My summer violin classes are about over!
- Everyone knows Autumn means harvest time for vineyards and wineries and I was just reading about a winery that is opening in Manhattan in the fall.
- JetBlue is having their annual Fall Fare Sale (ends tomorrow though!)
- Fall clothing collections are already being displayed in stores and on websites (BananaRepublic.com anyone?)
- You can already begin planning what you'll do for Halloween this year as innumerable parties and parades have been scheduled already! What's better? Halloween is on a Friday this year! Get crackin' on your Halloween planning.
- It's already getting dark earlier. Have you noticed?
- Football teams are in their Fall training camps (c'mon, people, don't ya know this?... Didn't go to high school in Texas, then, didja?)
- The long, golden shafts of sunlight are beginning to appear in the afternoons, ushering in the beautiful, magical feeling of Fall.
- It's getting down to the 40s in the Catskills at night and some leaves are already changing! Feel free to read more about the seasons in the Catskills.
- Everything in Texas is good and dead from the looong, hot summer.
Showing posts with label Texas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Texas. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Top Ten Ways to Tell Fall is Coming
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Housewarming in Austin, the Ride Back to NYC, Anonymity
Justin and I enjoyed Texas! We went to Sheila and Justin R's 
housewarming party (which was actually also a birthday party, though we hadn't realized that beforehand - our bad! Sorry Justin R!!!). It was cool to see them, their friends, and some of my relatives again. I must say, they also fed us some DELICIOUS BBQ and sides. Yummy! Aunt Sha Sha, Uncle Wayne, and Aunt Debbie all came up. Aunt Linda and Leanne (my 1st cousin) were in attendance as well, and ended up spending the night, which turned out to be very cool because we were able to sit around and talk this morning (photos of puppies new haircuts and the morning at Sheila and Justin's). One takeaway - I definitely need to visit Leanna in Longview. She'll be out of school before I know it, and I'd really like to see her in her college element, visit her apartment, and be a part of this brief, though significant period in her life.
It was also a really good onslaught of socialization for the puppies as Leanne brought her chihuahua, Pixie; the neighbors brought their poodle, Apricot and their labradoodle, Pinky; a gigantic chocolate lab was there (I don't recall his name) and of course, Sheila and Justin's very own Brodie was running around. Ruby and Eve got lots of sniffs from the other dogs and petting from the people. :)
On a random side note, one very pretty, well-dressed girl with expertly curled blonde hair told me that she really liked my hair and thought I looked like a certain actress. I was actually taken by surprise as I never expected a compliment at all (been spending too much time in NYC!). Now, waaaay back when, I was told frequently that I looked like this actress and once, upon entering a Chili's, the hostess refused to believe that I wasn't this actress.... Hello, I was in Chili's in San Antonio, for crying out loud. I personally have never thought this actress was attractive, but the gal that paid me the compliment last night thinks she is very pretty and sexy, so I am taking it in a positive manner. ;) I am sure you're wondering about this actress. *sigh* She's the goofy girl from Scary Movie: Anna Faris.
Sheila drove Justin and I to the airport and Linda, Leanne, and Pixie rode along. It was amazingly nice to be surrounded by good conversation (though somewhat heavy subject matter) and loving goodbyes and hugs as we departed. As we were hugging goodbye, we ran into Shelley from JetBlue and got to hang out with her a little pre and post flight, which was awesome.
On our flight back to NYC this afternoon, I had the good fortune of sitting next to a fascinating woman. I want to say her name was Rebecca, but I am terrible with names, so I am probably wrong. She is originally from Ireland, though lived and worked in NYC for a long, long time. She majored in fashion and spent 2 years working for Geoffrey Beene and another 8 years working for Ralph Lauren at which point she decided to ditch her fashion career entirely and backpack around the world for 3 years. Did you catch that? Yeah, she backpacked ALONE around THE WORLD for THREE YEARS!
