A Little Snow Must Fall

View from an office window

Today started off great when I got out of work at 2pm because of the weather. I went to do some grocery shopping just in case the weather is worst tomorrow. I had to some supplies for tennis group's holiday party which in on Saturday. I am making chicken salad finger sandwiches, an angel food cake, dark chocolate syrup, and banana bread. I know it sounds like a lot, but I like to cook and I rarely get the chance to bake so I decided to go for it.

When I returned home I got my mail with my groceries in tow and I saw there was a letter from traffic court. Apparently, I missed a court date which I didn't know I had and I have until 12/5 before a warrant issue for my arrest. So ... I think I should get to traffic court tomorrow morning to get this settled.

After my accident I asked the State Trooper if there was anything I had to do, and he ignored my question. He never once mentioned that I had to attend a hearing regarding the accident. The ticket says that I received a warning, so why would I have to go to court? As I looked closer there was an appearance date on the very bottom of the "ticket" he gave me. Why wouldn't the Trooper tell me I had to go to court when I directly asked?

The courthouse opens tomorrow at 8am and I will be there at 7am in an effort to be first. I packed up all my documentation and made some notes so I can be clear and concise when I speak. I refuse to pay $269 for this.

Update:

I have a pre-trial court date set and I think I have a good chance to beating this ticket due to the conflicting information the Trooper gave me. I will talking to some lawyer friends and my sister who happens to be a Paralegal. This is my first brush with law, and I am kind of excited.

Janet - With U

When I lost my blog yesterday I ended up losing a very long tirade on why 20 Y.O. failed to connected to audiences. Basically what it boiled down to was there was way too much Jermaine Dupri on the album. I think that the album should have been solely produced by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis in a way that it would be a throwback to the Control album but updated. As a fan, 20 Y.O. is a good album, but it could have been so much better.

[source: Toya's World]
"With U" is one of my favorite tracks on the album and I have been playing it since I got my CD. This should have been the lead single instead of Call On Me. I would have had "Weekend" released as the first single but the idea was scrapped when all the fans tried to return this 'gift' for store credit. After listening to the album I see how it doesn't fit sonically.

"With U" is a perfect mix of JD and Jam & Lewis. It has the simple melody brought by JD with additional music and lush vocal production brought by Jam & Lewis. We will see if this single will connect more with an audience than the first two.

Cross your fingers.

IDIOT

I accidentally deleted my freaking blog now I have to start from scratch. No more posts until I can get my blog back to normal.

UPDATE:

I have managed to get mostly everything back to normal. I still have to tinker with some of the code to fix little glitches. This little mishap has taught to ALWAYS BACKUP MY TEMPLATE!!! The site will be given an over-haul for the new year but I wasn't planning on doing this much work on my blog until late December.

waiting for a sale (part 2)

i got in line at circuit city at 3:45 in the morning in the hopes of getting a cheap laptop. their were people with tents camped out in the front of the line. i called my sister in florida who was just leaving to hit the stores. silly girl. i would leave but i can not pass up cheap movies.update later ...

Update:

I got was in and out in 10 minutes. I didn't get a laptop but I got some cheap DVDs: Total Recall, The Sweetest Thing, Wimbeldon, Red Dragon, and Charlie's Angels 2 (it sucked but I have the first one and it only costed $3). I will not be doing Black Friday next year because it is too much work for very little payoff.

waiting for a sale (part 1)

right now i am in line at compUSA trying to get a new hard drive. i
seriously thought i would be the only in line but i was wrong. the
line is wrapped around the block. i got a certificate for a laptop but
i doubt that i will get it. updates later...

update:

I got my hard drives and I didn't have to choke anyone to get it. I will be doing the same tomorrow morning at 4am. I think I will get up and make it ... but I am not sure if I can do it. I will do a mobile post from the line if I go.

Television: Confession Tour - Live in London

[source: Madonna Tribe]
NBC has aired the show and I had to sit at home to watch it. I wanted to see in HD and I don't have an HD TiVo .... yet, so I endure all the commercials in between songs. I rarely watch live television so I forgotten how tedious commercials are.

The tour was filmed beautifully but there were too many MTV jumpcuts. I hate when shows are edited to appeal to those with ADD. I felt I was going to go into convulsions during the first 15 minutes with all the flashing go on. The audio seemed to be remixed because it sounded different than what was played live, but it was good.

