Toes in the Sand

Let me set the mood - Listening to Corpus Christi Bay, Robert Earl Keen - 1-22-13, Holly Wood, FL 4:00 P.M. Work Conference. The only two hour break I get while we are here for three days. I sit on the beach, toes in the sand, write my loved ones some post cards and take in the scenery around me. It has been a terrible 48 hours and I am ready to "meditate" and get some positive energy flowing.

My notes from the few short hours of reflecting-
 The water is such a pretty blue. I made a point to walk a 1/2 of mile or so down the beach to at least feel "away" from the dreariness of my company during this event. I prop my bottom in the sand to take it all in. The hotel is so beautiful and I have the most amazing view. What a shame to not have anyone to share it with. I think I have an epiphany of what it truly means when people say having nice things, but no one to share them with makes them not seem that nice at all. The temperature is a breezy 72 degrees. A nice change from the 50's at home. I can not begin to imagine how frigid the water is. I don't even attempt to touch it. However, there are swimmers in it. I suppose there is always someone not afraid to take the leap and face the storm.

My time is up, I head back and feel happy that I got the two hours I did and was so thankful it brought me closer to the time to head home.

* Make the most out of a terrible situation
*Be the bigger person, it does not really matter in the big scheme of things
*Everyone could use a little meditation, good for the soul
*Writing is therapeutic

Free Trip

You hear about those "Free Trips" from the time share presentation that try to get you to buy one and take up half of your day. Well, below is our "Free Trip" from our half of day presentation. We paid the 50.00 a piece for taxes and 485.00 for an upgrade, so I guess it wasn't really a "Free Trip", but it could have been. We just wanted a different hotel and airfare. We looked at this trip that we paid 585.00 for the two of us. Hotel (that we wanted) airfare (that allowed us to be there longer), free shuttle and tons of coupons was pretty close to being a "Free Trip".  

The plane lands and the adventure begins. I opted to try and do every ounce of research I could before the trip I anticipate this is going to be easy and breezy. I have read reviews from the worst possible things imaginable happening to some of the best.  As we approach our “free shuttle” ride I am a little weary. However, it seems pretty good. Air conditioning, open space and clean. I ease drop on the other passengers and it seems this is a “free trip” for our other passengers as well. I start to dread that we will be going to the same hotel, but to my relief I hear we are all getting off at different stops, very nice. No one stop that better than the others, so I give myself a pat on the back, not bad at all.

We are the last to be dropped off and finally here. A typical Vegas style there is a lot of stuff going on and our hotel is actually a conference center as well and there seems to be a pool tournament. There is a never ending line for check in. We start to frown, but realize it is moving rather fast and we have our room tickets before we even have time to be upset. We sneak a peek at the not so glamorous pool, but we are not planning to lie out there anyhow. After a little misleading on my part we find the elevator, push and bam we have successfully made it to our steaming not so air-conditioned, no view, and kind of smelly upgraded beautiful room.  I think we are glad we passed on the “free stay” and upgraded.  I cannot even begin to imagine what or where would be if we did not “upgrade”, next time perhaps. We did not come to stay in this room anyhow, we got money to spend and places to see, and VEGAS here we are.

Everyone needs a little fuel, so we manage to find a stereotypical food court in our hotel to munch up on some Quiznos and head out.  Our luxurious stay is going to be at the infamous classic old school stay Rivera! We will now leave our hotel, around 2 p.m. and we will not get back until around 4 a.m. We started our way down the strip, making it to the very end of the very last hotel. Mandalay I believe it was and then we turned around and headed our way back, just as planned.  During this 14 hour trip we experienced more things than  I am sure to remember, but let me try to at least hit the basics.

