Guardian of the Non Sequitur

In the past week I’ve had an amazing number of random and heartfelt compliments, all of which have bowled me over. I don’t know what’s going on in the Universe, but it’s a bit crazy right now.

I’d go into the details, but they’re so overwhelming that I can’t really find the ability to do so. Wow.

-b

Ok, I’m meme-ing (it’s been a long week).

Twenty things you might not know about me.

1. My first name is Charles.
2. I was born in Puerto Rico.
3. I graduated from UT; I started as an Electrical Engineering major, and ended with a Computer Science degree.
4. My father graduated UT; he started as an engineering major, and ended with an accounting degree.
5. His father graduated UT with an engineering degree.
6. His father graduated UT.
7. I lived in Calgary, Alberta Canada for a year; I have driven between Houston and there (4 days and 20º of latitude) several times.
8. I enjoy watching televised women’s curling.
9. I lived 1 mile south of the Pentagon for 2 years, working in north Georgetown, commuting daily across the Francis Scott Key bridge in my pickup truck with Texas license plates.
10. I once missed a wedding reception after chewing dozens of skittles into a gritty sugary pulp, then accidentally inhaling some of it into my lungs.
11. I’ve had lunch with John Henry Faulk.
12. In 1985 I sat in lounge chairs with Dick Scobee, in his back yard sharing iced tea and good conversation about meaningless things. Six months later he was commanding Space Shuttle Challenger when it exploded.
13. For almost a year I lived a few blocks from where Stevie Ray Vaughan played weekly. I never went to see him play.
14. Porter is my favorite style of beer.
15. Porter is the name of my 9 year old ex-racing greyhound.
16. I have won a blue ribbon in a homebrew competition for a porter I brewed that had butternut squash in it.
17. I have had hundreds of people urinate in my back yard.
18. In high school, I thought I was odd because the parents of everyone of my friends were still married to each other, as were mine.
19. My parents are now divorced and both remarried.
20. I have been accused (by different people) of being both a Right Wing Nazi Conservative, and a Left Wing Hippie Liberal.

-b

Most recent edition: the outside elephant, the elephant handle.

So, I’ve been hanging out at the big top the last two nights. Way too much. I’m sure I’ll be there again tonight, but not too long. There’s still a million little things to do there (and a couple of not so little things).

Last night the Light Rock Express played there. It was good, people enjoyed. I think it was a hair too loud, and I know they were trying to manage that. Time will tell if it works.

More of the crowd last night were people I don’t know – that’s a good sign.

Also, i get a lot of opinion from a lot of people about little things. I’d say about a third of them are contradictory. Oh, well. Can’t please all the people, all the time.

The biggest need right now: more chairs, more tables.

-b

I am left to wonder what TomJohnChris’ maps would look like. Or my mother’s for that matter.

-b

create your own visited country map
or write about it on the open travel guide

That’s: US, Canada, Mexico, UK, Netherlands, France, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Italy, Holy See, Puerto Rico, Barbados, Venesuela, St. Vincent, Grenada. (lots of other islands that are part of the US or UK or Netherlands).

I have good friends in Denmark that would put me up indefinitely.
I have friends in Australia and Honduras that would host me.

Those are trips I need to make.

Iceland is also on my list of wants to visit.

I’m exhausted at the cellular level.

After 10 hours of work on the Big Top on saturday (trimmed out the windows on the doors, moved all the dead video games into Connie’s now vacant space, mounted three stools, and then… tore out the front of the building – brick, gigantic sheet glass, rotten wood, all gone). Then I stayed till 3am just enjoying and drinking, talking to Johnda about subtleties that would help the bartender work the bar.

This morning, sore muscles everywhere.

Still managed to get up and out of the house by 11am and get to the 23 mile mark of the marathon (in chilly, blustery weather) on my bike, to catch the tail enders. Allen Oldies band had wrapped only minutes before I got there, but we watched the runners for another 45 minutes or so.

Then Carrie’s after marathon party (left early).

Then Andrea’s b-day and a trip to Eda’s with the GreerHills and the Gordons in the cadillac limo. Grady Gaines. Packed house, we got there early and had sweet seats.

Time for bed.

I trained down to the CC last evening, only to find Trey prepping the Big Top to be open. Its second soft opening last night. Made me not get over to the CC happy hour ringwalds until after 8. It was good to see the_other_ringwald in attendance. Then I hung out at the Big Top for a while. I love watching people enjoy themselves there. It’ll be even better when it’s fully done. Gotta go there now, Pete already bought my breakfast tacos.

-b