The Good

"Let It Will Be" was the best edited song of the night. It is one of my favorites performances from the tour and I am glad it wasn't ruined.

The Bad

The show is two hours when performed live, so things were bound to get cut for time. What got cut:

• Like A Virgin (outro)
• Jump (Intro)
• SORRY REMIX (interlude)
• I knew this was going because it is VERY anti-Bush.
  
• Drowned World (Substitute For Love)
• Paradise (Not For Me)
• I was surprised to see this get cut because it is one of her better live performances from the tour.
  
• Lucky Star
• Shocked to see this get cut, mostly because the song flows into the finale song "Hung Up". There is an 1:30 second costume change into with good visuals, but it was all cut.
  

Final thoughts

Even with all of NBC's butchering it was still a good concert special. It should have aired on HBO or Showtime in order to avoid all the editing. The show will be shown all over the world and I am pretty sure they will all have different versions. It airs on Sunday in England, so I will have to download this version from the 'net to compare.

Movies: For Your Consideration, Casino Royale, Shut Up & Sing

Movies I saw this weekend:

For Your Consideration


This movie was a real letdown. I know it is supposed to be a dig on Hollywood's obsession with awards, but it just wasn't funny. I really loved Best in Show and it is hard to believe that was made by the same director. I ended up winning a signed poster from Popbytes.com, so I guess that's something.

Casino Royale


I seen GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World is Not Enough, and Die Another Day in the theaters but I am going to say this was the best Bond movie I have seen. And no, it is not because of the new Bond Daniel Craig. I am not a big fan of action movies but the first major action sequence was amazing. The parkour/free running stunts were just crazy. And besides the action sequences it was funny and dramatic. Daniel Craig was a great choice for the new Bond because he is a good actor. I think most people are going because they find Daniel Craig "hot" -- I went because the movie got glowing reviews -- but will get drawn into the film because it does have a bit of depth to it. I didn't know it was 2.5 hours long until I looked at my watch because it was really engrossing. If you haven't seen it already, check it out.

Shut Up & Sing


I am not a fan of the Dixie Chicks but I am a fan of documentaries. The documentary chronicles the fallout after lead singer Natalie Maines stated "...[she] was ashamed the president was from Texas" in 2003 and the making of their 2006 release Taking the Long Way. I heard about this when it happened but never heard out it played out. It was interesting to see how the band stuck together, and how the founding members (and sisters) Emily Robinson and Martie Maguire felt. They seem not to blame Natalie but it's hard to believe them, Martie in particular, when she is explaining how this group means everything to her. I wasn't a fan before, but I think I may pick up that latest album. FUTK, indeed.

My Car Hates Me

Yesterday while driving to tennis I noticed the strange noise coming from my tires. When I got to the courts I check my tires to check for a flat tire, but my tires seemed fine. I didn't think much about it and I was driving highway back home and I heard the noise again. I again check my tire when I got home and everything seemed okay.

I had fifteen minutes to take a shower and get dressed before heading the movies to see For Your Consideration. The movies wasn't all that great and I headed home and I didn't hear that noise.

This morning, I was making Cream of Wheat in my boxers when I heard a knock at the door. I threw on a pair of shorts before opening the door. It was my neighbor coming to tell me that my driver-side rear tire as flat. Great. At least this gave me some sort of validation that I wasn't crazy and there was something wrong with my car. I was going to attempt to change the tire myself but I never done it before. I was going to get my oil change today at Kwik Kar a few blocks away, so I will have them change the tire as well. I am due for a fluid changes as well so I will have them do all that as well.

They have wireless Internet so I will able to keep myself busy.

**update: after $200 in servicing, my tire has been fixed and my car is running like the day I purchased it.

Viewing Habits: 11/17 Update

New show


Dexter (Showtime) - I saw this show mentioned on one of the blogs I read but I didn't know much about it. Michael C. Hall, from the former HBO series Six Feet Under, plays Dexter who works as a Blood Spatter Analyst for the Miami Police Department but he has a secret ... he is a serial killer. The series is base on novels written by Jeff Lindsay (Darkly Dreaming Dexter, Dearly Devoted Dexter). I watched the last seven episodes on in two days and I am hooked.

