Really Menial Jobs

One of my favorite mental pasttimes is to think about ways to automate certain repetitive tasks, I suppose that's why I'm in the industry I'm in, doing the job I'm doing -- automating the transfer of data all over the place. Not the most exciting stuff to write about, exciting to do, but not really good material, so to speak. So, I think about other, more mechanical, automations.

It all started with my favorite Mister Rogers Neighborhood episode as a child. It was the one where he showed us how they make crayons. I was completely enthralled with the way the wax is poured into a mold and then a machine wraps the paper around them and puts them in a box. It was impressive to me that this process could be done completely without human intervention. I also assumed there was a time when this wasn't such an automated process, and people had to do things like stick crayons in a box for a living.

My grandpa worked on the factory line at Ford all his life. After a while, it became clear that he needed to learn automation skills, or he would be phased out. So, he become a robotics tech and learned everything he needed to fix the machines that built the cars, rather than building the cars themselves. So, I come by my interest naturally.

There are a lot of things I buy that I can see how it would have been produced through an automated process of some kind. There is one I was thinking of this morning that I couldn't come up with anything for, however, so I was hoping you could help me. As a kid, I loved the Strawberry Shortcake dolls, and I had most of them. I can see how the little plastic dolls could be made automatically, and how their little clothes could, in many cases be made without human intervention. But how do you get their little clothes on the little dolls? Same goes for Barbies or any other dolls. I hate to think there are people (or even worse, children) whose job it is to put clothes on dolls all day long.

Officially Into Summer

Memorial Day weekend has always been my official switchover weekend into summertime. Now, technically, it doesn't really matter, since I will still go to work everyday and I don't have children to remind me how wonderful it is to be out of school. However, there are a couple of things that really make summer nice around here, so it's nice to have started summer now.

We love to go to the lake on the weekends in the summer. We get out there early, have a nice swim around, maybe stay long enough to eat lunch and head out before the crowds get too busy. My husband may take these things to an extreme, but I agree that too many people at the lake makes for not as nice a time. Regardless, it's nice to be in the water and out in the sun.

Summer also means we do a lot more projects around the house, spend a lot more money on things we've been meaning to get/do, and have a generally higher amount of activity going on.

This Memorial Day, we celebrated with the Capital of Texas Triathlon. This was the first time I've done this race, and it is now my favorite event. Looking at the route map with the multiple loops of the course, it looked to be boring. But, Austin being the city that it is, tons of people came out to cheer us all on, and that made it more fun than any race I've done before. It helps that I beat my time on my last Olympic-distance race by more than 30 minutes, but that's not the whole story. It was just fun, and I worked hard, and I felt good afterward. And that, my friends, is the point of doing a race where you know there's no chance you'll win.

Something Light and Fun

I've been trying to think of something light and fun to write about all day. However, everytime I turn around, someone wants to remind me that my uncle-in-law died last week. He fainted and fell down a flight of stairs and was in a coma for a week and then he died. It's been tough for the family since it was a sudden accident sort of thing, rather than a long illness.

So, I'm going to tell you about Finale, a company that makes music composing software. Actually, I'm not going to tell you about the company, but about how wonderful the software is, and how much I enjoy using it.

I don't know how much most of you have the need to arrange a piece of music for a 4-piece band and vocals, but I have to just about every week. I'm not a very good arranger, but most of my work involves taking existing music and putting it in a key/range that is workable for most mortals. On a 4-minute piece of music, this can easily be a full-day's work, but this software allows me to get in done in less than two hours. And it's only that long because I'm an annoying perfectionist, and I want every slur demarked properly, and I have to check the guitar chords really changed properly. Once I've got everything set, I tell it to play, and I get the chance to make sure everything goes together. Tweak a chord, add an accidental, and try it again. It's the perfect tool for the person that has as much uncertainty about their musical abilities as I do.

The really great part is that afterwards I have both PDFs and MIDIs that I can send to the group and tell them to know the music before they come to practice. Anyone wanna take bets on whether any of them will actually open the files before Thursday night?

The Killer Revealed

Shiner is a documented attacker of cats. Last night he had his first kill.

I let him out in the back yard, and he made a beeline for the fence. He returned with something fluffy in his mouth, and I got him to drop it. But it didn't get up and run away like the last time. My heart sank...which neighbor do I have to go tell that my dog ate their cat?

I got Shiner back in the house and away from his prize. It was late, so I got out the flashlight and went to check it out. It wasn't a cat -- it looked more like an enormous rat with huge teeth. That's right, Shiner killed himself a possum. Now, some people think possums may actually be smart, but I mostly think they are what they look like -- enormous rats. So, once I saw I wasn't going to have to apologize that some other cat wandered into our yard like an idiot, I was very pleased with Shiner. He got treats and loving, but he didn't get to eat his possum. They have random icky diseases that I'd rather not have to take Shiner to the vet for.

Oh won't the sanitation engineers have fun with my trash this week!

I Had a Dream

Last week, I had a dream. A dream that unsettled me significantly.

My sister beat me in the Danskin.

Granted, this was the sister in the Navy, and not the sister that still lives at home. So, as part of the Navy she does PT several times a week. But this is her first triathlon, and I as the "seasoned" triathlete (I've done 5....hardly seasoned) should be able to finish before her. She has good endurance, but she's not all that fast.

So, I've kicked my training into high gear. Saturday I rode in the Armadillo Hill Country classic. I could say I rode the 105-mile course, but that would be a big lie. I did do the 28-mile course, and I was happy with how good I felt at the end of it. Memorial Day I'll be doing the Capital of Texas Triathlon (which is twice as long as the Danskin), and that will be a good measure of where I'm at two weeks before the actual event. I plan to finish that event in less than 4 hours. That would be a significant improvement over the last Olympic distance triathlon I did.

I've only ever done two lengths of these races -- Sprint and Olympic. There are also Ironmans and Half-Ironmans, but I'm not that crazy (yet). Sprint distance is broken down as an 800 meter swim, a 20K bike, and a 5K run. The Olympic distance is twice that. The one Olympic distance triathlon I did was several years ago now. It was in March in a nice deep (read, cold) lake. I was advised that I didn't need a wetsuit, but the water on race day was 62 degrees (70 degree water is the rule cutoff for not being allowed to wear a wetsuit). And if you're me, 62 degree water is cold. For those of you familiar with Barton Springs here in Austin, that holds steady at 68 degrees. Anyway, the swim was really tough, and took me nearly an hour because I couldn't get warmed up. As a result of spending almost twice as long on the swim, I had no energy for the rest of the race. I finished second-to-last at an abysmal 4:45. But I did finish. There were lots of DNFs in that race. People who got 50 meters into the swim and quit. I didn't do it pretty, but there it is.

I don't expect the water temperature to be a problem in this year's race. So, I hope I can make back a lot of the time I lost in the last one. And minimize the effect of that one longer race on my psyche.

Another Wedding

It must be wedding season. And based on the number of comments I eke out of my readers with my wedding posts (so far, 0 for 2), I can see that you like these things about as much as unsliced bread, so I'll keep this one short.

We went to yet another wedding this past weekend, and I'm glad this one is over. It was probably the most cliche wedding I've ever been to. Everything was ultra-traditional, which can be nice, but this was just cutesy and obnoxious. The DJ was probably better suited for a junior high dance than a wedding reception. The swan theme was excessive (married by a pond with swans in it, swans on the program, swan candles floating in the centerpieces, swan topper on the cake, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera). And it was a dry wedding to boot. No alcohol to try and make it more... anything.

Overall, it just made me appreciate it when people make their weddings a little bit different. That adds to the interesting-ness of life. It's the reason I live, people! Not to go to boring weddings you can buy as a kit from Target.

I Don't Get Mad Often...

But when I do, you better get out of my way.

I nearly spit nails over this stunt David Blaine pulled this evening. I decreed I would not watch it, but since my resolve to not watch TV has been lacking and with the can't-avoid-watching-a-train-wreck phenomenon, I found myself flipping to it periodically. In case you didn't see anything about this special, it was about this magician-turned-side-show-freak who decided to hold his breath for nine minutes on live television. Why did this make me so mad? I'll tell you.

Nine minutes is hard. That's fine, but then if you know that the time would be a new world record, you'd know that. Then why hang out in a tank of water for a week and have yourself chained to the bottom of that tank so that your stunt includes not only the holding of your breath for longer than anyone else has in a record attempt, but also after subjecting your body to unknown stressors for water living for that long and picking of handcuff locks to boot? What is he really trying to prove? That he's still a magician/escape artist, and not just doing some stunt that someone else could try, too? I don't get it.

Then, if you lose consciousness holding your breath on your couch for 5 minutes, what makes you think you can do nearly twice that long in water? I hope that was early in his training, because that's a lot of time to increase. They had video of him laying on a couch and the people watching him told him he'd reached the 5-minute point, and a few seconds later he sputtered a breath, and asked how long he went. He never heard them announce 5 minutes. Hint, hint: that means there's not enough oxygen getting to your brain, dude. If there's not enough oxygen getting to your brain at 5 minutes, even with training it's going to be tough to make it 4 more minutes. I know there is a mammalian dive reflex that lowers your heartrate and allows you to use less oxygen if your face is in the water, but not four minutes worth.

