Friendsgiving

We had "Friendsgiving" at Jen-n-Ray's last night with some of their friends and Mel-n-Alex. We played Cards Against Humanity, which was HILARIOUS. (It's kind of like a super-raunchy version of Apples to Apples... that you can't play with your family at real Thanksgiving.) It takes the first few rounds to see what sorts of things your particular crowd can handle and what they think is funny. This group was pretty much up for anything, which makes it the funniest. We did have to Google a few terms we'd never seen, so it was also a learning experience. Bonus!

Sunday Stealing: Shop On The Corner Meme

What kind of job did your mom have when you were growing up?
She was a stay-at-home mom until I was in sixth grade. Then she worked a few years doing layout and design at a mom-n-pop print shop. My freshman year of high school, she took a job at IBM with their geographic mapping group.

Have you ever known anyone that’s been on TV, including you? 
I was on TV once, for the Gordie Howe award presentation we made in elementary school. 

What was the most interesting animal you have seen in the wild? 
moose at Yellowstone Park

What holiday do you enjoy the most? 
Christmas

What was the first video game you ever played? 
We had some gaming console in the 70s that had several basic pong-like games on it, and I played Bowling the most. The first arcade video game I played was probably Space Invaders.

What is the one thing you own, that if it got lost, you would be bummed? 
My iPhone.

Do you have a favorite breakfast item? 
Eggs Benedict

What do you find yourself buying all the time? 
Batteries. They really need to last longer.

When was the last time you got a real letter in the mail?
Forever ago.

Do you have a most prized piece of jewelry?
Two-- my wedding ring and my Aggie ring.

Do you own any board games?
A lot.

What chore seems the most daunting right now? 
Mopping the floor.

Were you born in the state you live in? 
Nope, I was born in Germany.

Have you ever lived in a house that has been broken into? 
Our house got robbed while we were on vacation, when I was a kid. They even took my money from my piggy bank. Grr!

What is your favorite cheese? 
Lately- goat cheese. I'm usually a blue cheese girl.

Who do you know that watches the most sports?
KrisH

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Worst Officials. Ever.

Seriously.

What were the guys officiating the A&M/LSU game smoking last night? A bad call or two in a game is expected. I mean, they're human. They make mistakes. It was just an overwhelming trend for this particular group. In the words of one of our season ticket friends, during a rare moment of crowd quiet...

"OH. MY. GOD. YOU ARE HORRIBLE!"

(We all laughed. It was the beginning of some very welcome comic relief for the evening.)

Targeting call- BS. Watts led with his shoulder and their helmets hit. Three "no flag" flags thrown, two of them right in a row. Pass interference called on LSU when there wasn't any... It was like this all night, over and over and over until we were literally collapsing into our seats in disbelief.

And the final "holy bajeebus, get us out of here and home to the leftovers" call of the night--  the no-call on a very obvious off-sides by LSU, one we all called in the stands ("Free play!!") the second it happened. (Moral of that story: Make sure you see the flag thrown before you lob a long bomb towards the end zone for an interception.)

We booed the heck out of the refs at the half when they left the field near the bottom of our section, and also booed them with the rest of the stadium after the off-sides debacle at the end, and they oh so deserved it. To my fellow Old Ags who said we shouldn't boo, that Aggies only hiss, while I understand the sentiment and tradition, hissing is booing. Same level of rude, only booing is louder and more likely to be heard by the people you're unhappy with. I've never booed another team and certainly never booed my own team (I'm looking at you, you know who you are), but I'm definitely going to boo a bunch of Keystone Cop referees who can't see their own hands in front of their faces.

Maybe we would have pulled out the win in the last minute, maybe we wouldn't have. We'll never know. I think our teams were evenly matched (other than in rushing, where LSU's amazing Fournette trompled us) and while we played with the same freshmen mistakes we've been dealing with all season, we had some great moments as well. LSU had their own troubles and bright spots, too. The final score was within a single TD. Congratulations to the Tigers on their win. Those refs made bad calls all night on both sides. The LSU fans we chatted with in line for the buses after the game agreed the refs blew.

So thank you, A&M/LSU 2014 officials, for ruining our final game of the season with your bumbling ineptitude.

In other news, we're gonna miss our season ticket buddies. We've known them four seasons now. Just met the best of them this year when they reseated the section and we all moved a tad. The whole place is reseated next year and because of the Great 2015 Season Ticket Reseating Process Mismanagement Fiasco, we do not have season tickets anymore. Enjoyed the time while we did!

