Adieu!

Str8 Up With A Twist bids adieu to Aimee In The Heights. I met Aimee two years ago when she moved to The Bayou City. It has been fun to have her here. She has been a big fan of Kaye Sedilla and I'm sure Kaye will miss her too! I hate it when a fun person leaves but such is life.

Aimee is heading to The Windy City this weekend. Be careful Aimee and best wishes on your new adventure.

Ramblings Of A Caffeinated Mind 3.8

I have an uncanny ability to hear thunderstorms approaching while I am asleep. It's not like radar or anything. I think it has to do with having a dog that needs and likes to be walked and trying to time the walk with approaching rain.

I had a really good workout last night at LeFittes and I was sound asleep in the wee hours of the morning when I heard thunder off in the distance. I looked at my watch and it was 411A but I couldn't figure out how far away the storm was, was it coming from the Gulf, from the west or from the north and was it really going to rain on NoRO?

I called for The Calvinator and he jumped on the bed with me and waited. Sure enough it happened. The storm came in from the north with a belly full of rain and the accompanying thunder and lightning. Believe it or not, Calvin stayed with me through the storm. Normally he just lays there, gets his tummy rubbed and then leaves.

Knowing that the ground would be soaked I made sure NOT to wear the soccer sandals for our morning stroll. I think the reason I lost my footing yesterday is because there isn't much to hold your foot in place with the soccer sandals. So I got my Keens and off we went. An uneventful walk this morning.

Me wearing the Keen shoes. It took several shots to get a good photo. It's difficult to take a picture of your feet and not have them look like they belong on an oversized Mickey Mouse.



Got back to the house and turned on the telly and remembered BBC was carrying live coverage of Princess Di's Memorial Service. I only watched the exit processional. I'm not going to post much about Di. I've already done a post about where I was the day that she died.





I still find it hard to believe that we were the same age. I think that is the underlying thought that I use to connect with her death. It is also hard to believe it has been 10 years.

I heard that Dodi's father was not invited to the service. He held a moment of silence for his son and Di at Harrod's.

It's Labor Day weekend and it looks like it is going to be a quiet one for me and The Calvinator; no complaints here.

Friends are heading out to New Orleans for Southern Decadence and others are heading to Austin for Last Splash. Another friend is heading to the ATL. Sofi Bon Chien is having a b'day party in San Francisco. Happy B'day Sofi!

Sofi Bon Chien

I might head over to the MFA/Houston to view Red Hot Asian on Saturday.



I do need to get a run in tomorrow morning. 6, 7 or 8 miles? We'll see what I feel like in the a.m. Also need to make some cards and do some prototypes for a potential client. It might turn out to be a putz-around weekend. :-)

Have a safe weekend everyone!

Ramblings Of A Caffeinated Mind 3.7

"Lassie! Run and get help. Timmy has fallen into a well!"

So this morning I was out with The Calvinator on our morning stroll. With the exception of the running shoes, I was in my running attire 'cause I was going to head over to the park for a 4 mile run. I did 3 yesterday morning so I thought I'd add a mile. As you may recall, I was "de-wimped" on Monday so I was ready for 4. Plus I've been reading NoFo's blog and his group did 23 miles the other day so I'm really feeling like a slacker. Others who are making me feel like a slacker are Will Run For Martinis and Running For Gold. I JUST can't get motivated to do a marathon.

So it's a bit before 600A and 007/NoRO is very quiet. There was some fog this morning. The ground was wet. I could hear the train off in the distance.

I was wearing my soccer sandals and for some stupid reason I starting singing to myself, "People say she's crazy she's got diamonds on the soles of her shoes..."

So we get to Reinerman and Feagan and we're heading toward the Doris Miller Library Center. OK...I don't have my glasses on but off in the distance I see somebody walking toward us with a dog and I'm trying to figure out if it is a big dog or a little dog 'cause if it's a big dog The Calvinator will want to rumble.

All of this is happening in a few seconds and next thing I know I lose my footing, twist my right ankle and almost fall into the drainage ditch/gully. It looks like I'm going to go face first into the muddy, wet grass and now Calvin is startled and he is trying to get away from me.

