Photo Journal: February 27, 2010

So...I misplaced my camera and didn't take any pics of the 25th or the 26th. I snapped his photo of the full moon. The sky in Houston was crystal clear and the moon was bright. This pic does not do it justice.

Photo Journal: February 1, 2010

If you're going to have a pink flamingo in the yard of your $350,000 home, you might as well make it cool looking. This is in my 'hood.

Fortune Cookie

Several weeks ago, Panda Express opened a location not too far away from NoRO. When I traveled quite a bit for a job, I could always count on some fried rice and an egg roll at some airport concession stand. So, I was quite happy when I saw Panda Express close to the 'hood.

I visited Panda Express yesterday at the noon hour. I did take-away. When I got home, I ate my meal and then cracked open the Fortune Cookie. This is what was inside:

You will soon be confronted with unlimited opportunities.

Today, I was offered a job. It is a job that I really wanted. It is a new position so the opportunities are unlimited.

I think I'm going to start making a weekly pilgrimage to Panda Express.

What if you planned a party...

...and nobody showed up?

That's sort of what happened with Tropical Storm Edouard. Now I'm not saying we shouldn't be prepared for power outages, flying debris, etc. BUT when entire newscasts are devoted to the storm that is going to hit us because the meteorologists are so sure it's coming right for us and then they're wrong?

I woke up at 430a.m. to get Calvin walked before the storm hit only to find out it wasn't coming at us. In fact, it started to rain at 630a.m. and it did rain most of the day (we needed the rain) but it was really just a normal rainy day in the summer. Channel 2 didn't even show Matt Lauer in China this morning and Channel 13 didn't show The View because of the storm.

I get the feeling that the news stations hype it up to get ratings. So much so I was even planning on doing a pictorial essay for you of before and after. I have before and during photos but no photos of mass destruction and flooding.

So here are some photos for ya:

From the front porch

This is Buffalo Bayou which would have jumped its banks into Memorial Drive. On the right side is River Oaks and on the left side is NoRO aka 007/Houston.

This is Memorial Drive which should have been impassable.

Sunset in NoRO

Rain

More rain

Calvin passed out waiting for the storm.

Calvin woke up when he heard the camera shutter

alnhouston reported damage in 007/Houston. A plant fell over!

Oscar (alnhouston's dog)

Sorta looks like the same pic taken 25 hours ago.

Dolly (update)

Around 4:00 a.m. today I heard the rumble of thunder off in the distance. I didn't think too much about it because last night a weather forecaster said we would have a 40% chance of rain if even that. So I'm thinking that someone off in the distance is going to get some rain. A little while later a storm was sitting on top of NoRO and giving us a much needed drenching.

Our chances for rain today are now up to 70%. Dolly is packing a punch on South Texas and is expected to make landfall in a few hours. And we're waiting for some more rain.

The B!tch Is Back

I'm glad Kaye Sedilla only comes to town once a year. She arrived this afternoon from Buenos Aires and went on and on and on about nothing. She told me that she didn't fly Coach, Business or First. She flew in the cockpit and sat on the pilot's lap most of the time. Not only is she a diva she is also a puta. She's going out with a bang (read between the lines).

And being the diva that she is, when we approached NoRO she saw all of the police on Shepherd, Memorial, Kirby and Allen Pkwy. She thought they were there for her. I had to inform her that President Bush was in town and they were securing NoRO and River Oaks for his visit. She was a bit disappointed.

And being the diva that she is, she has finagled two songs for Sunday's benefit. (Is it proper etiquette to plan an encore?) She is performing in the first set and has made arrangements to do her encore in the third set.

If she weren't going into retirement/seclusion, I'd probably be putting her in her grave (alive)!

She wants me to remind you that Mr. & Miss Mint Julep is this Sunday at Rich's (or as she likes to call it, The Cha Cha Palace). The doors open at 1:30p.m. and the show starts at 2:00p.m. I'll be in the shadows taking care of her every whim.

Greetings from The Energy Capital of the U.S.!

Mario Lopez Comes To The Bayou City

So. I was wondering if Mario Lopez would be coming to Houston to promote his book Mario Lopez's Knockout Fitness. I figured he has a fairly busy schedule what with him being on Broadway in A Chorus Line. Imagine my glee when I read in The Houston Chronicle that he will be here this Tuesday (May 27, 2008)!

