Happy Saint Patrick's Day!
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Friday, March 16, 2007
More Than a Feeling...
A belated R.I.P. to one of rock's best singers, Brad Delp from one of my favorite bands of all time, Boston. Brad Delp is pictured on the far left.
What a sad and tragic ending for such a talented singer.
What a sad and tragic ending for such a talented singer.More Than a Feeling
From their debut album, "Boston" (1978)
Lyrics by Tom Scholz
I looked out this morning and the sun was gone
Turned on some music to start my day
I lost myself in a familiar song
I closed my eyes and I slipped away
(Chorus)
It's more than a feeling (more than a feeling)
When I hear that old song they used to play (more than a feeling)
I begin dreaming (more than a feeling)'
'Till I see Marianne walk away
I see my Marianne walkin' away
So many people have come and gone
Their faces fade as the years go by
Yet I still recall as I wander on
As clear as the sun in the summer sky
It's more than a feeling (more than a feeling)
When I hear that old song they used to play (more than a feeling)
And I begin dreaming (more than a feeling)
'Till I see Marianne walk away
I see my Marianne walkin' away
(guitar solo)
When I'm tired and thinking cold
I hide in my music, forget the day
And dream of a girl I used to know
I closed my eyes and she slipped away
She slipped away, she slipped away
It's more than a feeling (more than a feeling)
When I hear that old song they used to play (more than a feeling)
And I begin dreaming (more than a feeling)
'Till I see Marianne walk away
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Downtown
These pics were taken on Saturday evening...we wanted to check out downtown Houston so we bought light rail tickets at the kiosk near our hotel room. We were smack in the midst of the Medical Center area of Houston. In fact, our hotel was right next to Baylor Medical Center Plaza. Our round trip tickets cost $2 total, so we headed North to downtown to check out what was there.
A view from the train:
We got off at the Main Street exit and walked a few blocks down where we saw this cool fountain. Everytime I tried to take a photo of the water spouting, a train would pass by...
Or someone would walk in the picture:
Finally...
An art deco detail on one of the buildings downtown:
After realizing that the nightlife was null and void this early in the evening (6 pm'ish), we decided to head back on the train to go to Rice Village, a shopping/dining complex that spans 16 blocks, near our hotel. It sucked that all the restaurants were closed and it was pretty dead there too. Shortly after I took this photo, a lone musician stood on the corner, playing blues guitar for change.
Waiting for the train:
This was a nightclub I believe. The design looked very retro:
On the train:
A view from the train:
We got off at the Main Street exit and walked a few blocks down where we saw this cool fountain. Everytime I tried to take a photo of the water spouting, a train would pass by...
Or someone would walk in the picture:
Finally...
An art deco detail on one of the buildings downtown:
After realizing that the nightlife was null and void this early in the evening (6 pm'ish), we decided to head back on the train to go to Rice Village, a shopping/dining complex that spans 16 blocks, near our hotel. It sucked that all the restaurants were closed and it was pretty dead there too. Shortly after I took this photo, a lone musician stood on the corner, playing blues guitar for change.
Waiting for the train:
This was a nightclub I believe. The design looked very retro:
On the train:
Food in Texas
Sorry my photos are not more exciting. We didn't really eat at any fancy places. Our first night there, we ended up eating at one of the hotel's three restaurants. They all had the same food, but at different price ranges. I had a seafood pasta - kind of bland: penne with cream sauce and lobster, bay shrimp and scallops.
The next few days, breakfast and lunch were served gratis courtesy of the university and the conference program. The first breakfast was continental. There was this OBESE woman who shrieked loudly, "I'm diabetic! I need bacon and eggs and sausage, not sweet rolls!" Yadda yadda yadda. Later on we saw her with six danishes on her plate. Uh...note to self! You wouldn't need so much insulin if you ate the RIGHT FOODS! SHe could have chosen the fresh fruit...oh well! For lunch that day, I had mixed green salad (you could see a piece of okra on top - it was pickled), a few pieces of canteloupe, rice pilaf, teriyaki salmon, baby corn and a baked potato. Yeah, pretty glamorous.
This was the bar where my co-worker's husband had holed himself up that afternoon. He was there from 1 - 5 (when we finally arrived after 40 minutes of walking). Luckily for us, he befriended the bartender, so he got a massive discount on his beers and on our combo appetizer platter (not pictured). This bar is on the second floor of one of the shopping complexes in Rice Village. Just your basic American food place. There was another place I wouldn't have minded eating, the Bombay Brasserie (Indian), but it was only open for dinner.
