Indications of Her Character

"To him she seemed so beautiful, so seductive, so different from ordinary people, that he could not understand why no one was as disturbed as he by the clicking of her heels on the paving stones, why no one else's heart was wild with the breeze stirred by the sighs of her veils, why everyone did not go mad with the movements of her braid, the flight of her hands, the gold of her laughter. He had not missed a single one of her gestures, not one of the indications of her character, but he did not dare approach her for fear of destroying the spell." - Love in the Time of Cholera

There are quiet lazy weekends and there are eventful ones. I'm a fan of both, but this was an eventful one. It all started on Friday when I got out of work half an hour early. Those extra 30 minutes feel so great when you are waiting in anticipation for the weekend to start. I headed home and decided to try to get in a run before heading out. It had been a while since I had run without taking a pre-workout drink and I was surprised to see that it felt pretty much the same. Other than the motivation to actually get on the treadmill being completely gone. I didn't have time to do much else though.


After, I showered and got ready for the comedy show. I had been looking forward to seeing Bill Maher's stand up act all week and couldn't stop thanking Christina for inviting me. I think it was a great way to spend her last day in Austin. I was able to get there without any problem and even parking wasn't too bad. It was held at Bass Hall on the UT campus. (Same place they are holding Wicked.) The first thing I noticed was how nice all the cars that were pulling in were. So many Lexus's in the parking lot. I guess the tickets were pricey. Then I noticed how well everyone was dressed. This may have been the rule, but there were many exceptions, including a guy in a muscle t-shirt. The age groups varied, but there much older people than I had expected. The audience generally was a bit younger, but not like early twenties young. I met up with Christina and we went inside. I should of been more excited, but it didn't feel like it was real. There were multiple floors with bars on each floor, which was nice. We got a drink and then went to find our seats.


The seats were in the back/top balcony, but the view wasn't too bad. He wasn't a small spec like I was mentally ready for, though being in the front row wouldn't have been too bad. I wasn't sure if there would be an opening act or just him, but I was quickly informed that it was just him. Shortly after 8pm, the lights went down and the theme music from Real Time went on. Everyone stood up and cheered as Bill walked out in a casual t-shirt and jeans ensemble. He put on a hell of a show. She started with a joke about the price of the tickets during the recession and then about the Michael Jackson news and then worked into his normal routine. Of all his jokes, I think only 20% of it was stuff I had heard before from him. He talked a lot about politics, which is what he does, but I never tired of it. There was one point where he talked shit about Texas (48th in literacy) with a canned Gov. Perry is an idiot for threatening to succeed line of jokes. People in the audience didn't know how to react. Clearly we agreed with him about his points, but no matter how liberal you are, you can't cheer when someone says the US is better off without Texas. He was going to perform in Dallas the next night, and wondered if Bush would attend. I think that would have been great. There were not many hecklers, which I think might have added to the show a bit. I laughed a lot and was happy that the show lived up to my expectations. When he got to the topic of religion, he stated that he put that part at the end so that people that would be offended and walk out would still get to see a great show. That was thoughtful of him I think. Soon after the show ended and we gave him a standing ovation. He was on for a good hour and forty-five minutes.

After the show, Christina and I left to make our way to our cars. We exited through the back and there was Bill's Limo waiting. That was cool I think, but the security guard kept us far enough away so that we wouldn't be close enough to bother him. And that was the night. Christina was off to the Valley the next day to finish her studying. I wish her the best of luck in that and am going to try and be a good friend and not waste her time with idle chit chat.

Andrea was in Austin for the weekend for her sister Tanya's birthday and to visit their other sister Tina in Round Rock. I met up with them for dinner on Saturday night at a nice Italian restaurant named Romeos. I had never been there before, but had been to some of the restaurants surrounding it. It was just me and the three girls, something I did not mind at all. Over dinner, I finally got to get to know Andrea's sisters and they were really cool. They were polite and very conversational. It is neat seeing how all three, despite the same upbringing, have their own unique personalities. I guess it works that way with all siblings. I ordered the pizza and it was much bigger than I had expected, but still very good.