Old show


Lost (ABC) - I am just tired of all of the flashback exposition and lack of plot. The show was awesome the first season, good in the second, and 'eh' in the third. I missed the last two episodes ... and I am fine with not knowing what's happening on the island. The TiVo Season Pass has been revoked.

Ready To Launch: Playstation 3

Tomorrow is the official launch of the new Playstation 3 console in the US. I am thinking about waiting in line tonight in order to get one. I don't really want it, but it would definitely resell it on Ebay to make a profit. I have a half day at work tomorrow so I could do it.

But do I really want to wait out in the cold for something I really don't want?

Crashing

Before I went to Houston last week -- I can't believe a week has already passed -- I shutdown my computer. I usually never shutdown my computer but since I was going to be away for an extended period of time, I thought it would be best to turn it off. When I got back home I tried to boot up my computer but it wouldn't start.

I repeatedly turned it on and off ... nothing. I finally took the components out and reseated them in their proper place and the computer began working. Everything was fine until yesterday when high winds caused a power outage. I have 2 80 gigabyte SATA hard drives in a RAID 0 configuration. One hard drive is working fine and the other is beginning to fail. This worries me because I have a lot of data stored on these drives. First thing I will do is to use Norton Ghost to backup all my drives so I will not lose my data. Then I will need to leave the computer off until I get replacement hard drives.

CompUSA is have a Thanksgiving sale next week on Seagate 160GB SATA drives for $19.99. I think they are opening early so I will have to get there at least 1 hour before they open so I can get at least 3. Hopefully, I will be able to get these so I can get my computer back up and running.

Update to follow.

Houston: Day 2

Outfit du Jour


I lost my singles consolation match in a tie-break 7 (5) - 8 (7). I should have won this freaking match but I got nervous and lost the match. I was up 7-4 on serve and I was not able to close out the match. I lost the next three games and ended up losing the match. I suck!

I lost my 3rd round doubles match 3-6, 6-3, 4-6.

I am done with tennis in Houston and I didn't win anything. I have to do some serious training to do before my next GLTA tournament in Austin. I need to get some more tournament experience and get thee to the gym.

It's 3AM ...

[i am too tired to spell and grammar check]

I just got home from clubbing with some friends. I knew I shouldn't have gone, but I just love punishing myself. I will have to post about my tournament results tomorrow when I get back to Dallas, but I have something other stuff I would like to talk about.

A group of use when out around 10pm down to the gay area in Houston. I went knowing that a group of my friends were going and Dr. Rx was going as well. You know I should be over him by know, but he was look damn good tonight. The first stop was JR's where we a couple of drinks (water for me) and just had a good time conversing and hanging out. We were there for an hour or so when a friend mine asked me what kind of guy I went when he couldn't peg my 'type'. After going to a series of guys in the club, he asked if Dr. Rx is someone I would interested in. I was hesitant to answer but I said yes. There was someone how agree that Dr. Rx is someone they would be interested in, let call Youngin'. I sort of gave Youngin' a territorial stare but he proceeded to go on an on about how good looking Dr. Rx is. From that point thing just got more interesting.

We finished up our drinks and then headed to a dance club called South Beach. After queuing for about 10 minutes we get in, to the bar, and take a lap before committing to a location. Dr. Rx and I were sort of getting close but I backed off because I didn't want anything to happen while he had a few drinks. I step away to talk to some other people and Youngin' swooped in and starting getting close with him. I wasn't sure what was going to on but I decided to observe. They went back to the bar to refresh their drinks and Youngin' had his hands on Dr. Rx's ass. I pointed this out to a friend and we just gave each other the "WTF" look and followed them to the bar to investigate.

We found them at the bar and Youngin' gave use the "why are here?" look. We got our drinks and head back to our location while Youngin' and Dr. Rx found a corner to get close. A few minutes go by and Youngin' leads my guy to the dance floor holding hands. At the point I am not really feeling anything regarding the situation -- I guess I was kinda of numb. I guess was trying to keep things together I didn't let anyone know that it bothered me. I am not really good at hide my face reactions so it was probably written all over my face. At this point I as ready to go but the Dr. Rx was driving, so it was good that I got a call from one of the other passengers saying they were ready to go as well.

