This post is over a year old.  It was right after I finished dating a guy named Brad (AKA Good Looking Guy).  Enjoy.



Well... I have 2 goals before I head off to Thailand (which might be sometime after March): 1) Make enough money to go to Thailand and 2) Run a half marathon.  I've been working diligently at goal #2... Goal #1, not so much.

Additionally, Thailand's PM has declared a state of emergency due to all the rioting and protesting.  This is a serious problem for me since I'm trying to convince people to quit their jobs and join me in my travels. 

I haven't really been doing much lately.

Good looking guy and I didn't work out (BIG surprise).  To be honest, I saw that coming.  I didn't feel entirely comfortable around him, which was NO fault of his.  We had been hanging out for a while and I had yet to even utter a curse word around him.  For a girl with a mouth like a sailor, that's pretty sad.  Also, I'm a bit of a tomboy... so I felt like expressing my true self would seem more like pandering to male interest... which I am certainly against. 

He also has no idea that I'm a HUGE football fan, and I never even mentioned fantasy football... or the fact that I can change my own oil.  With that said, I can't stop watching ESPN, and I love video games... both of which he knows NOTHING about.  I honestly don't know why this is happening, but I'm turning more manly by the day.  Pretty soon testicles are going to start descending from my abdomen and everything will be explained.  (Funnily enough, I'm looking at a fortune cookie fortune that I received a while back ago that says, "You are cautious in showing your true self to others.")

Or... this could all be karma kicking me in the ass for being such a douche to dudes.  I can't help it.  I practice some restraint... but mostly, it is something I can't control.  Seriously, what am I supposed to do?  Like shooting fish in a barrel, really.  Maybe I'll work on being nicer... Nah.

All of this is probably for the best, since all the girls are going out this weekend.  Even if I was seriously dating someone, we'd probably have to break up so I could survive that weekend.  I'm not gonna lie... I'm excited to have the trio back. 

So... like I said, I've been filling my time by training for a half-marathon.  I take measurements of different parts of my body every week.  This week, I gained a half-inch around the waist and a half-pound on the scale (I attribute this to being at my parents' house this past week and eating an ass-load of pop-tarts).  I then proceeded to drop some bombs and re-measure.  No need to worry, folks.  I'm back on-par. 

On today's agenda: make some money, apply for some jobs, have a good run, and devise a plan to break up my buddy and her douche of a boyfriend. 

It's gonna be a big day.

Well… I’ve started packing for camping.  I thought I was going to go down today, but I think I’m going to wait until tomorrow.  The girls and I are going to hit the town tonight, then drive down to New Braunfels pretty early.

My packing has always been fairly simple: Swimsuit and a toothbrush.  This year I went a little overboard and brought my own towel.  Usually, Julie just brings enough for both of us.  This tradition of me camping without anything started a few years ago when Staci and Julie convinced me to come out there tubing and said I didn’t have to camp if I didn’t want to.  So I said I wouldn’t.  I parked my car a few miles from the campsite and they came and picked me up.  I had a swimsuit, cover-up, and I had an extra toothbrush in my purse. 

We finished tubing and they decided they didn’t want me to leave, so they all banded together and refused to drive me to my car.  I ended up camping for 3 days with nothing more than what I had.  Granted, that’s a little more than what I had when I accidentally went camping in Munich- an apple core and two Euros (I’m sure that story is on my blog somewhere). 

So, keeping with tradition, I pack nothing.  Amber is coming this year, and she keeps saying that we need to get together to see what we have and need to buy.  I don’t think she fully grasps the concept of, “I’m not bringing anything.” 

I may have time to blog tomorrow before I leave… or even blog some more today, since it’s fairly early.  Nonetheless, I will look through some old entries that I never posted and time-delay them to post periodically while I’m gone.  I’ll note at the top how old they are. 

 

Twitter me @girlvworld  or not…

Well, I feel like a true Austinite.  I left my deodorant in Kendra’s freezer, so I went an entire day without it.  I had rainy-day hair and distinct hippy musk.  I fit in perfectly.

Additionally, I have lost around ten pounds on the Breakup Diet, so there’s always a silver lining.  It also couldn’t have come at a better time.  A guy that I used to date is going camping with us tomorrow, so I have to put my game face on.  Not that I’m interested… but I gotta make him sweat it.

