I was having an SMS conversation just now and I sent this text message... I liked it enough that I wanted to share it, but it's too long to send via twitter.
"Baylor fanhood is an acquired skill involving optimism immune to disappointment by either the media attention we receive or the performance of the team itself. My dad is a master; I am on year 24 of study and still only consider myself a novice."
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Tagged
Nancy tagged me several days ago and I'm just now getting around to responding. So now I am supposed to post six interesting facts about myself, and here are the ones I have chosen:
1) I listen to Christmas music at all times of the year. Particularly the summer. I listen to it the least in December. I don't know why.
2) I secretly believe that playing basso handbells makes me look macho. I know that this is patently ridiculous, but I believe it anyway.
3) I want to be in a Muppet production as a Muppet who looks and sounds like me. This wish was inspired by a dream in which an ex-girlfriend cursed me to being a Muppet and I ended up liking it, so she changed me back out of exasperation. This was almost certainly put into my subconscious by the "Smile Time" episode of Angel. Also somebody once told me I laughed like a muppet.
4) I love the process of traveling almost as much as being in the place I am going, but only when I am with the right traveling companions (my roommate Ray, for example) or completely alone. Even commercial flights, when taken alone, are therapeutic experiences for me.
5) The ONLY time I like being alone is when I travel. This will all change when I meet my wife, though, because she will also love to travel and will like all of the same road games and audiobooks as me. I say this with this kind of certainty because it may well be a deal-breaker. If only road trips were acceptable as second dates, it would save everybody so much time.
6) Even though I haven't been in Oklahoma since the holiday season started, I have been humming the B.C. Clark Anniversary Sale Jingle throughout this road trip. I was unaware of this until my waitress at the sushi place in Vegas asked me to stop.
Wow, two posts in one day... I think it's been a long while since that's happened.
1) I listen to Christmas music at all times of the year. Particularly the summer. I listen to it the least in December. I don't know why.
2) I secretly believe that playing basso handbells makes me look macho. I know that this is patently ridiculous, but I believe it anyway.
3) I want to be in a Muppet production as a Muppet who looks and sounds like me. This wish was inspired by a dream in which an ex-girlfriend cursed me to being a Muppet and I ended up liking it, so she changed me back out of exasperation. This was almost certainly put into my subconscious by the "Smile Time" episode of Angel. Also somebody once told me I laughed like a muppet.
4) I love the process of traveling almost as much as being in the place I am going, but only when I am with the right traveling companions (my roommate Ray, for example) or completely alone. Even commercial flights, when taken alone, are therapeutic experiences for me.
5) The ONLY time I like being alone is when I travel. This will all change when I meet my wife, though, because she will also love to travel and will like all of the same road games and audiobooks as me. I say this with this kind of certainty because it may well be a deal-breaker. If only road trips were acceptable as second dates, it would save everybody so much time.
6) Even though I haven't been in Oklahoma since the holiday season started, I have been humming the B.C. Clark Anniversary Sale Jingle throughout this road trip. I was unaware of this until my waitress at the sushi place in Vegas asked me to stop.
Wow, two posts in one day... I think it's been a long while since that's happened.
This = More Like It
Ahhhh... much better.
Since last I posted, I've spent two days in Las Vegas, which, while fun, were not exactly what I think of when I take trips like this one. It was a bit too hectic, too much noise. Not quite... Spartan... enough for my taste. When I get away, I enjoy some hustle and bustle as much as the next guy, but my current locale is much more my speed.
I'm sitting in one of my favorite places in the world. The Higher Grounds Coffee Shop in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. Common Grounds in Waco is a nice place and all, but whenever I'm in there I get the distinct feeling that I'm not the right kind of cool, or not cool enough, to be in there. First off, I can't grow a full beard and I rarely wear my emo glasses. Second, I don't own any Tom's shoes. Thirdly, I don't listen to any Indy music that didn't spawn from Five Iron Frenzy. Since Pagosa Springs isn't a college town, the coffee shop maintains the relaxed atmosphere I really enjoy without giving me the impression that I'm being out-pretentioused by the dude on the couch with all the stickers on his MacBook. Not that there's anything wrong with those guys, or Common Grounds, for that matter, I just tend to feel out of place there is all. I'm a small town guy by birth, so places like Pagosa make me feel like I'm really on vacation; Vegas and Waco don't. So, sitting here in this small town, surrounded by snow and beautiful, still mountain air, I'm relaxed and calm and not concerned with much of anything other than how early I want to go to sleep tonight so that I can start snowboarding tomorrow morning.