Mario will be at Borders (3025 Kirby) starting at 700p. That is only 2.22 miles from me and The Calvinator. Normally the big name authors go out to the westside of town to do book signings so this is way cool. (Maybe he'll want to stop by for a beverage when he is finished? Probably not. He has a sister who lives in the area so I'm sure they'll be spending some time together.)

According to the interview, he will also be posing for photographs. I wonder if he will lift his shirt and show those abs. He can show his 6-pack and I'll show my keg.

So. I was debating about going to the gym today and I guess I just got my inspiration. To get a body like that I guess ya gotta start somewhere, right?

With Mario flaunting his Hollywood smile and his 6-pack, I have started humming a showtune.

As Ulla sings in The Producers, "Ven you got it, flaunt it. Show your assets, let them know you're proud." BTW...if you watch this clip from The Producers, that is Uma Thurman and not Nicole Kidman (as stated on the page of the clip).

The temperature is rising and so is the price of gasoline

A brief prologue covers the events preceding the original Mad Max (no backstory was offered in that movie). After uprisings and an extended war due to energy shortages proved to destabilize the country, marauding biker gangs began to terrorize the townspeople in the Australian desert. The crumbling remnants of the government created a tiny, underfunded group of special highway patrol officers to attempt a restoration of order in the outback. By contrast, Mad Max 2 features a much more pronounced breakdown of civilization. In the prologue, a narrator informs us that the world has "crumbled and...the cities have exploded"; life has become a "whirlwind of looting and a firestorm of fear, in which 'men began to feed on men.'" -from Wikipedia about Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior

I'm beginning to think we are just a few steps away from this becoming a reality. I mean really.

The price of gasoline is the highest it has ever been. I remember when I was a kid and gas stations would have price wars to see who could sell a gallon of gas for the lowest price. I remember competing stations getting it down to $00.28. And then I remember the day it went up to $00.33 and it never went down. It has only gone up.

I also remember the year of the fuel shortage. Long lines at the gas stations. Also, there was a system for how often you could get gas. You just couldn't pull up and get some. You were only allowed to get gas on certain days of the week unless your vehicle was for commercial purposes.

Then there was the fuel shortage along the Gulf Coast during the Hurricane Rita evacuation. I think that was the most frightened I have ever been about running out of gas. And not only gas but drinking water.

Everytime The Calvinator does something to upset me, I have to remember that he was a real trooper for staying in the car (well, he did try to jump out once) with me for 27 hours. I'm not sure who was more relieved when I accidentally found the vending machine outside of a closed convenience store in the middle of nowhere. It was ice cold and water never tasted better.

It was pure luck that I found gasoline when I did. Just about the time I would start to panic about the gauge getting low, I'd find a station that had fuel.

I've been taking people to the airport for their extended Memorial Day getaways. In the olden days I would never have accepted money for doing that. Now I'm accepting Euros (LOL) to put gas back into The Cal Mobile for the jaunts back and forth to the airport. Speaking of Euros...

The other night at Todd, Marc & Gordon's cocktail party, somebody dropped something into the pool. We couldn't figure out what it was but a person was being very dilligent about trying to retrieve it. Nobody in my circle of partygoers could figure it out so I started a rumor that it was a Euro. LOL I wanted to see if people would jump into the pool. (I crack myself up sometimes.)

OK. So why did I even discuss this? While I was watching the 10:00 evening news on Wednesday night, Neighbor Ryan Korsgard at KPRC Channel 2 did a story about how much it is costing the City of Houston to gas up vehicles and ambulances and fire trucks, etc. Then there was another story someone who stole about 500 gallons (edit: 1000 gallons) of diesel fuel.

Hey. I need to stop this rambling and get going. I think I just saw Mel Gibson walking through NoRO.

Ramblings Of A Caffeinated Mind 11.0

Party Pix
You will recall that in a previous post I mentioned Legacy's gala at Neiman-Marcus. If you would like to view photos from the gala, click here. I am only in one pic and it isn't very good because I'm laughing and I look like I have chipmunk cheeks. Everyone else looks good.

