Friday, April 30, 2004

Elton John Agrees With Me!

A couple of days ago I wrote an entry titled Race and TV (April 27, 2004) where I questioned the American Idol predicament in having three awesome black singers in the top three. They are awesome and to think that the black girls keep getting picked to be on the bottom three makes no sense. But now Elton John has made a public statement about the issue. I feel vindicated. Here is what he had to say!!

Thursday, April 29, 2004

My Bday Celebration

I will be celebrating my birthday this Saturday, May 1st at the Cotton Exchange in Downtown Houston. All Chica readers are cordially invited to attend the festivities. Check out the evite for more info. See you there.

My Pet Peeve

There is NOTHING more annoying in the world than waiting while the person that is supposed to help you finishes her/his personal cell phone conversation. That drives me insane!!

I have had it happen to me several times already and only once has the clerk apologized (she was getting married on Saturday and there was something wrong with the dress, I am not cold hearted, I can understand that). I though that businesses had some sort of rule about no cell phones on the job or at least while working. If they don't have such rule they should really have one. There is nothing worse than having the white chick scanning your groceries answer her cell phone and turn ghetto right in front of your eyes. I mean, is there no customer service left in the world?!!

It seems that customer service and client satisfaction has been put in the back burner in a lot of establishments. There are no rules for employees, no boundaries, no taboos. The other day I was in line waiting to be rung up while the cashier (female) and another (male) employee, that was sitting behind the counter, discussed how to get the male employee laid (he was gay). Should that be discussed at the job?? In front of people???

Maybe I am getting old, I dunno, but I am tired of hearing party plans, dates gone wrong, moms calling their kids and bitching, and sexual discussions while waiting to make my purchase.

Wednesday, April 28, 2004

That Who Sings Last

Ok, it is that time of week again, time for my American Idol picks.
I have been completely wrong about who is getting "voted less" that I should stop making predictions. Ok, I will, but I do think that John is getting the boot this week.


My Top 2 are -
George
LaToya


The Rest -
Fantasia
John
Diana
Jasmine


The Outies-
Jennifer
Jon
Camille
Amy
Matt
Leah

Tuesday, April 27, 2004

Race and TV

It seems that I have been forgetting my blogger responsibilities. It has almost been a week since I last blogged. It is not that I had anything really amazing going on or anything - I guess I have been rather lazy. I am sorry!!

Ok, I am totally amazed that Jennifer Hudson (black) was "voted least" (my coined term) from American Idol. She was NOT the worst singer of the bunch.

I sometimes wonder, not all the time or else all TV viewing would be ruined, how much influence do outside forces (not voting people) have on who gets selected. The producers of the show would want to have a the most popular person, a good singer with a good personality, as the winner, but they also need to have someone that is going to sell albums (The producer of the show also produces the record). Take Ruben Studdard (black) for example - Last year Ruben was the most popular with a great voice and ok personality, but he has sold the least when it comes to album sales compared to all AI finalists.

There are only 6 people left on American Idol. The top three singers are black. There are two white (mediocre singers). And one Hawaiian (would she be white??) with a better voice than the two whites. All I wonder is - Will the two finalist be black? They have to be! They have the better voices.

I am not trying to make this a race thing, but race plays a big part in advertising and that is what makes shows possible. Race has also played a big part in album sales. I really hope that there is no tampering with the votes...I like living life with rose colored glasses.

Wednesday, April 21, 2004

The Agony of The Feet

I love shoes, but I am not a shoe crazy woman. I do not have a closet wall decicated to my foot buddies. I just have a few selected styles that I love and wear all the time.

