I am not much a car shopper...

In fact, I hate the process.

For various reasons (mainly: to pay off a portion of my debt and to get a more fuel efficient ride), I have decided to sell my Xterra and purchase a new car.

I know what you are thinking. "How can you sell the car you love so much?"
Well, luckily...it won't go too far. :) My parents will be buying it from me...my mom loves it as much as I do. So, its all good.

Anyways, after deciding that I am going to do this...I embarked on the arduous and frustratingly complicated journey of car buying. I am so tired of looking at specs and I have only been doing this less than a week. They don't make it even remotely easy to buy a car, do they?

So...in an effort to pare down the choices, I put it to you, good people of the blogosphere, to help me in my quest. Please...please...please post your thoughts, views, opinions, etc. I will use them in my decision making process. (whether good or bad)

In no particular order:

Car #1 - The Mazda 3 (5 door) Things I like about this car: interior is cool, looks cool, has some audio stuff I dig (Ipod connections), gas mileage is OK, has good ratings online


Car #2 - Toyota Matrix - things I like about this one, the back seats fold down completely flat and have a plastic/rubber floor to store stuff, interior is nice, good gas mileage, toyotas last forever


Car #3 - Jeep Compass : don't really have any specific feelings on this one. Haven't seen one up close...just seen info online. what a whippin.

Car #4 - VW Rabbit : cute, has some cool features, decent price. but...apparently maintenance issues are a big deal with VW's. Still worth a look.

Car #5 - Dodge Caliber : Now Mike says this one is ugly, but its a good price, has some neat features and I had a Dodge once and liked it. Again, worth a look.

Car #6 - Scion xB : When the Scions first came out, my initial reaction was "WTF". I hated all of it. Since their first few models have come out, tho...they have moved on to sleeker lines and more friendly shapes. Priced decent, you can modify them as you like and all of them come standard with an Ipod dock thingie. Not lots of room, but its interesting.

Car #7 - Pontiac Vibe : very much like the Toyota Matrix, just a bit cheaper.

Car #8 - Ok, so this might be bordering on "drinking the koolaid", Honda discipleship, jumping on the bandwagon and any number of other things I try to avoid. HOWEVER>..having said that. I must admit, looking at the Honda Element (despite my initial yak factor when they were introduced) has peaked my interest. Mike has one, which I actually think is really fuggin cool. His dad has one. Elements are like the Borg and people are being assimilated one by one. Price is higher than I was aiming for, but it might suit my purposes well. Sigh.

Wish me luck. I hate car shopping. It is supposed to be fun, but in reality, its a soul sucking process. The ONLY time I felt like I didn't get short shafted is when I bought my Xterra. It was worth every damn penny. Sigh. I love that thing. (scratches head...to myself: "maybe I should get another one of those? neh...I am trying to REDUCE costs and lower gas mileage...remember that crackhead!!!")

rant....

I HATE WEBSITES THAT ONLY USE FLASH NAVIGATION!!!!!!!

Give me something clean, simple and user friendly. I don't want barely readable text flying at me from some invisible shotgun in the middle of my screen...that I have to catch, decipher and then click on to be taken to yet another mish-mash of some overachieving flash animator's wet-dream of a website. Just because you KNOW how to use Flash, doesn't mean you always SHOULD.

Sigh

I feel better.

weekend highlights

Friday night - incredible dinner at Momo's with Mike. I love that place.
Saturday - rode CHSP (partially so I could ride, partially so Mike could check out the race course). He waited for me on trail...incredibly patient. :) I love that trail, tho. I forgot how much fun it is to ride. It's been since Lee and Gale did their nav clinic three years ago or something that I have been out there. Sheesh!
Saturday night - SAVE THE TA-TA's fundraiser :) This was a great time. Raised some $$ for the 3 day breast cancer walk and got to drink some beer and play cards. Good times.

Sunday - went out to CHSP to watch Mike and his buds race. Had a great time. Honestly, it made me miss all the races my hookers and I used to do...BUT Palo Duro next month, baby! YEAH! WOOT.