In the effort to correct my footing, I twist it again and start to fall toward the sidewalk (face first) but I grab the chain link fence and I never fall but boy does my ankle hurt!

There were several things I thought of: 1) "Calvin, run and get help! Timmy has fallen into the gutter." To which he would reply, "You must feel right at home."; 2) There's no way I'll be able to run today, tomorrow or maybe EVER again; 3) I've shattered my ankle on the leg that I had a stress fracture and my hopes of ever getting a gold medal in the Senior Olympics have also been shattered.



So as I'm trying to recompose myself and figure out the damage here comes the lady with the dog and sure enough a rumble starts.

As all good runners do, I tried to shake it off and determined that I could walk back to the house. I went on to the park and stood there for about 15 minutes trying to decide what to do. If I could make it to the 1/2 mile marker I might be able to do 3 miles...and I did.

I really need to start carrying my cell phone with me but when I'm in running shorts, there's no place to put it and as it is I have Calvin on the leash in one hand, a poop bag and the keys. I'll figure out a solution.

SIDEBAR: I went back and took some pics in the daylight. It's difficult to tell the actual grade of the incline but trust me, it wouldn't have been fun landing in the gutter. And yes, I've been in the gutter many a time!

"Don't stomp your little last season Prada shoes at me, honey."

-Enrique Salvatore to Elle in Legally Blonde

I wasn't going to post anything about about Senator Larry Craig but I can't resist. This whole thing about tapping the foot under the stall door at MSP reminded me of the scene from Legally Blonde when Elle was waiting to use the water fountain and the pool boy was taking his time. Now I don't know if Sen. Craig was wearing Prada shoes but it would have been funny if he had been.



And one more thing about it...at 1159A CDT today my cell phone rings. This is how the conversation goes:

Str8UpWithATwist (SUWAT): Hey.

AttyHou: Hey boi. What are you doing?

SUWAT: On my way to Best Buy to buy my brother-in-law a birthday present. How are you?

AttyHou: Stuffy.

SUWAT: You sound stuffy. Physical stuffy that is. Not in a conservative, Republican, I'm gonna tap my foot under the bathroom door and have sex with you stuffy kinda way.

AttyHou: Hypocritical stuffy.

SUWAT: (LOL) Yea.

¡Feliz Cumpleaños!

Birthday greetings go out to Daniel who is an avid reader of Str8UpWithATwist. Daniel joins a fine group of us who are in our 40's. Welcome aboard Daniel!

Daniel and Sugar Land Stuart waiting for Kaye Sedilla.

OK bois and gurrls...I haven't done weights since Sunday and I need to get my fat arse to the gym today. It's gonna hurt.

Mina Lee Studio Art

Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans?

I was going to do a LONG post about Hurricane Katrina. I started composing it and I couldn’t decide which direction to head with it.

Here were the topics:

1. The friends who have returned to the area and are rebuilding their lives.

2. The clients I had who against all odds have picked up the pieces and started all over again.

3. The bickering between Bush, Blanco & Nagin. Regardless of party affiliation, everyone was to blame.

4. How a natural disaster was worsened by the ineptitude of The Army Corps of Engineers. Go visit The Netherlands and come back with a game plan. (The brunt of the storm went east of New Orleans. Sure there was wind damage and lots of water but if the levees had been properly built they should have held.)

5. The people stranded at the Convention Center and the Superdome and my thoughts 18 months later when I walked into the Convention Center.

6. Watching live coverage on CNN and being dumbstruck that this was happening 350 miles from my doorstep.

7. The inability of the U.S. Government to get food and water to its own citizens and my thoughts about FEMA Director Michael Brown.

“You’re doing a good job Brownie.” –George W. Bush

Correction on 8/30/07: "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job." -George W. Bush on September 2, 2005

8. The inability of the local, state and federal governments to get a game plan together and rebuild The Big Easy. We can rebuild Iraq but we can’t rebuild New Orleans? Come on Cheney…use your muscle and get Halliburton in there without going through the bidding process.

