Decided to give this blogging thing some attention, so we're all grown up and moved to a new domain.
shemovedtotexas.com
See you there!
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Conversations Head While Tubing
One of the new experiences I've had in Texas is the art of tubing. About 30-45 minutes outside of Austin there are several places to "go tube", and yesterday I went with a few friends for the first time. What I experienced was a mixture between an extremely relaxing ride in a inflated tractor tire tube, and the biggest frat party I've been to since freshman year of college.
The professional tuber is in a fraternity or sorority. They tube with a large group of their tanned, string bikini wearing sorority friends. They bring a small, floating cooler for water but a LARGE industrial sized cooler for Bud Lite cans. Only Budlite. Only cans. The girls, since they're much classier, sip out of pre-mixed margaritas or wine coolers - because you know, that has a lot more style. What's also imperative for sorority tubing style, is decorating your beer cooler with your greek letters and fun sayings like "What happens on the river stays on the river."
I did enjoy my tubing experience, minus the annoying "tube rash" on my arms today from rubbing against the rubber tube. These were the highlights brought to you by Delta Kappa Alpha Omega OBitchy.
The river is mostly calm, but there are small periods of rapids. The key to these rapids (as we soon learned) is to pay attention to the fraternity boons in front of you. When they start screaming and flipping over, you should probably take notice and not go that way. Once you discover that, it becomes a fun game of "Watch the girls mess up their hair and scream" which I enjoyed quite a bit.
There's also the fact that the river is a collegiate mating ground. Not in a literal sense, but in the game of the chase. At any given point you'll see a brave young frat boy paddling madly upstream against the current to go see the princess of his dreams, guzzling an electric blue margarita out of a longneck glass bottle. The stimulating conversation seems to go something like this:
AKA: "Are there fish in this river?"
TKE: "Not many. Mostly turtles."
- gulps beer and glances backwards at his frat buddies, who are tossing a helpless turtle they picked off a log back and forth over the groups of tubes -
AKA: "Omg, snapping turtles!"
- squeals and chugs more margarita from a bottle -
Then of course, after the frat "fraternizing" if you will, we reach the end of the river and to the eventual breakup of collegiate love. I witnessed one girl, sobbing over what I believe was a broken flip flop - her boyfriend all the while moaning why she had to be so emotional.
Good question, probably that mixes with the wine coolers and the river muck.
The professional tuber is in a fraternity or sorority. They tube with a large group of their tanned, string bikini wearing sorority friends. They bring a small, floating cooler for water but a LARGE industrial sized cooler for Bud Lite cans. Only Budlite. Only cans. The girls, since they're much classier, sip out of pre-mixed margaritas or wine coolers - because you know, that has a lot more style. What's also imperative for sorority tubing style, is decorating your beer cooler with your greek letters and fun sayings like "What happens on the river stays on the river."
I did enjoy my tubing experience, minus the annoying "tube rash" on my arms today from rubbing against the rubber tube. These were the highlights brought to you by Delta Kappa Alpha Omega OBitchy.
The river is mostly calm, but there are small periods of rapids. The key to these rapids (as we soon learned) is to pay attention to the fraternity boons in front of you. When they start screaming and flipping over, you should probably take notice and not go that way. Once you discover that, it becomes a fun game of "Watch the girls mess up their hair and scream" which I enjoyed quite a bit.
There's also the fact that the river is a collegiate mating ground. Not in a literal sense, but in the game of the chase. At any given point you'll see a brave young frat boy paddling madly upstream against the current to go see the princess of his dreams, guzzling an electric blue margarita out of a longneck glass bottle. The stimulating conversation seems to go something like this:
AKA: "Are there fish in this river?"
TKE: "Not many. Mostly turtles."
- gulps beer and glances backwards at his frat buddies, who are tossing a helpless turtle they picked off a log back and forth over the groups of tubes -
AKA: "Omg, snapping turtles!"
- squeals and chugs more margarita from a bottle -
Then of course, after the frat "fraternizing" if you will, we reach the end of the river and to the eventual breakup of collegiate love. I witnessed one girl, sobbing over what I believe was a broken flip flop - her boyfriend all the while moaning why she had to be so emotional.
Good question, probably that mixes with the wine coolers and the river muck.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
What I'm Reading - August
Had a job interview today. Hope it goes really well, because for previously mentioned reasons (and more to come), I can't stay where I am much longer. However, I'm really broke so it's not like I have much of an option as far as not working. Not sure where all this money is going, but I think it has something to do with all these miscellaneous wedding expenses, shopping around for horse trainers, and life in general. Sigh, the things we do to stay up these days. Maybe I'll go off the grid.
What I am doing that is quite cheap entertainment though, is getting back into reading. I was always a big reader, and hell I'm partially a literature major so it's not like I'm shy from the great american (or european or world) novel. Somewhere during all that reading though, it often became a chore. I love young adult novels, but in my last few years of college that was the only literature class I really enjoyed. There got to be a point where I'd rather write a novel than read one, and that's just bad juju.
