Safe and sound....

Well, I made it to Florida, safe and sound. We got to the house around 11:30p on Thursday night and pretty much went to bed. Then yesterday we got up and had yummy cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Then we went to the mall and the afternoon movie to see 'Over the Hedge' ... it was really cute.

We came home and relaxed for the afternoon and then Dina came over for dinner. For dinner, Joey grilled pork chops and made a tomato salad, mom baked some potatoes, regular and sweet, and we had some sun-dried tomato bread with dipping oils. Overall, super good. Everyone was stuffed. We played a little NTN trivia on the TV before bed and then we all gave in from the exhaustion of the late night we had the day before and hit the sheets.

Today, dad is working and mom, Joey and I will just be running around all day with little errands, etc. Tomorrow we are going to DISNEY WORLD just for the day and not to a park just Downtown Disney, etc. I can't wait. More updates later. Everyone enjoy the long weekend.

Soul Patrol ! Soul Patrol !

I am thrilled that Taylor Hicks won American Idol last night. I had wanted Chris Daughtry to win and trust me, he was robbed. But, when it came down to Katherine and Taylor, there was no question.

Taylor Hicks all the way !

And, KMAN …. Please, explain to me what happened on your favorite show last night. Yes, I do watch it every week so I am totally up to date but if last night was supposed to “resolve” issues and “answer” questions…..I missed it. I have more questions now than I have had all season. Help me. [but, I loved it…..]

And lastly……I’m leavin’ on a jet plane, don’t know when I’ll be back again……Well, actually, I’ll be back again on June 4th. I will be blogging while I am gone so stay tuned.

Why blog .....??

Lately it seems, my friends and family have been waxing philosophical in their blogs which brings us back to the age old question “Why do you blog ?” I’ve decided I blog for several reasons :

• I want to keep those that are not near me up to date on my life
• I want to encourage others to blog
• I want to rant, vent, philosophize, amuse, announce and basically just talk

So, why do you blog or if you don’t blog, what do you like about the fact that others do blog ??

Comment away.

And, guess what ? I leave for Florida TOMORROW !!! Yipeee !!!

iPod update and 24

352 songs in the iPod now.....and growing. I'm trying to get 500 in there before I leave for Florida but it is slow as I pick and choose things from each CD I am importing rather than loading the entire CD every time.

Let me just say, as I have said so many times before......24 is the best show on TV. Sure, there are unrealistic elements but it is by far the most compelling, thought provoking, enthralling show I have ever watched and the suspense that the Season Finale brought last night in the last 2 minutes, makes the wait for January 2007 almost unbearable. If you have never seen this show, I encourage you to rent the DVDs of previous seasons for your summer viewing pleasure.

Have a great Tuesday !

Birthday Updates and weekend happenings.....

Whew….Monday, Monday. Sorry for the delay in posting.

I had an AMAZING birthday……first of all, a group of friends and family bought me an iPod Video 30GB….it is really cool. So far, I have loaded over 200 songs into it and some pictures. It has a couple of games on it which are really fun too. Overall, it may be one of the best gifts I have ever received. Thanks to Courtney for coordinating such an awesome gift.

Courtney’s birthday is the day before mine, so we went to eat at ‘Simply Fondue’ for her birthday and ‘On The Border’ for mine….both meals were yummy. Friday, we went to the normal ‘No Frills Grill’ and stayed for the Mavs/Spurs game 6 - which was fun even though the Mavs lost.

The rest of the weekend was spent running errands, packing, laundry, washing the grey right outta my hair, loading the iPod, etc. in preparation for my Florida trip….which, by the way, is in THREE days !!!

Happy Birthday to Me !! [updated 10:56a CST]

So, today is the big day ! The big *4*0* ... who cares.....I feel the same. So far it has been great ! My friend Curtis at work made me an gorgeous purple birthday banner that says 'Happy Birthday Tracy !!' - I love it.

Happy day to everyone !!

10:56a CST UPDATE : I just received awesome flowers from my family - here they are :

Batman, magic potions, a mystery guest and patio furniture....

Happy Birthday, Courtney !

I love making up fun titles for my blog…..it makes you want to read it, doesn’t it ?? By the way, we’re now into the single digits for my vacation countdown…8 days until Florida.