All in all, a great weekend. ;) Just wish my allergies weren't so damn bad.
grrrrr

dammit!!!

That just breaks my damn heart. For so many reasons.

New Season, New Uniform...

Ahhh the temps are dropping (sorta), Halloween costumes are on the racks in the store, and I think I even saw a Thanksgiving salt and pepper shaker set on a shelf in Target. Fall is here my friends! And with that, comes a brand spankin' new hockey season. And with a new season, a new jersey style is unveiled. Mr. Modano (recent newlywed) and Sergei Zubov sport the jerseys here for our viewing pleasure. We all have high hopes for the 07-08 Dallas Stars. Here's hopin that those new jerseys (way better than their last attempt at a jersey) will inspire greatness on and off the ice.

Last night's rally against St Louis (preseason Game 1) ended with a win for Big D, but remember, its just preseason...wait till Game 1 of regular season. Then it's on like Donkey Kong. Or something.

WOOT

the ONE day I don't have my camera handy...

we went to lunch.

I ordered a coke because I was low on energy.
Halfway through the drink, lo and behold...a cricket lies in my ice cubes. BLEHCK. Becky's meal gets comped, but I barely was able to eat any of it.

Everyone else seemed oogied out, but not too horribly...until..JoEllen finds a mass of black stuff in her baked potato. Being the eager and curious girl that I am...I poke around and find a colony of worms in her 'tater. EWWWW.

Whole table is comped, we don't eat much and leave with unhappy bellies. We get some comp certs...but I doubt any of us will be going back to Cheddar's anytime soon.

austin city limits...

A weekend of greatness.

Amid fires, cancellations, massive crowds, and intense heat...the music goes on. :)

FRIDAY: Mike and I got all of our crap together for the weekend in Austin. We mosey'd on down I35 and plotted out our day. We purchased a map of Austin so we could find a place to park the van and then ride to Zilker Park. We decided we would leave the van at a local park...about 1.5 miles from the event.
We ambled our way to Zilker Park (after I negotiated a particularly tricky intersection with no light!) and tried to figure out how to get IN to the event. The wristband redemption area was packed...and after a lady instructed us to go to a different entrance, we headed over to join a massive line of sweaty, moody people. Unbeknownst to us, there was a fire and the entrances were all closed. After a while of waiting, we were allowed entrance into the park. This was really our only issue with entrance/exit for the entire weekend at the park. First show we witnessed: Joss Stone at the ATT stage. She was FABULOUS. I didn't get many good pics, but gotta give the girl props for rockin out. We heard bits of Blonde Redhead while we were waiting to get into the park. Not too terribly impressed. We heard a bit of Spoon and all of Gotan Project's set. We waited patiently for Bjork to take the stage. I have to say, I was extremely excited to see Bjork. After a phenomenal set from Gotan Project, I was hungry for another good show. Bjork took the set and opened with "Innocence". Her next few songs, while excellent and aptly performed, were just too somber for me. I had been in the sun for a LONG ass time and needed something, er...UP. Needless to say, we left a bit early. Back to our "campsite"...which just happened to be a WalMart parking lot. Seriously. Apparently they allow overnight RV parking on the weekends, so Mike and parked the VW camper van in the lot and crashed out. Aside from the weird feeling I got from the idea of sleeping in a WalMart parking lot, it worked. :)
Saturday:Breakfast at IHOP where we learned about the fire from a local. After breakfast, we headed out to McKinney Falls State Park to check that out. We used the showers to get cleaned up and then did a little hike to check out the "falls". Along the way, we found these huges patches of Daddy Long Legs. Kinda trippy. Before leaving the park, we checked with the park ranger and found out that they DID have spaces available. So we snagged one for the remaining nights we would be in Austin. MUCH better than WalMart. :) We went to check out a local bike store, then hopped on over to Lamar to check out restaurants. Found a little Mexican place (apparently Mexican food is the cuisine of choice in Austin...its everywhere) and contemplated where we would park that day. We opted for a different location this time (and prayed that we wouldn't get towed while we were at the park) much closer and without the need for crossing Lamar (not fun to cross this street!). First band we caught at the ATT stage (which is where camped out for most of the weekend)- Augustana. Pretty good sound, but very produced in my opinion. Catered to the 18-24 year old crowd...angsty, melodic. You know the drill. But entertaining. Raul Malo took the stage behind us (Dell). This guy was really good. Did several covers and honestly kept my foot tapping. Really good stuff. Stephen Marley took the stage at ATT next. Obligatory Bob Marley covers (No Woman No Cry, Buffalo Soldier, etc) in an apparent reach-out to the fans that don't know HIS music, only his father's. He had a good stage presence however and did keep the beat rolling. Zap Mama took the stage next (Dell) and presented some interested tunes. We didn't stay for her whole set, however. We opted to break out of the festival to go find some eats and AC. It was really hot. We biked ourselves down to a BBQ place and cooled off. At this point, I was pretty much in the mode of "I don't wanna deal with crowds and I don't wanna get all hot again" so we decided against returning to the park for Muse. Shame...because Zac showed me some video from the set and it looked awesome. HOWEVER...I enjoyed relaxing and stuff. I was kinda beat at that point. So...I take it as a cost of too many bands, not enough time. Mike and I went to Wally World and picked up some stuff to have for breakfast the next day and headed back to camp. Slept a little better that night. Skeeters were pretty bad, but Tylenol PM helps with that. Wheeee