However, it's been years since I've been out of college and there's no excuse for me not to read regularly. I'm starting a "Less Toddlers & Tiaras, More Books" mind bootcamp (Teen Mom doesn't count though, that's quality television about the modern american family). It's nearly the end of August, and I've failed short of my completing two books a month goal... that's just pitiful.
Initially, I picked out one "trashy" book to read and one "literary" book to read. The "literary book", The Art of Racing in the Rain spontaneously combusted in the 105+ degree Texas heat in my car. I didn't realize books melted... but after finding a pile of papers in random order I think it's safe to say that I will not be completing that book anytime soon. My other "trashy" pick, Kitchen Confidential brought on by my mild infatuation with Anthony Bourdain, is about 75% completed.
Instead of replacing the fallen "Racing" with another book of equal literary value, I found this gem at CVS and begged the fiance to get it for me.
It's about prehistoric giant man-eating sharks... in an aquarium. The brain reels in delight.
What I am doing that is quite cheap entertainment though, is getting back into reading. I was always a big reader, and hell I'm partially a literature major so it's not like I'm shy from the great american (or european or world) novel. Somewhere during all that reading though, it often became a chore. I love young adult novels, but in my last few years of college that was the only literature class I really enjoyed. There got to be a point where I'd rather write a novel than read one, and that's just bad juju.
However, it's been years since I've been out of college and there's no excuse for me not to read regularly. I'm starting a "Less Toddlers & Tiaras, More Books" mind bootcamp (Teen Mom doesn't count though, that's quality television about the modern american family). It's nearly the end of August, and I've failed short of my completing two books a month goal... that's just pitiful.
Initially, I picked out one "trashy" book to read and one "literary" book to read. The "literary book", The Art of Racing in the Rain spontaneously combusted in the 105+ degree Texas heat in my car. I didn't realize books melted... but after finding a pile of papers in random order I think it's safe to say that I will not be completing that book anytime soon. My other "trashy" pick, Kitchen Confidential brought on by my mild infatuation with Anthony Bourdain, is about 75% completed.
Instead of replacing the fallen "Racing" with another book of equal literary value, I found this gem at CVS and begged the fiance to get it for me.
It's about prehistoric giant man-eating sharks... in an aquarium. The brain reels in delight.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Morning Mayhem of the Corporate World
I'm doing something I never do, because I think it's dumb. I never bitch about my job on a blog, ever. You write it on the internet, and it will come back to you. It doesn't matter if you publish your blog with your full name or a super-cool-pseudo alias like mine (hah!), it will return. However, I'm past the point of caring and if I got fired tomorrow it would be a relief - this stuff needs to be shared with unknowing public.
Every morning at work we have a huddle. This huddle is at a precise time every day. Not a normal meeting time like 8:30, 9:45, 9:15 etc... but an odd number. Every day, just to be cool and "alternative" (this place where I am oh-so-hoping to get out of is just so alternative) we have this huddle at 9:17am.
On my first day, I figured "huddle" was just a colloquial term for company briefing, and that made sense to me. Little did I know that at 9:16 someone would run through the office yelling "LET'S HUDDLE!" and music would start playing. This wasn't as bad as what followed next - the group clap. Readers, every day at 10:13am I have to clap in unison with my entire office... to music.
Let it be said for the record that I am not "a clapper", so this is somewhat difficult to do every morning before I'm really awake.
What follows after the music stops is first the sharing of good news. Employees may raise their hand to share good news which ranges from "Sales were great yesterday" to "My mom made me cookies this weekend and it was awesome." After each good news, the huddle leader will determine how many claps the good news deserved. From what I can tell, below is a range of clapping awesomeness.
After the sharing of good news, then we move onto the themes of the day. I won't go into specific details about these themes, but each day deals with a different department of the company and there is cheesy alliteration involved.
Following the daily themes, we have critical issues - where employees share any problems they have with the company or work place. Only brave souls go here, and frankly I would need something along the lines of a dissertation compared to a 30 second shout out even if I wanted to fry my ass publicly in front of the CEO.
The finale of this morning event is where we "bring it in", and by we I mean an employee who's one of the tallest/biggest men I ever seen. NFL linebackers would be jealous. My first day, I got stepped on by this man who stampeded his way to the center of the huddle to "bring it in". Now, as soon as I hear the word we're going to 'bring it in for' of the day (usually something inspiring like energy, momentum, or "rocketship") I jump out to the side of the group so my flip flop feet don't get stomped on. Once "it's in" there's lots of intense group clapping until we repeat the word of the day.
Pray for me.
Here's hoping tomorrow is a rocketship kind of day.
Every morning at work we have a huddle. This huddle is at a precise time every day. Not a normal meeting time like 8:30, 9:45, 9:15 etc... but an odd number. Every day, just to be cool and "alternative" (this place where I am oh-so-hoping to get out of is just so alternative) we have this huddle at 9:17am.
On my first day, I figured "huddle" was just a colloquial term for company briefing, and that made sense to me. Little did I know that at 9:16 someone would run through the office yelling "LET'S HUDDLE!" and music would start playing. This wasn't as bad as what followed next - the group clap. Readers, every day at 10:13am I have to clap in unison with my entire office... to music.