I think of myself as a fashionable shoe wearer. I am into style more than comfort. That issue is what brings me to write today...
The need for more fashionable and comfortable shoes. There is nothing worst that buying a pair of fabulous shoes and then after two wears decide that you can not even move with them on. I just hate that!!!! It does not matter if they are flats or high heels when a shoe hurts when you walk it just sucks.
Here is an example of my pain - I bought the cutest flip-flops. Flip-flops! I tell you, now you expect them to fit me perfectly, specially, since I am not suspended 4 inches off the floor, but they don't and I refuse to give up on them! They are made by Keds - comfy shoe, you might say, yes, the kind I usually stay away from - and they are the toe flip-flop kind. Well, for some crazy reason the left foot feels awesome, but the right is hurting my second toe in a bad way, but I continue to wear them. I would just hate to give up on them. I am such a trooper.

Last year, I found the greatest shoes ever in both style and comfort. I found them on a sales rack and paid around $15 for them. They fit so well and are so comfy, for being 3.5 inches high, that I went on a quest to find the same shoes but in black. After a month of searching I finally found them, they were lasts year's style and every pair swallowed by the Bermuda Triangle. But guess what?!? They do not fit me like the other ones. Oh, well, my life in a nutshell.

I have come up with a great way to get rid of the foot manglers. I just eBay them. Since they have only been worn a couple of times and are still in stores you can get half of what you paid for them. Half is fine for me, since otherwise those shoes would been in my closet taking up space. The space that belongs to future fabulous shoes.

That Who Sings Last

Ok, it is that time of week again. Time for my American Idol picks.
My bottom three list did not change from last week. Eventhough John sucked this week I think this might be Diana's last week in American Idol.

Bottom three this week -
John
Diana
Jasmine


My Top 2 are -
George
LaToya


The Rest -
Fantasia
Jennifer


The Outies-
Jon
Camille
Amy
Matt
Leah

I am always surprised at who is on the bottom three. One of these days I will be right.

Monday, April 19, 2004

What a Wonderful Weekend

I really had a great weekend. It all started Friday when a couple of friends from Boston that were training in Dallas drove down to Houston. We went bar-hopping in Downtown and had dinner at Bossa - Yummy!
On Saturday we took our guests to Space Center Houston (at their request). It was not as bad as I remember it. Last time we went, around 6 years ago, it was around 100 degrees and we ended up doing the trolley tour, so I was miserable. After the Space Center we drove to Kemah. The weather was so nice it made the day awesome. Thanks weather!!! And thanks to Drew and Kish for visiting me.

On Sunday, John, Olivia, and I, went to our first Astros game. We have season tickets (we split the package with my mom and step-dad) and was so surprised to see how good our seats are. We are the front row of the crappy seats, woo, hoo. Hey, once we sat at the last row on the tallest side of the wall. I swear, up that high the stairs are so steep that I got my day's workout going up and down, needless to say, beer was hardly consumed that day.

Ebay ended and people actually want these massive items shipped, so I need to go look for boxes. I don't understand that. I am not complaining or anything, but why would someone pay $35 dollars for an item plus $25 shipping if they can buy the item new for around $59 dollars?? That always kills me, but as long as they pay I don't care. Ok, gotta go look for boxes.

Friday, April 16, 2004

Any Aliens Among Us??

Now you can report illegal aliens from the comfort of your own desk. No need to call INS. All you do is open up this link and follow the instructions. A couple of clicks here and there and the busboy from your favorite restaurant can be on his way back to where he cam from - Andale!!

This link came courtesy of Chris. Huh?? Why did he send me the link...Is he trying to hide something? I have always wondered about him. He does not look from around here and he does work for the City of Houston. You all know the City is always trying to cut corners...huh. I better report him just in case. Oh, yeah, and what about that girl that does my hair, she has a thick accent, huh, I better report the salon she works at so INS can check it out. And, what about Lupe?? Ok, you all get the idea. I guess I better start looking over my shoulder and get me some good running shoes. ;)

Thursday, April 15, 2004

That Who Sings Last...

Ok, it is that time of week again. Time for my American Idol picks.
Yeah! Camille is out. I was beginning to wonder what was wrong with America. I must say that I so surprised with Jennifer Hudson. The last two weeks she has sounded awesome. I have had her on my "kicked out" list for a while, but that has changed. Oh, and by the way, isn't George awesome?

