Bath time fun

Oh man, I can imagine tons of fun with this stuff.

Gloop me baby

Village Fourplex falling down, falling down...

If you had to pick one item to save from your burning house, what would it be? I read this question recently and I don't know what I would pick. I think my laptop would have to be it. I have so many pictures on this thing that would be so hard to replace. Yet, I have so many childhood memories scattered throughout my apartment.

There is this nasty trend on my street lately. Aparently, the owners of the four-plexes are tired of renting the units. They have decided to tear down the homes and turn them into town homes to sell. This is really sad. They have already torn down two of them. They recently sectioned off four more to tear down. I was walking my dog this evening and noticed this big ass John Deere tractor in the front yard. It's the size of the two story four plex. I think they will start the demolition of the four units tomorrow.

I heard these units have been around for a long time (over fifty years). I can believe it because my unit is old as hell. I have the only unit on the street with central A/C and a newly remodeled interior. It's such a shame that the history of the homes will be gone in one fatal swoop of the crane.

I'm going to take a picture of the units tomorrow morning along with the crane. Someone should capture these buildings in some medium before they are erased from time.

T-Minus Six and counting

Only six more days until my road trip. I'm so psyched, but have so much to do before then. If only I had the ability to bend time / space. I think I might be watching too much Heroes.

Not in my house

I just killed a freakin 3" wolf spider in the middle of my living room. Three inches...Well, that's three inches from leg tip to leg tip. The body was about half that size. That's still huge. How the hell did a spider that big get into my place? I almost stepped on the damn thing. It was a show down. I had nothing around to kill it. I didn't want to leave the room because I was afraid it would take off and then I would really be freaked out. Let's see what my options were.

1. TV remote control
2. Napkin
3. DVD Case
4. Zoey Dog Bone

Hell yeah, the choice was clear. The napkin... whatever. It's razor sharp fangs could easily pierce the paper. Hell no. Anything related to electronics was not going to be an option (including the DVD case). So, what else was I to do. As Macho Man Randy Savage would say, "Step into a slim jim!" wait no wrong saying, "OH, YEAH!!!" I smacked that bitch with a Rib bone faster than lightning. Spider guts went flying. Leg here, Leg there. It was like that opening scene of Saving Private Ryan. Blood flying all over the place.

Daniel 2, Spider 0.

So now, I'm having a major freak attack and don't want to get into my bed. What if another big ass spider crawls into my bed while I'm sleeping? I'm constantly brushing my neck as I type this because it feels like a spider is touching my neck. Did I mention my arachnophobia? Especially the kind that is afraid of big ass eat your face type of spiders.

I've taken the precaution of spraying bug spray along the door gaps. I figure it's kind of similar to salt keeping witches out. The bug spray should have some sort of protective ability toward the spiders. I think I might have over sprayed though. The smell is starting to make me nauseous. Whatever it takes to wake up in the morning and not be trapped in some giant cocoon.

Dumbo solutions

All of the world's problems can be solved with elephants.

Physics Test

Road to discovery

I just finished the book Repacking Your Bags. This book had a huge impact into the evaluation of my current life and where I want to go with my life. I have struggled with several internal issues for a while and this book put some clarity into certain aspects of my life that I have questioned. I highly recommend it to everyone.

Anyway, I read this passage today that just about sums up a lot of what I have been feeling lately.

"Zeteophobia is the fear of searching out. It's the feeling that stops so many of us in our tracks - the fear that the decision is just too big to make. We feel that we must decide 'now' how we're doing to spend 'the rest of our lives'! We see the life/work decisions as being too important -so crucial and overwhelming- that we can't bear to face them."

So the way I see it, I have two choices. I can either continue to live my life the way I always do, or I can change it. It boils down to those two options. There is this internal turmoil that I face daily. I have no other choice than to do something about it. The one thing that has always held me back was fear. Oh ne ne fear, you will no longer control me.

What am I going to do? I don't know. I think this road trip will help me answer that question. Looking back on it, I have shown these signs for a while. I have wanted to take camping trips to get away from it all. I have wanted to pack up everything and move someplace else. I have wanted to quit technology and become a lumberjack or fisherman (even though I can't swim). I knew this feeling all along, but I was just to scared to do anything about it.

