Ho! Ho! Ho! Pictures!!

Greetings everyone! We're back from our holiday trip to San Angelo, and -- as expected -- I've taken numerous pictures with my brand new digital camera!

Click here to view my favorite shots!

Santa came a little early...

All I want for Christmas is a Canon A6210 ... and guess what! I must have been a good girl this year because...

I now have in my hands my very own Canon A610 digital camera!!!!!



And so, here is my very first photo I took with my very own digital camera:


Needless to say, Roy got lots of smooches for this one!
Please pardon my messy hair -- it's hard work ripping open my wonderous Christmas present!

Go! Buy Serenity! NOW!

As probably all of you know (and why wouldn't you?) -- Serenity comes out *today*! Yes, the BDM (Big D*** Movie, as we Browncoats call it) is currently the #1 DVD top seller at Amazon.com. Mmm-hmm. Yep.

So, get your boots on out there and buy yourself a copy ... or three. Nothin' in the 'verse can stop ya!

Merry Christmas John.

I know this is a little late, but...


Imagine.

I know, I know ... but anyway...

I know, I know -- I'm a horrible person. I haven't blogged in I don't know how long, and I haven't posted my picture and stories from Dallas and Houston yet. But we'll all get over it, and I'll get them up some day.

Anyway...

So, Christmas is here, and we've bought all of our presents, except for the one for my Mom (and I'm pulling my hair out trying to figure out what to get. I mean, what more can we get her -- she already has a perfect daughter! <>).

Things at work are slowly winding down and people are getting into the holiday spirit. We actually took pictures at work with ol' Santa Claus himself.


Click image for larger view


Click image for larger view

U2 Report (Initial Post)

Ok, I know this post is *way* overdue!! I'm sorry!! I came back and just was swamped with work and classes finishing up.

Anyway, the concerts were MAGNIFICENT!!!! Houston was amazing -- we were front and center (thanks to Chris) right in front of Bono!!! Dallas was wonderful, dancing like a fool in the back open area of the floor.

More details coming soon ... I promise!! For now, I've scanned in my initial set of photos of pictures of us before the concert. Below is the link. Let me know if you have any problems with the link -- I'm still trying to figure out Flickr.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/20545588@N00/sets/1337786/

My musical journey is about to begin

I'm home right now getting everything ready for my big trip tomorrow, and I'm singing "Vertigo" at the top of my lungs. "Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!"


Yep, headin' out to Houston tomorrow. I'm going to spend the day with my best bud Ja'Nate', which is great! Then, Friday, bright and early, I'll make my way to the Toyota Center to spend my day in line with hundreds of other U2 fans. Friday Night: Vertigo Houston! Saturday morning, again bright and early, I'm heading back to Dallas, and Saturday Night: Vertigo Dallas!

Woohoo!!! It's a musical journey! I cannot wait!





I'm ready
Ready for the laughing gas
I'm ready
Ready for what's next
Ready to duck
Ready to dive
Ready to say
I'm glad to be alive
I'm ready
Ready for the push

My blog is worth $1,693.62.
How much is your blog worth?

10 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

10 Days Until Vertigo!!!





Ack!!

"I'm a leaf on the wind -- watch me soar!"

Ok, guys. If you haven't watched Serenity yet, you must go see it! It's a great movie, and you'll be thanking me afterwards! If you're still not convinced, Joss Whedon recently posted a link to a site that has the first nine minutes of the show. Go ... see for yourself! It's great!!

Watch the first nine minutes of Serenity!
http://video.vividas.com/CDN1/3929_Serenity/web/index.html

Teenagers, Tree-Flying Kites, and Swedish Furniture

Ok, I know this is a bit late, but I'm just now posting about my crazy weekend. Actually, I've finally recovered from those hectic days of shopping, driving, flying kites, driving, watching movies, driving, band contests, driving, furniture, and driving. And so, I begin...

WE FINALLY GET OUR NIGHTSTANDS

The weekend before last, Roy and I head out to eat lunch with pal Joey. As we leave the restaurant, I notice that there is a Stacy's Furniture just a half a block away, so we head over there on a whim, and we end up purchasing two really nice nightstands. (If you look at that link, the description is not quite right -- the photo is correct, but the nightstands do not have marble tops.) Anyway, so this past Saturday, we drive over to Grapevine and pick up our nightstands. Now, keep in mind, we live upstairs, so poor Roy ended up carrying them up the stairs. We ended up slightly rearranging our bedroom, and now the nightstands are in place.

Ah, but if only I had a lamp for my nightstand...

THE KITE-FLYING TREES

So we head to a park that's nearby, and after eating lunch and making two bathroom trips to the apartment with the kiddos, we decide to fly our kites. Roy and I have (er ... had) two kites -- a shark (which is Roy's, of course) and a dolphin (mine). While it was breezy out, the park is kind of in a valley, so we were having a hard time getting the kites to stay up. Well, nephew Russell finally gets the kite high in the air, then he accidentally lets go of the handle. The kite soars a short distance, until the handle gets snagged by a tree. Of course, at this point, the wind kicks up a notch, and the kite just will not come down. Roy attempts to get latch onto the kite's handle ... with the handle and string of my kite, and in the process, breaks the string to my kite. Eventually, the tree lets go of Roy's kite, only for its handle to get caught on the very top of an even taller tree.

Alas, it was a lost cause. For the rest of that day, and into the evening, anyone driving through Carrollton could see our shark-kite flying high above the city. You could easily see it from our apartment complex, which is several blocks away.

So, this just proves to us that trees don't eat kites, as many believe. They just want to fly them!

THE BIGGEST FURNITURE STORE I'VE EVER ... EXPERIENCED!

So ... about that lamp for my nightstand. Roy and I head out on Sunday to the new IKEA store up in Frisco. Keep in mind, there are only two of these stores in the US, so when we pull into the (huge) parking lot, and there are only a few empty spaces in the very back. We snag one, then make it inside. This is a different kind of shopping experience, which is all I'm going to say about that. We finally find my lamp, and after about 2.5 hrs, we make our way out to the completely packed lot, and head home.

Definitely a tiring, yet exciting weekend. Glad it's over.

"I aim to misbehave."

There was excitement! There was suspense! There was euphoria! A true emotional roller coaster. And that was before the movie even started!!

We arrived at the theater one hour before Serenity was to begin -- the line of people was stretched all the way around the lobby! So, we take our place at the end of the line, and quickly more people get in line behind us. Roy, Corina, and I were excited, but keeping our cool. Finally, the line starts to move forward, and we end up stopping just around 18 people from the entrance to the theater.

"The theater is full. We're waiting on some press to show up. If they don't show up, we will be able to let a few more of you in.

So, we wait some more, and they let a handful of people in. We wait again. Finally, one of the theater workers comes out, and she informs us that "this is just not going to happen". She offers to exchange our tickets for a free showing of some Gwenyth Paltrow movie next week. (?!?! -- Uh, no, but thanks.)

I just remember standing there, looking at this woman, she's looking right at me, and she just shrugs. Suddenly, "...nine, ten, eleven, and twelve. She points at Roy, who's behind us. "He is the last one. Let them in."

WOOHOO!!

