Missing Person

I was just checking e-mail before getting ready to do a posting for today and I saw something about an alert from Texas Equusearch.

How many times have you seen a missing person flyer and you don't know the person? That's what I was expecting when I opened this e-mail. There's a difference this time; I know the person.

Dodge A Bullet

Yesterday's headache pretty much knocked me off my feet. I had to run a couple of errands and of course walk The Calvinator but beyond that I was worthless.

At some point I passed out on the couch and missed a party. I did wake up in time to find out that the strike zone cone for Hurricane Dean was getting squished...I guess the correct term is "getting more narrow."

I slept later than normal for a Sunday so I hurried to the telly to find out the latest. I hope this doesn't come back to bite me in the @ss but I'm certain the Texas upper Gulf coast has dodged a bullet.

Dodge The Bullet by Wayne Zebzda

Here is a satellite photo from this morning:



Here is a close-up of Hurricane Dean. If you look at its aesthetic value, it really is quite pretty. I doubt that the people in Jamaica find anything aesthetically pleasing about this.
Here is a look at the 8 different models:


We may not get any rain from this storm.

I did something different today...different from normal Sunday routine. I did go to the office but not to LeFittes. I went to 1030A Mass at University of St. Thomas. They have a really cool chapel on campus. It doesn't hold many people but it was packed today; SRO.
I was really impressed with the choir. Eleven people including the organist. I'm not really big on organ music but they did a really good job of striking a balance of the organ, guitar, clarinet and voices.

SIDEBAR: I have issues with organ music at Mass. You see, I played guitar for many years at different churches for Mass. I never got a good vibe from the organists at any of the churches. It's my issue to resolve. Plus, I haven't played at a Mass in a few years so I really shouldn't make generalizations and should put the issue in a helium balloon and let float out of my life.

Anywho, here are some pics of the chapel. I didn't have my camera with me so I copied these photos from some different websites:

The Fabulous Miss Jolie Shay sent a distress flare this afternoon. (She has a flare about her.) Her car was sputtering and wouldn't move. I'm not a mechanic but I play one on tv so the best I could do was offer her companionship while she waited for the tow truck and then give her a ride home. I took some photos of the car being towed away "just in case" the driver doesn't make it to the dealership with the JAG-U-AR. (I can't figure out how to send those photos to my email address to post.) They sent out a "special" tow truck for the car.

OK...I'm gonna scoot. I have a tinge of a headache.

Life in NoRO (aka 007/Houston)

Lots of stuff going on today and I feel a headache coming on. I don't get headaches very often but when I do they're the kind that bring me to my knees...well, what I mean is that I have to lay on the couch all day. I'm wondering if it is a bit of dehydration? I'm drinking some Accelerade (Citrus Grapefruit) right now and I'm hoping that it helps.

So where to begin?

Weather

Satellite image of Hurricane Dean taken some time this morning.

Last night before I went to bed I was watching Your Education Station and Frank Billingsley said, "Don't get too smug about this." The strike zone cone for Hurricane Dean has narrowed and now Galveston-Houston is at the northern most tip...pretty much out of the zone. However, it will be late Sunday or early Monday before the forecasters get a better feel for what "might" happen.
On an earlier broadcast, Frank spoke with Max Mayfield. Just the sight of him causes me high anxiety! This guy is one of the best hurricane forecasters. Even Max said it is too early to tell.
I really do need to do an inventory of supplies. Even if Dean goes south of us we're probably gonna get real wet for a few days. Look what TS Erin did to Houston.

Running

I did my obligatory 6 mile run this morning. I've decided to do the 1/2 marathon in January so right now I don't feel like doing much more than 6 miles. I do need to start doing some speed work.

Will Run For Martinis clued me in on getting some running music from iTunes. I downloaded a few of the podcasts from Podrunner and listened to one of them this morning. The constant bass beat really did set the cadence (maybe that is what is causing the headache?) and it was a good run but buhgeezes it was hot and humid this morning!

My shoes, socks, shorts and shirt were soaked. I actually had to take off my shirt because I was afraid of getting bloody nipples. (Runners will know what I'm talking about.) It hurts and it's not pretty. When guys start to bleed through their shirts it looks like they've been shot in the chest.

I had put Body Glide on the inner thighs but not on the nipples. Didn't have any Band Aids or Nip Guards to use as protection. And I figured if nobody wanted to see me shirtless, they didn't have to look! :-) I didn't hear anybody screaming and kids didn't cry so I guess I was OK.