*learning the pro/cons and getting signed up for players cards

*everything is picture worthy

*spending way too much money for a very terrible side street drink in an obnoxious sort of cup

*keeping a look out for any of our favorite Vegas reality T.V. shows that may be happening

*experiencing the drunk/prostitute/radical/local dressed up class act and many more

*noticing daylight move to dark, but having too much fun to stop and eat

*spending hours at Flamingo’s (my favorite)

*started playing the games via computer than braving on up to the table

*each hotel is like a new world

*craps is where it is at

*free shows offered along the way "The Pirate Show at Treasure Island"

It finally dawns on us that we are not 100% of the reality of how our feet will handle the rest of the pavement.  Worse case we can get a cab, but we both secretly want to finish the adventure how we started. That is why we make such a good team. Thankfully with the darkness it is not nearly as hot as the day time was. We spend the walk comparing the parts of the strip and agree that we are happy our hotel is at the end. It is definitely a much different pace. I think the further away we get from the lights and action the more we realize that our feet are begging us to stop. Unfortunately for Jason our room was not any cooler when we got in. I was pajamas on, teeth brushed, face cleaned and out.  Successful Vegas night# 1.

Day two we realized our feet were not so keen on all the walking. We opted to get creative and look for a different route and to check out the tram. We had to make a quick stop at the station for some rock stars and then we were ready. It was a bit of walk through the stoplights, sweltering sun, racing to beat the traffic cross, in between the woods and around the fence, but to our surprise we came across another resort hotel. Making a future note that it may be a good idea to stay there, to be off the strip, but having the tram right up to your hotel was a bonus. It was over all pretty quit, we walked in to this awesome looking club made ourselves at home, taking some pictures and left with a definite come back here thought.

The tram was so worth it and actually kind of fun. You got a different view of the hotels and strips. On some of the stops you would come up from the back side of the hotels. You would see the workers and delivery guys.  I kind of like to be able to see the reality of an everyday world in my time of vacation.  

We made our stop at the closes one to get to Aria. We had planned to make this our pool day experience.  We are such “rule followers” we were worried about getting in to the pool. Lidia had even given me her honeymoon hotel card from when she and her beau had stayed there not too long ago. However, to our surprise there was not any issue getting in to the pool, but we were also given passes for a free drink and admission to liquid. This is the equivalent to a bar, but in a pool. It was really cool, but in order to have a seat it was a minimum 150 and not to mention for safety hazard we could not even have our bags with us. I think I will pass. We scurry along on to a perfect spot, by one of the multiple pools and we were set. Our bartender and waitress were extremely friendly and other than a little more entertainment on the people watching side we could not have asked for a better day.

After the pool, we decided to make our way to all the local tourist hot spots. We stopped and had a late lunch, at this awesome sushi place in The Bellagio. We had to head back to the hotel, so we could have time to hit up old Vegas. It was a little hectic trying to figure out what bus went which way, but we got it. The crowd was a little sketch and no matter how bad we really wanted to stop of at Pawn Stars we knew it was not in our best interest.

Old Vegas aka the Original Vegas was pretty awesome. They have zip lining going down through the streets. I would so do this another time. There were stages and a ton of entertainers. We happen to witness someone getting handcuffed and taken away from our black jack table.  We made sure to hit the golden nugget and leave behind some money. We actually lost the most money here. I really thought we would do better. Oh well, maybe next time. I would really like to spend more time on Fremont Street!

Holy Cow, while I am writing all of this down I really cannot believe we did as much as we did. We made our way to see the animal exhibit Dolphins/Tigers at The Mirage.  Stop for a few more tourist hot spots. A room where everything was made of flowers, the chocolate place and the neto Beatles show that is going on there right now.

We had to literally bust a move to get on the bus to get to New York New York for one last fabulous meal, a few more slot machine pulls and then a wardrobe change out to see our sexy Zumantiy Cirq show. It was awesome. It was kind of funny to see some woman get up and leave. I did not even think the show was that risqué, but perhaps it was. We thoroughly enjoyed it. After the show I think we got to take our slot machine addiction for a few more times and then really had to let go. We waited in the quick line for our cab, watching all the people coming in for the weekend and probably feeling a little bit of envy.

