Monday, September 7, 2009

The Weekend in Review

And so ends the long weekend, and what a weekend it was! Here's a play-by-play (sort of) chronicling the activities of yours truly.

Friday-Astros vs. Phillies. I got really great seats and $50 in Astros bucks from work. A stuffed monkey, coozie, and one foam finger later, I was sitting by the right foul pole. My only regret is not bringing a glove, since three balls had already dropped in our section by the second inning! The best part of the game was introducing my friend to the wonderful world of baseball! It's my favorite mainstream sport (volleyball is always my number 1 ^_^), full of excitement and suspense, not to mention men in tight pants. Game night followed, where I ate my second and third dinners...I can't refuse the culinary hospitality of my host now can I? Haha I ate waaaay too much and almost fell asleep on the drive home. My new bed was a very welcome sight that night!

Saturday- Beachy McBeacherson. We planned on spending a relaxing day in Galveston, getting our skinned tanned and toes wet. For the first hour or so, it was just that. I was so amazed by how clear the water was! Though of you who've gone to the beach with me know that I DON'T get in the water precisely because I can't see where I'm stepping. I was out there that day in chest deep water, and I could still see everything perfectly! I did almost get bitch-slapped by a sea bass, but that wasn't a big deal. This, however, WAS a big deal: during the two-minute interchange wherein my friend got in the water and I got out, my beach bag mysteriously sprouted legs and walked away. Credit card, keys, ID, camera, iPhone, clothes, etc, all gone! Surprisingly I kept my cool and was able to get mostly everything taken care of within an hour. I really think it was a test, and it showed me how mellow I've become lately, and I love that, even though it was brought about by the worst circumstances. There was a silver lining- I finally got the white iPhone I wanted. :) I didn't let it get me down though, and we went out to a salsa social that night, where I got free lessons, about a dozen amazing dance partners, and a peek at some of the areas best salsa performers!

Sunday- The most jam-packed day of the weekend started off with Inglorious Bastards. I knew there was a reason Tarantino is one of my faves! He didn't disappoint; that movie was awesome on so many levels! The Bear Jew even gave me a few ideas as to what I'd like to do to the person who stole my bag, hehehe . After the movie, I literaaly sped straight over to Melissa's pool party, which subsequently turned into an indoor pool party because of the surpise showers. Oh well, I got to see her awesome new apartment, which offers wicked deals for Shell employees. No deposit and three months' free rent, makes me wish I hadn't just renewed my lease! Next stop was Live It Big, a charity event held by four bars on Washington- Pearl Bar (for my only follower, that's the Texas Ex bar in Houston :) ), The Lot, The Drinkery, and Reign Lounge. It benefits a nonprofit that works on cancer research. The doorman at The Lot kept accusing me of being TABC since I didn't have a current drivers license, but after a lot of convincing, he let me in. I even got $20 bucks out of the deal, because some guy felt bad that I had been robbed- 'here kid, get drunk on me.' Haha, that's my kind of charity! I discovered how great I was at Flip Cup during the ten or so games we all played, and then casually smashed my toe on an uneven sidewalk on my way out. Grace, that's my middle name. Finally, off to Mike's, where I was fed a delicious steak the rooftop deck of his sweet new house. Such a chill time, I didn't want to leave, but I was muy cansada. Playing with the dogs I was co-sitting capped off a great day, but more was to come on Monday...

Monday- Got the locks changed on my apartment, woohoo! And they didn't even charge me to replace the keys and gate clicker, and neither did my gym for the new key card I needed. :) I also went a little crazy at Best Buy, but I got the camera that I really wanted (another part of the Galveston silver lining)! Astros vs. Phillies part 2 ensued, and we had even better seats than before! The pictures from the new camera were great, and my 'Stros won again! Haha, take that Philly! Now it's time to work more on my art, so I can have it all ready for my art party!


Sweet dreams, all!

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

9/2/09

I want to move to Austin soooooooo bad! Why can't they build an oil refinery there? :P

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Free Press Summer Fest 2009

When I first heard that Houston was going to have its own music festival, my first reaction was 'Yay? Let's see what acts they can scrounge up, because no one wants to play outside in Houston in August.' Having just come from it, all I can say is WOW. It was difficult to enjoy the music at first because it was hot as balls, but after consulting my CamelPak a few dozen times (something I will never again leave home without) and finding my own grassy knoll, I could focus on the tunes. Oh, and the shroomed-out couple dancing and making the googly eyes at each other right in front of me :D. The Saturday highlights were Octopus Project, Broken Social Scene, and of course, Explosions in the Sky. Too bad they STILL never play encores. On Saturday, I enjoyed What Made Milwaukee Famous and Of Montreal. Especially Of Montreal. Ninjas, mimes, magicians, human-animal combos of the chicken and brontosaurus sort, evil clergymen, and spewing feathers into the crowd make for a damn good show when mixed with good quality electro-rock. I think that was one of the best shows I've ever been to. We shall see when ACL comes around if I can find something to trump it!

One last thing: on the drive home from the festival, I stumbled upon Sirius XMU's resident Swedish blog and heard a really really awesome song from my new favorite Nordic band. It's called "Sailors" by The Bear Quartet, and you should listen to it!

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Things are Starting to Look Up, Kinda

So my dad went to MD Anderson yesterday to get a second opinion on the bladder cancer he supposedly has, and yep, he's got it :( But, he's being treated at the best cancer facility in the world, and they seem to think it's very treatable and can be removed without any invasive procedures :)

On a different note, my weekend was pretty good. Getting off of a very rough and stressful week, I totally needed to get sloshed at the St. A's brewery tour! And all for $5! I also went to a pretty fun couples' shower and FINALLY saw The Hangover. Better late than never!

Hopefully this week will be less stressful, with mid-year reviews over at work and finally getting an answer on my dad's condition. That, and Chris comes in Monday night! Gotta love it when Shell has all of their training in Houston, now if I could just get him to move here ;)

Monday, July 27, 2009

"Your body is weird..."

...Yep, that's what they said to me when I took my bike in yet AGAIN to get it adjusted. This is the fourth or fifth time, and my knees still kill me after only about 2 miles. I'm starting to think that it's not the bike, it's the knees, which really scares me because I love to cycle, run, play volleyball, dance, etc, etc. Compulsive couch potato-ness doesn't sit well with me; I have to just be 'in the mood' to be lazy. Oh well, we shall see.

Listen to Little Joy- your life will be better.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Erin + Sailboat = :-}

I sailed for the first time today on Lake Bryan, and it was so much fun! Albeit, my shipmate (ahem, Chris) forgot to mention a few key things to me, and those things, or the lack thereof, led to me capsizing the boat! But still, we were on Lake Bryan, not exactly what I'd call an imposing body of water, so it wasn't so bad. I'd do it again in a heartbeat, as long as there are no crabs around. I hate crabs, at least living ones! It's like my feet are beacons of crab heaven, at least until I kick them off me. Uhhhh *shivers* my toes are curling as we speak.

Artists to listen to: Sunset Rubdown, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Discovery

Sunday, May 10, 2009

2009- The Year of Music

I've seen so many great bands this year:

Peter Bjorn and John
Glasvegas
The Thermals
Ra Ra Riot
The Airborne Toxic Event
Cold War Kids
Explosions in the Sky
Kings of Leon
Neil Young
Ghostland Observatory
Handsome Furs
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead
Beach House


...and a lot of great undiscovered acts!

Oh yeah, Passion Pit comes to Houston June 4th, let me know if you want to go!