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Saturday 9

... a day late...

Saturday 9: The Main Event (1979)
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) This is the theme from a romantic comedy set against the backdrop of boxing. Sam admits she's not crazy about boxing. What about you? Do you enjoy boxing, martial arts or wrestling?
No, no and no.

2) If you went to a dance club on a Saturday night in 1979 or 1980, you might well have danced to this. What are your plans for this Saturday night?
Last night we went out to a repeat birthday dinner for Lauren with her grandparents in town. During dinner, a flash flood warning was issued, causing the phones of everyone in the restaurant to emit that horrible, shrill sound at the same time. Quite freaky, I have to say.
 
3) Gilda Radner was one of the original Saturday Night Live performers and in 1979, she parlayed her TV popularity into her own one-woman show on Broadway. Who is your all-time favorite SNL cast member?
One of my faves is Dennis Miller. I tend to like the Weekend Update anchors best, probably because that is the only consistently funny segment on the show.

4) Sally Little and Nancy Lopez were at the top of the LPGA in 1979. Do you golf?
Nope.

5) The movie The Main Event co-starred Ryan O'Neal. He is better known for Love Story, and saying the line, "Love means never having to say you're sorry." When did you last apologize?
I apologized to Crystal for something at work that we've already forgotten.

6) O'Neal got his big break on the nighttime soap opera, Peyton Place. He played Rodney Harrington, the handsome golden boy that all the girls dreamed of dating. Tell us about your big high school crush.
My high school class was 780 people, so we had several golden boys that all the girls wanted to date. My own personal big "crush" was in middle school, but in high school, I may have crushed just a little on one of the golden boys- EddieM. He was Best Dressed AND Most Handsome in our senior class. Yikers, he was cute. And so approachable and friendly. An all-around good guy.

7) In researching this week's Saturday 9, Sam discovered that The Main Event is a popular name for sports bars all across the country. Do you enjoy sitting at the bar or do you look for a booth or table?
I prefer a booth, so we can all hear each other as well as can be expected.

8) The Mane Event was the salon Sam went to for years. She switched when it got too hard to get Saturday appointments. As a consumer, what's more important to you -- convenience or price?
Usually price. I go for convenience, but I have a pretty low tolerance for premium pricing, so I'll make an extra trip or drive some extra miles to save a significant amount on some items or services.

9) More than 50 years after her first million-selling album, Streisand recently had a #1 hit with her current CD, Partners. What's the last song you bought/downloaded?
Maroon 5's album, V

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Car Trouble, Oh Yeah

From the song I listened to on repeat much of the way home from Waco last night (where I picked up my car with a spiffy new alternator!)...

Lyrics Dnia

...You don't have to love me
If you don't wanna
Don't act like I mean nothing
But if you're gonna
Then you better
Unkiss me, untouch me, untake this heart...

"Unkiss Me" Maroon 5

Gah. Great song.

So. Our study meeting was fabulous. I had never been to the Grand Hyatt in DFW Airport Terminal D and my expectations were quite honestly "meh." But it's reeeeeeeally nice. You can sit in your comfy bed and operate everything from the nightlight in the bathroom to the shades on the window. Gorgeous bathroom. Oh man. Very impressive!

The bar is also amazing. We had a great time and great food there.

My presentation went very well! We had over 100 people in the ballroom. My speech at the Foundation awards was for closer to 200 folks, but I only only spoke for about three minutes then. This presentation is about 20 minutes. I'll give it again in the UK next month.

All weekend, David and I were explaining that Austin is 3 hours away from Dallas and how it's better to drive than fly, because it takes the same time, but you have your car with you and you don't have to deal with the whole airport hassle. Both of us drove, while everyone else flew up.

Cut to Saturday evening, on my way home, when I thought maybe there may have been an advantage to flying. My windshield wipers were moving very slowly. I've had some battery trouble the past couple of years, so I thought I would stop in Waco and get a new battery.

Then my battery light came on.

Then the electronic stability control light came on.

Then the anti-lock brakes light.

So I pulled over and looked up the Auto Zone address four miles away. Cool.

Back on the freeway, I got up to speed and one by one, every light that can illuminate did.

Finally.... Brakes... Engine.

I made it to the next exit (thank goodness) and barely sputtered into a school bus parking lot. Four miles outside the city. It was getting dark and it was cold and rainy. Blah.