And lastly, they threw out the Audrey card. Any of you who follow freediving or have had a subscription to Sports Illustrated in the last five years have most likely heard about Audrey. She was an unfortunate diver whose equipment malfunctioned (we'll give the benefit of the doubt for this particular entry) at the bottom of a world-record-attempting dive. As a result, she was under water almost 10 minutes (not the 8:30 the show cited), and was unable to be revived. While virtually everything that can go wrong did, her dive is not an indicator of how dangerous a 9-minute breathhold is. In fact, the only way a breathhold dive is dangerous is if you're dumb enough to do it alone. Otherwise, your buddy should always be able to pull you out and spontaneous breathing will commence. In a depth dive, the oxygen in your lungs is significantly compressed under the pressure of the depth, so it doesn't become as available to your core and brain as a surface dive allows. Comparing a dive to 170 meters (nearly 560 feet, or 46 stories) to a dive where you're hanging out in a tank with your forehead sticking out of the water is worse than apples to oranges. And in excessively poor taste, since her attempt didn't just fail, she died.

The only good thing that came out of this is that David Blaine failed. He had to be rescued from his tank at just over seven minutes. He's not in the record books for this stunt.

Resolution Update

There's something about posting one's New Year's resolutions that makes them harder to imagine away. Here's a look back at an update of how I'm doing on those so far this year.

1. I have slacked pretty bad on the no TV decision. I really was more productive when I wasn't watching TV, so there is definitely some value in renewing that effort.

2. I've lost 8 pounds of the 10 I planned on. I have been doing really well with eating out less and eating better. I've also stuck to my limit of two cokes in a week, and that's probably been most of my success. I don't like the taste of diet sodas, so I drink the full sugar versions, and that's a lot of empty calories. Last week I also cut most dairy out of my diet, and I felt a lot better as a result.

3. My Danskin training really kicks in now that we're less than two months before the race. I still think I can finish that race in less than an hour and a half. And I've completed the necessary first step in meeting that goal -- I registered for the race.

4. The training for number 3 is my kickoff for the training for next year's marathon. I still have some time on that one, but the running will be measured in miles instead of minutes in a short period of time.

Just thought I'd keep you all posted on my progress.

Ah, Bonaire

I started to respond to James' comment about where Bonaire is, and realized my answer was getting too long. It's hard to talk about a place that beautiful without getting a little wordy. So, I decided to make a whole post instead.

Bonaire is the little, middle island of the "ABC Islands" in the Caribbean: Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao. Just north of Venezuela, its reefs are a national park where commercial fishing is illegal. It's also a Dutch colony, so the food blend is very unique and tasty. You know, things like poffertjes with fried plaintains.

We went for a week with another couple from Austin. The tiny airport handles two flights a day -- one from Puerto Rico and one from Amsterdam. There were no jetways, and two airport employees -- for baggage handling, ticketing, security, escort to and from the plane, etc. And that makes sense, since it's a small island. You can drive the complete coast in about 45 minutes.

And the diving. Breathtaking. Wow.

We dove 3 dives a day for a week, and I didn't get enough. The water is so clear and a perfect temperature for easy diving accessible from the shore. The coral was full of life -- parrotfish, tons of other brightly colored fish, various sea snakes, sharks, groupers, barracudas, crustaceans of unknown name, and these little animals attached to the coral that were light feathery things that would retreat inside themselves when they felt water rushing past them (never did figure out what those were called).

Besides diving tourists (which is a big industry there), Bonaire is a large producer of salt, and the salt fields are surprisingly interesting to look at. The sea water is introduced into pens that look a lot like rice paddies, and the water is evaporated and moved to shallower pens until the salt can be scooped up with shovels and machinery and cleaned and packaged. I was surprised by how red the water gets as it gets denser (but I suppose that's why the Red Sea is red).

And there you have it. Bonaire in a nutshell.

Presenting the New Site

After tinkering with the look of this blog for quite some time, I decided to just replace the whole durn thing. So here you go -- a new look to start into a new month. I hope you enjoy it. Feel free to comment. I may or may not get around to incorporating your comments into the look in the next year or so. How's that for commitment?

True Love

Today, two of my very best friends got married to each other. It is so exciting to see people that you love very much tie the knot, knowing they are perfect for each other and ready to begin their life together. Her family is all from Nuevo Laredo (just across the border from Laredo, Texas), so that was the location for the festivities. The Mexican Catholic wedding doesn't really have bridesmaids and groomsmen, but there are three sponsor couples for different parts of the mass. The groom's best friend and his wife were the padrinos, or godparents, of the rings, the bride's sister and her boyfriend were the padrinos of the lasso, a giant rosary that fits over both the bride and groom while the prayers are read, and my husband and I were the padrinos of the arras, or gold coins.

The tradition of the thirteen gold coins is one that is really interesting, and one that I wish was more prevalent in the general American wedding population. The priest blesses the coins and hands them to the groom. The groom then tells the bride that these coins represent his intent to provide everything he can for their family, and drops them into her waiting, cupped hands. She then thanks him for his plan and promises to make their earnings stretch to meet their needs and appreciate what he does for them. While this particular couple is more likely to have her work and him stay home with the future children, the sentiment that is shared between them during this piece really drives home that "for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer," part of the vows.

Anyway, this responsibility in the ceremony is the closest thing to being named the matron of honor in a US wedding. So, it was my job to help get the bride ready in the morning and over to the church for the noon start.

I started out in fine fashion by waking up when I was supposed to meet the bride to go get our makeup done. Conveniently, she is always running late, so I was downstairs by 9am, and she hadn't left her parents house at that point. We got makeup and hair finished up and were back at the hotel to get into the dress and over to the church. We had made up any lost time, so we weren't rushing to be on time. However, we did have to have her all dressed up before going over to the church (unlike any other wedding I've been at where the bride dresses at the church). Then I was going to drive her over in the groom's car, which I've never driven before. This is where things got interesting.

Now, I have no problem driving a manual transmission. I've had extensive experience with four of them in my life: my dad's Ford Escort, my first car, a Nissan Sentra, my husband's 1978 Chevy pickup truck (a three-on-the-tree), and his Mini Cooper. It's a wide range of styles, and I wasn't too worried about it. However, I didn't want the bride to have to traipse through the garage parking lot in her dress, so I told her I'd bring the car around and pick her up. I got in the car, a VW Jetta, and started it up. And then, couldn't get it into reverse. Now, I have since learned that the Jetta requires you to push down on the shifter in order to access the reverse gear, but I didn't know that, nor did it occur to me to try. So, try as I might, I couldn't get it into gear. Not wanting to stress out the bride or call someone for help, I found my own solution when I realized it was a small car, and couldn't be that heavy. The spot next to me was empty, so I turned the steering wheel all the way to the left, dropped the shifter into neutral, and got out and pushed it out of the spot. In my dress...and heels...by myself. I did look around to make sure there were no witnesses. Whew. Once it was pushed out, I got in and drove the bride to the church without incident.

The ceremony was beautiful, even if I understood very little of what was going on since the whole thing was in Spanish. The groom did a great job of managing all his spoken parts in a language he doesn't speak, and the bride didn't cry enough to mess up her makeup. The reception included great company and wonderful food. What more could a couple want? I was just happy to have been a part of it.

Coming Out of Hiding

My husband and I have gone to Mexico for a friend's wedding. I very seldom make him go to anything, but this was one of those things that I told him wasn't optional -- he was coming to this wedding. He is a bit of a hermit (or homebody if you feel that is a nicer term), and really doesn't like to go out much. I, on the otherhand, start to feel stir-crazy if I'm home too many nights in a week. For the first couple of years we were married, I tried to go out only when he wanted to. And then I started to resent him with all the invitations we turned down (and subsequently stopped receiving). So, somewhere along the line I realized it was okay for me to go out without him when an invitation came up for something that interested me. I didn't really realize how often I did this until we arrived in Mexico.

The bride-to-be's sister met my husband and I in the hotel lobby with a gaggle of other folks. Later, the bride relayed her comment to me: "How serious is Heather with that guy?" Nearly eight years of marriage later, I guess we're pretty serious.

Most other couples are referred to by both their names -- The Guy and The Girl (order generally depending on which of them you knew first, or better). When people talk about inviting us to things, they say "Heather, you wanna come? Oh, and if your husband wants to come too, that's fine." He's the afterthought. I don't want him to be the afterthought, but I don't want to wait and only leave the house the 2 times a year he feels like it, either.

Nervousness

I have never been a shy person. I have always been able to strike up a conversation with anyone, and have never avoided a chance at a leadership role. I'm also not afraid to look like an idiot, and most people I know have a story about something stupid I've done or said.

However, I freeze up quite regularly when I sing solo in my church. Now, I've been directing the praise team at the church for the last year, and I was part of the band for about two years before that. I sing with the group and play keyboard when I'm needed to fill in. I was a bit nervous the first couple of times I sang or played with the group, but then I got past it, and I really enjoy it. But, I can't seem to get past the nervousness when I'm singing by myself. This morning, I started the song incorrectly twice before I was able to hear my starting notes. And you can always tell how badly you've done by the number of people that come up to you after the service to tell you how good the music was in the service. I did pretty badly. Once I got going, it was fine, but the beginning was rough.

It doesn't seem to matter how much I practice. Freezing up seldom seems to have anything to do with my preparedness level. Part of me feels I just need to do more solos to get passed my nervousness. And another part of me thinks I shouldn't subject people to my mess-ups anymore.

Good Friday is Very Good

Good Friday is my favorite day of the year. Every year I look forward to Good Friday more than Christmas or Easter or anything like that. For starters, it's the beginning to the weekend that defines why a Christian is a Christian. As a card-carrying Christ follower, it's a primo weekend. Meanwhile, the service tonight will be somber and reflective -- the only service of the year that is like that. Every other Sunday service is Easter, or a mini-Easter celebration. I love Easter, don't get me wrong. But it helps to have the valleys in order to appreciate the mountaintops. And the service tonight is that perspective-setting valley.