It's similar to a timid dooberman pincher. It's running away from everyone. But if it feels cornered, it will attack. This is my subconscious attacking me and I have the emotional scares to prove it.

Signs, Sign, everywhere signs...

Long haird freaky people need not apply.

I used to not put much thought into life signs (could I have phrased this any more awkward?), but somewhere along the way I have changed my belief in them. The moon was visible today at 4:00 pm. Clear as day. That is one of those freaky phenomenons that really gets me thinking.

I need to pay attention to the signs life is showing me. Enough of my delusional rambling for now.

Flip this life

Integrity - (noun) the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness.

What happens when you sell your soul to the devil? I had the best life when I was poor. No money = no bills. Actually, no money meant no anything. I remember my freshman year of college and I had to choose between ordering a five dollar pizza or washing my laundry. Duh, pizza always won that battle. Ramen noodles were my specialty. I know a million ways to cook them damn noodles. Back then, you could find them 10 for a dollar (15 if they were on sale). Not any more.

Now, I spend $30 on dinner. I don't even bat an eyelash. Today, I spent $8 on a damn piece of catfish and two sides. Eight dollars... that damn lunch place is killing me. The more money you have, the more you spend. It's a vicious cycle. I like Ramen noodles. I want to return to the Ramen noodle lifestyle.

I had a conversation recently with a friend about my goals in life. What do I want to do for a career? Is my current career leading me to that goal? What is stopping me? It boils down to one word. FEAR. That's right. I'm a lilly livered, yellow bellied, scared pansy. I'm so afraid that my dreams won't work out. Why must I need a safety net for everything I do? Sometimes you just have to jump and trust that it will all work out.

I have been hooked on those damn house flipping shows lately. I watch em all. The best one is Property Ladder (TLC). These average people try to flip homes. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it all comes crashing down. The episode I watched today was a good one. I thought these two guys were going to loose everything. They bought a house for $487,000 (or something like that) and put in $350,000 of renovations. They wanted 1.1 million dollars for the house. The current area usually sells homes for $600,000. Damn that's a big risk.

So I waited until the end to laugh at the fools for spending $15,000 on kitchen appliances. Oh, I knew how this was going to end. But fuck me... they found a buyer after four months. They made almost $200,000 profit for their risk.

So what can I learn from them? They were scared shitless and could have lost it all. They kept waiting and waiting, but all they needed was one person to buy the house. They finally found the one person. Maybe everything else in life is like that as well. You have to put it all out there on the line to reap the biggest rewards. What will it take to make me put it all out there on the line?

Audible Thought

I had planned on posting some information about this 93 year old guy, but decided to post other thoughts instead. You can read about him on his site. He has so much insight, it amazes me. I hope when I'm his age, I'll be able to pass on some knowledge to some younglings like he has given to us. Sorry to switch the thought at the last minute on you.

Anyway, back to my own thoughts. After all, this is my "thought of the day" not his. Why do people change in the world? What is the secret of happiness? When I was younger, I thought that everyone was a "certain" way and they did not change. Reality bitch slapped me real quick. My friends have all changed and my relationships have changed. But more importantly, my relationship with myself has changed. Humans are dynamic in nature (some more so than others). I have been working too hard lately. It is starting to affect my personal life. I am so tired, that I come home and just want to veg out. I don't want to go out with friends or interact with society. This is not good.

I think I'm ready to put this damn guitar to use and sign up for a guitar lesson. I need to commit to it and not think about the cost of the class. I also want to take Spanish classes. I was talking to a co-worker and he knows five different languages. He is fluent in three of them. Fuck me. I'm strugling with the one language I know. My Spanish is a joke and is getting worse with time. Can I count pig latin as a foreign language?

No sleepytime

Don't you hate it when you take medicene that is supposed to knock you out, but instead it has the opposite effect? Drowsiness, my ass.

How did Jesus do it?

I have one question for the owner's of Katy Mills Mall. Why would there be a five inch deep pothole in your parking lot?

Seriously, five inches deep???

I had dinner with my daughter today and we got lucky (or so I thought) and found front row parking. I mean FRONT ROW. We were the first spot in the row. It was raining, so we ran inside and had dinner. After dinner, I went looking for a new clothes hamper. Found a really nice wicker hamper at Marshalls and purchased said hamper. It was still raining so we ran to the car and I went to the back to load the hamper. As I opened the back of my Xterra, I put my foot down and immediately felt water up to my ankle. I thought, "Hmm... my toes sure do feel awful wet." Then it hit me. I almost twisted my ankle trying to get out of the hole. My whole foot was soaked. It looked like a small pool of water. Certainly not a hole full of water.

