The long road home

We're packing up the truck and the kitties and driving through (please help me) KANSAS tomorrow. Oh how I hate Kansas. Then down through Oklahoma to Texas. Lovely. Hopefully it will take us 16 hours. We are going this route b/c its all interstate, so we can cruise (brainlessly) at 75 mph the entire time. And only have corn fields to watch for entertainment instead of cool stuff like mountains and topography. 1,142 miles. And who knows how many chiropractor visits afterwards to repair all the damage sitting in a truck has done this week.

Evacuating really, really, REALLY sucks

Ok, I'm retyping this beginning portion for the THIRD TIME because my mom has a crappy Imac, and I keep thinking its my PC, and my posts keep getting deleted. I HATE MACS!!!

Ok, so anyways, my brain is fried (this computer isn't helping things) - but I will try to chronicle my really, horrible mis-adventure to the best I can. Just keep in mind that my brain is fried, so if I don't make sense, then JUST DEAL. Ok?

WEDNESDAY
Rita is upgraded to a Cat 5 and is not 350 miles across. We decide to evacuate to Denver - which is a bit extreme, but there really weren't any hotels available in other cities, and I was fully expecting my house to be un-livable ala Katrina, so I wanted a place to stay and hide out for as long as I needed to. Work was being a bunch of bastards. My boss was all pissy at us b/c none of us were working. And he said that we were welcome to evacuate, but if we did, any time spent away from work would have to be billed as our vacation time. Compassionate, huh? So, my day at work was spent getting personal affairs in order, and securing my office for the storm.

I departed work at 5 PM and on the drive home, I lost it. Like near hysteria crying lost it. It was just the first time all week where I've had a moment to let my brain relax and think about what could happen. It wasn't pretty.

So, I get home, Will is taking a NAP. I was pissed. He had NO CLUE about how much work needed to be done or how serious this all was. So, I sent him to get gasoline while I start packing and securing the house. And let me tell you - packing up the house was surreal, not to mention figuring out what you could take with you. I basically packed up all our files, photographs, computer hard drive, a weeks worth of clothes, kitty stuff, some jewelry - and THAT'S IT. Which is crazy, but its all I could fit. Then came securing the house. Taking down all pictures on the walls, picking everything up from the floor in case of flooding, cleaning out the fridge and freezer. Yes, we have no food in our house that was perishable. Which is horrible. I kept all the nice frozen meats and several condiments (plus some food we could eat along the way) to take with us in coolers - and everything else went in the dumpster. About 8 kitchen sized bags of food - all trashed. But it was better to toss food then to ruin a refridgerator.

Will came back after a little over an hour. Keep in mind, I sent him out for gas ~6 PM. He said he waited in line for over an hour for gas, due to the huge lines. But good news, there were cops present to keep order. Craziness.

So, at about 11 PM the truck is packed and we watch a little tv before going to bed.

THURSDAY
Wake-up is at 2:30 AM so we can hit the road at 3. We each had a hard time sleeping and got a whopping 2 hours of sleep each. We pack everything up (including kitties - who were wigged out), turned the electricity off at the breaker, and said good bye to our house.