My buddy Amber is super sick.  So I brought her some OJ.  Her tummy hurts, she’s pooping a lot, and she’s very irritable.  I asked her if she was prego, but she says that’s impossible.  But I don’t know… Jesus is proof that abstinence isn’t 100% effective, so we’ll have to wait and see.  I asked her what she would name this immaculately conceived child… She said Baby Jesus.  Sweet. 

She told me about this site selling T-shirts for a friend from college.  Her friend, Jamie, was diagnosed with cancer, and appears to have an incredibly positive outlook for the situation.  She keeps a carepage (that I’ve heard is VERY inspirational), but I haven’t read it because I’m a big baby.  The burnt orange shirts say “Cancer Sucks” on the front and “Jamie Rocks… Jamie Fight” on the back.  You don’t have to be a UT fan to appreciate it.  Profits go to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  Anyway, I thought I’d throw the link out there for anyone who might be interested.

You can sorta follow me on twitter @girlvworld.  I say sorta because I don’t really know what to do with the account… so I mostly just say that I’ve updated the blog.  Perhaps I will find more interesting things to do with it. 

I don’t usually blog about Pop Culture, but I feel as though TMZ has been taking up so much of my time lately.  I owe it to the celebrities to get my opinions out there.  Since I’m feeling a little listy, it’s time for a TOP TEN SPREAD!  Yes.  So here are my top ten things in the pop culture news that have been on my mind…

10) Michael Jackson’s Kids Aren’t His
Really?  Did anyone think that a black man could have kids like that anyway?  Even before he died I knew they weren’t made of his swimmers.  Yea, I know he looks (looked?) like a white lady, but have you ever seen the Jackson 5?  Mikey is clearly a black man and those kids ain’t mixed.  The fact that anyone ever thought they were half-Mikey is what surprises me.  Don’t be stupid, we don’t have room for any more stupid on the planet.

9) Perez gets slugged.
Duh.  You talk smack about people, someone’s going to slug you eventually.  I’m not going to lie though, he had a good run.  He made it a lot longer talking trash than most people ever could.  And for that, he gets my applause.  I read his blog... I laugh at times… but the “getting nailed in the eye” part was kind of inevitable.  Has he never seen Boys in the Hood?  I don’t think I can say “duh” enough.  Don’t talk trash, won’t get slugged.  Simple.

8) Athletes in Pop Culture
Alright, I’m kind of excited that athletes are now Pop Culture sensations.  I don’t really have any examples in particular (although I’m thinking of a few), but I’m just glad I get to see what they’re up to off the field.  Mainly, I’m excited because that makes them easier to recognize on the street… or at sushi restaurants… or at Christmas Parties.  I can spit stats like nobody’s business, but recognize them without their game gear?  Impossible.  Next time, I won’t look like such a douche and think that he’s an accountant instead of a player.  My bad, Chad.

7) My Digital Converter Box
Alright… This may or may not relate to Pop Culture in your eyes, but it plays a huge part in my life.  I am no longer able to watch TMZ on TV.  This really pisses me off.  What used to come across as a semi-decent picture with no static noise is now a completely clear channel with a horrible humming sound.  It makes me angry.  And… well… I could only think of 9 things in Pop Culture that were blog worthy.

6) Beards
I don’t know about you, but I’m for ‘em.  I think they’re lovely.  Sometimes, if I’m really really bored, I’ll just google “beards.”  Playoff beards, bar beards, beards for life changes… It may be weird, but I think they’re pretty damn spiffy, and I’m going to promote that cause.  Besides, they’re way sweeter than those gross child-molesting-mustaches that are all the rage among funny guys these days.  I kissed a guy with a mustache once… I felt like I needed a shower.

5) The Bachelorette is a douche.
I used to like Jillian.  Really.  I did.  But, now she’s kind of a douche.  She let Jake go WAY too early.  Worse, she picked Wes over Jake.  Now, I realize that Wes may not actually be a bad guy and it may just be the editing, but he brought his guitar with him, and serenaded her.  Gag me.  That indicates to me that he’s a douche.  Well, I suppose they’re both douches, so maybe it’s a match made in ABC heaven.  But whatever, I’m over it.