We already have a little list started for next time!

*Famous eatery is a must, instead of an option

*Pawn stars

*A concert

*Try something from the chocolate place

*Massages

*Limo Ride

*Zip line down Fremont St.

Back to Dallas we go! 

Tribute to the Boob Tube

It was a bitter sweet good-bye. 

When I was a child I would never forget running down to the "shed" and or the old house. It would be creepy scary, but exciting and fun. There would be the mystery of an animal being behind something when you were  going through the old dusty boxes. One day I recall coming across some eight track tapes, they were so big and bulky compared to our then current source of listening to music cassette tapes. Regardless, I still found them interesting. I thought they may be a video game perhaps, so I had to ask what they were. When I found out I so desperately wished I had a player to put them in so, I could hear how they sounded. I was in that shed until dusk going through every box hoping to find the player. I always had so much fun going through those boxes. It had such an impact on me that I made a mental note for my future. When you keep something that is surpassed, but a new piece of technology make sure to keep the instrument used to play it. I have a tape player for the tapes. I kept the VHS tapes and player, so if anyone is ever lurking through my old boxes I can only hope they are interested enough to try them out. 

This brings me to the good-bye of my television. It was so much more than a T.V. My uncle died when I was 16 and he left this and the entire entertainment center that went with it to me. I could not get it until I graduated high school, but it was going to be mine to keep. This would be 16 years ago. In prospective that is half of my life. Over the years I have shed the pieces of the set one by one. I thought about him and the "collection" every time I let part of it go. 

It was first the shelf it was placed in, it had spilt wax, cat scratches and couldn't bare another move. Then it was all the equalizer and some other items that I was not even sure how to fully utilize. Then there was no need for the speakers and they looked pretty bad. Needless to say they weren't serving me any purpose and were not being used at all. Finally it was the 5-Disk cd player as now we plug in our phones/ipod for that. Then there was the switch to DVD vs VHS. However, that is the VHS player in my dusty old boxes with the movies. 

This now brings me to that tragic day. I went to turn the television on and it just did not work. I can not lie and say I did not know it was coming. I had spend months pretending that the color had not changed and that it seemed like sometimes it would come on and then sometimes it would not. You know give it the pat on the side, sake or jiggle of the wires and it we were good to go. Then there was the day it was just off. I was sad. I refused to purchase a new one to replace it. Silly right, it is just an old television. That is what some would say, but it was much more to me. This T.V. had actually been through what I hope to be some of the hardest years of my life. I would love for my Uncle to be around, so we could laugh about this T.V. He would think it was crazy that I still had it, this I know for sure. He like to keep up with the newest forms of technology. 

I decided to recycle the T.V. There was no way in hell I was going to put it by the dumpster or leave it on a curb someplace. I got another one from Jason that was stored out in his families dusty garage, kind of funny to see even all these years later the older electronics are still finding themselves sitting in a back corner somewhere collecting dust. Items may actually change, become fancier, newer and more advanced, but people they still work the same. 

I then went on to win this flashy flat screen at my company Christmas Party. I never win anything and I could not have been more excited. I have a feeling this one will not last near as long as my first one, but I hope it does. I really enjoy the clarity of the picture when watching sports. I am sure my uncle is watching over me and very happy that I have this new addition. 

Out with the old, in with the new, but majorly embracing the present

Recycle, Donate, Memories, Winning, Letting go and oh yes the use of the product Entertainment! 

Do you have something old, replaced, sitting in the back and collecting dust?

Never underestimate

So, I have been told once or twice that my communication or replies can be long and drawn out. Perhaps I always put too many details in to the text. Whatever it maybe be I can not seem to help myself. I may need to work on this or maybe they have just accepted this piece of me. Some of my dearest and closest friends email back and forth with me occasionally. This can go on through out the day, it can be color coordinated, spastic and never completed, regardless we do it. It is a way for us to catch up on our lives since we do not see one enough near as much as we should or would like to. I always wonder about how they perceive my replies. I think they like them, because they keep coming back for more! 