She ended this backpacking stint in Madrid, where she spent six months learning Spanish and subsequently met her husband as he was enrolled in the same language program. Well, not only did they meet, but the program placed them as roommates in the same apartment. Was it fate? He was an engineer/international business major from Austin, Texas that decided to take some time off and spent half the year learning French in France and half the year learning Spanish in Spain. Hmm... Sounds like a great idea to me. I don't know his career history or anything, but they both sound like super interesting people. Now, they spend half their summers primarily in New York (Westchester) and winters in Austin. I like their setup. They've also started their own business, which is doing pretty well I gather. Anyway, of course I know most of this because I asked her loads of questions, but it was really fun getting to know her. It turns out we were both in Madrid at the same time - when the trains were bombed! What are the chances?! I hope our paths cross again sometime, because she was a nice, fascinating lady and I'd love to hear more of her stories. She recommended I watch a show on the National Geographic channel called "Locked Up Abroad." It sounds interesting, but so depressing judging by reading a couple of the summaries.
On a side note, Val! sent me an article today that got me thinking "How public do I want to be with my life?" A lot of recruiters, and certainly the last few of my employers are testaments to the truth of this statement, Google you and look you up on MySpace to see if they can find any dirt, legitimate or not, to disqualify you as a potential job candidate. Now I need to decide between entirely censoring myself (mmhmm) or maybe just posting elsewhere with a nom de plume. Not sure yet.
For randomness's sake, I'm dredging up a post I wrote on this very same day last year that was published on my MySpace. I will probably be going back through and censoring old posts on this site and elsewhere, so enjoy the freedom of writing while you can. ;) "Gather ye rosebuds while ye may" and all that rot.
Feel free to fill this out for yourself if you'd like -
August 3, 2007 - Ten (10) random things about me:
1) I over analyze almost everything and place situations side by side (relationships, work, etc) comparing past to present almost constantly. It's maddening.
2) Adults are just like little kids. The most important thing is having people be legitimately pleased and proud of something you've done. This applies to me.
3) Money is important to me, but it's far less important than the strange and magical sense that there is so much more in the world, like literature, and understanding, and human contact and the passion that comes with that.
4) I must have a puppy.
5) I miss TeXaS!!!!
6) I know I am not happy with my life when I am lethargic, which I have been lately. I also have an upset stomach almost every day that I go to work.
7) I haven't written anything for my novel in 3 months. I think it has a lot to do with the fact I have no moral, and it feels empty. Speaking of writing, I am constantly blown off by the one place I was published that actually paid me. I told them to remove me from their list. Now I hope they fail.
8) Hence, I must have a mean streak. I constantly have to tell myself I am a good person. Half the time I believe it.
9) I will always be skeptical of people. I am usually always right. My wariness makes people think I am a bitch. They are almost always wrong.
10) Justin and I are in the same building almost 100% of the time.
housewarming party (which was actually also a birthday party, though we hadn't realized that beforehand - our bad! Sorry Justin R!!!). It was cool to see them, their friends, and some of my relatives again. I must say, they also fed us some DELICIOUS BBQ and sides. Yummy! Aunt Sha Sha, Uncle Wayne, and Aunt Debbie all came up. Aunt Linda and Leanne (my 1st cousin) were in attendance as well, and ended up spending the night, which turned out to be very cool because we were able to sit around and talk this morning (photos of puppies new haircuts and the morning at Sheila and Justin's). One takeaway - I definitely need to visit Leanna in Longview. She'll be out of school before I know it, and I'd really like to see her in her college element, visit her apartment, and be a part of this brief, though significant period in her life.It was also a really good onslaught of socialization for the puppies as Leanne brought her chihuahua, Pixie; the neighbors brought their poodle, Apricot and their labradoodle, Pinky; a gigantic chocolate lab was there (I don't recall his name) and of course, Sheila and Justin's very own Brodie was running around. Ruby and Eve got lots of sniffs from the other dogs and petting from the people. :)
On a random side note, one very pretty, well-dressed girl with expertly curled blonde hair told me that she really liked my hair and thought I looked like a certain actress. I was actually taken by surprise as I never expected a compliment at all (been spending too much time in NYC!). Now, waaaay back when, I was told frequently that I looked like this actress and once, upon entering a Chili's, the hostess refused to believe that I wasn't this actress.... Hello, I was in Chili's in San Antonio, for crying out loud. I personally have never thought this actress was attractive, but the gal that paid me the compliment last night thinks she is very pretty and sexy, so I am taking it in a positive manner. ;) I am sure you're wondering about this actress. *sigh* She's the goofy girl from Scary Movie: Anna Faris.Sheila drove Justin and I to the airport and Linda, Leanne, and Pixie rode along. It was amazingly nice to be surrounded by good conversation (though somewhat heavy subject matter) and loving goodbyes and hugs as we departed. As we were hugging goodbye, we ran into Shelley from JetBlue and got to hang out with her a little pre and post flight, which was awesome.
