Okay, this heat is getting ridiculously unbelievable!

So I just checked the weather forecast for the upcoming work week. On Tuesday they are predicting temperatures around 101 degrees with a heat index of 110!!!! What the hell??? No, hell is HERE in DC with these temps. Yeah, and my co-workers wonder why I drive to work when I live less than a mile from there. Because it's too freaking hot!!!! I actually walked to work for the first time this summer one day last week in an attempt to be healthy and to prove to my co-workers that yes, I have indeed walked from home at least one time. Of course, I was completely sweaty by the time I reached the office and felt all nasty & uncomfortable the rest of the day.

Anyway, I just had to vent about the weather and wonder if GW can continue to deny the existence of global warming when it's happening in his own backyard. I think even Texas will be cooler than us.

BTW, even though this is completely unrelated, I want to take this opportunity to thank my smart hubby for fixing my digital camera! I have been meaning to ship it out to the repair shop per Kodak. Then Mike looks at it again this morning, laying his healing hands on it, and magically pops the lens back into its normal position. (it was sort of crooked after I dropped it at the INXS show). So now we're back in business - yay! And just in time for our mini-trip to Philly on Friday.

Yeah, we're going to Philly on Aug. 4 to celebrate our 7-year anniversary. Unbelievable? Why yes! Our real anniversary is actually on Aug 7, but I'll be in NYC working at a trade show - hence, our mini-trip. Plus, we'll be seeing The Living End, one of our fave rock bands out of Australia, who will be playing in Philly that night. Here's a link to the video for their latest single, "Nothing Lasts Forever." They are one of the best sounding three-piece bands ever. Scotty is SO, so cool with his stand-up bass, Andy is a great drummer(and easy on the eyes too) and Chris is just an amazing and incredible guitarist! Highly recommended! Listen to the words of this song. It tells a sad tale to a great, melodic chorus. The video depicts it well. (You may have to watch it in Quicktime because it kept stopping on the regular player.)

http://www.thelivingend.com/2006/video/

P.S. Oh yeah! Since the last time I posted, I've been to several shows!



Fri. 7/21 - Wide Awake/Zak Browne Band (Rock Bus Tour). First off, my apologies to Wide Awake. I completely missed your set due to talking on the big white telephone to Ralph. But what I heard from the bathroom stall sounded great! Thanks to the bassist of the Zak Browne band for getting me some water and stopping me from puking again. And MUCHO thanks to my local girls: Brenda, Patti & Megan, for taking care of me. I owe them big time.

Mon. 7/24 - Butch Walker. Great show! Definitely better than last time out at the Black Cat. And the songs from the new album sounded much better live than I expected.

Wed. 7/26 - Poison/Cinderella. Okay I know, I know. Why, you may ask. Well, I actually saw Cinderella several times back in the day when they opened for Bon Jovi. I had most of their albums too. Tom Keifer is still an incredible guitarist and still looks like Steven Tyler's relative. However, his voice ain't what it used to be. Poison - ha! Well what can you say? Pure entertainment value. Yet, I WAS impressed by Rikki's drum solo and CC doing lead vocals on a song called "I Hate Every Bone in your Body But Mine". Sounded very power-pop like his Samantha 6 band. Also, I only spent $10 for a lawn ticket and got to see some interesting people in the crowd. How could I pass up that people-watching opportunity??

"You know I never...I never seen you look so good. You never act the way you should. BUT I LIKE IT!!"

Who likes Mix CD's? I do! I do!

(Here is a shameless photo of Miguel and I from our recent trip)

So my little sister got a job teaching middle school literature in Austin - HELL yeah! This will make things easier when I relocate there next year. Anyway, in honor of the event, I created a mix CD for her called "School Is In". You know, songs that are inspired by "school" and "teachers". And so..here is the song list:

1. "Hot for Teacher" - Van Halen
2. "R&R High School" - Ramones
3. "School Day" - Chuck Berry
4. "Don't Stand So Close To Me" - The Police
5. "Smokin in the Boys Room" - Brownsville Station
6. "Teacher, Teacher" - Rockpile
7. "School Is In" - Josie Cotton
8. "Popular" - Nada Surf
9. "School of R&R" - Gene Summers
10. "Be True To Your School" - The Beach Boys
11. "Brat in the Frat" - Dead Milkmen
12. "My Old School" - Steely Dan
13. "Prom Night at Hater High" - Long Winters
14. "Graduate" - Third Eye Blind
15. "School's Out" - Alice Cooper
16. BONUS Track

I won't say what the bonus track is until after she gets it since she reads this blog and I just mailed it off today. Of course, after finalizing the CD, Miguel thinks of three other songs that should have gone on there such as "Schooldays" by The Kinks (off of the "Schoolboys in Disgrace" LP), "School Days" by The Runaways, and yet ANOTHER song called "School Days" by Starjets off of the DIY Comp called "Starry Eyes." Plus "High School" by the MC5. Oh well...