So, we finally make it into the theater! We end up completely separated, but it was ok because the folks around us were really nice. The lights go out, and the crowd claps and cheers!!

The movie was great! I'm not going to tell you any details, I'm just going to say ...

GO WATCH IT!!!

You will love it. I promise you. And once you watch it, email me and let me know what you thought! And if you like it (which I know you will!!) ... tell a friend!!

A Couple Of Cool Serenity Sites For Ya:

Jayne's Hat Song
I Need A Hero

Oh right ... about that Oasis concert...

I must me losing my mind. My U2-pal Mary just emailed me the following: "So you've blogged about everything but the Oasis adventure... "
Doh! I knew I was forgetting something.

The concert last Thursday was great! And very, very, very loud. My ears have finally stopped ringing. No really, like just a couple of days ago. Next time, I'll use earplugs.

Highlights from that evening:

• $3 pretzels and $4.50 bottles of water. Not really a highlight, but definitely worth commenting on. Plus, venue policy states that they couldn't give me the lid to my water bottle. Who knows why. Maybe they don't want anyone hitting Liam in the head with a water bottle cap.

• "That wasn't Jett??!!" Mary and I didn't really know much about the band Jett, who was set to open for Oasis, other than that one popular song "Are you gonna be my girl". So the first band comes out, and we just assume it's Jett. The band finishes their set, and I turn around and comment to Mary, "Hmm, they didn't play that one big song they have." We realize a few minutes later that the first band was in fact not who we thought was. How did we come to this realization, you ask? As they are setting up for the next band, they bring out this huge banner with "JETT" spelled out in two-foot letters. The first band was actually Kasabian, who were very good.

• Jett. The real Jett took the stage, and I realized that I actually knew a few more of their songs than I'd originally thought. They were definitely good. Kind of Black Crowes-ish. But not too much.

• OASIS!! Ah, the Gallagher brothers, Liam and Noel. The wonderfully haughty Liam, standing at the front of the stage, treating us with that arrogant stare that only Liam himself has perfected. (It's weird in a way -- I truly appreciated the way he just stood there and looked at us. It was very Liam. Anything else would have been weird.) And quiet, contemplative Noel, who ended the show by walking up and down the stage handing out guitar picks to folks in the front row. He's definitely my favorite.

• Singing at the top of my voice. I've actually been an Oasis fan since back in college. So, it was great to hear music I've had coming out of my stereo for almost a decade.

• Random phone calls. The only thing better (I think) than getting a phone call from a pal who is a bit tipsy is getting a phone call from a friend who's at a concert. "VICKI! IF YOU'RE THERE, I CAN'T HEAR YOU! I'M AT AN OASIS CONCERT!" My victims that evening were my Vicki, my cousin Cristina, and my Dad. (Actually, I was trying to call my super-cool sis Lizzie, but she wasn't home.)

So, the concert was fun, the music was great, and Oasis was awesome! Definitely had a blast!

Ja'Nate' Update

I just realized that I haven't posted an update on my pal Ja'Nate' and her family in Houston, and how they weathered Hurricane Rita.

She and her family are fine. Luckily, Houston missed much of the severe weather that was originally set to him them straight on. The only damage they received was part of their fence blew down, but that can easily be fixed, she said.

Whoa! U2 is sneaking up on me!

With so much going on this semester, I was quite shocked to realize while looking at my calendar that my U2 concerts are a mere 4.5 weeks away. As Strongbad might say, "Holy Crap!"

31 days and counting!!!

SERENITY!!

So, I'm getting ready for work this morning, when Roy casually mentions that he read in the DMN Quick that there is a free screening of Serenity tonight. They were giving away tickets at the Movie Trading Company down on Greenville in Dallas.

Drat. Wish I'd heard about this yesterday, I think to myself.

So, I get to work, and I decide, What the heck! I'll call anyway on the off chance they still have tickets. I call, and ...

They have tickets!!!

The store opened at 10am, so my pal/co-worker Corina and I hope in my car and head out in search of these treasured tickets. (I must mention at this point that Corina is an excellent co-pilot. I had a map printed out illustrating how to get to our destination, but there was no need -- she knew a special way to get there, which worked perfectly.)

We arrive at the MTC at around 9:50am, and we wait in the (strangely) empty parking lot for the doors open. 10am rolls around, they open those doors, and we meekly approach the counter and admit that we are not there to purchase anything. We just want the free Serenity tickets.

At last!! We have the tickets! We calmly exit the building, and as we walk back to the car, I almost couldn't resist doing the Arsenio-Hall-cheer (whoomp! whoomp!). Much to Corina's delight, I'm sure, I was able to control myself.

So ... tonight ... at 7:30pm at the Loews movie theater at Spring Valley and 75 ... Roy, Corina, and I will be watching Serenity!!!!

See you later Frank!

Well, my pal Frank is probably beginning a 19hour flight to Japan right about now. I'd just like to wish him luck with his new life and new job in Shimonoseki. Ah, poor Frank -- he's leaving a land currently plagued by hurricanes and heading to a land currently experiencing numerous typhoons. Stay dry, Frank! And good luck!!

Stormy Weather

Well dang it! What is up with this weather????

First the hurricane from a few weeks ago (let’s not discuss its name, please), and now we have the horrible Hurricane Rita barreling down on Texas. This one is much more important to me because one of my best friends, Ja'Nate', is in Houston, and she and her family are probably going to be hit hard by this storm.

We here in the DFW area are going to feel the effects as well, although not nearly as dramatically. Forcasts say that by the time it passes almost directly over DFW, it will be a mere tropical storm. My little forcast plugin for my Firefox web browser currently displays "Heavy rain and a thunderstorm" for the Saturday forcast.

Well, try to keep dry, Ja'Nate' ... and anyone else in Rita's path. I sure will.

U2 Dreamin'

In honor of tonight's opening concert of leg three of U2's Elevation tour, I've loaded up all of my U2 albums in Windows Media and I've set it to random. Yep, I've got the headphones on, and I'm singing at the top of my lungs. I'm sure Roy's head will peek out from around the corner to see what is wrong with me. Ah, if only I could hear what he was saying. <>

She sings: "Some days are better than others!"

Home Sick Today

Some kind of viral infection has kept me home today. I'm all caught up with my homework (believe it or not). Not too interested in the book I checked out from the library. Nothing on the television. So I blog! Below are some interesting websites I've come across so far:

Amazing Sidewalk Art:
http://gprime.net/images/sidewalkchalkguy/

Amazing Satellite Photo-Collage of Earth at Night
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0011/earthlights_dmsp_big.jpg

World Sunlight Map
http://www.die.net/earth/

Update: More sites...

A pretty cold day
http://selfdestruct.net/misc/geneve.jpg

The Matrix - In ASCII Art Animation
http://www.justbewise.net/matrix.html

Secret Worlds - The Universe Within
http://www.micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/java/scienceopticsu/powersof10/

The Eye Of God
http://www.snopes.com/photos/space/eyeofgod.asp

The end of the internet
http://www.shibumi.org/eoti.htm

Declaration of Revocation by John Cleese
http://www.stephaniemiller.com/declarationofrevocation.htm

Popular movies in 30 seconds, re-enacted by bunnies
http://www.angryalien.com/

Weekend Details

Roy and I did have a pleasant Labor Day weekend. Aside from a slight "glitch" that prevented us from having dinner with my folks, all went really nicely.