On our flight back to NYC this afternoon, I had the good fortune of sitting next to a fascinating woman. I want to say her name was Rebecca, but I am terrible with names, so I am probably wrong. She is originally from Ireland, though lived and worked in NYC for a long, long time. She majored in fashion and spent 2 years working for Geoffrey Beene and another 8 years working for Ralph Lauren at which point she decided to ditch her fashion career entirely and backpack around the world for 3 years. Did you catch that? Yeah, she backpacked ALONE around THE WORLD for THREE YEARS!
She ended this backpacking stint in Madrid, where she spent six months learning Spanish and subsequently met her husband as he was enrolled in the same language program. Well, not only did they meet, but the program placed them as roommates in the same apartment. Was it fate? He was an engineer/international business major from Austin, Texas that decided to take some time off and spent half the year learning French in France and half the year learning Spanish in Spain. Hmm... Sounds like a great idea to me. I don't know his career history or anything, but they both sound like super interesting people. Now, they spend half their summers primarily in New York (Westchester) and winters in Austin. I like their setup. They've also started their own business, which is doing pretty well I gather. Anyway, of course I know most of this because I asked her loads of questions, but it was really fun getting to know her. It turns out we were both in Madrid at the same time - when the trains were bombed! What are the chances?! I hope our paths cross again sometime, because she was a nice, fascinating lady and I'd love to hear more of her stories. She recommended I watch a show on the National Geographic channel called "Locked Up Abroad." It sounds interesting, but so depressing judging by reading a couple of the summaries.On a side note, Val! sent me an article today that got me thinking "How public do I want to be with my life?" A lot of recruiters, and certainly the last few of my employers are testaments to the truth of this statement, Google you and look you up on MySpace to see if they can find any dirt, legitimate or not, to disqualify you as a potential job candidate. Now I need to decide between entirely censoring myself (mmhmm) or maybe just posting elsewhere with a nom de plume. Not sure yet.
For randomness's sake, I'm dredging up a post I wrote on this very same day last year that was published on my MySpace. I will probably be going back through and censoring old posts on this site and elsewhere, so enjoy the freedom of writing while you can. ;) "Gather ye rosebuds while ye may" and all that rot.Feel free to fill this out for yourself if you'd like -
August 3, 2007 - Ten (10) random things about me:
1) I over analyze almost everything and place situations side by side (relationships, work, etc) comparing past to present almost constantly. It's maddening.
2) Adults are just like little kids. The most important thing is having people be legitimately pleased and proud of something you've done. This applies to me.
3) Money is important to me, but it's far less important than the strange and magical sense that there is so much more in the world, like literature, and understanding, and human contact and the passion that comes with that.
4) I must have a puppy.
5) I miss TeXaS!!!!
6) I know I am not happy with my life when I am lethargic, which I have been lately. I also have an upset stomach almost every day that I go to work.
7) I haven't written anything for my novel in 3 months. I think it has a lot to do with the fact I have no moral, and it feels empty. Speaking of writing, I am constantly blown off by the one place I was published that actually paid me. I told them to remove me from their list. Now I hope they fail.
8) Hence, I must have a mean streak. I constantly have to tell myself I am a good person. Half the time I believe it.
9) I will always be skeptical of people. I am usually always right. My wariness makes people think I am a bitch. They are almost always wrong.
10) Justin and I are in the same building almost 100% of the time.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Even More Photos!!!! SXSWi Photos
Check out our SXSW interactive photos thus far here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nowends/sets/72157604068476202/
Morgan's beautiful photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mhjohnston/sets/72157604109099946/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nowends/sets/72157604068476202/
Morgan's beautiful photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mhjohnston/sets/72157604109099946/
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Off to SXSW in Austin!
That's right! The Adventured.net team (moi and Justin) are off to SXSW in Austin... Not for the traditionally cool things like Music or Film, but for the truly ultra cool thing: Interactive! What what! See you there if you're going! :)
I have waaaay too many panels on my schedule.
I have waaaay too many panels on my schedule.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Ice Climbing, Christmas, New Years, etc.
Look at all the topics I saved to write about, yet never did!
