2012 Rodeo

I started to write this year's rodeo wrap-up, then I got bored and quit, and then I realized I really need to get that fat picture off the top of the page (since now my boobies are small and my pants are falling off again), so then I thought of a few things to say.

Overall, it was a stellar year for this rodeo volunteer. I got to park at Pole 21 every night I worked. I drank a lot and ate some tamales. I got in trouble a couple of times for still acting like a captain, but I like getting in trouble (imagine that).

I did not get to sing with the National Anthem with the choir due to a "marketing decision" the powers-that-be made two weeks before the rodeo started. But I got to wear our pretty vest

when we rode in the Grand Entry.

The Kitten rode some rides and made it out alive.

She and The Tomcat got to ride in the Grand Entry too (trust me, that's them).

Somehow, both The Catmobile and The Tomcat's truck were hit in the rodeo parking lots this year. The Catmobile got it bad, but so what? It's paid for, and I'm getting a sports car in another two years.

Like I said, no complaints overall. I'm sure my next post will be something along the lines of not keeping the weight lost from Operation Rodeo Jeans off. Until then...YEEHAW!

All My Tweets Come True!

Yesterday, after receiving a ticket for not wearing a seatbelt and then tailgating another officer while still not wearing a seatbelt, I joked about setting a record for non-moving violations. Today, I received another ticket for not wearing a seatbelt...from the same officer who gave me a ticket yesterday. I just laughed.

Yesterday, the officer asked for my license without any hint of friendliness. Today, I smiled widely and and asked him "How are you doing today?" He just shook his head. I told him "I never wear it" (I don't believe it should be against the law, and I certainly don't believe that people should be pulled over only for not wearing seatbelts). He wrote that it in the comments on the ticket. Huh?

Today, he tried to walk off without being friendly again. I said, "See you tomorrow!" Then he actually smiled. Surprise, surprise...he gave me a tip. Tomorrow, he will be at the Valero on Memorial writing tickets for blocking the intersection instead of chasing people down Memorial for not wearing a seatbelt. I told him "Well, I never do that!" ;)

(Oh, and I lied about never wearing a seatbelt. My daughter usually makes me when she's in the car. For the record, that's three seatbelt tickets this year...I wonder if I can start a fund during open enrollment to help pay for these?...a small price to pay for libertarianism.)

I Love My Old, Foreign Car

OK, so my car's not that old, and it was made in America...but I have been driving it for almost six years, and it does say Hyundai on it. Sometimes I feel a bit guilty about both of those things, and sometimes I commend myself for changing my habits and standing up for a different way of life.

See, I grew up thinking that cars should be replaced every couple of years...mainly because my dad drives like a bat out of hell, and maybe a little bit because his dad owned a (foreign) car dealership, and also because my parents COULD replace their cars when they got tired of them. I still don't know how they did it on their salaries back then, but they did. When I started driving, I had that "gotta have a new car" mindset and a lot more funds. Just for fun, here's my car history:

• 1981 Ford Mustang (handed down from my father...I've got some good stories about this one!)
  


• 1989 Nissan Maxima (totalled this one in a ditch...wheeee!)



• 1993 Isuzu P-up (cheapest new thing I could find...hate it when I unexpectedly destroy things!)



• 1995 Isuzu P-up (this one had s-weet rims and custom pink pin-striping...should have never gotten rid of it!)



• 1998 Isuzu Rodeo (the biggest piece of crap on the road...I'm surprised I didn't die in this thing!)



• 2001 Nissan Frontier (upside down on the Rodeo...had to go cheap again, damn!)

and here we are now with the 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe! Sometimes I can't believe I paid off a car, and I'm not sick of it yet. I hope this car lasts five more years! I love this car! I need this car, because we have a house payment that goes up every year due to a crooked appraisal district and a daughter in private school due to my concern for her soul and her safety.

Somewhere inside us all, I think there is a place that can ignore the ads, and the media, and our friends, and anything else that tells us spending our hard-earned money is a good thing. A good thing is being happy with what you've got. A good thing is being able to provide EXACTLY what your family needs...nothing more, nothing less. A good thing is living the simple life. So my car is not new and it's not very pretty anymore...but it's a good thing.

Only I...

would have a car that astounds the Hyundai dealership with its mechanical issues. Only I could break a car so much that the service department admits to never having seen anything like it. Only I would pay almost as much to get it fixed as I owe on the car. Only I could still love that dinged-up, broken-down car.

What a Messed-Up Monday!

When I made my weekly visit to the gas station this morning, I found that someone had tried to pry open my gas tank. Some LOSER really dented and scratched it up and broke off part of the plastic inside the tank but didn't get it open. Aww, too bad! Thanks, Hyundai, but no thanks to my employer, because I'm 99.9% positive it happened in the parking lot at work.

Then I get to work and find a message informing me to "Please leave Saturday, August 12, 2006 open from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm for a required “Employee Office Retreat”". Unfortunately, my social calendar for the first two weeks of August has been booked for three years now. How frustrating, especially when I've already wasted enough time listening to annoying, "required" management drivel. Now that I've wasted time griping about wasting time, I need to get busy finding my fourth job this year.