Yeah, I'm not sure how I've managed to not blog about this, but I'm headed back to Philly next Friday to spend ten days with Mac and Mr. Fish.

We're hoping to have a little mini-blogger get together in Philly on Saturday, October 8th, so if you live in town or nearby, let us know. I would just love to meet some more bloggers from up north.

We're also going into New York one day too, so if you live in the city, we might be able to meet up there.

Woo hoo! Nine more days!

.: 96 words at 10:27 PM in Fish Tales, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (3) :.

Show comments here »

Image_45.jpg


Originally uploaded by Kymberlie R. McGuire.

.: 8 words at 10:33 PM in :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (3) :.

Show comments here »

Everyone over here at Casa Neurotic Fishbowl is safe and sound. We even finally have both power and an Internet connection. Yay!

We lost power Saturday morning at around 2:30, which must be when Rita made landfall. I was upstairs playing my new obsession, Sid Meier's Pirates!, which is the most awesome game. Pirates definitely rule!

Originally the lights were off for about nineteen hours or so, when they came back on for about ten minutes, long enough for me to heat up a hot pocket and see what was in the news. Then, they went back off due to a fire (!) on the pole, caused by a transformer blowing.

The electricity company got the lights back up a few hours later, but then it became the flicker game. On for a bit, off for a bit. On for a bit so you think, "Good; it's fixed!" then off again. Power finally was restored for good yesterday afternoon and it looked like we were going to have Internet access again, but then it went out.

I finally had enough, so I went to bed early last night since I was just exhausted. (Note to self: Never live anywhere with trees. Hauling them next door to neighbor's backyard to make a fire pile in 100 degree weather sucks.)

So. No major damage over here. A big tree limb hit the fence, but it didn't break, so that's pretty much it. I think we're glad we stayed here as opposed to having a 24+ hour commute to Austin, even with no air conditioning and having to sit in the backyard so there's a breeze, but getting eaten alive by bugs.

I hope everyone else fared as well!

.: 287 words at 01:40 PM in Fish Tales, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (6) :.

Show comments here »

It's starting to look a little dark outside, boys and girls. Rita's on her way.

Latest predictions is that she's going to hit the Freeport area, so Houston and Galveston may be spared much in the damage/wind/rain arena. That would be nice.

I've showered, had dinner, and I've got my car under the carport over at my aunt's house next door, so I guess that's as prepared as I can be.

Lots of bloggers are staying in town (Sat, Jay, Emily, Elaine, and Hanna to name a few), so send us all good thougths. We definitely appreciate them.

.: 103 words at 06:21 PM in Fish Tales, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (7) :.

Show comments here »

Okay, I'm starting to freak out a little about Hurricane Rita. It's really freaking big and it's going to hit around the Freeport area, best guess as of now.

I live in Spring, about ten minutes from Intercontinental Airport, so I think we're far enough away that nothing too big is going to happen to us, though I'm sure we're going to lose electricity and get a lot of rain.

Anyway, keep all of us in your thoughts that everything will be okay for us in Rita's path.

.: 88 words at 10:46 PM in Fish Tales, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (10) :.

Show comments here »

Image_48.jpg


Originally uploaded by Kymberlie R. McGuire.

.: 8 words at 01:55 AM in :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (5) :.

Show comments here »

This Monday marks the return of Monday nights with The El Orbits at Houston's very own Continental Club.

While bingo won't (and may never) be back, the boys will be bringing their very own blend of retro, cool, and cover songs to the stage for a three hour, non-stop set. As always, there's no cover, $2 Lone Star pints, and $3 maritinis.

If you do come out, look for me and my friends so we can say hi and absorb you into our weekly gathering! I'll be the one in the "There's no religion but sex and music" t-shirt.

.: 100 words at 07:12 PM in Fish Tales, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

Show comments here »

I watched a couple of movies this weekend - House of Flying Daggers (gorgeously shot; excellent score, which I just added to my wishlist; great movie) and Finding Neverland (another great movie; Johnny Depp with a Scottish accent is my newest pretend boyfriend.

So, after watching these two movies, my big question is this: Who's cooler - ninjas or pirates (yes, no pirates were in either of these movies, but Johnny Depp plays a pirate, and those are the kinds of jumps my mind makes)?

What do you think? I usually lean towards pirates being the coolest of the cool (Talk Like a Pirate day is coming up; it's September 19th), but I'm kind of torn.

More proof I lean towards being a pirate can be seen in this picture and in the fact that I went as a pirate wench for Halloween last year.

.: 148 words at 08:48 PM in Fish Tales, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (8) :.