That night, we ended up eating at Azumi, the sushi place across the street (which closed at the ungodly hour of 9 pm). It was a small takeout place with a few places to sit down. We were at the bar and chatted with the sushi guy (notice I didn't say 'Chef'). He was born and raised in Bolivia but moved to Texas as a kid. He made us several rolls not on the menu that night. The sushi there was nothing special...
My softshell crab roll:
Philly roll:
The neon sign at the South Servery cafeteria. One of the few shots I took in there (when it was empty). The conference attendees pretty much had free rein in that cafeteria. We could help ourselves to ice cream bars in the freezer too. I had a wanna be Nutty Buddy.
Saturday night we were trying to find a good ribs place in the Village. There weren't any, so we opted for Thai. Just a warning - never eat here:
It was a tiny little restaurant with dingy menus. I've never seen a Thai menu with "dumplings". Here's my co-worker's husband serving us rice:
Basil seafood plate (squid, mussels, scallops, shrimp and grody fake crab sticks):
Tofu in peanut sauce
Pad thai with beef:
The last day we had our lunch at the rodeo (pictures posted in previous blog entry), Texas style BBQ pork ribs and beef brisket which was all right. Next time, I want beef ribs that are so tender, the meat falls off the bone and melts in your mouth!
The next few days, breakfast and lunch were served gratis courtesy of the university and the conference program. The first breakfast was continental. There was this OBESE woman who shrieked loudly, "I'm diabetic! I need bacon and eggs and sausage, not sweet rolls!" Yadda yadda yadda. Later on we saw her with six danishes on her plate. Uh...note to self! You wouldn't need so much insulin if you ate the RIGHT FOODS! SHe could have chosen the fresh fruit...oh well! For lunch that day, I had mixed green salad (you could see a piece of okra on top - it was pickled), a few pieces of canteloupe, rice pilaf, teriyaki salmon, baby corn and a baked potato. Yeah, pretty glamorous.
This was the bar where my co-worker's husband had holed himself up that afternoon. He was there from 1 - 5 (when we finally arrived after 40 minutes of walking). Luckily for us, he befriended the bartender, so he got a massive discount on his beers and on our combo appetizer platter (not pictured). This bar is on the second floor of one of the shopping complexes in Rice Village. Just your basic American food place. There was another place I wouldn't have minded eating, the Bombay Brasserie (Indian), but it was only open for dinner.
That night, we ended up eating at Azumi, the sushi place across the street (which closed at the ungodly hour of 9 pm). It was a small takeout place with a few places to sit down. We were at the bar and chatted with the sushi guy (notice I didn't say 'Chef'). He was born and raised in Bolivia but moved to Texas as a kid. He made us several rolls not on the menu that night. The sushi there was nothing special...
My softshell crab roll:
Philly roll:
The neon sign at the South Servery cafeteria. One of the few shots I took in there (when it was empty). The conference attendees pretty much had free rein in that cafeteria. We could help ourselves to ice cream bars in the freezer too. I had a wanna be Nutty Buddy.
Saturday night we were trying to find a good ribs place in the Village. There weren't any, so we opted for Thai. Just a warning - never eat here:
It was a tiny little restaurant with dingy menus. I've never seen a Thai menu with "dumplings". Here's my co-worker's husband serving us rice:
Basil seafood plate (squid, mussels, scallops, shrimp and grody fake crab sticks):Tofu in peanut sauce
Pad thai with beef:
Monday, March 12, 2007
El Jefe
Damas y caballeros...yo estoy orgulloso introducir Zorro Presidente (pasado) de Mexico, Vicente Fox y su esposa Marta Sahagun!
On our way back to SD, we saw the former Mexican President and First Lady at George Bush International Airport. If we hadn't decided to get a little something at Starbucks, we wouldn't have seen President Fox. One of my co-workers recognized his wife. She whispered to her husband (who came along with us on our trip) that she looked like President Fox's wife. Then a man turned around and sure enough, it was him! He's pretty tall, by the way!
They asked him (in Spanish) if it was okay to take a photo and he graciously agreed. His wife was quite nice and even gave my co-worker a hug and a kiss on the cheek. I cropped out my co-worker and her husband actually. Note the "ghost orb" (cue "Twilight Zone" music). Luckily the surrounding customers folks at Starbucks paid no heed to this minor excitement. So no one mobbed him for more photos or autographs. For former dignitaries, they were a very low key couple. No bodyguards (that we noticed), but just his family having coffee and snacks at an airport Starbucks.