The office of tenebrae is the service we will be following tonight. It ends in darkness and silence broken by a loud crash. The darkness and silence leading up to the harsh noise is a critical part of completing the symbolism of the tragedy of Christ's death. In past years, though, with Easter after Daylight Savings time, a 7pm service finishes with it still being light outside. When you can see the pastor about to slam the Bible down, it sort of removes the surprise bit of it. This year, however, my church has decided to move tonight's service to 8pm. So, while that is too late for some people, it means that it will be dark by the time the service is over, which better sets the sad mood that is most appropriate to have by the end of the service.

I am really excited for this weekend. And it all starts with a appropriately sobering Friday night, a commemoration of that terrible, but very good, Friday two thousand years ago.

Getting a New Job

I'm not leaving my company, just getting a new job. I love working at a small, growing company, like I do. There is so much flexibility to grow and change one's role to coincide with your own strengths. And that is what I am doing. Taking my strengths and moving into a role I will really excel at.

In the meantime, I am doing both jobs. The one I'm transitioning out of as well as the new one I'm moving into. As a result I have been working a lot of hours, leaving little, to no, time for blogging. I haven't disappeared, I just have a brain that looks like mush by the time I get home.

Today, for example, I started work at 4am. and I worked until 6:30pm. I've pulled all-nighters for this company, more all-nighters, I might add, than I ever did in college. And yet, I get excited to keep going back to work day in and day out. I guess that's how I know I've found a job and a company that I really like.

Yesterday, I had a meeting with a customer where I was wearing my new role hat. This particular customer was beligerent and pushy and downright rude. Anytime I tried to share the ways we would address their concerns, they would talk over me condescendingly and talk about all their wonderful traits. I had to repeat the same solution explanation 4 times because they wouldn't shut up long enough to hear what I had to say. During this 90-minute meeting, I ceased to have the 10 nicely grown out nails (and that is quite the accomplishment for me, believe me). After the meeting, I was down to 1. That's how stressed they made me. That meeting made me question if I was really moving into the right position in the company.

Today I got a voicemail from that customer's primary contact. She apologized for the behavior of her co-workers, and let me know that they have "handled" the problem, and we will never need to expect that sort of behavior from them. Apparently, during the call when they put us on hold, one of the managers came in and reprimanded the offenders for their behavior. Too bad that was about 80 minutes into the call, because they were much more civil afterwards. And then I remembered why I like my job so much. While I have the occasional asswipe to deal with, the vast majority of our customers are wonderful to work with. They are reasonable and sweet, and some of them even write poetry about us or send us cookies. They are good people.

And so, I won't be quitting after one bad call, no matter how bad. And I will keep doing two jobs for the next few weeks while everything works itself out for a transition. And I will keep working with good people. I love my job.

Special Needs Dog

I recently wrote up my paragraph on why someone should adopt Shiner for the website describing the available dogs at this time. I went to the site and saw Rufus' story. As I read his description, I realized this was the dog that was originally slated to come to my house, instead of Shiner. Having been out of the fostering realm for a couple of years, I don't think that would have been the best way to start back in. Thankfully, the foster coordinators saw the better plan and gave us Shiner for the time being. And he's been a joy.

Early Expectations

A few weeks ago, my little sister came to our house for her Spring Break. She is just sixteen, and a sophomore in highschool. My parents were sending her to us under the auspices that we would visit colleges and help her figure out where she wants to go to school when she graduates. Did anyone miss the part about her being a sophomore? In case you did, I'll put it in different terms: 10th grade.

So, in my talks with her leading up to the visit, I said we would just tell them we visited colleges, and they wouldn't be the wiser. My dad, particularly, continued to harp on the subject, so I finally acquiesced. We would visit some schools.

When she got here, though, I couldn't do it. Saturday came and went. Then Sunday and Monday. Tuesday morning I pulled together everything I could and we visited UT, Concordia, and Texas State, all in a span of about 2 and a half hours (an hour of that was the drive back and forth from TX St). By visited, I mean we drove through and talked about the relative merits and drawbacks of very small, medium-sized, and large schools. And then we were done. I promised no more lapses in our refusing to visit schools.

We did everything else, though, and by the end of the week I was completely worn out. Mostly I tried to get her to understand that her opinions and desires and strengths are valid, even if they don't match Dad's expectations of her. I don't think I succeeded, but I laid some groundwork for some further conversations. It's pretty difficult to undo in one week the damage my dad does all year.

I know he has the best intentions, he just doesn't always push his agenda in the best way possible. I know they are also older now than when I was in highschool -- more ready than ever to finally be empty-nesters. I try to remind them it's not her fault that she was born so much later in the family's life cycle, but I know she still gets that vibe. How could any kid not get that vibe.

Regardless, when I dropped her off at the airport to head back home, I called my dad. I told him we hadn't figured anything out during the week, and that I considered it a personal victory that she said she is now more confused than she was when she came to our house. I was a bit stern with him, reminding him that she has 18 months before she even has to apply to places, much less decide where to go or what to major in. (I left out the part where I told her it was okay if she didn't go to college, too. We have to work up to that possibility.) I told him to let her focus on trying to stay in that top 10 percent of her class, and not worry about selecting her career (and husband, and the date she'll have children, etc.) until much later.

Why would I ever need to have children of my own? I have my little sisters (the other one has her own set of dramatics). And more than that, I have my dad to keep me busy.

British Invasion

This weekend, my husband and I attending the wedding celebration of his sister and her new husband. He is British, but we did not go to London for these festivities. Instead, his relatives and friends came to Northern Georgia for the parties. After all the regular jokes about driving on the wrong side of the road, we settled in for a very fun set of days. I've almost stopped saying things like "lovely" and "dreadful," but I am still looking for a reason to use my new phrase, "khak my pants."

We went to five parties in four days, and apparently there were two others we weren't even invited to attend. It's a good thing, too, since I don't think I could have gone to one more party without exploding. I love my sister-in-law, and I really like this guy she married, but is it really necessary to jump up and down constantly for the whole weekend? Thankfully, my mother-in-law didn't spontaneously combust, though that was a distinct possibility.

---

One of my responsibilities at this wedding was to play the video toast that her other brother put together since he was unable to attend. This involved a projector, speakers, a mixer, and a laptop. With all the equipment I rented, I could have bought him a plane ticket, myself. The brother-in-law, with his theatrics, put together an animated film wherein Great Britain invaded Georgia for the booming poultry market. Negotiations between the bride and groom representing their respective countries (?) were tense:
  Bride: "I'm right!"
  Groom: "Oh dear."
  Et cetera ...

During the playing of this toast, I realized that I was the most likely person to be attacked by the bride in question, and I was only four feet away from her. Thankfully, she was able to laugh at herself (or she'd had too much wine by that point to be aware of what was going on), and I have survived to blog another day.

Regardless, all is right in the world again. Most of those UK-ers have returned home, or at least gone to places like New York and Vail where people expect to see foreigners. The sleepy little towns in northern Georgia have been allowed to return to their regular, non-constant-partying selves. And I go back to work tomorrow, trying to earn a living in the field I know best.

Love is beautiful, no?

Moving Out of the Depression

This will be my last post about basketball for a while, I promise. I don't know if any of you noticed, but my Aggies lost a 1-point heartbreaker to LSU to exit from the NCAA tournament. I was so excited about how well they've played this season, so that made this loss really hard. Oh and the part about not getting to go to the Sweet 16 game I'd imagined between A&M and Duke in Atlanta tonight. I was going to Atlanta anyway today, and I had delusions that I would be going to that game. But, it wasn't to be.

But now I'm coming out of my sadness about that loss. We had an awesome run, and a great season. Next year holds even greater promise as a result. I'm glad we got the opportunity to have a couple of wins in post-season play, both in the Big 12 Tournament and in the NCAA Tournament. That has to boost our recruiting abilities, and we have our best players back next year to go with that. All leads to a very promising future for the team.

Thank you for allowing me to talk about this run in this forum. I know you don't really have any say in what I write here, but I'm trying to be gracious.

My Aggies Rock

Did you see that they won? Did you see that they won?? If not, I'll go ahead and spoil your TiVo watching for later. Texas A&M beat Syracuse in the first round of the tournament! It was exactly A&M's kind of game -- a defensive, low-scoring battle that is won by the three and running out the shot clock on every possession. The tempo was ours. Gerry McNamara was ours. He has been so hot lately, and his play in the last few games of the season and the Big East tournament are why Syracuse was listed as a 5 seed (does anyone remember how they were being talked about as a bubble team just before the Big East tournament?). However, A&M completely shut him down. No field goals. At all.

And that's why we won. Good defense and a lot of heart. I am so proud. And we'll be playing again on Saturday. LSU, you better get ready for us.

SXSW Movie Review

I don't normally do this. Of course, I don't normally see anything until it goes mainstream and everyone and their dog has seen it, too. But this time was different. I know someone who knows someone who knows someone else...who knows the director of "The Oh in Ohio", and they got us tickets to go see it Monday night at the SXSW Film Festival here in Austin.

This film stars Parker Posey, Paul Rudd, Mischa Barton, and Danny Devito, and addresses the topic of female sexual dysfunction. The storyline was fun, and the characters were all believable and multi-layered. The audience was laughing and generally enjoying themselves. I was a little embarrassed when I remembered my 15-year-old sister was in the seat next to me, but she also enjoyed it.