Now as if that wasn't bad enough - it gets way worse. Traffic is crazy. At 3 AM. We take my back route to get around Katy to hit I-10 Westbound. We get to the road which connects to I-10 at approximately 3:20 AM. We travel approximately 2 miles over the next 3.5 HOURS. The sun is starting to come up. Lots of people are out of their cars, walking dogs, wandering around, wondering what the hell is going on. We can see I-10 from where we are. There have also been several police cars and light-duty fire trucks that have driven past us. At 7:30, we decide to bail and find another way to get to I-10. We turn on the local radio, discover that all routes out of the city are parking lots and most gas stations are out of gas. We find a road north, drive over I-10 and its a sea of brake lights. We decide to try to get out of town on little country highways rather than the interstate. So, we find FM 529. There's tons of cars, but its moving - VERY slowly, but hey, compared to the last road we were on, even slow movement is still movement. Its basically stop and go the whole time. I think we finally crossed the Harris County line at 10:30 (or so - my timeline is fuzzy). Around noon, we're still on this road. We've only managed to drive 20 or 30 miles - in 8 hours. Gas is 3/4 full, so we're ok, but my bladder is getting full and I'm worried about the kitties needing food and water. This is basically where chaos begins. FM529 is a little 2 lane country road. Masses of people pull out of line and beginning driving in the opposite lane, pulling to the side when a car wishes to drive east. At first, I thought these people were reckelss idiots. Then, overcome with frustration (who wouldn't after going 5 mph for HOURS) decided to jump into the eastbound lane as well. For the most part this was going ok - I wasn't putting us in danger. Then I end up behind these 2 cars - one with Texas plates, the other with Louisiana plates. Tx car is very abruptly swerving in and out of traffic, cutting off the LA car frequently - to the point of almost hitting her. Think bumper car movements - that's what was going on here. Then the LA car is in front - stops her car (keep in mind we're in the eastbound lane going west) and starts yelling at the TX car. Now, I can't really blame her. Then the TX driver (ghetto-looking black woman) gets out of her car and pulls out (what I swear was) a knife. They get in a screaming match. I'm right behind them with no way to escape going please don't involve me, please! And I'm in disbelief that I'm even in this situation. Finally, everyone surrounding them starts harassing the ladies, and they get back in their cars. About an hour later - we're still driving in the opposite lane - only traffic isn't moving AT ALL. In fact, I notice more and more cars headed eastward - and that these cars are full of stuff, looking like they're evacuating as well. Then it hits me. The county roads are all jammed up and NO ONE is going anywhere, and these cars have decided to turn around and try other routes. I'm in utter disbelief pretty much the entire morning. To have to leave your house, hoping you'll return to see it ok - then to spend 10 hours traveling hardly any miles, only to have to turn around. The thought at this point did occur to me to just head back to the house, but the even scarier thought of a Cat 4 or 5 hitting us made me realize that we had to get out of town. We did turn around on the road, catch another county road south to 1-10, because at this point, TXDOT had opened up all lanes of I-10 going westbound. We stopped in this small town for a gas/bathroom break (we were on a half tank). None of the stations had gas. What they did have was lines of at least 20 cars waiting for a fuel tanker to come in and resupply them. Even the bathroom line was insane. So, we decided to keep pushing to I-10 for gas because there were big truck stops along the way and our odds were greater along that corridor. So, we get to I-10 and what do you know, no traffic. People are crusing right along. We jump on, get in the normally east-bound lanes, and bam, 50 mph. There's cars, but we're all moving. At 3 PM we stop in Luling for gas - 12 hr into our trip. We had travelled something like 120 or 150 miles. In 12 HOURS. This truck stop was very clean and very helpful. Bathroom was clean and uncrowded. I got some bottles of water and come Coke Icees for the road.

At this point, Will and I had to come up with a plan. Our original plan was to drive straight to Denver. Theoretically, its 17 hours, if you drive to Dallas. Well, we had to drive to San Antonio (the road to Dallas was much worse than where we were). So, we were not only well out of our way, but WELL behind schedule. We decide to get to San Antonio and call for hotels, then most likely take county highways north to wherever.

At 5 PM we arrive in San Antonio after 14 hrs on the road. Keep in mind that it normally takes 3 hours to get to S.A. We call hotels, there's nothing. We manage to get a hotel in Abiline, TX, which is on our way to Denver, so that's the plan. Once we got past San Antonio, the roads lightened up and driving was actually pleasant. We got on some random US highway and drove through the Hill Country, slowing down for these small little towns. Finally got a Abiline at 9 PM. Total mileage - 500. Total time, 16 hours.

We're just spent and exausted. Checked into out hotel (Courtyard) - which as it turns out did not take pets. So then we had to perform "operation smuggle kitties". And the hotel luggage dolly thingy was AWOL. so we had to carry everything up the stairs.... Anways, we got settled, ate dinner (leftover pasta salad I brought from the house) and crashed for the night.

The local news was interesting - apparently all the hotels were booked with evacuees, and they already had on Red Cross shelter that was full. Craziness.

I'd also like to add that the kitties were very strangely quiet the entire way. I didn't even have to drug them. These are the same cats which can't even go the 15 min drive to the vet w/out yowling the entire time. Very strange. We kept checking on them too - to make sure they were alive, and they were fine. Which was good for us, even if it was very strange. But it just added to the strangeness of the day.

FRIDAY
Woke up at 8:30. Packed. Found the hotel luggage dolly. Smuggled kitties back out of the hotel. Stopped for gas and then went to Starbucks for b'fast. Even though we're evacuees - we still have standards. ;) Hit the road at 10:30 and begin the trek to Denver. Roads are pretty much empty. Cross the Colorado border at about 5 PM. YAY! Then just more driving, driving, driving - until we reached my mom's house at 8:30.