I spent last night in a sleeping bag in my car, parked in the parking lot that's about thirty feet from the rim of the Grand Canyon. It was pretty uncomfortable, but only because I still have a tire in the back of my car leftover from the events of last Saturday. When I woke up, I was a little saddened to see that it was foggy as all-get-out and that I couldn't in fact see anything past the rim. I'm actually not sure if I was seeing the rim, I just couldn't see anything past the rail. I got some pictures, which I'll upload when I'm back in Waco, to show you just how thick the fog was. If you've ever flown a plane through a rainstorm, you'll have an idea what it was like.
So I left the canyon a few minutes after sunrise (which is when I awoke, hoping to get a glance of the sun coming up over the canyon... doh) and headed for Pagosa Springs. I spent the day driving, relaxing, and listening to audiobooks, and now here I am. I snowboard tomorrow, then when I get off the mountain I'll depart directly for Waco. I don't imagine I'll make it the whole way without stopping to rest, since snowboarding is probably the only thing I tend to have the motivation to do until I collapse (since I only get to do it a very few times per year). I imagine I'll pull into Waco around noon on Friday, at which point I'll pack up my computer and head to Oklahoma. Or maybe I'll chill for a day or two in deserted Waco, I'm not sure. The beauty of all of this is that I'm making it up as I go. I've had a vague plan in my head from the start but none of what I have planned has actually been what happened.
This is the most effortless smile I've made in weeks. In fact, I didn't even realize I was smiling until I saw the picture. This trip has been a very good thing indeed.
Since last I posted, I've spent two days in Las Vegas, which, while fun, were not exactly what I think of when I take trips like this one. It was a bit too hectic, too much noise. Not quite... Spartan... enough for my taste. When I get away, I enjoy some hustle and bustle as much as the next guy, but my current locale is much more my speed.
I'm sitting in one of my favorite places in the world. The Higher Grounds Coffee Shop in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. Common Grounds in Waco is a nice place and all, but whenever I'm in there I get the distinct feeling that I'm not the right kind of cool, or not cool enough, to be in there. First off, I can't grow a full beard and I rarely wear my emo glasses. Second, I don't own any Tom's shoes. Thirdly, I don't listen to any Indy music that didn't spawn from Five Iron Frenzy. Since Pagosa Springs isn't a college town, the coffee shop maintains the relaxed atmosphere I really enjoy without giving me the impression that I'm being out-pretentioused by the dude on the couch with all the stickers on his MacBook. Not that there's anything wrong with those guys, or Common Grounds, for that matter, I just tend to feel out of place there is all. I'm a small town guy by birth, so places like Pagosa make me feel like I'm really on vacation; Vegas and Waco don't. So, sitting here in this small town, surrounded by snow and beautiful, still mountain air, I'm relaxed and calm and not concerned with much of anything other than how early I want to go to sleep tonight so that I can start snowboarding tomorrow morning.
I spent last night in a sleeping bag in my car, parked in the parking lot that's about thirty feet from the rim of the Grand Canyon. It was pretty uncomfortable, but only because I still have a tire in the back of my car leftover from the events of last Saturday. When I woke up, I was a little saddened to see that it was foggy as all-get-out and that I couldn't in fact see anything past the rim. I'm actually not sure if I was seeing the rim, I just couldn't see anything past the rail. I got some pictures, which I'll upload when I'm back in Waco, to show you just how thick the fog was. If you've ever flown a plane through a rainstorm, you'll have an idea what it was like.
