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!

Summer is Over (in my book)

The Summer of 2011 was hell...absolute, energy-draining, soul-sucking hell. Not only because of the things everyone knows about...record-breaking heat, drought and wildfires in the wonderful state I call home...but also because of a ton of personal burdens. Today, after I completely get the Summer of 2011 off my chest, I'm walking away from it for good.

This summer started out with The Kitten attending a new daycare...for one whole week. She hated it and cried herself to sleep every single night she knew she had to go back there in the morning. Since she was traumatized and refused to try another daycare, we catered to her spoiled rottenness the rest of the summer by driving her to whatever extended family member she wished to grace with her presence or bribing her cousins to come to us. At least one of us had a great summer! I don't know of anything stronger than your worry for your child(ren) that can drag you down to a dark, dark place. Unless you have a demanding job too...

So during all that scrambling for babysitters and driving all over the northwest side of Houston, I was also dealing with work. You might recall a while ago I started talking about this big strategic project to which my very cool boss was reassigned and I would be backfilling for her in the meantime, but then as the project moved through its phases, we discovered the entire company would be reorganized and I started tweeting about how I wasn't going to have the same job (my original Business Analyst job) at the end of the six-month project. No? Well, that's your background, and all you really need to know is all that waiting and worrying over the summer came to a head when the available jobs were posted last week. I've narrowed down my five choices (although I know they will most likely place me in the job that most closely resembles the one I hold now and don't want), and now my fate is in somebody else's hands. Of course, I won't know that fate until the end of October, but like I said, I'm walking away. Letting it go, and hoping my company doesn't let me go.

Now the summer wasn't all bad. We had an awesome trip to Disney World the beginning of June. I skated in not only one but two banked track bouts. I spent a weekend with a friend I had not seen since high school. And today...today, I finally found the motivation I need to move to a better place. I start rehearsing with the rodeo choir on September 26th, and our first performance is October 15th. I bet you didn't know that Catazon was a good enough singer to try out for a choir that performs in front of, oh, a few thousand people for three weeks out of the year and actually MAKE IT! Well, you oughta know.

Summer of 2011...you can kiss my karaoke-ing ass.

Rodeo Wrap-up

One of my favorite things about volunteering for the rodeo is when it's finally over. And I don't mean that in a negative way; I get to read all about another wonderful year at the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo in the wrap-up press release. Granted the numbers are rumored to be padded, but I'm pretty good at exaggerating myself. Here's my own version:

Marie (aka Catazon) Finishes Up Her Third and Final Year as Club East Captain - March 21, 2011 - For Immediate Release - On the morning of March 21, 2011, Marie made her final trip to Reliant Stadium as a Captain on the Corral Club - Club East A Team to help her committee push all the beer boxes, margarita machines, and portable bars downstairs to Equipment and finish cleaning out the leftover alcohol and other sundries.  She took home a buttload of limes to make fresh margaritas later in the evening, because we all know you have to wean yourself slowly from twenty straight days of rodeo excess. 

Following are the highlights of Marie's own personal 2011 March Madness:

ATTENDANCE

• Officially worked six nights: Sugarland, Selena Gomez, Martina McBride, Gary Allan, KISS, and Alan Jackson.
• Helped out the other teams for two nights: Clay Walker and Jason Aldean.
• "Played" on seven additional nights: Janet Jackson, Billy Currington, Lady Antebellum, Kid Rock, Miranda Lambert, Zac Brown Band, and Brad Paisley.
• Yes, that's a total of 15 out of 20 nights that Marie was on the grounds of RodeoHouston.

SCHOLARSHIP SUPPORT

• Drink tickets purchased: $240 worth (not counting the tickets sweet-talked off the husband)
• Wine tickets purchased: ~$30 worth (those were hair of the dog days; more money will be spent on wine next year)
• Carnival tickets purchased: $100 worth (half-price, of course)
• Carnival tickets donated: $50 worth
• Alamo tamales eaten: $12 worth (3 half-dozens, usually on the hair of the dog days)
• Gifts bought for the Assistant Club Chairman's last year: $315 worth (money collected from the Club)

