oh yes.
i do enjoy this time off.
chillin with my parents in houston, eating every meal with the insane amounts of family friends, old aquaintences, and relatives sure is fun. But it’s a full-time job, honest. I’m trying to finish up 3 separate projeccts right now, and it’s hard when you gotta hit the dim-sum racket every day, a chinatown banquet every night, and the bars for the late night. Plus, playing tennis with my parents and running and yoga in the morning. This vacation is wearing me out, I tell ya! Please, leave me alone so I can do my work!
(Nah, I dig the socializing. I really do, especially reconnecting with old friends. It’s awesome to see people after so many years and see where life’s taken them.)

So, this morning I woke up early and decided to cook breakfast for the family. I thought, hmm . . . Omelets? Nah, too plain. Pancakes? Too carbo-loaded. Noodles? Nah, I like the fresh stuff and that means going out to chinatown. Jook? Too plain again.
So, I decided, well, screw it. Imma just gonna go all out and make Yau Teaw, otherwise known as Yau Za Gwai or fried crullers. Here’s me in the kitchen this morning.
Shout out to all the kids who dig the Chinese breakfast as much as me.

———————————
Hip-hip hooray!
My big sis delivered a bouncing baby girl on December 15!
Check out Ella Nio Jalabert. Oh, she’s so cute, I can’t wake to poke her belly!

———————————

the highlight of this week, honestly, has been reconnecting with old pals. We had a mini-high school reunion the other day and I got to hang with some good friends I haven’t seen in years. The best part was talking to JC, who’s now, Dr. JC. Such an amazing life, made me feel cool.

Then, talking to an old old old friend AL, or is it AC now, and her new husband the other day. I haven’t chatted with her since high school! And she even invited me over to her spot for a big New Year’s Party. It’s fun reconnecting with pals and realizing that you can just start off where you left off, huh?
And I tell ya, I think maybe it’s age or something, but I’m finding it a lot easier to talk to old pals who are female. That whole awkardness that floated around in high school’s completely gone, which I dig.

Oh, and hanging with RB the other day. You know, every now and then, I need someone to just give me extremely frank advice when it comes to girls and sex. It always makes me blush a little, but I tell ya, that stuff, especially when it comes from the mind of a female, is gold. I learned a lot talking to her. Some of it I’ll actually use. Some of it, well, I’m a little too modest for.
——————–

Went to the Rockets game last night.
Man oh man, do they stink right now. It was worse than watching a high-school game. Honestly, as much as it hurts to say this, I think the Rockets should just tank the season and go for a high lottery pick. Kinda like what San Antonio did when David Robinson went down and they ended up getting Tim Duncan the next year. It’s the same thing. With Yao Ming out until February and only half of the Rockets healthy, just forfeit the season and let’s pick up a big talent through the draft.
————————-
Johnny Damon’s a Yankee.
I’m still not ready for that.
But, sure, I guess I’ll cheer for him now.
Sure, why not?
————————
I lost the apartment I put a bid in for. Darn it!
Austin real estate is too hot, baby. I gotta play the hustle game.
Just like in NYC.
————————

Just checked the stats for this blog. Who’s reading this thing? 24 unique hits today, 51 yesterday, a total of 348 this week. Honestly, why are you wasting your time checking my silly life? I don’t even make sense with the things I write here.
Oh, but it’s so flattering to know that people are reading this. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Well, not you in the back, I don’t really know you that well.
——————–

Happy Holidays to all! I hope everyone’s enjoying this amazing spirit of love and giving that feels so good.

teds

P.S. Oh, shout out to my new evil pal cruising through HK. Keep eating everything you see, that’s the best part.

if there’s anytime i’m glad i don’t live in the big city of dreams any more, it’s been this week.
hot dog!
MTA Transit Strike?
Fear of all fears, how’d ya deal?