I went to dance floor to collect the people in our group and gave my "let's wrap this shit up" gesture. We all made our way to the exit except for Youngin' and Dr. Rx. 30 minutes later they finally come out. I not really paying any attention to them but I see that Dr. Rx is giving me a look that he messed up. I was avoiding eye contact with him because I didn't want to add any more drama to the evening. When Youngin' started to stroke his back he moved totally out of reach and sort of avoided him while I was there. We get into the car and at this point I am not happy. Youngin' is stroking Dr. Rx. thigh while I sit in the back of them witnessing. But still there is no reciprocation from Dr. Rx. Maybe he sobered up a bit to realize what was happening. People stop to get fast food and an hour later we finally got back to the hotel. In that whole hour I only said "nothing for me, thank you" when asked if I wanted any food.

I am not mad at Youngin'. Actually, I have admiration and a bit of jealousy toward him. He saw what he wanted and went for it and that is something I could never do. He doesn't know about Dr. Rx and I so I won't hold him accountable for anything. What gets me down is that Dr. Rx knows how I feel, yet disregarded how I might have felt watching how everything went down. I was too young for him, yet Youngin' is 6 years younger than I am but that perfectly fine with him. It just frustrates me.

I will see if there is any kind of mea culpa tomorrow, but I don't see this happening. There are two people who knows my situation with Dr. Rx. He was at the club with me and shares a room with him.

Okay ... it is 4am CST and I am going to bed.

Houston: Day 1

Outfit du Jour


I lost my first singles match 4-6, 5-7. my doubles match is in an hour.

update:

My partner and I won our doubles match 6-3, 6-1 and we are now in the third round. Yay!

In Houston

I am leeching an Internet connection from my phone, so I am going to make this brief. There was a lot of drama today during the trip down from Dallas. I don't play tomorrow until 11am so I will try to do mobile post with the match results.

Wish me luck!

Houston Trip To-Dos

Tonight I will have to start packing for my Houston trip. I really hate this process because there is too much planning, and I am lazy.

So I've decided that for this trip I will compile a list of things I need in order to avoid leaving something crucial behind. The first thing on the list: TENNIS RACKETS!! I know it would be incredible stupid to forget something like this, but I have moment of stupidity.

For instance, yesterday I brought my backpack to work containing my clothes for tennis and I forgot to pack my shorts. Luckily there is a Sports Authority right across the street from my office and I was able to get a new pair. I needed to get a pair of blue tennis shorts anyway, so it all worked out. Also, I have a tendency to over-pack. I will pack like 10 pairs of underwear and 12 pairs of socks for a 3 day trip. Like my mom always said,

"You can never have too many pairs of socks and underwear."

Then I start to pack my "what if" clothing for events that most likely won't happen. Examples: what if I fall down in the mud?; what if I need to go to a rodeo?, etc ... So all those clothes will be added to the pile of socks and underwear. I am going to try to streamline my packing process and pack as light as possible.

Houston Itinerary

I am leaving Dallas along with 2 other cars tomorrow around 10am. We are going to try to remain as close as possible on the road and meet up for lunch in somewhere in the middle.

While in Houston I am tentatively planning on doing the following: binge at on Greek food at Niko Nikos, go to Lot 8 (the store owned by Project Runway 2 winner, Chloe Dao), go shopping at the Galleria Mall (conveniently connected to my hotel), see Shut Up & Sing, and ... oh yeah, win the tournament.

There are a group of Dallas people going so we will all be in touch and make plans other activities.

I am off to make my list. Should the first item on my list be 'make list'?

Unknown Caller

I got a call yesterday on my cell from a local number I didn't recognize. I was awaiting a call regarding my car so I answered the phone.

The person addressed me by first name, but I had no idea who was on the other end. They told me their name but I was drawing a blank. Finally, I had to ask who the hell I was talking. Then it finally clicked.

I knew who the person was but I never actually talked to them on the phone. It was a friend of a friend who I went out to dinner and movie a couple weeks ago. He was asking if I was free for dinner, but I wasn't because I had too much to do at home (I haven't done laundry in weeks and need to with my trip to Houston on Thursday). We chatted for a bit and I before I hung up I ended in his information on my phone so if he ever called again I would know with who I am speaking.

This is why I don't usually pick up my phone when I don't recognize a number. Next time, the caller is going to voice mail.