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS AND NOTABLE NUMBERS

• Steps walked: ~503,000 over the past six weeks; the majority of those on the 15 days at rodeo.
• Number of times riding the rollercoaster of death: 2
• Number of times riding the rollercoaster of death in the front seat: 1 (just happened to be the day before and you know it was with The Kitten)
• Number of days Pole 21, the same place I've been parking since I started volunteering seven years ago, was unreachable: 12 (don't even get me started; it's pretty much documented via Facebook and Twitter)
• Number of gifts my team bought me for my last year as Captain: 4
• HLSR pink and black windbreaker
• HLSR pink and black rhinestone belt buckle
• HLSR sterling silver bracelet
• And my favorite, HLSR Corral Club key fob

Another great year of giving back to my community and also getting something in return; not only material things but pride, respect, love...too many positive emotions and feelings to list. As I mentioned, there's an Assistant Club Chairman position open on my Club, and I'm up for it. 2012 may be even better than 2011, if we aren't killed walking to our car a mile away or being flung out of a carnival ride!

I Always Bite Off More Than I Can Chew

Hate to admit it, but if you were planning on the return of a leaner, meaner Catazon at the Crude City vs. Bosses bout on May 15th, that ain't gonna happen.

In January, I committed to 60 days of Insanity (you know, that Sean T. Beachbody workout?), so that I could fit in my rodeo jeans. Of course, I didn't do 60 days since rodeo season kicks in around the last week of February, but I got back in the jeans and received a ton of compliments on my semi-rockin' bod. For the past month and a half, I've been trying to get back on my regular Insanity routine, while my body has been slowing moving southward again, and I was almost there when a huge project landed in my lap.

I'm trying to turn this into this before the bout. Throw in a couple of family birthdays, Mother's Day, setting up summer tutoring for The Kitten, and coordinating some home renovations, and when do I have time to workout? Maybe after I get back from my third business trip this year the third week of May?

I think the only opportunity to flex some flab over the next week will be an intro to pole dancing class on Monday, and only because I've already paid my $40.

Boring...zzzzzzzzz

I don't know why I keep up with this anymore. I no longer participate in the reason I started this blog...derby...although I did stop by the afterparty last week. Nobody wants to hear about work...even though my job is pretty awesome now. The Kitten resists becoming involved in any extracurricular activities...although I constantly ask her if she wants to swim or dance or kick and hit things. Life has become pretty boring since I decided to relax this year.

Rodeo is done, and I'm just waiting for April so anniversary and Easter and birthdays and traveling and holidays and my favorite season can begin. Maybe then Catazonia won't be lackin' in the crackin'.

Spring Break!!!

I'm taking my first spring break in years. I'm finally in a job where I'm encouraged to take vacation, I actually have vacation to take because my employer respected my experience when I was hired, and The Kitten is taking her very first spring break ever. Boy howdy, do I need a spring break!

• Rodeo is kicking my butt...not from working, but from listening to everyone complain.


• Work is kicking my butt...The Dark Side is working against the Force.


• My husband's truck got its butt kicked by a Mustang last Thursday night...damn the rain that lasted way too long and helped to depress me on top of everything.

Wish I could use my free plane ticket and take a real spring break, but that will have to wait.

Happy Go Texan Day 2009!

The Kitten and Sparkly

Originally uploaded by Catazon.

The Kitten and Sparkly are celebrating. You can't see it, but she is decked out in brand new bootcut jeans and a belt with crosses and hearts outlined in rhinestones, and she's still wearing the boots she inherited from her cousin a couple of years ago. I'm celebrating, too, although I will stand by my practice of no pictures, please. It might get kinda crazy since I'm hanging out with my sister at the cookoff.

My Calendar Runneth Over

The 2009 Show has begun. I spent most of the weekend at Reliant Park...the Membership Dance Friday night, drink inventory on Saturday morning, and the equipment setup from hell on Sunday. After all that, I didn't feel very guilty while celebrating Mardi Gras at Willie's last night...listening to a good band, eating fried pickles, and drinking too many margaritas.

The goal was to get the taxes done before March, but I also promised to buy The Kitten some western jeans for Go Texan Day on Friday. If she's anything like me (and she is), we will visit all the Cavender's in town to find some jeans that fit. Sounds like a fun week, one which will end with my attempt to attend the largest cookoff in the world not only on Saturday night when the main group of friends will be at our regular stomping grounds but Friday as well so I can see and be seen. It all boils down to whether we trust a houseful of cousins alone.