4) Lady Gaga continues to look more stupid… Every day.
You remember that girl in high school that used to wear weird clothes to be “different.”  You know… the one that would wear thirty layers of mismatched crap and say that she’s just expressing herself, when in actuality you know that she’s just trying to hide her ugly by drawing attention to her clothes?  Well, Lady Gaga is what happens when that chick grows up and gets money.  I’m on to you, Lady. 

3) Jon and Kate Plus 8… plus the media… plus their fans… plus an annoyed me
I kind of liked the show.  I kind of liked the family.  I kind of liked Jon and Kate.  But when they started having marital problems, I didn’t like it being everywhere.  Here’s where I get a little out of character and become sympathetic.  This isn’t just a scripted television show.  This is reality.  Granted, it is reality TV, but it’s their LIVES.  Infidelity and divorce is not something that should be taken lightly, and it certainly shouldn’t be plastered everywhere for our enjoyment.  I say we leave them alone.  Please.

2) Transformers
Whoa… I never expected Megan Fox to draw that much money.  I always thought she was hot, but I never expected this.  Or maybe I have it all wrong.  Perhaps, Michael Bay has produced a wonderfully plotted and thought through film that will forever have a place in cinematic history.  Yea, right.  Who am I kidding?  I am never wrong.  I reckon I should wait until I see the movie to judge, but that just seems too fair.

1) Britney’s Comeback!
I know it hasn’t happened yet.  It seems like she’s just easing back into normalcy instead of dropping the Comeback Bomb on us.  I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for it!  You know what I think?  I think her music is even better since her divorce and “episodes.”  She says it best, “It’s Britney, bitches.”  I’m sold.

Perhaps you’re wondering what I’ve been up to these past 7 months.  Well… a lot really. 

I started a Master’s program in Psychology.  I have been doing quite a bit of domestic travel (New Orleans, Chicago, Green Bay…), and I managed to acquire and lose a boyfriend.  Although losing him was painful, there is some comfort in knowing that all of his exes are now married, engaged, or divorced.  With odds like that, I might just be the next one (for a girl that's afraid of commitment... that's a little scary.).  Unless he gets married before I do… which, will really really suck.

I’m sure more about the breakup will unfold over the blogs to follow, since the breakup is relatively fresh.  All I can say about it is that I tried, I'm exhausted, and I put my best foot forward. 

My dad finally convinced me to start blogging again.  I told him that I didn’t really have anything to say.  He then said, “Well, Carrie would write about the break up.” Yea, my dad just used a Sex & the City reference.  I fully appreciate his effort and as a reward for that, I will blog (but not necessarily about the breakup).   

I found a really funny (and embarrassing) blog that I wrote about a year ago but never posted.  Maybe now is a great time to post it… I figure if I can make myself laugh by my own misfortunes, perhaps I can give you a chuckle or two. 

Also, I’ve got a good schedule of events coming up with a lot of prospects for blogging.  So, ya know… stick around… This could get funny.

Oh… and you can follow the blog on twitter @girlvworld.

Well… I’ve got a couple of good weeks ahead of me.  I’m camping this weekend.  Some of you may remember the Poo in my Tube story from the last time I went floating down the river.  Refresher:  I found poo that did not belong to me in my innertube and I accidentally touched it with my toe.  I ended up with a throat infection for two weeks.  I don’t know if the poo and throat infection are related, but I certainly don’t see how they can’t be. 

After that, the Houston girls are coming in for a much needed weekend trip.  That’s the trip where I busted my camera.  Well… sorta.

See, the girls and I went bar-hopping after a margarita-filled dinner.  At some point in the night, I got into a muscle contest with some dude at the bar.  When he doubted my muscular abilities, I body slammed my purse onto the floor and flexed the world’s greatest flex.  Shu picked up my purse and said that I probably destroyed some electronics.  I shrugged and made some comment about my electronics being wusses if they couldn’t handle a little beat down every now and then. 

I woke up the next morning naked on Lauren’s living room floor.  Oh, so many of my drinking stories end that way.  I got up and pulled a Corona out of the fridge, then got dressed and climbed into bed with Shu and Lauren.  They began to recount the night, most of which I don’t remember. 

Needless to say, my wussy camera could NOT survive the effects of a rather severe purse beat-down.  Honestly, it looked like it exploded, and I thought that was exactly the angle I should use when I took it back to Best Buy. 