After dinner, we went to West 6th street, where Andrea got to witness my impressive navigation skills once again. We met up at Key Bar, an outdoor bar which would have been so much nicer if it still wasn't so very hot at nighttime. Two friends of Tanya met up with us there and then we headed to Union Park. I'm a big fan of their terrace. Trying to limit my soda intake, I decided to go with my Maker's on the rocks. You know, it wasn't too bad except for having to drink it slow so that I don't finish it too quickly. I had an enjoyable time. At midnight it was Tanya's birthday, but I was away from the table when it turned. I was happy that Andrea came into town and that we were able to make the time to hang out. Here are some photos of the night: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hyadus/sets/72157621270110335/

Sunday was a lazy day for me, trying to rejuvenate before another week of work and rest after a few late nights. I watched a Tivoed episode of Kings on NBC. I know I keep mentioning it, but I don't understand why this show did so badly in ratings and why they decided to cancel it. I wish I had known the connection to the King David story before. I know this won't pick up much traction, but 'Kings': Why Syfy should bring it back from the dead . I hope they can sell the show to someone, but it doesn't seem like there is a true following demanding it. If Firefly couldn't make it, then Kings is done. I can still hope right. Have I mentioned how great I think the princess character is? The current episode was great and there are only two left before the show fades into the past.

I also caught up on the UFC 100 fights that I had missed on Saturday night. I think it was a great card. I do not know how these guys do it. You see them get their faces smashed in and keep fighting and it gives you a false confidence that you could too, but I'm pretty sure I'd blackout.

A friend of mine posted a link to this picture on his FB page. I keep stealing his material. What a funny advertisement. I have a feeling that it worked well. I could see a very unhappy Daddy coming into the store.

This should be a busy week at work. I'll also be following the Sotomayor confirmation hearings this week. All I understand is that "far-right" = neutral and "center-left" = activist. I can't wait to see the fight when a real liberal progressive gets appointed the court. Why is it such a given that our Supreme Court must be so conservative?

withdraw symptoms

Status Update - Long Version

“He who is most slow in making a promise is the most faithful in performance of it.” -Rousseau

I usually try to focus on long term goals and make sure I'm trying to do something small in furtherance of those goals. Some long term goals I'm doing well on, others have gone by the way side and need to be revived. And though I could improve on that, I've finished some of my big ones, which could only mean that I'll need bigger ones. The thing is that as of late, my mind is really centered more on short term goals and realities than on the long term. Goals probably isn't the best word, but just kind of taking things day by day. Short-sightedness is never good, but you don't want to be looking for the grander meaning and miss the moment either. I wish I could get passed the cliches and on to my point. I guess I'm just at one of those points where I feel somewhat uncertain and I don't know how to feel about that. I think the feeling can be a character test, especially when the underlying triggers are probably self made. For a person that likes being two steps ahead, for some reason I feel like I'm a step behind. I also think a lot about things that I should probably not look into so deeply. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar I'm told. That is a long paragraph that kind of says nothing, but yet made me feel better.

I forgot to report this, but a good friend of mine who lives in California recently found a great job. He really deserves it and had been looking for a while. We caught up the other day on the phone and he filled me in on the story of his employment. It was an interesting story to say the least. How he got the job was definitely attributed to his persistentness, but I'm sure his qualifications played the main role. I'm happy for him and for all my other friends that have found work. Abram seems to be enjoying his new job. And for everyone still looking, I can't wait to hear about the jobs you find. I don't envy anyone on a job search, especially when times seem to get tougher.

This really got me thinking about my friends over the years and the people that are too far to be close contact everyday friends. My high school friends, my college friends, my Miami friends, my DC friends. I think I just miss my distant friends. You invest all this time and effort getting to know people and then you move away and over the years the updates come farther and farther apart. You lose touch gradually and it is not a reflection on how strong your friendship was to begin with, but the fact that the dynamic of your friendship didn't include a strong long distance component. I feel like I need to make some trips to NY, Boston, DC and LA just to see everyone and get caught up. I've met some really cool people on this journey and wish I would get to see them more. At least there is Facebook right.

