If you've been following our blog you know that I'm a member of the cast of the show Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, which we (the thespians of the First Colony Church of Christ) will be performing on the Saturday and Sunday evenings of the last weekend of September and the first weekend of October. We had rehearsal last night until 10:30 and a group of us spent all day today building some fairly elaborate props for the show. Although we're a bunch of amateurs (some more than others) it looks like things are really starting to come together in rehearsals and this show should be a lot of fun. We (the cast) are all committed to showing up for every show, but in order for the show to be considered a success it is essential that an audience show up also. So, if you're in town on either of our performance weekends I would consider it a personal favor if you'd consider showing up to cheer us on. I may have mentioned this, but I actually have the lead in one of the scenes, which includes a four-minute solo, and my performance alone will be worth be the price of admission. Speaking of the price of admission, tickets are $8, $10, and $12 and there isn't a bad seat in the house in our new auditorium. And, if you buy a ticket and you don't love the show I will personally refund the price of your ticket. This is a bold commitment from someone who doesn't even have a job.
You can buy tickets on any Sunday morning at the First Colony Church of Christ. While you're there you may as well stick around for church. Or, you can buy general admission tickets online at www.firstcolonychurch.org. Click on "Resources" and then "Event Calendar". There is a $1 per ticket service charge of online tickets.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
Today, a Texas History Lesson and a Word About Volumizer
Vicki and I drove up to Round Rock on Thursday for a quick visit with Bethany and Cody. In addition to just wanting to spend some time with the semi-newly-weds, we also took them a chair and ottoman that formerly resided in our den until it was replaced by the new furniture that arrived this past Tuesday. [I'll discuss the fascinating details of the new furniture once Vicki picks out the rug that will "tie it all together." You won't want to miss that.] We went out to dinner at a place called Z Tejas. I'm sure that there's some historic significance to the name, but I forgot to ask what it was. The food was good, but not great. I'd give the place about a seven on a ten-point scale. After dinner we watched ACU whip up on Northwest Missouri State.
I have a few things to report on the job front. I mentioned a week or so ago that I was working on the possibility of an interview for the Benefits Director of a large Houston hospital chain. The VP of HR there is planning to retire in two years and they are looking to hire someone to work their way into her job. My recruiter did his best to get me an interview, but was finally told that they were looking for someone who could take over in two years, not someone who could take over right now. Hmmm. On a more positive note, I heard from a friend who works for one of the big HR consulting firms about a company that is moving it's corporate headquarters from Pennsylvania to Houston, and is looking to hire someone locally to be their Benefit Director. This is a pipeline company, which could be good for me given that I spent almost fifteen years in a past life with Transco, which was at one time one of the largest pipeline operators in the United States. I'm having lunch with my consultant friend on Tuesday to discuss the possible opportunity. I'll keep you posted.
This morning I had an interesting experience in the shower (no visualizations, please). Upon entering the shower I noticed that there was not a bar of soap to be found. I remembered that Bethany mentioned that there was a large plastic bottle of body wash instead of soap. Unfortunately for me there were actually eight large plastic bottles in the shower, which wouldn't pose much of a problem for a sighted person, but for a person such as myself with 20-1,000,000 vision and no glasses it brought about a slight problem. Try as I might I could not definitively make out what any of the bottles said. The first one I tried left me feeling as if I had rubbed butter all over myself, which I decided wasn't a good thing. So, I did my best to find another bottle that would produce a better outcome. This one smelled like coconuts and also left me feeling a little slimy. After my shower I returned with my glasses to determined exactly what I had bathed in. I discovered that by first coat was conditioner, and my second was volumizer. I thought I looked like I had a little more volume after my shower.
Have you ever wondered how the city of Round Rock got its name? I'm sure many of you have laid awake many a night pondering this very question. Well, you're in luck because I'm going to let you in on the secret of the Round Rock name. In the middle of Brushy Creek (that's really the name of the creek), at a spot where wagons used to ford the creek back in the 1800's before there was a bridge, is a round rock that marked the low water point of the creek. No kidding, there is actually a rock that is almost round. Not round like a ball, but round like a circle. It seems that when the time came to assign a name to the newly established post office, the newly named postmaster was a local boy who had fished from the round rock as a lad, and based on his fond memories of all the fish he caught he more or less forced the residents to abandon the name Brushy Creek in favor of Round Rock. Vicki and Bethany are pictured on the bridge near the famous round rock of Round Rock.