It is being shown again this Friday night at the Paramount theater as part of the festival. In case it's already sold out, I wanted to let you all know that they are working on getting wider spread carrying of the film, so it might be coming to a theater near you. If it does, please be sure to go. But it will probably be rated R, so be careful about taking your 15-year-old sister.

Customer Bracket Bragging

Quite a few of my customers made it to the big dance this year. Last year, I only had 5 in the tournament. This year, it's 8 of my 62 customers. That's a pretty good percentage, considering how many of my customers aren't Division I schools or are all together in one of the wimpy conferences that only gets their automatic bid. Here's the breakdown, by seed, for my little list of customers that made it this year:

2 Ohio State
5 Syracuse
5 Pittsburgh
6 Michigan State
9 Bucknell
12 Texas A&M
12 Kent State
15 Pennsylvania

Unfortunately, I am guaranteed to lose two of my customers in the first round, since they are in head-to-head 5/12 matchups. And of course there's my 15-seed. But overall, it was a good showing. I know it seems strange to look at things like this, but last year, I bet against Bucknell, even though they were my customer. And you all know how that went down. Well maybe you don't, but they upset Kansas, and 14 seeds just don't do that very often.

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Meanwhile, I am so pumped about my Aggies. The first trip to the big dance in nearly 20 years. It's certainly the first time since I've been paying attention. Do they have a tough road ahead of them? Sure. But you have to watch out for those 5/12 pairings. Every year one or two 5 seeds fall in the first round. I hope my "little team that could" can be one of those. And have I ever mentioned that I'm ecstatic that Josh Carter is just a freshman this year? And that Acie Law and Joe Jones are still juniors, and we'll get another year out of them? The prospects for next year are so good, I can hardly contain myself.

Austin is a Great Place to Live

When I first moved to Austin, I didn't really like it. Of course, that might have been the unemployment or the waiting tables or the apartment with the bars on the windows. Regardless, in time, Austin has really grown on me. Here are some of the best things about Austin.

This city is quite the outdoorsy locale. People hike and swim and run and cycle and generally participate in tons of stuff outside. There is a plethora of available races for all athletic levels, and participants in said races tend to be incredibly supportive of their fellow racers. It's just the kind of place that encourages activity. After my announcement that I wanted to do a marathon in another year, I've gotten so many training suggestions, books, offers to run together, etc. It's very encouraging and exciting.

Downtown is quite the bustling place, full of fun restaurants and hangouts, and generally nifty things to do. So many cultures are reflected in the food and the atmosphere of the places that are available.

And finally, but most importantly, one of the state mental hospitals is located here. This makes things easier when it's time to check in. Or easier to visit my husband when I have him checked in.

Civic Duty Completed

As it turned out, all those questions I answered in the online reporting tool got me selected for the jury. When I arrived at the door to the room in question, it took me right into the jury box in a courtroom. And there I sat with 10-12 other people.

There was no one else in the room. There was a desk for a court reporter, a table for the defendants and another for the prosecutor, a witness stand, and desk for the judge. I found myself thinking it was surprisingly plain and unassuming for the state capital of Texas, even for a municipal courtroom.

Everyone sat there quietly, not wanting to be the first person to try and make chit-chat attempts. The guy next to me was that person who is way too important for his own good. He sent and received probably 10 text messages during the 30 minutes I sat next to him.

We could hear voices in the next room. They got louder and softer as time progressed. Sometimes it sounded like a very unhappy person, and sometimes like a very angry person. Couldn't hear anything when the voices got quieter.

After a little while, a man came in to take roll. Two people were missing. When he left, we resumed our quiet ignoring of each other. I returned to my puzzle, and a guy across from me looked for a new magazine to thumb through. Ten minutes more, and the roll-caller came back to announce that the judge would be in momentarily to talk with us. We were told to rise, the judge came in, and we all sat back down.

He thanked us for coming and fulfilling our obligation. He thanked us for our patience. And then he said they were able to settle all the cases on the docket for the day without having to bring them befor us, so we were free to go. He even said any parking tickets we may have gotten would be paid for by the city.

As we left, I overheard one of my fellow jurors say, "That's my favorite judge ever."

It was a bit anti-climactic. I was sorry not to have gotten to experience the full fun of a trial. It probably would have been a speeding ticket or parking ticket, and not nearly that exciting, but I was intrigued to see the process in action. Only without the cameras and TV writers scripting it out.

My Civic Responsibility

Today I am off to be selected, or not selected, into a jury. I've never actually served on a jury, so this is certainly going to be interesting. Even if just in the experiencing of the process.

It's interesting to me that anyone I've told that I have jury duty has tried to give me advice on what to do to get out of being selected. First off, I am incapable of lying, so telling me to make up anything is just not going to happen. But secondly, if everyone is trying to get out of jury duty, then won't it be hard to assemble a jury of peers? Of course it's an inconvenient time to be out of work, and certainly I don't want to be sequestered for the next six months of my life, but it seems that it's important for someone to be willing to serve.

Family Differences

This weekend there was a day where I straightened my hair. Now my hair isn't excessively curly, but it is wavy, and sometimes a bit unruly. It really threw my husband off for me to have straight hair. At one point he came up behind me and said, "You look like someone in my family with your hair like that."

I reminded him that I am a member of his family.

...

This has been an ongoing struggle for us. His family sees blood as the only definer of family, and mine sees it as the people you choose to spend time with. At our wedding reception, one of the other people that had married into my husband's family came up to me and welcomed me to "The Outlaws (because we'll never be in-laws, you see)." And that's pretty much how it's been. I wasn't allowed to go to the grandfather's funeral, because those kinds of things are "just for family." And on, and on.

This causes us both a lot of issues. I constantly feel like an outsider in what should be my family. He feels like he is treated too familiarly, but can't tell my parents that he already has a Mom and Dad and doesn't need any more sets.

So, I'm curious and I want to ask you, kind readers, whether you have seen similar differences in the way family is perceived, and whether you've found creative solutions to the outsider/insider dilemma.

I'm Ba-ack!

I have finally recovered from not enough sleep and way too much alcohol. The conference went very well, and even my biggest stickler of a client laughed with me and got a picture of my team. They even joked about the project that we've been working on (and missing deadlines on) for the last 6 months.

...

The food was all really good throughout the days. I think I could have eaten 6 pounds of that spinach/avocado/tomato salad. Mmmmmm!! It was also nice to hear the customers talk about the good food after last year's complaints about the chicken on the first night.

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On Monday night, we took them to see an IMAX film at the Bob Bullock Texas History Museum. We saw "Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D". The last time I went to a 3D movie, I had just finished high school. It turns out, being able to see out of both of your eyes is rather important to being able to resolve 3D images. In the previous experience, I became nauseated and had to step out. Seeing 2-3 copies of every image is very disconcerting. Well, I'm happy to report that the technology in the glasses has improved quite a bit. This time, the glasses filtered out most of the other images, and while I didn't see anything in 3D, I generally only saw one instance of the picture. Regardless, with Tom Hanks and Morgan Freeman narrating, I fell asleep about 10 minutes in, and woke up just before the closing credits. Was I drunk? No. Tipsy, but not drunk enough to pass out. Just tired from smiling and talking to everyone and trying to remember all the names and all of that.

...

My presentation during the second day of conference proceedings went okay, but I was reminded of what a boring presenter I really am. I got lots of comments about how informative my session was, which is code for "it had information, but not much else." I tried to be lively, but I really felt like I was assigned a boring topic. And when you feel that way deep down, you're pretty doomed to fulfill your prophecy. I think I've got a (mostly) foolproof way to avoid having a presentation to do next year.

...

We ended the conference on Fat Tuesday on 6th street, so that was a little crazy. After the planned festivities, a group of us ended up at the Rainbow Cattle Company for some dancing. I have to say, my first experience at a gay club went well. However, I did find myself wondering why I've never seen an unattractive gay man.

...

The Wednesday after the conference found me drinking as much water as I could possibly fit into my stomach. I spent the rest of the day (that I wasn't in the restroom from the excessive water consumption) trying to relearn how to type and fix things for customers, etc. I'm pretty well back to normal now, and getting all the things done that I promised to them during the conference. I really enjoy this conference every year, even though it generates a ton of work for us all after we get done with it. We call it our "Job Security Conference."

Heather Will Be Busy

My company's annual client conference will be going on in downtown Austin over the next few days, so I will be busy. Busier than normal, anyway. I'm checking into the hotel that the conference is in to get a few more hours of sleep between 6:30 registration table duties through to midnight (or later) schmoozing with clients. I am likely to be so tired and hungover after the next three days to not actually be able to type any entries for a while after that (or maybe that will be all I have brain power to do).

I just wanted to let you know that I haven't fallen off the face of the planet, but I will be MIA for a while. Never fear -- the randomness that is my blog will return soon enough.

Another Accident

Last night, on my way home from work, I saw all kinds of flashing lights at the same spot as the last accident I saw. The only car I saw was spun around backwards, and messed up pretty good. It was a very distinctive car -- white with a big red triangle on the hood. I had seen it earlier in my commute home, dashing past me as I started on my way north. Twenty minutes later, I found that the owner got what he/she had coming.

Now, normally, I am sympathetic to people in car accidents. I've been in enough to know how much of a pain they are (even if you're not in physical pain). But in this case, I had no sympathy. Instead, I muttered under breath, "See,if you'd just let me in back there, things would have been fine."