Health Class No Longer Required In Texas High Schools
Health class will no longer be a state requirement for high school students this fall, making Texas one of the few states in the country with no required health education. I agree with a legislator's argument that "We've been trying to address the issue of childhood obesity, but we seem to be losing ground every time the Legislature meets." Why does Texas do such stupid things? Then again we do have an all-star running the show here. For example, Naming Someone Who Hates Public Schools to Head the State Ed Board? Gov. Perry, You Can't Be Serious!


I love the news articles today. Here is one that really caught my eye since I believe how you see the world influences how you feel. Stop Positive Thinking, Study Says A study just published in the journal Psychological Science says trying to get people to think more positively can actually have the opposite effect: it can simply highlight how unhappy they are. This is a pretty impressive study I think. Here is my favorite quote from the article, "If you try to tell your dim friend that he has the potential of an Einstein, he won't think he's any smarter; he will probably just disbelieve your contradictory theory, hew more closely to his own self-assessment and, in the end, feel even dumber."

Have I been wasting my time with all this positive thinking? I think the way I think about the world now is much different than it was 5 years ago. I'm no Pollyanna, but I do look harder for the positive than dwell on the negative. I attribute a lot of positive changes in my life to that, but I totally agree you can't always fake it until you make it when it is about things you feel are just objectively not true. I've met some really negative people in my life and man they really bring you down. Complainers I call them. The worst part is that they don't know that that is what they are. They feel like they are just telling you a story about how they were victimized, you know by the traffic, that jerk at the store, the teller, their family, their inconsiderate friends. Don't get me wrong, when bad stuff happens, you want to tell someone. But if its all you do, then it kind of dampers the mood.

I'd have to say I'm a night owl for sure. The morning is just not the best time for me. Luckily, in my defense, research is being done on the topic to justify my ways. Study: Night owls may benefit from evening strength If you have a hard time crawling out of bed in the morning, it could be that your body is biologically programmed to start the day later. In my defense, "It's very difficult for a night owl to become a morning person, Collop said. " I've done my best to be a morning person. I can wake up and go to work and function in society, but it isn't my preference to be up that early. I still can't run in the morning and have to put it off until after work. I don't think I'd want to workout at 9pm like they mentioned in the article though.

Today is the big day, I'm going to see Bill Maher tonight. I am very thankful to Christina for this. I'm excited and this should be a really cool experience. I'm sure I'll talk about it at length in my next entry. This is Christina's last outing in Austin before she takes off and crams for the final weeks of bar exam prep. I'm glad I didn't have to take my bar in Arlington like she has to. It should be a fun night.

Andrea is coming into town this weekend to visit her sister. This is definitely an eventful weekend. I'm looking forward to hanging out.

So back to my favorite reads of the day. A friend of mine posted this link the other day and I just had to steal it. It was very funny and a must read if you use FB.
Facebook Updates: What Kind Do You Write?
My favorites are the: "The 'Oh Come On, Just Tell Us What It Is ─ Are You Dying?' Update," "The 'You Never Seem This Happy in Real Life' Update" and "The 'Passive Aggressive' Update" I'd go off on my thoughts of each, but I'm tired now and the article does a good enough job itself.

I was in the gym the other day and I decided it was too hot to keep on working out so I told Abram who was also working out, "I'm gonna pull a Palin and quit." He didn't find my joke to be that funny, but it made me laugh on the inside. Little did I know that the saying had already made the Urban Dictionary. "Pullin' a Palin" Now In The Urban Dictionary
I guess I must be in step with those evil bloggers.