For breakfast on Friday morning Bethany took us to the "World Famous Round Rock Donuts" which is a bakery that has been in operation in Round Rock since 1923 (I think). We showed up around 9:00, and unlike most donuts shops that are deserted after the "pick up some donuts on the way to work crowd" has come by, this place was hoppin'. There was a long line at the drive-thru and another line inside. As first-time guests (Bethany lied) we were each given a complimentary donut to munch on while we decided what to order. We ordered an assortment and opted to enjoy our delicious junk food in the ambiance of a concrete table about four feet from the street in the blazing sun. If you're ever in Round Rock you need to definitely stop by this place. They're open until 9:00 p.m. I considered buying one of their tee shirts, but the cowboy riding the donut wasn't really happening for me (see picture of authentic Styrofoam cup below).
After the donut feast Vicki and Bethany dropped me off at the Texas State History Museum in downtown Austin. With the exception of Ellis Island, this is probably the best museum in the world, especially for a Texan. This was actually the second time I've visited there in the last few months. The first time I was accompanied by Bethany and Vicki and I didn't quite make it all the way through the museum before they were ready to leave. I would highly recommend a day-long visit for any true Texan (such as myself) who has a desire to learn and know as much as possible about our great and beloved state. I suggest allotting at least seven hours to get through the museum, unless you're a luke-warm run-of-the-mill Texan (like Vicki and Bethany), and then you should plan on about 45 minutes to blow through on your way to the gift shop and then the snack bar (I hear they have Blue Bell). My favorite exhibit was an audio rendition of a letter written by a little girl whose pet turkey - which she "loved as much as any boy loves his dog" - was commandeered for a banquet honoring the Confederate soldiers from her home town who were home on leave. In her letter she expressed her wish that the soldier who ate her turkey would choke to death on a bone, or evading that fate, would be stabbed to death with a Yankee's bayonet. She admitted that her attitude was "not very kind and certainly not very patriotic."
After the donut feast Vicki and Bethany dropped me off at the Texas State History Museum in downtown Austin. With the exception of Ellis Island, this is probably the best museum in the world, especially for a Texan. This was actually the second time I've visited there in the last few months. The first time I was accompanied by Bethany and Vicki and I didn't quite make it all the way through the museum before they were ready to leave. I would highly recommend a day-long visit for any true Texan (such as myself) who has a desire to learn and know as much as possible about our great and beloved state. I suggest allotting at least seven hours to get through the museum, unless you're a luke-warm run-of-the-mill Texan (like Vicki and Bethany), and then you should plan on about 45 minutes to blow through on your way to the gift shop and then the snack bar (I hear they have Blue Bell). My favorite exhibit was an audio rendition of a letter written by a little girl whose pet turkey - which she "loved as much as any boy loves his dog" - was commandeered for a banquet honoring the Confederate soldiers from her home town who were home on leave. In her letter she expressed her wish that the soldier who ate her turkey would choke to death on a bone, or evading that fate, would be stabbed to death with a Yankee's bayonet. She admitted that her attitude was "not very kind and certainly not very patriotic." 
I have a few things to report on the job front. I mentioned a week or so ago that I was working on the possibility of an interview for the Benefits Director of a large Houston hospital chain. The VP of HR there is planning to retire in two years and they are looking to hire someone to work their way into her job. My recruiter did his best to get me an interview, but was finally told that they were looking for someone who could take over in two years, not someone who could take over right now. Hmmm. On a more positive note, I heard from a friend who works for one of the big HR consulting firms about a company that is moving it's corporate headquarters from Pennsylvania to Houston, and is looking to hire someone locally to be their Benefit Director. This is a pipeline company, which could be good for me given that I spent almost fifteen years in a past life with Transco, which was at one time one of the largest pipeline operators in the United States. I'm having lunch with my consultant friend on Tuesday to discuss the possible opportunity. I'll keep you posted.Monday, August 24, 2009
A Chariot, A Museum, and A Book Review
This afternoon I finished the Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat chariot. Well, I almost finished it. There are still a few minor paint-related details to take care of, but basically it's finished. I decided to go with a modified version of the Superman logo, replacing the "S" with a "J" (for Joseph, get it?). I also added eleven stars, representing one of the dreams Joseph had regarding his brothers becoming subservient to him. I hope Director Pam likes the finished product, especially the license plate.