My mom was actually very sweet and she cleared out the basement for us and the kitties. She's allergic to cats, so I was pretty worried that she would freak out with them here. She even made us a bed down there so we could keep Ernie and Swift company. And then she even had dinner waiting for us. Nice mom.

SATURDAY
Well, we're still tired. Kitties (Swift in particular) are pretty freaked out. Swift is pretty scared of the noises from upstairs - floors creaking, footsteps. So she's pretty much hiding under the bed. She's eating and drinking water, so I'm not super worried. Mom's alreayd put Will to work doing chores. I'm not doing much, just trying to chill out. Thinking about swimming laps at the local pool later, and maybe even catching a Rockies game at Coors Field (even though I'm sure they'll lose).

Caught a bit of Rita coverage. At this point - I feel pretty silly for driving all the way up here. Like I really over-reacted. But at the time, there was no way of knowing how this would end up and my objective was to go somewhere where I knew we would be taken care of.

I'm sure we will have power at work on Monday, meaning those bastards will basically expect me to show up ASAP. Lovely. Not sure when we'll begin the big drive back - I'm very afraid of traffic being super crappy again.

I'm not really believing the reports that 2.3 million ppl from the Gulf Coast evacuated. Houston itself has 4 million. I'm thinking the quoted 2.3 million is the popluation of the manditory evacation zones - and doesn't include people (like us) who evacuated volunatarily. Anyways, I'm pretty certain that they will not make I-10, etc. open to travel east or south only on the way back, so you'll have basically the same situation on the return trip. Which really isn't my idea of fun, as Thursday was really one of the most surreal and horrible days I've yet to experience - and I wasn't even one of the ones who were bad off.

Anyways, I'm rambling at this point. So I'm thinking a nap is in order. Woo!

Thanks for all your good thoughts and concerns :) I'll keep everyone posted about details for the drive back home.

We're evacuating

As Hurricane Rita approaches Cat 5 strength - and is headed towards Houston, Will, the kitties and I are evacuating. To Denver. Because there are NO hotel rooms available in Dallas, Austin, or San Antonio due to Hurricane Katrina. So, I figure for what we'd spend on gas to a hotel, then hotel for an indefinite amount of time - we'd spend the same, if not less on gas driving to my mom's house. And then I can be comfy and see friends and maybe have some fun while my house is being battered.

The scary thing for me is that I cannot plan. I'm a planner. I have a plan for everything. And with this storm - so much is unknown. All I can do is that me and my family is safe and just hope that our posessions and house will be ok. Which sucks so much, I can't even describe. I've been anxious and jittery all day long, and I am NEVER like this. I can't focus, either. Well, except on the hurricane and potential disaster.

So, we'll be leaving tomorrow AM for our lovely drive with whatever we can pack and the two kitties (heavily tranqulized, of course). My mom has internet (even if its on a crappy IMac) so I should be able to respond to email.

Wish us luck!

Tweaking

I decided to update my header and colors with some custom stuff..... but either I did something wrong (most likely) or Blogger doesn't like what I've done. All I can say is that it looked fine in preview mode and it looks like ass once the changes are saved. Help is on the way....hopefully.

All I can say is wow....and thanks.

Wow for people and their generosity. As some people know, Hurrican Katrina has affected me more than your average American, because I can put faces, names, and voices to the images of the destruction and the feeling of hopelessness. I've got my sister-in-law who lived in Mid-City and worked as a musician and played piano at Pat O'Briens. Then there are stories of acquaintances of mine that started coming out of the woodwork - people who knew of others in need who weren't staying at Red Cross shelters, and therefore, were not getting much needed assistance.

Try to imagine a 3-generation family consisting of 7 people - one of which is wheelchair-bound. None of them have more than a high school education. They all are satl-of-the-earth people. Hard working, honest, but no savings to speak of. And they're crammed in a hotel room in Houston with no other family or friends able to help them out. And they want to leave the hotel and rent a two bedroom apartment, but can't even find the cash for a deposit on the apartment. Then there's clothes and food and medicine - all the basics that they left behind and don't have money to replenish.

These are the kinds of people - the ones who are trying to rebuild their lives on their own - who need help the most. They're teetering on the edge of hell and are doing their best to try to pull their lives back in order and recover.

I put a suggestion out to my family and friends that if anyone wanted to give me money, I would buy gift cards and distribute them to people like those described above who need help in more ways than words can describe.