One day we were going back and forth. You know reply to reply and I was reading down to only come upon the sweetest thing ever. It was so genuinely sincere that I instantly had to take it out of the email and paste to a draft. Lord knows it would get lost in the flood of those replies I must send. I wanted to put it in a special place to be able to go back and read again and again and again. Most importantly I wanted to share it.

I know there are many quotes out there about this very concept and I just want to reiterate it. Never underestimate the power of words. When they are sour they can be like paste in the tube. Once it comes out there is not putting it back in. When they are positive and encouraging, they can push someone to do something they other wise would not have. When they are sweet and thoughtful, they do as this did for me and turned a blue day into a sparkling afternoon. Whatever the words may be they are not tangible, you can not eat or touch them and you should always be thoughtful of what they are before you explode them.

The excerpt from my email is copy and pasted directly as is.

"I think this is great. I have always admired your courage. I find that most of the time my fear of failure prevents me from even questioning things…it’s like bc I don’t wanna face fear or the truth I would rather just not ask. I love that you aren’t afraid to ask! Not afraid to ask (yourself or the world) in order to find what makes you happy. I absolutely LOVE that about  you. Your persistence is what will bring happiness to you..in all aspects of life. You will not give up until you are fully satisfied! Good for you. Can’t wait to see you at sushi!!!"

I am not near as brave as she thinks I am, but it is nice to hear and and to know that others may think I am much braver than I give myself credit for being. However, I know am not as courageous as I hope to be. However, these words from her sure did encourage me to step it up a notch or two. I say take some time to reflect and do the same, it will be good for all of us. 

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.

Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit. We are all the same in this notion: The potential for greatness lives within each of us.

People underestimate their capacity for change. There is never a right time to do a difficult thing."

Once you have mastered time, you will understand how true it is that most people overestimate what they can accomplish in a year - and underestimate what they can achieve in a decade!

2012 Wrap

                    Another Day brings us to Another Year, so this is good-bye to 2012

Jason and I rang in to the New Year at my Cousin Erik’s house. I  would have never imagined myself celebrating this holiday with him. I would never be opposed to it, but just something I would not have anticipated happening. Perhaps this will be the year of surprises for me. I mean my name did get drawn out of the hat for a prize at my companies Christmas party. The invite was Don’t WIG out I am having a New Years party and we were to wear wigs. It was a ton of fun and I would not have traded the night for anything else.

What were my commitments for 2012 and how well did I do?

“For 2012 I pray to get that debt paid off, be in better shape, and have fewer vices, yard sale, to have found a church (or going to ONE more regularly) and to do a little more with my apartment. I always want for good health and love in my relationship as well. If 2012 gets any better than 2011 I cannot possible imagine what it must feel like. I smile with anticipation.”

I did pretty well. I finally got that ever lingering debt paid off, however due to some major medical bills (BOI) I had to take a little loan, but I will have that paid off at the end of next month. I am not going to sweat that. Better shape – I would like to think I am, but still not as good as I want to be. We not only had one yard sale, but I think we had three and they were so much fun. Apartment improvements are always, but I am done with that and for 2013 I wish to be out of The Cottage. Church, we did not hit the nose on yet, but still working on it. I figured out within myself throughout the year it was not as important as I once had placed it to be. I am happy with where we are on The Church front. Good Health, well everything is awesome other than my damn ovary. We are dealing and it will be okay. Love in my relationship is still as strong and amazing as it has been. Basically 2012 gets a whole lot of check marks. 

What shall I wish for in 2013?

“For 2013 I want to be out of my apartment, in better shape, more involved with some community service, attempted being a vegan, hit a 30 day challenge and played my first round of golf! Here is to rocking out 2013, it is going to be a wonderful year, this I know! Heck maybe I can even be better about blogging. At least once a month I can do this. I also plan to increase my earnings in the babysitting world, and network. Okay I think that is enough for now.”

