The winning margarita.

As you can see by the scorecard, we did a North Side Margarita crawl. Trudy's wins by score.... But honestly, after having all of them, El Arroyo was my favorite. Leia and I had a blast doing the tastings! We then went downtown, where things well, got a little crazy... Damn you Mugshots!!

Cab 193 = 3 squads cars, $8, and a headache...

So I decided I needed to chill and get a nice Crown on the rocks. I call a cab, and head to Dallas Nightclub. What happends next is unexpected...

I get picked up and we head out. At the intersection of Far West and Wood Hollow, I ask him to make a right turn, and get on MOPAC. He declines. I repeat this as it is how I want to go. He again declines, but states, 'We are going this way, and it's my cab...'

Now if you know me at all you know this isn't sitting well. And you would be proud of me. I only said 'Stop the cab, I will have Yellow Cab handle this..' We stop. Two blocks from my complex.

His retort.. To pay him $3 or he will kick the shit out of me. I find this humorous.. But, it is a threat and for all I know he has a gun under the front seat. Before I have the chance to laugh, he repeats the threat. Not so funny now.

9-1-1... Fire, EMS or Police... I explain, all the while he is yelling 'It's all lies.. He is a liar!!'

He takes off with me in the cab. I am in my still fnding this humorous stage, remark 'Well, he is driving now, I guess I am being kidnapped...' The 911 operator instructs me to tell the driver to stop immediately with the line open. He finally stops a moment later, when he decides too.

We wait for a bit.. I wait as Mr. Psycho calls dispatch. He gets mad when dispatch reminds him that he needs to take me the route I ask... But, things get worse.

Police are on their way to us now. But, we are on the move. He verbalizes more threats. I am on the phone with 911 again, this time a bit nervous, as this guy is acting crazy. We end up at my destination. The police arrive, but not until he threatens again, this time on 911 recording.

1 officer arrives. We talk. 2 more arrive. They pull him off to the side. I chat with the officers some. It gets ridiculous with cabby 193 freaking out. I decide to make it easy and not press charges, as it was my option. I pay the cab driver $8, which is the normal fee for MY ROUTE to just finally end it. I chat with the officers a bit and apologize for wasting their time. They laugh it off and say it was probably what needed to be done. Still, a waste of time. Mine, theirs, 193's. All he had to do was make a right turn. He told me where I was going and I told him back. And look how it ended up. Hindsight make me wish I would have just let him drive his way... And then reported him.

More than likely I will get the money back from Yellow Cab. Just be warned... Cabby 193 is a bit nuts..

Unexpectedly random thoughts....

A lot of suprises lately. Mostly good for me, not so much for some others I know. I did have a breakthrough today. The Hoffbrau Steak place on 6th st really isn't for me. The 10 yrs of driving past it was for a reason. Not dogging it, but, it wasn't for me.

Also, it is darn cold outside. It really is.. The fog last night was out of this world.. I couldn't see infront of me...

Linda is in Austin for a spell. Hopefully will see her soon. I was smiling when she sent the email a couple weeks ago with the news for hours...

And Becca is in from Denver for a night... That makes me smile too.

And two bands that are making my ears happy. Cut Copy and Boy Kill Boy. Check them out.

I will have more news on some other items soo. Stay tuned.

R0cket Science...

The other day I was really exhausted. Didn't think too much about things as I did the laundry. I guess that was why I wasn't too suprised to find my cell phone in the washer. I guessI can kiss that job at NASA goodbye...

Mixed emotions...

I went to H.E.B. last night for some cake. I needed some cake. It was a long day. Cake makes the day better. So when I stroll up to my local grocer, there is an incoherent individual laying on the ground with a backpack with a sign saying "Tavelling. Very Hungry." My dog of couse goes right up to him and starts licking his face and he kinds falls back and starts making groaning noises, but while laughing. As this slightly spooked me, dog and I walked off and I tied her off and went in.