Weekend Highlights:

• Lunch w/ Frank and Sunny. I took Friday off to enjoy myself and ended up driving down to Arlington to have lunch with my two good friends (Sunny and Frank) on Frank's last day working for UTA. We had one last group lunch at one of our frequent haunts, King's BBQ, and each enjoyed Singapore Noodles and hot tea. (I know, it's the middle of summer. Why are we having hot tea? This place is usually frigid, so it fits.)
  
  
• Giving Lizzie her Green Day souvenirs. Friday, I went to Office Depot and laminated the Green Day concert review (which had a couple of really good photos of itty-bitty Billy Joe), and I gave them to Lizzie yesterday. She loved it.
  
  
• Listening to Lizzie play the Cure's "Love Song" on her guitar, then going through her collection of rock and roll buttons.
  
  
• Bingo with Mama Saturday night. I didn't win the $750 prize, but I had a really good time.
  
  
• Playing Putt Putt with Roy! We stopped at the Putt Putt place in Euless (?) and played a game. We had a great time!! Roy dropped his ball in the little creek running through the course, but he managed to fish it out. :)
  

So, now we're recovering from a tiring weekend, but it was nice. Welp, back to work, then on to my graphics class tonight.

Back to reality

Labor Day weekend was spent tearing myself away from the news, instead spending time with family out in good ol' west Texas. We got back home last night from the 5.5-hour trip, and news seems to be getting a little better. While the DFW area is taking in several thousands of folks from the affected areas, San Angelo is also doing its part, taking in 1,000 refugees.

Roy calls me a "junkie" when he finds me reading news reports and sneaking a peak at CNN. I don't know what it is about events like this -- morbid curiosity? -- but I find myself almost obsessed with what's going on. September 11 was bad with the visual overload of every single tv channel showing what happened. Now, we have streaming video from WFAA's website of the New Orleans tv station (which is now broadcasting out of Baton Rouge). Instant "breaking news" emails informing us of the latest updates. Video clips accessible anytime if you need a bite-size helping of tragedy.

So, the levies are being fixed. The water is being pumped out. And we wait for the numbers, a feeling that must be something like waiting to be punched in the gut.

And yet, life goes on...

A bit of happy news to share with everyone: Former ASU Multimedia Guru (one of "my guys") Derek and his wife Deanna are celebrating the birth of their baby boy, Seth Andrew. Also, congrats to Derek on "the job offer of a lifetime" and the new job you'll start soon in Houston! Many happy days are ahead for you guys. :)

Speechless

Well, what can you say? It's tragic. It's horrible. You just cannot believe what is happening, and so close to home. News reports are more and more grim each time you check. Looting. Bodies. Refugees. I really just cannot stand it.

God bless the people in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and any other affected area. The world is watching, praying, and hoping for you.

http://www.redcross.org

Two More Serenity Converts!

Two more Serenity/Firefly converts in the bag! U2 gal-pals Fatima and Ryann came over last night and we had a Firefly night. After watching the first three episods, and the gals were hooked. So, the first three dvd discs are loaned out to those two, while Fatima is finishing up disc 4. This brings my convert count up to 5:

• Darren
  
• Darren's wife
• Corina
  
• Fatima
• Ryann

Serenity countdown: 32 days!!

Hurricane Katrina

Well, I have to say I'm somewhat upset that the hurricane that has my name has become such a big disaster. It was bad enough Friday when we heard that seven or eight people died in Florida and there was damage when it passed over last week. Now, New Orleans, Biloxi, and surrounding areas are being pummelled. (Even Jim Cantori, the thrill-seeking weather guy on the Weather Channel, decided not to get stuck in New Orleans.) They're saying damage is extensive. Hopefully, the people in the area have stayed safe.

I have, however, received a few emails and phone calls from friends and family. "Calm down!" from my Uncle Al. "You are so powerful, Kat!" from Sunny. "Couldn't you have devastated Mobile or some other city no one would miss?" from Frank.

It is kind of weird, though, hearing and seeing my name so much on tv and radio.

Yeesh!

Billy Joe is short!!

The bruises have mostly healed. The beer has been washed out of my hair. My sneakers still have a bit of nacho cheese on them I need to scrub off. Other than that, though, the Green Day concert was truly amazing ... and in a totally different way than any other concert I've been to.

Lizzie, Amanda, and I got to American Airlines Center at around 5:00pm so that we could get in early for the 7:30 show. Well, we get there and find that a General Admissions line is just beginning to form on (of course) the side of the arena that is facing the sun. Keep in mind, it was about 100 degrees outside that day. Thankfully, Mom had insisted that we bring water with us and a $1 umbrella they'd picked up at the dollar store. Thank goodness we had that with us -- we were baking.

They finally let us into the arena at around 6:30, and after a few minutes wait, they eventually let us down onto the floor. Wouldn't you know it -- the three of us walked right up to the railing along the front stage! The girls were excited at this point, yet still kind of dazed. Lizzie kept explaining that she was trying not to freak out.

Jimmy Eat World opened the show. The music was good. Loud, but good. Lizzie and Amanda were singing along having a great time. Their set ended, the lights came back up, and that is when everyone on the floor decided to push forward. We were totally squished up against the railing and it got kind of ugly there for a while, and Green Day hadn't even come out yet. I knew that once the music started, people would begin jumping and trying to bully their way up to the front, so I told the girls to not let go of the railing for anything. (Through the whole concert, I had a death grip on Lizzie's arm.)

Finally, Green Day came out, the crowd went wild, the girls were screaming, and I was crushed. I couldn't tell if the two were being squished b/c they were too busy screaming and laughing and trying to get (lead singer) Billy Joe's attention. They really had a great time -- every time I looked back at them, they were grinning and singing at the top of their lungs. I was having a good time, too -- after a while, you kind of get used to having your lungs squished. It was actually a really cool experience to see Green Day. They've been around since I was in high school, and I liked their music back then. (Lizzie and Amanda refuse to accept that Billy Joe is older than I am.)

Memorable Moments:

• Billy Joe reaching down from the stage and touching Lizzie and Amanda's hands
  
• The band calling up fans to replace each of the band members, then giving one of the fans the guitar
• The cannons shooting off Green Day confetti into the air and it snowing down on us during "We Are The Champions"
• "Holiday" - I love this song
• Billy Joe with a crown and cape, kind of like a "pint-size James Brown"
• The drunk bunny
• Realizing just how small Billy Joe is!
  
• Waiting behind the arena until 1am for the band to come out (which they never did) and Lizzie falling asleep laying against my leg

It was great. I loved it. Lizzie loved it. Amanda loved it. And for now, I'm a pretty cool big sister in Lizzie's eyes. :)

Read the Dallas Morning News review here.

Brandon Flowers is a cutie!

Yes, ladies and gents, the Killers Concert last Wednesday was fabulous!!!! And I must say ... Brandon Flowers is such a cutie!

