Cops was on TV and the opening scene was two police officers in a police pickup truck.
I said, "Where is this? Lubbock?"
At that moment, "Lubbock Police Department" appeared on the screen.
Ahahaaaaaaa!!
Y'all.
I have to tell you about a song I've misunderstood for almost 20 years. Since 1997, in fact.
I was listening to Maroon 5's new cover of Marcy Playground's "Sex and Candy" and came to the very sudden and jarring realization that "Mama" isn't this kid's MOTHER. It's a grown man's wife/girlfriend.
Yes. It's true!
(I know. You knew.)
I've always found it to be a weird song, with this child coming home to a house that smells like sex and candy. And some creeper guy is sitting in the kid's chair, staring at him.
See, this is why I've always hated any and all versions of "mama" as a term of endearment for a girlfriend. Ick.
So we went to Dallas for Christmas and had a big afternoon of fun on Christmas day with the in-laws and several of their neighbors. One of the neighbors is getting his sommelier certification (for funzies), and he wowed us all with his knowledge of wines and wine trivia! He brought a couple of bottles of great wine and his own glass.
I got Kendra Scott jewelry and a movie theater-style popcorn popper!
Then we went to Johnson City with Scott-n-Julie this weekend to see the lights. Soooooo pretty!
Whirlwind trip to the UK!
We had a great time at the meeting. My presentation went very well.
The only bad part of the weekend was at the Friday night
cocktail/dinner event. Our group was made up of people from all over
Europe, who spoke just about every western European language. When we
sat down for dinner, I began chatting with two of my Spanish colleagues
at a table. Suddenly it became a table full of people from Spain,
speaking Spanish.
I really hoped I wasn't taking up a
seat that someone else from Spain would love to take. I didn't want to
ask, because I couldn't figure out how to sound like I was trying to make an escape. At the same time, while I wasn't dying to get out, I was definitely bummed
that I wouldn't be able to talk with everyone for the next two hours. It
was UBER-awkward.
I asked Elena if there was anyone
she thought might like to take my seat, and she laughed. She said no,
but everyone would completely understand if I wanted to switch tables. I just didn't think I could smoothly manage that without offending everyone.
After
about ten minutes, one of the meeting attendees said they really should
speak English, since I was at the table. I was all, "Nooooo, it's fine.
Please don't worry about me. But... really I would love that. THANK
YOU!"
(Americans. Embarrassingly uni-lingual.)
The
conversation was very interesting and I'm glad I was sitting there in
the end. I felt bad about them having to speak English, but I'm sure
they preferred it to translating every other conversation for me.
I
was very happy to meet my awesome German coworker who helped me take
notes through the meeting. I also hung out a lot with our site monitor
from the Switzerland office. It's always good to put names with faces.
We did eventually make it out of our hotel area on Saturday evening. Several of us headed to the insanely crowded, but always Harrods. Christmastime Saturday at Harrods. Just don't, unless it's your only shot to hit a tourist attraction before you leave the country.
Sitting here watching the BBC Music Awards live from London... in London! Trying to stay awake until 10 or so. I had some English tea, which is helping.
The first class ride over here (business trip!) was amazing. British Airways calls it business class, but they are first class seats on the 787. (They call the typical business class seats World Travelers Club.) We got all sorts of additional perks for being in Club World, including hanging out in the Admiral's Club at the airport. Supercool. We also got express immigration, which was nice.
I was supposed to sleep on the flight overnight- at least for a few hours- but the turbulence was incredible, so hardly any of us slept. Gah. Other than that though, it was really quite an experience. Lying down flat is GREAT overnight (even if you can't sleep). Your own private TV. Full run of the first class galley. Thank you, British Airways. You rock.
Tips for BA Dreamliner Club World flights- row J is fine to take the window, but the other window seats have to crawl over the aisle seat to get out, if the aisle person has their feet up. Unless you like cozy quarters, avoid the middle seat in the middle row. It faces backwards, flanked by two forward-facing seats with walls on both sides. AND you also have to crawl out over the feet of you neighbor if they have their feet up. SAY YES TO THE EYE MASK AND EAR PLUGS for the overnight flight. You'd be surprised how much light and noise there is.
The blankets are supernice. The tray table is moveable and can fold in half or fold into the wall altogether. Plug the deluxe headphones into the plug to get noise cancelling when you're trying to sleep. Whatever you do, don't listen to the "Sleep for Long Flights" album if you want to sleep. I thought it would be ocean sounds or rain or something, but it was very modern, loud music. Hilarious at 2 a.m. Don't laugh and wake your neighbor though.
The food is good, but the bread and butter is exceptional, so take two rolls/croissants/whatever-carb-they're-offering. There is a lot of chocolate and alcohol available. Take advantage of that. We didn't on the way, but watch out on the way back, when we're not trying to sleep.
I finally watched the locally filmed movie Boyhood... which I hate to say I didn't like. I did see my house twice though. So boo-yah! It was interesting following everyone in real time through 12 years, but the story was very simplistic and the acting wasn't great. I wanted to like it!
Leslie and I hung out this afternoon to stay awake. Bus tour tickets were sold out, shockingly for a Thursday. We were going to go to Buckingham Palace, just to go somewhere, but her mom went into ICU shortly after we left Austin yesterday and she is keeping up with all that and it was just going to be too much for her. So we walked around the local area for a while and stopped for a wonderful lunch at Mimos Cafe. OMG. SO great.
Ed Sheerhan is currently singing one of my fave songs of his- "Sing." Very JT. I think I wrote a whole post about that one day a while back. Ha!
That is the second time Timberlake has come up in conversations today. Is he coming out with new music or something? Maybe it's just JT on the brain.
Anyhoo... Pharrell won International Artist of the Year on the BBC Awards a bit ago. We had talked about him at work just Tuesday. We decided he straddles a thin line between supreme coolness and ultimate dork. I mean, really. If he weren't "cool," he would be ridiculous. He's a musical genius, so I have a ton of respect for him. Y'all know what I mean about the line though. Yes?
Leslie warned me not to log into work while jet lagged, because I will not function well enough to handle anything and may write rambling emails, etc. So instead, evidently, I am here, writing rambling commentary in the blog. But you guys expect it, so it's all good.
This is me on 2.5 hours sleep in 2 days. Signing off! Happy Thursday!
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
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!
... 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
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.
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!
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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