Bottom three this week -
John
Diana
Jasmine


My Top 2 are -
George
LaToya


The Rest -
Fantasia
Jon
Jennifer


The Outies-
Camille
Amy
Matt
Leah

I am always surprised at who is on the bottom three. One of these days I will be right.

Tuesday, April 13, 2004

How long??

Can anyone be judged by the actions they committed over 10 years ago? Aside from murdering someone, how long can the "getting drunk in college stories" or "being a little too friendly with the opposite sex while in college" affect your life today?

I know that if you are running for office your past "character" comes up all the time. Since Bush and Clinton smoked pot in college are we to assume they are still doing it know? Or maybe that they are deviant because of it?

I like to think that people can change (I am not talking serial murderers here). I am just saying that, for me, if someone got drunk and was a little too wild in college their actions should not affect their lives today. They should not be judged for their past actions specially if the are the complete opposite today.

Yes, there is a point to this rant. The other day I was at a party and we were telling stories about the birthday person. When my turn came I recalled a very nice getting drunk story that occurred over 10 years ago. The story just said that this person got drunk, threw up all over the place and then passed out. Your normal college story, so I thought.

A few days later this person gets in touch with me and tells me that they did not appreciate me saying that story at the party, specially because her boss was there. She also told me that she did not want her boss judging her and that would hate for her boss to recall that story when the time comes for a promotion. I was stunned! All I could say was it happened over 10 years ago. I apologized, but told her I did not understand.

How long is too long?

Sunday, April 11, 2004

The Week in Review...

I got home on Friday afternoon from Dallas (work trip). My work week was good. I left for San Antonio on Wed., drove to Dallas on Thursday, and made it home on Friday.

On Friday, I got home and got ready to go to Cybertoad's Egg-travaganza. Since I had been driving, what seemed like all day, I did not have time to pick up any eggs or decorating stuff, but I was ok with that since I was not in the mood to be creative. The party turned out to be a good time. Thanks for the invite Elaine!

Saturday was crazy rain day. We, Houston, had two inch hail in some areas. That afternoon we went over to Claudia's baby shower and was very glad we did, because when we got home it looked like a tornado had gone through our neighborhood. There were leaves and branches every where. Anyway, back to Claudia. She is such a sweetheart. I am so glad they finally decided to have a kid. Yes, us breeders like to convert DINKs. Hahahaahaaaa (evil sounding), welcome to our world.

On Sunday John decided to have a Spring Celebration over at our house. Last year we opted to take our daughter to Orange Show- a more eclectic, non-denominational celebration. But since we are all about compromising now days, it was his year. We invited our families, made some burgers and hot dogs, and had a sort of egg-hunt. Since it was STILL raining we could not go out, so we had to make do with hiding the eggs in Olivia's playroom. I think it took them one minute to find them all. Orange Show here we come!!!

Wednesday, April 07, 2004

That Who Sings last...

Ok, it is that time of week again. Time for my American Idol picks.
We are all still asking ourselves "Why is Camille still in it?!!"

Bottom three this week -
Camille
John
Diana


My Top 4 are - (those who will survive till the last 4 weeks) Not in any order -
George
LaToya
Fantasia
Jasmine


The Rest -
Jon
Jennifer


The Outies-
Amy
Matt
Leah

I have been so surprised at who ends up on the bottom three, in the last few weeks, that I would not be surprised if I am completely wrong. The only thing I know is that is time for Camille to sing her last song!

Tuesday, April 06, 2004

Shopping...

I am so psyched!!! There is a new Anthropologie being built, almost, right in front of my house. I am not linking the website because it does not do the place justice, their site sucks! Anyway, I just love that store.


I will be leaving for San Antonio tomorrow, it's a work trip, ahhh-gain. After S.A. I am heading for Dallas. I hope that everything goes smoothly and I can get home early on Friday. Knock on wood. It seems that every time I predict smooth sailing it turns out to be the complete opposite, so wish me luck.


