Ieeee! News flash...
Sorry, sorry, sorry. I was in Memphis all week for work. No chance to update at work, and the hotel's internet was not Al Gore's best effort. Everytime I wanted to do something, the wireless connection would be interrupted. Then we had houseguests this weekend: Joe and Ryan, who are still sleeping on the living room floor. We had a massive cookout last night. Right now I'm waiting for work folks to pick me up for a drive down to San Antonio for a conference. Good lord.

Oh, and Victor and I finally have a date, place, and time for our wedding and reception! October 22, here we come!

Challenges of apartment living.
Sorry for the light posting this week. I have been drowning in snot.

What do you do when you need to sell a bunch of stuff but don't have a yard/garage? The V and I need to get rid of a bunch of clothes, shoes, CDs, VHS tapes, DVDs, etc., but we don't have a way to have a garage sale. We had a big one before moving up here, but we've recently done some purging and have a bunch of stuff. We will also have a bunch of extra junk after the wedding (like old kitchen stuff that will be replaced with wedding presents). I know that we could cart items off to Buffalo Exchange, Movie Trading Company, and CD Source. I know we could also list stuff on eBay, half.com, and Dallas Craigslist. But I'd like to get it all done at once, you know? Just one Saturday morning... and everything is gone! Why doesn't Dallas have a citywide garage sale like Austin does? Or does it? I have done some searching online and I couldn't find anything.

And yes, I realize that we could donate this stuff. The thing is, we need the money. And anything that didn't sell would be donated. We hauled two carloads of stuff to Goodwill after our garage sale last year. Or maybe it was three carloads. Anyway, you get the idea. Part of the reason we want to get rid of this stuff is to help pay down our debt. We've already decided to give up our beloved downtown department when the lease is up so that we can find something cheaper (and maybe something with a freaking pool).

So, urbanites, do you have any suggestions?

Oh, it's all over the front page! You give me roid rage!



I'm already tired of hearing about this, after watching the game, then Baseball Tonight, then Sports Center, and listening to WEEI this morning. Still, watching Gary Sheffield get roid rage in last night's Yankees at Red Sox game was pretty intense.

Proper update coming later today.

Full of snot and vinegar.
We had a nice time in Austin this weekend. It was a pretty laid-back weekend, full of shopping, eating, and a little bit of drinking. We ended up not going to the Rainbow Cattle Company, which was fine with me because I didn't feel well. Saturday, I continued not feeling well... Sunday too. And today. I feel like a Snot Elf has taken residence in my sinuses. My throat hurts, and I keep coughing. Yuck! I'm thinking of getting one of those neti pot sinus cleaners. I have a couple of friends that use them, and they say it really works.

We saw Fever Pitch Saturday night. I thought it was cute, if a little predictable. I accidentally clapped when they announced Johnny Damon in the film. Oops! We've got tickets to see the Sox at the end of the month when they play Texas. I think we're trying to get tickets to see them in Seattle next month. We tried valiently to get tickets to see them play the Cubs at Wrigley, but those tickets sold like hotcakes.

I have a couple of work-related trips coming up soon. Next week, I'm visiting our Memphis facility to learn one of my new accounts. The week after that, a bunch of us are attending a conference in San Antonio. I like traveling for work, so I'm looking forward to the trips.

Ouch.
Wow, I am hungover. I didn't drink that much, so this just serves to highlight the fact that I am such a lightweight these days.

In other news, happy birthday Ryan! We're driving down to Austin tonight for his birthday party (more drinking... yikes). We're meeting up for drinks and then hitting the Rainbow Cattle Company for some gay cowboy dancing. Should be fun!

The Gaucho Way of Preparing Meat!
My boss is taking our entire deparement (the Training department and the Quality department combined) to Fogo de Chao tonight. I have been taunting Victor with this for about two weeks now, because he is insanely jealous. I haven't eaten much today in preparation for the meatfest that tonight will be.

