If I had lunch with a famous person...

So I had a random thought the other day while I was watching Big Brother and I was thinking... What famous person would I have lunch with if I could?  It happened that the person was staring right at me from my TV screen... It would be Julie Chen.  Why Julie you ask?  Well, she is pretty awesome.  She hosts one of my favorite shows and despite her small role within the show, she has a big impact. All I can say is that the Chenbot rules!

As the host of CBS's Big Brother, Julie gets to see the ins and outs of the show.  She gets to know the characters better than we do and she has a backstage pass to all of the action.  What makes me love Julie so much on Big Brother is that you can tell that she is just as much of a fan as the rest of us are.  She gets excited when she meets the evicted house guests and likes to tease the house guests with some thought provoking questions (giving Jeff a hard time about Jordan).  She also plays along with them when they throw questions back at her (Dan when he calls her Mrs. Chen).  You can tell which house guests she likes if you pay attention to how she greets the person as they walk out the front door. To see an example of Julie's love for the game, click here.

In her 12 years of hosting, she has developed a bit of a reputation as being a little stiff at times.  Some would say robotic.  This comes from her background of being a journalist and trying to be objective (which is a part of her formal training).  Given this stiffness, she was nicknamed "Chenbot".  Some people would be offended by such a nickname, but Julie has embraced it and even makes fun of herself by using the nickname "Chenbot".  See related story here.

If I had lunch with Julie, I would ask her all sorts of questions:

Who is your favorite house guest?
Did Brenchel annoy you as much as they did the rest of us?
If you were a house guest, what season would you like to have played in?
Chilltown or the Brigade?
What did you think of Boogie and Will playing the women in BB All-Stars?

Overall, I think that Julie would make a great lunch date and would be really fun to chat with.  I would love to pick her brain about the game and get her take on the show and it's various characters.  She is the ultimate expert in the game and it would be totally fun to nerd out with her.

Julie, if you see this, give me a call! You pick the place and I'll get the tab.

It's days like today when I wish that I lived in Seattle

This is a photo from my visit in March 2010 on the
I- 90 Floating Bridge towards Mercer Island

It is hot! Really hot.  The current temperature in Denton is 104 degrees.  Despite the fact that I am off of work today, I have spent all of it inside because of the temperature.  I did venture outside to run some errands and piddle around the Square, but beyond that, I have been inside.  Currently in Seattle, it is 76 degrees.  Tomorrow, they will be under a heat advisory with their high temperature of 86 degrees.  If only we could stay at 86.

I say this because I really like Seattle.  It reminds me a lot of Denton but just bigger, skinnier, and more people.  It helps that it is in a different climate zone and is outside the state of Texas.  I have only been to Seattle once, but that was all it took to get me excited about the Emerald City.

Like Denton, the locals are pretty laid back and are fond of shopping local, enjoying the outdoors, and being eco-friendly.  It also helps that Seattle is just gorgeous.  There are a lot of trees, the air is fresh, and they have these things called mountains.  Fellow Texans can appreciate my lack of knowledge about these things called mountains as we do not have any here in the Lone Star State.  We have plateaus (and beautiful ones in the High Plains region) and hills; none of this mountain business.

Who knows if a move to Seattle will ever happen, but maybe it will one day.  Justin recently found a fellow blogger that wrote about their experience moving from DFW to Seattle: Our Move to Seattle.  I was glad to see that other Metroplex dwellers were able to do it and that I could do it too.

So you know when life flies by in a whirl...

That is how I feel the past year has been.  Ever since September, I have been running around doing things for work and school, hanging out with friends, and much more.  I guess that I am in a point in my life where everything goes fast and will slow down eventually, but not yet.  Yes, there are probably things that I could do to slow down, but I don't know if that is what I want to do.

I guess it doesn't matter, I am having fun, so I guess that is all that matters. :)

SO, the semester is over (Thank goodness!!!) and now it is time for summer.  I am taking one class in June, which will be Education Statistics, so hopefully it won't be as painful as it sounds.  Needless to say, I am not looking forward to it.

Things that are coming up soon:

I am going to a conference in Kentucky with a side trip to Cincinnati, so I am excited about that.

Also, I am planning a visit to Houston to see my sister and Mom in June, so that will be fun too.

I want to plan a time to go camping, but I there are so many weekends that are taken up by prior engagements, I don't know if it will work out.  Maybe if I can't travel during my vacation (hopefully I get all the days that I ask for) then I can try to go then.

That's about it...

El Paso, Day 2

Day 2 in El Paso is was eye opening. I could actually see the city and the mountains. Oh, and the big fence that denotes the border between the US and Mexico. It was interesting to see the shanty towns just yards from the freeway of which across was a typical American neighborhood.

The fairs weren't bad. Lots of questions about criminal justice. In talking with other recruiters, it is due to the border and all of the crime that happens in El Paso and across the border.

On the way to El Paso HS, I found a few good To over look the city into El Paso and Ciudad Juarez. Got few shots of the two cities but nothing too good. Need a zoom camera for that.