The story of Joseph and his eleven brothers is found in Genesis chapters 37 through 46.
I need to update my last post. I failed to mention the final event of Kayla's "Week of Fun" schedule. In addition to breakfast at the Breakfast Klub last Friday, we also visited the Holocaust Museum. Now, visiting this museum isn't exactly what anyone would can fun, but it is a very interesting place, and well worth a visit by anyone who's interest in 20th century history. The museum is in the Museum District (who would have guessed) but it's a little difficult to find. Our GPS actually gave the wrong address, so unless you enjoy driving around taking in the sights while you're lost you might want to call for directions before you go. If you go make sure you visit the exhibit on "Muslims Who Saved Jews" which is in a hall off the main exhibit area. The exhibit consists of photographs and stories of Albanian Muslims who sheltered Jews during World War II. The stories are interesting in that they all have a central theme with very similar quotes by the Muslim protectors, which was "We are all children of the same God. To allow any of God's children to die at the hands of the Nazis would be a sin against God." I wonder if contemporary Albanian Muslims continue to feel this way?
One of the nice things about not having to go to work every day (or any day for that matter) is that I have gotten to actually read a few books this summer. Last week I finished an interesting sports books titled Horns, Hogs, & Nixon Coming (Texas vs. Arkansas in Dixie's Last Stand). The book is about the 1969 football "Game of the Century" between the University of Texas and the University of Arkansas. In addition to the expected heavy dose of football, the book details the strife and tension that existed on both campuses over the war in Viet Nam and the continuing racial segregation that continued to exist in the football programs of both schools. Horns fans will find a happy ending.
As my unemployment continues I run into more and more people who ask me "Don't you get bored not going to work? What do you do all day?" I've given those questions some thought and come to the realization that with the exception of a few days, I haven't really had time to be bored. I've put together a list of the things I've been doing since my first day of unemployment, which occurred on April 20th. Since that date there have been 89 official work days. During those 89 days I have done the following -
Vacation Trip to Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Sedona, Carlsbad Caverns - 10 days
Vacation Trip to Colorado - 5 days
Kadesh Leadership at Abilene Christian University (Group Leader) - 5 days
Camp Bandina (Group Leader) - 5 days
Installed low-voltage accent lights around the house (very exciting) - 1 day
Installed two new toilets (extremely exciting) - 1 day
Volunteer at Second Mile Mission (every Thursday) - 8 days
Research and write FCCC adult curriculum of Fall session of adult Bible classes - 7 days
Assist FCCC member with household repairs - 3 days
Build Joseph show chariot - 3 days
Read two books - 3 days
Install wall brackets and flat screen TV's in class room at the FCCC church building - 1 day
Visit Bethany and Cody in Austin - 1 day
Played golf - 1 day
That comes to 54 days of doing things I can definitely identify. In addition, I have cleaned the house a few times, done some yard work, gone shopping with Vicki a few times, and spent a lot of hours at Joseph rehearsals. So, I've had a few boring stretches, but not many.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Summer Is Officially Over
Today is the last day of summer. School starts tomorrow, rush hour traffic returns (an unpleasant thing for those of you who work), and Kayla and Lance have moved out and gone back to Lubbock. We're going to miss Kayla and Lance. Kayla was a little nostalgic about leaving, but Lance didn't seem quite too choked up. Don't get me wrong, I think he enjoyed his summer visit and he was appreciative of the free rent and free food, but after almost three months of living with the in-laws who wouldn't be ready to get away?
This past Thursday I returned to Second Mile after a two-week hiatus for Camp Bandina and Colorado. I spent a little time in the warehouse, but I worked the majority of the day in the food pantry, working under the direction of Penny, the food pantry supervisor. Apparently after spending several months laboring in obscurity with the community service kids someone thought I was ready to actually deal with the real people up front. I thought the warehouse was an honest day's work, but it's nothing compared to the pantry. From 9:00 AM until 5:00 PM this place is non-stop activity serving the clients who come for groceries. Penny had one community service kid, one very slow-moving volunteer, and me, and she had all of us stepping and fetching all day. My primary job was restocking the pantry shelves, which involved going back and forth between the pantry and the warehouse to find and retrieve whatever was running low. My secondary job was pushing each client's shopping cart of groceries out to their car and loading it into their trunk or back seat. One lady in particular really stood out. She was not the typical client. Please excuse my racial profiling, but she was not Hispanic, Middle Eastern, or Black. She was dressed nicely in clean clothes, she spoke perfect English, and she was driving an almost new Lincoln Navigator. I don't know her story, but things must be getting to the breaking point for someone like her to show up asking for free food. I spent a few seconds wondering how many other middle class white people will be in her shoes soon.