Tomorrow at lunch, the city is staging an event called the Rodeo Roundup. Now that I work downtown, I get to check it out. No work meetings on my schedule yet, so I will most likely disappear for the whole two hours. One of the perks of having a boss half a country away. Then the parade is Saturday morning, and unless The Kitten changes her mind, we will be there, too. I already posted my rodeo work schedule, so I guess that means I'll see everyone in April (unless you read my Facebook and Twitter updates, of course).

The Absolute Worst Lineup in Years

It's the second Monday in January, and every year, I look forward to 10 a.m. CST on the second Monday in January. This year was a disappointment, to say the least. What was supposed to be a great year as a rookie captain has turned into this mostly unforgettable work lineup for the 2009 rodeo: Alan Jackson, Trace Adkins, Toby Keith, Clint Black, Darius Rucker, Pat Green, and ZZ Top.

It does get better as the month progresses. I heard Darius was great at the Ten Man Jam, but in the big ol' Reliant Stadium? Nuh-uh. I will never get sick of Pat Green, and ZZ Top is a classic, but overall, pitiful. Thank God I don't have to suffer through Reba McEntire or Brooks & Dunn.

In other news, as I'm sure you are all wondering, I got back on track with the cardio program (still not calling it a diet especially since I'm not losing weight) last week when I met with my mentor for the first time in three weeks. Christmas wasn't too bad, but the week after did some damage. Tamales and Greyhounds...not together...but I'm blaming it on the both of them.

Catazon's Week 6 of the Cardiovascular Health Program:
Weight = 189.4
Anxiety Level = 8 (trying to meet deadlines and the realization that I dug myself into a hole)

KISS My @$$

It's that time of year again. I obsess about it every October, the ONLY time of year I worry about what I'm going to wear. If it wasn't so much fun to dress up for Halloween, I would stay far away it, but we all know Fun at My Own Expense is the goal in Catazonia. Still, it makes me sweat...

This year is even more difficult because I'm now a captain on my rodeo committee. I feel like I must step up for the karaoke band competition at our annual party. Oh, I know that is so hard for me to do [end sarcasm]. However, I hate feeling roped into a costume. Especially when this is the costume...

Man, I love Flickr! I can haz Catman?

Captain of My Own Destiny

I just got the news that I will now be one of three captains on the A Team for my rodeo committee. Duties include, but are not limited to, being responsible for a small group of committeeman (making sure they pay their dues, know the team schedule, etc.), being present at all committee and team meetings, and being early on days our team works the rodeo. For the next three years, my gold badge will say "Captain" instead of "Committeeman." Ooo, the prestige! Ooo, the time commitment...

I have plans to relinquish my other captain duties, so I should be able to handle this. Right? Let's see...two derby teams, a new job downtown, a kindergartener, and rodeo. It's a good thing I love everything on that list.

Another Rodeo Plug

"God help us...not another post on the rodeo when she hasn't even told us about Sunday's bout!" I know that's what you're thinking, and I do apologize. I'm waiting to see tangible evidence before I continue ranting. And we lost...I hate talking about that.

Anyway, I get a lot of questions about what I do as a rodeo volunteer, and although this article doesn't tell you specifically what I do, it does give you a general idea of what it's like to be a rodeo volunteer. I'm halfway through my fifth year of volunteering, and I get to pay $5 for a pin that says so. Yeehaw.

The True Meaning of Rodeo

I have been a big fan of rodeoing for many years, which is really strange since I'm not a big fan of cows or horses. I guess I admire the extreme sport aspect of it all. Understandable. Then I saw an extended family member compete in the calf scramble last night.

My husband's cousin's son (what is that? like once removed or something? maybe I should use my skills and look that up?) enters a cow into the livestock show every year, but this year, he had a chance to win a calf he could bring back to show next year. He lined up about a half a foot shorter than the sixteen other boys and eleven girls, but he looked strong out of the gate. Within seconds, he tackled a calf, but the calf flipped around and took off. All the while, I'm jumping up and down, screaming, and trying to keep The Kitten informed on what was actually happening. It was the most exciting thing I have ever seen at a rodeo!

Our cousin kept running until the last calf was caught, and even though he wasn't one of the fourteen who caught a calf, he's still a winner to us. It made me even that much prouder to be a part of something that does good things for so many kids. Maybe that's the real reason why I'm such a big fan.

