Camera... Found

There are many pictures and videos I could post. However, this sums up recent excitement in my life. As stated in a previous post, I had extra time to spend in Chicago. I am thankful that I spent that time with a couple amazing friends of mine. It is my hope that we'll have more pictures like these later this year.

Extended Weekend

As stated in the previous postings, I was in Oshkosh this past weekend interviewing for Graduate Assistant and Full-Time positions in the housing sector of higher education. The rest of my weekend involved an extended stay in Chicago.

While trying to leave Milwaukee, we were stranded on the tarmac for an hour as Chicago was being hit by a snow storm slowing the arrival of all incoming flights. When we finally took off, the flight was brief. Milwaukee really isn't that far from Chicago. When we landed in Chicago, there was a small glimpse of hope that I would catch my flight. However, this hope slowly chipped away with every minute we again waited on the tarmac. This time our delay was a result of our gate not yet being cleared by the departing flight. So, I missed my flight.

I did however get to spend the weekend with my dear friend and colleague. She is an employee at on of the institutions I interviewed with this weekend. She showed me around campus, as well as joined me in meeting up another close friend for lunch who works for the same institution. They kept me entertained before my flight left later afternoon.

Here I was preparing to head to the warm Texas sun, and leave behind the frigged cold, relentless wind, and bitter snow of Chicago. All the while in the back of my head I know that a part of my soul wants to spend the next 730 days, 17,520 hours, 1,051,200 minutes, 63,072,000 seconds in that place. Calling it a temporary home, and extending a sincere welcome for maturing adolescents to do the same.

Weird.

Carnival

I struggle with working excessive hours more recently. The past three days I have worked at least 11 hours, and from now until after Valentines Day (a.k.a. Singles Awareness Day), my hours wont lessen.

Now and then, I am blessed with a night out. Last weekend, friends and I attended Carnival in Austin. My feet and legs were sore from the dancing, and when we left it was pretty damn cold. None the less, it was a great time.

Entourage with me.

Entourage without me.

The music was upbeat, loud, and caused uncontrollable body movement. Good times!

Bad tea. Good company.

I had the pleasure of hanging out with these two wonderful girls while I was home in SF for the holiday. It was a pretty fun filled day with shopping at some joint on Filmore, donating money to a charity that supports shelters for homeless women and children, drinking tea that I tried not to admit tasted like crap, grabbing cupcakes at a sweet place off Lombard, and then parting ways.

People should be jealous that I had the opportunity to hang out with these two. I'm jealous looking at my own picture!

Oh, and the reason why I'm posting this now is because like a cotton-headed ninny muggins I forgot to post it over the holiday break.

Damn! Look how stylish them girls are!

Michigan Trip

Thank the Lord, I figured out how to get this video to show.

For the time and effort I put into creating this, I hope it gets your approval.



Michigan Trip from Reed Rallojay on Vimeo.

6:22 PM on a Friday

It's 6:21PM and I'm sitting at my desk in my office, still at work. No, I'm not doing work. Shucks! It's Friday. I'm just waiting to meet up with friends to hang.

I thought I'd share this video. I'm a fan. The end.

Never gets old

They never stop to amaze me. Have you seen 'em?



How about this?



I'm not saying anything but... Kris... is this a reincarnation of our senior year?

Bobble Head

Work afforded me the chance to attend my first NBA game. I was part of a mini college fair hosted by the San Antonio Spurs. It wasn't a very impressive program, but they're in the business of entertainment... not education. I give them an "A" for effort. That "A" was not influence by the hand written thank you note nor the Ginobili bobble head I was give. After fair I joined my colleague from Texas Christian University to watch the game against the Denver Nuggets. While inside we ran into a couple other college reps and we hung out together before the game got started. One of the reps was a reminder why I have a secret "thing" for red-heads. Thank you ma'am!

The game was... pretty good. Spurs lost, though. I have no allegiance to any NBA team. However, while in college I did become somewhat of a Pistons fan. I've been in Texas long enough, and been recruiting San Antonio students long enough that the second NBA team I would support would be the San Antonio Spurs.

So...

Go Spurs Go!

I got it

So, I came home this evening. Well into the evening. I still refused to say anything to my one inconsiderate roommate and headed straight to my room. Outside my bedroom door was a package. Right away I recognized the return address.

I opened the box and low and behold, after 13 days short of 5 years, I finally received my membership certificate. I can't begin to figure why it had taken so long for me to receive. For the most part, I blame Canadians.

... Let me explain

Blogging has become a fun hobby for me. When I find the time I blog. However, with the amount of travel I've been doing, I'm left with too few opportunities to put my thoughts in text. Last month was a poor showing on my part. I get a "D" for effort. This is like middle school language arts all over again.

Right. So... My good friend Barry, known to others as Barack, is now President-elect for the U.S. and A. I figured after a long stint without a posting by me, I'd share a fun post with you. Actually just this fun picture.