The Rodeo
We headed over to the HSLR after our last workshop on Sunday. We took the train since it was cheaper than a taxi and just a few stops away from our hotel. It was our last day, why not!
Tickets were $6 to enter. Way cheaper than the Del Mar Fair. There were several tented food areas:It cost more if you were to stay for the entertainment. The day we went was "Tejano Day" so the musical act that night was a group called 'Pesado' and a singer named 'Emilio' (didn't know who they were!) . [Edit: I looked them up and Pesado is a Norteno band, while Emilio is a Tejano singer] 
Hmmm...fried alligator?
By the way, barbecued turkey legs were a popular food at the rodeo. We saw so many people brandishing turkey legs, even little kids. Henry the VIII would have loved it.
I believe Reliant Center is like Houston's version of our Convention Center! It's huge in there! There were western shops galore as well as an art gallery, an indoor show arena for the animals, plus all kinds of livestock, campers, trucks, and mobile home exhibits! 
Outside was an art project called Boot Scoot, which explained the plethora of brightly painted 6-foot tall boots sprinkled throughout the city. The other day, we passed by Hermann park on the metro rail and saw a wedding party getting their photos taken near a row of boots.
This one was cool! The eyes actually glowed red!
On the way to the carnival area. There were rides, more food booths, and even a mechanical bull area. We arrived in the early afternoon so it wasn't quite busy yet. Although it was cloudy, it was pretty warm and humid!
After walking through the food tents, we sauntered over to the carnival area, looked around and decided to buy our lunch from this booth:
I got a combination plate which consisted of potato salad, white (ack!) break, barbecued beans (man, those took effect pretty quickly!), BBQ'd beef briskey (it was a bit dry), and pork ribs. I thought it was overpriced, $12 a plate, but hey, I had a stipend!
It was quite a lot of food so I ended up giving some of the meat to my co-worker's husband.
It was a whole different world out there...
This shop was selling horns! They also sold leather belts, bags, and boots.
I had no idea that Bevo was so well loved (not being a sports fan and all). Bevo is the University of Texas mascot and they bring him out for all the games. You'll notice that it's Bevo XIV. The earlier link is an article about Bevo XIII who croaked last October. Yee-haw Texas Longhorns!
John Deere is big here in Texas:
Over to the livestock area...
We walked through aisles to view the animals in their pens. Some owners even led their animals through the same aisles, hence the sporadic piles of animal feces on the hay covered floors. Several large hogs brushed by me actually. Docile creatures they are.
A cow brand:
A calf:
A cow taking a dump. I was trying to get it mid-air, but failed.
There were so many stores selling all kinds of things I never even heard of (being a suburban chick, I have absolutely no clue as to this Western way of life), such as Rope Cans (they look like cute lunch boxes, but you put your ropes in there), Boot boxes, hat boxes, show shirts (glittery shirts that people wear out in the area when they show their animals - those shirts are totally blingy and cost at least $150 or more!), jewelry and mega-blinged out belts with gigantic buckles.
A slumbering swine, so cute!
Awww...visions of bacon and sausages danced in my head:
A little girl riding the mechanical bull. They had it on a slow setting for her. There were two mechanical bulls. The workers would speed it up if it was a grownup. I think it cost about $7 to ride. Some people cheated and held on with both hands. You're supposed to have one arm up at all times. Some people were pretty good at this! No, I didn't not choose to do this activity. What was funny about this was the music they were playing were narcocorridos, a polka-based music that glorifies the drug lifestyle. Yeah, nice family music. It was in Spanish and I asked my co-worker what they were singing about: "Drugs, guns, murder and women". Niiiice. I hate to say it but after you hear one or two songs, they all sound the same...
Not pictured are the goats, chickens, and horses in the livestock area. There were so many things happening at once that it was a bit overwhelming in there (as well as the smell!). When I hear the word 'rodeo', I expected cowboys rounding up animals with ropes. We saw none of that in the Arena. We did see Mexican style horse-riding by women in beautiful, voluminous dresses, and youngsters proudly showing off their prize pigs and horses. There were many families camped out by their animals and many folks decked out in western gear. It was pretty interesting to see the varieties of leather boots out there. Ostrich and snake skin boots with matching belts (and sometimes hat band) seemed to be a favorite among the male Latinos. I hardly saw any Asians there. I figured as much, but hey, at least I can say I've been to a rodeo!