March Masquerade

Another Houston Roller Derby season, another year full of bout posters...



Our opening bout this year should be interesting. I'm waiting to see if my hearing will be restored by then, even though the doctors don't know why I have significant hearing loss. Seems like the infections that were so obvious a couple of weeks ago have now subsided and left this nagging pressure behind. It's really there, people! I'm not making this up. Believe me, I'm not enjoying meeting my $400 insurance deductible in one month. Also, it's hard to skate in a pack when you can't hear properly. Now I realize those eyes in the back of my head were actually my ears. It should be fairly easy to take me out if I can't hear you coming, and I've been confirming that in the last couple of practices. Ouch.

Another interesting side note to this bout is Hannah Montana's performance at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo on the same day. I think the similarities in both our audiences might surprise some people. In other words, her sold out show should affect our attendance. Prove me wrong, and buy a ticket to March Masquerade online!

Kevin Fowler Can Open My Rodeo Anytime!

OK, so he's not the opening act for Rodeo Houston 2008, but Kevin Fowler is my opening act. The complete 2008 lineup was announced earlier today, and now I know who I get to listen to this year while I'm running full bottles of alcohol out to the bars and empty bottles back to the storeroom in the East Club.

My favorite dirty Texas music boy, Kevin Fowler, starts my work schedule off on March 5th. Yeehaw! The rest of my schedule is as follows: Martina McBride on March 8th, Rascal Flatts on March 11th, Clay Walker on March 14th, Miranda Lambert on March 17th, and Dierks Bentley on March 20th. Much better than usual since my committee is now rotating work schedules...no Black Heritage or Tejano Day for me this year. Although those are usually very easy days to work, I don't find the music and/or the scenery as aesthetically pleasing as Kevin, Clay, Dierks or even Miranda. Meow...

The funniest thing about this year's schedule...I get Miranda and my husband gets Hannah Montana. He just better not come home that night telling me about some girl who thinks he has the finest ass in the whole rodeo. That really happened last year.

Serious Stuff

After an editorial appeared in the Houston Chronicle that painted the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo (HLSR) in an unfavorable light over their opposition to the current plan for redeveloping the Astrodome, HLSR officials sent a list of talking points about the issue to all committee volunteers. Most notable is the fact that HLSR will provide $15.6 million in scholarship money to the youth of Texas in 2008. Line that up next to Astrodome Redevelopment Corp. plans that anticipate 750,000 HLSR visitors entering the Dome during the rodeo and spending money inside. HLSR research shows that the average rodeo attendee spends $22.11 on food, beverage, merchandise, and amusements on each visit. That's $16 million that will go somewhere other than to support youth and education. If I were an HLSR official instead of just a lowly (but proud) volunteer, I would oppose those plans, too.

The A Team

I sure do miss rodeo!




The A Team

Originally uploaded by Catazon.

Before I am Consumed by March,

I must post the facts on the first bout of the 2007 season. That way, I will have a post to link to for my 2007 season page that will eventually resemble my 2006 season page.



If you check the HRD website, you will notice that Catazon is not listed on either of the veteran teams. Don't fret. Well, just a tad, because I won't be there at all due to my rodeo commitments. Just wait till April when you get to watch me take on the refs as acting captain of the Brawlers.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

If you don't hear from me for a while, please don't worry. Rodeo starts tonight! I'm already off to a good start, kicking my own butt at the cookoff on Saturday (not necessarily news to anyone since even my neighbors have heard about it already) then staying out way past my bedtime on Sunday to see the Nacogdoches Rollergirls first bout this year. My friend, Madame Furie, has an excellent synopsis of Sunday evening on her blog.

Anyway, George will keep me out late tonight, then tomorrow I have travel team tryouts till 10:30pm, Brawler practice on Thursday night, and maybe I'll get to sit down for 45 minutes and watch this week's episode of Amazing Race on Friday afternoon before I head up to the rodeo again. Wheeeee! I'll see you in April.

2007 Rodeo Lineup

was released this morning. I'm working George Strait, Natalie Cole & KEM, Josh Turner, Alan Jackson, Pesado & Emilio, Rascal Flatts, Brooks & Dunn, and ZZ Top. Just for the hell of it, I'll probably stop by a couple more performances, such as Dierks Bentley or Sheryl Crow. If you see my husband, just laugh...because he has to work Beyonce.