When I came out he was still there. One of the managers was asking him to move on as he was blocking the entrance laying on the ground but he really wasn't holding any faculties to be able to.

I was on my way home and I saw two police cars searching the shopping center parking lot. I asked them who they were looking for. It was the same guy, as he had been causing problems at other businesses in the area...

So he was picked up and removed. To where I have no idea.. The city of Austin recently passed a law that prevented the homeless from sleeping downtown. I live in a very established part of town and the downtown popluation has moved into our neighborhood. There are 2 small 'shanty towns' that have sprung up since the ordinance passed. I have heard sories of people finding homeless sleeping on their property from startled renters and owners.

But is it ok to brush these people off due to their circumstances? Is that what we did with Katrina? No one wants to be called cold or callous, and it is easy to point the finger at someone else to do the work. Is that what our United States of America has become? We all banded together to help the victims of 9/11. I saw an interview of one of the wives of someone whose life was cut short in the World Trade Center days after the tragedy. She was in her very large home, very upset, lost her husband, and she was very worried about losing her home and her children's lifestyle changing.

And we jumped at the chance to help her. Not everyone was set as she was that lost loved ones. We all did our duty.

But not for Katrina. We turned the other way and let the government speak for us. We just didn't like what we had to say. No we are punishing others for what most felt. Apathy.

Which brings me back to last night. Maybe it is our fear of the homeless. Of the certain individuals that we do not understand why they are in the situation they are in. Maybe we hate them for bothering us in our lives... We all hear stories of someone being mugged or attacked by someone who is homeless. But we hear those stories about every type of person out there.

Not sure where I fall into all this. All I know is last night made me laugh for a moment then I felt sick, sad, frustrated, and angry.

But does what I feel matter if I don't do anything? Maybe I am waiting for someone else to speak for me again...

Also, don't take this as my judging any person on their view on this.. I have had the same views that I expressed here. Which leaves myself with mixed emotions...

I about melted...

My dog knows shake now. And she is doing it to get my attention.. It is like she is waving at me.

I love my dog...

OUCH...

Well, I feel like someone stabbed me with an ice pick. Right in the eyebrow. I have started having an un-natural fear of doors. (kidding.. well.. yeah.. um.. kidding...) I am just glad I stopped the nurse from stabbing me with her needle of torture in my left arm as I am left handed..

I want a beer so bad.. But, no alcohol for a few days. Hell, I feel so dizzy and unfocused that I really dont need one.. But it would feel so good on my lips.

And the US Team is not really scoring well on this ski run I am watching. Something about new skis or something..

Ok, so I went to work tonight, and who knew how it would turn out. I was getting something out of a storage closet, and BAM. Door. Door meets eyebrow. As I slide down the door and laid there, I knew I did a number on myself. Blood coming down the eye.. Swelling closing my eye. Ay yay yay...

I tried to make the best of it. Cleaned out the wound... Washed up.. It did not last too long. Nausea, and that feeling you get when the dentist puts you on the gas, and one hell of an 'ice cream headache' took its toll.

So I went to the ER. They were on the way to fast tracking me out, clean the wound, tetanus shot, and an aspirin. But, as were were discussing what happened, they put me in an exam room, and the fast track turned into almost 3 hours of waiting, tests, and loopiness.

I had my first cat scan. Weird. I almost threw up due to the vertigo. I was already having that monwalk feeling and then to have my head locked in as I was jerked back and forth into some donut spinning around me. I was suprised that nothing was wrong with my brain... (I think many would argue that machine must have been malfunctioning.. lol)

So during all this they gave me a vicadin. There is a reason I am not one who does drugs. Hell, cold medicine messes with me. They wouldn't let me leave until they saw my ride arrive.

What the nurse or myself didn't know was that my ride had enjoyed the Saturday eveing to the fullest. Well, at least my friend was smart enough to have a sober friend of hers drive.