All I could do was laugh. What else could you do? Since I was still in my work clothes, these would be my nice leather work shoes.

Ashley: "Do you think they'll be okay. They are leather."
Me: "I guess I'm about to find out." (We both chuckle)
Ashley: "If not, you can just soak the other shoe in water. That way they would match."

Damn, that girl is too smart for her own good sometimes. So if you happen to stop by Katy Mills any time soon, avoid the hole outside of the Rainforest Cafe entrance. "You are entering Entrance three into neighborhood three"

Low Tech Trip

I just found out that my trip has been bumped up a couple of weeks. I am now set to go the first full week in February. I'm getting more jazzed the more I think about it. That's two weeks away. Am I prepared?

I used to be super anal retentive when it came to trips. I would create lists for everything. I was always afraid that I would forget something. I would make lists for my lists. You know what? No matter how detailed my lists were, I would always forget something. It would never fail. I would then get bummed out that I didn't fully "prepare" for the trip. How messed up is that?

This trip. Minimal is the new "white". I'm going as low tech as possible (besides my digital camera and laptop). No plans and no restrictions set on myself. I have always wanted to visit Area 51 or Roswell. I just might swing down and make it part of my trip. Who knows what I might do?

Which writer would go out and trap themselves in the woods? Emerson... Thoreau... I can never remember writers. Anyway, this is my journey. A rite of passage if you will. Spending quality time alone should help me clear my mind and answer a lot of internal questions.

I think once I hit the ocean, I'm going to jump in and enjoy myself. Baptism of the mind. This year is going to be a good year. After all, when you're at the bottom, it can only get better.

Definition of Stress

Stress = (noun) pressure or tension exerted on a material object. Example: Daniel's life.

Future genius in the making

Oh Darwin, you're such a prankster.

Where's the match?

I'd swear by the amount of nasty farts my dog lets out that she eats bean tacos while I'm away.

Can you buy hawk repellent?

If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it. A hawk just tried to attack my dog. While I was walking her outside my apartment. My dog was circling around trying to find a place to take a dump and I was looking at her. Then, out of nowhere, this hawk swoops out in front of us and is six inches above her and then flys off. It was so close, I could have touched it had I reached out in time. The bird was there for less than a second and then I watched it fly off into a tree further down the street.

This sucker was FAST and silent. I never heard the wings flapping or saw it coming. I am so glad I am higher up on the food chain because I would have been a goner. The interesting thing is that my dog was bigger than the hawk. She's a 30 pound terrier mix. No small dog. The hawk had a body about half the size of my dog, but it's wing span went out about three feet. At least that's how it looked as it zoomed by.

I wonder if it thought it could take her and then changed it's mind at the last minute. I have heard stories of other people loosing small dogs or pet rabbits to birds (owls and hawks). I have to say, I'm now a witness to something similar.

White as virgin snow

Okay, so now I'm really starting to feel old. I know I'm not really that old, but tell my mind that. There are times in a man's life when the body starts to develop. I was the first in my grade to develop a deep voice in the fourth grade. I was the first of my friends to develop facial hair (If you call two straggly strands on the chin facial hair). Then there was the discovery of an occasional ear hair every now and then about five years ago. FREAKED me out. There was the white hair on my head about six years ago. Again, FREAKED out. And now...

I have discovered my first white hair in my goatee. Okay, it's not much of a goatee. Really, it's this fur patch that is on my chin. I can't really grow a full beard so I just let this pube patch grow on my chin. And I have dark brown hair (almost black). This one white hair stood out like Eminem at a Dr. Dre party. I plucked it out so fast, I think I grabbed three or four "good" hairs with it. What the hell?

Please Lord, please... don't tell me "other" hair gets white as well.

Memoirs of the sleep deprived

Sometimes, when you just let go, life throws you down with the force of a freight train. I think I've figured out a little secret. In the past; everytime I would let go, I would try to grab on to the train again. I could never grab back on to the same spot and would eventually get squished.