Show comments here »

Gratis just opened up their latest site for a free Apple iPod Nano.

The Nanos are awesome. They are as thin as a pencil, hold 1,000 songs, come in either classic iPod white or black, and have a color display that can display album art.

All you have to do is sign up here, complete an offer, and get some referrals for your own free Apple iPod Nano.

I've gotten three free iPods, a free television, a free Coach purse, and several PayPal payments, so this is definitely legit.

Hurry up and sign up now! These Nanos are amazing!

.: 103 words at 02:19 AM in Participation, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (4) :.

Show comments here »

I took the Geek, Nerd, or Dork test and I'm not surprised at the finding.

Pure Geek
43 % Nerd, 78% Geek, 39% Dork

For The Record:
A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia.
A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one.
A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions.
You scored better than half in Geek, earning you the title of: Pure Geek.

It's not that you're a school junkie, like the nerd, and you don't really stand out in a crowd, like the dork, you just have some interests that aren't quite mainstream. Perhaps it's anime, perhaps it's computers, perhaps it's bottlecaps, perhaps it's all of those and more. Your interests take you to events and gatherings that are filled with people you find unusual and beyond-the-pale, but you don't quite consider yourself "of that crowd."

.: 155 words at 12:38 AM in Quizzy Stuff, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (1) :: All the Voices Say... (3) :.

Show comments here »

My friend Kimberly (or Berly as she's known since there are a million Kimberly/Kymberlies around) turned forty Thursday and for her birthday milestone, she wanted to go skydiving. Since I loved it so much last time, I totally had to go.

I knew my brother Russell would also love it, so I told him that if he came, I would pay for part of his tandem since his birthday is Thursday. He said no, since he already had plans to go to Austin that weekend, but he called me Thursday morning and said that if I was still going, he'd like to come, which really made me happy; I just love my brother.

About fifteen people ended up going out, including Katie and Chris, though only seven of us jumped.

We were supposed to jump around 11:00, but, as far as I can tell, having a reservation with a large group of tandem jumpers doesn't really make a difference. There's usually a limited number of tandem masters (I think it was three today) and videographers, so there's no way to go through a large group quickly; you simply have to be split into several groups.

We still probably would have been gone by early afternoon except for the crappy weather. Since you obviously can't skydive in the rain or with lightning or anything else like that. They had to keep stopping the plane, so we didn't actually get in the air until around 4:45.

Russell and I rode up in the same plane along with a girl from his firehouse. I never really worry about myself too much when jumping, but Russell was jumping before me and I must admit it was a little scary watching him approach the door and jump out. He's my kid brother, you know?

Finally, it was my turn and I was a little nervous when we got to the door, but much less so than this time. I enjoyed the freefall a little more this time, I think because I didn't have a videographer, could concentrate more on looking around as opposed to at the camera, and also knew a little more what to expect.

As always, though, floating down after the chute pull was my favorite part. The time, Elio, my tandem guy, removed my goggles for me, so I was seeing the ground without the kind of crappy plastic being in the way. He also let me pull on the chute's handles which allowed me to steer us through the air.

I can't believe how much I love doing this. Since Russell enjoyed the hell out of his jump too, I'm hoping we can start working on our certifications together next year. I really don't want to have to go through all the classes and training alone.

Shame it's such a damn expensive hobby. Anyone want to give me about $6,000 for training and gear? lol

.: 485 words at 10:33 PM in Fish Tales, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (2) :.

Show comments here »

Image_45.jpg


Originally uploaded by Kymberlie R. McGuire.

.: 8 words at 10:48 AM in :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (1) :.

Show comments here »

While "The Five Stages of Properly Pissed" is funny, nothing is funnier or more true than Larry Miller's "The Five Levels of Drinking". (Don't be a dick; right click and "Save As...")

Not that I've ever gone through these stages or anything. Especially not Tuesday night, right, Irfy?

.: 50 words at 02:00 AM in Fish Tales, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (1) :.

Show comments here »

I'm back at Elaine's housesitting while she visits Kenny up in Washington.

Since the last time I was here I got the worst case of hives ever, I'm hoping we're right in thinking it was her pillows, which I have safely moved off the bed. I've even taken a Zyrtec already.

Of course, thinking about hives is making me itch which is making me paranoid that I've got them after being here like an hour. I'm so neurotic.

Anyway, cross your fingers that the hives stay away. I'm skydiving again Saturday and tomorrow's the monthly Geek Gathering, so I'm too busy to spend it swollen up like someone beat me badly about the face.

.: 116 words at 09:43 PM in Fish Tales, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

Show comments here »