I would like to take a few moments and reflect back on the things I feel I have learned, reflected on and experienced over the past year.  First off, I was just announced to be Charmer of the Month. It was kind of exciting. I was totally surprised and felt honored to get it. December was really good to me. I am glad I went ahead and got a second, actually third job. I have been talking about wanting to do it for years. It is nice to have something “light” and fun to do with some extra hours in my week. It was going to be seasonal, but I planned to stay on after the holidays. The fall was full of Cookies and Castles prep. I have decided that I am not going to be a part of the Tri Delta Alumnae after this year. I resigned from the book club and do not plan to pay next years dues. It just is not what I am looking for out of an organization, but I am glad I tried it out for a few years. October = ouch, I turned 32, but had the most amazing birthday. I really figured out who my family/friends are. It definitely had to look back over the photo to reflect upon all of us and how beautiful we look aging on the outside, but keeping our soul’s young on the inside.  The summer was a bit dreadful with emergency room and surgery, but we made it through. We finished it out with a trip to Vegas. It was Jason’s first and we had so much fun.

                                                                     Bring on 2013

Where’s your head at – Basement Jaxx

Monkey Business

I’m Nick Jones of Urban Urban Magazine based in London, the premier electronic dance music (EDM) magazine. In a previous life, I was an internationally touring DJ, considered by some to have been one of the top 3 EDM DJs in the world. Now retired, I serve as the technology editor for Urban Urban.  I search for and research the latest innovations in music technology.  Several months ago I received an email from a Dr. Heinz Sinnreich, a German research scientist. He indicated that he’d developed something that would revolutionize pop music. He invited me to his lab to witness this development in action.  He was vague and evasive, and a research scientist involved in music innovation was an odd occurrence, but my curiosity was piqued.

I caught a cab and gave the driver the address Sinnreich had provided. The driver gave me a strange look, but proceeded to drive me to an industrial area an hour east of London. As he pulled into an alley next to an ambulance I asked “Man, are you sure this is the right place” He replied ominously “Yes, sir. I’ve been here before.”

As I entered the building strange things began. A man was being wheeled out to the ambulance with a guitar in his hand. As he lifted his head he seemed to stare right through me. Continuing down the hall, I passed nurses and doctors in lab coats carrying more instruments. Something different was definitely going on here. I entered a room off the hall where several doctors were convening. “Hey I’m looking for Dr. Sinnreich. I’m Nick Jones.” Dr. Sinnreich introduced himself and the other doctors exited the room. 

We moved to Dr. Sinnreich’s office, where his tall, blonde assistant joined us. A stuffed monkey was seated next to my chair and a quick glance around the room informed me that monkeys were probably going to be the central theme of this quacks research. He began detailing for me his innovation, known as “Monktronika.” I was done with this visit almost instantly, teaching animals to play instruments is nothing new and is no innovation at all. Sensing my lack of interest and disdain the doctor quickly asked me for 10 more minutes of my time to allow him to provide me a demonstration.

I was led down a makeshift hallway that resembled a gerbil’s habit trail, which ended in a protective box. When I asked why this was necessary they abruptly replied “It’s protocol.” The demonstration began. Whatever I expected, this was definitely not it. The “Monktronika” musicians were no ordinary monkeys. I wasn’t sure what the hell they were.  It took me a moment to get past my astonishment, but I soon realized that these monkeys had faces that were eerily human. The music was truly amazing, but what the hell had these people done? What had they created? The Monktronica musicians were spinning records, playing keyboards, strumming guitars and most bizarre, their humanesq faces were singing vocals! This was definitely an amazing accomplishment for both science and music. I must admit I got quite caught up in experience.   