Along the same vein, here is a great video by The Full Ginsburg that was shown on MSNBC on Thursday. It is called, "How to Talk like a Politician." I think it is pretty funny. They do good work. http://thefullginsburg.com/2009/07/07/how-to-talk-like-a-politician/

I'm going to end with the quick fact that the Harry Potter movie (what part I forget now) is coming out on the 15th. I want to watch it. I'll probably wait until the weekend though. I remember picking up the first book on recommendation of a friend thinking I would be wasting my time. I was very wrong.

hard to read

Not Just to Exist

"The proper function of man is to live - not to exist." - Jack London

Now it is time to get back to my regular routine. Vacations are over and now I'm just a regular working guy trying to return to business as usual. Things are not the same though and hopefully they will never be. It is easy to keep a good mood when there is hope and good fortune around, but will I be as optimistic when circumstances start changing. Outlook is important, sometimes more important than what is actually going on around you. Here is to a good summer.

Do you know what it feels like when you put something off and the longer you put it off the more stress it gives you? There hits a point where you have put it off for so long that you feel you can no longer get started. Kind of like when you promised to call a friend, but it has been so long that calling now would seem worse or highlight your lateness. I generally had that type of feeling over the weekend into Monday. I finally sucked it up and got what I needed to get done. It seems to easy to say, just do it, but it isn't always that easy. I thought I would of felt much better now that it was done, which I did, but it wasn't the total peace of mind I had expected. It did feel good though. Not long after celebrating internally, my plate began to fill up with more projects to take care of. I guess there will always be something else to do and stressing over it isn't the best plan of attack.

A: Hey, man! Please call me a taxi. B: Yes, sir. You are a taxi.

I don't know why, but that really made me laugh today. I read that kids laugh like on average 300 times a day and adults laugh only on average 15 times.

So this week I saw the movies Love & Sex and Love in the Time of Cholera. I had seen them both before, but it had been a while. They are good movies and why I saw them I won't get into. Love & Sex I find myself quoting a lot without even knowing it. I had even forgot that I had seen the movie. I have a list of netflix movies I need to watch, but I have been dragging my feet. Usually I wait until a person says, "You have to see this movie" before I take action on lesser known films. I've seen most of the mainstream hits, (almost all of the netflix top 100) but it is the 2nd tier or hidden gems that I miss out on.

So Robert McNamara Died on Monday. He had served as the U.S. defense secretary during the Vietnam war. As much as I hate a lot of what he did, I did respect that he apologized for his mistakes. Not that that should make a difference. A great movie about him is "The Fog of War." I remember when I found a theater in DC showing the documentary.
The subtitle of "The Fog of War" was "Eleven Lessons From The Life of Robert S. McNamara." Here are those 11 lessons:
Lesson #1: Empathize with your enemy.
Lesson #2: Rationality will not save us.
Lesson #3: There's something beyond one's self.
Lesson #4: Maximize efficiency.
Lesson #5: Proportionality should be a guideline in war.
Lesson #6: Get the data.
Lesson #7: Belief and seeing are both often wrong.
Lesson #8: Be prepared to reexamine your reasoning.
Lesson #9: In order to do good, you may have to engage in evil.
Lesson #10: Never say never.
Lesson #11: You can't change human nature

So Al Franken is finally a senator. Franken takes the oath.
I'm pretty excited about this. I think this Harvard educated man is going to be a great senator. It is a nice change from the conservadems that seem to be slowing things down. I don't feel like his place as the 60th Democratic senator makes a big difference since well they are like herding cats. What happened to needing 51 votes to pass a law? Well at least Franken favors transitioning to a universal health care system.

This weekend is looking like it is going to be very exciting. Other than having people come to town, I'll be going to see Bill Maher's Comedy Show on Friday. How great is that? I don't know the name of the show, but can't wait. I've had some pretty good weekends as of late and I hope the trend continues.

My friend Christina got great news the other day. After her bar exam, she is going to work for a firm in San Antonio now instead of Corpus. This is good for her since, this is where she wanted to live. It is always good when things work out just the way you want them.

I vowed not to watch the Michael Jackson Memorial on TV, but then curiosity got the best of me and I decided to check it out for a few minutes. I really liked the part that had music. The talking not as much, but then again that is why everyone was there. I figure I'll catch a recap on the news. I thought MJ as fine an all (personal stuff aside), but I must of clearly not been a fan because this isn't moving me like it seems to move other people.