Sunday:Woke up, had breakfast...bagels and nutella, with bananas! TIP...make sure you put a little nutella on your banana. MMMMM After breakfast, we went down to the falls area and I did some swimming while Mike skipped rocks. He said it was too cold. And it WAS kinda chilly, but I thought it felt great. We found some great fossil shells and stuff. After swimming, we showered and headed into town and tried to find some bike shops to check out. None were really open...so we looked for food :) We found a great fish place and had a very tasty lunch. After that, we headed back out to figure out parking for day three. We decided to park at a bike shop that shut down for the day right on Barton Springs and Lamar. Very easy access to Zilker Park. We biked down and found the most accessible bike rack... and then ambled into the park. Again, parking at the ATT stage, we caught Ben Kweller as he sang his way through his set. He is a talented little guy...enjoyed his set alot. On our way to ATT Blue Room, we got a surprise as Common took the Dell stage and rapped a few tunes for us. I was hoping he would do a bit of crooning, but he insisted on rapping...so I said "screw it! On to Devotchka!" We headed on over to the other stage and after losing each other for a bit, we lighted center stage toward the back (where it was less crowded) and enjoyed some funky music. This band was incredible. Very eclectic. Actually, they did the soundtrack for Little Miss Sunshine. Really good stuff. It was kinda hot at this point, so Mike and I decided to find some shade and chill out. Which we did! We found a bit of shade given by a gorgeous pecan tree over by the Medi-Tent and crashed out for a while. Unfortunately, we could hear Regina Spektor from where we were sitting. For the love. Did NOT enjoy her set at all. Luckily, near where we were chilling, I was able to snap some pictures of the really amazing Gibson Art Guitars. These were effin cool. My favorite was a mosaic one...they also had a LiveStrong one, etc etc.

After chilling for a while, we opted to leave again to go grab dinner and enjoy some AC. We biked on over to Chuy's and had margaritas and sampled their Green Chile menu. YUMMY. Those 'ritas really hit the spot...even my HAT liked them....and the food...YUM-TASTIC. I do like Chuy's. Party-ON. Post margaritas, we headed back to the park and found a location to chill while we waited for Bob "bleh bleh bleh" Dylan to take the stage. We found a spot on a little hill with a view of the ATT stage, within listening distance of The Decemberists (at Dell) and Ghostland Observatory (at ATT Blue Room). People watching really is fantastic at ACL. Really. Watching the throngs of people pour into the field was mesmerizing. Had a great view of the downtown skyline and the stage (even if we were pretty far away). Dylan finally took the stage and we ached through a few songs of completed unintelligible tunes. (could recognize the melody, but none of the words) About halfway through his set, we followed the swelling crowds out of the festival and into the streets. Found our way back to the van. Locked up the bikes and headed toward the campsite. Along the way, Mike in his travel weary wisdom says "why don't we find a hotel instead of camping tonight?". I was not one to argue. A comfy bed and a decent shower sounded excellent after the weekend's toil. That night, I rested peacefully with visions of music and random people in my head.