Much love to all my NYC cats who made it through. I’ve been keeping tabs on the whole situation, it shore didn’t look pretty. Good thing it’s history now, huh?
————————
so, um.
i dig tall girls.
yeah.
no, let’s be more specific.
i dig chinese tall girls.
hmm, i think i can throw more than that.
i dig cantonese tall girls.
oh yes.

i’m back in h-town today. At dinner with my folks (at my fave veggy taiwanese restaurant here, Pine Garden), i had fun talking to my mom about my dating life. I was joking with my mom about how I’m done with the short, fat girl fetish. From now on, I’m only gonna throw at tall, skinny girls. My mom joked that it’s about time I got over the short girl thing. I laughed. She laughed. Stilted laughter.
You know, sometimes you joke around with your parents, but you’re both being deadly serious.
Okay mom, I’ll only date tall girls from now on. I promise.
————-
So I saw a condo yesterday that I’d be a fool not to buy.
More news on this as it happens.

teds
—————-
Quick Disclaimer:
I’ve gotten a couple emails from people who I don’t really know or have just met me recently. I’m flattered that you’re taking the time to read this crap, but lemme fill you in on a couple things so you don’t judge me too early.

1) I talk about drugs a lot. A whole lot. No, I do not do drugs anymore. I went through a period of experimentation in my life that I’m not proud of. However, I learned many many life lessons during this period that make me who I am today. After that, I also spent a couple of years smoking a lot of pot. I am also not proud of this, but I do not believe marijuana is any worse a drug than alcohol, tobacco, or caffeine. And being that I enjoy talking about fine wine, good teas, and deliciously pungent coffees, I also sometimes talk about marijuana as a gourmand. Please do not read into these details of my life to assume that I am a drug user or encourage drug use.

2) I am not a jerk. Honest. Sometimes, I’ll tell a story that ends up with me acting in a horrible way. Okay, that was in the past, I’ve done some scandalous things. I admit it. But, I’m really trying to model my life around Jesus Christ, and that means I actually think through many of my actions now. Well, at least I try.

3) Yes. I really do talk like this.

yes yes.
shout out to my man Michael D for stopping by. Wow, why am I not surprised his blog is mega-sweet. He’s always been one of my idols. True artist and visionary with an insane knack for getting things done. Plus, he’s a great father too. Much love man.
——
A little adventure on Saturday.

I woke up early to go take my last final exam. Had a great quiet time and meditation. Did a couple of yoga poses. Had a huge breakfast of oatmeal and fresh rasberries. And then, went out to my car to drive to campus.

Hmm . . . that’s strange. Why is my trunk open? Wait, the only other time my trunk was every open was that time at the Georgia Diner when someone broke into . . .

Uh oh.

I come around the driver’s side, and wow. Someone had bashed in my window. Little pellets of safety glass everywhere! Aww man, that’s not cool. Someone tried to break into my car!

Plus, the door handle and lock had been pried open, making it impossible to even open the door properly.

I’m glad I had such a good meditation that morning, cuz I was pretty calm about it. I called up the cops, joked around with them as I filed the police report. Then called up my insurance company, which was pointless because I have el-cheapo coverage.

Then I checked the car out.

Hmm . . . my stereo is still here. Oh, my yoga mat too. Hey, they even left my bottle of water. Oh look, all my spare change is still here too. And my CD’s, Outkast, Jay-Z, heck, even ABBA.
So, what did they take?

Nothing.

What’s up with that?
Some kids break my window, jimmy my lock, and then take absolutely nothing!
And they didn’t even try to steal the car either?

I don’t get it.

So, $200 bucks and a new window and door handle later, I’m feeling it.
Wow, I’ve had my first car break-in! I always thought this woulda happened in Brooklyn or Queens, heck, even on the grimy streets of Baltimore. But nope. My first car break-in was in a suburban parking lot here in Austin, Texas. Who woulda thunk?
(people here still look at me crazy when I pull my club out. Hey, it’s just force of habit. I’m from New York, donchaknow?)

Oh well. My professor was totally cool about it. I’m gonna make up the final exam tomorrow.

And there’s my Saturday morning. Fun, huh?
(I like the body shop I took the car too, cuz it’s close to a great Korean restaurant, where I treated my roommate to lunch after his whole ordeal was over.)
————
Oh, and I had a lot of fun Saturday night too. Good vegetarian Mexican food, trail of lights, drinks at deville’s. and a new friend too.
————
Here’s a theory.