Shiner Update

I know I haven't spoken about the dog lately, so I thought I'd provide a bit of an update. After eating me out of house and home -- I mean, eating my house and home -- he's settled down quite a bit. I am tentatively calling him housetrained (no accidents in 2 days). He is not jumping up on people anymore, and we've found better outlets for his energy during the day when we're not home. Here's hoping he's done chewing on random fluffy things around the house. I'm running out of fluffy things for him to find.

Speaking of fluffy things...

A feral cat was in our back yard when we let Shiner out this evening. The cat ran immediately for the fence to get away, but Shiner was a little too fast, and caught up before the cat escaped. When I got to him, he had the cat by the neck and was shaking it furiously. I got his attention, and the cat managed to get away. That may be the end of our feral cat problems in our yard. And, I think I can safely declare Shiner "Not Cat Friendly." Danger to all cat-kind seems more appropriate.

This probably confirms something we suspected about Shiner's background. As a shelter rescue whose tatoos are illegible, we don't have anything definitive about the kennel where he was bred or any racing history. And since most kennels keep a pretty good handle on their animals, we thought he might have been a coursing dog. In racetrack racing, dogs are baited with a mechanical rabbit (usually just a tail attached to the inside of the oval), and they chase that, but don't catch it. In illegal coursing, the owners use live rabbits in an open field. The dog who catches/kills the rabbit is the winner. These dogs tend to be less able to happily coexist with small animals and maybe children.

I better see if I can't find a really strong muzzle for him before I attempt the introduction to small children. And maybe I shouldn't warn their mothers that I'm experimenting with their kids. I wonder, after 5 dogs, if my neighbor realizes how many times I've tried her son out as my small child measuring stick. Is that wrong? If I told people that I was testing with their kids, would anyone let me find out if this dog is okay to be adopted to a family with children?

The Godfather

My husband became a godfather yesterday. There is a lot of irony to this, since he hasn't been to church in almost two years. Call me old-fashioned, but I always thought the point of this kind of role was one of a spiritual nature. I do know that people without any religious connection use the term, but in this case it is being bestowed in a church as part of a baptism. He promised to keep this little baby in his prayers and to make sure he learned all the important tenets of Christianity. I just hope they weren't completely empty promises.

Schizophrenia Runs Rampant

Looking over just a few months of blog entries, I've figured out my problem. I have no one topic to focus on. I run my mouth, er, fingers over whatever random topic comes to mind. I've read blogs that can be characterized by one topic, and ones that tend to stick with 3-5 topics that maybe even go together. These seem coherent. Almost like novels that flow from chapter to chapter. But not mine. I am left to assume that the disorganization on the screen is a reflection of the disorganization in my mind, and that led me to the conclusion that I'm schizophrenic.

Now, I'm a highly-functioning schizophrenic, in that I can hold down a job and generally maintain friendships. I haven't needed drugs to control my disease or hospitalization to keep me from killing anyone or harming myself. But there it is -- with no focus, there must be something wrong with me.

Or maybe, I'm a hypochondriac labeler.

I Cannot...

My company has a beginner level flag football team, and we had our first game tonight. Let me give you the run-down on the things I have (re)discovered I don't do well.

• Catch a pass. I apparently am incapable of catching a football thrown to me from as little as three feet away.


• Throw a ball. I managed a weak lateral once, but there are no beautiful spirals being thrown from my hand.


• Catch a punt. I came close twice, but no actual catch.


• Run the ball. In my one carry tonight (a basic handoff play), I lost five yards for the team. Couldn't even get back to the line of scrimmage.


• Protect my quarterback. I believe he was sacked 4 times on my watch.


• Tackle. I had quite the time trying to actually get the flag, and the one time I did, I pulled the player's flag before she caught the ball, making it harder for another team member to find the other flag to bring her down.

Conveniently, it looks like I'm capable of snapping, so I might still have a future on the team. And they need four girls on the field at all times. Maybe next time we can score at least once, and finish out the game without the refs declaring a mercy rule ending to the madness.

There are a couple of things to be aware of in Heather-land: I'm not big, I'm not fast, and I have no depth perception. Not sure what made me think I could play football (and, ha ha, as a center no less??). I also always wonder about the other teams in a beginner league. They always seem like they've played before, and are just trying to clean up in the easy league. Maybe we really are that bad, so it's a good thing we all still have our day jobs.

Alert: Further Basketball Commentary

Today, another Big 12 coach appears to be reaching imminent dismissal. Eddie Sutton, coach of Oklahoma State for the last ... well, for forever, has been cited for drunk driving in an accident last week. So, while he is recuperating from the accident, the administration is deciding when to end his season.

I am certainly not justifying his behavior. I'm only commenting to wonder what is happening to the coaches in my conference? Why are they making themselves targets for mid-season removal? Are they trying to prove that the Big 12 sucks this year? Are they hoping to ensure that only the winner of the conference will get to go to the Tournament?

I do realize that my Aggies are barely marginal this year, and we'd be lucky to be picked up for any post-season anything. But I would hate for us to finally have a good record, finishing fourth in the conference or something, and then not get to go to the Tournament. I suppose that's the breaks when the conference isn't very good this year.

Alert: Basketball Commentary

Big announcement in Big 12 basketball today: Quin Snyder is resigning. After scrutiny from the NCAA last season and popular desire for him to get fired due to the number of losses in the last two seasons, Snyder and Mizzou have reached an agreement and his resignation is effective immediately. Now, it's bad enough to leave in disgrace. And worse to leave in the middle of the season. But now their acting head coach is Melvin Watkins. Now, Watkins had a great record at UNC-Charlotte, and I'm sure he knew what he was doing there. However, he couldn't do much with the 6 years he was at Texas A&M (his last season saw an abysmal 0-16 conference record leading to his dismissal). Not sure if he can coach in the Big 12. They haven't name him their permanent coach, yet, but it seems likely (otherwise why would they have picked him up last year -- head coaches don't go back to being assistants without some assurances). I hope he is able to do more in that environment than he was at A&M. And then again, maybe I don't. Two guaranteed wins each year would be nice. A&M would be more than happy to take Missouri's spot of late as 5th or 6th in the Big 12 each year, with a good chance to go to the NCAA tournament.

Meanwhile, the loss of "Coach Q" on the sidelines makes me sad, almost as sad as he made me when he cut his curly hair shorter. He's been the best looking college coach I've seen for a long time (even with his shorter hair), and I hope he's back soon. He doesn't seem to be a bad coach, and his players certainly seemed to want to play hard for him. So, it would seem he has a future, and I have a chance to keep watching.

Shiner Joins the Household

No, not the beer. Though there might be a few bottles in the fridge.

Shiner is a two-year-old brindle greyhound that just came to live with us this morning. We are fostering him to figure him out and hopefully find him a great home in the process. This is one of the first dogs I've ever worked with that is straight from the kennel to a home. Adjusting them to pet life from the racing world can be difficult. I'll let you know if anything particularly amusing occurs during the first few weeks. Otherwise it will likely be the accidents and the chewing and the general acclamation to living as a pet and not in a crate.

He seems to mostly be in pretty good shape. He's got some dry skin, and he's really skinny. Now, greyhounds look skinny anyway to people that are familiar with other big dogs like labs and retrievers. You are supposed to be able to see two ribs -- any less than that, and they are fat and bearing too much weight on their little legs. I can see 7 of Shiner's ribs. So, some fattening is in his future.

He was neutered 2 weeks ago, so at some point, I'm supposed to check and see if his stitches have already been removed, and take them out if not. Hmmmm...Welcome to the family...now spread 'em...and I need my scissors. We'll see how that goes.

Another Year Older, And Deeper in Debt

Today is the point of no return. We can no longer cancel the enormous refinance we just did to take out some money and do some work on the house. So, we went from having paid down our mortgage pretty decently to suddenly owing more than we purchased the house for in the first place. Ah, the American Dream lives -- to build more and more debt over life.

Really, this is a good move for us. We are planning some significant changes to the house that will make it more liveable and interesting, and likely to sell better in the future. Regardless, they're the kinds of things that need to be done for us to enjoy living here again. And it just doesn't make sense to move since we might only be here in Austin one more year. Yes, I know -- it doesn't make sense to dump a bunch of money in if we're going to move soon either, but we're considering being landlords, so it may not be a complete waste. Either way, there is restless energy that needs to go into some level of change, and this is a better investment than other ways to use up that kind of energy.

Personal Mayhem Diaries

Scars are journals of some of the bad things that happen in our lives. They chronicle accidents and surgeries and physical pain in life. Here's the way my scar diary might describe my life.

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When my owner was just over a year old, she was jumping on the bed, fell off, and landed on her rocking goat (don't ask -- her parents were hippies). The goat apparently had a loose nail that went through her lower lip and ripped a nice lip separation. Besides being hippies, her parents were apparently also too young and uninformed to get me stitched up. Now I am ragged-looking, but I get paler with time.

In 3rd grade, Heather was in a bicycle accident. She was racing a friend back to her house, going opposite sides of the block toward the far corner. She thought she'd be smart (like any good 8-year-old), and took a shortcut through the alley. The very gravelly alley. The knee took a few bits of gravel for a snack, and now I'm here, looking a bit like a mouth to tell the tale.

If you look at her left foot (not the movie), you'll see where she had another bike accident the next year, when I was born. She was following the same friend from the previous story when the friend stopped suddenly. Heather couldn't stop in time, and the pedal cut a nice gash in the top of her foot. She was wearing jellies at the time, so the top of the foot was exposed. I was certain I needed stitches, but again, her parents wouldn't help me. I tell them now that I would be smaller if they would have cared about medical attention for me.