Weather
OK, so what's the deal? This morning when I went to walk The Calvinator it was 58 degrees! And the heater had turned on! Just the other day I was running the air conditioner. I'm thinking Al Gore might be a bit wrong about this global warming thing. It's already supposed to be hot in H-town.

Actually, hell froze over and no one sent me an e-mail or text message. Seriously. You see...

Something happened the other night and when I found out about it via email, I replied back, "Did hell freeze over?" So it must have and that is why the temp was 58 this morning.

Big Brother
I am so glad this season is over. I was over it a few weeks ago. Did you notice that I stopped blogging about it? Adam won. (In case you were wondering.)

Goober
Howard Dean is a goober. I think I would be better at heading up the Democratic National Committee. He should have taken care of this whole Michigan & Florida thing long ago.

This morning on the Today Show he was being interviewed by Meredith Viera. She asked him a question and when he answered, he called her Andrea. Uh, would that be Andrea Mitchell? LOL

Physic
Did you know that I'm a physic? You see...

Several years ago on Westcott here in NoRO, there was a lady who set up shop. She was a psychic (who ended up going to the pokey) but her big sign on Westcott said Physic.

So why am I a psychic/physic? Well...

Last night I was too tired to fall asleep so I was channel surfing and what do I run across? Evita starring Madonna and Antonio Banderas. Fortunately I fell asleep after some of my favorite songs had been sung.

One of the songs that I *heart* is Buenos Aires. So this morning, on the Today Show, Matt Lauer started his Where In The World Is Matt Lauer Tour and where in the world was Matt Lauer this morning? In Buenos Aires! Who knew? Well, I guess I did.



Oh no he didn't
You know there are some people who just are not meant to get into the groove, especially with a New Orleans jazz band. I know he doesn't drink alcohol but maybe he should have had a Hurricane from Pat O's or a Long Island Iced Tea from Lafitte's before he decided to bust a move. (BTW...I've been meaning to post for a few days now so this is probably old news to some of you.)

Hey

Thursday got away from me and Friday blew by. I've been a busy boi. It's another situation where I don't want to tell you what is going on because I'll probably jinx myself.

Had a fabu time at a party at Saks on Thursday night. Details to follow.

Big. Actually HUGE garage sale tomorrow. Many households in Rice Military will be having a garage sale. (Rice Military is the neighborhood that I refer to as North River Oaks.)

AttyHou, Everyday Italian, The Calvinator and I have been getting our stuff together. If you're in the 'hood on Saturday morning come by the corner of Scotland & Roy between the hours of 800a - 1100a. Other households will also be having sales. There is SO MUCH MORE I could tag and put out for sale but I'm tired.

The Calvinator passed our hours ago.

Catch up will y'all later.

I Live With Houdini

This is who I am living with!

It was a beautiful but windy morning today in NoRO and I couldn't leave The Calvinator cooped up. So, I got a chair, had my coffee and paper and set up camp by the fence between me and AttyHou & Everyday Italian. This is the wrought iron fence that he slips through. He did it a few weeks ago when I ran inside to get the phone. Seriously. In a split second, he was through the fence, through the azaleas, and down their driveway (because the gate was open) and running all over DePelchin's big lawn.

So today I figured I would beat him at his own game. The hand is quicker than the eye and I have been known to yank him by the tail. He doesn't like that very much but it is an effective way to keep him from going through the fence or out a car window.

In spite of the wind, I sat outside and read the paper and put up with the inquisitive looks of neighbors as they walked by and drove by. I'm sure they were wondering why I was sitting in the driveway?

We were outside well over an hour when Neighbor Janine came outside to water her plants. I left the well-behaved Calvinator in the yard and he could see me across the street. I told Neighbor Janine that I had to keep an eye on The Calvinator.

So we're talking and in a split second when I look away he is gone from my yard, through the azaleas and is running around AttyHou & Everyday Italian's yard! Everyday Italian & AttyHou come out and The Calvinator is trying to go inside their house to visit. UGH!!!!!!

I was a bit put out with him but how can I stay angry with him? I took him to the park for a long walk and right now he is passed out.

A Girl In Texas mentioned that her sister started a blog as way to deal with the loss of her dog. I read it and almost started to cry and realized that I need to enjoy my time with The Calvinator. He and I have been through quite a bit together in the past few years and I can't be angry with him. He brings me more laugher than anger. I remember the first time my parents met him and as it was love at first sight. He has that effect on people.