Monday: The ONLY thing I wanted to do before we left Austin was go to Kerbey Lane. Simple. :) So, Mike indulged me. We went to Kerbey Lane (on Lamar) and had ourselves some Kerbey Queso, yummy blueberry pancakes and felt happy to get back on the road home. All in all, a great weekend. I am sure I left plenty out...but I am sure more will come back to me later. ;)

Hugs, kisses and all that jazz....

Beckbee

2 minutes....

I am taking two minutes out of a somewhat busy afternoon. I haven't had a busy afternoon in months...so this is odd for me.

This afternoon, I have noticed several things...

1) I love making sure things are in order and organized and easy to understand for all parties.
2) I like having deadlines
3) I like having lots to do...prioritizing and knocking stuff off my list.
4) I really enjoy creating guides, lists, etc to enable others to do their jobs easier and to reduce the time lost to searching for answers.
5) I like helping people come up with creative solutions to problems that suck up valuable time in their day. Really, sometimes the most simple path is the best path!

Wonder what that means? :) Hopefully in the next few months, it will translate into greater job enjoyment.

What dreams may come....

Lately I have been having really odd dreams. I know that usually they don't mean anything...but I don't like having dreams that stress me out. My life can be stressful enough as it is.

So, I think I need to try and look at what I eat at night, along with what I am watching...I think that might have something to do with it. Our brains work things out so oddly while we sleep. hmm...

Had a good run last night after work. Trying to start my old log again. Let's see how long I can keep that up. When I was logging, I did so much better and got in pretty decent shape. wheee...

Lovin my new car radio :) My old one DIED...so I got a new one that I can plug my Ipod into and control it from the face. Even has a remote. I like it.

K..back to whatever it is that I should be doing. Like doodling. ;)

"some rainy days ya know I dig the rain..."

"that's rollin down my window pane...."

Eric Lindell. Good stuff there.

So...had an insanely TASTY weekend. Gastronomically speaking, the days were filled with greatness. :)

Friday night - Pappadeaux. MMMM I had the grilled red snapper with the yvette sauce. (crawfish, shrimp and mushrooms in a white wine/mozarella base) OMG...fabulous. (and I stole a few bites of Mike's pasta Mardi Gras...yeowza...that is good too!)
Saturday - Maggiano's. MMMMMMMMMMMMM Family style - lotso food, can't even list here...but it was GOOD!
Sunday night - Mike grilled Salmon (yum) and I made linguine with garlic and red pepper. Spinach salad with feta cheese, red onion, grape tomatoes, homemade vinegarette, and crumbled bacon. Dessert - super chocolate chocolate CHOCOLATE cake from Rosie :) Excellent meal.

If you haven't noticed, I really like FOOD!

**********************************
Just got my external hard drive today. 500G. Can't wait to clean up my notebook and back all that crap up. SWEEET.
**********************************

Spending some time today making a pack list and getting as much info together as I can for ACL. I am so excited about the lineup. Bought a bike from Christine this weekend - will work well for ACL. $10...hella good deal, if you ask me. Got some slime tubes, will let Mike do some tweaking to make sure it is safe...then we are good to go. :) YAY!

Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitttttttt's Bacon!

Sir Francis Bacon

"A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds."

two souls...

My sister's dog, Katie, had to be put down today because she was very sick (most likely pancreatic cancer). My mom was the one who had to take her to the vet. Sucks.