I am found on the outside of Heather's right ankle. She was learning to shave. And she didn't do so well. I'm actually darker than the neighboring skin. I was the first scar to do that.

On the insides of both elbows, we are not trackmarks from Heather's heroin addiction. Regardless of any bad jokes she might try to tell, don't believe her. Instead, we are from half a dozen whole blood donations and probably 20 plasma sales. She apparently had to start selling plasma because she was in college, and was broke. The right arm was significantly juicier, so our colony is larger there.

On her left hip you'll find me, a more recent member of the family. At least I get to say that I'm the only visible scar that was created by the medical community. And there were still no stitches.

Heather is still quite the klutz. While cooking dinner at Thanksgiving, the large turkey and the small oven converged to create me on her left forearm. There were three burns during the cooking of that turkey, but I was the only one good enough to cause a scar. And, I have the distinction of being the latest scar so far.

Silly Weekendness

This weekend, my husband and I partook in silly online personality and intelligence tests. We've now, with complete scientific certainty, determined that I am:
- Afflicted with fewer personality disorders than my husband
- Clinton, while he is Einstein
- Smarter than he is
- Christian, while my husband is Buddhist

Anyway, one of the tests we took was a measure of fluid intelligence: the ability to recognize patterns in a set of shapes. I felt like I was back in elementary school taking IQ tests. Conveniently, I've always tested well. And, apparently, I can find patterns.

This proved very helpful when I went to the grocery store. A little background on this: I buy gift cards from my church for my grocery shopping, and then my church gets 2% back on that. It doesn't cost me anything, so it's certainly worth it. My most recent card had $17.64 left on it. So, when I went to the store tonight, I knew that was my limit (it's the end of the month, and there's no money left for fun stuff like food). At the checkout stand, my total came to $16.74. Whew! But, my card was declined. So we tried it again. Declined. Apparently I only have 90 cents left on my card. Wait...that's how much there would be if they'd actually charged the $16.74. So I argued. And pulled out my last receipt that shows how much was left on the card. And they found a manager and fixed everything. And now I really do have 90 cents left on my card.

Good thing I can do math in my head. Otherwise, I'd be poorer than necessary.

Happy Chinese New Year!

Today is New Year's Day, in the Chinese zodiac calendar. We mark the change from the year of the Rooster to the year of the Dog. Woof!

Being a Manager

Being a manager is great when everything is humming along swimmingly. Things aren't so great when someone who works for you isn't doing the bang-up job you'd hoped for. Performance issues are some of the hardest things to deal with. You have a responsibility to the company and the rest of the employees to address the issue, but when you're as afraid of conflict as I tend to be, it's downright terrifying. I've had several issues I've had to deal with in my career, and the hardest are the ones with people that really want to do the work, and be good at it, but they just aren't getting there.

This most recent issue has been one of those times.

Bruce* has a great attitude, and really wants to be at the company. He tries hard, and wants to do a great job in the position, but he's just not picking things up. I have explained things differently, and over again, and again, and again. I have had other people explain the concepts to him (thinking a different approach might be all he needs). I have adjusted my expectations, knowing that I am a hard boss and it can be difficult to meet my very high expectations for those who work for me. I've gone back and forth over and over about what I didn't do right -- what I didn't teach him, what I might have expected him to pick up on on his own, etc. Believe me, if people who used to work for me at other companies didn't ask me on a regular basis if they could come work for me again, I would take these times hard and assume I was a terrible manager. However, at some point I have to say he isn't the right fit for this job. That is what I finally had to do, and proceeded to have a heart-to-heart with Bruce. Nice guy that he is, he made my job a little easier, and decided to quit. He's finishing out the week, and then it's on to other things.

I would love to never have these kinds of situations come up again. Invariably, though (unless I start working somewhere where the only employee is me), it will. As my mentor told me when I had my very first situation like this come up when I was in my first management role, "If this gets easy, it's time to stop managing people." I've taken that to heart, and I hope I've been kind to Bruce. In time I hope he even sees that this leads to some sort of positive change in his life.

Good luck to you, Bruce. I truly mean that.

* Name changed to protect privacy.

My 2006 Resolutions

So far, the resolutions I had made for myself have been working. I can't say I've been perfect at the changes I set out for myself, but I have done better than normal. It helps that some of these goals my husband and I set as things we both want to do. Here is a summary of where I am at this point in the year.

1. No TV. We watch movies in the theater and from our NetFlix queue, but no actual broadcast television. I've made one exception when I went to a party to watch the UT/USC National Championship game, but that's it. And I can rationalize that one.

2. Lose 10 pounds. I know, I know, everyone puts something like this on their list. I am doing it by having sub-goals, and that makes it more manageable for me:

• Eating better when I go out. I eat more vegetables, less fried stuff, and always get a salad (they take up space in the stomach).


• Not going out nearly as much. I have a limit of 2 lunches a week, and 2 dinners a week, which I have been adhering to religiously. I have been cooking 3-4 times a week, and eating leftovers most of the other nights and lunches. It's much less sodium, and as an added bonus, it's generally cheaper (though don't look too closely at how much my salmon dinner cost me to make last night).


• Limiting my coke consumption to 2 per week. I've actually slipped on this one a bit this weekend, but in general I've been sticking to this well. And getting less and less interested in the taste of them as a result.

I am pleased to report that at last weigh-in I have lost 4 pounds so far this year, and my clothes are feeling looser. That is really the motivation. See, I'm cheap, and I refuse to go out and buy new clothes. Especially new bras -- do you know how expensive those darn things get?

3. Train to complete the Danskin triathlon in 90 minutes. My best time has been 111 minutes, so this is a bit of a stretch goal, but it would get me into the appropriate bracket with my age group. I've also sucked my whole family into doing it with me this year, and it would be just terrible if they finished faster than me. My current estimation is that the swim will take me 20 minutes and the run will take me 30 minutes. So, I have 40 minutes to do the bike. That will be tough (around 19 miles per hour, with tons of hilliness). Plus, I'll need to fit in about 5 minutes for the two transitions. Maybe I can shave a few minutes off my swim, and a few more off my run......

4. Train to be ready to run the Freescale marathon in February, 2007. This is a huge thing for me. I'm not much of an endurance athlete, but I'm as stubborn as they come, and I know lots of people that can give me training tips. I've never run more than 6 miles without stopping, so I have quite a bit of training to do to be ready. Conveniently, Austin has tons of races to lead up to the big one, and if I train properly I should be able to do it. Mmmmmmarathon.

So, that's what I'm working on. I hope your resolutions have led to positive experiences for you, too.

Different Strokes

On my way home from work tonight, I was driving along, paying attention to the cars in front of me. I was almost home, when I saw a car on the side street looking like it was going to turn right onto my street. Meanwhile, a car in the middle lane was inching over to change lanes into that same right lane.

And they both did what they were looking like they were going to do. And they collided.

And then both kept driving. One continued on straight up the street in the middle lane, and the other turned right at the next street.

I just don't understand that behavior. I would have pulled off into one of several parking lots, made sure everyone was okay, and exchanged information (of course, I'm quite the rules follower). Even as a bystander, I was prepared to follow the two cars, and offer my services as a witness. But they, apparently, wouldn't have wanted them anyway.

I know that my area of the city is poorer, and there are probably quite a few folks without insurance. I also know there are pockets of illegal immigrants in the area. I'm sure neither group would be interested in any kind of car-related mishaps, but I guess it surprised me that these two cars held folks that seemed to be in one category or the other.

Are there other reasons not to stop if you've been involved in a car accident?

Plasticman and Elastigirl

When I was growing up, Plasticman was always my favorite superhero. Not Superman or Batman or any of those mainstream guys. I liked Aquaman, too, but that's a story for another time.

Anyway, Plasticman always seemed cool to me in the way he could stretch out and grab someone, or make himself flat and slide under a door. It just seemed to me to be such a versatile gift. But as I got older, I forgot about him, as teenagers (who are way too cool for that sort of thing) are wont to do.

And then The Incredibles came out. I enjoyed the movie, but I absolutely adored Elastigirl. Again, with the amazing versatility, and I loved the irony of her being the mother of three kids.

So I was reminded of Plasticman, and this attraction I have to these heroes of flexibility. I suppose that says something about what I value in life, but I doubt it's that clear or simple. So, I just thought I'd throw it out there, and let you all figure it out for me.

Thanks.

Wanting a Dog

It's been two years since our greyhound, Geiger, died. She was the sweetest dog, if not real smart. She was old, and it was time for her to go, but it was still hard. Now that I'm traveling less for work, and my husband is done with school, it seemed like a good time to get another dog. We combed the internet, that ready source of all, um, knowledge, to try to figure out the perfect dog breed for our lifestyle. You can do that with dogs, you know. Not with kids, but with dogs. Apparently, the perfect dog for us is the Hungarian Visla. Ever heard of one? The closest place we can get one is Dallas.

I personally would like to go back to fostering greyhounds until we find the one with the temperament that fits us, and adopt it. Greyhounds are such sweet dogs, and fulfill my desire for a cat (please leave your comments about crazy cat ladies down the street at home). They have very short hair and a penchant for cleaning themselves that means you only have to bathe them every month or two. They "take retirement very seriously", meaning you don't have to walk them very often either. By the time Geiger was 10, she not only did not require a walk (not that she required more than 10-15 minutes before that), if you wanted to go for a longer walk than around the block, she would lay down in the grass and refuse to go any further. So, they are low maintenance. But, you also get all the great things about a dog -- the way they are so excited to see you when you come home, even if you're just coming back in from getting the mail. They want to be around you, and tend to get into things, which is endearing.