Back to Penny. This lady is absolutely on fire for the Lord. She's the kind of Christian who makes you feel embarrassed that you're so reserved about your faith. She told me that she was a former barmaid and bartender, and that she "was about as wild and crazy as they come." She grew up in the Church of Christ and had parents that loved her and cared about her and raised her to be a Christian, but she just wasn't buying what they were selling. At some point her lifestyle bottomed out and she realized that her only hope was in Jesus. Now she listens to KHCB at full volume, says "praise Jesus" at least ten times every hour, says "God bless you" to every client she meets, and tells the community service kids that they should give church a try. On top of all this, she has an endless supply of energy and works as hard as anyone I've ever seen. I'm really hoping to get put back in the warehouse next week where I can sweat in obscurity at my own pace.
As part of Kayla's "Week of Fun" we spent Friday checking off the last two things on her list. First, we went to breakfast at The Breakfast Klub, which is a dive (but a nice dive) near downtown on Travis. If you've ever driven downtown on a Saturday morning you may have noticed this place because it always has a line out the door and around the block. We decided that a Friday morning probably wouldn't be too crowded. There was a good crowd, but no waiting. Although ours were the whitest faces in the crowd, it was a fun experience. The staff was incredibly friendly, the food was good, and the portions were gargantuan. The only negative aspect of the morning was being surrounded by Obama pictures on all sides. Maybe that's why I couldn't finish all of my pancakes?
I spent most of the day yesterday putting the finishing touches on my chariot for the Joseph show (see prior post from about a month ago). I've designed a modified Superman logo as the primary decorative feature of the chariot. I'll post a picture of the finished product soon! Don't miss it!
Speaking of the Joseph show, I'm starting to get a little concerned. The show is now just a month away and we (the cast) are not even close to being ready. Our biggest obstacle has been getting everyone at rehearsals. I'm hoping that now that summer is over everyone will be back in town and ready to focus on the show. At least the chariot will be ready.
This past Thursday I returned to Second Mile after a two-week hiatus for Camp Bandina and Colorado. I spent a little time in the warehouse, but I worked the majority of the day in the food pantry, working under the direction of Penny, the food pantry supervisor. Apparently after spending several months laboring in obscurity with the community service kids someone thought I was ready to actually deal with the real people up front. I thought the warehouse was an honest day's work, but it's nothing compared to the pantry. From 9:00 AM until 5:00 PM this place is non-stop activity serving the clients who come for groceries. Penny had one community service kid, one very slow-moving volunteer, and me, and she had all of us stepping and fetching all day. My primary job was restocking the pantry shelves, which involved going back and forth between the pantry and the warehouse to find and retrieve whatever was running low. My secondary job was pushing each client's shopping cart of groceries out to their car and loading it into their trunk or back seat. One lady in particular really stood out. She was not the typical client. Please excuse my racial profiling, but she was not Hispanic, Middle Eastern, or Black. She was dressed nicely in clean clothes, she spoke perfect English, and she was driving an almost new Lincoln Navigator. I don't know her story, but things must be getting to the breaking point for someone like her to show up asking for free food. I spent a few seconds wondering how many other middle class white people will be in her shoes soon.
Back to Penny. This lady is absolutely on fire for the Lord. She's the kind of Christian who makes you feel embarrassed that you're so reserved about your faith. She told me that she was a former barmaid and bartender, and that she "was about as wild and crazy as they come." She grew up in the Church of Christ and had parents that loved her and cared about her and raised her to be a Christian, but she just wasn't buying what they were selling. At some point her lifestyle bottomed out and she realized that her only hope was in Jesus. Now she listens to KHCB at full volume, says "praise Jesus" at least ten times every hour, says "God bless you" to every client she meets, and tells the community service kids that they should give church a try. On top of all this, she has an endless supply of energy and works as hard as anyone I've ever seen. I'm really hoping to get put back in the warehouse next week where I can sweat in obscurity at my own pace.