Nevertheless, I thought this was really cool after watching the video:
Michael Jackson's patented dancing shoes
Above is the patent for the shoes that enabled Michael Jackson to lean at a full 45-degree angle when doing the Smooth Criminal dance.

14 Basic Skills All Men Should Possess So I was reading this article and I scored 13 of 14. I won't tell you which one I didn't possess, but hint hint I can't ride a motorcycle because I don't know how to shift gears on a bike. The comments are great because people add their own things to the list such as keeping your job or staying married. One guy wrote:
Nice list but there are some very important omissions:15. Perform reasonably well in a fist fight.16. Fire a gun.17. Grow tomatoes.18.Catch, clean, & cook a fish.19. Skin a buck.20. Care for an infant.21. Train a dog.22. Throw a ball. I won't tell you how I fared on these, but no I can't skin a buck or care to clean a fish. Though my favorite is #15 the ability to not read lists to know they are a man.

room for bella

My 4th of July Weekend

"If I lay here.
If I just lay here.
Would you lie with me and just forget the world."
- Snow Patrol, Chasing Cars

I had an enjoyable 4th of July weekend. It was not like I envisioned, but that is probably more due to not having concrete plans made ahead of time. Sometimes it is just better to go where the moment takes you and see what happens. I feel like I cared more about the 4th's status as a holiday from work than the blind nationalism I used to feel as a child. I did miss out on the part I like the most, the firework displays.

Thursday, after work I headed out on my road trip to the Rio Grande Valley. My friends Christina and Caro had left a few hours before me and were able to warn me about up coming weather and traffic. Early on in my trip I pulled over for a second to the side of the road and unbeknownst to me, I ran over two nails that got embedded in my tire. This would result in a low tire warning when I was about 100 miles away from my destination. Somehow I was able to make it in though. This complication didn't end up getting in the way too much.

I made it in about 8:30pm and was surprised to see that my nieces Bekkah and Jamie where still visiting my mother. I took them over to my sister Ana's house and visited with my niece Sarah and nephew Michael before they left on a trip to Oklahoma. I had plans to go out with my friend Cynthia downtown, but we ended up leaving much later than I had planned. Cynthia picked me up because my car was now flat and we went to the bars. It has been about a year since I had spent time with Cynthia and we had a lot to catch up on. I had a very nice time and we picked up where we left off. She is one picky drinker. Sometimes it takes her a while to update me on things, but she finally does. She got a promotion at work that she is very excited about. We closed down the bar.

On Friday morning, after visiting with my family, Andrea picked me up and we headed to Brownsville for the zoo. I don't remember the last time I had been to the Gladys Porter Zoo, but it had to be when I was pretty young. The trip over there went by pretty fast, but the fact that Andrea was driving probably made the trip feel shorter me. We chatted on the way down and after a quick bite to eat we were at the zoo. I was overcome with this deja vu feeling. Probably from a grade school trip and the memory of eating my sack lunch in the park across the street. We walked into the zoo and it felt there was almost no one was there. This made sense considering the day was at least 100 degrees. We looked at animals, took pictures and joked around. It was fun. The zoo was much bigger than I had remembered. There was a butterfly exhibit that we checked out where I saw this really cool purple butterfly. I think I had only seen one once before and it wasn't alive and instead was cast in a necklace. Taking pictures of butterflies is not easy, I can tell you that. The highlights of the visit included the tigers, the monkeys, the bears and the petting zoo. Andrea quickly made a new friend, a goat named Jack. I've never seen an animal at a petting zoo that actually wanted to be pet so much. She also seems to have a way with kids because some were excited to show her things and tell her things.

Here is a video of Andrea & Jack.

