxious. The Republican and Democrat primaries are on Tuesday. My personal opinion is that it's too close to call for Hillary and Obama.

I'm hearing things about Obama that I don't like but I can't confirm all of what I'm hearing so I'm not going to put it out here yet! Although, Kenneth In The 212 was able to confirm something that I had long suspected.

This morning before my Cal Mobile problems, Ugly Betty (aka America Ferrera) spoke to me twice through the radio. She was reminding us Texas Latinos of our strong ties to the Clintons and to get out and vote.

Not only that, we have to vote twice on Tuesday. As Bill Clinton said the other day, "Texas is the only place that you can vote twice and not get in trouble." You see...we have this odd primary/caucus system where 1/3 of the delegates are awarded starting in the precinct caucus. So if you want to have a say in how the delegates are awarded you have to go back around 700p (and if you support Obama you can go back at 1000p LOL). Then you sign in and caucus with the Hillary supporters and I'm not sure what happens after that because I have never done this.

This is the first time that I can remember (and no I'm not going to say something like Michelle Obama about this is the first time I'm proud to be an American because well, that got HER in hot water) that I actually care about the caucus part of the voting. I think it is because it really matters this time and it matters enough to me to go back at 700p and sit there and see what this is all about.

Who knows, maybe by some strange fluke I'll end up at the big convention this summer? I'm sure I could come up with some outlandish costume that could get me on the national telly. Stranger things have happened. The reality is that the delegates that get to go and get drunk are long-time party die hards and all I have to say is you geaux! I'll be happy doing the precinct caucus thingy.

Back to Ugly Betty...

It's going to be VERY interesting to see what happens with the latino-hispanic-mexican-Bill or Billy or Mack or Buddy-vote because the youngsters are getting out and voting this time around and they're leaning toward Obama. So if you're a young latino-hispanic-mexican-Bill or Billy or Mack or Buddy, who gets your vote? I'm sure sus padres, y older hermanos y hermanas and sus abuelos will vote for Hillary. Will you divide la familia? Ay Dios mio!

A Bluetooth Alternative

I've never really cared for Bluetooth or similar devices. I think it is odd to see people talking without having a phone in their hand or a Madonna-esque Blonde Ambition headset. Then there was that episode of Ugly Betty when she was on her Bluetooth. "Betty Suarez. Betty Suarez. Betty Suarez."

However, after seeing this I may change my mind and get one. I ran across this ad on Towleroad and the commercial is quite funny. Good for them for having the cajones to do something funny Enjoy!

Ramblings Of A Caffeinated Mind 7.1

Sorry for not putting much out here the past few days. I'm still up to my eyeballs in something + everything else that I had planned.

Feel like there is quite a bit to say and not much time to say it. So here goes. In no particular order...

VOTE

If you live in the Houston area, you SHOULD know that there are some run-off elections happening today. You have until 700p to cast your vote.

(On My Soapbox) If you don't vote, you don't have the right to criticize and/or complain about elected officials and policies/ordinances, laws, etc. that get implemented.

My grandparents (maternal & paternal) were immigrants. My paternal grandfather took great pride in his right to vote. And I guess that is where I sorta get my civic duty attitude from. My parents also set the example for my and my siblings. Yes, at the age of 12 they had me walking the streets (double entendre intended) and knocking on doors working on a city council campaign.

You may think your vote doesn't count. Yes it does. Several elections have been decided by the narrowest of margins.

If the people of Venezuela had not exercised their right to vote, Hugo Chavez would have been able to be president as long as he wanted (not that he won't try something else to get his way).

So please, go vote. (Off Of My Soapbox)

Dalton DeHart & Montrose Counseling Center

The event on Thursday night was F-U-N! A good representation of the community all came out to honor Dalton.

What was even more enjoyable was looking through photo albums from a long time ago. He has been taking photos since BD (before digital). All I have to say is that the camera doesn't lie (unless you use PhotoShop).

Project Runway

Well Nina Garcia Fashion Director at Elle Magazine disappointed me and didnt' say "Hola!" :-( Ricky, Ricky, Ricky. Oh my. Once again, your outfit sucked. Good thing for you Chris's outfit was worse. And once again, there were some awful outfits.

Twice in the past week, I have run into Dentist Robert who is also a PR aficionado. We chatted again last night about PR. Knowing how things get edited we were trying to figure out what the real drama is in next week's episode.

Joe & Robert

I actually have a concept for a PR party. Just can't quite figure out how to pull it off and would anyone participate?

Top Chef Holiday Special
Did anybody catch Top Chef this week? It was good to see some of my favorite contestants and some of my not so favorites. Some of the dishes that were prepared were not aesthetically pleasing to my eye so I can imagine that they didn't taste too good.


Ugly Betty
I had to tape Ugly Betty on Thursday and watched it yesterday. I L-O-V-E-D it! The Betty White storyline was flawless! And Daniel was looking kinda hot in his paintball warrior outfit. As much as I like Henry, I think Gio would be good for Betty.

Running
Can't remember when I last posted anything about running. I will tell you that I got out there this morning and did 10 miles. I had to take a few walking breaks but I completed the 10 miles.

I can't believe it was 72 degrees Fahrenheit when I started. I thought it was December 8 and not May 8! OY! And the humidity was high too.

Saw Triathlete Lee. Once again, we complained about our aches and pains. It's hell getting old.

Holiday Parties
Parties are in full swing this time of year. (I'm not bragging) I'm actually losing track of some of the festivities. I have another one to go to tonight. Made two of them last night.

I'm very much a people person and enjoy seeing people and catching up. Many familiar faces but also many new faces.

Titanic
The last communique that I had from the Titanic is "MAN OVERBOARD!" and the deck chairs are being rearranged. The ship is still floating. It was a bit difficult to understand the communique because it sounded like the person was drowning.