As part of Kayla's "Week of Fun" we spent Friday checking off the last two things on her list. First, we went to breakfast at The Breakfast Klub, which is a dive (but a nice dive) near downtown on Travis. If you've ever driven downtown on a Saturday morning you may have noticed this place because it always has a line out the door and around the block. We decided that a Friday morning probably wouldn't be too crowded. There was a good crowd, but no waiting. Although ours were the whitest faces in the crowd, it was a fun experience. The staff was incredibly friendly, the food was good, and the portions were gargantuan. The only negative aspect of the morning was being surrounded by Obama pictures on all sides. Maybe that's why I couldn't finish all of my pancakes?
I spent most of the day yesterday putting the finishing touches on my chariot for the Joseph show (see prior post from about a month ago). I've designed a modified Superman logo as the primary decorative feature of the chariot. I'll post a picture of the finished product soon! Don't miss it!
Speaking of the Joseph show, I'm starting to get a little concerned. The show is now just a month away and we (the cast) are not even close to being ready. Our biggest obstacle has been getting everyone at rehearsals. I'm hoping that now that summer is over everyone will be back in town and ready to focus on the show. At least the chariot will be ready.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Odds and Ends
Okay, Camp Bandina and the Colorado vacation are now in the past. It's time to get back into the daily routine - whatever that is.
This is the last week for Kayla and Lance to be with us. They'll be heading back to Lubbock and Texas Tech this Saturday. It was fun having them here for the last few months and we'll sure miss them. I think it was a productive summer for both of them. Kayla picked up some good experience during her externship and Lance had the opportunity to make some money working for Jeff Simmons. I understand that they'll be back to attend the Joseph show the first weekend in October, and we'll also see them at a wedding in Dallas the following weekend.
Over the last few days I've had some good conversations with Thom Besso and his group regarding a Benefits Director position with a major hospital organization in Houston. I'm hoping to find out about an interview in the next few days.
This morning I put the finishing touches on my Life of Joseph curriculum for the Sunday morning adult Bible classes at FCCC. As I mentioned before, this will be a five week series of lessons - starting September 13th - that will cover chapters 15 through 50 of Genesis. I'm looking forward to teaching again.
Vicki is very excited about the sudden progress of her home redecorating project. This morning she brought home the new bedding - comforter, pillows, etc. - for the master bedroom. The new couch and love seat are also in, and will be delivered next week after the painters are finished with the master bedroom, the master bath, and the study. In addition, the fabric for recovering two of the living room chairs also arrived today. We still need to make some decisions on some new rugs, which will certainly be the most difficult part of the entire process. The last time we bought rugs we made at least three trips between the rug place and home with every rug, and those rugs are heavy! It's one thing to pick out furniture (which is easy) and another thing to find the perfect rug to match that furniture.
I'll finish with a short rant and then a movie review.
My rant involves people who smoke while being eligible for food stamps. On our trip to Colorado we frequented the Westcliffe Super Market on several occasions. During one of our visits we got stuck in a check out line behind two women who were paying for their purchases using a combination of food stamps, cash, and personal checks. I'm not exaggerating when I say that it took them at least fifteen minutes to check out. This would have annoyed me under the best of circumstances, but on this particular trip I had a case of altitude sickness and the accompanying headache, dizziness, etc. When we finally made it out of the store into the parking lot there were the food stamp ladies sitting on the hood of their pickup truck smoking cigarettes. Is it just me, or does it seem that people who can afford to spend $6.00 for a pack of cigarettes shouldn't be getting free groceries that you and I are paying for? I think part of Mr. Obama's health care reform should include mandatory nicotine testing for food stamp recipients.
And now, my movie review. Yesterday Kayla, Lance, Vicki and I went to see the movie The Time Traveler's Wife. Kayla assured us that this movie was "appropriate for all genders", meaning that it was not a chick-flick. This is a movie about a guy who is afflicted with a genetic disorder that causes him to make random trips through time. His time travel gene acts up whenever it feels like it, and he never knows when he'll disappear, or for how long. An interesting twist (not really) is that when he travels his clothes stay behind, which only makes sense when you think about it. Clothes cannot have genetic disorders. This story would have made a good episode on a sixty minute installment of the Twilight Zone but it definitely was not enough to carry an entire feature length movie. Also, I'm not too sure about the "gender appropriate" thing. It definitely bordered on chick-flickedness.
