She's Gone Country...Back to Her Roots

I decided to do the funny MySpace snapshot that you see a lot of the gay boys doing. Last Friday, my gf and I went to BRB to take some lessons. One of them was not the 2-step of which I still clearly suck at. HA! It has been years since I line danced. But, I went ahead and did it, though it cracks me up A LOT! I also learned more Cha and some other step I didn't know.

Being at the bar with country music blasting sent me back to my roots. It's been 8 years, and still I know every word to every song. My oh my how country remains the same.

Blasts from the Past...Some Photos

Some might call me crazy for posting these pics, but what the heck, I have no shame. I was sitting at work a little while ago and ran across some photos from an old hard drive of mine. Of course curiosity got the best of me and I had to start thumbing through them. I found some that reminded me of the different hair phases. (I'm currently in a long phase and want to cut it so badly...so I'm dreaming of the days of the past.)

Should I start with the worst and work my way to the best...hmm...dunno? I guess start out good and then go bad bad bad.


So that one wasn't too bad. My hair wasn't crazy long. I actually had recently cut it I believe. I was at a Christmas party and I think it was 2000 or 2001. This is the same party I met my friend Rose who is up in Dallas. It seems it's been a million years since too.

Moving a few months forward from that, I'm up in Seattle with my bro and his fiance' for their wedding. Apparently my hair is growing long again. This is a pic of the kids together.

I wish I knew what the heck we were laughing at, but I think it actually wasn't really too funny, we'd just had a bunch of Ouzo and I wasn't a drinker at that time. You could probably sneeze and I'd think it was hysterical.

Okay, on to the hideous pic I found...

OMG, who let me out of the house? Seriously...was my gf mad at me at that time? And my hair only got longer. I finally cut it off and donated it. Thank goodness! This was the summer of '99. I had recently transplanted to Houston and was in Space Flight Academy. The guy in the middle, Loren, is an astronaut that no longer flies and the guy on the right ,Pete, is a current astronaut that is also a medical doctor. He was only just beginning his career at NASA just like me at the time of this picture.

Okay, now that we've seen the hideous...let's get back to the hair I think is cutest and what I'm thinking of going to soon.

I was in NY, the only time I've been there. Look I'm a frikin GIANT next to the Statue of Liberty...she looks almost like a midget. HA! Anyway, that's where I hope to be with my hair soon. Until then, I'd like to share the song by Sheryl Crow that I rewrote, "Everyday is a pony tail...gets a little longer...everyday...". And I'm out!

New Camera

I had to ho myself out on the corner of Montrose and Harold to get this camera...
Of course if you knew the camera, or that corner for that matter, you might say that I'd get enough money by holding a cup for 10 minutes rather than ho'ing myself out, 'cause no one gonna pay for a girl like me ;). Which is actually true. I think it was all of $7. Yup, seven bucks. It actually scares me quite a bit. I thought I was going to have this special warm fuzzy feeling inside about purchasing this camera, but really, not so much. I think when I go to have the photos developed, they will say to me, crazy woman, get out of my store with your blank film.

Here's what the website says about this camera...now mind you...this thing feels like it's as sturdy as the Jell-o pudding containers that mom's send in kids lunches. And probably even cheaper.

"


One snap of the camera takes four pictures in the span of one second, preserving that moment in time and motion on one single print. Each plastic camera uses any standard 35mm film and has no flash. Item is repackaged for easy (less expensive) shipping, and comes with full instructions and quad cam tips.

The Quad Cam Photo Philosophy
Life is movement and action - so why take pictures that are boring and still? With the Quad-Cam you can capture one second of life in all its dynamic splendor. One snap of the camera takes four pictures in the span of one second, preserving that moment in time and motion on one single print. It's what happens during that one sedong that counts.

Taking pictures with the Quad-Cam is about trial and error, imagination and experimentation. Forget everything you've been taught about "good" photography, this is fun photography, this is art photography. The camera is no longer an objective observer, it's an active participand and a window into the world through your eyes. Take pictures of things in action, of people in motion. And if your subject isn't moving, try moving the camera while you take the picture. This will create effects and blurs that could produce a spectacular Quad-Cam picture. Shoot from the hip, and be spontaneous."


I'll let you know how the film turns out. I'd like to imagine it's going to do all the things it claims. However, the phrase, "taking pictures with the Quad-Cam is about trial and error" really does scare me.

Bored, I Guess

So I had 3 shots back to back in about 15 minutes... Of course blogging always sounds fun then, right? I figure I'll need to re-read this tomorrow and see if I reveal too many secrets. If anyone has the recipe for Spanish Fly...for the love of God...send it to me ;) Thank you!

Apparently I like fun with photoshop. Actually, GIMP is a lot of fun. But why the heck am I not smiling. Am I trying to be all tough with my chest all puffed out and stuff? How can I be all tough with a bandana on my head that has SMILING skulls and ...AND... it's PINK. That's all I'm sayin'.

Corpus

Well there I am riding to Corpus taking pics of myself. Also the reason the picture is so crooked. Which to me is really funny. Well, I had someone take a pic of me once we got to Corpus cause I needed to status Chuck and Christi on my progress. I'm doing really well with my workouts, so much so that I was able to climb a light house while in Corpus without even breaking a sweat.

I guess I felt the need to play the part of King Kong for a while. I don't think I was actually swatting at anything though. Well, we'd just dismounted the bikes and I was a bit loopy from all the rattling around in my brain. So it is possible I was seeing stars or something. Thanks Chuck and Christi for helping me reach my potential...climbing a light house.

And finally, another "hands on hips" moment was brought to you by DynaGrrl.

New-to-me Tank (and fender)

I recognize this is not the greatest picture. I usually do much better with the photos I post. However, in my defense, I didn't take this one and I haven't had the forethought to take one of my own with the tank sitting in my living room. It's actually in the shipping box, slightly cocked to the side, and the cats keep trying to jump in with it. It's rather amusing actually. But I've digressed...

This tank, though not a pretty sight at the moment, should become an incredible new addition for Annie. Not pictured here is the rear fender that came in the mail 2 days after the tank. It's solid black just like the current fender on Annie. If only I could locate a front fender that doesn't cost me the equivalent of my first born child. I located one in the Northeast, however it seemed the deal was a kidney for the fender. I thought it was rather pricey, eh? So my next adventure should be to hit the junk yards. I wanna see if I can find a fender and for the price of the part, have a new-to-me front fender without all this other madness.

New Seat

So here is the new seat on Annie. Wow! She looks so different. The seat is really comfortable. The weekend Jess installed the new-to-me seat on my bike, we ended up doing 450 miles with 350 on the new seat.
Some peeps went with me: Kim (Cooler), Amy (DynaGrrl), J-Dawg in the background, Jess with her helmet on, and Darrell, who avoided the photo. It was a fun day. I rode sweep (tailgunner) for this ride. This "Hands on Hips" moment brought to you by Cooler and DynaGrrl.

The next day Jess and I rode with some folks from our neighborhood and did crazy insane speeds around the water. AAAAAA!!! It's been a while since I white knuckled the bike like that. Even though they were going crazy fast, Annie with the new pipes, mod'd airbox, and rejet was able to hang with the Big Dogs...WAY TO GO ANNIE!!!