150 Wal-Mart stores, 46 Home Depots, 36 Targets

For starters Target is far superior to Wal-Mart, so why are there such a small number of Targets...then again maybe thats what makes them better? Secondly, why does Houston have 41 Home Depots??? What has become of Americans-are we that lazy that we can't drive 15 minutes to get to a Home Depot? It's no wonder we have environmental issues there are too many Wal-Marts covering the earth to plant trees.

This is too funny!!!

So I wondered if my name was in the Urban Dictionary as my boredom at work today lead me there. Well my name isn't...go figure, but my nickname L of course is...who would have guessed my nickname had so many drug references. Just goes to show how clueless I really am. I included my favorite simply for the example:


1. L

A spliff rolled using 2 zigs stickied together to form an L shape.

I asked yo mama if she wanted to smoke an L with me. She said nah, only rock for me thanks.
Source: el rico, Oct 2, 2003

First Day of Fall

Well summer is officially over. It wasn't quite the happy ending that I was hoping for, but such is life. I love fall when the leaves start changing colors and the clean brisk air is the best! My boys are happy that it's starting to cool down they spent the entire evening out in the yard...probably doing more hole digging. I need to start walking them more I'm going to have to find a walking buddy as they are too big to handle all on my own.

It's crazy to think that if all goes well this time next year I will be teaching my first class of students somewhere listening to kids talk about the homecoming dance and football season. I guess it just makes me remember how simple everything seemed in high school. I don't know how adults let life get so complicate...then again I'm not sure if it is something you can really avoid. In talking to my younger cousin this week it reminded me of how my life was all planned out 10 years ago and how my life is very different from the "big plan". I'm happy that my life has made the unexpected twists and turns that it did I've learned a lot about myself since then, and I'm sure I'll learn a lot more in another 10 years.

What really makes someone happy with their life anyway? It's a question I've been pondering and I realize it's different for everyone. I'm beginning to think you don't know until you have it. A while ago when talking about relationships a good friend said to me "you can't make someone happy they just are" I've thought about that statement a lot. I think it applies to life in general. You can't put happiness on a list. It doesn't really work that way. Well maybe it does for some people, but I guess I'm looking for something more out of my life.

Don't get me wrong I'm not unhappy with my life I have more at 25 than many people have at 50 and I'm pretty content even if my life isn't picture perfect. I have amazing friends who are there for me when I need them and know I will always return the favor, two adorable dogs to keep me laughing, a supportive family, and an education that allows me to keep moving towards a job where I feel I can make a difference. There's not much more a girl can ask for...

The Funeral

I wasn't going to post anything about the funeral, but it seems weird to write about the death and then not mention it again. The funeral sucked. The minister was awful she enunciated the wrong words in the phrases that she said, the poem that she read, the Bible verses, and she butchered many of the names of the children and grandchildren...of course this included mine. Seriously think Meet the Fockers. This whole incident including the failure to speak publicly caused me to begin laughing during the funeral. This is much better told then written and don't worry I covered it up-most people including my sister and my mom's boyfriend really thought I was crying. It's not that I'm heartless it was just that the woman was so entirely ridiculous and the situation was so bad that it all struck me at the same time. Anyway it wasn't pretty.

I'd comment on my thoughts and feelings, but really I don't have many to speak of because this is something that is really hard to understand.

Toilets...An Important Consideration

After spending a month in the Philippines I can tell you that this is a great idea for the Chinese. From a woman's point of view clean bathrooms with the basics such as TP and a toilet seat become very important when you are faced with the reality that they just might not be available. It will improve people's experience at the Olympics hat's off to the Chinese for thinking ahead!

Do you have a Clinton on ya?

Sorry I just found this funny. So they call these people responible ok so maybe Clinton rallied for AIDS it's a good thing, but someone tell me how Monica Lewinsky was responible :-).

Currently Listening...Low Millions

I just bought the Ex-Girlfriends cd by Low Millions and I highly recommend it. Eleanor is a great song I'm totally addicted to it and I think the cd is just a great low key music. I've had some people say they are similar to Coldplay which I can definitely see. Anyway if you hear the single or listen to the cd let me know what you think.