9. Evacuees in Houston who are trying to start all over again; some have succeeded and some are surviving day-to-day.

10. Anne Rice p!ssing me off when she stated that “Americans have turned their backs on New Orleans.”

11. Spike Lee's documentary When The Levees Broke. Overall I liked it but I have some issues with it.

12. The new Hispanic influx on theCity.

13. How the City of Houston and Harris County decided they would do whatever it took to provide shelter for the evacuees. Months later Neil Diamond would salute the citizens during his concert when he said, "This is a city with a heart." Then Dallas Morning News lauded the City for what it did. This should have been headline news because of the rivalry between the two cities. :-)

14. How the U.S. Coast Guard said "Screw it!" and threw out the rule book and ignored government red tape and rescued people. They were probably the unsung heroes of the catastrophe.

15. "What I'm hearing which is sort of scary is that they all want to stay in Texas. Everybody is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway so this (chuckle) – this is working very well for them."
–Former First Lady Barbara Bush, on the hurricane evacuees at the Astrodome in Houston, Sept. 5, 2005 Do I EVEN need to comment on this? UGH!

16. Everything that I love about New Orleans: friends I have made there; the locals; the food & booze; the charm; the history; Mardi Gras, Southern Decadence and Halloween; the good memories.

So rather than harp on all of those topics…many of which still make my blood pressure rise…I’ll end this post with the lyrics from a song:

Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans
And miss it each night and day
I know I'm not wrong, the feeling's getting stronger
The longer I stay away

Miss the moss-covered vines, tall sugar pines
Where mockingbirds used to sing
I'd love to see that old lazy Mississippi
Hurrying into Spring

The moonlight on the bayou
A Creole tune that fills the air
I dream about magnolias in bloom
And I'm wishin I was there

Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans
When that's where you left your heart
And there's one thing more, I miss the one I care for
More than I miss New Orleans

-Louis Alter & Eddie DeLange

And in case you're wondering...my first trip back to New Orleans after Katrina was in February 2006. I've made several trips since then and plan on making many more.

Gully Washer

I heard him say it, "This shower will be out of here by the 6:00 news." W-R-O-N-G!

That "storm" hooked up with another storm right over NoRo before the 6:00 news and it rained hard. Before I realized what was happening the heavens opened up and I hadn't closed the window on The Cal Mobile. UGH!

So I put on my Cal Walking Slicker and ran outside.

This is a picture of my shorts when I got back inside. If you look close enough, you can see the raindrops on the hair on my legs.

This is a closeup.

So HE comes back on at the top of the 6:00 news and says we're going to have flooding. It was coming down at about 2.5" an hour. Then I hear something about SUVs floating and if you live near Memorial Park, Downtown, Galleria, Med Center, etc. stay put.

OK...here's the deal. I bought The Cal Mobile so that I COULD drive through high water. I was tired of the Corolla floating around.

It finally let up a bit around 7:00 and The Calvinator wanted out. It was still raining...but not as hard...so I put on the Cal Walking Slicker and took him out. He must have known we needed to hurry (you could see the lightning and hear the thunder moving away from NoRo) because he peed and pooped really fast and was ready to get back home.

I have often been "teased" about The Cal Walking Slicker. I've had this slicker long before there was a Calvinator. I got it for about $15.00 at a Gap Outlet and it has served me well.

Here's the Cal Walking Slicker drying off (front)

(back)

We've been through hell and high water (get it) together. Earlier this year I thought it was time to retire it because the zipper was stuck. I was looking to replace it and before I hit the "purchase" button on the Lands End website I tugged on the zipper one more time and voila! We were back in business.

HE says to expect another gully washer tomorrow around the same time. I'll be sure to get to LeFittes well before the storm hits.

Stay dry everybody!

Something I Forgot...

...to tell you.

Ken Hoffman is a columnist for the paper that I read on a daily basis. In his Sunday column he answers questions from readers and replies to readers' comments. He has a quirky sense of humor; hence my affection for his column.

So, he has been printing restaurant stories from readers. And this past Sunday he printed my story! It's not the first time I've seen my name in print in the paper but it is still kinda fun to see your name in print.

Here's the excerpt from his column:
Ken Hoffman
Aug. 24, 2007, 12:00PM
Special Sunday mail delivery

I have a restaurant story for you. I was taking a defensive driving course at a buffet-type restaurant a few years ago, and we were in a room off the main dining room. Next to us was the dessert stand. I was watching a little boy serving himself pudding, it must have been a boring part of the class. The young boy would serve himself a dollop of pudding and then carefully lick off the serving spoon, then right back into the pudding for another dollop and another few licks. I guess he was maximizing the amount of pudding he was having. I decided not to eat there after the class.