So I left the canyon a few minutes after sunrise (which is when I awoke, hoping to get a glance of the sun coming up over the canyon... doh) and headed for Pagosa Springs. I spent the day driving, relaxing, and listening to audiobooks, and now here I am. I snowboard tomorrow, then when I get off the mountain I'll depart directly for Waco. I don't imagine I'll make it the whole way without stopping to rest, since snowboarding is probably the only thing I tend to have the motivation to do until I collapse (since I only get to do it a very few times per year). I imagine I'll pull into Waco around noon on Friday, at which point I'll pack up my computer and head to Oklahoma. Or maybe I'll chill for a day or two in deserted Waco, I'm not sure. The beauty of all of this is that I'm making it up as I go. I've had a vague plan in my head from the start but none of what I have planned has actually been what happened.
This is the most effortless smile I've made in weeks. In fact, I didn't even realize I was smiling until I saw the picture. This trip has been a very good thing indeed.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
I've Seen Better
I don't like being negative on here. I don't like having a negative attitude in general. It puts me in a bad mood and I'm incapable of hiding it and it makes people not want to talk to me, and who enjoys that? But I'm about to unleash a little negative energy, just because I'm kind of needing to and I'll phrase myself better if I do it here.
My day started, more or less, at midnight last night. I got out of a movie with some folks, and nobody was hanging out afterwards, so I got home and realized I wasn't all that sleepy. I decided I would skip town for a couple of days. Anybody who's been following me here for awhile knows I do this from time to time. Sometimes alone (Pagosa Springs 2004, Omaha 2006, Puerto Viejo in Costa Rica, Pagosa again in 2006) sometimes not (Chicago 2006, New Orleans 2008). Last night I left with no particular goal in mind, although I did pack my snowboard just in case.
I have an application on my iPhone that tells give me snow reports for all of the resorts in America in order of their proximity to me (Snocater if you're wondering, it's fantastic). I checked it before falling asleep in my car at a rest stop in the Texas Panhandle last night, and it told me that Wolf Creek was the nearest resort that had received snow in the past week. So I decided I would go to Pagosa again. Then I woke up and started driving again, and everything started the long downward spiral into the most difficult personal road trip day I've ever had.
First off, I made reservations in Pagosa. Shortly after, dad texted me to tell me there were blizzards incoming. I checked the snow reports, and sure enough, "severe winter storm" warnings at all of the resorts that were open in all of Colorado and New Mexico. So I had to decide: drive the seven hours back to Waco, or power through and pick an alternate location? I decided on the grand canyon and cancelled my reservation in Pagosa. This cost me 10% of the room to do since I was making a "day of" cancellation. Then I pulled off for gas and got hit in a speed trap and got a speeding ticket. I brushed this off, and headed towards Flagstaff (nearest sporting goods store before the grand canyon) to pick up a below-freezing rated sleeping bag. When I got to Flagstaff, all of the sporting goods stores were closed down for a concert in downtown.
So I had to change my plans again. I had been planning to make my way to Las Vegas tomorrow, but I decided I would go tonight. I called ahead to make a reservation for a room, just to be sure I would have one when I got there. It was a non-refundable reservation at the Bellagio, simply because if you're going to go to Vegas then you need to do it right. Two hours away from Vegas, my front left tire blew out. I pulled off to change it. While I was changing the tire, in sub-freezing temperatures, in started to snow. Hard. Then, when I got the original tire off, while I'm standing there shivering and freezing, I put the spare tire most of the way on. It got hung on a lug nut, so I reached around to change the angle of attack a bit. That's when the jack gave out and broke in half. The tire nearly came down on my hand, but I pulled it out just in time. My rapidly moving hand knocked the spare off of the lugs. It fell under the car, which landed on the tire and popped it. It popped my SPARE TIRE.
I called a tow truck service. They said it would be 30-45 minutes. I waited an hour and a half and called them. They forgot about me. They sent a second guy. Another 30 minutes. I called again. Guy #2 went the wrong way. I called again. Guy #3 found me, but only after calling me on my cell and having me explain where I was three times to him. He had been checking the wrong side of the highway. All the while I'm soaked and shivering in my car.