Vicki and I headed out to Nokia Theater after work last Wednesday, and after about 2hrs of fighting with traffic, we reached the venue with an hour to spare. We drive up to the theater parking and I immediately begin to notice that the average age of people walking through the lot was about a decade younger than my age. We enter the building and are immediately awarded each with a special GA Wristband, giving us access to the exclusive Pit. We walk further and further down the stairs past one set of security after another, and finally we emerge right in front of the stage. We immediately see fellow u2-fanatic pal Mary (aka crankypup on the mailing lists), and we position ourselves stage-left behind a couple of (thankfully) short young ladies. Fatima and Ryann (also fellow U2Texas mailing list fans) joined us soon after, and we were ready for some excitement.

The show opened with Louis XIV, a band I'd never heard of before but who were actually pretty good, even if the the bass player did just stand there in front of us and stare off into space. The music was good, and Vicki and I were impressed.

Finally, after a slightly extended intermission, with music by Julio Iglesias playing, the Killers finally took the stage. Very surreal. The show opened with an excellent Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine, and I was pleasantly surprised at how well this techno-ish music translated to stage. I absolutely loved every minute of it. Change Your Mind. Somebody Told Me. Mr. Brightside. I sang at the top of my lungs, danced in my crowded little bit of space, and just had a blast. Vicki's boppin' along beside me. Fatima is swooning over Brandon. Couldn't have been better. The concert wrapped up with my absolute favorite song off the album, All These Things That I've Done. Wow! Loved it!!!!

Read the Dallas Morning News review here.

Tomorrow Night! #1 of 5

Tomorrow night is the Killers concert. Yep. Number one of five concerts is almost here, and I'm just a bit excited. The venue: Nokia Theater. (Note to self: Print map to Nokia Theater.) The Plan: Vicki is going to pick me up at work, and we are going to head over to the venue and meet up with Fatima, Ryann, and Mary. Next, we plan on getting as close to the stage as possible b/c (lead singer) Brendan Flowers is a cutie. (But not as cute as my sugarplum, of course.)

Vicki's going to the Killers concert, you ask? Yes, my way-cool friend informed me after I'd already sold my extra tickets that she was interested in going, and -well- I pulled some strings and found her another ticket. I'm so proud of her!

Impromptu U2Texas Meetup

So, the Killers concert is tomorrow night, and up until Sunday, I had three extra tickets that I had promised to a couple of friends off the U2Texas mailing list I belong to. So, I get a call from Fatima and we figure out we're going to meet at a coffee shop here in Carrollton on Sunday at noon so she can pay me for and receive her two Killers tickets. I then receive an email from Mary (aka "crankypup") who needs her one ticket. Then, I get a call from Chris, who needs his U2 ticket for the October Houston show.

So we all converge on this quiet coffee shop -- Fatima, Ryann (Fatima's best friend), Chris, Dana (Chris's friend), Mary, and me -- and I receive some looks as everyone at the table proceeds to hand me piles of money as I give them their tickets. We end up staying there for almost (if not) three hours. Laughing, talking, reminiscing. Just had a really good time. Plus, Mary informed me that she had a copy of the new Harry Potter book I could borrow.

So, I arrived home later with a pocket full of cash and the new HP book in hand. I am definitely a happy camper.

Pomp and Circumstance

Ok, I must blog today during lunch b/c so much is happening in the next few days. Too much to blog about; too little time.

So Frank graduated with his Masters degree in TESOL this past Saturday. (Click here to read Frank's graduation blog.) We all had a really nice evening, which began with dinner at one of my favorite restaurants -- Pho Pasteur. I was able to get my favorite dish, bun thit nuoung cha gao (grilled pork on vermicelli w/ egg roll). Mmm. We were able to meet Frank's friends whom I've heard so much about -- Stephen, Judy, Benita, and Ikuko -- and I was able to see Sunny again for the first time in several months.

We progressed to Texas Hall at UT Arlington, where Frank joined the other soon-to-be-graduates, and we joined the other family and friends in the seats. It was a very nice graduation -- the speaker was actually very interesting, which is always a pleasant surprise. I was the official cinematographer for the College of Liberal Arts graduation -- well, at least all the parts that involved Frank. Hopefully, the video came out -- Frank will be sending it to his family in Louisiana.

Congrats Frank -- you did it!

Yet another Serenity update...

Yes folks, I have yet another Firefly convert. Mmmhmm. Corina is the latest addition to the list of DFW area Firefly fans.

And to add to this momentous occasion, the second trailer for Serenity has been released. Go ... watch ... enjoy!

Wonderful News!

My cousin Cristina is pregnant! She called last night as I was trying (in vain) to replicate my favorite dish my Mom makes. Yep, preliminary results indicate the baby to be due on March 25th, which lands smack-dab on daddy-to-be Adrian's birthday. I'm sure there will be fun daddy-baby birthday parties to come.

Congratulations Cristina and Adrian!

UPDATE: Mommy-to-be Cristina's bday is March 1. Hmm ... I forsee mommy-daddy-baby birthdays in the future. :)

G'day, y'all!

So, Teresa and Mat made it to Texas just fine last Thursday evening. "G'day, y'all!"

Friday afternoon I took off from work so that I could spend time with the family, who had made the trek up from San Angelo to see Teresa and Mat. I left work at about noon and proceeded to spend over an hour on the roads trying to find 183. I was under the impression that 183 crosses 35E, but I was wrong. I ended up way down in Arlington, but anyway...

I met up with the family at the very nice Amerisuites, and since Teresa and Mat wanted to get cell phone service, we ended up at the Irving Mall. Mat had his first Taco Bell experience, which he seemed to enjoy. We found out little bits of interesting Aussie info, such as they don't have Fritos, corn bread, or Chick-fil-a over there. They *do* have this interesting burger option at their McDonald's called the McOz, which is basically a quarter pounder with a slab of beetroot on it. (Poor Mat had to spell out "beetroot" for me to understand what he was saying.) Interesting. I'll have to try it someday.

Lizzie had a good time at that mall. She tried on some cool baggy jeans at her favorite store - Hot Topic. I think she called them "trip pants". Then there was the T-Mobile sales-guy who was flirting with her. I had to keep an eye on that. :) She later found some windcatchers that were on sale for $1.09. For some reason, my Mom was having difficulty trying to decide color windcatcher to get.
Mom: Oh, I don't know - should we get the blue or green one?
Me: Mom, they're $1.09. You can get both if you want!

So, basically, we had a good time. Welcome to Texas, Mat. Welcome home, Teresa.

Teresa's comin' home

Ok, I think I' m allowed to tell people now. Teresa's flying in *today* from Newcastle, Australia. She'll be flying in on Flight 2454 and arrive at DFW at 9:10pm tonight. She had quite a long flight. Below is/was her itinerary:

All times are in Central Standard Time (CST):

Air New Zealand
Departing Sydney @ 8:30PM August 3^rd
Arriving Aukland @ 11:30PM August 3^rd

Air New Zealand:
Departing Aukland @ 2:45AM August 4^th
Arriving Los Angeles @ 2:40PM August 4^th

American Airlines:
Departing Los Angeles @ 5:53PM August 4^th
Arriving Dallas @ 9:10PM August 4^th

I have a convert!

I have converted a co-worker into a Firefly fan.

And not just my co-worker ... his wife is also hooked. Yep, I am pretty darn proud of myself.