Being single is kind of like being unemployed. You don’t really have the stability of a regular job, which sucks, but you have a lot of time to do your own thing, which is pretty cool. Sure, you get offered jobs here and there, but none of them are ever really a perfect fit for you. And besides, you’re on unemployment insurance, it’s almost more beneficial for you to stay unemployed, right?
Every now and then, a great short-term gig will pop-up. These are cool, the money’s under the table so it’s tax-free and you can still collect unemployment insurance. Plus, you know it ain’t gonna last, so you don’t have to worry about kissing everyone’s butt and being super on-top-of-things. You can just plow right through the short-term gig, milking it for all it’s worth, and then, let it run it’s course.
However, if you do a great job with the short-term gig, they’ll keep asking you back to do more. And more. And more. And even more!
Suddenly, it seems that you’re involved in a pretty stable job. Maybe even something long-term!
Wait, is this what I wanted? I thought I was just doing this cause I needed some cash. Where’d all my free time go? Where’d all my fun disappear to? Why am I working so hard?
Aww man . . . I’m employed again!
And next thing you know, you’re on one knee with a ring in your hand.

teds

werd, so I’m diggin the ipod lifestyle. like making mini-mixtapes however you feel. here’s 8 tracks I got on constant rotation right now. Like, I ain’t listening to nothing else but these 8 songs in the last 2 weeks, kinda like when you only had 1 mixtape in your car back in the day, ya know?

Kanye West - Home
Old Dirty Bastard - Shimmy Shimmy Ya
Devin The Dude - I-Hi
Jay-Z - H to the Izzo
Kanye West - Drive Slow
Fam Lay - Rock & Roll (Remix)
Oowee - Why Cry

Check ‘em out if you wanna, they’re megadope. Especially that 1st one, Kanye West’s Home. Damn, it’s been a long time since a joint made me kick my desk over and shimmy on top of it! What a track!
But it’s the way it always is, this track’ll proabably be the next big single and get way too much overplay and we’ll all be sick of it come March.
But, baby baby, it’s a fat fat track that makes me sentimental and wanna get down at the same time! That Kanye West, I tell ya, he’s unlike anything ever seen before in hip-hop. I already put him up there on the same level as Tribe.
And for some old school Kanye, I put on the first track he ever produced, Jay-Z’s H to the Izzo.
Man, hearing that thing again, it still sounds so fresh, unlike anything out there now. Still so hot, so infectuous, so so groovy, baby. I love it.

Nothing makes teddy happier than dope beats. Honest.
(okay, maybe cute girls who make great grilled tofu sandwiches, or handfulls of Blue Bell Peppermint Ice Cream, or maybe sunrises on the beach. But that’s it. Fo reals.)
———————————–
So, I finished another final today, which gives me just 1 more final left! Whoo-hoo, I can’t believe I’m almost done with my first semester, huh?
Goes fast, huh? I still feel like I just moved here a couple of weeks ago.

But the work never ends, huh? I still got my research group project to finish up, my yoga certification papers, and the website I gotta build for the Fulbright Memorial program. All due before the year’s up!
Yeah, the legacy of “wait till the last minute” Teddy still reigns. I was talking to someone the other day of how it’s so impossibly hard to get things done way before they’re actually due.

Like, whenever I assigned projects or papers to my own students, there’d always be the 1 or 2 who would give me their projects 2 weeks before it was due! They’d be like, “yeah, I just wanted to get it out of the way.!” My immediate reaction would be like, “Um, I know I’m your teacher and all. But, um, would you please teach me your secret of getting things done before waiting until the last minute? I could learn a lot of things from you.”
———————–
Cough, cough.
So a moment of silence please.
It’s been a little over a year since one of my idols passed from this world.
Yes, of course I’m talking about the man, the legend, the visionary.