So if you have a pet, give him/her a hug today.

Ramblings of a Stuffy Nose, Coughing Throat & Caffeinated Mind 10.1

Blogger Meets Blogger

I haven't been running or working out. I haven't been feeling too perky. It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood so I decided to stroll over to the Tennis Center at Memorial Park and get some type of physical exercise today. I thought it was 1.5 miles but that is just to the edge of the park. According to Map My Run it's about 2.2.

Anywho, I found out that Brettcajun was in H-town this weekend playing tennis. It's always cool to meet a fellow blogger.

Had some difficulty getting to him because there were tennis balls flying everywhere and gates and fences. Finally made the connection.

He had commented in his blog that he likes Texas. It got me to thinking how much I like Louisiana and the folks that live there. I seem to relate better to the people of southern Louisiana...nothing against the northern folks, OK? Maybe it is the Gulf Coast connection or the I-10 connection or just the laid back attitude and overall friendliness of the people.

So here we are outside of the Tennis Center. He looks good. I have crows feet and I look like I don't have a chin or a neck. I really do! I really, really do!

Flowers

Here are flowers that are blooming in NoRO. Kinda pretty.

Things that make you go hmmm

So the other day I was out walking The Calvinator and I thought I saw a tumbleweed. We don't get tumbleweeds in NoRO.

Upon further inspection and before Calvin peed on it, I realized it is a Christmas tree. Someone has been storing this in their house since November/December and they're JUST tossing it out? So they just threw it in the street. Hmmm

Sunday recap

Before I start with Sunday, let's go back to:

Saturday night
On our way to 5p Mass at Univ. of St. Thomas, a storm started to blow into town. By the time we left UST it was pouring down rain. I knew it wouldn't last long and I was hoping it would sort of cool things down a bit.

After dinner we returned to NoRO and it was windy and bit cool. I left the sister, brother-in-law and The Calvinator in NoRO and headed over to ERO/Montrose for a Mardi Gras Party at Kenny In Montrose (KIM) & Steve In Montrose (SIM) house for the party. I didn't stay too long because I was a bit tired. It is sort of a ritual for me to make a quick appearance at the KIM & SIM's house and to find Richard Peoples.

Richard is an avid runner and runs circles around me...literally...at Memorial Park. Richard can usually be found in the elite group at runs. I live my running life vicariously through Richard. I'm sure I irritate him because he trains and trains and does everything right and then I show up and say, "Yep. I'll be there in the morning!" as I'm drinking a beer and he is drinking water. More on Richard later.

Sunday morning

OK. It was a bit on the chilly side due to the wind. When I went to walk The Calvinator at 5a it was 43 degrees Fahrenheit. I had laid out my clothes and planned on layering but I kept telling myself, "Dress for the end of the run."

The sister and brother-in-law followed me downtown. We went in separate cars because they were running the 5k and I didn't want them sitting around for a couple of hours waiting for me. I knew where we were going to park and we left with plenty of time. Everything was going as planned until...

We got to the Toyota Center parking garage and it was CLOSED! So now we're stuck in a traffic jam of people (at 6a) who are all scrambling to find parking somewhere. It was a madhouse and stuff like that makes me anxious. People were running out in front of cars and people were driving on the wrong side of the street and I was cussing.

We found a surface lot for $2 each and I bid them adieu. They were going to sit in the car for awhile and watch a movie.

I made my way to the GRB and it was packed because it was cold outside and everybody was trying to stay warm. Anxiety goes up again. It wasn't supposed to be like this and because of the parking situation it is now 630a. I had planned on being inside the GRB by 615a. I always allow time to pee and this was cutting into my pee time.

I make my way through the crowd and accidentally find runnerOne. It is sort of appropriate that I find him because we only see each other before 7a in the morning. I walked over to him and said, "I showed up." He laughed and said, "That is the hardest part about today." I laughed and agreed.

runnerOne on the left. me looking frumpy on the right...my shirt was all gathered because I just put on the belt. i swear!

