¡Feliz Cumpleaños!

Birthday greetings go out to Ft. Worth Joey! Joey is married to my sister. I've known Joey for a long time. We were in grade school and high school together. He claims to be a dog whisperer but considering that the dogs get away from him I would say that he needs to stick with his day job. ;-)

Running On Empty

I was in bed by 900P last night. Even though I slept most of the day, I had no problema going to sleep last night.

I was waking up every 2-3 hours or so to pee. You see, I was afraid that I would dehydrate so I drank plenty of fluids. Many bottles of Gatorade, some water and a Sprite. My pee was so clear I could have read War & Peace through it.

SIDEBAR: Runners know when they are well hydrated by looking at the color of their pee. If it is dark, you are dehydrated.

The only food that I consumed yesterday was some chicken & rice soup for lunch and 1/2 a turkey sandwich for dinner. That was it!

So this morning I woke up and felt good enough to go for a jaunt around the park. I finished 3 miles but it wasn't one of my best runs. My fuel tank was empty and I didn't have much energy. The KWs were doing speed work and I was eating their dust.

Hopefully, I'll be able to consume more food today and get the energy level up.

Ellie Mae

In a previous post, I mentioned the amount of severe thunderstorms that we seem to be getting in NoRO. I'll say it again, I think Mother Nature is upset with the way trees have been cut and green space taken away to make way for new development.

One of the things that I have noticed is the amount of critters that seem to hang out in the yard. You see, on this block of Roy St. I am one of two houses with a front and back yard. There's a house further down that only has a front yard. Everything else is town homes. The bois next door have a backyard but it is a swimming pool.

The critters have no place to roam so they come to my yard at night to play. And trust me, it upsets The Calvinator. He is part Wheaten Terrier so that sniff-out-the-rodent instinct is very prevalent.

SIDEBAR: Did you know that the word terrier comes from the word terra?

So in addition to the cats, raccoons and opossums that frolic in the yard, we now have a cotton tail rabbit that comes over to hang out. Calvin watches all of this from the front window. He actually jumps up and down like a little kid and then he yelps and shrieks. It actually scares off some of the little critters.

All of this makes me think of Ellie Mae and her critters. Anybody want some vittles?

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In other news...

• I don't feel good. I didn't sleep well last night. My stomach bothered me all night and here it is around 700P and I'm finally feeling OK. I haven't even read the paper today. I finally jumped in the shower about an hour ago.


• Today in hurricane history...for the first time in recorded history, two hurricanes made landfall on the same day. Hurricane Felix made landfall in Central America and Hurricane Henriette made landfall in Baja.

Hurricane Felix

Hurricane Henriette

Ramblings Of A Caffeinated Mind 4.0

Stormy Weather

Yesterday was wet. There's no other way to describe it. The day started off dry but we were warned it would rain.

Mid-morning I not only ventured OTL (Outside The Loop), I went OTB (Outside The Beltway)! I needed to check out a place in Missouri City to see if they had some paper that I was looking for.

Found it on Google but instinct told me there was a better way to get there. I went with Google...instinct was correct. I took a different way back ITL (Inside The Loop), ran a few errands and tried to get home before it rained. I wasn't successful.

Storm clouds coming in from the Gulf. Photo taken on Hwy. 6...somewhere in Ft. Bound County.

On Hwy. 6 heading toward US 59. The sun was shining but it was raining on me.

In RO @ Kirby & San Felipe looking west trying to get to NoRO.

@ the RO and NoRO border; Shepherd @ Memorial heading northWindshield wipers were on high speed.

Merman (and I don't mean Ethel)

Last week, Everyday Italian and AttyHou returned from their holiday. Due to Hurricane Dean, they made a detour to Key West. As they were strolling the streets they saw a large version of a merman and thought of me. Turns out, the store had the ornament for sell. So my souvenir is Mr. Martini.

They told me to put it on my Christmas tree. Why wait? I think it needs to go on permanent display.

Bois Night

I think there might have been a tsetse fly that was hanging out with those fire ants on Sunday. I took a 2 hour nap yesterday afternoon. Something about the pitter-patter of rain makes me drowsy.

AttyHou called around 530P and woke me up to find out if I still wanted to go to Cafe A-Do-Me. An hour later, The Calvinator had been walked, I had showered and we were on our way with RRTStephen & RRTJohn.

It had been awhile since I had been to Cafe A-Do-Me on a Monday night. The usual suspects were there. Nice to know that some things don't change. ;-)

We had great conversation with our libations and food. I think I ate too many tortilla chips 'cause I couldn't finish my meal.

A fun time was had by all.