OK, so last night two of my friends, Jeff and Alicia took me out for graduation dinner which because of the delay in coordinating it, turned kind of into graduation/birthday dinner. We had dinner at ‘The Magic Time Machine’ in Dallas which was awesome. In case you aren’t familiar, the waiters dress up as characters and as you might have now guessed, our waiter was Batman. It was fun and he was funny, but the funniest thing was that this guy, the restaurant photographer, comes by our table, presumably to take a picture of us that he hoped we would later purchase and he says “Is it just the four of you tonight ?” We glance around the table to see of there is a mystery guest sitting there that we missed and cautiously reply “Ummm, no only three….” Needless to say, he continued to try and be funny, took our picture, which we did not buy and left. Dinner was yummy, and we each had a drink called “Magic Potion”, not sure what was in it but Alicia got a red one, Jeff got a blue one and I got a green one and when they came they were bubbling and smoking…..eeeeee. Here is a picture of mine, but you can’t really see the bubbles and smoke.

Before dinner, Jeff and Alicia had given me my graduation present back at the apartment. It was new patio furniture for my new apartment I’ll be getting in September. When we got back to their apartment, I made them set it up and get their picture taken. Here is my awesome new patio furniture :

Anyway, it was a great night, and they are great friends. Until next time, ciao !

Change is good....

10 DAYS UNTIL I LEAVE FOR FLORIDA !!! Yipee !!

Whew…..it’s finally over. I am taking a break for the summer because I have to re-think where I am going next. I was planning on going to UTA or maybe UNT but now that I will be moving over here at the end of the summer, I need to re-think. But, change is good. I am still leaning toward UNT but I need to make sure the commute will work from here to there in the evenings. Plus, on my own, I will probably need to get a 2nd job for awhile to make ends meet so I may have to delay the next step of my educational journey to the spring. But, I tend encounter a challenge in everything I attempt so this will be no exception.

Stay tuned.

P.S. My new schedule at work for the summer is 8:00a - 5:00p CST.

Graduation 2006

<-- As we arrived at the Tarrant County Convention Center....Morgan was trying on my mortar hat. After we got there I wished I had decorated the top of mine with jewels, sparkles, etc. There was even a girl there with Christmas garland draped around hers. Oh well, next time.






--> After graduation, a really nice man stopped and asked if he could take our picture and we of course, jumped at the chance.




<--And, here I am after graduation. Talking of course.....probably trying to tell JoLynn how to take the picture or Morgan to stay awayt from the street or something equally nagging.





--> And lastly, here I am with my graduation present from the Hightower's...my very own build-a-bear graduate.





I just want to say thanks to everyone that believed in me and helped me achieve this goal. As exciting and fulfilling as it was for me personally to finally reach an educational milestone, it was made that much sweeter thinking about all of the people that were there with me on each step of the journey. And, guess what ?? I'm not done yet ! Stay tuned.

What up, fool ?

Well, this picture hardly needs any words……

…….but, here are a few. This is Curtis, he worked with me at my old job and now he works here. Lately, he has been learning some new “hip” words and phrases, like “What up, fool?”, “Word.” and he tells everyone he “…has more game than Parker Brothers.” He’s a white boy computer/photography nerd and you gotta love him.

Grades

So, I thought the grades were going to end up being one A and one B but I didn't think they would end up like this :

Course / Grade
Business and Professional Communication / B
Introduction to Psychology / A

But, the above, are the officially posted grades on the school website.....so, YEAH !!!

I am the “Alberto” of Encore….

This is going to be more than you ever wanted to know about my job. Everyday, I work from a list of customers that need credit card equipment installed and/or re-programmed in order to use my company’s services. I think a good day for anyone is to complete at least 8 of these work orders. When I worked at my old company [FAPS], I was the supervisor of a group that did the same thing and that was a good goal for them too.

I had an employee there, named Alberto, who was my highest producer [and a great friend] who was consistently completing 8 or more a day with many days in the double digits. I think some days his co-workers resented his abilities but the bottom line is he came to work each day, sat down and worked. A fairly straightforward process. Well, now I am the “Alberto” of Encore, my new company, because I am consistently averaging 10-11 a day while my co-workers have developed an irritation with me. By lunch time, they ask, “How many have you done Tracy ? 20 ?” Of course, I laugh and tell them no, just 5 or 6 but I somehow find it amusing that I am now getting the flack that Alberto always got just for coming in, sitting down and working.

