Rockstar Fantasy

I went to Biloxi to see Better Than Ezra play the Z Club at The Palace. It has been several years since I've been to one of their concerts and I haven't really heard their more recent releases. I'm happy to say that they still put on a good show.

They played a lot of the music from their first couple of CDs and even played "Hold That Tiger" for the LSU fans in the audience (much to the dismay of all the Ole Miss fans). The Z Club is pretty small and we were able to get right up to the stage (a foot and a half from the band). I have to say all of those highschool crush on a rockstar feelings came back when Kevin Griffin did the "bad-ass guitar rockstar" pose right in front of me. I also felt this when I had to brush by Travis McNabb as I was leaving the club later that night.

It was a good night.

Downer

Today, since I'm SO busy at work, I went on HBO's website to see what movies will be playing this weekend and spotted the movie Ladybugs playing tommorrow morning.  That movie came out when I was 11, and I immediately became a huge fan of Jonathan Brandis.  I was part of the reason Seaquest DSV stayed on the air so long....

So, out of curiosity, I looked him up on IMDB and found out that he committed suicide last Novemeber. 

Man, that was the last thing I expected.  How did I miss that?

Hey, Hey New Orleans!....uh, I mean Austin

Hey Austinites -

I'm coming for a visit in a couple of weeks.  My last day of the internship is Friday the 13th (i'm sure I will end up in the hospital needing stiches for something so that I can go out with a bang). On the 14th, I plan on driving to Houston and spend the evening with Gretchen and Jeb and then heading to Austin on the 15th. 

Consider this your warning.

:)

House of Style

Well, it has taken me just over 2 months to do so, but I'd like to comment on some of the styles I've seen during my stay in South Mississippi. 
 
P. Kyle, you may find this too painful to read.
 
In general, Mississippi residents aren't all that different from Louisiana residents in fashion sense.  I am, of course, not talking about Baton Rouge and LSU...it's a very attractive, fashion foward city.  I haven't come across anyplace like that yet, but I suspect there are some (Oxford is rather preppy, isn't it?) 
 
I do have to say that some of the employees (in particular the female staff) at NG have truly unique taste in fashion...
 
(insert dun, duh, dunnnnh)
 
Lots of loose, light weight knit pants on people who really shouldn't be wearing them and lots of shoulder pads.  This company hasn't exactly moved forward from the late 80's, early 90's.  My absolute favorite has to be the woman I saw the other day.
 
Imagine this:
Black and White Shirt
Black Skirt
Black Panty Hose
WHITE OPEN TOED SANDALS
 
(insert screams and shrieks of agony)
 
On a different note, Happy Belated Anniversary to Mary and Richard and Happy (early) B-day to Mary!

Cost of Education

Mary and Richard - I hope you made it home safe. It was great seeing you this weekend.
 
The LSU bookstore's website has really progressed in the last couple of years.  You can now order your textbooks online, instead of fighting the crowds during the first few days of school.  Out of curiousity, I checked out what it would cost for my books this semester.  I'm only taking 4 classes.  Thank God!  I've already purchased the review manuals I need for one of the classes, spending $100.  The other 3 classes will run me about $700. 
 
No, that's not a mis-type.  7-0-0. 
 
Man.

Someone more accident prone than I am

One of the men that I work with has a wife who, as it turns out, is more accident prone than even I am.  I'm sure you're asking how this can be with stories such as "falling out the car with a sleeping 2 year old in my arms", "changing the water cooler" and, for those of you who've heard the story, The Infamous Cop Car Incident... but it is true. 

Last night, Lori, while on a business trip in New Orleans, was having a nice dinner at Mr. B's.  A waiter was passing behind her with a serving tray full of plates, lost his balance and dropped the whole thing on her head.  Plates shattered as they hit her.  She ended up in the hospital having to get CAT scans and everything. 

Makes me realize how fortunate I actually am.  

Scuzz-bucket

Have you ever watched a movie from your childhood and seen a current popular actor in a bit part?  Its kinda like when Lani and I were watching Anne of Avonlea in college and noticed that Bruce McCollouch and Dave Foley were in it in bit parts.  Kinda makes you wonder if that movie was were it all started for them....did they know each other before then?
 
