A new addition to the blogroll (since Teri decided to go to the dark side):

Say hello to Rae McKay!

Guess I'll fill in the details while "Lost" is on...

ROAD TRIPPIN'- Went to Austin last Thursday at the invitation of my friend, Laura. Saw quite a few things while I was up there, including...

CLEAN FEET: $0; CLEAN CONSCIENCE: PRICELESS- Went to Holy Thursday service at my old church. Now, if you've never been to one of these things, it's pretty cool. One of the things that happens at this service is the washing of the feet. It's actually a pretty cool thing, once you get over the whole "stranger touching my feet" thing. A nice break from the godlessness of the world of finance. But, after the mass and the subsequent adoration, that's when the "fun" started...

DID I SAY "GIRLS" WERE STUPID?- So my friend Laura met this guy some time ago, an amateur stand-up comic. Some interesting stories have come from this hook-up, and another one was born on this night. She found the guy in a 6th Street comedy club with another girl sucking on his neck. Suffice to say, this sent the rest of the night into a tailspin. She had a few drinks during the night, causing her to unload about her miserable luck with guys to me on the ride back to her parents' place. It's a long story, but for my money, a lot of this drama she brings a lot of this on herself.

TAKE THIS JOB AND SHOVE IT...- As our group was out, we happened upon a camera crew. Turns out it was the one and only "Real World" doing some filming. Not only did I see them on a street corner, but they came into a bar that our group was at. We soon left the bar (Laura and her girl friend didn't like the amount of liquor in their drinks), and after fighting to get through the human wall that was the production crew, got out to find two girls with the longest faces I've ever seen. One was wearing headphones (supposedly to hear what was going on inside), one was carrying what I assumed to be release forms. And that's when I wondered about how much I really would want to be in the television business. These two were basically following this one guy from bar to bar, yet they couldn't have a drop.

A SONG IN HIS HEART, SOME CUSS WORDS IN MY MOUTH- The next day, Laura and I roamed around campus. A group was set up advertising the annual 40 Acres Fest, basically a school carnival with a beer garden. The big draw of this event is the musical acts, mostly well-known local bands, with a big headliner. Through the years, the committee that's put it on has gone from frat-boy country to old-school hip-hop (and new school, as well). The headliner this year?

WELCOME BACK- In a couple of weeks, Eric, The Smart-Ass AP makes his triumphant return to San Antonio. He had spent some time in Denver working for a station up there, but now he's coming back to become a weekend producer for one of the affiliates down here. Congrats, man!

HEARING VOICES- In my insurance class that ended today, an old voice from my past was a classmate with me. The voice? Jay Howard, the old radio play-by-play voice for the San Antonio Spurs. Many a night during high school was spent listening to him describe all the action. I loved hearing his call during the team's first title run in 1999. I tried to muster up the courage to approach him, but didn't. (Why that sounds familiar, I don't know...)

In case you were wondering (and I know you were), I passed the test today. One more test, and I'll start making some money (hopefully).

SOMETHING ELSE TO BLOG ABOUT WHEN I HAVE TIME:

- A voice from my childhood becoming a classmate of mine.

I take my Series 63 exam in about 22 hours. Hopefully this goes well.

Could we PLEASE put a moratorium on people using the phrase "Hoppy Easter"?

THINGS TO BLOG ABOUT WHEN I HAVE MORE TIME/ENERGY:

- A trip to Austin.
- My feet are clean, how about the rest of me?
- Girls can be stupid sometimes.
- 40 Acres and a bad singer.
- A return of a favorite commenter.
- The worst job in America? PA for Bunim/Murray Productions.

Open Query Of The Night:

After reading Profgrrrrl's comment about the lengths guys will go to for sex, a question struck me.

Do women do the same thing? If this whole sexual liberation thing is to be believed (I only took one women's studies class, so forgive me if I don't have the buzzword down), then women should (in theory) go to the same lengths, and possibly further, to get some.

So, for all three or four gals that read this (as well as any others that stumble upon this little blog), a question: How much have you gone through to be intimate?

Okay, here's a question for everyone...

How is it that Brooke Burke can do an infomercial for a fitness product that is "perfect" for her ("allowing her to workout in the privacy of her own home"), and then turn around and appear in a Burger King spot for a sandwich that's over 780 calories?

So let me get this straight...

I blog about weight loss, relationships (or lack thereof), celebrity blogs, and other news, and get no comments.

I make one cracked about an over-hyped movie franchise, and I get three in the span of three hours?! What the hell is that?

I've heard a lot about this whole podcasting phenomenon. If it's anything like Tiki Bar TV, I'm sure this fad will be just as lame as the Harry Potter movies.

Seriously, doesn't this sound like an oxymoron?

Head And Stephen Baldwin Plan Line Of 'Cutting-Edge Christian Products'

LESSON FOUR: Heed the lessons of others.

Friday gave me the opportunity to learn a bit about the "dark side" of friendships. Allow me to explain.

I've mentioned V before (a couple of times, actually). I met her through my old roommate. Cute as a button, nice gal, verrry attractive. So attractive, in fact, that her and the ex-roomie had relations last week (a few days before our movie night, during which she told me that "a line was crossed"). I've heard both sides of the story, each expressing their frustrations with the other party, as well as frustrations with other parties.

So what do I take from all this (besides an almost-unhealthy level of jealousy)?

I- Don't sleep with your friends.
II- Sex isn't everything.
III- Living vicariously through others is fun.

A) I only
B) I and II only
C) I and III only
D) I, II and III

Things that make me more happy than they really should...