So all of this compiling got my juices flowing about possible other Mix CD's with themes like "songs about telephones & calling", "songs with days of the week in them", "songs with hello/goodbye in them", etc. Damn if only I didn't have a full-time job...and damn, I need to stop watching so much Jeopardy...

My Summer Vacation Part 1

So, I am still officially on vacation but wanted to go ahead and start documenting the trip so far or else I will either a) forget or b) get so caught up in jumping back into work that I will forget to document or c) all of the above. Pictures will definitely come later.
SO going back to last Sunday - Miguel & I missed our first flight to TX due to the horrible check-in lines at the Southwest Airlines counter at the BWI airport AND the security lines - this despite arriving 1 1/2 hours ahead of take-off time. Plus, Southwest didn't have the courtesy to take those passengers who were on flights taking off but still caught in the lines OUT of the lines to get them processed quickly like other airlines I have traveled on have done. We arrived at the gate just as our plane was pulling away. Can I tell you how frustrating this was? Plus, the further insult was finding out that the next flight to San Antonio was five hours later and that we HAD to purchase seats on that flight in order to ensure we definitely got on since there were only two seats left. (we could have gone on standby for free. however, this would not have secured us seats on that flight and since there were only two seats left, we didn't want to take any chances. So each of us paid $166 in airfare difference to secure these seats - GRRR. And yes, I will be writing Southwest a letter upon my return. )
ANYway, we finally arrived in SA at 5pm that evening and then all was well. We spent the 4th of July holiday with the family. We went to Six Flags and rode all sorts of rides, saw all sorts of shows, saw fireworks, etc. Then we went to visit my only living grandparent - my Dad's mom. It was so good to see her.
The evening of the 4th, we went to see a late show of the movie, Nacho Libre. OMG, this movie is so brainless. There were some parts that were so dumb, I rolled my eyes. And there were other parts that had me laughing hysterically, so go figure. Anyway, then the next day we started heading north for our long drive to Arkansas for Mike's family. Our first stop was in Austin for lunch with my sister Lesley, who lives in San Marcos(not far from Austin). We hung out on 6th street and ate at Hut's. MMMM, now that's a good burger! Then we continued driving north and had dinner with my sister Kathy, who lives outside of Dallas. The next day we had lunch with her and her two kids, my gorgeous niece & nephew, Steven & Krista. That was a good time. Then after that, we headed to Little Rock to initially meet up with one of Mike's high school buddies. Then it turned out that he wasn't even in town! So we started driving north to Mike's hometown, Eureka Springs, and made it half way there before we had to check into a hotel before I lost my sanity with all that driving. (At that point, we put over 600 miles on our rental car since we first rented it in SA). We made it to Eureka on Friday and have had a great time so far. Mike's dad is a hoot. He's definitely a "good ole boy", but is overall a nice guy. What is interesting is that he is loud, sometimes to the point of being obnoxious, whereas Mike, as you know, is one of the quietest persons you will ever meet. Since we missed Father's Day and his birthday is next week, we decided to get Mike's dad a DVD/VCR combination player and installed it for him. He was tickled pink. We visited with Mike's grandparents (his mom's parents, which are his only living grandparents) and discovered that McKinley (his grandfather) was featured in a recent newspaper article since he was the original engineer of the Christ of the Ozarks statue in town. For those of you who don't know about this statue, it looks like the big one in Rio, but is the largest statue of Christ in the U.S. See the picture. This statue was erected in Mike's birth year of 1966, so this was its 40th anniversary and they honored McKinley.

Anyway, overall, this vacation has been great. Despite having setbacks and frustrations and drama, this trip has reinforced our decision to move back to Texas so we can be closer to both of our families as we eventually start our own soon. It's nice to know that yes, there IS a plan and to think long-term instead of living in the here & now as we usually do. It definitely reminds us of what is valuable in our life and to not take it for granted anymore. We all are not getting any younger, you know! So we all should just do it. Get off of our asses, stop procrastinating and start LIVING!

See everyone again soon!

P.S. Happy birthday to my brother, Jason. Mr "Johnny Depp". :)