If you haven't done so already, watch the Firefly series. Just a little background on the show, Firefly is a *terrific* sci-fi series that was (partially) shown on Fox for almost one season. For whatever reason, the network decided that they were going to show the episodes out of order, *and* they were only going to show around 10 out of the ~14 episodes. The series was eventually cancelled, but by that time, even with the episodes shown out of order, enough people realized that this was "quality TV" that a major letter-writing campaign was started. Eventually, Fox decided that maybe they could do a movie, and hence, Serenity was born.

Useful Links:

• Serenity Movie Trailer
  
• Firefly Wiki
• Browncoats (official Serenity fansite)
• FireflyFans.net

Great Firelfy Quotes:

Wash: Who's flying this thing?! Oh, right. That would be me.

Mal: Can't get paid if you're dead.
Jayne: Can't get paid if you crawl away like a bitty little bug neither. I got a share of this job. Ten percent of nothin' is, let me do the math here...nothin' and a nothin', carry the nothin'...

Zoë: Sir, I think you have a problem with your brain being missing.

Jayne: [into radio] Testing. Captain, can you hear me?
Mal: I'm standing right here.
Jayne: [into radio] You're coming in good and loud, too.
Mal: 'Cause I'm standing right here.

Countdown Update

We've got a few countdowns goin' on:

Countdown to:

• The Killers - 20 days
• Green Day - 23 days
• Oasis - 56 days
  
• Serenity - 64 days
• U2 Houston - 92 days (ack!)
• U2 Dallas - 93 days (ack!)
  

Etc, etc, etc....

Ok, and just a few updates on some other items still outstanding :P

• My Killers concert tickets have (finally) come in! If you'll remember (see post), I ordered several extra thinking my kid sis would come up. Well, she isn't, so I very quickly sold them to two people I know on a U2 mailing list. Well, I had no clue that my pal Vicki would want to go, so I found another ticket for her ... but I'm still waiting on that one.

• Teresa is coming home some time in the near future. (Can't give more details than that or she'll frog me. Very hush hush.)

• Did I mention I'm almost done with this Stats class? Woohoo!

• Last night I started reading a really good book -- The Historian, by ... well, I can't remember who it's by. It's really good, though -- it's a fiction (of course) that is based on the history of Vlad the Impaler, also known as Dracula. You can read the first few pages of the book (which is what I did, and I immediately got hooked) at Amazon.com's site.

• Thanks to m' pal Frank, I have found another good Vietnamese restaurant within a reasonable distance from where I work. (Actually, this one is excellent!) Mmmm... love that bun thit nuoung cha gio!

One ... last ... class...

Good lord, I think I can make it. Tonight is the last class for my dreaded Stats and Research class. The prof was great, but the material was tough. All I have left tonight is to present my research proposal, then I'm home free. Wish me luck.

Good luck Christine!

We're all thinking about you. Get well soon.

Where the heck is the rain?!

Ok, for the last three or four days, it's looked like it's going to pour, but it ends up raining just to the east or south of us. And it's bugging the daylights out of me. I have this great office with a window, and I'd love for it to be raining really good as I'm working. Don't get me wrong -- sunny days are nice and all, but I'd like a good shower. Plus, all this teasing weather just makes it more steamy. Argh!

Work is definitely pickin' up!

As the Fall semester gets closer, I've noticed a dramatic increase in workload, which is great b/c I'm finally getting the hang of things here at UTD. I have two Accounting Information Management classes (AIM 6351 and AIM 6352) that I'm completely building from scratch, and I have one MIS (Mgmt Info Systems) 6319 class that I'm updating. So, things are interesting ... and busy.

Oh, and my business cards came in! Woohoo! I'm official now!

Quick FRR Update

Welp, as usual, I'm late posting an update for my weekend. The Frisco Rough Riders game was *great*. Thank you Vicki! We watched the game, munched on hotdogs, appreciated the fancy bathrooms, and just had a great time.

Frisco Rough Riders ... tonight!

Ok, I'm so excited about this.

Yesterday afternoon, my bud Vicki called asking if Roy and I would like to take her up on some free tickets she got through work to see the Frisco Rough Riders. (They're a minor league baseball team, and it's supposed to be a lot of fun.)

"Uh, yeah!!"

So, tonight, we have tickets for Section 119,which is a great seat, and we're getting a free dinner voucher on top of all that! Plus ... their site has a whole section devoted to the stadium's Cool Bathrooms. You just gotta love that!

Take me out to the ball game!
Take me out with the crowd!
Buy me some peanuts and crackerjacks!
I don't care if I ever get back!!
Let me root, root, root for the home team...
If they don't win it’s a shame!!
For it's one, two, three strikes,
You're out!!! ..at the old ball game!!!

Late Fireworks Update

Greetings all!

I know I'm a few days late in posting, but -hey- at least I'm posting. :) Anyway, the 4th was nice. Roy and I headed out to good ol' San Angelo (a mere 5hr trip) and visited w/ family.

Highlights:
- Watched Green Day videos with my way-cool sis
- Having the waiters sing Happy Bday to my parents at the restaurant
- Watched fireworks at the river with Roy
- Spent time with my folks
- Coffee and breakfasts w/ Mama
- That wonderful Outback steak dinner

Oh, and I can't remember when I watched this, but if you haven't already seen it, "The Motorcycle Diaries" is a very good movie. Loved it!

Just catching up...

Howdy everyone!

Just checking in to let you guys know I'm still alive. Much to my dismay, and yet not unexpected, I've ended up taking a week off from my studies. My class has a one-month break right in the middle of it, and I told myself I'd keep on trudging through all the stats/research texts through the break. Well, I've been lazy. So, I'm publicly announcing that I'm getting my bu** back in gear, and I'm going to hit the books!

Woohoo.

So this past Friday, at work, I went to a mini-conference held for members of the North Texas division of the Texas Distance Learning Association. The meeting was interesting -- we were given a tour of SBC's data center and disaster recovery center in Dallas. Lots of very expensive (millions of dollars) equipment, lots of security, huge generators. Very interesting.

While at the conference, I got to see two of the people I used to work with back at UTA. Actually, the two people were my immediate manager and his supervisor. One of my really good friends from UTA, Sunny, ended up not able to attend, which is probably a good thing. Just seeing Michael and Jenny reminded me of UTA, and I was a bit ... oh ... well, I missed the place. Don't get me wrong -- I love UT Dallas. I just compare this to going to a new school, seeing some of your old teachers, and it reminds you of your friends from back then.

But it turned out ok, in the end. I get back to UTD at the end of the day, and one of my friends pulls me into her office and offered me a Nutty Buddy (one of those ice cream cones with the peanuts on the top. Mmmmm...). Completely on her own. I hadn't even mentioned the conference. Nothing like friends and ice cream to get you back in a good mood. :)

Happy (Belated) "Pops" Day!

Happy Father's Day to my Dad, the coolest Dad in the world!!


Love ya Pops!

Must ignore Coldplay

Must ignore Coldplay.
Must ignore Coldplay.
Must ignore Coldplay.

Ack! Stats!

