Month: July 2005

i keep forgetting to mention that i picked up a few new domain names last friday. they are: armyoftexas.com, diablostejanos.com, and republicoftexas.org. i’m particularly proud of that last one. i’m not sure what i’m going to do with them yet, but seeing as i have my very own server i pay monthly for and can have as many domains as i want on it, i went ahead and set them up with a basic text entry page. i’m kind of curious to see if the purchase of those three names at the same time along with the text i put on them will get me on some kind of government watch list. that might be kind of cool. okay, maybe not really, but it’s kind of intriguing. did i mention that i’ve been buying a lot of guns and ammunition lately?

i failed to mention this, but sunday night/monday morning i had a dream that i got fired from work. it was kind of weird. i bring it up now because last night i had another dream about getting fired. it was very realistic and kind of shook me.
i was at a meeting and an IT security guy came in looking frustrated and upset and said something to my manager, then he said something along the lines of “what? 12 millions times?” then looked at me and said “oh, man. terry, this is no good. we just can’t allow this sort of thing.” i was getting nervous and running through my mind trying to think what i could have done. did i run something that went amuck and i didn’t know it? did i even really do whatever this was? so somewhat confused and tongue-tied, i started saying “what? what…did i do? i don’t understand.” and my manager and the IT security guy just looked disgustedly at me and my manager said “oh, come on, terry. don’t play this with us. you know we can’t let this slide. i’m sorry, man. you’ve got to go.” so the security guy started trying to get me to get up and pack my stuff, but i was still confused and trying to figure out what i was being fired for. then i woke up.
my work environment is kind of in a weird phase, so i can understand why my paranoia about what’s going on at work is being batted around by my brain while i sleep. but still, having dreams about getting fired isn’t enjoyable.

before the show tonight, a friend of mine i hadn’t talked to much in awhile called and told me he’d purchased a motorcycle. he had a couple of female friends and was seeing if i’d be interested in riding to kemah or something. we ended up making plans to ride after the show. he showed up not too long after the show was over. he bought a used 02 honda shadow 750, if i recall correctly. the previous owner had spent a decent amount of time and money modding it. it had some nice pipes on it with a really good low, loud sound. so we ended up going to buffalo wild wings to eat and hang with the after-show irc meet-up clan, then driving around downtown houston for awhile, then stopping in at late night pie for a pitcher, then more riding around downtown and through montrose and such. he was pretty giddy about the bike, but i understand because i’ve had that same insane permanent grin about bikes before too. it’s a great feeling. i ended up staying out until around 2am, but it was a rather good time. hopefully we’ll end up being able to ride together now and then, since i don’t have anyone i normally ride with.

so i had the opportunity to go to a beauty pageant in san antonio on sunday. what an…odd experience. i felt like i was watching one of those documentaries where the people being filmed take it very seriously, but everyone watching the documentary can’t believe they’re for real (slasher, hands on a hardbody, american movie, etc.). i’m sure my background and opinions colour this heavily, but i just feel like it’s a lot of energy and passion about things that for the most part don’t matter that much. i mean, i like to look at a pretty girl as much as the next heterosexual guy, but it seems like pageants pervert all of that into some kind of weird thing, because it’s near impossible to separate the legitimate skills and honorable traits from the arbitrary societal skills and social attractiveness. (perhaps ironic i use “pervert” in that context.)
and of course, much of the time was spent with jack and myself in the balcony acting like those two old men from the muppet show. oh well, i’m sure they think i’m a loser and care too much about things that don’t matter as well. touche.
afterward, jack and i headed down to the river walk, where we paid way too much for mediocre margaritas (only one each though…the disparity between quality and cost was too great) and had some passable mexican food. we headed back to the car and i drove to seguin where we stopped for the night.
the next morning started off with a call from work at 7:30am. joy. back to sleep, then up for the free breakfast, which was generic and horrid by most any standard. (i guess that’s what we get for cheaping out and staying at a super 8. but the marriot on the riverwalk was booked full. seriously.) even though i thought it wouldn’t happen, back to sleep again. then up and on the road and to…
luling city market (in luling, Texas, of course). which is the current reigning champion in my personal bbq hall of fame. especially the sausage. oh man, that stuff is good. i could go on and on. but, really, it’s best for you to just go and have it for yourself. you can thank me later. and pick up some brisket and sausage for me while you’re there.
and that’s it for my quick jaunt to san antonio to watch a bunch of (mostly) young ladies wear evening dresses, formal gowns, and swimsuits, while they attempted to show their poise and grace onstage.