Tickets were $6 to enter. Way cheaper than the Del Mar Fair. There were several tented food areas:It cost more if you were to stay for the entertainment. The day we went was "Tejano Day" so the musical act that night was a group called 'Pesado' and a singer named 'Emilio' (didn't know who they were!) . [Edit: I looked them up and Pesado is a Norteno band, while Emilio is a Tejano singer] 
Hmmm...fried alligator?
By the way, barbecued turkey legs were a popular food at the rodeo. We saw so many people brandishing turkey legs, even little kids. Henry the VIII would have loved it.
I believe Reliant Center is like Houston's version of our Convention Center! It's huge in there! There were western shops galore as well as an art gallery, an indoor show arena for the animals, plus all kinds of livestock, campers, trucks, and mobile home exhibits! 
Outside was an art project called Boot Scoot, which explained the plethora of brightly painted 6-foot tall boots sprinkled throughout the city. The other day, we passed by Hermann park on the metro rail and saw a wedding party getting their photos taken near a row of boots.
This one was cool! The eyes actually glowed red!
On the way to the carnival area. There were rides, more food booths, and even a mechanical bull area. We arrived in the early afternoon so it wasn't quite busy yet. Although it was cloudy, it was pretty warm and humid!
After walking through the food tents, we sauntered over to the carnival area, looked around and decided to buy our lunch from this booth:
I got a combination plate which consisted of potato salad, white (ack!) break, barbecued beans (man, those took effect pretty quickly!), BBQ'd beef briskey (it was a bit dry), and pork ribs. I thought it was overpriced, $12 a plate, but hey, I had a stipend!
It was quite a lot of food so I ended up giving some of the meat to my co-worker's husband.
It was a whole different world out there...
This shop was selling horns! They also sold leather belts, bags, and boots.
I had no idea that Bevo was so well loved (not being a sports fan and all). Bevo is the University of Texas mascot and they bring him out for all the games. You'll notice that it's Bevo XIV. The earlier link is an article about Bevo XIII who croaked last October. Yee-haw Texas Longhorns!
John Deere is big here in Texas:
Over to the livestock area...
We walked through aisles to view the animals in their pens. Some owners even led their animals through the same aisles, hence the sporadic piles of animal feces on the hay covered floors. Several large hogs brushed by me actually. Docile creatures they are.
A cow brand:
A calf:
A cow taking a dump. I was trying to get it mid-air, but failed.
There were so many stores selling all kinds of things I never even heard of (being a suburban chick, I have absolutely no clue as to this Western way of life), such as Rope Cans (they look like cute lunch boxes, but you put your ropes in there), Boot boxes, hat boxes, show shirts (glittery shirts that people wear out in the area when they show their animals - those shirts are totally blingy and cost at least $150 or more!), jewelry and mega-blinged out belts with gigantic buckles.
A slumbering swine, so cute!
Awww...visions of bacon and sausages danced in my head:
A little girl riding the mechanical bull. They had it on a slow setting for her. There were two mechanical bulls. The workers would speed it up if it was a grownup. I think it cost about $7 to ride. Some people cheated and held on with both hands. You're supposed to have one arm up at all times. Some people were pretty good at this! No, I didn't not choose to do this activity. What was funny about this was the music they were playing were narcocorridos, a polka-based music that glorifies the drug lifestyle. Yeah, nice family music. It was in Spanish and I asked my co-worker what they were singing about: "Drugs, guns, murder and women". Niiiice. I hate to say it but after you hear one or two songs, they all sound the same...
Not pictured are the goats, chickens, and horses in the livestock area. There were so many things happening at once that it was a bit overwhelming in there (as well as the smell!). When I hear the word 'rodeo', I expected cowboys rounding up animals with ropes. We saw none of that in the Arena. We did see Mexican style horse-riding by women in beautiful, voluminous dresses, and youngsters proudly showing off their prize pigs and horses. There were many families camped out by their animals and many folks decked out in western gear. It was pretty interesting to see the varieties of leather boots out there. Ostrich and snake skin boots with matching belts (and sometimes hat band) seemed to be a favorite among the male Latinos. I hardly saw any Asians there. I figured as much, but hey, at least I can say I've been to a rodeo!
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