To middle initial, or not to middle initial?

Ok, so my last post was a little harsh, a little blunt, so I apologize. But thanks for the words of encouragement. I really appreciate it.

Have you ever wondered why some people insist that they (and everyone else) use their middle initial in their names, and others don't? More times than not, I include my middle initial. I have no idea why. I just always have (as far back as I can remember, at least). It's in my e-mail signature. It's how I sign my name. It's included in my byline when I write and distribute press releases at work. When I initial things, its always ALB (as is evident by the title of this blog). Yet, other people don't. PB (notice, no middle initial there), and I had this conversation the other day. Random, I know, but an interesting thought nonetheless. Don't ask me why these things pop in my head. Because I have no idea how that happens. It just happens.

If you haven't voted yet, please do. Early voting ends this week in Texas, so if you can't make it, please make sure you find the time on November 4!

Weekend

I don't know about you, but I'm glad it's finally the weekend. It's been a long week. Lots of late nights at work, and not much sleep at home. This week wasn't so good for me. I hate not being in my house. I just want to go home. But that's not possible right now. And I probably won't ever get to go back to that house. It looks like I'll be going back to a house on our property, but not the house that we've lived in for the past three years and fell in love with and went through so much to buy. It's hard. Very hard. I know I should be thinking on the positive side, so don't even go there, because I keep telling myself that's what I should do, but I don't want to think on the positive side right now. I want to go home. I keep asking why, and I don't get any answers. I keep wondering when things will return to "normal," but I'm not sure I know what normal is anymore. There is nothing normal about our lives right now. And we're not the only ones in this boat (no pun intended). We talk to our neighbors every night, and we see them going through the same things we are, and nothing about that is normal. Waiting on insurance, trying to decipher FEMA speak, wanting to wear a certain piece of clothing or outfit, and then remembering it got washed away in flood water, looking through floor plan after floor plan after floor plan, wondering how in the hell we're supposed to pay for a brand new house, searching all over for the mixer to make whipped cream for a piece of pie, and then remembering it took a swim... NOT NORMAL. So if you're wondering why I've been the way I've been this week, that's why. And that is also why I'm glad it is the weekend. Maybe I can at least try to salvage something out of the weekend. We'll see. Maybe a Buckeye win will help things..

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

So, I love this time of year, for so many reasons. For one, the weather here is finally resembling fall (sort of), and I love the fall. It invokes many childhood memories. We're able to have the windows open at the townhouse (mainly because the A/C is out, but we probably would have had them open anyway).

For two, it's a busy time in the sports world. Volleyball and soccer are in full swing, basketball is getting ready to start, and the World Series starts this week. How about the Rays?!?!? What a story that is! I think I might have to pull for the underdog!

For three, we're right smack in the dab of football season, both collegiately and professionally. It just so happens that the first BCS rankings came out this week, and while I'm a little disappointed with where the Buckeyes stand, we're not out of it just yet. We've got a HUGE game coming up this weekend against Penn State that could have national championship implications. I swear, if my Sports Illustrated comes this week with a Buckeye on the cover, I might strangle somebody at that organization. (Yes, I'm a firm believer in the SI cover jinx.) In addition, three NFL head coaches have been fired thus far (including Mike Nolan of my beloved 49ers), and Wade Phillips of the Cowboys is probably next, and we're not quite to the halfway mark of the season yet. Man, I love this stuff!

And, of course, it's a big election year, in which we'll all be voting on the next president of the United States. I hope you're all registered to vote and exercise that right!

With that said, my good friend PB found this column on ESPN.com, titled "BCS candidates make their pitch." It combines politics and BCS rankings (if you can imagine that's even possible), and is a good, funny read.

Enjoy!