I have a new Goal!!!! - Visit all of the top 10 wine regions in the world. And possibly discover one in Asia since they don't seem well represented.
Check out this map and click "top 10 wine regions" if it's not already selected.
- ice climbing (photos)
- christmas eve
- christmas day
- san antonio and christmas
- new year's eve
- jetblue shuttle
- From an email I wrote after the event -
When we got back to the airport last night (1/1/2008), the line for the taxis was really long so we decided to take the JetBlue shuttle bus instead. It drops us off just a mile from home and we can either get a cab or take the subway from there. We made it on the 10:30 pm shuttle and as we were leaving the airport on this major 3 lane highway (the Van Wyck) I saw 5 lug nuts glittering across the road. Moments later, the bus began to vibrate and both of our rear left wheels came off! One of them flew parallel to us, bouncing on the ground and proceeding high into the air, smashing down on the bumper then the roof of a little red car in the adjacent lane. It was so surreal. Everyone was fine, but it reminded me of something from those Final Destination movies.
We were stuck on the bus for about an hour in the middle lane of traffic waiting for some alternate form of transportation. Luckily, a flight attendant that was onboard the bus with us had a number for an emergency contact at JetBlue and they sent another bus to rescue us. It was an eventful night. ;)
I have a new Goal!!!! - Visit all of the top 10 wine regions in the world. And possibly discover one in Asia since they don't seem well represented.
Check out this map and click "top 10 wine regions" if it's not already selected.
Friday, September 7, 2007
Life is all about decisions...
And that is not usually a problem for me. I am certainly not the most indecisive person in the world, yet recently (like the last few weeks), I have felt emotionally and pathologically torn in several different directions. What is best for my future, career, happiness, life? Agh!!! I am driving myself crazy looking for a clear path. If only it were all about money, that would make things SO clear - so EASY.
I just want to do my best.
I just want to make a difference.
I want to feel happy, important, and have FUN at work.
I want to truly enjoy what I do and look forward to getting up everyday.
Oh, and be paid fairly. Which doesn't mean get rich (well - one day). I just want to be treated fairly. I wonder if I complain too much.
I am going to snuggle with the babies.
Happy Thoughts: Texas two weekends in a row with friends from work! Yes! AND I get to see my Dad this weekend. Score!
I just want to do my best.
I just want to make a difference.
I want to feel happy, important, and have FUN at work.
I want to truly enjoy what I do and look forward to getting up everyday.
Oh, and be paid fairly. Which doesn't mean get rich (well - one day). I just want to be treated fairly. I wonder if I complain too much.
I am going to snuggle with the babies.
Happy Thoughts: Texas two weekends in a row with friends from work! Yes! AND I get to see my Dad this weekend. Score!
Monday, August 13, 2007
Too Much Driving!
but well worth it to get our babies!
For all of you that are asking, their breed is havanese.
Click here to check out the crazy trip we took - up to Sulphur Springs (near Dallas) to meet up with the puppies' breeders (they're from Oklahoma), to Austin to see Sheila and Justin, to Fredericksburg for a party (Justin's aunt's 50th) and to San Antonio for some rest!
Ruby and Eve got to meet Val! last night, after the usual dash of melodrama. She is thrilled about them and they are interested in her, which is a good sign.
We put dirt and grass in a box in the kitchen thinking they'd associate that with a potty. They associated it more with a play toy, so not only was poo poo and pee pee on the floor in the kitchen this morning - so was a load of dirt! But they seem to be adjusting really well, and Justin will have personal bonding time with them this evening, as I am going out with some Crewmembers for vino. ;)
For all of you that are asking, their breed is havanese.
Click here to check out the crazy trip we took - up to Sulphur Springs (near Dallas) to meet up with the puppies' breeders (they're from Oklahoma), to Austin to see Sheila and Justin, to Fredericksburg for a party (Justin's aunt's 50th) and to San Antonio for some rest!
Ruby and Eve got to meet Val! last night, after the usual dash of melodrama. She is thrilled about them and they are interested in her, which is a good sign.
We put dirt and grass in a box in the kitchen thinking they'd associate that with a potty. They associated it more with a play toy, so not only was poo poo and pee pee on the floor in the kitchen this morning - so was a load of dirt! But they seem to be adjusting really well, and Justin will have personal bonding time with them this evening, as I am going out with some Crewmembers for vino. ;)
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