Greetings all. Well, classes started last night, and I am reminded how while finding these classes interesting, I tend to leave with a slight headache (aka "brain drain"). Which is a good thing, I know. Summer classes are nice, though -- this class only has five students, so there will be a lot of interactivity, plus our projects will be customized to our area of interest. The class deals with research and statistics.

I have a feeling I'm really going to have to catch up when it comes to stats -- I'm the only one in our group who has never had any stats training in undergrad. I know what the general meaning of "standard deviation" is, but we're talking "effect size" and comparing comparisons and all that. All I have to say is ...

Thank goodness my hubby's a geek. I know, dear -- you have never bitten the head of a live chicken. (If you're wondering what in the word I'm referring to, check this out.)

I went straight home and Roy explained it to me. It took a couple of times, but I now understand it. So, I march on into my semester, prepared to research topics I don't understand, read in-depth journal articles, and do my own research projects. Wish me luck. Please.

But it's just the price I pay
Destiny is calling me
Open up my eager eyes...
B'cause I'm Mr. Brightside.

Analysis of Research in Educational Technology

Classes begin tonight, and as usual I have my pre-semester jitters. I always take a sneak peak ahead of time and check out the course syllabus and assignments. The name of the course (as you probably figured out) is Anaylis of Research in Ed Tech, which at the same time sounds like an interesting course as well as a tough one. Wish me luck.

"Open up my eager eyes..."

Artist: The Killers
Album: Hot Fuss

Go. Buy this album. You'll thank me later.

Ok, so I'm excited about the Killers concert coming up in August, and all of yesterday, I had the song "Mr. Brighteyes" stuck in my head. (I'm driving my hubby nuts b/c I even set that song as my ringtone on my cell, and I periodically check the ringtone volume just to hear it play. How's that for cool, Lizzie!)

So, I head out yesterday and buy the album, and I've been listening to it ever since. If you're thinking about getting it, go for it. I've been burned too many times before when buying albums only to find that it has only two good songs. Not so here -- the whole album is great! It's strange, but it reminds me of the "new wave" music I loved back in high school. Love the guitar. Love the words. Plus the singer's kind of a cutie.

Funny you're-getting-old moment, though. I'm about to walk off with the cd in hand and head to the cashier, but I notice there is a kiosk where you can scan the cd barcode, and it'll show you part of a music video from the album. So, I scan the cd and "Mr. Brightside" comes on. Well, this teenage boy comes around the corner singing the song, and he stops dead in his tracks when he sees me in front of the kiosk and he gave me weird look.

Kid: "You're getting that cd?"
Me: "Mmhmm."
Kid: "Cool."

Yes, ladies and gents. You start getting old when you stop having fun. Can't wait for that concert.

Another concert to add to my schedule...

I confessed to Roy last night that I bought four tickets to the Killers concert (Aug.17) yesterday. I was thinking that since my Dad was taking that week in August off so that Lizzie could come up and see Green day on the 20th, that they'd be able to make it to the Killers a couple of days earlier. Well, Dad called last night to tell me that he doesn't have the whole week off, but they should still be able to make it to the Green Day concert.

So ... I'm going to end up selling three of those tickets, and -- by golly -- I'm going to see the Killers. I really love living so close to Dallas and being able to snag such great concert tickets. Plus, there's just so much to do ... museums, concerts, malls, it just goes on and on.

Now I have several countdowns:
- Killers - 76 days
- Green Day - 79 days
- Oasis - 112 days
- U2 Houston - 148 days
- U2 Dallas - 149 days

Woohoo!

Quick Memorial Day Weekend Update

Howdy everyone. It's been a while since I've posted, so I figured I'd better post an update.

Memorial Day weekend was nice ... and tiring. More so for Roy than for me -- he worked on a his grandmother's sprinklers, which was supposed to be a small, quick project but ended up taking much of his weekend. I spent a lot of time with my family -- Lizzie updated me on all the super-cool music videos I needed to see (i.e. Green Day, Good Charlotte, the Killers, etc.).

Roy's birthday was on Monday, so we had a small party for him at lunch (with *wonderful* German chocolate cake), then we left to drive him at around 3pm. Speaking of which...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROY!

Happy birthday to you!
You belong in the zoo!
With the lions and the tigers...
And the monkeys like you!!

So, now we're all trying to adjust to the short weekend, although it's nice thinking it's Wednesday, when it's actually Thursday. Just means that the next weekend is closer than we think!

"Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed." -Neil Armstrong

Greetings all. I have a few minutes during my lunch break. I figured I'd post about my weekend at NASA. (Notice I'm no longer a dirty, rotten blogger.)

While our Friday was long, tiring, and filled with sixth, seventh, and eighth graders, Roy and I really enjoyed the Johnson Space Center. We took the historic Mission Control tour, where we listened to them speak about how Man will be back on the moon in the next seven years, and we visited the Rocket Park. We had such a good time that Roy and I are planning on going back some time later this year or next maybe to take the "Level 9" tour, which gives a more in depth tour of the "campus".

It was interesting listening to them speak about the future of space flight. They discussed that we will actually build a station on the moon, which eventually will become a refueling station for flights to Mars. They also discussed that with current technology, a flight to Mars would take (I believe they said) nine months. With the new plasma technology, the rockets of the not-too-distant future will only take 10 days. Just amazing stuff.

So, I now have my souvenir JSC shot glass and a magnet for our refrigerator. I'm ready to go back!

I'm going to NASA!

Greetings all. A couple of months ago, my nephew, Jayce, asked us if we'd like to help chaperone his school's eighth grade class trip to Johnson Space Center. "Hmm ... let me think about it ... YES!"

The bus leaves tomorrow at around 4:30 (I think) from Rhome, Tx, so we plan on spending the night with my sister-in-law. We'll head over to the school bright and early, and we'll be on our way! I'll post an update after we get back, but I can already tell you that this trip is going to be great! My friend Christine visited the Space Center a few weeks ago, and she loved it. Welp, talk to you soon -- must go pack and get ready for work.

Snip! Snip!

I forgot to mention this yesterday, but I chopped my hair off. Yep ... new job ... new 'do! The good folks in the mall chopped off 7 inches, so now it's above my shoulders. It's always a traumatic experience for me, but this was actually the first time I didn't claim that the beautician "scalped me". I considered putting highlights in my hair again, but when I found out it'd cost around $60, I reconsidered.

Day two at the new job went well. Again, only 20-22 minutes for my commute. I really need to find some items to decorate my office with. I'm actually considering running out to Target right now. Plants would be good. And books. I need books to put in my shelves. My co-workers have all kinds of texts having to do with education, technology, educational technology. I have a few of those ... but I'm using them for class, so I can't really bring all of them up to work. I realize now that I should have kept my books from my undergrad studies. I remember talking to a fellow student once as we approached the end of the semester, and he explained that he never sold back his books b/c he knew that some day he would have an office, and he was going to display all of his books, and everyone would think he was well read and "super intelligent".

Straight A's!!!

And in other good news for today ... I finally got my grades for the spring semester -- straight A's!!! Woohoo!! I was really sweatin' it there at the end. Anyway, whew!

So, this summer, during the first five and a half week term, I'm taking Analysis of Research in Educational Technology. Whoa. But it's with a professor I've taken before, and I like his classes, so it should be bearable. The second term, I'm taking Educational Telecommunications, which sounds interesting.