The secret is to not grab back on. Instead, I should just tuck and roll and see where that takes me. I've been so scared that I would fall off. I never enjoyed myself. The fun part is falling off the train. I think I'm ready to jump.

I'm in one of those "moods" again. I think I'll start to call it a "thirty-life" crisis. Can you believe that my sister is a senior at Texas A&M University and has never heard the "perfect" country and western song?

Well I was drunk, the day my ma got out of prison.
And I went, to pick her up, in the rain.
But before I could get to the station in my PICKUP truck.
She got runned over by the DAMNED OL' TRAIN.

I hated, and I mean hated, country music until I went to A&M. It grows on you like toenail fungus. You don't realize it's in you until you look down one day. "So I'll hang around as long as you will let me." When I'm in these funks, for some reason this song pops up into my head.

Maybe my friend was right. What if one day I wake up and realize my whole life was just a dream? I think it would be a good dream. I should work at Mission Burrito. Everytime I go there, all of the staff is so happy. Almost too happy... Like Stepford Wives happy. It's been a while since I've been there, but it never changes. The same staff. The same smiles. Like the Twilight Zone.

I wonder how many tangents I can create in this post alone? How many now? Four... Five? I think I really need to get some restful sleep. "You can sleep when you're dead." What show/movie is that from?

LIttle Bo Peep ain't got nothing on me

I have been working my butt off lately. I feel like Juan Valdez's donkey at a coffee convention. I'm beat, but I have been so stressed that I also have problems sleeping. My sleep pattern has been completely screwed.

I come home, eat dinner, and then usually pass out. Only to wake up a couple of hours later. Then I can't get back to sleep for another couple of hours. I just can't seem to find that balance yet. My ying is yangless.

Anyway... I'm off to try and sleep again. I was dead tired a few minutes ago, but my mind seems to be restless. Wish me luck. One more thing. If you see my sheep, please tell them to come back. I miss them.

I want my damn bling bling

Where is the damn ice? The last time I needed ice this bad was to make a frozen margarita at three in the morning. I was too drunk to drive and had everything but ice. Oh, that was a bad night indeed. Margaritas on the rocks, hold the rocks.

This time... we need this damn ice to come so I get an extra day off this week. Honestly, you can't expect me to work more than three days this week. Can you?

This city is so sad. They get freakin blizzards up north and are still expected to show up for work. We get a little ice on the roads and EVERYTHING shuts down. I was watching the news and they were worried that Domino's would not be able to deliver pizzas tomorrow if there is ice on the road. Oh noes... how ever will us fatties get our food fixins if they can't deliver the pizzas and we are all iced in?

Houston. We have winter.

We are finally getting a winter here in Houston. It is currently 35 degrees without taking the wind chill factor into consideration. The city is expecting icy conditions tonight and tomorrow morning. Oh joy, we actually get a winter this year.

These are the times I wish I had a fire place. I would have that thing burning wood all day long. Oh well, I guess I'll have to settle for a blanket and my fireplace screen saver. I could occasionally light and burn out a match to get the smoky smell. Such a pathetic situation we have here.

Patience of an ant

I'll let you in on a secret of mine. I have the worst patience ever. Don't get me wrong. I can being as patient as a saint when it comes to other people. But when it involves patience for myself, I suck at it big time. I have this internal panick sometimes and I don't give myself enough time to fully think things out.

I have been going though a lot of life changes the past couple of years and I figure this is as good a time as any to start changing things I don't like about myself. An internal inventory of my strengths and weaknesses. One of my weaknesses is my lack of patience.

Mental docs would probably mention that this stems from some traumatic event in my past. I need to discover what triggered these feelings and accept them. Or some crap like that. I have been to therapy before. I think it works, but not everything needs to be tied back to some "traumatic" event. Sometimes things just change within us or maybe I learned this rushing behavior by watching my parents.

My mother is the worst when it comes to panicking. It seems to be getting worse with her as she gets older. She can't find her purse. OH MY GOD! She must have left it in the store. Someone is stealing her identity as we speak. She is going through these thoughts within a matter of 30 seconds. My sisters and I try to calm her down. Figure out where she last "saw" her purse. And the whole time it's sitting on the kitchen table. I seriously hope I never get that bad. What makes a person trigger that fast about the worst?