4 Girls in a Studio Apartment

Girls weekend out was a lot of fun. I really can't say that I saw a lot of Chicago or did anything super cool, but it was great just to relax and hang out with my friends. The older we get the harder it is to take time out just to chill with the girls and that was exactly what we got to do this weekend. I have spent so much time traveling I just didn't feel like doing normal touristy things. I figure it's close I can always go back and do those things later.

Friday we shopped the Magnificent Mile and ate UNO's pizza I did a little shopping, but a lot of the stores are the same ones we have here just bigger and better. Later that night we went to dinner at the Grand Lux the food was awesome! J also had me try a new kind of red wine that I really liked Francis Coppola or something like that I'll know the bottle when I see it, but I'll definitely be buying that again. It was when J ordered a $40 bottle of wine that I realized we have traded in our Morgan and Cokes for a good bottle of wine. I think this is a sign that we are officially getting older I don't really know how I feel about that yet. Then we went and had cocktails on the top of the John Hancock building the view of the city was amazing.

Saturday we woke up about ten and did the Mc Donalds and Starbucks for breakfast. Went back to the apartment and decided just to say in Linkin Park do some shopping and see where things go from there. I realized on this trip that it seems that I am becoming more laid back. I felt absolutely no need to plan anything! If you've ever been on vacation with me you know this is a big step for me. I really like to have things planned out, but I think that I'm getting much better at going with the flow and I don't get stressed out anymore if there isn't a plan.

I had a lot more fun at the little boutiques I think then I did on the magnificent Mile. I guess I'm a sucker for the less mainstream designers and clothing. Not that I bought a lot of clothes, but its always fun to look. That night we did our ritual getting ready (2-3 hours after showers, blow dryers, and A playing hair stylist-which was great), and drank more of the Coppola red wine, went to Twist which is a tapas restaurant drank sangria and ate tapas which was really good food again, then we tried to go to a strip club because we had failed Amanda on her bachelorette night, but the only one close was an all gay club and being the only girls there it seemed best to go ahead and forgo that for the evening.

The last stop on the tour of Linkin Park was a bar called the Apartment. It was pretty cool they had little areas that were set up to look like a kitchen, living room, dining room, bedroom, and bathroom. We weren't there long before a guy asked us to join their bachelor party in the VIP room. The guys were all very nice, bought us lots of drinks which was great because drinks were really expensive. Anyway it was fun the dance floor was packed and we had our own little space. I talked trash to a Hawkeye fan from Chicago...I'm not sure what surprised him more that I liked college football, or that I could carry on a conversation about football. I also had a guy try to help me learn to dance. Needless to say I spent more time laughing than learning. He said that I had a body that was perfect for dancing I tried to explain that it didn't do me any good if I didn't have any rhythm. I guess I'm just going to have to keep trying I'm bound to get better some day....right?

Well we closed the bar with last call at 2:30 am and at this point I decided that the heels I was wearing were entirely too painful to continue wearing, so I went barefoot the whole way home. It wasn't a long walk and I like to walk barefoot outside anyway. I think it was about 4 am by the time the four of us stop being silly drunk girls and went to sleep. The first wake up call started at 7:30 and it wasn't a pretty thing. Anyway I officially got out of bed about 9:15, but I hadn't really slept since the first call at 7:30. The flight home wasn't the greatest lots of screaming children and it was a packed flight, but we got through it got home and now I'm exhausted and looking forward to sleeping in my own bed.

A Death in the Family

I'm going to apologize in advance for this extremely depressing blog. I figure this is easier than telling everyone the story over and over again because it's not a fun story to tell. So while on my weekend trip to Chicago I received a call with very bad news. My grandfather committed suicide Friday night. Apparently he was having some medical issues and the tests so far had come back all ok. The problem was that he seemed to have some sort of tumor and was required to get a catheter because he wasn't able to pee. He had went to the hospital for this and when he went to bed with his wife that night she told him to wake her up if he needed anything and she can take him back to the hospital if necessary. When she got up the next morning she found him in the garage with both cars turned on and all the doors and windows shut. There was no note and not explanation of the act. It came as quite a surprise to all those who cared about him very much.

Basically my thoughts on suicide are that it is the most selfish act a person can choose to do. They make a decision to leave without saying goodbye and give up hope without asking for help. I understand it from a psychological aspect and that most people think they are doing those they love a favor because they feel like a burden. I can't say that I really understand it and my thoughts on it right now are kind of all over the board.