Anyway ... WOOHOO!!

Oasis & Green Day

Ok, I know I'm doing these all out of order, but now that classes are done, I actually have time to update my blog!

Well, I should have posted about this way back when, but some time last month, I was browsing around the internet, when I suddenly remembered a commercial on the radio saying that Oasis is coming to town on Sept.22. Well, I then realized that I had already missed the first week of general sales, so I was pretty certain that any chance of seeing them was gone.

So ... I mosey onto Ticketmaster.com, and I pull up the show, and I figure I'll see if anything is available. Up pops fifth row center tickets. I was absolutely shocked ... but I recovered quickly enough press the "Buy" button. So ... a little over one month before I get to see the greatest band in rock 'n roll, I'll get to see my third favorite band, Oasis.

Like I said, I should have mentioned this earlier, but it actually leads nicely into my next little update ...

Man, I love living in "the big city". One of my little sister's favorite bands is Green Day. Welp, it just so happens that Green Day is coming to town on August 28, and I just so happen to belong to a mailing list for a local radio station -- The Edge -- that sent out a pre-sale code. So, on Friday, one whole day before the general public had access, I logged on and snagged three tickets to the show. I then called up my li'l sis Lizzie, and she somehow managed to squeal, hyperventillate, and giggle, all in the same breath. :)

Now ... if I could just get tickets to the Rolling Stones show that's coming up in November, my life would be complete. :P

My 20 Minute Commute

Well, as I hinted in an earlier post, I have a new job. Last month, I accepted a position at UT Dallas as an Instructional Designer for their Global MBA Online program for their School of Management. What's great about this job is that it's right along with what I'm studying in grad school and it cuts my commute by more than half.

So ... today is my first day at the new J.O.B. I have to be there by 9am to complete some paperwork, so I head out at 8am, just to make sure I get there on time. (Keep in mind, I'm used to driving one hour -- in good traffic -- to get to Arlington.) So, I hope on the turnpike, and ... I get to work in about 20 minutes. Unbelievable! I didn't even have enough time to drink my coffee on the way in! Needless to say, this is a very pleasant change.

The next bit of great news came to me a little bit later, when I was presented with my new office. Yes, you heard me right -- Office!!! I have a big desk, a window with a view over the building courtyard, and plenty of space for me to bring in pretty stuff to decorate with.

So, all in all, I'm very happy with my new job. Nice office. The people I work with are nice. Beautiful campus. Great commute. The only negative is that I'm leaving my good friends at UTA. Friday was my last day, and I have to tell you -- I had an incredibly difficult time saying goodbye, then driving home. It amazes me how quickly I became really close to my friends there. In eight short months, I quickly realized that these are people I do not want to ever lose touch with. Sunny, Frank, and Christine -- I miss you guys already!

Brief ... but important ... U2 update

My cousin Cristina has agreed to join me on my musical journey to the Houston U2 concert on October 28, 2005. (Woohoo!!) This is great on many levels.

1. First, she's been able to join me for the last two tours -- Popmart (11/23/1997) and Elevation (4/5/2001). I'll make a U2 fanatic out of her yet!
   
2. I'm getting rid of the extra U2 ticket I had in my possession. At ~$75, that was a little too pricey for me to just throw away.
3. I might be able to see one of my best gal pals, Ja'Nate'. (Woohoo!!)

Classic Cristina Comment: "If I'm not close enough to lick the stage, I just won't be happy."

I am a rotten blogger...

I admit ... I am a rotten blogger. (Sounds like some kind of British slang, doesn't it? Rotten blogger.) I apologize to anyone (...anyone?...) who's been waiting for an update. I have no excuse for waiting over three weeks to post. Stinkin', rotten blogger...

School is killing me. This semester, I started out with great intentions. "Oh, I know how to do it this time. Yes I do. I won't make the same mistakes as last semester." ... Whatever. It seems that I get bogged down right around Spring Break. (Last semester it was the Thanksgiving holidays.) So, I'm up to my eyeballs with catch up work. Semester ends this week.

I ... can ... make ... it ...

Boy, but I've got all kinds of news, though. New job ... Paradise, TX ... Oasis. All those, and more, are soon to come. Stay tuned.

U2 Countdown: 180

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TERESA!

Happy Birthday to you!
You belong in the zoo!
With the lions and the tigers ...
And the monkeys like you!!!

Happy 25th, y' old woman!

Love,
Klina

Aussie Wedding Pics Coming "Soon"

(Man, I am just a bloggin' machine tonight. Three posts in one evening!)

Teresa sent me all of her wedding pictures ... actually, she gave me a gmail account and uplaoded them to it. Which I am grateful for, since each picture is H.U.G.E. I'm definitely going to have to resize these and adjust the resolution before posting them.

Until then, here's one of my favorites...

Houston, we have liftoff!

Remember a few posts ago I mentioned that I had in my possession two GA (general admission) tickets to the October 29th U2 concert in Dallas? Well ... what I failed to also mention was that I also have two tickets to the Houston show on the 28th.

*sigh*

Ok, so I actually had good intentions at first. Since I was able to purchase the tickets before pretty much anyone else b/c I had belonged to that U2 fan club from back in the 80s, I figured I'd use up the 4-ticket limit (limit 2 tickets per show) by buying the two for Dallas (obviously), and then I decided to go ahead and get the two others for Houston. "Sure, I'll just buy these, turn around and sell them at face value to some poor U2 fan from one of the (many) mailing lists I belong to, who was shut out of the general sale by all the scalpers and bots attacking Ticketmaster as soon as the tickets went on sale."

Yeah. Right. Whatever.

As soon as those beautiful strips of heavy-stock paper were in my hands, I decided I would take "a musical journey" with my (equally obsessed) U2 friends down to H-town, then after the concert, trek back up to Dallas for the show the next night. I know, I know. No self control.

Somehow, I've convinced my cousin Cristina to come with me to the Dallas show. I'm trying to talk her into taking the "pilgrimage" down to Houston, but I haven't quite convinced her yet.

So ... 206 days and counting!

ACHOO!!

A couple of weeks ago, I went in to get allergy testing done, mostly b/c since we have moved here, I've had a really hard time wearing my contacts. I wake up every night b/c my eyes are itching so badly I can't go back to sleep. Plus, during the daytime, my eyes are just so dry, no matter how much I put drops in them.

So, I go in and they draw my blood, and I wait the couple of weeks for the results. Well, the time finally comes, and one of the first things the nurse says to me is "You sound a lot healthier than you should." It turns out that I'm severely allergic to ... well ... pretty much everything. All the pollens. All the weeds. All of the trees ... except maples.

So, on Thursday, I begin taking weekly allergy shots. Two shots per week, to be exact. It turns out that there's just too much to put in one bottle of serum, according to the nurse. After a year, the nurse says they'll train me on how to give myself my own shots. At first this really made me feel like I'm getting old, but as my very wise pal Vicki puts it, "At least you're not shopping for caskets."

oh yeah ... The Tickets Are Here!!

Ok, I obviously was distracted yesterday -- I can't believe I forgot to mention this...

My U2 tickets are here!!!