After visiting the gift shop and buying some gifts, we ended our tour of the zoo. There really was a lot to see. If you like zoo animals, here are the pictures I took: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hyadus/sets/72157620993917916/

After the zoo, we headed over to South Padre Island. It is always packed on the 4th, and on the 3rd it was pretty full as well. My sister Ana and Rick where coming to the Island for the 4th as well, but I didn't get a chance to see them. I think the last time I had been to the Island was on the 4th of July, maybe 3-4 years ago with a friend who took a break from studying for the bar in Virginia to come and visit me for the weekend. The first thing I noticed when we were there was that the Sunrise mall I had remembered was no longer a mall, but now a business suite. The movie theater wasn't there either anymore.

So for some reason I had never driven to the end of the beach, well at least to where the road ends. I have a memory of driving that way once, on my own, but never making it the full way. I probably assumed it kept going. I don't know why now, since it really wasn't too far. We drove past the new construction and I kept thinking of how cool it would be for casinos to be built on the beach. I think if you legalized casinos just on South Padre is would increase business like no other. Once we got to the end of the road, we stopped and took a walk on the beach. There were people out there, but not as many on the beach where all the hotels are. I heard that the bay side was nice too, but that would have to be for another time. I was kind of annoyed by the litter since it doesn't make sense to me how a person could litter on a beach when they know littering is a problem. I mean littering in general is bad, but it happens. But on the beach, it should never happen. It is just shameful. Though I must say, I never went on any of those bus trips in elementary to the beach to pick up litter. I digress too much. We found a nice spot and hung out at the beach for a while and enjoyed the sound of the water as the sun set.

We had originally had plans to watch the Friday fireworks, but I got the time wrong, so we caught the end of the fireworks as we drove back in the main part of the island. If you are going to watch fireworks, the finale is the best part and at least we caught that. We also thought we might catch a movie on the lighthouse, but it was getting late and the drive back was long, so we passed on that idea. I did see the movie being projected as we drove by and it looked really cool. The drive back was definitely helped by the ice cream cones.

The next day I took my tire in to get fixed. The guy took out the nails and patched the holes. The tire he told me wasn't going to last long, so I'm hoping to make an appointment to fix it. After getting back to Austin, I was glad to see that my tire held up. I need to take my car in and get it checked out. I really do hope it is covered by warranty.

Here is a video of my niece Celeste from my trip home. I think her smiling is adorable. I also wanted to compare embeding a Flickr video with uploading a blogger video. I think I like the video function of my camera.

Speaking of Austin, I thought this article was really cool for those visiting. There was a lot in there I didn't know. Check out the part on how to pronounce Buda.
Learn to Speak Austin or Suffer Instant Loss of Credibility

So, at some point a person I knew gave me a small token that I had always kept on me. It was a fortune cookie paper that said, "Don't be afraid of opposition; remember a kites rises against the wind." On the back it had the word "ice skate." This person had got it during her her bar exam and was passing it down to me for mine. It seems silly, but for some reason it meant a lot. It got me through my bar exam and even after I carried it in my wallet until the present day. It is probably the only real good luck charm I've ever had. But it was time to pass on the good luck. So, I gave my old scrap of paper to my friend Christina for her bar exam, which she is studying for right now. I hope it gives her the piece of mind it should of given me and hope she takes care of it as much as I did. Maybe one day she will pass it on and that person will wonder why they are getting a fortune cookie paper and just throw it away. I wish her the best of luck on her studies. I think she will do great, but well wishes don't help you remember Oil and Gas law.

On Sunday, I noticed that I had no food in the house. A problem I could over look if it didn't include having no cat food, which meant to avoid the cats meowing I had to do some shopping. How many times am I going to have to tell myself to not go grocery shopping when I'm hungry. I'm pretty well stocked now is all I have to say. A great way to end the weekend.

So what do you think? Is this a Church that moonlights as a bingo parlor or a Bingo parlor that moonlights as a church? They are probably different places, but I'm not so sure.
So Christina and her sister were excited about seeing Boyz II Men in concert on her trip down. Alas, her hopes were crushed (at least that is how I imagine it) when the band decided to back out. I bet these elder gentlemen put on quite a show, when they show up. I think this is the actual article ( Top Act Backs Out ), but I also took a picture of the paper at the beach.

do I have to fall asleep with roses in my hands