Before ending the night, Audra and I went to Cincinnati Street, which is a bar/restaurant for dinner and drinks. Had a good time, as well as some banana pancakes.

We will see what tomorow brings...

Sent from my iPhone

El Paso first impressions

Well I just arrived in El Paso this evening. It feels like a different
place although it has been dark the whole time so I can't quite see
much. However it is really easy to see Mexico from I-10.

It feels like I am not in Texas. Were in a different time zone, there
are lots of mountains, the English radio stations still have Spanish
commericals and the list goes on. It also is apparent that I am in the
minority here. Which is not a problem, but is a little bit of a
culture shock.

I am really excited to be here. This is a new part of the state and
after this week and a trip to midland/odessa, I will have been across
the whole state of Texas.

Tomorrow, I will have a better view of things since it will actually
be light out and I will be able to see things. I can also get a good
look at the Mazda 6 that I am driving.
Sent from my iPhone

Lazy days

Well, I wrote this nice long post via email to test out the post by email option on the iPhone, but it did not work! I had inserted this picture and then wrote text around it and all that it posted was this picture. That sucks! I like to include pictures with my postings because it makes them more interesting... Well, I guess that won't be happening. Somebody needs to develop an app for the iPhone so this will be easier. Although, it will have to be free before I download it...

I love Austin!

I love Austin! It is just a great city. It is very pedestrian friendly and safe. I have come to Austin many times and driven around, but I have never really walked the city. You just get a better feel for a town once you have walked around to scope it out. There aren't many cities that you can do this in, but Austin just happens to be one of those cities.

I had to come for a visit due to work. We are attending the National Hispanic College Fairs here in Austin and San Antonio. We had another counselor that was supposed to come, but it fell through and I was chosen to make the trip. I was totally ok with that because I was ready to get out of dodge for a little bit anyways.

So I got into town around 6:45pm and checked into the Embassy Suites south of Downtown. I always try to stay here when I come to Austin because they have a kick ass breakfast. They have ready to order omelettes and other goodies, and it is a nice property too.

After I dropped off my bag, I went exploring. I walked over to the Whole Foods on the corner of 5th and Lamar. It was about a mile walk and it was a good way to make myself hungry for dinner. As I was getting closer to the Whole Foods, I was encountering these new developments that I saw last time that I was in town. They were just steel structures, so I didn't really know what they were to become. Well, it turns out that they are lofts. And beautiful lofts they are! They are in a part of town called the "Warehouse district" and they really reflected that. They all had balconies and whatnot and I really envy the people who live there. I am sure that they pay a pretty penny for them and that I cannot afford it, but one can hope.

When I walked into Whole Foods, it was great. I have been inside before, so I knew what it looked like, but this time, I had a pedestrian perspective and could see what it was like shopping there as a local from the neighborhood. As I walked over to the cafe, I fit right in as a patron looking around for dinner. I ended up having the London Broil with mashed sweet potatoes and a squash mix. It was very good, and only $10. Not bad.

After the adventures in Whole Foods, I walked across the street to a new shopping center where there was a REI and a bookstore. The bookstore was the only thing open, so I went in and walked around. I purchased a magazine and started to make my way back to Congress Ave. and to the Hotel (or so I thought).

At this point, I was on 6th Street. I remembered the Dizzy Rooster from the Austin season of the Real World, so I went to find that. Many blocks later, I found it around the corner of 6th and Lavaca; only 3 or so blocks away from the Real World House. It was pretty small, but cool looking nonetheless. I wanted to go in for a drink, but I really didn't want to go in solo. It would just be weird.

After peeking into the Dizzy Rooster, I walked back towards Congress Ave. and when I got there, I decided that I would walk up to the Capitol. I was half way there, so I figured why not.

The Capitol is beautiful at night, all lit up. When I got there, I found that the gates were surprisingly still open, so I walked on through. As I walked up to the stairs leading to the door, I noticed a family walking around as well. This was comforting at 9:30pm on a Sunday night.

I made my way around the building and took some pictures and made my way once again back towards Congress Ave.

When I got to 11th and Congress, I noticed that I was near the KTBC (Fox 7) studios, so I went over and snapped a few shots of one of their live trucks and the cover over their front door. Its not everyday that you walk right past a TV station!

And from there I made my way back to the Hotel, about 11 blocks away. I stopped on the Congress Ave. bridge to see if I could see any bats (I did.. they were out looking for food) and then went back to the Hotel.

It was dark for most of my trip and I felt safe the entire 4.2 miles of my trip. Again, you could make a walking trip like this in every city. I enjoy the fact that Austin is a very young city and that UT and the young, working professionals keep this city young. They also care about the environment and are also very laid back. It would be great to live here and grow a family here. Austinites have the right attitude to do so. They are a medium sized city with the big town amenities and the small town charm. These are the perfect elements for a great city!

(Pictures will be uploaded when I get home)