pop culture

so let me preface this by saying, jay and i went to borders last night and i every intention of buying "the birth order book," (which is all about how birth order can be a deciding factor in personality) and heading home. my dad had kevin lehman down recently to lead a conference. he is endlessly fascinated by this man, so i want to read this, i really do. i had visions of jay and i reading it together and having all this meaningful conversation...

then i saw it, trivial pursuit, pop culture, dvd game 2 (i didn't know there was a 1, but 2 MUST be better!)!!!! so the meaningful-conversation-evening turned quickly to an evening of me, whipping jay's tail in a little trivial pursuit.

i'll get to the book today, but sometimes it's just enjoying evenings playing games and laughing with people you love that can be just as "meaningful" as the ones spent engaged in conversation. and i know dr. lehman and my dad would agree.

congrats to U2!!!

congrats once again to bono and the boys for a job well done. you guys are so freaking cool.
now they've got 20 grammys...sweet.

television bliss

so excited about my recent purchase...i waited, saved, and finally found her on friday at the price i was looking for. isn't she beautiful? i love it. had so much fun this weekend enjoying games and playing games on it. it's my new favorite toy!!!

in other, much more fun and important news, L.D.P., also known as mary, is joining the ranks with mollie and moving to big D! so excited to get two of my favorite girls on earth to dallas!! woo-hoo, can't wait!!

the kids...

awww...tucker and mckenzie snuggling watching the rain...

hello, blog, i feel that you have been neglected...

so i must admit, president's club was pretty fun AND nashville really is alright. i had a good time on my trip, got to see some friends, met a lot of new people and came home with one of those fancy little etched trophies. good times.

the gaylord is kind of like one of those "4-bars-in-one" places, that don't really specialize in anything, it's just massive. it was nice, and my room was big, but i prefer a small boutique hotel anyday over that monstrosity. or even just a nice hotel...apparently our big trip next year is in vegas. i'm not a gambler, so i've never been, but i hear the bellagio is a force to be reckoned with. i say BRING IT.

so i'm back in the swing of things, and back to work...tra-la-la.

seriously

wow. i am now officially old. i just got an email for my ten year high school reunion. how freaking depressing. it seems like it was just a year or so ago that i was roaming the halls at arlington high school. i guess a lot of things have changed, but still...

does this mean i have to take the green and white '96 tassel down that is hanging around my rear view mirror? kick 'em colts! hahaha....

the office

i just watched the latest episode of "the office." it was definitely in the top 5 best written episodes of a sitcom i've ever seen. the show started with the boss burning his foot in a george foreman grill and just got better from there.

i highly recommend tuning in...the only other sitcom i can remember laughing that hard watching was the "pigman" episode of seinfeld ("If the pig-man had a car, he'd give you a ride"). not comparing the two as shows yet, but it is FUNNY.

tux and 'kenz

some of you may know, jay's dog, tucker, is a new addition to my home.
"grandpa tucker" (as mollie calls him) has long lived with jay's
meme in the great state of oklahoma, but after christmas,
meme decided that it was time for tucker to go back to big D.
i have a large backyard, and alas, now a large dog. mckenzie
wasn't sure what to think about tucker at first,
but as you can see below...they are now the best of friends.
who would have thought...a 3 lb. dog and a 130 lb. dog...love it.

the gaylord, the tunnel...

whew. it was quite a week. first, found out i made "president's club" (no idea what that means) at work, which means i win a trip! woo-hoo, right? my thoughts immediately go to last year, when i was too new to qualify...and the crew went to sunny cabo san lucas! but oh no, my next thoughts lead to my inbox. where i see "subject: the gaylord in nashville, tennesee." no problem with nashville, but seriously...cabo or tennesee...geez.

i took a new position within the company and started this week. i'm now a "portfolio manager" rather than a business-development type. it's good so far, i'm liking it, and put in my time to be here, so pat me on the back, thank you very much.