Oh yeah, here is an interesting story. My aunts own a flower shop and it is always fun talking to them about the stuff that they get complaints about, anyway, this is one of the calls and I was there to witness it all. It went something like this...

Lady - "I got some flowers for my birthday and was wondering if I could get you guys to replace them"
Aunt - "why ma'am? What is wrong?"
Lady - "Well, I got them last week and they are not looking so great"
Aunt - "How do they look?"
Lady - "Well, they just don't look like they used to"
Aunt - "You are aware that they are cut flowers"
Lady - "Is that like a plant?"
Aunt - "No, they are actual cut flowers and they will die"
Lady - "I have had them for a week and they don't look so good"
Aunt - "If they live for over 5 days they are doing great"
Lady - "Well, can I get you guys to exchange them?"

Well, you guys get the point. I always wonder about some people.

Monday, April 05, 2004

Kerry...not very

I just heard on talk radio that if the presidential election was held today George Bush would be the winner. The report said that even though he had been steadily loosing points with the public, lately he had gained, surprisingly, a lot of support from the voters. My immediate reaction was "yeah, Kerry keeps opening his mouth!" I could bet that if Kerry would of said nothing, nothing at all, he would of won or, if not, been damn close.

I swear, every time I hear the guy speak I dislike him a little bit more. In every advertisement he compares himself to Bush. All he does is point out Bush's faults or errors, some which Bush had nothing to do with. I have never heard him say anything he stands for without being somehow linked to Bush. He is just running on the "Bush Haters" ticket and has nothing else to back him up.

Friday, April 02, 2004

Could 9/11 of been prevented?

I think not. There is no way that 9/11 could of been prevented at all. If the government would of come out saying that they know that some terrorist were going to strike two buildings in New York people would of still showed up to work. They would of been thinking "we are not letting terrorists rule our life" or "if we change our every day life the terrorist win". The same mentality we have now - post 9/11.

It was a bright day.

I was woken up by my mother telling me that John was on the phone. She also told me that I better get down and look at the TV. I looked at Olivia, barely a month old, and picked up the phone. John was telling me about the first building being hit. I got up and ran downstairs, just with enough time to see the second plane hit the other tower. I have never known fear like that.

We were living in Boston at the time, the place were the terrorist had boarded two of the planes, the city was shaken, to say the least. Aside from the noise from the bomber planes and helicopters flying so low you could actually read what they said there was no other noise. It was an eery silence, it was like a scene from The Twilight Zone, time had stopped. All the sudden the news said that they were looking for a white van that had left the airport and had traveled up Hwy. 93, towards our area. At the same time another fighter plane went over the house, I ran as fast as I could and closed all the windows, shut the blinds, and sat there and cried.

The scene would not get any better in Boston. Everyday the police were looking all over the city for traces of the terrorist and when something was found it was a reminder that the enemy had been walking among us just a few days earlier.

Could 9/11 of been prevented? No. Will another attack happen again? Yes. The enemy is already here walking among us.

Thursday, April 01, 2004

A New Way To Curve Your Spending

As I was driving from Kansas City to Columbia, MO. I was flipping radio stations and happened to stop on a talk show. I usually land on interesting stations discussing interesting subjects, specially when I am in the middle on nowhere. This time was no exception.

The host was talking about debt management and was talking to a caller. The caller started her story by saying that she had dramatically reduced her debt by seeking God's help. She said that before she purchased anything she would pray, no matter how big or small her purchase was, and by doing that she had reduced her debt by $10,000. It always amazes me on what people pray for. I mean, God has nothing else to do but help this woman stop spending money.

In another one of my journeys I actually heard a person break down the residents of heaven and hell by percentages. I mean, how does this person know who goes where and how does he know?




Missouri is COLD. At night is in the high 20's and during the day is in the mid 40s. The trees and flowers have not even bloomed here yet. In Houston my tulips lived and died already. Anyway, I did not know it was going to be so cold. I only brought t-shirts and jeans, so I had to make my way to a Marshall's and get myself an $11 jacket.