Then I inadvertently click on Yahoo News. Apparently, Luciano Pavarotti has also kicked the bucket. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070906/ap_on_en_mu/pavarotti

ugh.

Pancreatic cancer takes dog and unbelievable tenor. Makes my heart hurt.

ideas ideas ideas...

sometimes you really have to get to a point where the mess just isn't enough...or rather, the mess is too much...

grabbing an idea...even if its slightly far fetched and giving it a whirl...that's bravery at its finest

toying with this dream or possibility isn't enough...gotta make it real...and I think it could be turned into something really amazing....if I can get it rolling....

e-hugs

I just got an email from my yoga instructor. She is such an incredible spirit. Being at the studio really adjusts my attitude and my body. I want to make my visits there more frequent.

It was raining when morning struck today. Part of me was happy. I love the sound of the rain and how it feels like all the muck and stress of life is washed away from the face of the planet with a gentle trickle. Part of me was just hoping Mike stayed dry, safe, and warm on his way to work. :)

** disclaimer: the following is a random thought provoked by Myspace surfing. I happened upon the page of a friend of a friend...and got to thinking. dangerous! **

I have noticed a tendency of some people who I have met in my life to attach themselves to others who have serious emotional needs. They almost are like those sharks that just kinda glide through the ocean and let the parasitic feeder fishes tag on for the ride and pick up the scraps of food and victories along the way. That is almost way too harsh of an analogy, but then I realize that at some point...I very well may have been one of those feeder fishes just waiting for my next emotional feeding. While this is all very much a "circle of life" and food chain concept, perhaps improperly aimed at illustrating a relationship, I think it pretty well sums up how some people live. I mean, the little feeder fish get the benefit of the scraps from the shark - plus the protection of having a large predator at your side, maybe not protecting you outright, but unavoidably providing some level of comfort that another, perhaps smaller predator will back away from. Sometimes, the sharks may not be that bright, or even that safe to be around...but still the feeder fish feel that they are better off attaching themselves to this source of energy. Venturing out on your own could mean getting lost, getting eaten, or just not finding any food of your own. Some would ask, "why is that such a bad thing?". I don't have an answer for that. I just worry about people who become dependent on others for their emotional well being. Living off scraps, encasing yourself in a false sense of security...it just doesn't seem like a good idea to me. I am not saying I haven't ever had those moments. I am saying that I would like to make an everyday effort to not only strengthen those relationships with others, but to make a conscious effort to build the relationship I have with myself into a solid foundation with which to move forward.

Things I am jazzed about:

* Charlotte's Wedding this weekend - 'bout time she and Jerald with a J get hitched.
* Mike's race - it will be fun to watch him out there kicking booty (I hope the weather actually participates)
* ACL - 9/14-9/17 Very excited about the weekend full of music and fun. One of my favorite events of the year.
* the twins. they really are perfect. :)
* the Lion King on 9/30. Last show of the season, KK. What're we gonna do?? :o)

It's freezing in here...

My office is always cold. My fingers are like little popsicles and my nose...well, its just really chilly.

All things considered, it isn't a bad Tuesday. I have some stuff to do at work. (Although I have to admit, I am dragging it out so I will stay busy)

The past weekend was good. At times stressful, at times brilliant. I am pretty happy, though, that everything worked out like it did. I am glad I got to see my sister, bro-in-law and my THREE nephews. Ethan has become the latest of many children to drink the "who's the coolest person in the world" kool-aid. :) Ask him...he will tell you. AUNT BECKY!!!

The twins are beautiful and healthy and great. CJ is good...recovering from all that bidness. It will take some time, but they will all be OK.

Kinda bummed I didn't get to see Charlie and Joy and the girls, but I needed to get home. Rest, condo cleaning, etc were calling my name. And I kinda wanted to see Mike too :)

Anyways....aside from normal drama that surrounds a pregnancy and any family interaction, I will say this all goes down as a success. Some photos posted on flickr if you are interested in checking out the babies. They are cute.

Whee...off to work we go, we go...