the most interesting part of this new transition for me has been the introduction to the tunnel system in dallas. you see, before, i was always in and out of the office, all over town. now i tend to be in the office a heck of a lot more, and i have discovered the interesting underground tunnel system in a whole new light. i haven't decided if i love it or hate it yet, but i will say, being able to take just a few steps and land a hot tea at starbucks or a great sandwich at potbelly is definitely a good thing. sad that i started a new job and have more to say about the tunnel system than the job...more to come on both...

damn gaylord. ; )

happy new year!

happy new year to all...and best wishes for 2006!

holiday bowl

as a sooner fan, if we aren't playing for the national championship, it just really doesn't matter. but, with that said, our fine sooners showed up last night and took down a 6th ranked oregon team. oregon's only loss was to usc, so i can take this win as a great sign of things to come. the defense was remarkable, and most of our offense are freshman so they will only continue to get better!!!

next year is gonna be fun. boomer sooner!!!

my space

at first i wasn't a big fan of this my space deal, but i'm finding it more and more fun as i am on it longer. i just realized that there are actually real-deal supa-stars on my space. i looooooooove sports, especially if it involves the sooners and/or any pro dallas team. that said, of course i love roy williams. i found this pic (his high school football picture) on his space, with the caption, " i thought i was so tight." love it. and he had mark clayton (shout out to a-town and the sooners!) as one of his my space friends. this is just hilarious.

well, at least it is to me.

a thinker's movie

i'm off this week...glorious. i got up this morning at 11, went to lunch with babs at taco diner, then went with friends to see "brokeback mountain." let me tell you, this is an excellent film. it is the kind of movie that really makes you think. the kind of movie that makes me want to go to a little dive, sit next to the fire, get a nice cold beer, and talk about life. two thumbs up, i highly recommend it. now, where's that beer...

mckenzie's and my impression of bono and the edge 

man of the year

so it's official. bono is man of the year...what a great man, and he's so deserving of this award.

fame, politics, advocacy, humanitarianism and amazing artistic ability aside, he is a family man that loves his friends and fears God...and shows it by the way he leads his life. way to go, bono!!

observations of idiocy

something i have noticed about my friends (and myself) are that we have these odd little habits. habits like, finishing a statement with a movie line. and no, not just finishing, but any part of a common (meaning common amongst our group, special shout-out especially to julie and mols) phrase makes us say the quote. it's so completely terrible, but whoever says it always thinks they are for sure the funniest thing going. and dont' get me wrong. we ALL laugh. everytime.

let me give you a few examples:

1. if the word "rolls" is used...

someone always quirks, "please pass the rolls" this is from a scene in father of the bride 2 when steve martin has taken some sleeping pills, and upon saying this phrase, passes out at the table. no, not the funniest line ever, but apparently we think it is.

2. the words "hey guys" or during any akward moment of silence

"hey guys...big gulps, huh? welp, see ya later!" this one is from dumb and dumber. enough said.

3. the words, "fork, knife, spoon, utensil, pepsi"

"there were no utensils in medieval times, therefore there are no utensils at medieval times. would you like a refill on that pepsi?" from the cable guy...terrible movie, wonderful quotes.

4. any reference to the number 9

mom: "i don't remember ferris being sick nine times."
principal: "that's because he wasn't sick, he was skipping school."

i think you get the point. i was just laughing to myself about this last night, wondering if at some point i'll hear the word "rolls" and not think of that line, "head" and not think of "so i married an ax murderer" etc, etc. probably a seinfeld moment for most of you, thinking of the lines your friends say on a daily basis. i wish i quoted famous poets and philosophers the way i quote movie lines. and on that note, i'll leave you with a favorite moment from the movie "christmas vacation" (pardon the french...)