I think the world of my mother and know that she is just trying her best. She is not perfect. No one is perfect. The thing that scares me is that I am like that but with a different aspect of my life. My relationships. In the past, I would think the worst of my partner. She got out of class at 9:30 and it's 10:30, but she is not home yet. She is not answering her cell phone. Oh my god, she must be in some kind of car wreak. Or maybe someone attacked her on the way to her car. You see that? It's really not so different than my mother's way of thinking. Then she would show up five minutes later and tell me that she stayed late to talk to some classmates about a project and she just didn't hear her cell phone in the car. All that panicking for nothing. It can be emotionally draining.

I have worked really hard on that aspect and feel that I have made a 180 degree turn around on that part of me. The problem is with myself now. I worry about getting a house or if I need to find a different job. What happens if I ever get fired? These kind of thoughts are floating around my pink mass all the time. It's enough to drive you crazy.

Anyway... thank you internets for letting me vent out my feelings and frustrations. You can send me your bill in the mail.

Step One - Finalize Date. Check.

I almost forgot to mention my trip. I'm almost as pumped as Mr. Hands (Google it). Anyway, I put in my request and I have my week set.

February 19-26

Suckers... I managed to get a complete week off. And that first day is a holiday for us, so I only have to use five vacation days, but have eight complete days for my travel. I can now create a checklist of stuff to pack. I need to start researching the goofiest things I can do on my trip.

Frozen Shmozen

Okay, I have officially learned my lesson. NO MORE FROZEN MARGARITAS from a Mexican restaurant. I went out with a friend last night and he was constantly bragging about the "best" margaritas in Houston. So we went there and they were crap. His fix for making them the "best" is to add another shot of Don Julio and Grand Marnier to the fozen margarita. After four of them, I didn't really notice the bad taste so much.

The only problem with this "fix" is that it does not take the cheap alcohol out of the drink. I mean the cheapest rot gut you can find on the border of Mexico. The $1.50 (on a good day) type of bottles.

So again, I felt like shit all night long and spent the whole day today recovering from last night's debauchery. I wont even mention the hole in the wall bar we went to afterwards.

Let's see if I can remember this lesson in the future. All margaritas need to be ordered on the rocks. Patron... my long lost friend. Where were you last night?

Now you see me...

I try not to post too much information about my job, but this week has been hectic as hell. I found out that I may be doing a whole lot of travel soon for training. If this is the case, I'm having a hard time scheduling my road trip. I think I will have to be more creative. I am trying to schedule three days of one week and two days on the next week. That will still give me seven days to travel. This should be enough time for me to hit the ocean and head back.

I used to drive from San Diego and make it to San Antonio within a day (24 hour day). I was hauling some major ass though. And it was summer, so I didn't have to worry about the roads. I was also completly hopped up on energy drinks and coffee the whole time. So, seven days should be no problem.

I shooting for the Feb. 19th week. I'm putting in my request tomorrow and see if I can make this work somehow.

Confusion

This is a general disclaimer. I may ramble on this post. So if you have anything important to do, just ignore this post and go about your business. Now where was I?

It's all about me right now (when is it not about me?). I have been thinking recently about how much I have grown as an individual the past two years. I have made a very conscious effort to learn who I am and why I act the way I do. But as much as I learn more about myself, I end up having more questions that I just can't seem to answer. When does it stop? Will it ever stop?

My world usually revolves around some sort of logic, but I have learned a while back that emotions do not follow any sort of logic. People do things that don't make sense sometimes. I get into these mini funks at times that scare me. I've lived my life for thirty years always in control of thoughts and emotions. Or so I thought. I was living in this unrealistic bubble for so long. Now that the bubble has burst, it feels uncomfortable to be emotionally "naked" in this world. I know it has something to do with my getting older and what not. Why does it bother me so much?

I don't mean to get all "dramatic" on you. And I seem to have this fascination with "quotes" lately. Feel free to perform the air quotes during those moments.

I think this road trip will help clear my mind somewhat. I HOPE it helps clear my mind. I feel as if I have been running full speed for so long that I don't know how to stop. Roses... what roses? Oh, those that I ran over a long time ago.

I started this site two years ago to use as a form of online journal. I think it has served it's purpose. Far more than any written journal has in my past.