Fostering would be so hard, you say? No, no, it's not. We've fostered 3 so far, and I've been happy to see them find homes. The great thing about fostering a rescued greyhound is that you get to know them, to characterize them, and help them find a good loving home. Then there are more greyhound evangelists out there. Did you know they can find homes for 20-25,000 dogs each year that are discharged from the racetrack system? However, there are easily twice that many that are killed each year and never given the opportunity to laze around on a soft bed and bounce around happily when their owners come home.

So get a dog already!!! But then we started down this remodeling path, and now doesn't seem like such a perfect time for a dog. We'll have a kitchen that's a mess and potentially dangerous construction materials everywhere. So, I guess we'll have to wait. But I know my dog is out there, just waiting for me.

Slow Modifications

The two people who come to this blog (one of them being myself) may have noticed that this blog is on a very slow train to transformation. I started with a nice stock blog template, and am slowly changing it to better match my tastes and desires for this page. Unfortunately for you, I am not doing this quickly. Rather, it is like Chinese water torture: one drip of change here, and another drip there. It's likely to take me a good decade to change this page into the page I have envisioned in my head. I understand HTML, but I don't write enough of it to be very good at it. Meanwhile, I want to apologize to you for the mismatched colors in the meantime. I hope to keep it from gouging out your eyes, but I can't guarantee that.

Kitchen Remodeling

During our drive back from holiday family visiting, we discussed plans for remodeling our kitchen. Well, not so much remodeling as completely gutting and replacing. We live in an old house (built in 1960) with a kitchen that was "updated" in 1992. I think that means they put in new appliances, countertops, and linoleum then. It has been functional, but it's so small that it's hard and unsatisfying to use. Right next to the kitchen is an enourmous dining room that has a lot of wasted space. So, you see where this is going.

We've applied for and received a home equity loan, so we're off to the races! We've had the doors measured so we can replace the old sliding glass door with French doors. We've identified most of the appliances that we want to use, and those dimensions will drive the final touches on the layout of the kitchen. Then we start tearing things out and building new cabinets, etc. It's very exciting!

Epiphanies

Today is Epiphany Sunday. In the church calendar, it's the day we celebrate the magi coming to visit the baby Jesus and present Him with gifts. But the word "epiphany" has another, completely nonreligious meaning. I thought it might be nice to recap some of the epiphanies I can remember having over my, albeit short so far, lifetime.

Anything I can come up with has been thought of before.

Racism is not a one-way thing.

Marriage is hard.

No one is lovable all the time.

My parents did the best they knew how with the tools they'd developed in their lives.

When I tell myself that I won't let something affect me, it invariably does.

I guess I've learned some stuff in life, but just not as much as I probably should have. These represent those biggest "aha" moments in my life. What kinds of things have you realized?

Ah...Basketball

I went to my first Aggie basketball game of the season last night. Texas Tech and Bobby Knight came to College Station, and in the first half, they were red-hot. The Aggies couldn't hit anything, couldn't even get in the paint, and had more team fouls than points for about the first 10 minutes of the game. We went into halftime down by 9. Coach Gillespie did something good during that half-time pep talk, while we enjoyed frisbee-catching dogs. When they came out in the second half, they were playing better defense, hitting their shots better, and just playing more like a team than five individuals. It took a bit to make up the deficit, but the second half was very exciting, and the crowd was into it and very loud. By the end, we had managed a 63-55 win.

It feels great to be back into another season of conference play.

Being an Aggie in Austin

For those of you who don't follow football or championship games or watch the news, you may not realize that the University of Texas beat the University of Southern California last night in the Rose Bowl. Good for them. It was a very exciting game to watch, and they can be proud of themselves.

That being said, while I live in Austin, I am not a Longhorn fan. I know, I know -- shocking. My husband and I both went to Texas A&M (and regardless of the fact that he's spent the last 7.5 years gettin' ejicated at UT, he still calls himself an Aggie). I am a very proud Aggie. I'm also aware that if it was the Aggies that just won the National Championship (don't stop me with trivialities like our 5-6 season this year -- this is just for illustrative purposes), I would be ecstatic. I would want everyone to know, and be happy for us.

That's just harder to do when the team that wants that from you is your biggest rival.

So, I am putting on my game face today. I will do my dead-level-best to be truly happy for them. Just please don't push it. I have a limited amount of happy-for-UT available.

Bed Improvements

Beds have issues. They are just not designed for people to sleep in them. Well, maybe they are, but they aren't designed for people who sleep on their sides. If you sleep on your back or stomach, which I do sometimes, then they seem to work. If you sleep on your side, which I do most of the time, then you are constantly having to figure out what to do with the arm on the bottom. The shoulder is in the way, so I try a thicker pillow, but then I get a crick in my neck. It's important to use the shoulder for stability, but then what do I do with my arm? Putting it above my shoulder under my head, my shoulder nerves get pinched, and the arm falls asleep. If I put it behind myself, again with the sleeping appendage result. If I put it underneath myself, there is so much weight on the arm that it falls asleep again. So, I usually have to put it in front of myself, and that doesn't always work either. Mattress manufacturers should figure out a way to accommodate the extraneous arm to prevent the pins and needle thing.

Meanwhile, I've encountered very few couples that require the same temperature to sleep. One partner is always too cold and the other is sweating. I know there are electric heating blankets that are modular, but there are dangers to those things, too. They already make mattresses that allow each sleeping person to set their own firmness. Why can't they make ones that are heated or cooled for each sleeper?

I just want the mattress people to make more money. Really!

Bowling

Why is it that bowling is so much fun? It's one of those games that people laugh at when seen on TV, and look at you weird if you say you have your own bowling ball or shoes. Yet, I've taken my team from work bowling twice this year, and we've had an absolute blast. There's something freeing about being in a bowling alley making a fool of yourself. Or maybe it's about the chance, or guarantee, of beating your boss. Or maybe it's just that we're all completely out of the element we normally see each other in. I don't know. But I think I'm going to have to make sure we continue to go bowling at least once a year.

What Makes a Writer?

Besides actual writers with published material for which they were paid, what is the difference between people who write well and people who aren't as good at it? Is it really just practice? If you write enough drivel, do you eventually learn how to write well?

I somehow doubt it. There is certainly some level of mastery that comes with practice, but much of the magic of the written word is conveyed by people with a talent for words, for the way they go together, and a willingness to try something non-standard and see how it goes.

Recently, I was at a party where I was mostly in a group with lots of people I didn't know. In these kinds of situations, I do generally get a little bit silly. It's also good to be able to read people's faces and feed off what they are enjoying, and what they are tolerating. At some point, one of the ladies in the group said I should write for this online magazine her daughter ran because they're always looking for fresh writers and I was cracking her up. I took the information about the magazine, but I could never do it. Writing is just a totally different skill than talking. I go back and read stuff I've written, and it bores me to tears. (I apologize to those of you that actually come to this page and read the drivel I put together.)

I know several people that really can write, and I am blessed to know them (and healthier for the laughter). I, on the other hand, will continue to write drivel until I can get it to be better drivel.

Freediving Movie

Last night we went to a party at a friend's house, and after a certain number of margaritas were consumed, the host decided it would be fun to put on the Discovery documentary Freedive, which my husband and I participated in last summer. When it was first filmed, it was very exciting, and the first viewing was a lot of fun. Watching it now, a year later, was just creepy. I hadn't rewatched it any in the last eight months since it first came out, and now it makes me want to cringe and destroy all copies of it. Thankfully, Discovery never made a version of the film for general sale. So the only copies that exist are the ones that our friends and family recorded. I think it will be tough to get them all deleted, but that is now my mission.

Adjusting

So, my husband finished grad school. This is a momentous event in life. Yes, it is a huge accomplishment. But even more than that, this has been a near cornerstone of our relationship for the last 7 and one-half years. I embraced the challenge, then I accepted it, then only tolerated it, and lately I have come to rely on it for our entire relating dynamic. I didn't realize this transformation was happening until he actually stopped being in school. He's not constantly stressed out. He isn't depressed and mopey. He isn't blowing me off.

He's actually spending time with me. It's weird, and I haven't figured out how to adjust. The thesis, with all its edits, was turned in on Friday. That night, we went to a party. This weekend, we went for a walk in our neighborhood, went to a movie, and had Sunday lunch where I wanted to eat. Monday night we went to the gym together and dinner afterwards. Last night we had friends over for dinner. This is so foreign that I don't know how to react. These are the kinds of activities I expected marriage to entail back when we entered this crazy ride. I think I'd given up that kind of life as still being possible.

It's exciting, don't get me wrong. I just haven't figured out how to process it yet. I'll get back to you when I figure it out.

Aggie Basketball Update

I have to say I was a bit worried when Antoine Wright entered the draft after his junior year. However, so far so good for my team. Both Joseph Jones and Acie Law IV (as well as a couple of new guys) have stepped up to play well so far in exhibition and non-conference games. They're 6-0 so far for the season, with some great games in there. True, they haven't played Duke or Kentucky or even Missouri, and all but one of their non-conference games are at home, but they are showing the kind of promise that is enough to get me to look through the schedule and see which games I should try to get to. Hmmm...Texas Tech comes to College Station for the Big 12 opener on January 7th. That's a Saturday, and would definitely fit into my schedule. Is it too early to start planning for that?

The Drain Commissioner

Since it's cold now, I had to dig out my coat. I stuck my hand in the pocket, and found a business card that pointed out that I haven't worn that coat since a business trip to Michigan last January. That particular trip was one of my more interesting business trips ever, and decided to put it all down on virtual paper.