Labor Day

Labor Day is one of those holidays that emits mixed emotions from me. The holiday was created to recognize the workers of America. Because my birthday is so close to the holiday, I used to think it was also a day to recognize the mothers in America...going through labor and all before giving birth. :-) For many people it also marks the end of summer and the last day to wear white shoes and linen attire.

My first recollection of Labor Day was when I was five years old. You see, school started about the 3rd week in August and because I wasn't six years old, I wasn't old enough to start school. However, the nuns decided to give me a test to see if I had the skills to start school at the age of five. Puhleeeeze! My sixth birthday was just going to be a few weeks later.

Anywho, I passed the test. There were a few others in my first grade class that were in the same predicament. Turns out, three of us went through 12 years of school together and of the three of us, two of us also graduated from college together...yep, sixteen years of being together.

OK. So back to Labor Day. So here we are a couple of weeks into school and now we get a day off. I didn't like 1st grade so I welcomed the holiday but I also dreaded going back. This dread continued all through my school years.

I also associate Labor Day with Jerry Lewis and the Muscular Dystrophy Telethon. This isn't meant to sound mean but it always bothered me that he would trot the kids out on his show and pull at the heartstrings of Americans to donate money. And then he would end the show by singing You'll Never Walk Alone. Most of the time he couldn't finish the song and would have to leave the stage. I would sit there and wonder if this was going to be the year he could actually finish the song?

I also used to associate Labor Day with the start of the new television season! The season premiers started the first week in September; that has since changed.

And speaking of things changing, the Miss America Pageant is no longer held during the week of Labor Day. Like clockwork you could always count on the new Miss America being crowned the Saturday after Labor Day. And just as you can bet on the sun rising, you could bet on me sitting in front of the telly waiting to see who would be crowned the new Miss America.

SIDEBAR: The pageant was actually started as a gimmick to keep tourists in Atlantic City on the Boardwalk for a few extra days. At some point they moved it to later in September and then to a completely different month.

As time went on and I became a laborer, I did appreciate the holiday. For a few years, I would venture over to New Orleans for the festivities. I haven't done that in awhile.

At my former place of employment we would have the annual sales meeting starting the day after Labor Day. Once again, I started to dread the holiday because that meant I had to spend all day Monday getting ready to be gone for the rest of the week. Then when I took ownership of Calvin, it meant that I had to figure out what to do with him before I left for the week.

So this Labor Day is sorta odd because I have no feelings about it. I have The Calvinator by my side and I don't have to worry about what to do with him.

RunnerOne wanted to go for a run this morning. At first I was going to say "No" because it was a holiday but then I remembered that all summer has been a holiday for me. :-) I also almost said "No" because I thought about doing a 5K today. I had read on Will Run For Martinis and Run 4 Your Life" that they were doing the 5K and since I already feel like a slacker I thought the 5K might be a good motivator.

As it turns out, we did a good 3 miles this morning at Memorial Park. It was quiet. I stopped by the office and read the paper. Because I got out of bed this morning and went running, I rewarded myself with a chocolate donut. LOL

Not sure what is in store for the rest of the day. It is supposed to rain later...go figure...so I'll probably plan some indoor chores for this afternoon.

Take care and enjoy your day.

Red Hot

Yesterday I ventured over to MFA/Houston to check out one of the exhibits. I figured the crowds would be over at the Museum of Natural Science viewing Lucy. The MFA/H was almost empty...it was nice!

The exhibit is a collection of contemporary Asian art from the Chaney (not Cheney) family of Houston. Other than the Feng Zheng Jie piece that has been used for the promo and a post on LoneStarSteve's blog, I really didn't know what to expect.

I'm glad I went to view the exhibit. Even though the term contemporary is used in the description I guess I was still expecting more traditional Asian art.

Some of my favorite pieces were from The Luo Brothers. Their pieces from Welcome To The World's Most Famous Brands were really fun.

This piece is not on exhibit but is an example of the work that they do.

The FENG Zheng Jie pieces were really interesting. I wish I had a big house with big walls...oh and lots of money...to display a couple of his pieces of art.

I was amazed at Karma by Do-Ho Suh. I kept viewing it from different angles.

The shoes look like a pair of Kenneth Coles that I have.

There was another interesting piece. It is Paratrooper III also by Do-Ho Suh. The parachute is made of six circles of organza shirts. I can't remember what the torso was made of but it was really interesting.

There was a 5+ minute video that someone had made. The person went to Chinatown in New York City and played a rap song by The Notorious MSG (LOL) and asked people to dance to the music...and they did. It was funny. It was a good portrayal of mixing something Occidental with something Oriental.

In LoneStarSteve's blog, he was quizzical about the works of art displayed outside. I must say, I'm not sure what they are trying to portray. I'll leave that up to each of you to decide.