I used to only let people see a certain aspect of my personality. I would have never let anyone see this more personal side of me three years ago. I was always the crazy one, or the funny one, or the party guy, or the quiet nerd. I would change my personality to match my environment. Codependence is a bitch. To this day, I still question who I am. Which of those personas is my real self? I don't know.

[pause] To let you pour yourself a drink (seriously, this is some depressing shit isn't it? Even I want a drink right now.)

I read a quote from Denzel Washington today. "Never look back. You can look back on your life when your old." That may be some useful advice right now. Sometimes I focus too hard on the past and forget to look toward the future. I have to constantly remind myself that the unknown is a good thing. Yes there will be bad things in the future, but there will also be good things. The secret to hapiness is focusing on the good things and accepting the bad.

"Are you a winner or a loser?" Sorry, I just saw Little Miss Sunshine this past weekend and have that quote stuck in my head. Don't say I didn't warn you about the rambling. Welcome to my world. This is my thought process. ALL THE TIME. I jump around from one thought to another with no apparent connection.

Who's your daddy?

This kid is definitely not one to follow "rules" or "traditions".

We are Borg

I've been hesitant about posting this for some time, but I think I have to finally accept it.

I have become part of THE MAN. I am a cog in the system. I hate it, but they say everyone has a price. I have found my price. I am on the fast track to a leadership role at work. Officially, I am a "team leader". Which is another way of saying "supervisor". Of course, I've got the training from my childhood. My childhood training kicked in this week and I've been hearing comments about my new role as supervisor.

Really, I had no choice. I could have declined the position, but three words rang in my ear the whole time.

ASHLEY COLLEGE FUND

I don't have anything saved up for her college yet and she is only five years away from high school graduation. I remember what it was like having to work full time while attending classes. It was a royal bitch. I don't want my daughter to have to do that. And don't even get me started on the difficulties involving marriage, family, work, and school all together. I would catch a bus at 5:30am for work, start class at 5:00 pm, run to catch the bus at 9:30 pm (after my last class), get home at 10:30 and study until 2:00 am. Repeat and rinse. Those few years were a blur.

So yeah, I may be part of the MAN. It's a price I'm willing to pay to hope that my daughter's future is easier than mine. They may make me part of their system, but they can't take away the resisitance in me. Viva la little man.

Why Steve... Why?

JUNE... I have to wait until June....

The iPhone won't be released until June. I have $600 burning a hole in my pocket for this thing. Actually I don't, but I do have the ability to have Apple credit to get this thing.

"Come on, come on. Hurry up already."

That does it. I'm gonna have to freeze myself for five months until it comes out.

Two Words

Apple Phone

I'm watching the Keynote now and it is offically here. It is EXACTLY what I wanted!!!
And Cingular is carrying it. Oh yeah... I'm charging this bad boy to my credit card.

Gotta quote this

When I saw this today i said "bruce campbell, awesome," and my mom said "who the heck is he?," i replied "evil dead...army of darkness...'boomstick.'" She gave me a blank look, and i gave her a back hand, that ho.

-gconeen

Cooking up some TLC

I'm making home made chilli tomorrow. Extra special suprise... I'm adding the deer sausage to spice it up a little bit. It should be really, really good. Now only if we could do something about this freaky warm weather lately.

Testosterone... where art thou?

I seem to be outnumbered this weekend. I'm spending it with my daughter and my sister. So.. what do we watch?

America's Top Model marathon

Apparently, there were several seasons and they decided to show ALL of them today. A person can only take so much Tyra Banks.

I'm in some serious need of explosions, violence, or kung-fu right now. Perhaps if the models had a cat fight in the end, I would enjoy the show more. Wouldn't that be cool? America's top model (cat fight edition). Then they could show it on Spike TV.

And what the hell is the deal with that guy calling himself "Ms. J"? Um... yeah... I am pretty sure he is not a "miss".

Get your kicks

I'm pretty jazzed about my next adventure. I'm travelling cross country. Alone. Just me and the highway. Which road you might ask?

Route 66

I'm heading north to Amarillo and then going west on Route 66 until I hit the ocean. Turn around and head back. I'm going to stop at all the traditional touristy things along the way. See if I can find a giant ball of twine or something like that. The only concern... I'm doing it within the next month and I've never been on that highway before.