Manny Hernandez, Houston

A few years ago I was having dinner with a friend at a restaurant that's since closed. A few booths over, a little girl picked up a ketchup bottle, unscrewed the top and licked the top. She then put the lid back on the bottle and never once did either of the adults do anything to stop her.

When they departed I told our waiter what happened. He just kind of looked at me like I was a freak but my friend confirmed it. The waiter removed the bottle from the table and I can only hope that he threw it away.

Tim Martinez, Houston

The only thing I drink straight from the bottle in my house is Hershey's syrup. -Ken Hoffman

SIDEBAR: OK...he sorta edited my story 'cause even though the restaurant has since closed they are part of a national chain and reopened a new property a few miles down the road. As Realtor Alan said, "I'm sure he was thinking of losing advertising dollars." And every time I pick up a bottle of ketchup, I think of that little girl. I'm scarred for life!

...to do

So after yesterday's run with RunnerOne my shoes were a bit dirty and they were getting wet from the rain so I took them off before I got in The Cal Mobile and left them in the back of The Cal Mobile. And that is where the story ends until this morning.

I got in The Cal Mobile this morning and could "smell" something. Yuck. The smell was familiar. You got it. Sweaty, wet running shoes that sat there all night and dried out. I'm letting The Cal Mobile air out right now but have to keep my eye on the sky 'cause it will prolly rain this afternoon; it's Houston ya know.

...tell you. (Part II)

I did get a ticket to see Linda Eder on Sept. 14! A small gaggle of us will be going together to see her: Everyday Italian, AttyHou, Bret & Karl from the 006. No one wanted to spend the extra money for the post-concert party so I guess Linda will just have to do without meeting me.

I'll prolly have to wear a muzzle so that I don't sing along with her and they'll prolly have to restrain me in my seat so that I don't jump up and clap every time she starts and finishes a song.

I've seen her perform twice in concert and once in Civil War and I must say that she is a great performer. My favorite songs by Linda are: Someone Like You; Big Time; Something To Believe In; The Bells Of St. Paul.

If you need information about the concert, you can get it here .

...to scratch off my list of things to do.

I bought a ticket to see Whistle Down The Wind. I have several reasons for wanting to see this show. I *heart* No Matter What by Boyzone. And, it is my understanding that this show has had a few reincarnations. It'll be a few weeks before I get to see the show so look for a review later on.

I still can't decide if I want to see Mamma Mia! again. :-) The first time I saw it was in Sydney and then a tour came through Houston and I saw it twice in the same week but with different groups of people. I don't know. It's one of those shows that is kinda silly but it makes ya feel good. The jury is still out on this one. Tickets are still available but it is only here for about a week so I need to decide soon. A road trip might conflict with the run of the show. Guess I need to make some decisions huh?

"I'm going to de-wimp you."

That's how our run started today. I met RunnerOne today at 530P at Memorial Park. It was hot but there were also thunderstorm clouds off in the distance.

So we started our run and I was asked when was the last time I ran at this time of the day. I mumbled something about it was during the last century or maybe sometime last year during the month of February...when it's nice and cool. I guess the fact that I run in three sweater feeling humidity in the morning is considered wimpish in the eyes of a guy who just ran through Death Valley. :-)

We ended up doing 4 miles and hard to believe it was a negative split. By the time we were into mile 3 it looked like the clouds were coming our way and the wind was picking up. The thought of getting caught in a thunderstorm in Memorial Park is not on my list of ways that I want to die.

My energy level is quite a bit different during the afternoon/evenings. In fact, I was getting hungry so before I left the house I did two spoonfuls of peanut butter and then ate a Clif Bar on my way to the park. In all honesty, I have forgotten how to eat during the day if I'm going to run in the evenings. Any advice will be greatly appreciated!

We finished the run, did some post-run stretching and then it started to rain. I was already dripping with sweat so the rain felt really good.

OK bois and gurrls...I'm outta here!