Last night, while at Target Boutique, I spotted a DVD copy of Flight of the Navigator.  This is one of the movies that I remember fondly from the 80's along with other such movies as Poison Ivy and Space Camp.   I haven't seen a VHS version of this movie and was quite excited to see it on DVD, so I bought it.  I HAD to have it. 
 
While watching it this morning, I noticed that there was a guy that looked and sounded exactly like Matthew McConaughey.  It was a small part with only one or two lines, so he wasn't on the screen long enough for me to be sure.  Also, he's not listed on IMDB's website for the movie.  Whether or not it was him, it made me laugh.

Motorcycle Cops and Flight Attendants

Yesterday, several people in my office got cravings for Chinese food. Since I'm always up for Chinese food, and the people in my office don't normally eat out at lunch, this was rather exciting. On our way through the Big P, while driving through an intersection, the car in front of us slammed on their brakes. We promptly slammed on our brakes and managed to avoid hitting that car. Unfortunately for us, the car behind us didn't have such fast reflexes...30 minutes later, after the motorcycle cop (fancy for the Big P) wrote up the accident report, took down all of our names, addresses, ages and made sure we weren't injured, we were once again on our way to eat Chinese food.

When we got back to the office, we called our manager (he and our director are out of town all week) and told him that his entire IA staff was out on medical leave due to the car accident.

They not only didn't believe us, but they thought we were making the car accident up! Please!

I spent the majority of yesterday finally composing the complaint letter to Continental for our trip from hell. I have only written about the majority of the things that happened to us while flying Continental and have not been overly elaborate. So far, I'm up to 11 pages. I forgot how much fun writing a good complaint letter can be! Either it will get us 11 free first class tickets to anywhere in the US, or Northrop Grumman will be contacted, and I will be fired.

I'll keep you posted.

Long time...No Blog

For those of you who don't know, my dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer about a month ago. We're fortunate because it is a very treatable cancer and it has been caught in the early stages. Treatments include surgery or radiation. Dad decided to go with surgery and went under the knife last Wednesday morning. Everything went well and he was given his release papers on Friday morning, painkillers in hand. Unfortunately, one of the side effects of said painkillers is extreme nausea and it can really screw up your digestive system. He started feeling bad on Friday night and by Saturday evening, he was extremely miserable. Under the advice of his doctor, he went back to the hospital so that they can get him back on track. While it is not as serious as it could be, it's still rather stressful, especially for my mom. I'm afraid she is going to crash soon.

Spending time in the hospital, and seeing some of the people there, makes me realize how fortunate my family really has been. Even with dad's cancer, things could be a lot worse.

On a lighter note, I've started running. I've been feeling miserable lately and needed to get back into a work out routine, so I bought a new pair of Nike's. I do better when motivated by spending money. There is a path along the sea wall that is set up for runners/walkers, bikers, etc to use. It even has the 10th of the miles marked off on it. I figured that I won't be able to run by the sea at sunset in Baton Rouge, so I need to enjoy this while I can.

Random Ramblings

I was just sent an email torward of random facts. Things like "elephants are the only animals that can't jump" and "thirty-five percent of people who use personal ads for dating are already married." I've seen emails like this before, so I figured it would be mildly entertaining, but then I got to the end. One of the facts (towards the beginning) was that it is physically impossible to lick your elbow. I promptly tried to lick my elbow. It is indeed impossible. Ok, I didn't try that hard, but come on...I can see how it would be impossible! Then I get to the end of the email and it has the fact that "almost every person who reads this email will try and lick their elbow." This was damn funny.

I've seen a lot of movies lately. There isn't much to do in Pascagoula, so I have to keep myself entertained somehow. There are a lot of movies out that look good, that I can't wait to see, but I find myself going to see movies that have been out for months. I just saw 13 Going on 30 and Mean Girls. Both entertaining.

Work is getting a little busier. One of the Auditors left for a different job this week, so I've moved desks. I'm no longer hidden in the corner where no one sees me. Apparently, now that I'm in a central location, and everyone has to walk by my desk, they don't forget about me. I feel like I'm actually earning some of the money they've been paying me. Its a nice feeling.

I'm tossing around the idea of doing a fall or spring internship with one of the Big 4. I'm torn between just wanting to finish school and start working and gaining valuable experience and contacts.

I'm traveling home this weekend. I will actually be in BR a lot in the next two weeks because of my Dad. Give me a call if any of you will be in town also.