Total sum collected - $800.

I am in absolute awe of how generous people are. THANK YOU so very much for helping me to help others in need.

Today was like Christmas. Me handing out gift cards to people and then me recieving much more than I could imagine. Just the look on their faces as I handed them fairly large sums of gift card was amazing.

Distance Swim

Today we did one of my favorite swim sets today.

• 12 min swim for distance (600 yards)
• 6 min swim for distance (300 yards)
• 4 x 3 min swim for distance fast (150 yards)

When I was younger, I used to *hate* swimming ladder sets, where you started at a low distance, and gradually built up. I hated distance swimming.

Now that I'm older, I have an appreciation for distance swimming. Of course, as I'm older now, I realize that I'm really not good at sprinting, which conversely gives me an appreciation for more slow, methodical, paced distance training. It also helps that coach has tweaked my stroke to make things more relaxed. I try to make my arms feel very loose and relaxed during each stroke - this in turn keeps my arms from getting tired (and worse, injured). I think its this relaxed deal that makes me able to just swim for what feels like forever. Because I don't get tired. Sure, I'm not fast. But my pace is consistent and steady. I just love that feeling - being able to swim forever - its just very freeing, and it makes me feel like I'm actually *good* at something, to boot.

Long time no blog

Haven’t felt much like writing, with all the hurricane stuff going on. The past few weeks have been very surreal for me. I’ve got my SIL who evacuated NOLA – she and her boyfriend got out, but all her music gear was left behind. At work, we have many clients and job-sites in the affected areas, not to mention all the friends and family involved. Days have been spent pretty much doing nothing but being glued to various news websites, trying to get information of what was happening, all from the air-conditioned comfort of my office. Its been hard to try and be funny and sarcastic, with all that going on.

Now things are settling down – or rather, the damage is done and we are all working on making new plans and plundering ahead with them. And getting used to that new hollow part in your heart, knowing that NOLA won’t be there for a long time.

But, life does move on. I need to get back in the habit of writing things down for this blog. Its so hard to start again after this long break.

Remedial Spelling

Why is it that people in Texas have the hardest time spelling my name? Its E-R-I-N. Four letters. Spelled the "normal" way. When I lived up north, I had few problems (past professors not reading for comprehension, and calling me Eric during roll call.) Since I've been here, I get creative spellings quite frequently. Most of the time from the staff at Starbucks. Its so bad that I say my name, then spell it for them right after, in hopes that they'll get it. They rarely do. In fact, this confuses them even more. I'm not sure why people have such issues with my name. Perhaps Hooked on Phonics is to blame? Or parents creatively spelling names? I dunno. Either way, it irks me. So, for your amusement, some examples:

• Eric/k
• Karen
• Arin (today's SB mistake)
• Erwin (happens more often than you'd think)
• Aren
• Aerin

And my personal favorite - Darlene. No idea how one could derive Darlene from Erin.

Just said to me a few minutes ago...

I was walking down the hall, clutching something in a plastic baggie in my hand. Ran into coworker. Conversation went like this:

Coworker: Oh, you must be going out tonight!
Me: ummmm, what makes you say that? (I'm not wearing anything closely resembling "going out" clothes)
Coworker: Oh, well, you're holding toothpaste in your hand. I figured you were off to brush your teeth and then go out after work.
Me: ummmm, no. (shakes head, walks away)

SEE?!?! I AM a freak/idiot magnet. I am so lucky. And for the record, I was not holding toothpaste. Why I would wander around my office with toothpaste and a toothbrush is beyond me.

Whole lotta nuttin'

Work has slowed down for the time-being. Got back from a wonderful 4 day weekend in the Bay Area (which I still need to recap). Just kinda feeling blah and tired, no real reason why. Thought I'd post some random comments that have been popping in my head the past couple of days.

Halloween Stores
Those freaking Halloween costume stores are springing up already. Its August. I mean really, how much business could they get pre-October? And I'm sure that I'll be spying Christmas displays in stores shortly, which pisses me off even more.

Wasabi Peas
Ironically do not taste like peas. But do have that lovely back-of-the-throat/nose wasabi kick. Will thinks is hilarious that I will eat them - as I hate Peas. I blame my friend Jinni for introducing these little dried green crunchy snacks into my life.

I am an freak magnet
Really, I should get a t-shirt saying this. Freaks love me. I do not, however, love them. Unless they allow me to laugh openly at them and not get mad.