TMJ and random thoughts

Quick Ike update... nothing new. Still waiting on insurance and fighting with FEMA. They did approve us for some housing costs, but in my opinion, it was a joke, so we're appealing. I mean really, 2 months of rental costs? That's it. You've got to be kidding me. And then they tell us that we're going to have an interview to determine whether or not we can have a trailer. Um, are you people serious? It's been over a month since the storm. Where the hell do you think we're living? In a tent somewhere? You approve us for 1 month in a hotel, and the closest hotel we could find was Austin, and you question us as to why we went out and found a place to sub-lease, and then tell us a month later that we might be approved for a trailer if we conduct an interview. It's a joke, really. FEMA is a joke. You hear all the horror stories of this shit happening to other people, and then it happens to you, and you see why everyone else bitched and complained. Once I make it through all this without killing someone, you can bet my senators and representative will be hearing from me. Something has got to give.

Anyway, back to the headline of this post... TMJ and random thoughts. I've been having a lot of pain in my jaw, and it gets worse as the day wears on. I guessed that it was TMJ, Jay thought I might have tetanus (which wasn't a bad guess considering all the crap we pulled out of our house... literally). So, I decided to go to the dentist today, and he confirmed TMJ. For those that don't know, TMJ stands for TemporoMandibular Joint, or the jaw joint. It's just as painful as it sounds. It gives me an earache and it's hard to hear out of the right ear, and I get headaches and sometimes blurry vision. So that's lovely. The doc says that it's likely due to a lot of stress, and given my circumstance over the past 5 weeks, I can't say that I disagree. He says the number of TMJ patients he's seen since the hurricane has increased three fold. So I'm glad to know I'm not alone. Nothing he can do about it, really. I'm not severe enough to have surgery, which he says for him is a last resort. We may try muscle relaxers down the road, but what I really need to do is learn how to relax. For those of you that know me, you know that's not an easy thing to do. So we'll see.

And now for the random thoughts...

• Be sure o get out and vote, regardless of which candidate you choose. I know early voting in Texas starts Monday. I'll be at the polls next week. I'm a big advocate of the saying, "You can't bitch, if you don't vote."
• Why must female sports reporters feel the need to get all dolled up to cover a football game? I truly don't understand this. I mean, I understand looking professional, but wearing a summer dress and 5-inch heels ain't gonna get you an interview before anyone else. I promise.
• Cool fronts (notice I didn't say cold fronts)... we had our first significant one come through this week. And thank goodness for that, because the upstairs A/C unit at the townhome went out. Luckily we can open the windows and get some fresh air.
• Tina Palin, um, I mean, Fey... love her. Need I say more?
• Baby showers at a beer garden. Thank you CK for having yours at the Gingerman. What a great time we had. And I'm so glad we got to see you. Next time we see you you'll hopefully be back home for good with Cooper, er, Peep. Yea! We can't wait!
• To the Rice crew... I love you all. We really shouldn't wait so long to all get together. I could eat creamy jalapeno dip on a regular basis.
• Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte's... they're back, and I can't get enough of them. Especially now with this cool front!
• High school football... does it really get any better anywhere else other than Texas? I don't think so.
• 7-year-old kids... they say the funniest things sometimes, and you wonder where they get it. For instance, our "nephew" tonight says to us at dinner, "So, my girlfriend (what 7-year-old has a girlfriend?) wasn't talking to me, so I had to take care of business. I dumped her." That's just about as good as a 4-year-old cussing. Love it.

I could go on and on (that's why they're random thoughts, right?), but I won't. I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Analog to Digital TVs in February, 2009

As we all know, everyone's televisions are going digital in February of 2009. This video gives you a good explanation of how to handle it all. Thanks for sharing, RM!

Mullets

One of the most fun topics to talk about, and even more fun to look at, is the mullet. Such an icon in history. Very 80's. Why am I writing about the mullet, you ask? Well, that would be because as Jay and I were sitting in the FEMA line yesterday (yes, we actually went somewhere to speak with someone face-to-face, and actually got some good information and answers... but that's for later), check out what we saw in line next to us!

Now that's a good mullet if I've ever seen one!

Water view of Ike damage

Curiosity got the best of us this weekend. We haven't been able to get into Kemah to see the damage (because it's still closed off to non-residents), so we had to get in the boat and see everything by water. Three weeks later, it's still horrible. I can only imagine what it was like after the storm hit. Wait, I lived that, so I KNOW what it was like after the storm hit. Here are a few photos.