I went to the Geek Squad counter that very next day.  The conversation went a little something like this:

Me:  Hi, can you fix this please?

Geek Squad:  Whoa… What the happened to it?

I shrugged my shoulders.

Geek Squad: Your camera has this sort of damage and you don’t know what happened?

Me: It exploded.

Geek Squad: It exploded? How?

Me: I don’t know.  I think it’s faulty.  I went to take a picture, but instead of getting a delightful pictorial memory, it exploded.  It’s a damn good thing I didn’t have it too close to my face… You guys might be facing a lawsuit.

Geek Squad: It looks like it’s been dropped.

Me: Oh, I can absolutely assure you that it hasn’t been dropped.

Geek Squad: But you aren’t sure what happened to it?

Me: I told you.  It exploded.

 

Needless to say, I did not get my camera fixed nor did I buy a new one since.  I asked for one for Christmas, but my parents said they have yet to find a camera that is indestructible.  So I’m just going to wait until technology advances to meet my demands.

I’m hoping the girls will bring one.  Now that I’m older and wiser, I suspect I can make it through a whole girls’ weekend without any real damage.  I guess we’ll have to see.

Football season is upon us, which means I'm pumped. It also means that I'm getting excessively annoyed by many happenings.  As such, I have felt compelled to create my own list of people I'm currently hating.  Keep in mind, I have a short fuse, and am also quite forgiving.  Clearly, I'm a football fan.  So the list is dominated with football references.  But here we go.

10) T.O.
Duh.  Who in the world can create a top ten and NOT put TO on it?  Not me.  This is a love/hate relationship though.  When I watch the highlights, I hate him.  When I watch the games, I don't.  I don't know what it is.  However, today I must take an official stance.  And today, I do not love him.  Sure he's a friggin' miracle maker and can catch any ball put within a 6 foot radius of him, but must he show-boat?  Seriously.  We all know you're awesome.  Give the ball back to the ref and quit acting like an idiot. 

9) Tony Romo
I know... it's beginning to look like a pattern.  I don't hate the Cowboys though.  Just TO and Romo.  Why do I detest Romo, you ask.  One word: Hype.  Let's face the facts, he's not a great QB.  He's just surrounded by people who can turn his shit into gold (I'm looking at TO).  I'll tell you what... if he was with Miami, they'd be 1-15 again.  Yea, I said it.  Romo is kinda crap.  Oh, and Romo, you're girlfriend's a douche.

8) Floyd Mayweather
Yea, this one I'm kinda torn about too.  I hated him up until his final match.  Honestly.  Pure hate.  My hate was only aggrevated by his fight with Oscar when he came out in that damn sombrero.  What a douche... but my hate lessened to more of a wishy-washy dislike during his fight with Ricky Hatton.  The Brits acted like classless assholes, and Pretty Boy Floyd cried when he won (I should mention that I'm a fan of grown men crying... as long as I'm not dating them).  But since I'm not a very hateful person, and most of his career was spent on my bad side, he makes the list. 

7) Tom Brady
Now, it's not very often that I decide to hate on a delicious piece of man-meat like Tom Brady.  But today is one of those days.  I don't know why, but he rubs me the wrong way.  I just don't like him.  I can't even put it into words... but his failures do not go unnoticed.  Maybe it's because he dates a Brazilian supermodel and I'm pissy that I don't stand a chance... Maybe it's the 5 sacks in the last Super Bowl that got under my skin.  I honestly don't know.  But, I'm kinda glad he's out for the season.  I know, it's bad that someone makes this list and I can't even say why.  But hey, it's MY list.

6) Novak Djokovic
I'm a fan of grown men crying, but I'm NOT a fan of grown ass men acting like pansies.  I'm just going to let Andy Roddick do the talking for me on this one: "Bird flu, Anthrax, SARS... He's either quick to call the trainer, or he's one of the most courageous guys of all time." Man up, Novak.  Man up.

5) OJ Simpson
The only reason he's not closer to #1 is because he's irrelevant.  I'm tired of him always getting in trouble.  I'm tired of him being above the law... and I damn sure think his book about the murders was classless.  OJ gets an A+ for being a douche, and fails at being a decent human being.  Stop breaking the law.  Stop it.  (You too Michael Vick.)