So we went through our ritual of covering the nipples and applying Vaseline and Body Glide to our feet, underarms and inner thighs. You sort of lose all amount of modesty in situations like this. There were people everywhere doing the same and getting psyched up and waiting to pee.


a couple guys who were in the GRB near me and runnerOne. they ran the 26.2 miles in costume. i guess if you're a super hero, anything is possible.

runnerOne and I bid our adieus, wished each other a good run and he went to check his gear. I wasn't far behind him.


one of the many gear check areas. look at all of those bags!

There were two start times on Sunday. The fast runners for the marathon and the 1/2 marathon got to start at 7a. Those of us on the short bus got to start at 710a. Good thing because I used part of that time standing in line waiting to pee. BTW...I did pee before the run started.
one of the port-a-potty lines

When I checked my gear I made the last minute decision not to layer and to wear shorts, a running shirt and cheap gloves. Let me tell you...there were times that I wished I was dressed in thermal underwear.

It was a beautiful day for the run. Not a cloud in the sky. Going into this run I knew that this wasn't going to be a PR for me so I decided to have fun. I wore my running belt and packed the cell phone and camera with me along with the iPod nano.
sunrise while waiting
photo credit: Houston Chronicle

Enjoy the photos with some additional narrative.

The Start Line

i was in the black corral with the slow runners and the walkers.

The spectators
Part of what makes the run fun are the people who come to cheer and make hoopla! I think the chilly weather may have been a factor in the low number of spectators at the beginning of the run. There were not as many on Quitman but there was a band playing and a lady was heating up the grill to cook fajitas. There was a lady with a sign: Si se puede!

As we got closer to Montrose and as the sun started to warm up the temps, the crowds started to increase.

photo credit: Houston Chronicle

even elvis showed up...big and little elvis!

photo credit: Houston Chronicle
the two guys on the right were in their pajamas. when i ran past them they offered me a mimosa. how nice! i didn't accept the beverage. i was trying to figure out where to ditch my gloves.

here are margo and viv. they are the epitome of race supporters. they were cheering and hollering. margo brought bananas, oranges, tissues, pringles and other goodies. by the time i got to them i was getting a bit hungry. the snack hit the spot. if you look at the blue balloon, you can see my name. :-)

somebody always has to be a joker!

this was around mile 11. mile 11.5 is where I sort of mentally lost it because the longest run that I did leading up to sunday was 11. don't get me wrong. i respect the distance of a marathon and a half-marathon but i became a slacker. you see...last year, i got up to 20 miles in training runs before I decided not to do the whole marathon again...so last year, a few weeks before the run, I switched to the half-marathon.

i didn't accept the beer. i didn't want to belch for 2 miles. and besides, beer makes me pee especially when it is cold outside.

The Runners

If you have ever participated or watched a marathon, you have noticed that there are all different types of people out there. All different shapes and sizes, male & female, from young to old, and all different types of ethnicities.

So speaking of runners and peeing...

so here we are around mile 4 or so just as the course passes over i-45. to the left (out of the photo) are two cops. i mean what are they going to do arrest hundreds of men for peeing in public?

i can't remember this guy's name but he shows up at most of the runs in houston and carries the flag. i believe he was running the marathon yesterday. can you imagine carrying a flag for 26.2 miles?

this is what separates the show offs from the slackers. :-) this is the turn around point for the 1/2 marathoners. at this point we only had about 4.5 miles to go. the marathoners had another 16.something to go.

the good thing about the turn around on montrose at richmond is that you can see if anyone is behind you!

the approach into downtown from allen parkway. at this point the marathon course is running parallel to the 1/2 marathon course.

photo credit: Houston Chronicle

this is a great photo showing people crossing the finish line after running the marathon and the half-marathon.

Post-Race

So after we all finished, we were ushered into the GRB to get our medals, t-shirts, H2O, food, and gear. People stand around and wait for their friends and family to come into the building.

I made my way back to NoRO. AttyHou's brother-in-law was running his first marathon and Scotland/Roy hoopla group was waiting for him at Shepherd & Memorial. I took two photos and then realized my battery was dead so I never got a picture of Todd when he came running by.

photo credit: Houston Chronicle

this photo was taken toward the beginning of the run. when they passed by us around mile 23 they were still wearing the sombreros.

Back to Richard Peoples...he finished 3rd in his age group. Way to go Richard!!!!

I'll have a few more photos posted on Tuesday and a few more comments.