Let it be said for the record that I am not "a clapper", so this is somewhat difficult to do every morning before I'm really awake.
What follows after the music stops is first the sharing of good news. Employees may raise their hand to share good news which ranges from "Sales were great yesterday" to "My mom made me cookies this weekend and it was awesome." After each good news, the huddle leader will determine how many claps the good news deserved. From what I can tell, below is a range of clapping awesomeness.
After the sharing of good news, then we move onto the themes of the day. I won't go into specific details about these themes, but each day deals with a different department of the company and there is cheesy alliteration involved.
Following the daily themes, we have critical issues - where employees share any problems they have with the company or work place. Only brave souls go here, and frankly I would need something along the lines of a dissertation compared to a 30 second shout out even if I wanted to fry my ass publicly in front of the CEO.
The finale of this morning event is where we "bring it in", and by we I mean an employee who's one of the tallest/biggest men I ever seen. NFL linebackers would be jealous. My first day, I got stepped on by this man who stampeded his way to the center of the huddle to "bring it in". Now, as soon as I hear the word we're going to 'bring it in for' of the day (usually something inspiring like energy, momentum, or "rocketship") I jump out to the side of the group so my flip flop feet don't get stomped on. Once "it's in" there's lots of intense group clapping until we repeat the word of the day.
Pray for me.
Here's hoping tomorrow is a rocketship kind of day.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Too Tired to Think About Anything but 90's Toys
I can't believe this is going to be my 2nd post about toys. There's no justification for it, only that my new job is really mentally draining and that it's Friday night. I went out for happy hour after work with some co-workers and the fiance, and that was fun. Later hubby-to-be and I strolled downtown in a Car2Go, which I will post about later when I'm more coherent and will now refer to them as deathboxgolfcartonwheels (although statistically they're safe blah blah). Once we got downtime we found a chill outdoor bar with a really trippy projection on an empty stage. I think the DJ was reliving his rave days, but whatever. The rest of downtown was covered with skank hos and guys who wear dragon shirts - joy of all joys. So now I'm home, sober as a judge and wondering what the hell happened to the littlest pet shop.
If you haven't caught on by now, I love miniature things. I have conspired with my brother to grow a miniature farm of miniature vegetables (baby carrots, baby corn, cherry tomatoes, etc etc). I have a slew of model horses and that doesn't even begin to describe it, but that's another day. So it should be no surprise that in the 90's, a young shemovedtotexas adored "The Littlest Pet Shop."
Sure, they were simple. This wagged its paw, but hey it had cute little plastic accessories and even more important - PUPPIES!
And this one, little gerbils that had a magnet on them, so you could make them scurry through the cages with a magnetic "wand" on the outside. Super cute? Yes indeed, and no pesky cedar shavings that I was allergic to that real gerbils needed. So I think we get the picture. Cute little animals, that actually resembled animals - circa 1992.
Imagine my surprise when I strolled through Target the other week and found this monstrosity.
What the hell is THAT? Does EVERYTHING these days have to have those sad anime eyes? I mean, when have you looked at a puppy recently and thought, "Oh no, those eyes aren't cute enough. Maybe if they were bigger, and had little teardrops and exaggerated pupils... then they'd be a winner - but until then, no way puppy. No petting for you." I mean, what is that crap? Pets hang out at the mall I guess, looking sad and Japanese.
This is what happens when a 4 year old is allowed to give an animal tribal tattoos. It's Littlest Emo Pet, a sad plastic companion for your sad little child who's going to be severely confused in their first Biology class when they see that a ferret's head isn't 500% bigger than it's body, nor is it pink. Maybe I'm just sensitive, or maybe I've been watching too much "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" but this irks me all the same. It's a short road now to "back in my day I walked to school up hill both ways," but if they're going to keep my childhood toys in production the least they can do is not fuck them up with pink japanimation barf.
If you haven't caught on by now, I love miniature things. I have conspired with my brother to grow a miniature farm of miniature vegetables (baby carrots, baby corn, cherry tomatoes, etc etc). I have a slew of model horses and that doesn't even begin to describe it, but that's another day. So it should be no surprise that in the 90's, a young shemovedtotexas adored "The Littlest Pet Shop."
Sure, they were simple. This wagged its paw, but hey it had cute little plastic accessories and even more important - PUPPIES!
And this one, little gerbils that had a magnet on them, so you could make them scurry through the cages with a magnetic "wand" on the outside. Super cute? Yes indeed, and no pesky cedar shavings that I was allergic to that real gerbils needed. So I think we get the picture. Cute little animals, that actually resembled animals - circa 1992.
Imagine my surprise when I strolled through Target the other week and found this monstrosity.
Monday, July 5, 2010
End of a long weekend
This is what our local watering hole looks like at the end if a nice holiday weekend.
Yes, that's a diet coke. Nectar of the gods. I need their nectar, because I start my new job tomorrow. More on our 4th of July later, now I'm going to enjoy the sun and $1 lonestar night.
Yes, that's a diet coke. Nectar of the gods. I need their nectar, because I start my new job tomorrow. More on our 4th of July later, now I'm going to enjoy the sun and $1 lonestar night.
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