On a funny note, this coincides with the start date for my friend Cynthia's year as a vegan. I guess I'm going to be eating all the meat she's not.

No, we didn't die in Mexico City
Betcha thought we did, or at least that we got Montezuma's Revenge and had to lay low for a while. Nope, we're just fine... the only thing I caught was a mighty case of writer's block.

So, the trip. We left Thursday night and got to Mexico in about two and a half hours. Victor's uncle picked us up at the airport and drove us out to his home in Tepotzotlán. Turns out it's not so much of a ranch as a house in a rural area... but whatever. It was a big house full of people. There was a big pot of fish soup on the stove, which we were immediately force-fed. I ate so much that weekend. Victor's aunt's friend from Panama drunkenly informed me that I was going to learn Spanish right then. It was a crazy night.

The next morning, we got up to see a reenactment of the crucifixion, which was going to be held on top of a "hill" (read: rocky mountain covered in thorn bushes and cacti). Somehow it was decided that it would be a good idea for Victor and I to ride the horses to the event. They put Victor on a nice, sweet horse and put me on one that was known to be skittish and occasionally throw people. Needless to say, it was not the most relaxing ride for me, but I had fun. There were three of us riding... me, Victor, and a Mexican guy who was helping us. His horse, a stallion, and my horse, a gelding, did not get along, and I was instructed to keep my horse away from his. We took back roads most of the way to the church, and that was pleasant. Of course, when we got near the church, there were hundreds of people around, and in the crush my horse got near the stallion... and tried to fight him. I jumped off to pull my horse away, but got back on for the ride up the hill. We rode on narrow streets surrounded by cards and people of all ages, from little grandmas to toddlers to young mothers carrying infants. At the foot of the hill, I decided I had had enough of the horse (he was really acting up), so I proposed that Victor and I walk the rest of the way.

A lifetime later, we made it to the top. The air was thin (we were really high in elevation) but pretty clear, and we could see for miles. The people-watching at the top was pretty amazing. The crucifixion was too - they hoisted the three guys up on crosses using ropes and ladders. They acted out some of the crucifixion story from the Bible... of course, it was all in Spanish but I knew the story. Afterward, we walked back down the hill with Victor's uncle's friend Marco, a photographer from Chile. He bought us a drink made with guava pulp and ice... it was as if it was sent from heaven. I was so thirsty that I didn't care about getting sick from the ice (and I didn't get sick the whole trip).

After lunch (more fish soup! and also baked red snapper), we rode the horses again with Marco, who took us up on a hill to look at the distant lake. We then went back to the house and had a nap. That night, most of the company left. After dinner, Victor, his uncle, Marco, and Marco's girlfriend stayed up playing dominos while I crashed.

Saturday, after an insanely huge breakfast, Victor's uncle took us into Tepotzotlán to see the church and museum. There is a beautiful ornate church there, and attached to it is a former school/monastery which has been turned into a museum. The church was absolutely breathtaking, with incredibly elaborate and ornate gold decoration. The museum was really interesting too. We walked around the market in the town square and had lunch. Then we packed up all of our stuff and headed into Mexico City to Victor's uncle's apartment. We had tacos, watched TV, and went to sleep.

On Sunday we did a little sightseeing around Mexico City. Victor's uncle drove us around, and we ended up at the Metropolitan Cathedral and Templo Mayor. We toured the Templo Mayor, which is the remains of an Aztec temple in the heart of Mexico City. I really enjoyed seeing it, and I thought the excavation work was really good. There was a museum attached that had some really nice exhibits of things found in the excavation of the temple as well as other Mexican artifacts. After we finished at the museum, we headed back to Victor's uncle's place to watch the soccer match and eat a really yummy lunch cooked by Victor's aunt. And then we went to the airport.

It was a really great trip. Victor's aunt and uncle took great care of us and invited us back. I would like to go back to see more of Mexico City and maybe visit the pyramids nearby.

Oh, and here are the pictures!!!