The remainder of this week will be dedicated to Kayla. She is done with her externship and will be using the rest of this week to have as much fun as possible before they go back to Lubbock. Lance, on the other hand, will be using the rest of this week to make as much money as possible before they go back to Lubbock. I noticed earlier today that Kayla has actually written up a schedule for the week, appropriately named the "Week of Fun Schedule" (not a joke). Today was "movie and hang out at home", tomorrow is "chill at home in the morning and go to the Galleria in the evening", and Wednesday is "Breakfast Klub [a downtown breakfast dive] and George Ranch", etc., etc. for Thursday and Friday. Have fun at work Lance.
This is the last week for Kayla and Lance to be with us. They'll be heading back to Lubbock and Texas Tech this Saturday. It was fun having them here for the last few months and we'll sure miss them. I think it was a productive summer for both of them. Kayla picked up some good experience during her externship and Lance had the opportunity to make some money working for Jeff Simmons. I understand that they'll be back to attend the Joseph show the first weekend in October, and we'll also see them at a wedding in Dallas the following weekend.
Over the last few days I've had some good conversations with Thom Besso and his group regarding a Benefits Director position with a major hospital organization in Houston. I'm hoping to find out about an interview in the next few days.
This morning I put the finishing touches on my Life of Joseph curriculum for the Sunday morning adult Bible classes at FCCC. As I mentioned before, this will be a five week series of lessons - starting September 13th - that will cover chapters 15 through 50 of Genesis. I'm looking forward to teaching again.
Vicki is very excited about the sudden progress of her home redecorating project. This morning she brought home the new bedding - comforter, pillows, etc. - for the master bedroom. The new couch and love seat are also in, and will be delivered next week after the painters are finished with the master bedroom, the master bath, and the study. In addition, the fabric for recovering two of the living room chairs also arrived today. We still need to make some decisions on some new rugs, which will certainly be the most difficult part of the entire process. The last time we bought rugs we made at least three trips between the rug place and home with every rug, and those rugs are heavy! It's one thing to pick out furniture (which is easy) and another thing to find the perfect rug to match that furniture.
I'll finish with a short rant and then a movie review.
My rant involves people who smoke while being eligible for food stamps. On our trip to Colorado we frequented the Westcliffe Super Market on several occasions. During one of our visits we got stuck in a check out line behind two women who were paying for their purchases using a combination of food stamps, cash, and personal checks. I'm not exaggerating when I say that it took them at least fifteen minutes to check out. This would have annoyed me under the best of circumstances, but on this particular trip I had a case of altitude sickness and the accompanying headache, dizziness, etc. When we finally made it out of the store into the parking lot there were the food stamp ladies sitting on the hood of their pickup truck smoking cigarettes. Is it just me, or does it seem that people who can afford to spend $6.00 for a pack of cigarettes shouldn't be getting free groceries that you and I are paying for? I think part of Mr. Obama's health care reform should include mandatory nicotine testing for food stamp recipients.
And now, my movie review. Yesterday Kayla, Lance, Vicki and I went to see the movie The Time Traveler's Wife. Kayla assured us that this movie was "appropriate for all genders", meaning that it was not a chick-flick. This is a movie about a guy who is afflicted with a genetic disorder that causes him to make random trips through time. His time travel gene acts up whenever it feels like it, and he never knows when he'll disappear, or for how long. An interesting twist (not really) is that when he travels his clothes stay behind, which only makes sense when you think about it. Clothes cannot have genetic disorders. This story would have made a good episode on a sixty minute installment of the Twilight Zone but it definitely was not enough to carry an entire feature length movie. Also, I'm not too sure about the "gender appropriate" thing. It definitely bordered on chick-flickedness.