My Hyundai roadside assistance lapsed in 2011. Yay. But they called a tow truck to bring me to the dealer. Then they called back and said the dealer was closed and I couldn't park there, so I would have to store my car somewhere for the weekend.

So I called USAA roadside assistance, which I knew I didn't have, but I thought they might recommend a towing service. Turns out, they too will take care of your towing if you are a customer. You just have to pay for the tow, since you're not covered. The operator was thinking smart and suggested I bring the car to a mechanic that was open Saturday evening, in case they were able to fix it that night.

I got the nicest tow truck driver ever, so I was only ever-so-slightly afraid that he might be an axe murderer. (I don't get into cars with strangers, y'all. I'm not even super-keen on riding in taxis. My only other choice was to sit alone in the pitch black darkness in BFE Texas, in the cold and rain, to wait for my family to pick me up an hour later.)

Turns out my car's issue was the alternator, not the battery, but it explains the battery issues I've had. (If your car loses power and dies while driving, it's usually the alternator. If it won't start, it's usually the battery.) They couldn't repair it Saturday, so Lauren took me to pick it up Monday.

Luckily, my battery was fine, but here's a battery tip for everyone: The mechanic I went to charges $70 to install a new battery. Sears charges like $10. If you go to Walmart or Advance Auto Parts (or probably similar parts shops) and purchase a battery, they will install it FOR FREE. Don't have the car shop charge you. Search for a shop with free battery installation on Google.

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Saturday 9

To make my blog posts less random (and to avoid having people who come here other websites that have shared one of my posts on... I don't know... Waterford crystal... arriving to find a post on Waterford crystal, Aggie football plus a dorky survey), I'm going to make an an attempt to separate my posts into single subjects.

You're welcome.


Saturday 9: Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? 
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) Bing Crosby wants a dime for food. Adjusted for inflation, 10¢ in 1932 is now worth $1.69. Can you think of anything you could buy at the grocery story with $1.69?
A loaf of my favorite sandwich bread- 12 grain.

2) This song was originally released as a 78 rpm record. Have you ever seen a 78?
Yes.

3) In 1932, Jean Harlow was Hollywood's glamor queen. Who do you think sets the standard for glamor today?
Scarlett Johansson, Kate Winslet, Charlize Theron

4) One of 1932's best selling books was Agatha Christie's Peril at End House. She remains popular today. Are you familiar with her work?
Yes, I have read some of her books and played the video game of And Then There Were None (which was awesome).

5) This week's featured artist, Bing Crosby, worked as a caddy when he was 12 and continued to enjoy time on the golf course his entire life. What type of exercise do you do most often?
walking/hiking

6) Bing had twin sons, Dennis and Philip. Many people believe that the propensity for twins is hereditary. Are there twins in your family?
My maternal great-grandmother was an identical twin.

7) Bing's daughter, Mary Crosby, has her own place in TV history. Do you know why?
Nope.

8) In the mid 1970s, Crosby and his family did commercials for Minute Maid. Do you have any orange juice in your refrigerator?
Not at the moment.

9) Now for something completely random: Do you like beef jerky?
I love beef jerky!

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Texas A&M Aggies 41 Auburn Tigers 38

WHAT A GAME!

From Good Bull Hunting... "...1000%- Effort level and general give-a-damn-ness and all the other talking point x-factors that we internetters were wringing our hands over during the last few weeks. We don't know what the hell we're talking about."

Here's Coach Sumlin on energy- the difference...



The Ags looked GREAT. Our true freshman QB in his second NCAA start, our O-line and defense overloaded with more freshmen... the team pulled together and left the woes of the past few games behind to get the win.  Myles Garrett and Speedy Noil have been two standout players who always maintained their investment in the season and the aggressive play needed to win games in the SEC. They are emerging team leaders.

One of my favorite parts of the game- our bench jumping around every time the stadium played "Sandstorm." So awesome. It's been weeks since we've seen our guys pumped up and excited about a game.

The Tigers had fumble madness at the very end, which was ca-razy! (Why yes! We will take the lucky break, thanks!) It's fun to have a nail-biter game ending every now and then.

The CBS commentators were completely up Auburn's butt all afternoon. One of the many comments to that point: "The Tigers have the Aggies right where they want them"... when we were up by 14 points.

Seriously.  It was a straight-up weird comment, when nothing was going Auburn's way, at which time Lauren surmised the commentators were drinking heavily.

So YAY! Enjoy your victory, guys! The fans are certainly proud of you. You are on your way to some amazing seasons.

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