- I got my own mixtape!
- One of my all-time favorite Jeopardy! contestants, Pam Mueller, won her first game in the Ultimate Tournament of Champions this week. (The only contestant I've seen to do a dead-on impression of Alyson Hannigan from "American Pie.")
- The fact that I only lost 6 lbs. (from 175.4 to 169.4 lbs) in the National Body Challenge. I did, however, manage to go from 28% body fat to 25.1%. (49.112 lbs. of fat to 42.5194 lbs.) The BMI is still a bit high, but I'm working on it. I even got me a sticker in honor of my achievement, wore it throughout the mall to show off. (Surprised I didn't get a reaction, especially in one of the "fattest cities in America.")

Rosie O'Donnell has a blog. Not sure if I like it or not, but I'll definitely keep reading for a while.

Okay, kids. Time to foster some healthy competition as we head into Spring.

I've set up a group for you to join and play in ESPN's Tournament Challenge. Just go to the entry page, choose your brackets, and join my group.

The group name: "Hipster Wannabes"
The password: "blogspot"

May the best man/woman/tranny win.

Take one criminology student from the Netherlands, put him in Austin, and what do you get?

Bas in Texas!

(Steezy, might want to look into this one...)

Two guys.

She's dating two guys.

She's dating two guys at the same time.

Had a talk with my old friend, G, tonight. Her mom had been in the hospital for a while, so this was our first time to talk at length in quite some time. While we were getting caught up, she told me that she's been dating. Dating two guys at the same time, one here, one in Dallas, both coming from an online dating ad she put up.

First off, why I don't have this sort of luck with the online thing, I don't know. I'm thinking I should hire a young marketing grad to make up a new ad for me.

Secondly, as if one kick in the gut from a gal is bad enough, but two is almost too much to take. (At least my gut can't take that much, as big as it is...)

Sorry if this sounds shiny, just wanted to vent...

TWO GUYS!!!

So I've been seeing this personal trainer for a few weeks now. ("Seeing" as in being trained by her, not dating her.) She kicks my ass for an hour three times a week. And I'm starting to wonder what the point is.

You may remember me beginning the Discover National Body Challenge a couple of months ago. I've been working out pretty regularly since about mid-January. And I have seen SOME difference in the scale readings since then. (The final weigh-in happens this Saturday; I'll let you know how it goes.) But on a visual level, the results have been underwhelming.

I get so friggin' frustrated during these workouts, it takes me about 30 minutes to think normally again. And after two months, nothing. Yes, I know it's a marathon, not a sprint. But hell, my gym's own TV spots show "before" and "after" shots after a one month period. I didn't expect to be like a Men's Health cover model or Brad Pitt in "Fight Club," but I did not expect to have my familiar gut still around. Yes, my diet has been less than stellar during all this, but I think I've been average throughout the period.

I dunno... maybe now I know how Kirstie Alley feels...

Okay, so I have more energy. Might as well explain some things...

Rented "Anchorman" and "Garden State" last night with a female friend of mine, after getting some ice cream. During the night, I learned a few things.

LESSON ONE: I need to learn when to shut the hell up sometimes.
In the course of conversation with my friend, I told her about my disdain of women who are overly girly. How it bugged me that my ex always referred to dogs as "doggies," and the weary feeling I got when I saw a Care Bear plush in the apartment of a date of mine. Of course, I said all this fully knowing that my friend has a Care Bear tat on her lower back, and is a bit of a girly-girl herself. Now, I know my chances with her were slim-to-none at that point, but I pretty much took out the "slim" part last night. I realize friends should be honest with each other, but maybe I took it a bit too far last night.

LESSON TWO: Making it a Blockbuster night is fun sometimes.
Movie review time. I remember when "Anchorman" came out in the theaters. Almost everyone at my old station was SO excited about it. A large group of people went to see it the first night, even Erick the Smart-Ass AP worked in a few lines from the film into actual news scripts. I finally saw it... and it was okay. Not great, not horrible. Just okay. A nice way to kill an hour and a half. And it was a decent appetizer for the second half of the double feature.

"Garden State": I'm not sure if this would be THE Gen-Y movie, but it's pretty close. I did find myself cracking up when there was a reference to the Wailing Wall in a scene between Zach Braff and Natalie Portman's characters. But it did give me one of those pensive feelings afterwards, which, for whatever reason, always qualifies a film as good in my book.

LESSON THREE: Church is an alright place to be.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in
green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my
soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea,
though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil:
for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest
a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with
oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the
days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
-Psalm 23

I've heard the above before: at previous Masses, my ex's sorority slogan, retreat themes, etc. But I must say, it really helped me out last night. I've been having trouble again with some old issues, and hearing that definitely calmed me down. If only that hour-long feeling of peace could last beyond 6:05 on Saturday evenings...

THINGS TO BLOG ABOUT WHEN I HAVE MORE TIME (OR ENERGY):

- My review of "Garden State."
- My review of "Anchorman."
- How I can be TOO honest with my friends.
- The 23rd Psalm.

Would you leave your house at 10:30 at night, drive for over an hour, have sex with a college girl in her dorm, then drive back home for an hour, getting back after 3 am, giving you barely a few hours of sleep for work the next day?

Nah, neither would I...

So I took the test today...

and passed with a 77. Now I start getting ready for my Series 63 exam. Hopefully all this work will start paying off soon.

After a few delays, I'm finally taking my Series 6 exam in about 13.5 hours.

Wish me luck, everyone.