Yes, those beautiful general admission (GA) tickets are now in my possession. I actually picked them up yesterday. How appropriate -- I finally receive my U2 tickets on St. Patty's day. So the countdown continues (225 days!). My sleeping bag is ready. And the madness begins!

Our Web-Powered Aussie Wedding

The bouquet was perfect. The music was picked. The dress was white. The bride- and groom-to-be were in place. My family was ready with special words for the happy couple.

... But over 3000 miles separated this family.

Teresa and Mat were married earlier this evening in a beautiful ceremony, surrounded by family and friends. I say "beautiful" because ... well ... it sounded beautiful as I listened to it on the phone. I'm still waiting on the screen shots Lizzie is going to send to me.

"What?!" You scratch your head and wonder how on earth this wedding took place. Well, I am proud to say that my family experienced our first truly high-tech wedding. My parents participated in the wedding via webcam, and I listened on the phone. Since the messaging system (I think it was MSN or maybe Yahoo IM) only allowed one-to-one video conferencing, I was unable to watch the ceremony. But Mom and Dad saved the day by calling me right before it all began and placing the phone in front of the computer speakers so that I could listen to everything.

"Can you hear us America?" These were the first words I heard, the soft Australian accent present in the celebrant's voice. The wedding sounded beautiful. I could hear clearly my sister saying her vows, Mat saying his. My parents spoke loving words, read excerpts from the Bible, recited Spanish prayers, and Lizzie read a Cherokee poem about love.

The wedding progressed, then the traditional "wedding stuff" happened. The cake was cut. The toasts were made. The bouquet and garter were thrown. The family was positioned in front of the web cam so that the family on the other side of the ocean could take screen shots. You know ... your traditional wedding occurrences. :)

So, as soon as I get them from Lizzie, I'll put some pictures up here and also on my website. Thankfully, the wedding was also videotaped, so I'll get to eventually see the ceremony. For now, I'm really happy that I was able to listen to it.

Congratulations to the happy couple!

And the U2 countdown begins...

We knew they were coming. We just didn't know when. We knew tickets would go on sale. We just didn't know if we'd get General Admission tickets like last time.

Well, I am happy to say that I have successfully purchased a General Admission ticket for the October 29th U2 concert at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. Yeehaw!

What does General Admission mean, you ask? Well, let me explain. General admission tickets are those that let you in the floor area just in front of the stage. During the last tour, we faithful fans showed up at the arena the evening before, prepared with sleeping bags and blankets, and when the time came for the arena doors to open, we were the first to sprint down those concrete stairs and onto the floor, taking our place at the very front of the stage.

How did she acquire this ticket ... this magical key to the most wonderful place on Earth, you ask? Well, I used to belong to the original U2 fanclub called Propaganda, which went belly up before finishing out our subscriptions. Well for those of us former Prop members who were also paid members of U2.com, we got first pickin's of the tickets for the 3rd leg of the tour, when they finally make their way to the Lone Star State. (My ticket experience was *much* better than that of the many fans who tried to get tickets for the first leg of the tour. You've probably read about the whole fiasco in your local paper since it made the news worldwide. Because of all the problems, the band decided to revamp the whole pre-sale process, and obviously, this new procedure worked.

So, the countdown begins!

234 days and counting...

TxDLA

Welp, I just came back from the Texas Distance Learning Association conference in Fort Worth, Texas. I had a good time, but I've definitely learned a few things to keep in mind for next year. For one thing, next time, I'm not going to sign up for quite so many classes to help with. My manager asked that we sign up to help "moderate" classes, which means handing out evaluations, helping the presenters with handouts, etc. So, when the time came to sign up for moderating the various classes, I got all excited b/c I got first pick at what classes I wanted to moderate, and I signed up for around 10. Well, the problem with this is that if anything comes up or I'm tired or I have a headache or whatever, I can't just skip the class and go up to my room. Yeesh.

But the good part is that I got to get into several popular sessions that were full, and I did sit in on some very interesting discussions, so all-in-all, it was definitely worth it. Plus, we stayed at the Fort Worth Renaissance Worthington Hotel (*hold your pinky out!*), which was a really nice place located right smack in the heart of downtown Fort Worth.

Roy and I had a really good time the first night I was there. He drove with me over to the hotel, and since I was carrying my luggage, two laptops, a computer monitor, and a partridge in a pear tree, he was nice enough to help me take all that stuff in. After I got situated in my room, then we went out to eat at a Cajun seafood restaurant called Razoo's (sp?), which was great! Then, we watched "Hitch" at the movies (good movie, btw -- romantic comedy), and just walked around a bit. We had a great time. Roy had to work that next day, so he left after leaving me in the hotel.

One of the great things about staying in the hotel (and I know this sounds silly, but...) is that the room had cable! We don't have cable at home, in part b/c I don't trust that I won't watch tv instead of studying. So, what do I do in the evenings while I should have been focusing on studying? I watch the Weather Channel. *sigh* I wish I was kidding. Yes, I fell asleep more than one night listening to the calming voice of Jim Cantori telling tornado tales at midnight.

Well, I must start unpacking. Although it was fun, it sure is great to be home.

Roy's Commute

Greetings all! I have got great news -- Roy was offered a job a few days ago by a company here in town called Real Page. He has been doing PHP programming consulting for the past couple of weeks as a temporary consultant for a web design company called Carrollton Web Design ... also located here in Carrollton; however, he was quick to complain that his morning commute was going to be a horrible 15 minutes once he starts at the new place. *sigh*

Here's what his blurb on the Carrollton Web Design site says about him:

PHP & MySQL Programmer / Handsome Hunk

Roy graduated from Angelo State University with a Bachelors Degree in Computer Science. The wide variety of programming languages under his belt are an excellent addition to our versatile array of custom applications.

Ok, so I added the "Handsome Hunk" part. But it should have been there in the first place. :)

And we're back!

Wow -- posting two days in a row. I have to say -- I'm more diligent in posting to this than writing in my journal. Usually, I'll write something one day, then wait a couple of weeks (sometimes months), then write again. This is actually really convenient. I'm impressed.

Anyway...

So, yesterday evening, I had to drive up to school and meet with my advisor to discuss my graduate degree plan. Grad school is strange in that it seems to go by so quickly. (I say that now, but check back with me in a couple of months.) Undergraduates have (at least) four years to figure out what they're going to take; however, here I am only in my second semester, and I'm already figuring out what I'm going to take in order to complete my degree. It's actually kind of strange thinking that after this semester I will be halfway through.

Last night, in my Web Authoring class, we learned something really useful -- how to use cascading style sheets to control web layout. Roy (my sugarplum) has been trying to get me to use then when working on my website, but I've never really had the time to learn how. Last night, I came home gushing about how great/easy/convenient it was, and he was kind enough to not say the classic "I told you so".

A really cool site that uses cascading style sheets (css) to completely change the look/feel of is pages css Zen Garden. This site is really cool b/c the html code on all the examples are the same; however, with changes to the css, the examples are complete different ... and really cool!

Here goes nothing

Hello all. I'm not sure what all the hoopla is about blogs, but I figure I might as well give it a go and see for myself.

A little info about myself...
I live in Texas. Computer geek ... kind of. Oh, and I'm a huge U2 fan.

Ah, my first blog posting. How very exciting.