Tax Free Weekend

Texas is having a tax free weekend on clothing and backpacks but not school supplies(?). I believe that any item on the approved list that is $100 or less is tax free. Even if you're not going to school you can still get the items tax free.

As a child, my mother trained me to always look for the sales. And I scored big time this morning at Macy's! I got a Kenneth Cole shirt (regular price: $79.00) for $19 and some change and a pair of Kenneth Cole pants (regular price: $70.00) for $19 and some change. (Hurricane evacuation attire it isn't but I will look good on the telly in case they want to interview me as an evacuee.)

However, that is when the headache started. And then I realized that it wasn't even 10:00A yet and the crowds with their kids would soon be arriving so I left The Galleria. Better safe than sorry.

I hadn't been to Fleet Feet Sports in eons and there is one sorta on the way home but not really but it is better than going to Rice Village so I stopped in. OK...20% off ALL apparel and tax free! I only bought a couple of things because the headache was really getting to me.

Anywho...The Calvinator has had his noontime stroll and I think I might need to eat something before I have to lay down on the couch.

I'm outta here!

Guess I Spoke Too Soon

This afternoon the rain came back. It made me think of this photo.

Humedo (translates to Humid)

I just returned from a walk with The Calvinator. I swear the humidity index has to be around 1000%. Believe it or not it is only at 59% with a current temperature of 87 degrees.

What makes it feel higher than that is the fact that the ground is soaked. I checked on Buffalo Bayou earlier today and it is below its banks. I really wanted to get a picture of it when it was really full.

I did try to get a run in yesterday. I went to Memorial Park around 400P. There was a sprinkling of rain...no big deal. I was listening to Madonna's Confessions On A Dance Floor on the iPod and I thought I heard thunder. Then I thought I heard it again. Sure enough...just as I finished 3 miles it poured down rain. End of the run.

I'm not big on thunder and lightning when I'm in a 1500 acre wooded park.

I thought I was going to be smart this morning and get in a long walk with The Calvinator. Looked out. Coast is clear. We start walking. Sure enough...it starts to rain. And me with no umbrella. I made him hurry with his pee and poop and we get back to the house, towel him off and it stops raining. UGH!

I imagine a cartoon drawing of the two of us and a black cloud is over us and it is only raining on us.

This is a satellite image of Hurricane Dean which is now a Category 2. Still too early to tell what will happen next week. Hurricanes are so unpredictable. It's prolly time to do an inventory of supplies in case we get hit next week. Let's see....vodka (a). I'll worry about the other stuff tomorrow.

Get Into The Groove

Birthday greetings go out to Madonna Louise Ciccone Ritchie! The recording artist, actress, author, fashion icon and everything else that she is turns 49 today. If 50 is the new 30, then I guess that makes her 29.

When Mo first came onto the scene back in the 80's, I was a "bit" skeptical of her. Surely she was a flash in the pants. Guess I was wrong.

In an interview on American Bandstand she told Dick Clark that she was going to "rule the world." While she may not rule the world one could say that she rules the entertainment industry.

I was once questioned by a female boss why I liked Madonna. The question was asked in a "condescending" tone and rather than mock the questioner I used it as an opportunity to educate her.

Beyond her talent, I have always been amazed at her ability to reinvent herself. I once read an interview in which she gave her observation about women in the workplace. Noticing how women sometimes work against each other she decided to place women in some of the top positions within her companies. After I stated that fact, the questioner told me that she didn't know that and now had a new opinion of Madonna...it was a positive opinion.

Yes, she has had some missteps. To put it delicately, her movies haven't been all that great. I do think she was awesome in Evita. And I thought she was perfectly cast in A League Of Our Own. I have repeatedly watched Truth Or Dare.

Sidebar: I saw Madonna perform at Reunion Arena in Dallas. It was her Blonde Ambition Tour and it was by far one of the best concerts I have ever been to.
So what are some of my favorite Madonna songs? I'll give you a few: Holiday; Into The Groove; Express Yourself; Ray Of Light; Vogue; Like A Prayer; Beautiful Stranger; Hung Up; Deeper And Deeper; Material Girl.
Sidebar: My parents had a dog named Freckles (not to be confused with Frex). I remember one time the Material Girl video was on the telly. There's a part of the song where Madonna makes a high-pitched staccato noise and Freckles turned toward the telly and started barking. LOL
Sidebar: When I was living in Richmont Square, across the street was a bar named The Red Door. One year on August 16, I threw a birthday party for Madonna at the bar. She didn't show up. It was a fun time with Patti, Greg, Danny and Jim from Boston and several other partners in crime. A few weeks later I decided to throw myself a birthday party at the bar and the theme was: As Madonna As You Want To Be. The only people who dressed up were John, Emma, Danny, Robert and myself. Guess the other folks didn't want to be Madonna-esque. And no, I will NOT be posting those photos. LOL

Madge, if you're reading this...Happy Birthday! I can't wait until your 50th Birthday Celebration!

