The other night at HEB and passing through the international food aisle, I saw this and just had to snap a photo of it with my cell phone:

I just now realize that it costs 69 cents. [ more immature snickering ]

Finally got to see Iris perform live for the first time. I'd been wanting to, had only heard about her wonderful voice, but my schedule never permitted 'til now.

One of the songs off her new album:

Iris likes to jam with her shoes off:

Iris hamming it up with an interviewer afterwards:

[ more pics ] [ more sounds of Iris ]

Was glad to catch up with Iris briefly, and saw a buncha people I hadn't seen in a long while!

So through some gratuitous connections I got to watch Gladys Knight perform at the Rodeo Friday night, from the PRESS BOX!! Well, technically it was Gladys Knight and Beyonce's little sister. I didn't know her name until I got there, man have I been totally out of the loop with the popular music these days (old fogey alert!).

We did have to watch some of the pre-performance rodeo. I recall going a year or two ago and not liking the feeling of man asserting himself over animal using violent (and what I deem to be unfair) means as if to prove superiority, nor did I like the encouragement of little kids to do the same. I remember it feeling like a very testosterone-driven event that simply used animals for sport. I felt the same way this time.

Anyway! Solange and Gladys were really fun to watch! Here's Gladys in her heyday singing my two favorite songs of the night:

It's so fun to watch those Pips get their dance on. :D

And a more recent performance by Gladys. This is pretty much what she looked like at the Rodeo. What a darling woman, so self-assured and so in love with her craft. I totally understand why she is the "Empress of Soul". Her performance brought tears to my eyes (old fogey alert the second!!). I hope I can be as self-assured at her age when I get there!

We decided to wine, dine, and Coraline. 'Twas divine. :)

Tree Frog bravely took me to get my favorite: STINKY TOFU!

The "wine" was taken care of by a couple of dudes imbibing Chinese hard liquor behind me, who got progressively louder throughout the meal.

Coraline, in 3D! Behold Four-Eyes and Six-Eyes.

Detour adventures: trying out cute travel pillows, then flirting with broken necks at Target (video).

Not a single chocolate was consumed, not a single flower was bought for the occasion, and I had fun. Gasp! :)

Thanks for all the birthday well-wishes!! I hope all is well for everyone in this new year!

As if to alert me to my +1 status, my body protested at 9pm to go to bed. It's now 4 am, and I am strangely wide awake, and awfully sentimental.

I think I've become more aware in my "adulthood" of patterns engrained in me that I don't necessarily like, but are undeniably part of my being. I suppose I could just say "that's just how I am", but I refuse to just BE that way.

To all of my friends: each and every one of you inspires me to be a better person. And that is the best birthday present I could have.

My homeboy EnVaDoR has been up to no good as usual with his modding antics. His latest: getting noted on lifehacker (with a mention on gizmodo) for his DIY iPhone Paper Clip Stand!

A search turns up a whole lotta hits where he gets mentioned, but true 6334dom is appearing on lh and gizmodo, right? :) From one geek to another, here's to you Dean: the King o' Geeks!

[ his original post ]

How's this for a Saturday morning cartoon-ish blog post title? :)

Inspiration struck only the day before Eda and Yusuke's Hallowe'en party when I heard that oddly endearing song "Anyone Else But You". I was instantly reminded how friends, one by one, near and far, insisted that I needed to watch this movie called Juno that apparently starred me. And Tree Frog was said to have co-starred, even though he really looks NOTHING like Bleeker other than sharing skin color and sometimes possessing a similar clueless look.

And so I present to you the slightly dyslexic but adequately presentable Juno and Bleeker, the Hallowe'en 2008 Edition! :)

   

Cuteness, grossness, and chillness were all present at this lovely party. Thanks to our wonderful host and hostess for letting us destroy their home with stinky tofu and pumpkin innards!

Also, special thanks to the Tree Frog for driving down from Austin to be my date for the party. Even if your shorts weren't short enough. :)

[ all pics from the party ]

Elaine and I survived the Dallas Muddy Buddy 6-mi run/bike! (Well, to be very clear, *I* merely survived it - Elaine's in really good shape so I'm sure this was not too bad for her.) To commemorate this accomplishment, I've put together a slideshow to cheesy music, as I am often prone to doing. Enjoy!

My personal goals were to seriously 1) complete without dying, and 2) to not stop. I had to walk the bike a few times over rough / steep terrain, but otherwise, I did it! WE did it! :)

Thanks to those who came out to share our "last meal", to those who trained the last 3 months with my Royal Slowness, and for all the well-wishes!

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Training equipment / tools:
- Champion running shoes, 4+ years old, were thrown out after the race
- Hella-old Walmart special mountain bike (Elaine's nice bike was used for the race)
- MapMyRun.com, a great way to track your workouts and provide motivation for the days you just don't want to run
- fear of dying on the day of the race