What’s the big deal…..it’s my job.

MI:3, graduation and Harry Potter

I went to see Mission Impossible III last weekend….it was good. Regardless of how I feel about Tom Cruise’s shenanigan’s….which of course are really none of my business…he is a good action actor and the movie was excellent. We went to a theatre call The Movie Tavern...where you sit in chairs with tables in front of you and waiters bring you food, snack, drink [alcoholic or not] and yes, mom...dessert. It may be the only time you will see a menu that says "All sandwiches and burgers come with either french fries or popcorn." Seriously.

I took my last final last night...basically. I have an "exit interview" in my speech class tomorrow night and then that’s it. Graduation, Friday night. Finally, an educational accomplishment.

JoLynn and Morgan are coming in for graduation Friday...so I will spend some time with them this weekend too which is always fun. It will be a girl’s weekend.

Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix...I re-read it and finished last night. Not really my favorite of the books so far...it seemed kind of anti-climactic. I'm sure the movie will fix that but I was a bit disappointed.

Wheel !

Look at this :

The producers of Wheel of Fortune, America’s most popular game show, have announced they are taping three weeks of shows at the Nokia Theatre Grand Prairie in North Texas!

Auditions!

Here’s your chance to be a contestant when Wheel tapes its shows in North Texas. The Wheelmobile is coming on May 20th and 21st to audition people for the show. Here’s the schedule:

Saturday, May 20
Fort Worth Convention Center
1201 Houston Street
Fort Worth, TX 76102
3:00 pm - 8:30 pm

I'm totally doing it !! Wish me luck.

FRIDAY (well, Saturday) FIVE

There used to be this internet phenomenon called 'The Friday Five' some girl started it and it even had it's own webpage. It lasted about 2 years until the girl got tired of doing it. The basic premise was that she would post 5 questions each Friday and everyone in blog world would answer them on their own blog. Bazillions of people did it. She closed it down in May 2004 but you can still find Friday 5's on blogs, message boards, etc. all over the internet. My sister decided to resurrect it on her blog this week with the following 5 questions that I have answered below. If you have a blog, look here or my sister's site every Friday for 5 new questions and let's start the trend again. If you don't have your own blog, please feel free to answer the questions in the comments of mine. Here we go :

1. What did you want to be when you grew up?

A teacher. When I was younger, I wanted to get my doctorate in Math and someone said if I did that, I'd have to write a textbook, which seemed completley YUK at the time. But, I ended up doing what eveyone else was doing in the 80s, went for a business degree. That flopped and now, I am pursuing the teaching degree. No doctorate, but maybe a specialization in math.

2. What is your favorite computer game?

I play many different ones but none regularly. I guess I would have to say Civilization II. It is the one I played in college that really got me addicted. I don't think I have been that 'into' a computer game since then.

3. If they made a movie of your life, who would you want to play the part?

Hmmmm......I think Cameron Manheim would be best. She could represent my physical characteristics pretty well and I think she could play the Taurean in me.

4. What is your favorite ice cream?

Of all time, Haagen Daaz Chocolate Peanut Butter but you can't find it anymore. I'd say Baskin Robbins Jamoca Almond Fudge, but I couldn't even tell you the last time I had it or even where a Baskin Robbins is......

5. And finally, what season finale are you most looking forward to? and which one are you dreading?

I'm looking forward to the season finale of ALIAS....and sadly, it is because it 'jumped the shark' for me last season and in the off season so I am just ready for it to be over. I'm sure it will be good at the end....but I'm done. Even though I am only taping it and watching it later, I think I am dreading the series finale of Will and Grace the most, just because I am really going to miss all of those actors....each one was phenominal.

OK - that's it....a long post but fun. Now, you answer these questions on your blog.....or answer in my comments if you don't have a blog.

Let the countdown begin......

20 days until I leave for Florida !! Hurray !!