I got to town the evening before I was to visit the customer, and decided to go to a local Italian restaurant that seemed to have gotten good reviews. When I got there, I found that this was an incredibly busy place, and seeing as how I was a table for one (and didn't want to wait for food), I decided to sit at the bar and eat there. As I'm eating my dinner, a 60-ish fellow next to me strikes up a conversation. Seems he was the Drain Commissioner of the city, and I now know all about what this elected official does. He told me about the size of his staff and budget, and threw in that he used to be the mayor, but since the DC has more power, he prefers that role, and has been doing this job for nearly 25 years. In my I-haven't-dated-in-nearly-eight-years naivete, I still realized he was flirting with me. I pointed out that I was from out of state and wasn't one of his constituents, and was married (I think I made several unnecessary references to my husband to drive this point home), but to no avail.

We continued with some very interesting political conversation, since he was a liberal Democrat, and I'm more conservative, with libertarian leanings, and am not afraid to disagree with people. We talked for a while, and he bought my dinner (despite my insistence that it was a business expense for my trip). He bought me a drink, and then suggested we go to a bar across the street. I was intrigued by this much older man hitting on me, that I agreed. We talked about his family (his daughter is 10 years older than me), drugs (he thinks all should be legal, and has done his fair share), sex (he loves it, and he's good at it, by his perception), and more politics (drains and water control are surprisingly interesting if the elected official in question is passionate about his work). Then he talks about how in his free time he also runs a massage business, and his clients really like his technique. Especially his female clients. Oh, and he's brought some of them to the Big O just through massage.

I start to leave. He says he wants to see me again. He has to go to a wine tasting the next night, and wouldn't I come with him? He'd really like to give me a massage after I'm done working with my customer the next day. He gives me his card and writes his cell phone number on it. He says won't I please call him when I finish up with my customer the next day? I pocket the card, making yet another feeble comment about needing to call my husband and go to bed, and head back to my hotel.

It's Cold in Them Thar Hills

Okay, so I know that's not really how that call goes. And I know that Texas doesn't get nearly as cold as it gets in other parts of the country. However, this is cold. And icy. So yes, we do basically shut down when it gets cold down here. But that's only because there's also precipitation, and almost never in the form of snow. So we have layers of ice across all the roads everywhere. You should have seen all the wrecks and fender benders I saw last night on the way home. Two to three accidents on every overpass that wasn't closed. New closures occurring all the time. I probably saw 15 emergency vehicles last night about 8pm in the 15 minutes it took me to get home. Kinda crazy.

My parents live in Dallas, and they were expecting an inch of ice last night with two inches of snow on top of that. Apparently, during the commute home yesterday, a semi got almost to the top of one overpass there, and freaked out...just decided not to crest the hill and go down the other side. He was concerned that he wouldn't be able to stop, and would cause a big accident. Probably the smart thing to do, but then all the cars behind him were stuck there. On the overpass. Would have been smarter to just not start up that overpass. Let someone else cause an accident and block the road anyway.

My Husband Graduated!

After 22 semesters, it is official: I am now married to a doctor. Not a medical doctor, but an astronomical one. Woohoo!

Following "The Man"

I have always been fascinated with people and what makes them tick. Why are some people confident when others are not? Why are some perfectly okay with working for "The Man" and others have to work for themselves? How much of it is upbringing and how much is innate?

There is no doubt that part of how one is is related to innate qualities that we're born with. There is plenty of research with separated-at-birth identical twins to prove that. However, I tend to assume that more of who we are is based on our life experiences. Regardless of whether that's the correct assumption, I have proceeded with it through life, trying to understand people.

The current piece that I'm trying to figure out is why some people are constantly trying to go against the rules and defy authority (my husband), while others have it so ingrained in them to follow the rules that options that lie outside of the accepted realm aren't even considered (myself). Of course, I have several other specimens that I have investigated without their permission during this process of learning and trying to figure this stuff out, but it became interesting to me because he and I are so differing on this. I really like the balance, don't get me wrong -- it helps me branch out, and keeps him from going completely off the deep end. But why are we like that?

One reason, I think, is that I have moved so much in my life that I have developed this desire to fit in. More than a desire, really -- a deep-seeded need to be normal. I was the "new girl" in so many schools, and never fit in anywhere, that I tried to become a chameleon, to be like everyone else. My husband, on the other hand, went to the same school from first through twelfth grade, lived in the same house since he was two, and basically had the same friends his whole life. I think, as a result, he has always wanted to find a way to stand out from the crowd -- to not be lumped in with all the people he grew up with. He has looked for what makes him unique for his whole life. He is nearly desperate to figure out how he is totally different from anyone else. I think there are other things that play into this kind of pathology, having to do with parents, but that's a topic for another day.

For now, I'd say that my working hypothesis is that a stable home and friend life leads to a desire to buck the system, while constant upheaval in early life leads to more caution and desire to go with the accepted norms. Please discuss, and shred my hypothesis to pieces. It gives me more reason to continue to study this particular set of societal activities.

Visiting Family

Does anyone else stress this time of year when trying to figure out what to do about holidays and visiting family? Generally, we have Thanksgiving at our house with some kind of family having come in town, and then we go somewhere for Christmas. But this year, we couldn't have anyone come in town for T-day (see previous post), so that leaves Christmas. And to further complicate matters, no family lives in the same state, and my husband's parents are divorced, so that's three entirely separate families to visit. You'd think that after 7 years of marriage we'd have figured out how to handle this lovely conundrum. But it seems that it doesn't matter how hard we try -- we always make the family that we don't visit upset.

One good thing has come from this whole pile of fun, though -- we are now pretty much immune to guilt, which ought to come in handy one day when we have kids.

Thanksgiving Dinner

I love to cook Thanksgiving dinner, and I'm pretty good at it, if I say so myself. I roast a mean turkey, and all the trimmings are made from scratch (except the pumpkin pie, which everyone knows is better if you just make it from the can). So, this has always been my holiday, from the time I graduated from college and had a place with a kitchen. We either have my family or my husband's family in town for the big feast. But not this year. The husband is expecting to defend the PhD thesis next week, so the week of Thanksgiving, we were expecting him to be a basket case (turned out to be true), and we don't want to be entertaining out-of-town guests. So, what does a cranberry-loving freak like me do on the biggest cooking holiday of the year? Was I really supposed to get turkey breast lunchmeat and make a single serving of mashed potatoes? I refused to stoop to that level. I had to cook this meal -- and nothing smaller than a 25-pound turkey was available at the grocery store when I went.

My solution? I cooked everything I would normally have cooked -- turkey, gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans, peas, cranberry relish, and dressing. For dessert there was apple pie, pumpkin pie, and homemade vanilla ice cream. Mmmmmm.

We had 6 for dinner -- all local folks who weren't going to visit family for the holiday. It was wonderful, I sent home tons of leftovers with people, and I now have 5 cute little pounds of turkey meat in the freezer for future cooking endeavors. I think it worked out fine. Maybe the relatives won't be invited in the future, and we'll just keep doing it this way.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

I went last night to see the fourth movie, and it was awesome! I was so impressed with how well they managed to fit an enormous amount of story into 2.5 hours and how good the dragons looked. I guess that means I agree with what they considered to be the important parts of the story. I still dislike the actor they're using for Dumbledore now that Richard Harris died (or maybe it's just that he was so good), but apart from that the movie was really good, and the dragon animation was impressive. I would recommend it to all! Even as a die hard fan of the books (would you like to see the spreadsheet I put together as I reread the books this summer to prove it?), I really liked this adaptation. Did I mention that the dragons were cool?

However, it appears that I have either aged out of the demographic that is allowed to be Harry Potter fans, or we were in a theater in the wrong area. I don't think there were more than 10 people in the entire theater over 18. The first book came out in 1998...if that was set to appeal to 8- to 10-year-olds, then I guess the demographic for this point in the saga would be highschool and early college. But I'm certain that there were more people my age at the opening of the third movie. Have they all had kids now, and can't stay up to watch a movie at midnight? That's certainly feasible, but I just have to ask where a person's priorities are if they can't get a babysitter to watch the kids in order to go to opening night of this movie. Oh wait -- maybe all the potential babysitters were already going to the movie...

I Graduated!

Today, I went to the doctor for my 10th appointment in 3 weeks regarding this stupid abscess thing on my hip. I have been doing 2 loads of laundry every day -- sheets in the morning, towels at night. I have taken every last antibiotic pill that was prescribed to me. Finally, it has paid off. As of today, I am allowed to take care of the hole in my hip all on my own. No more visits to schedule! Woohoo! I feel like a free woman, and I hardly know what to do with my free time!

A Little Bit Flippant

A couple of weeks ago, my grandmother died. She was cremated, and we just had the memorial service this weekend. My grandfather died several years ago, and he was cremated and has been saved in a purple velvet bag in my dad's office. Now, his mom is in an urn. So, there they are -- Urnmom and Bagdad.

Basketball Season

College basketball season is finally underway! I know we're just getting into the exhibition games this weekend, but I have been waiting for this moment since the first part of April when the last season ended. Why, then, do I live in a football state and did I go to a football school? Well, I didn't realize I liked basketball so much until college. And then I went to games. I love the speed of the action. I love the sound of shoes on the floor. I love the closeness of the stands where the noise can't help but be contagious. I went to every game I could go to, and I've never been able to shake the fascination. And now the season is about to start again, and I can feel alive once more.