So I finally got home.. Had some food.. Then I looked at my injury that caused such a pain.. The swelling is going down so much it looks almost normal. The gash has closed and is now just a small cut.

Much ado about nothing... I'll take it.. I got a lot to do this week.

It must be Friday...

I love this cold weather. So I am spending most of this evening with Mr. Toshiba, who brought his friend Mr Microsoft Office, and lots and lots of coffee.

Who knew budgets, supply lists, and scheduling could be this fun. I have been at it for over 3 hours and have barely scratched the surface of my to do list. I am going for one more hour at least, then put Mr Toshiba and co to sleep and destress. (aka have an adult beverage)

Ok, back to work...

Be careful what you wish for...

I asked someone the other day what they thought of me. Well, I definately have my answer to that question. The unfortunate part is that it is the things I hate about myself is what they know me as.

I could try to deny or justify who or what I have become. Blame it on a childhood or family issues. What good would that be? It still manages to raise its ugly head around people I know and care about.

But what does one do when they have become the person they did not want to be growing up? Too bad I can't take myself to some upgrade center and have things removed and improved things added. I have fulfilled my own wicked destiny.

I have heard may theories on this. It was past relationships. It was growing up in an alcoholic family. But once you know how you act, is it not your responsibilty to change these things?

I have lost much in my life due to the choices I make. It always comes down to the same things. But where does one finally say enough and step up to the plate and get it done?

Add that to my many flaws of character. I have the bell to put on the cat, but I am too afraid to do it myself. Or just too set in my ways. Maybe I am too afraid of change. Maybe I am a coward and cannot stand up to my inner demons.

Or maybe I am as weak inside as I fear I really am. And I take out my deepest innermost fears and project them onto people I care about as I am to selfish to work on them myself.

I think it is time for me to 'disappear' for awhile. It is time for me to finally take charge of my weaknesses. I am no good to anyone until I do....

Men and women are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their own minds.-- Franklin D. Roosevelt

Now I have never seen that before...

I went out with my friend Laurie for some drinks last night. She seemed a bit off center as we bounced from place to place. She never found her drinking 'chi'... We would be at one bar and it would be too chill, couldn't go somewhere else as it wasn't chill enough. It was kinda like being with Goldilocks.. But we all have those nights where you seem to be forcing yourself on a good time.



But moments can be had... Laurie was sitting with friends from Hills Cafe and she needed to use the restroom. Well, the door was blocked as apparently some woman was having sex with a guy she just met. The woman's boyfriend came over and asked Laurie to check on her in the bathroom. As the door was blocked, nothing could be done at the time.. But then they emerged from there and boyfriend weilds a knife and starts swinging it around. No one was hurt, but drunk girl wandered off and Laurie got a nice motorcycle helmet out of the deal.



But this was the moment that made the night worth while. I was sitting at the bar watching Sportscenter when two guys did the whole buttercup scene from "The Three Amigos' with lyrics AND choreography. This was simply amazing. The bar stopped in its tracks for 3 minutes.



And finally made the Loo smile...

What am I doing???

Yesterday was a long day. The day before, even longer. I was sitting with a friend the other night after going to see Spoon. We talked about some situations of her's that have made life a bit complex for herself. As she was talking to me I could not help thinking about the compromises we make to try to find what we want. Those compromises then force us to make concessions and so forth causing a never ending cycle. Before it is realized we lost what was sought after as it has been damaged in our journey to achieve it.

What are we willing to sacrifice in our quests? I can't even count how many bad decisions I have made in my life. But perhaps not the bad decisions I regret as much as making no decisions. That is what has scared me of recent.

But what now? Is the problem realized? What path should be taken? Can I take the reigns of my personal life and make things happen? Do I really want to?

That sounds like a decision that needs to be made...

Can't sleep...

It has been a pretty busy week. CSBG, Connect Four, dog parks, Sandy's Custard... Spoon with Molly tonight. Meetings tomorrow. I will need a vacation soon. But I need sleep now. I think I will give it another go....