High School
The pool that I swim at is in a high school. Which in and of itself is bizarre to me. School started up last week. And we have to share the pool for the last 30 min of our practice with the co-ed water polo team. Today, there were some very hot (albeit young) guys. Is it wrong of me to be checking them out from behind my goggles?

This whole getting ready for work in a HS locker room is also trippy. And a blow to my ego. These girls are tiny. And spoiled. And they look at me like I'm old. And my self image takes a hit, as I'm not skinny anymore or nearly as cute. But I just think to myself that, if those girls are anything like I was, they have no idea what will become of them in 10 yrs or so. And they'll probably be worse off. And that makes me chuckle to myself.

4400
I discovered this show early in the summer - when USA was re-playing the 1st season. 2nd season started in July. And its ending in a few weeks. Why so short? Grrr!

Well, that's about all the random thoughts I have at the moment. And my lunch break is over and I'm out of wasabi peas. Guess that's a sign I should get back to being productive.

You know you have too much work to do when...

You are afraid to drink any fluids ALL day because that TWO minutes (yes, I'm fast) spent in the bathroom may just make you miss your deadline or not get everything done for the day.

Sad, right?

For the past several days I've been Excel Bitch. Tables on uranium. Tables on arsenic. Taking tables from Word, pasting into excel. Taking data from Access, putting it into Excel. And my least favorite, hand typing in data. Ugh. Seriously, I am about done with Excel. Which says a lot b/c I'm a huge geek and I love Excel.

So, that's why I haven't posted a whole lot. Because I'm in Excel Hell.

But, silver liming. I'm going to make damn sure that I'm able to leave early tomorrow so I can meet my friends in San Antonio, get plenty drunk, then spend Saturday floating down the river. Yay!

Mojitos for Everyone!

Ingredients
One pint glass
fresh mint (~12 leaves, give or take)
1 lime, cut into wedges
simple syrup*
RUM
sparking water
ice

Directions
1) Take mint leaves, place in glass. Take 1 lime wedge, squeeze juice into glass. Put lime wedge aside for later.
2) Smoosh mint leaves/lime juice with a wooden spoon until the mint is properly bruised, but not yet pulverized.
3)Squeeze lime wedges into glass. Put wedges into glass (along with the one from Step 1). I use ~1/3 to 1/2 of a lime per drink.
4) Add ~3 Tbsp of simple syrup.
5) Add rum to taste. Less if you're a wuss, more if you drink like I do. Trust me, the rum is really not all that noticeable in this. Stir.
6) Add ice. THEN sparkling water. Stir. The idea is that you want the mint/lime below the ice so you're not constantly straining crushed mint with your teeth. This is ok if you're drinking at home by yourself, not so great if you're with others and you get a big blob of mint in your teeth.
7) Drink up and repeat until you've got a good buzz.

*simple syrup = 2:1 sugar:water. Boil water in saucepan, add double the amount of sugar into boiling water, dissolve. Store in a seal-able container in the fridge. This is rumored to keep indefinitely. If you don't feel like making the simple syrup, you can just add plain sugar, but then you'll end up with a crunchy mojito.

Mexican Jello Flavors

Just got back from the grocery store. The store I like going to has an entire aisle filled with strange foreign foods. From British to Asian to Brazillian to Mexican. I love wandering down this aisle and just looking at all the crazy stuff. The mexican jello flavors always stumps me, though. I mean, what's so appetizing about walnut, pistachio, or eggnog flavored gelatin? Although, I will admit, as scary as it sounds, the eggnog flavor smelled pretty damn good. But not good enough to actually buy. Maybe someday when I feel frisky and like I want to gamble 97 cents, I'll try it.

Spread 'em!

So, Will's little Subaru group organized this photo scavenger hunt. Each team pitched in $20. Top 4 finishers won $ back. There was a list of ~60 items that we had to bring back or photograph, each with varying points associated with. We had from 8 PM to midnight to complete this.

I think we were pretty efficient and had a good plan. Well, I had a good plan. Will played along. And I drove around the downtown areas. Much easier than him missing turns and us fighting. Lol.

Most of this involved humiliating Will. Which is always amusing for me.