Modern Day Bonnie & Clyde
Has anybody been keeping up with the Jocelyn Kirsh & Edward Anderton story? These are the folks who through identity theft traveled the world. CUTE couple! but oh dear. They'll be going away to the pokey for a long time. They look nice in their red swimsuits but I wonder how they look in black & white horizontal stripes?


A Charlie Brown Christmas
One of my all time favorite Christmas specials was on the other night: A Charlie Brown Christmas. This cartoon premiered in 1965.

From what I have read, it was said that it wasn't a viable show. The night it premiered, 50% of the available television sets in the U.S. were tuned in. It was also said that it would never fly because it was too religious (remember Linus quotes from Luke?). Uh...hmmm...isn't the word Christmas?


OK. That's about it for right now. Waiting for somebody to come and look at my old car.

tim mARTinez CARDS

http://timmartinezcards.blogspot.com

How the rest of the day played out

OK. The day got better even though I have a rash that has developed on my left middle finger. You might recall that this is the finger that I think I broke at a pool party back in June. I think I know what has caused this rash.

Anywho. I went to LeFittes for the 430p spin class and to my pleasant(?) surprise Connie was the instructor. There's something about her classes that I like(?). Within 10 minutes I was sweating and let's just say that I was quite wet when the 60 minutes was over.

Connie's move to America's Finest City has been delayed until after Christmas so we'll have her for a few more months.

AttyHou had some items that needed to be taken to Legacy's Resale Store so we loaded up The Cal Mobile and did the delivery. Time for a reminder: If you're cleaning out your closets, need to get rid of some furniture or household goods, give them to Legacy. If you need directions or hours of operation, let me know.

I got home in time to watch Ugly Betty. I thoroughly enjoyed tonight's episode. I have never seen Wicked (I've memorized the Original Cast Recording and have read about the musical) but I really like the way that they worked the storyline into the musical. I'm just wondering what will develop between Henry & Betty and what will happen with Marc and his bf(?). I was really hoping that Betty would tell off Daniel when he called her stupid and was upset about her lying to him. UH....bottle, kettle, cauldron?

My calves are twitching a bit so I guess I should down some Gatorade and eat a banana. And I have come to the conclusion (again) that running, spinning, workouts, etc. are good mood elevators.

Later.

There she is...

As mentioned in a previous post, in the olden days this would be the day that the new Miss America would be crowned. To refresh your memory, the pageant was started to keep tourist on the Atlantic City Boardwalk for a few days beyond the Labor Day holiday. The pageant originated on September 7, 1921 and was originally named the Atlantic City Pageant. In 1922, the name was changed to Miss America Pageant.

Like clockwork you could always count on Miss America being crowned close to my birthday…until they moved it to later in the month and then changed the month to January or February or something like that. Let’s get to the point of my rambling.

On September 9, 1961 there were two things happening. Hurricane Carla was pounding the Texas coast and the new Miss America was going to be crowned. Linda Jacklyn Loftis who was originally Miss Ft. Worth went on to become Miss Texas and was favored to win Miss America. My mother was having labor pains and wanted to see if Linda would be crowned as the new Miss America before she would leave for the hospital. As it turns out, Miss North Carolina (Maria Fletcher) was crowned that evening. Miss Texas was 3rd runner-up.

I have romanticized the story and tell people that I was almost born at home because of the Miss America Pageant. (I was actually born the next morning at 6:58A in a hospital.) And even though Ft. Worth (Haltom City) is nowhere near the Texas coast, I have romanticized it and said that the change in barometric pressure induced my mother’s labor pains.

Many times in my life I have pondered aloud, “No wonder I turned out the way that I am. What choice did I have? I was born during the weekend of a hurricane and the Miss America Pageant!”

For various reasons, I used to have an obsession with the Miss America Pageant. Texas always sent contenders to the pageant and usually they ended up in the Top 10. The first Miss Texas to be crowned Miss America was Jo-Carroll Dennison. She was Miss America 1942. So you can imagine the screaming that happened in my house the evening of September 11, 1970, when Phyllis George was crowned Miss America 1971!

I remember the headline on the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram the next morning was something similar to: By George, she did it!

And then 4 years later, Shirley Cothran did it again! And this is where the story gets good.

OK…so my sister and I sang in a choir at church. It was a small group; a folk choir. Because it consisted of guitars and voices we would practice at different homes ‘cause we really didn’t need to be in the church.

So one night we’re at the McMullin’s home. The McMullins were very active in the Miss Texas Pageant association/system/corporation/whatever and were chaperones. During our rehearsal Shirley Cothran, THE FORMER MISS AMERICA...I’ll repeat that…THE FORMER MISS AMERICA…comes walking into the living room and tells us that we sound really good. They never told us she was in the house!!!! I was stunned. And just in case you’re wondering, no she wasn’t walking around in a tiara or a beaded gown. She was just as normal as normal could be.

Anyway, I outgrew my obsession with Miss America shortly after everything blew up with Vanessa Williams, Miss America 1984A. (That isn’t a typo.) It really had nothing to do with the scandal. And don’t get me wrong…I’m a big fan of Vanessa Williams. Talk about someone who was handed lemons and rather than making lemonade she poured some vodka on them and now look at her, she’s Wilhelmina Slater on Ugly Betty!

My obsession with Miss America was quasi-renewed when I moved to Houston and would attend Miss Camp America. They held this event the same night as Miss America and it was truly one of the best events in town.

So that’s the story. Guess it also sorta explains my obsession with hurricanes. And to let you know how big of a nerd I can be, I used to memorize the list of major hurricanes that hit the U.S. I used to know the name, the year and where it hit.

Go ahead and say it, “You need a life.”