I'm not sure what the roads will be like during January and I'm sure I'll be going through some mountains. I'll have to figure it out along the way. Do I need snow chains? I will be prepared though with all kinds of food, water, energy drinks, warm items packed in the back. I do have an Xterra, so I'll have plenty of room for all essentials.

I plan on taking my camera with me to create some sort of photo blog during that week. I'm also not sure about Internet access, so I may be non-existent that week. I'm picking the week tomorrow morning to make sure work is well covered.

Wish me luck. "Go west young man, go west."

Pockets of Hotness

Why do Hot Pockets need to be placed a certain side up when cooking them in a microwave? As an experiment, I cooked them upside down. They didn't really taste any different.

Maybe... just maybe

I wanted to post my New's Year's resolutions yesterday, but I was out until late in the evening and too tired to post them. So here I am ready to post them, but I can't determine what I should list for my resolutions. I completed a whole one (maybe two) items from my list last year. So I really need to determine some good resolutions that I can actually accomplish.

I have this bad habit of trying to bite more than I can chew. So... let's take a look at the list from last year.
1) Take a swim class before the summer.
2) Take a Spanish class this year. I know one class is not going to make a world of difference, but it's a start.
3) Learn to play the guitar.
4) Be able to run 26.2 miles by the end of the year. I want to run in the 2007 Houston Marathon.
5) Make three new friends. I have realized the importance of friendship this year. And I mean true friends, not just acquaintances.
6) Read fifteen new books (not computer books). I love to read, but usually do not make the time to read more often.
7) Travel to someplace new this year. It has been a while since I have been somewhere new.
8) Drink more water than caffeinated drinks. This is the one that will be the hardest. Ah, my precious coffee. But if I do this every day, then I know I will have kept my resolution at the end of the year.
9) See at least one play, one symphony, and one opera before the year ends. How else can I grow as an individual?
10) Go camping with my daughter at least twice before the year ends. She enjoyed the camping so much last time. I think this would create wonderful memories for her as she grows older.

And let's break down how I did...

1) Nope, still freaked out as shit around deep water
2) Nope, I still add "o" to everything to Mexicanize it. "I liko to reado, me booko".
3) Yeah, right... let's try pulling the damn thing out and tuning it for God's sake.
4) That is really funny. I can probably run a total of four miles before my lungs flip inside out.
5) Nope, still have the same friends and actually lost touch with one friend. So it's a negative one in this area.
6) I kinda reached this one, but it's a stretch. I had to resort to children's books in the end to reach this one.
7) My ass doesn't even like to leave "The Village" area.
8) Well... technically coffee and tea are made from water. And don't energy drinks have water in them?
9) Nope, Nope, and Nope. I did watch "Rent" which is a musical so it kinda counts.
10) I did try to go camping with my daughter, but damn it all the spots were taken for two whole months.

Yeah, I'm hanging my head in shame as I type this post. If I had a can, I would definitely be kicking it right about now.

So, you can see my predicament. I need to pick resolutions that I can accomplish and feel better at the end of the year, not make me feel worse. I also want them to be somewhat different because anyone can say "lose weight" or "watch less TV". They also need to be in a "check box" format. I need to be able to "check" them off to say I did them. So what should they be?

Well... let's pick five and determine that I need to accomplish AT LEAST three of the five. I think this is more my style. And hell, everyone uses numbers, but that implies priority, so instead I will use random letters (Is this a run on sentence?).

S) Travel to Cozumel for a week.
H) Sing in a Karaoke bar in front of people.
I ) Camp at Big Bend State Park.
T) Catch a fish bigger than 20 pounds.
E) Take a Salsa dancing class.

All of these resolutions were carefully chosen and not that different than last year's resolutions. I have learned that I accomplish more when I have detailed expectations from myself. All of these should help me grow as a person through the year. I also expect many of these to produce "side effect" resolutions. I may decide to take that swimming class if I'm out in the ocean or plan on going to Cozumel. I may make new friends with the dancing classes. And camping... well maybe that one is self explanatory. I am extremely jazzed about these resolutions and seriously think this year I can accomplish them all.

Of course, I'm sure everyone says that at the beginning of the year. I'm such a pessimistic ass sometimes. Maybe I should have made that one of my resolutions. Nah.. that's like trying to make Jenna Jameson practice sexual abstinence.