Some highlights:
*Pic of Will in a fountain downtown (except then he had wet *Teva feet" and couldn't run very fast)
*Pic of Will on balcony (this bar I go to - I made Will run up there)
*Pic of Will on the light rail train (he jumped on, I snapped the pic, he jumped off)
*Pic of Subaru (Will's car) in front of Minute Maid park, Toyota Center (Rockets b'ball), and Reliant Stadium
*Pic of Will in a sombrero at a specific restaurant
*Pic of Will with a fish tank and bringing back chopsticks (ran into a sushi place, snapped a pic - which confused the staff and ppl eating there, grabbed some 'sticks and headed out the door)
*Pic inside this room at this one bar I used to frequent. Except there was an "engagement party" who had reserved the room. We barged in anyways, got our pic, and wished the couple congratulations on our way out.
*Job application (not from a restaurant). I tried 4 gas stations and NONE of them had paper applications, but REALLY wanted to know when I'd be back so they would have it for me. Ended up at CVS.
*Pic in front of a $80,000 car. Stopped at a mercedes dealership - they had some $97,000 porche out front. Bonus points for being in the car and driving it, but it was too late. And the car was locked (I tried the handle...)
* business cards from a tatto place and a bail bonds man
* 1959-1970 penny (we dug thru my wallet while we were stuck in traffic)
*hotel soap or shampoo. I had to get buzzed in by the front desk guy to get in the hotel. Then I asked for soap. He handed it to me, I walked out. Hee.
*Spork
*happy meal toy
*candy from a restaurant with the restaraunt's name on it. This was a bit tricky, as we had to think of where to go. We called Melting Pot at 11:05 - a guy did pick up, but they were closed. He confirmed that they had the candies that we needed and left them on a window ledge by the front door. Nice!
* Pic of Suby on dirt road. We parked on the construction road in front of my office.

And my FAVORITE. Which is awesome. 100 points for partner in hand cuffs. 100 points for partner with a cop. 100 points for partner bent over squad car, as pictured above.

Will is *such* a good sport. As was the cop. We were one of the few teams who met a cop that would do this for us. And yes, the cop did place AND lock the cuffs on him. Very trusting on all our parts....

Some of the things we didn't get:
* Pic in a fireman helmet - bonus points for full gear on team-mate
* Pic of airplane on the ground
* Pic of dog in Suby (we don't know anyone with a dog)
* Pic on ferris wheel (I tried, but it was a PITA and we scrapped it)

Sadly, we didn't even place. Oh well, we had fun and I got a *really* good pic of Will on the squad car!

Update on Strip Club Parking Lot Activities

An update for my previous post....

I've been meaning give an update about the bbq'ing and other assorted activities at the strip club parking lot at 5 am. Mysteriously, no more activities have been observed. Coincidentally at about the time I blogged about them. Hmmmm. Behold, the power of the blog.

Now watch - tomorrow morning, they'll be back. Just to prove me wrong.

Frank Black

A Frank Black song was on XM Ethel on my way from swim practice to work this morning. Any Frank Black song instantly zaps be back to June 1993.

A few months earlier, we got this new guy at school - Adam. He was quiet, didn't talk to anyone. I prefer to think he was shy. I thought he was too cool for words. Not handsome, but good looking. Vans, funky t-shirts, sideburns. He was cool because he wasn't trying to be cool, you know? Just that classic Gen X/Alternative indifference-independence.

So, I noticed him. Decided he'd make a good challenge. I asked him out. Well, I asked him to a movie, the details of "friend or date" didn't come up at that moment.

We hung out all that spring and into the summer. Mostly as friends. Mostly. See, he came to Littleton from Phoenix. And had a long-term-girlfriend (as in years....) who still lived there. And silly me was convinced that I could convince him that *I* was much better for him to be dating. What the hell was I thinking?

Anyways, he took me to see Frank Black at the Gothic in Denver. We managed to score front row, which really consisted of standing (it was standing room only) and being squished into these metal bars guarding the stage by screaming fans (fun, right?). Reverend Horton Heat opened. It was a great night.

So, somewhere along the way of us hanging out during those months, we kissed. A wonderful kiss under the elm tree at night in my backyard. I was feeling victorious. I had suceeded in winning him over. He was talking about breaking up with his girlfriend in Phoenix. Yes!

Then, for whatever reason, he went back to Phoenix for 6 weeks. And predictably, they got back together (or continued to be together?) Then, for the rest of the summer and a few weeks of the school year, she stayed in Littleton with him. And me being the stupid girl that I was, I called him WAY too much for the first part of the summer that he was home. Bad form. I finally came to my senses and gave up and hung out with several other guys that summer.

