RANDOM MUSINGS

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Originally uploaded by Jilly2113

Summer is finally moved! We went to Austin this past Saturday to take all her stuff. Unloading actually went fairly quickly. Even with the stairs! The rest of the weekend was pretty fun, in spite of the rain. Cristina stopped by for a bit, and brought a yummy cake, so that was festive. The hard rain held off long enough for us to go out Saturday night and actually sit outside. Ooh…we went to see the new Pirates of the Caribbean, which I was not even really excited about because I did not really enjoy the second one. It just seemed like filler…kind of like the Matrix movies. The third one was really really good, though. Super long, but interesting the whole way through. At least once I stopped trying to figure out what the hell was going on and just enjoy the damn show! Ha. And seeing it at Alamo Drafthouse made it even better. Yummy Five Dollar Milkshakes!! I drove through rain all the way home on Monday, and then I get to Houston, and it has rained every day since. Booooo. Zoe was trippin yesterday when I got home. The dog needs tranquilizers during storms. Caesar missed me, though. Ha. I feel loved! Man. Summer’s new apartment is awesome. I told her I was going to move in next door. Haha. Hope everyone is having a good week and managing to stay dry!

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Originally uploaded by Jilly2113

Summer’s last day was yesterday…and of course it ended with a happy hour. Any excuse for a happy hour, right?? We actually went to a different place than usual…El Patio in midtown. Yummy, blue margaritas. Although I only had one of those, and switched to the “Sissy” margaritas since I was responsible for getting the guest of honor home. I did almost lose it again when Theresa gave Summer a picture frame with a pic of Summer and I in it. That was so sweet! Although we have no clue when the picture was taken. Hopefully Summer is alive this morning to pack the truck! Even after blue margaritas, a tequila shot, and mojitos at The Flat! The truck and Summer’s parents are supposed to be there at 8:00. Ha.

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Originally uploaded by Jilly2113.

This weekend was pretty good. Penny got free tickets to see Treasure Island at the Alley, which of course she gave away when she could not go! Not that I blame her…I would not want to drive by myself all the way to Dayton that late either. So Summer, Elodie, Cristina and I went. I thought it was really good…even if I did have a killer headache by the time it was over because I had not eaten before we left. I also managed to fall down the stairs in the theater! Ha. Of course, I made my standard squeal-noise as I fell down. At least not EVERYBODY saw me because we were going down the stairs on the side aisle. Summer was at the bottom saving seats for us, so she missed me actually falling, but did catch the aftermath. I really would like there to be buildings in Houston that I have not fallen down in. But there aren’t! Anyway…this past Saturday was Summer’s last Saturday in Houston. BOOOOO. We went to Front Porch…I had never been there before but it was surprisingly crowded and fun. The best was that the weather felt so great…we sat outside in the breeze. Ended up at Spanish Flower to eat…have not been there in a long time, but I love that place. Much much much better than Ruchi’s!! Summer and I shared enchiladas…good thing we both eat fast. Otherwise one of us would not have gotten her half and been pissed. Ha. Our plate looked like somebody had licked it clean. Sunday I actually got stuff done, and then had dinner with Ashly and Caleb. It was really good to see them…even if they did not have the baby. Pictures are up…Have a good week!

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Originally uploaded by Jilly2113.

I had never really wanted to see this movie. For some reason I really try to avoid movies that get a ton of Oscar hype. I don’t know if it is the stubborn side of me not wanting to watch a movie that a ton of critics swear is “brilliant” or what. Anyway…I read some really good stuff about this movie from real people’s blogs, and saw a good preview of it, so I thought why not. It turned out to be one of the best movies I have seen in a long time. It is the behind-the-scenes story of Queen Elizabeth II and the royal family’s reaction to the death of Princess Diana. I can remember quite clearly how big a deal this was at the time, and then my college roommate was obsessed with Princess Diana, so many of the references were clear to me. That made the parts of the movie where they spliced in real footage, photographs and interviews from that time the most interesting. Clever device to keep the movie flowing. And to give you points of reference to the reactions the Queen and Tony Blair were exhibiting. Much easier than having some characters keep us up to date with the mood of the people with boring dialogue. And also drawns you in better that way. I did notice that the viewer tends to empathize most with Prime Minister Tony Blair’s reactions to the Queen. In the first half you are just as frustrated and flabbergasted as he is to the reaction coming from the Royal Family…how their actions are only hurting their own institution. Then he makes a subtle change and becomes more sympathetic to her, right about the same time that the audience does as well. Very smooth. All in all, definitely a movie I would watch again, and would recommend to anyone to watch. Very well done!