In other news...

TS Erin has made landfall around Port Aransas. It is wet here in Houston and no I didn't go running this morning. The Calvinator and I got soaked during our morning walk.

Today marks the 30th anniversary of the death of Elvis. On this day in 1977 I was working at Lino's restaurant in Ft. Worth. I was working with JoAnn that afternoon when one of our regular customers came in.

This guy had a pompadour hairstyle. (Can you see where this is going?) He comes in and looks really sad. He tells us that The King is dead. He took a seat at a booth in the back of the restaurant and told JoAnn to just keep bringing him beer. He then proceeded to play all of the Elvis songs on the jukebox...all afternoon.

The Sky Is Falling

So the first part of today did not go as planned. Here was the plan:

1. Get up early and do a 5 mile run

2. Shower and clean up

3. Take The Calvinator to doggy daycare

4. Go to the office and read the newspaper

5. Head west on I-10 to suburbia to check out a store for my paper supply

6. Meander back inside the loop (ITL) and have lunch

Here's how it played out:

At 3:57A CDT, I was awakened by loud claps of thunder, lightning and rain. I wasn't sure how long the storm was going to last but I knew it was going to prevent me from getting out to the park by 500A. I guess at some point I turned off the alarm.

I got out of bed around 530A or so and it had stopped raining. Anthony Yanez at your education station informed me that the tropical disturbance is now Tropical Storm Erin. Erin will make landfall on Thursday between Corpus Christi and Brownsville. Galveston-Houston will be getting rain and storms. This morning was just a preview.

OK. Not to sound like Chicken Little but Tropical Storm Dean will probably make its way into the Gulf and not dog leg and go north. This storm will probably be a hurricane in a few days. UGH.

Satellite image from this morning. TS Erin is on the left and TS Dean is on the right (east of the Lesser Antilles.)

We went for our walk and while we were walking I started the debate in my head about running today. So I decided to take The Calvinator to doggy daycare and then go running.

OY! It was a 3 mile three sweater run. The park was wet (duh!) and the sun was peaking through so the temp was rising along with the humidity level. It honestly felt like I was wearing three sweaters and pallet of bricks.

I cleaned up and went to the office. By now I'm thinking that the traffic in suburbia should be OK so I did a quick read of the newspaper and headed west.

On my way to the store, I saw a mega-Garden Ridge so I stopped in and boy did I get thrown for a loop! The first thing that greeted me was rows and rows of Christmas trees and decorations. I'm sorry but mind isn't even thinking about Labor Day and I see Christmas trees. It honestly started to make me dizzy. So I left. On the way out I did see Halloween decorations.
To make myself feel better I went to Panera. I was still a bit overwhelmed by the Christmas trees so I ordered a Frozen Green Tea (with whipped cream)...Largo. I figured Largo went with Large Asso. Just put the whipped cream on both of my thighs. I took two Asiago bagels with me for future meals.




I made it to Archivers. The entire time I was on this trek I kept humming Suburbia by Pet Shop Boys. I'm not being critical but I will say that I didn't fit in with most of the people in 281 that I saw today. As Sugar Land Stuart has repeatedly told me, I'm too urban. (I take that as a compliment.)

At this point I wasn't sure what traffic was going to be like heading back ITL. I really wanted to go to Kohls 'cause I've never been to one but I didn't want to chance the traffic with all of the construction on I-10.

Made it back ITL and got to St. Anne's in time for the 12:00P Mass. The church was full which really surprised me. For the non-Catholic readers, today is a Holy Day of Obligation. This means we are obliged to attend Mass and celebrate The Feast of the Assumption.

from Catholic Encyclopedia:
This feast has a double object: (1) the happy departure of Mary from this life; (2) the assumption of her body into heaven. It is the principal feast of the Blessed Virgin.

Other than some web surfing, I don't have much else planned for the day. I was at LeFittes yesterday to do weights so I won't be going there this evening.