Jurassic Age by Sui Jiango

Spirit Way by Yue Minjun

The exhibit is on view through October 21, 2007. Check it out!

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Akeelah and the Bee

I was sorta in a restless mood last night and couldn't decide what to do. While pondering the possibilities for nocturnal activities, I ran across this movie on Showtime. I figured I'd watch a few minutes and then get on with the evening.

Two hours later, the movie was over and I was still sitting on the couch. It's a cute, little movie. I was actually surprised that one of the words in the championship round was lagniappe

I'm not sure who designed the dvd cover but the names don't match up with the faces.

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Attack of the killer ants

I took The Calvinator over to Memorial Park today. I wanted to get over there before it rained. We were on our merry way and he stops to poop. No big deal. I get off of the running trail and step in the grass to wait. He finishes, I do my civic duty and then my right ankle starts to burn!

I look down and there are fire ants all over my right shoe and ankle!!! I have ants on me, a bag of poop in one hand and Calvin and his leash in the other hand...and there's no place to sit.

I run over to a trash can and attempt to take off my shoe but now the ants are also all over the shoelace and they're still biting me. I finally mange to kick off my shoe, get the extra plastic bag and use that to get them off my ankle and my shoe...and just as all of this is transpiring Calvin wants to rumble with a dog that is passing by us.

It took a couple of hours for the stinging to stop. My ankle is red but I'll be fine. One word: O-U-C-H!

Mark Your Calendars

OK. Everyone who got caught in the rain this morning while you were running, raise your hand.

Believe it or not I did 7 1/2 miles. I did stop after 3 1/2 because there was some thunder and lightning and you know I have this fear of getting struck my lightning...especially with an iPod in my hand! I waited out that part of the storm and then started up again. At one point, I looked down and I could see water oozing out of my shoes.

I was having a good run prior to the lightning and thunder and I wasn't gonna let anything rain on my parade (note to self: put Funny Girl Soundtrack on the iPod.)

Running in the downpour reminded me of the New Balance ad from a view years ago. It was a picture of a lone runner on a road heading toward a thunder cloud. The headline was: When does a jogger become a runner? On days like today.

Just want to pass a few things along to you that I think you might be interested in...so mark your calendar.

Saturday, September 8

"Despite the ruin still prevalent in New Orleans, digital artist anddesigner, James Clawson dreams the city reborn in collages ofmourning, hope, and fantasy. All I can say is, "Stunning!" His eye fordesign, art and photography will mesmerize you on 36" x 36" works of aPost-Katrina New Orleans. This show is as breathtaking as it isproactive. One of the Crescent City's finest designers and artists,Mr. Clawson's works will debut in Houston here at Galerie Blu onSeptember 8, 2007 7PM to 10PM."

411: Galerie Blu

September 9-22

Whistle Down The Wind

"Direct from London, discover what critics have proclaimed "Andrew Lloyd Webber's best show since Phantom of the Opera." Whistle Down the Wind is an uplifting musical about a young Louisiana girl who finds a mysterious stranger hiding in her barn. While the townspeople are determined to find the escaped felon, she vows to protect him from the outside world. The American premiere production partners renowned top rock lyricist Jim Steinman (Meatloaf's classic album "Bat Out of Hell) and Andrew Lloyd Webber (Cats, Evita and Joseph.) to create a score inspired by the indigenous sounds of the American South - blues, gospel, country and rock 'n' roll. Directed and produced by Bill Kenwright, Whistle Down the Wind combines award-winning songs including the Boyzone smash hit "No Matter What," and epic storytelling for an extraordinary tale about the transformative power of love."

411: Theater Under The Stars

Monday, September 10

Neiman Marcus turns 100 years old. Stop by Neiman's and get a free cookie. It's the stuff that urban legends are made of...and they'll give you the recipe on the website!

411: Neiman Marcus

Friday, September 14

Linda Eder performs for one night only presented by Brilliant Lectures.

411: Brilliant Lectures

Sunday, September 23

Dust off your tambourine! Polish your whistle! Prepare to shake your groove thing and get down tonight!

Krewe of Olympus-Texas, Inc. presents Trash Disco. From 400P-700P you can relive your youth and dance the afternoon away. Relive your memories and bring your friends. A $5 donation gets you past the velvet rope.

411: Krewe of Olympus

Tuesday, September 25 - Sunday, September 30

Mamma Mia! returns to Houston for a 6 day engagement.

411: Broadway Across America

Coming up in October:

• Thursday-Sunday, October 4-7: Greek Festival


• Saturday, October 6: Fais Do Do presented by Krewe of Olympus-Texas, Inc.


• Saturday & Sunday, October 13 & 14: Bayou City Arts Festival