Even though I must admit that it is all my fault I hate my cell phone. I have been beating it to hell for almost two years at this point, so it is not like it is the actual phone that is at fault…it is my treatment of it! Anyway…the newest quirks are driving me crazy. One, I can barely even talk on it anymore because it sounds like there is a vacuum cleaner being run in the background. And we all know I am deaf anyway! So it is much easier to just text me. Seriously. Unless you enjoy hearing me say “What?” twenty times in a two minute conversation. Two, it has started turning itself off randomly. I can be in the middle of a conversation and think that the call just got dropped…but no. The damn phone is completely off. Three, unless I open it up juuust right, the hinge gets stuck about halfway through the process. This causes the phone to trip out and turn off for at least the next 20 minutes. Seriously. It just will not come back on. Nice, huh?? So I am on a countdown! June 24, baby. I do believe I am switching to Verizon. They have a phone that I really want. For what I use a cell phone for, there is not much difference in all the cell companies…so I just go where they have the phone that I want. Especially since I live in Houston and not in the middle of nowhere. That is how I switched to Cingular in the first place. There is really no point to this…except as a reminder to myself to have PATIENCE for the next month!!

Everyone needs to be watching Heroes and Lost right now. I demand it! Since Lost started up again in January, it has been absolutely amazing. You really should be watching these shows now….before they end in May and all that is left to watch on TV are stupid reality shows. I hate reality TV. Blah.

 Just my thoughts for the day! Oh yeah….and I got two hours of sleep last night. So I am completely festive today. Yuck.

      

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Last time I checked, it was 2007. 2007, people. The modern era. Yet then I read articles like this one, and I get completely embarrassed to be a “modern” female. Technically, this is not an article, but a question written to Dear Abby. Concerning “prom babies”. Now, I had never heard of this stupid phrase until today, but I am just flabbergasted about it. I will just give you a summary…apparently there are girls out there that feel so much pressure to go to college that they purposely get pregnant on prom night so they will have a baby and not have to go to school. I am ALMOST at a lack of words about this one. Notice I said almost. I cannot believe the audacity of high school girls. First, if you have a chance to go to college, why would you not take it? You never know if college is not for you until you try. And there are so many people that are never given a chance to go, that would gladly take it. Second, if you REALLY don’t want to go to school, JUST SAY SO. Now, I am not saying that college is for everyone, and college is not something that everyone needs to do. But…I never see the harm in trying something if you have the chance. You never know how you will feel about college…it is so completely different from high school. Anyway…back to the main point. How stupid are these girls? You have a chance to try your hand at continuing your education and you CHOOSE to get PREGNANT instead? I would think that being an 18-year old at college and on your own for the first time would be less responsibility to deal with than having to raise a child for the next 18 years. Come on kids…give me a damn break. What has happened to the girls of this generation? That may make me sound about 100 years old, but I just cannot fathom being in a position to where I actually said “hey…I don’t want to tell my parents I don’t want to go to college….so I will make my loser prom date get me pregnant on purpose. Yippy!” What happened to having respect for yourself and those around you? If you don’t respect yourself enough to avoid making such stupid decisions, at least have enough respect for the people that raised you and that are giving you the opportunity for more education to tell them you don’t feel like college is for you…instead of forcing them to be grandparents way too early. And also forcing them to not only support your stupidity, but to support your child as well. Because you know if you are stupid enough to pull a stunt like having a “prom baby” you are not going to be intelligent enough to support yourself and a child on your own. Idiots. Okay..rant is over!!!

Although I guess with a headline like that no one really needs to ask, right? I did not even feel disappointment when I heard the news….I literally just shrugged my shoulders and said “Figures.” Eh. Not a big deal. Even last year I could have cared less whether he was with the Astros or not. Yeah, it would be nice to have him. But the waiting game gets old. I cannot stand the “will he, wont he” game that he and his agent have put us, the Red Sox, and the Yankees through every year. And come on…once Pettitte decided to chase the money with the Yankes, it was pretty much a given that Clemens would follow. I was more glad to visit astros.com today and see the reactions of the players. They are over it, as well. Most agree that they need to win with the team they have, and one guy is not going to make or break the Astros this year. Now…the lack of hitting may break them….but not the loss of Clemens to the Yankees. One damn pitcher is not going to make that much difference if we keep stranding dozens of people on base. GO ASTROS. And good riddance.

Mainly because her job is to write about the Astros. How freakin awesome would that be? To be a reporter for MLB.com and to write about the Astros. But I also tend to agree with everything she says. Especially about this Burke/Pence move. As much as I love the Astros, I still have to admit that they are not doing very well at all. And changes did have to be made. I don’t understand why people are so mad that Burke’s role has changed. Seriously…dude is not a centerfielder. We just need Biggio to hurry up and get his 3,000 hits so he can chill and Burke can play second. And if Garner had not made a drastic change like that, everyone would be complaining about him and how he was not doing anything! *sigh* Anyway….Alyson’s mailbag this week is freakin brilliant. Especially her entire answer to the first question.

What it comes down to is the Astros are struggling right now, and something had to change. This is not all Burke’s fault. I have been absolutely disgusted with some of the things I’ve seen during this homestand, from a variety of players. Lazy jogs down the line on ground balls. Poor baserunning. Terrible approaches at the plate.

When things are going badly, players have to do drastic things sometimes. Here’s an idea — run out a ground ball. Put some pressure on the fielder to make a hasty throw. Don’t jog when you hit into a presumed double play. Who knows? Maybe the fielder will — gasp! — make an error. You really never know until you try.