Ellen: What are you looking at?
Clark: Oh, the silent majesty of a winter's morn... the clean, cool chill of the holiday air... an asshole in his bathrobe, emptying a chemical toilet into my sewer... [Eddie, in the driveway, is draining the RV's toilet]
Eddie: Shitter was full!
Clark: Ah, yeah. You checked our shitters, honey?
Ellen: Clark, please. He doesn't know any better.
Clark: He oughta know it's illegal. That's a storm sewer. If it fills with gas, I pity the person who lights a match within ten yards of it.

it's the most wonderful time of the year

i just finished taking a long lunch with my mom on knox street, then walked down that blessed little corridor of shops. we bought a few christmas presents, ooh-ed and ahh-ed and all the beautiful christmas decor...it was so fun. and last night, had a fun gathering with college friends at meg's house to celebrate britt's b-day...we chatted about the holidays and all of our upcoming parties. it's just a festive, fun-filled time. and the weather has the perfect amount of chill...it's that kind of weather that makes you appreciate dallas (at least for now).

it reminds me of the late fall in new york city. ahh, such a great town. i haven't been in almost a year, but everytime i go i love it more. that said, in my love-hate relationship with dallas, we are most certainly in a good place right now. the weather is nice (plus i just watched a long documentary-type deal the travel channel did that made dallas seem really great!), and i am suddenly realizing that relatively speaking, dallas is a really great place to be.

i may just be psyching myself out since i just got a promotion at work, (meaning i'll be staying in dallas for a while longer), but then again - was i ever really planning to leave? and if so, obviously i wasn't planning on it anytime soon. maybe i like this having-family-and-friends-close-by thing more than i thought i did (now if only we could pull a few of you back here from austin, san antonio, nashville, nyc, newport beach...wait a minute...) ; )

walk the line

i saw "walk the line" last week...wow, what a great movie. johnny cash was a such a cool artist and i had a great time watching his story played out on the big screen. i highly recommend it.

treadmill fun

anyone who knows me well knows that i am a gym rat. i love the outdoors, but for the everyday workout, the gym is just easier, period. in all my time logged on treadmills and various gym equipment, a few days ago i saw my best yet...

i preface this to say, no one was hurt AND i felt for this girl. bless her heart, but it was just so funny. the treadmills at premier club are only inches apart, so the person next to you is basically invading your personal space.

so i am running, and suddenly notice the girl running next to me (to my right) moves over to another treadmill (to her right), leaving the one next to me unoccupied. moments later, i hear a quick, shrill scream and turn to see a girl, legs in the air, face thrown forcefully into the treadmill...mind you, that is still running at a pace of 7.0. her body is thrown off the treadmill, onto the floor behind her. she was not the only one that was surprised that treadmill was still running, i can't see any reason someone would get off of a treadmill and not stop the "mill" from running. (see a sample fall here...and keep in mind, the sample is mild compared to this incident http://www.funnyhub.com/videos/page.cgi/girl-treadmill-fall)

she just got up, returned to the treadmill and began to run. because of her attempt to pretend like nothing happened, i felt i should do the same. i simply turned away, holding back the tears, caused by my held in laughter. it reminded me of being a child in church...just as your friend sends you a note worthy of much giggle-time...silence. and you have to hold it all in. which just makes it worse. i finally did have a small, out-loud giggle, when i turned around to see the reaction of the others around me, only to see a friend of mine getting completely off the elliptical machine, obviously only to avoid falling off himself. his face was crimson red with laughter.

does it make me a bad person that i found such humor in this person's embarrasing moment? i think not. if she had been hurt, i would have helped. had she even hesitated, i would have at least said something. had she laughed aloud (as i feel i probably would have), i would have turned and given an "oh my goodness" with a smile. but to pretend like all of the people in that room didn't just hear AND see what happened, well, it made me laugh. it was so uncomfortable and akward.

i have no point to this posting but to share...if only it had happened to me. oh well, but then i guess her "non-reaction" was half the funny. i hope i didn't offend anyone out there. oh, and be safe on the treadmills. ; )

discernment

i found this article extremely thought provoking...

http://www.relevantmagazine.com/beta/pc_article.php?id=7019