This elation did not last long. Things suddenly took a terrible turn. The monktronica band became highly agitated and began destroying their instruments. Before I could react they had descended upon my protective, habit trail box. Monkey paws were ripping at the box and punching through the plastic. I looked for an escape and ran back down the habit trail hallway looking for an exit. The first double doors I came upon were locked. Turned, ran the other direction. I next stumbled upon a lab with an experiment in progress.  A man and a monkey were seated side by side. My eyes were immediately drawn to the metal helmets both were wearing. The helmets were connected to one another via electric cables. I now knew what was going on. I stumbled around the room trying to figure out what to do and how this was happening. The monkey growled and gnashed his teeth at me. There were scientific flow charts indicating the process of this horrible experiment. A man in a lab coat who was running this process was in possession of my bag, which I had left in Dr. Sinnreich’s office. He was sorting through my possessions. There was a picture of me posted nearby and next to it… a photo of a monkey. They wanted my brain! I had to get out of there. I grabbed my bag from the clutches of the lab coated man and jumped through a window like opening landing on my hand and knees. Looking down at me in this next room were 4 human men, but they had clearly ape like features and faces. As I scrambled to leave Dr. Sinnreich approached from the hallway with a dog on a leash, only this dog also had a human face melted on to his canine body.  The last thing I remember as my human self was huddling at the end of that hallway.

Have you figured it out?

I am currently writing the essay at the behest of Dr. Sinnreich, for evidently, I am his greatest achievement!  This would also explain my new, quite hairy appendage!  A TAIL!!!

“What a wonderfully unexpected day. We had our third yard sale this season. We meaning Jason and I. Ruby graced us with her attendance this time around. We had a pretty successful day if I say so myself. Other than the incident we had with the the darn thief that took her phone without permission and well did not return it either.Moving on to the evening Jason had a paper that was due for class and Ruby being so eager to show her scholastic skills offered to help and even volunteered Spud since the paper had to do with music interpretation. I thought the paper above was extremely entertaining and thoroughly enjoyed watching the three off them fight off mosquitos, exchange shots of whisky and keep the thought process moving forward. Hey and after all the fun, Jason managed to score an A-. June 2012“

Bathroom VS Kristina

I got so frustrated with my bathroom this morning. I have had the sniffles all week and this is not how I intended my day to start. My apartment is so damn small. I must stay organized in order to find anything. After time it is just easier to get lazy and trash things in the back of the cabinet. You know how you just stuff, shove and shut the door hoping it settles before you need to open it again. I think we have all been there. Anyhow, I was fed up when I could not find my baby powder this morning. Grrrrr…. To only see it was right in front of my face the entire time. I started looking around at the bathroom floor to see maxi pads, boxes of q-tips, an assortment of travel baggies and just some other miscellaneous items. I had just been pulling stuff out of everywhere. I instantly started to giggle inside and out. I quickly grabbed some of the items to place back inside the cabinets. A brief moment of being juvenile swept over me and I felt the need to hide my behavior with the cluster behind the closed door. Whatever may have happened I realized that the bathroom and I would be going to war as soon as I got home from work. I will win. I was in no mood to mess with this right now.

Bathroom cleaning has begun, shower and bath first. I am on round two with my scrubble bubbles and trusty brush when I think to myself how disappointed my mom would be in me if she saw this nasty tub. If she taught me anything, it was that one must always keep a clean bathroom, sheets on the bed and remember to kill with kindness. I couldn’t let another moment pass, so I took a break and made sure to send her a letter and that letter is what brought me to this blog entry. Besides I needed a break and the grunge needs to soak. I was working on a solid honey do list. I sure do enjoy making that list, especially when my honey do likes to get them marked off as quickly as possible. Writing my mom is like having a pen pal and it is kind of fun. Especially when I think that I may possible bring a smile to her face. All I ever wanted was for her to be happy and to have all I felt she deserved. I had to learn along the way sometimes what you think may make someone happy is not really what does. So, you have to let them be and allow them to be in charge for their own happiness.

I would call bathroom vs Kristina a tie, because I only got half of it completed. However, since I didn’t get the other half done until 5 days later I will say the bathroom won. Gosh darn it, better luck next time or perhaps I do not let it get so bad next time.