He started to change my tire after replacing the spare into its rim and reinflating it. His jack broke. He had a spare jack. It was too short. He pulled out the first one and it worked again. All of this ended up costing me $120. I drove to a Best Western and will take my car to Wal-Mart to get new tires tomorrow. I think I have to fix my brakes now too since the car has landed on them three separate times.
Ugh. On the bright side, I do have my health, and I am still alive, and I have a family who loves me very much. But I don't think I can remember a worse day in recent memory, and this is supposed to be my vacation. Yargh.
My day started, more or less, at midnight last night. I got out of a movie with some folks, and nobody was hanging out afterwards, so I got home and realized I wasn't all that sleepy. I decided I would skip town for a couple of days. Anybody who's been following me here for awhile knows I do this from time to time. Sometimes alone (Pagosa Springs 2004, Omaha 2006, Puerto Viejo in Costa Rica, Pagosa again in 2006) sometimes not (Chicago 2006, New Orleans 2008). Last night I left with no particular goal in mind, although I did pack my snowboard just in case.
I have an application on my iPhone that tells give me snow reports for all of the resorts in America in order of their proximity to me (Snocater if you're wondering, it's fantastic). I checked it before falling asleep in my car at a rest stop in the Texas Panhandle last night, and it told me that Wolf Creek was the nearest resort that had received snow in the past week. So I decided I would go to Pagosa again. Then I woke up and started driving again, and everything started the long downward spiral into the most difficult personal road trip day I've ever had.
First off, I made reservations in Pagosa. Shortly after, dad texted me to tell me there were blizzards incoming. I checked the snow reports, and sure enough, "severe winter storm" warnings at all of the resorts that were open in all of Colorado and New Mexico. So I had to decide: drive the seven hours back to Waco, or power through and pick an alternate location? I decided on the grand canyon and cancelled my reservation in Pagosa. This cost me 10% of the room to do since I was making a "day of" cancellation. Then I pulled off for gas and got hit in a speed trap and got a speeding ticket. I brushed this off, and headed towards Flagstaff (nearest sporting goods store before the grand canyon) to pick up a below-freezing rated sleeping bag. When I got to Flagstaff, all of the sporting goods stores were closed down for a concert in downtown.
So I had to change my plans again. I had been planning to make my way to Las Vegas tomorrow, but I decided I would go tonight. I called ahead to make a reservation for a room, just to be sure I would have one when I got there. It was a non-refundable reservation at the Bellagio, simply because if you're going to go to Vegas then you need to do it right. Two hours away from Vegas, my front left tire blew out. I pulled off to change it. While I was changing the tire, in sub-freezing temperatures, in started to snow. Hard. Then, when I got the original tire off, while I'm standing there shivering and freezing, I put the spare tire most of the way on. It got hung on a lug nut, so I reached around to change the angle of attack a bit. That's when the jack gave out and broke in half. The tire nearly came down on my hand, but I pulled it out just in time. My rapidly moving hand knocked the spare off of the lugs. It fell under the car, which landed on the tire and popped it. It popped my SPARE TIRE.
I called a tow truck service. They said it would be 30-45 minutes. I waited an hour and a half and called them. They forgot about me. They sent a second guy. Another 30 minutes. I called again. Guy #2 went the wrong way. I called again. Guy #3 found me, but only after calling me on my cell and having me explain where I was three times to him. He had been checking the wrong side of the highway. All the while I'm soaked and shivering in my car.
He started to change my tire after replacing the spare into its rim and reinflating it. His jack broke. He had a spare jack. It was too short. He pulled out the first one and it worked again. All of this ended up costing me $120. I drove to a Best Western and will take my car to Wal-Mart to get new tires tomorrow. I think I have to fix my brakes now too since the car has landed on them three separate times.
Ugh. On the bright side, I do have my health, and I am still alive, and I have a family who loves me very much. But I don't think I can remember a worse day in recent memory, and this is supposed to be my vacation. Yargh.
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