The remainder of this week will be dedicated to Kayla. She is done with her externship and will be using the rest of this week to have as much fun as possible before they go back to Lubbock. Lance, on the other hand, will be using the rest of this week to make as much money as possible before they go back to Lubbock. I noticed earlier today that Kayla has actually written up a schedule for the week, appropriately named the "Week of Fun Schedule" (not a joke). Today was "movie and hang out at home", tomorrow is "chill at home in the morning and go to the Galleria in the evening", and Wednesday is "Breakfast Klub [a downtown breakfast dive] and George Ranch", etc., etc. for Thursday and Friday. Have fun at work Lance.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
At Last! I Am a Trout Fisherman
Today was a big day for me! After three days of trying I finally caught at trout! A rainbow trout. Two of them, actually, but one was about the size of a pickle so I threw him back. The keeper I gave to a guy from the Denver area (I didn't catch his name) who gave me some instructions on how to catch a fish. He had already caught about ten fish by the time I asked him for some pointers. With my 5:43 deadline rapidly approaching the pressure was on and I rose to the challenge.
Earlier in the day Vicki and I went for our final foray into nature and took one last hike to the top of a small mountain. We hiked along the ridge until we came to an outcropping of rock that overlooked Lake Isabel (the site of my famous fish encounter a few hours later).
Today was our last day in Colorado and we had a great time. We leave for Sugar Land tomorrow morning bright and early after one last stop to visit our new best friends at the Amish Bakery downtown. Greg, if you're reading this - thanks for letting us hang out at your new crib for a few days. It was awesome.
After three days of trying I finally hauled in this behemoth. 
My second catch was actually legal size. 
Vicki at the summit overlooking her favorite lake - full of childhood memories.
Earlier in the day Vicki and I went for our final foray into nature and took one last hike to the top of a small mountain. We hiked along the ridge until we came to an outcropping of rock that overlooked Lake Isabel (the site of my famous fish encounter a few hours later).
Today was our last day in Colorado and we had a great time. We leave for Sugar Land tomorrow morning bright and early after one last stop to visit our new best friends at the Amish Bakery downtown. Greg, if you're reading this - thanks for letting us hang out at your new crib for a few days. It was awesome.
After three days of trying I finally hauled in this behemoth.
My second catch was actually legal size.
Vicki at the summit overlooking her favorite lake - full of childhood memories.
Yesterday We Got Gorged
This is Thursday morning, the last day of our Colorado vacation. Tomorrow we make our return trip to the blast furnace that we affectionately call Sugar Land, Texas.
I'm not sure what we have planned for today, but there has already been some real excitement! As I was sitting down to type up this installment of "The Hood" I heard some clomping sounds coming from the back patio. I turned around to see six cows staring at me through the patio windows, their noses pressed against the windows, smearing cow snot across them as they moved their heads from side to side. Greg warned us that in spite of the low voltage electric fence surrounding the house that this would probably happen. I went out and ran the cows off, resorting to throwing a few rocks at them to get the last of them to leave. I discovered that cows apparently don't really care much about being shocked by an electric fence, as evidenced by the fact that they walked right over it on their way off the property. I also discovered, however, that they do apparently mind being hit in the head with a rock the size of a baseball. Keep this in mind the next time you are shooing electricity resistant cows.
Yesterday we spent most of the day at the Royal Gorge, which is about an hour's drive from here. For those of you who don't know, the Royal Gorge is the site of the world's highest suspension bridge, which sways (literally) 1,053 feet above the surging Arkansas River. Vicki and I had been there back in 1986, and we couldn't believe how much things there have changed. Back in the day you drove up to the bridge, paid a few bucks to drive across, drove across, did a u-turn and drove back, and then left. If you so desired there was the option to buy a ticket for the tram ride across the abyss, or to take the inclined ride to the bottom of the gorge. Now the place is like a theme park, complete with a $24 admission ticket. For the price of the ticket you not only get to ride the tram and the incline (both definitely worth doing), but you also get a burro ride, a petting zoo, multiple gift shops and admission to a cheesy "mountain man" town where it seemed that most of the mountain men, and mountain women, were relaxing in the shade and trying not to make eye contact with the paying customers. Which reminds me, Royal Gorge broke our consecutive day streak of not basking in 100 degree temperatures. Our car thermometer read an even 100 when we left (although it was in the 70's within an hour or so of leaving).