Then school started and it was just awkward between Adam and I. I'm sure my incessant phone calls during a 2 week time-frame caused tension btwn him and his girlfriend. And my starring at her when he took her to school functions (she had her bellybutton pierced, which was a BIG deal in 1993). We signed up for a class together for the semester - back in May. So now we were stuck in this class, not really knowing anyone else in there. Poor guy. I did explain to him that yes, I was well, obsessive for a bit of the summer, but I'd accepted the fact of Phoenix-girl being around, and had moved on. He'd never really believed me. And I think I treated him a bit too much as an enigma after that for us to truly be "friends" in a casual and laid-back hang-out sense of the word. Which is sad, b/c he was a cool guy. So cool, that he's one of the few ppl from back then that I think about and wonder what they're up to. But I messed that up and he went back to Phoenix for college with Phoenix-girl and I'm sure they're married and all that crap by now.

But we'll always have Frank Black - and for that Adam, thanks.

The itsy bitsy spider

Decided to live inside my video cassette which contains my Amazing Race (TAR) application! You just know he's going to go squish when the tape is played.... Do spiders affect the quality of video when they're squished?? I seriously almost re-did our tape due to the spider factor...

This whole TAR application process has been much more stressful than it should be. Which makes me wonder if we (my hubby and I) should even be applying for the show. If we are fighting over the application process - what makes us think racing would be better?

Making the video has been nothing but a painfull process. We had to borrow our friend's video camera. Have had it in our possession for well over a month. I had all these cool ideas for our video - a montage of all the cool stuff we do. Will racing, me swimming, us biking on trails, maybe some footage from our skydiving video. Did we manage to actually do any of this on tape? No.

Our first attempt at making the video was the day before the 4th of July at Brazos Bend. Then I got the beginning of heat stroke (ok, exaggeration, but still - it was HOT) and didn't feel like talking into a camera.

Then the video came along with me to my swim meet. I really don't want ppl seeing me swim, so I had him record my races so I could evaluate my stroke - and not to use them for the application.

So, then its the week before the damn thing is due. All Will can come up with is to sit on the couch and explain why we'd be good on TAR. Why, how original. I come up with the concept of driving and taping eachother. You know, like a preview of what they can expect to see on the show, since so much time is spent in cars with a camera in your face. Pretty lame idea, but it was the best I could come up with, given our time and geographic constraints. Once I got Will to quit using the voice from the Seinfeld episode where he went "Heeeellllloooo!" and talk un-cheeseball-ish, it was ok. Some funny comments, good banter, race strategy. About 30 min of video.

We get back home to edit it down to 3 minutes. A few revelations:
1) I do not like my profile. At all.
2) I look fat.
3) I talk really, really, frigging s-l-o-w. Like crazy slow.

I had no idea I talked so slow! I think fast. I type fast. Why do I talk so slow???

So, editing this thing into 3 minutes, while retaining content, was NOT FUN. I hope what we ended up with was ok. Discussion on how we can both drive standard. Why we'd be good for the show. And discussion about what would break our "rules" for the game, what the rules were, and alliances.

Then we ran out of time and the tape merely ends. No finale or closing message. Just static.

Oh well. Like I said, given time constraints (and the fact that this was all done during the week after work) its the best we can do.

Then there's the photos and copying of our passports. Misery. Took me 3 hours to print 3 pics. Because we don't own any recent actual photos from film and I had to go all over town playing with various digital picture producing machines, buy inket printer paper, and then had to print them off the crappy laser printer at work. And when I was dashing to and fro from my desk to the printer (on opposite sides of the office), someone decided (unbenownst to me) to put my folder of photo paper (which was in a neat stack on the table by the printer) in the supply closet. So, I came running back from my computer to load paper into the printer - and everything was GONE. Just gone. This sucked b/c A) I needed the printer paper and b) our passports were in the folder WITH paper. I lost my mind for about 10 minutes until I found it. No idea who the hell did that, but I'd like to reclaim those 10 minutes back.

So yeah, wish us luck with the application. Because it sure as hell hasn't been easy so far!

Flippers Anyone?

So, we're at Smith and Woolensky's for Thursday-night-martini's. About 8 or 9 PM (I lost track...) we get hungry. But being girls, we can't decide where to go - until on of us is RAVENOUSLY hungry. We spy PF Changs across the street, and hop into my truck, as its the closest, and its raining and we don't want to get wet. Well, I keep my swim gear in my truck at all times (b/c I swim up to 4 times a week - its just easier to keep it all in there.) K sees my flippers and flips out (how punny of me). Immediately puts them on. Fortunately, I had my camera to document all of this, in our semi-drunken hilarity. So, its raining, but she rolls down the window, puts her feet outside. I've got another friend up front with me trying to talk on the phone while K is tapping the outside of her window with the flippers, and T & I are dying laughing. Oh yeah, and I'm trying to drive one block across the street while this is all happening.