This shirt was given to my by my mom. Although, I didn't wear it to work, nor to my polling station, I did wear it the rest of the evening. For the most part, it got some laughs and greetings of support. However, I did see a few faces (a few, friends of mine) less than pleased. My political stance is pretty clear. None-the-less, I hope you like the picture.

One for the record books

At my last evening college fair in Houston, I was invited to hang by a recruiter to to a gathering at her place. After I had got back to my hotel, got cleaned up, and ready to go plans changed and the the house was no longer an option.

Rather than stay in on my last night in Houston, I decided to venture out and get a few drinks somewhere. Thanks to Yelp for helping me find the type of bar I wanted to go to. I happened upon Shakespeare Pub (not to be mistaken for Shakespeare's Pub in Kalamazoo, MI).

This dive bar featured live blues music that put me in a great mood, $3 bottles of domestic (since the Shiner wasn't cold yet), and locals. The dimly lit pub had the illusion from the parking lot that there was standing room only. That was the case on the patio, not inside though. I walked in and through the front door you walked right up to the edge of the stage (stage right, to be exact). The stage was littered with instruments waiting to be felt-up like a prom date. I hadn't realized that I just missed a set and the band was taking five. Although there weren't too many people present, I "B-lined it" to the far side of the bar where there appeared to be a few empty seats. I sat in the stool, raised my feet to find a ledge, a foot rest... to the perfect height as though it were made just for me. I raised my eyes to the televisions to see the highlights of the Boston-Tampa game. I have no allegiances to either team, but I felt excited to learn of the comeback by Boston who was at one point down by 7. This was the start to a good evening. I could feel it.

I placed my order of a "Shiner" to the friendly, rotund, curly red-headed bartender. She informed me that the keg was delivered late and hadn't chilled long enough to be served. I glanced over to the bar and saw Bud Light bottles. Some in hands, others abandoned on the bar. I quickly ordered a bottle, so not to seem like a indecisive, yuppie, schmuck. As I waited for the first beer, I observed my fellow patrons. I could tell which were the regulars, the locals, and which were the ones who probably weren't from around here. (Them speaking french was somewhat of a give away). But it was a friendly crowd. They knew each other by their first names. They looked after the bottle or change of the person sitting next to them who stepped out for a cigarette or to use the John. It was a familiar feeling.

A beer or so later, after the ball game's highlights were over and Sex in the City was displayed, the band slowly made their way to the stage one-by-one. I was probably the only one who noticed what was on the TV. I asked for it to be changed, and the bartender responded by handing me the remote. I wanted to put on CNN, but my better judgment told me that this is a bar, and ESPN would make me less of a target later in the night should anything go down. But it didn't matter. The electric guitar was being strum, and along with everyone else my attention turned to the stage.

"Sonny Boy" Terry, like the contractor who built the bar, must have known that I was going to be there because the sweet sound of blues music brought so much life to the dreary week I had been having in rainy Houston. The combination he and guitar player Little Ray Ybarra had going put me in a great mood. These guys were not out of place and neither was their music.

This was a great night... however there is one section of the night, to funny to exclude from this posting.

At one point during the night I was drinking another Bud Light when two ladies passed behind me on the way to the restroom. One of those ladies walked her fingers across my shoulders. Oh, Jesus. At the time, I was minding my own business, jammin' out to the tunes. The lady, who I later described in a text message to a friend as "unsavory, not petite blond woman", was on the prowl. I observed her making a fool of herself hitting on Sonny Boy as he's trying to play a song. She later came by after using the restroom and attempted small talk. She was doing an excellent job of sweet talking me. Informing my that I was the best looking man in the whole bar, which after reflection probably wasn't saying much. I was also probably the youngest guy in the bar as well. She continued to compliment me. But began to catch on that I wasn't looking (at least not for her). She asked, "You have a girlfriend, don't you?" Seeing the opportunity to politely remove myself from any further pursuits, I affirmed her assumption. She then made some comment about me being Hispanic. Inside, I was laughing... outside I was puzzled. She then continued with remarks about how lucky my girlfriend is, but how Hispanic men have more needs, that we have desires that aren't met by our girlfriends, but could be met (and more) by her. Uhhh... This girl was persistent. To my Latino brothers... this girl is giving you fellas a bad name. I didn't have the heart to tell her that I was half Filipino, and not at all Hispanic. I did however have the heart (and mind) to decline her offer for a final time. She called me a gentleman. And that I didn't belong in a bar such as this. She lingered a few moments. She told me she was protecting me. "From who?" I thought. "The hotter brunette on the other side of the bar?" Sure, she was the best looking chick at the bar... but she was also inebriated. And, well frankly, it's not my style to pick up the drunkest chick at the bar (unless I'm the one who brought her there). Shortly there after, my pursuer told me good night and left me to my beer and music. I turned away from her and probably had the facial expression that ready, "What the hell was that sh*t?!"

I couldn't have asked for a better night in Houston, TX.