After we left the Gorge we headed south, back down to Lake Isabel. Based on our observations from the previous day of so many people catching so many rainbow trout at the lake we decided that we'd try our hands at fishing. On the way to the lake we stopped at a hardware store (there are not Academy Sports and Outdoors in small town Colorado) and bought two deluxe fishing poles and two lawn chairs. When we got to the lake be bought some essential fishing tackle, some worms, and some "fire balls" which are salmon eggs that trout are supposed to really like. We made our way to the lake shore, found a spot among the fishing crowd, set up our lawn chairs, affixed a worm to one pole and a fire ball to the other and waited for the fish to show up. A picture of what we caught is shown below.
Here's Vicki at the bottom of the gorge.
Here's Vicki on the world's highest suspension bridge, 
Rafters on the Arkansas River at the bottom of the gorge. 
Vicki at the bottom of the gorge.
Me contemplating the abyss.
Everything you could want to know about the Royal Gorge
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A picture of all the fish we caught with our Ace Hardware fishing poles.
I'm not sure what we have planned for today, but there has already been some real excitement! As I was sitting down to type up this installment of "The Hood" I heard some clomping sounds coming from the back patio. I turned around to see six cows staring at me through the patio windows, their noses pressed against the windows, smearing cow snot across them as they moved their heads from side to side. Greg warned us that in spite of the low voltage electric fence surrounding the house that this would probably happen. I went out and ran the cows off, resorting to throwing a few rocks at them to get the last of them to leave. I discovered that cows apparently don't really care much about being shocked by an electric fence, as evidenced by the fact that they walked right over it on their way off the property. I also discovered, however, that they do apparently mind being hit in the head with a rock the size of a baseball. Keep this in mind the next time you are shooing electricity resistant cows.
Yesterday we spent most of the day at the Royal Gorge, which is about an hour's drive from here. For those of you who don't know, the Royal Gorge is the site of the world's highest suspension bridge, which sways (literally) 1,053 feet above the surging Arkansas River. Vicki and I had been there back in 1986, and we couldn't believe how much things there have changed. Back in the day you drove up to the bridge, paid a few bucks to drive across, drove across, did a u-turn and drove back, and then left. If you so desired there was the option to buy a ticket for the tram ride across the abyss, or to take the inclined ride to the bottom of the gorge. Now the place is like a theme park, complete with a $24 admission ticket. For the price of the ticket you not only get to ride the tram and the incline (both definitely worth doing), but you also get a burro ride, a petting zoo, multiple gift shops and admission to a cheesy "mountain man" town where it seemed that most of the mountain men, and mountain women, were relaxing in the shade and trying not to make eye contact with the paying customers. Which reminds me, Royal Gorge broke our consecutive day streak of not basking in 100 degree temperatures. Our car thermometer read an even 100 when we left (although it was in the 70's within an hour or so of leaving).
After we left the Gorge we headed south, back down to Lake Isabel. Based on our observations from the previous day of so many people catching so many rainbow trout at the lake we decided that we'd try our hands at fishing. On the way to the lake we stopped at a hardware store (there are not Academy Sports and Outdoors in small town Colorado) and bought two deluxe fishing poles and two lawn chairs. When we got to the lake be bought some essential fishing tackle, some worms, and some "fire balls" which are salmon eggs that trout are supposed to really like. We made our way to the lake shore, found a spot among the fishing crowd, set up our lawn chairs, affixed a worm to one pole and a fire ball to the other and waited for the fish to show up. A picture of what we caught is shown below.
Here's Vicki at the bottom of the gorge. Note the tram crossing high above her. Yes, we rode it.
Here's Vicki on the world's highest suspension bridge, proudly displaying the Texas colors.
Rafters on the Arkansas River at the bottom of the gorge. We'll definitely try this on our next trip.
Vicki at the bottom of the gorge.
Me contemplating the abyss.
Everything you could want to know about the Royal Gorge [ ]
[ ]
[ ]
[ ]
[ ]
[ ]
[ ]
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A picture of all the fish we caught with our Ace Hardware fishing poles.
(For the official record, Vicki actually caught one trout, but it wiggled off the hook and flipped back into the lake before we could get a picture)
On the job front, yesterday morning I had about an hour phone call with a Houston recruiter regarding an Benefits Director position with one the major hospitals in Houston. We agreed to talk more when I get home.
On the job front, yesterday morning I had about an hour phone call with a Houston recruiter regarding an Benefits Director position with one the major hospitals in Houston. We agreed to talk more when I get home.
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