4) Kobe Bryant
He's named after expensive beef... Shaq doesn't like him... He's a philanderer... the list goes on.  Don't get me wrong, I think he's an awesome player, but I just don't like him on a personal level. 

3) Tonya Harding
Congratulations Tonya.  You get to be the only girl on my list.  Do I really even need to talk about why she makes the list?  I can sum it up pretty quickly: Wedding Porn and Kerrigan.  Besides that, she was one of those people that loved drama.  In fact, the competitions didn't even feel right if she didn't have some sort of crisis.  She sucks at life.

2) Tennessee Titan Fans
How DARE you boo Vince Young!  He's a God among men.  Have you no shame?!  He took your crap team to the friggin' playoffs and you're gonna boo him?!  NO.  Absolutely NOT.  I'm gonna boo you, Tennessee.  BOOOOOOOOO!!  I've never been more livid in all of my football-watching life as I was when I watched a legend get booed by his fans (and Merill Hoge... you can shut you're mouth too).

1) Your Girlfriend
I understand.  She's cute, and she wants to come to the sports bar and watch the game with you.  But if she doesn't stop complaining about how loud it is... she might meet her demise the next time we meet in the bathroom.  Don't get me wrong... I LOVE female fans.  I think it's awesome.  In fact, I am one.  But honestly, you need to give her the basics before you take her out in public.  It embarrasses ME when she cheers for the wrong team.  Oh, how do I know she's cheering for the wrong team?  Because she's wearing a damn pink and white Romo jersey and just cheered when he threw an interception.  Maybe you should cut her off at 2 cherry vodka sours or something, but I can't handle it anymore. 

Alrighty!

Ike hit at about 2.30 in the morning.  I wish I could have taken some great photos, but my camera phone doesn't allow it.  Additionally, I slept like a big baby through most of the storm.  Storms are like Nyquil to me.  They hit, I sleep.  I woke up several times to my Grandma shouting and to some great big ole limbs falling on the house. 

At about 6.30 am the eye of the storm passed.  Grandma and I went outside to take a gander.  It was pitch black outside.  Except, the sky was a dark glowing purple.  Behind all the mess of clouds, the sun was trying to rise and it made the sky glow, but I couldn't see anything except black silhouettes against the purple sky. 

Needless to say, the eye was very uneventful and I went back to sleep.  I woke up right before the back half of the storm hit.  You could hear it coming.  It didn't sound like a tornado, but you could hear the wall of storm approaching... like a train.  It got louder and louder... then BOOM as it hit the wall in my room (which faced the storm).  The house shook.  My window was the only storm-facing window that we didn't board up (we couldn't get the screws into the brick), so I was slightly worried about debris flying in.  I fell asleep again and only woke up sporadically through the night as trees fell and stuff hit the house. 

When the dangerous portion of the storm passed, the neighbors were outside assessing the damage and picking up the pieces.  It was still pouring rain, but that didn't stop anybody.  People were pulling trees off their houses and cars, removing boards, checking on neighbors, picking up fences, and cleaning up the debris.  The streets were relatively clear and everything was as orderly as possible before it even stopped raining. 

Grandma and I drove around for a bit to see the damage.  It was amazing.  Kids were headed down to one of the flooded streets with rafts and wakeboards in tow.  We went down there to see.  It was flooded up to our knees.  Huge trees were snapped clean in half and many were uprooted.  We drove over to my Papa's house (he evacuated to Dallas) to assess some damage.  They hadn't cleaned up their neighborhood, so it was like dodging landmines.  We drove over several downed power lines (you really can't see them), and dodged large trees.  Luckily, his house was relatively undamaged, but his trees suffered. 

I have quite a few pictures of the aftermath, but my phone isn't cooperating, so I can't download them right now.  There are some photos on the KHOU website and a lot of information about the storm.  The story is that it could take as long as 30 days to restore power.  I sure hope not.   

I reckon now is a good time to volunteer.

Just to let everybody know, Danielle's fine. The eye of Hurricane Ike passed right over where she was this morning and I'm sure she is going to have some great stories to write but unfortunately the electricity has been out in Houston since well before Ike got there and she won't be able to blog until it comes back on and internet access is back up.

Drop her a note if you have been reading the blog entries and let her know you're out there waiting for her to get back online.