So, we park and have to walk to the restaurant. K decides its funny to walk to the resturant with the flippers on - you know, b/c its raining and there's puddles. And they're FLIPPERS! Anyways, about 10 steps into it, we realize this is a pain in the ass, pose for one shot, and remove the flippers. Then we didnt' even eat at PF's b/c of the huge wait. But, we did get a really *good* laugh out of the deal, so it was more than worth it. Thanks K for the laugh!

Saturday Swim Practice

I actually got my ass out of bed at 6:15 this morning to attend a *voluntary* swim practice. This never happens. I specifically have a rule against getting up early on Saturdays - unless its absolutely necessary. I must be insane. Husband and the kitties think I am.

I only went b/c I've got this swim meet next weekend. And we're doing a team entry for relays. So the point was to practice relay starts and set up our relay lineup. Well, that only sort-of happened. No starts, but we did go out for breakfast (another benefit of Sat AM practice - b'fast with friends) and set up our relay order.

Dude, I am going to die.

This meet is outside (must remember to buy tinted goggles....) in a 50 meter olympic sized pool. I've never swam in a 50 meter pool before. I practice in a 25 yard pool. So, I'm guessing that psychologically, this will be pretty tough, b/c after 25 yards, I'll be expecting to hit a wall and do a turn, but in reality, I'm in the middle of the pool. This could be good or bad - I haven't decided yet. Then there's the fact that meters are longer than yards. Not much, but enough to make a difference. So that will kill me as well.

Then there's my events. I swam competitively in high school, then destroyed both shoulders swimming 100 butterfly (as my specialty) my senior year. Phys. therapist said it was either surgery or quit swimming. Since I really wasn't all that good of a swimmer (not good enough to qual for state or swim in college) and I was going to attend a small engineering college in Montana that fall (which didn't have a swim team), I opted to quit swimming. So, since college, I've tried a variety of land sports (running, hiking, biking) and well, my knees don't like land activities so much. In fact, so much that knee surgeon told me to quit running and start swimming again. Eeek. Fortuately, I've found a team with a GREAT coach who has tweaked my technique so much that I have zero shoulder pain.

So where was I? Oh yeah, my point was that I have not really swam competitvely in oh, 11 yrs. I entered a meet last December just to "see" Old Erin compared to Young Erin. Surprisingly, my times weren't all that far off my best JV times. I'll take that.

So for this meet, I'm kicking it up a notch. Swimming as many as 6 events in one day. Which doesn't sound like much, but trust me, it is. Swimming 100 breastroke (which I haven't swam in a meet in 12 yrs - this should be fascinating), 100 free, 50 back, and then 3 relays. Based on the lineup we set, I'm anchoring the 400 medley relay (swimming 100 free as the last leg - it was either this or frigging 100 butterfly, which violates the "no butterfly ever again rule"), starting the 200 free relay (meaning I dive off the blocks - no pressure!), and then who knows what I'll swim in the mixed (men and women) 200 medley relay (assuming I have the energy).

So, I've got my work cut out for me next week. Think good thoughts for me - and hope that I don't get too sunburned.

Do not feed or molest...

Yeah, the beloved husband took me to a state park last Sunday to go fishing. Which park? The Alligator Park. Where these signs are posted everywhere...

Now, all of this would have been fine and dandy - except it was ~100 degrees and (I'm assuming) nearly 100% humidity. So it was motherfucking HOT AS HADES out. And you couldn't actually SWIM in the lakes we were fishing in - because we'd get eaten by the alligators. Add to the mix that we chose this day to attempt to make our Amazing Race application video, and I got the beginnings of heat stroke, and it just wasn't a very fun fishing trip. We did shoot some video footage, but I'm not sure we'll use it.

And I'm not against fishing. I like fishing. Like for instance, last summer when I was fly fishing on the middle fork of the Flathead River in Montana. That was fun. Fishing in the heat with gators is really not as fun as it sounds. Tough to believe, I know, but you'll have to trust me.
And if you don't believe me about the 'gators - here's a small one that was 50 feet away from where we were fishing...

And no, we didn't catch anything, either.