…the only thing i forgot to do was gamble. 🙂 but seriously, tonight i headed to blanco’s to listen to the always enjoyable honky tonk sounds of dale watson. a lady asked me to dance, but i said i didn’t really dance. i ended up playing pool with her, hanging out and talking, then dancing to a couple of songs. which is difficult and surprising since i don’t know how to dance, and rather firmly resist requests to dance (not that i get asked very often…but then by societal standards i’m supposed to be doing the asking). the first time was just the shuffling, no-pattern dancing…the second time it was an attempt at two-stepping. i had an enjoyable evening, which in these days and times is a Good Thing [tm].

well, the second wedding has come and gone. i had originally been hoping to ride the motorcycle, but the weather didn’t look like it’d be good for it, so i didn’t. which i’m glad of, because both there and back it was wet and/or raining for a decent portion of the trip. it did provide me the opportunity to listen to a fair amount of music in the element on the road.
i actually went to the ceremony this time, which was honestly pretty difficult for me to sit through. the vows, my marriage, meant so much to me, it was difficult to hear someone talk about what they mean and how things are supposed to go, and to watch two people smiling and making these beautiful and meaningful vows and know what i’ve gone through with mine. i ended up going off by myself and smoking a cigar for about 30 minutes or more until i could sort of regain my composure and get up the energy to do social interaction.
that said, it was great to see several college friends that i hadn’t seen in 7 or more years. they all surprisingly looked about the same, which i didn’t expect. i think i look a fair bit older and worse for the wear, myself. (but i looked like a 12 year old when i got to college, so hopefully i’ve got some spare youthful looks to burn through.) i hope i can manage to keep in some kind of contact with them. i’m not too good at that, but they were all good friends and it’d be a shame to never see/interact with them.
it was kind of nice that my friend i was staying with didn’t have a date, as it gave me someone to hang out with and not have to think as much about being alone (since everyone else i knew there had a wife or a date). not that i wish singleness on him or anything. but it was convenient for me in this instance.
my friend moose (a college nickname with a great origin story) had been very helpful at my wedding, so we’d bought him one of my groom’s men’s presents (a knife), but i’d never given it to him. this was the first time i’d seen him since my wedding, so i took the knife and gave it to him. it seems like i should have something clever to say about having the knife and giving it to him for helping at my wedding but not until after my marriage was over…but i can’t think of anything.

ph34r m1cr0s0ft!!1!!!111!
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/children/kidtalk.mspx
now that all of our l33t h4x0r language has been disseminated to the masses, what is a l33t ph3ll4 to do? (an advance warning — speaking any fictional language based on books or movies is NOT l33t. dork.)
can the imminent death of the net [tm] be far behind?

i went to a co-worker’s wedding in dallas this weekend. i ended up going by myself. which would have been more depressing if it hadn’t been on my motorcycle. (a motorcycle makes everything better.) i decided to not cheap out so i stayed at the wyndham. it wasn’t that great. nicer towels, bedding, pillows, and soaps are good. most of the rest of it…whatever. it was nice sitting with my feet up on the 10th floor window, looking out at the sky while drinking some coffee. i don’t know that it’s $50 more good though. plus much of the time i was wishing i had someone to share the experience with. i actually didn’t go to the wedding, just the reception. just as well, i suppose. i’ll be heading back up to dallas the weekend after next for another wedding.
i decided to drive to brady to see the familia instead of heading straight back to houston. spent sunday with the parents. we watched the fireworks in brady that night, which was nice. plus the sky there after dark is so incredible…so many stars. which is another nice thing to share with someone else. monday i spent with the parents and my grandmother, then i headed back to houston. i also picked up a kel-tec .380 from my dad’s store. and i discussed a walther ppk/s, and perhaps a bushmaster. my brother was occupied in austin, so i didn’t stop to see him. i did stop by my grandparents’ graves and the house at art. hopefully my parents will start things rolling with getting the house fixed up soon. it really needs some serious attention, but it could be such a great house.
riding back into houston monday night around 10:30pm, there were fireworks going off everywhere. it was pretty crazy. in addition to the random citizens illegally shooting off stuff, you could see a fair number of big displays put on by businesses or subdivisions or towns or whatever. which also explains the cops and fire engines flying around everywhere.
i put almost 1000 miles on my bike over the weekend. and man was it hot. i had to stop fairly often to drink water because i was sweating away everything. but i made it in one piece. not much longer and the divorce will be final and then it won’t matter if i stay in one piece or not.

in a freak incident, i was looking at an email from match.com last night (i get lists from a few places now and then…mostly it just makes me realize how few women i think i’d be both compatible with and interested in) and one of the women (who wasn’t even in the “close match” section but in the “random women who live in houston” section) who i decided wasn’t really my type had some pics, and in one thumbnail i thought “wait…that girl with her looks pretty good”… so i clicked on it just to see her better and the bigger pic came up and i’m almost positive the other girl is tamara. jeebus! wtf?! on my birthday, of all days. i’m telling you, G-d has got a wicked sense of humour/timing.
i much preferred the presents from my parents, and jamie’s valiant efforts to bring some humor and cheer into my day.

ah, yes. another wonderful year. i have a feeling things can only get better this coming year. i’m not sure i could handle it if things got worse.