So, I have been at my new job for three weeks now and I am feeling great about it. I miss everyone from my old job, some more than others, and I miss the supervisor type things I did over there but the opportunities here are everywhere. I am working in the same type of group as I was at the old job, just not as the supervisor. There are four people in my group that also used to work at my old company and several more in other departments that used to work there, so it is nice to see familiar faces every day.

The only downfall is the drive……25 miles each way. UGH ! It’s not really the gas or even the drive itself, it’s just that it makes my day so long…..thus, the “tired” message below. I plan to move over to this side of the metroplex when my lease is up at the end of August which will certainly help.

Plans for the weekend……No Frills Grill tonight, studying for exams and that’s about it….oh yeah, maybe a tattoo.

Ciao.

Tired

I’m tired……I mean driving one-hour each way every day to work and then driving about an hour and a half two nights a week to get to school…..ugh. I’m just plain tired.

That is all.

Maria Rodriguez

How do you solve a problem like Maria……

OK, so I’ve blogged about this before, but what would a new blog be without a reminder about the infamous Maria Rodriguez ?? Let’s begin with some photographs. Here are a couple of pictures of the space under the stairs that go up to my apartment and the front part of Maria's area. I personally consider the area under the stairs my area but apparently, Maria considers it part of her “yard”.




Yes, those are plastic flowers. Last year, she had a table under there. The apartment complex made her get rid of it. She has planted her own grass and added landscaping all around the entrance to her apartment patio. Now, let me say, before you think I am just a killjoy, I don’t care what she does around the entrance to her apartment. She can plant all the plastic flowers she wants but I do have a problem with the display under the stairs, because yes, I do consider that my territory. Also, will she ever sit out there under my stairs on that bench......NO !

I will keep you posted with more pictures of Maria’s space as it changes….and trust me, it will. ...it could have it's own blog. Sheesh.

May days......

So, the month of May is upon me and it seems VERY busy. Here is my list so far :

May 8 – Psychology FINAL
May 10 – Speech FINAL
May 12 – Graduation
May 13 - Season's Birthday [edited to add this]
May 13 – Bev’s Birthday
May 17 – Courtney’s Birthday
May 18 – My birthday *the big 40*
May 25 – leave for Florida vacation

Whew……busy, busy. This month I graduate, turn 40 and go on a 9 day vacation……woo hoo !! All that's left is to get a tattoo !! It’s all good. ;)

Jimmy Buffett

So, how was Jimmy Buffett, you may be asking ….. it was awesome. I didn’t really get off of work as early as I had planned so we were getting there in the nick of time. The fun began when we were waiting in a traffic line to get to the parking lot. We had seen a young man selling t-shirts to the line only moments earlier when all of the sudden he was running behind our car [well, a few cars down] and was followed in HOT pursuit by two of Dallas’s finest brandishing their firearms. He dropped to the ground and was quickly subdued. Thank God…..damn t-shirt salesmen.

It took forever to get parked but it was free and we still made it into the venue in time. On the way, we passed the fire department putting out a car fire in the parking lot [I would have hated to be those people at the end of the concert] and many RVs and make-shift tailgate parties which I am sure had been in full swing all day. The ‘push’ thru the entry gate was only made more challenging as I tried to steer clear of a drunk man with no shirt……yuk ! Once inside we effortlessly made our way to a small 5 ft x 5 ft square piece of lawn real estate which we promptly claimed as our own and arranged our blankets and towels accordingly.

The concert was fun….all the favorites and some new stuff….Jimmy promptly mentioned that the odor of ‘smoke’ from the crowd made him wish he could join everyone in the audience. I would venture to say at least ½ the crowd was over 50 and there was sea of Hawaiian shirts, grass skirts and parrot-head hats worn by most. Many people that have no business dancing, let alone bumping and grinding….were at their worst and I wished that I had brought a camera to capture the eclectic mix of fans.

The evening ended around 11:15p after 2 or 3 encore performance and the lively crowd, still on their feet after more than 3 hours of Jimmy, finally began to stumble out toward their cars and I’m sure an almost certain DWI arrest. For me, with margaritas at $9.00 a pop, the evening was a non-alcoholic one and I am glad, because the entertainment in the crowd was worth the price of admission.

Fins to the left……fins to the right…….until next year.