OL DIRTY BASTARD

I’m not being sarcastic when I pay respect to O.D.B.
The man was a true artist, a tortured soul, the kind that won’t be respected until years and years after his death. One of my idols, I’ll miss ya dirt dog.
—————————
I haven’t been to Hong Kong since 1999, that’s 7 years now! But when a pal asked me for some quick recs on that town, I was shocked at how quikly I remembered all my favorite spots. So much so, I thought I’d reproduce the highlights of that email here, for you, the one one person who actually reads this blog.
Enjoy, suckas:

Oh, it’s been so long since I’ve rocked big, ol greasy Hong Kong, but I still got much love for that place. A couple highlights off the top of my head:

1) Kung Tak Lam Shanghai Vegetarian Restaurant, which I’ve already told you about. They’ve actually got 2 branches, here’s the actual addresses. Both are great, the Tsimshatsui location is a little more touristy because it’s near all the old hotels.
7/G Peking Road, Tsimshatsui, Kowloon
or
G/F Lok Sing Center, 31 Yee Wo Street, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

2) If you have any young cousins, they’ll want to drag you to Lan Kwai Fong, the club district. Even though I hate the material shallowness of most HK culture, it’s always a fun time watching the kids get down, the white people get drunk, and insane amounts of ways girls can rock Louis Vitton on their body. Follow my advice, stay outta the clubs unless you like grinding with sweaty metrosexual HK boys. The bars are pretty cool though, a remnant of the British way of life. But the absolute best best best part . . .

3) Walk down the street to Wan Chai to grab the first batch of Jook in the morning, coupled with fresh Yau Zja Gwai (the fried crullers). Such a delight, especially at midnight. All these joints stay open all night long, mainly catering to the after-club crowd. And the food is the best!

4) Speaking of Wan Chai, back when I was filmming, I spent a lot of time in the skate park that was nothing more than the terrace of a couple big financial buildings right in the heart of Wan Chai. If you’re in the hood, wander around and keep your ears open for the sound of skate boards. These kids don’t play around and I had such a blast watching little HK kids pop tricks and grind all night long. If it’s still there, it’s magic.

5) High tea at an old-style Brit hotel. My favorite for a long time running was The Peninsula, but I’ve heard they’ve fallen off recently. Nothing like having a gorge yourself silly buffet meal at 4PM, while relaxing with a cup of hot lemon tea. I always dug the high tea’s the offered caviar, sushi, and flank steak.

6) Oh, and speaking of The Peninsula, one of my favorite restaurants, Felix, is located there. An architectural marvel. The food’s 5-star and not cheap, but it’s a taste of the ultra-sophistic life that I run away from.

7) I can’t offhand remember whether these are memories or dreams sometimes. But here’s some phrases to put in your pocket or throw around and maybe a relative can help you out. Black Sand Beaches at Aberdeen, Golden Market at Sam Sui Bo for your underground electronics and street food fix, Big Buddha and the vegetarian meal they throw at you after the tour, the famous coffee in Happy Valley, Butter-laced sandwiches at Maxims, and the way I always started or ended my days: Mango pudding, Fried Noodles, Egg Cakes, Smelly Tofu if you can find it, and Portuguese-style Dan tats.

Oh, Jimmy’s Kitchen, a western-style old school restaurant in Tsimshatsui. My favorite place when I was 8 (because they made a delicious corn soup).

9) Oh yeah. My kid sister would go on high fashion terror in Granville in Tsimshatsui. She had a whole wardrobe of custom workshirts, skirts, blazers, and all sorts of cool nifty clothes made for her in pastels and shiny fabrics. I don’t know much about that scene, but for her, it’s the highlight of the HK life. High-quality but not pricey custom clothing for an Asian body.

10) I almost forgot my favorite. To get away from the hustle bustle, the Peak Tram is always a marvel. But don’t stick around too long, because on the ride back, take a step into HK Park, an amazing public space full of natural beauty. If you have time, tour through the tea museum and have some nice expensive powder tea too. Plus, you’re then only a hop-skip from Pacific Place, the high-end mall. Buy yourself some two-thousand dollar sunglasses after your moment of tranquility.

Oh, I totally forgot my absolute favoritist part of HK.
Being that Cantonese cuisine is agreed upon by most experts as the single greatest and most skilled cuisine in the world, and that Hong Kong has always had the most money and most foreigners of any Chinese city, therefore, ethic food in Hong Kong, having to cater to a Cantonese taste and usually cooked by Cantonese chefs, is sometimes better than in their mother countries because of the vast amount of high-quality ingredients, clientele, and expertise available in Hong Kong.

And no other cuisine proves this point more than Thai.
Now, I’ve been to Bangkok and Phuket. The food there is awesome!
But, it’s hard to get the really really really good stuff unless you’re a VIP or part of the royal government.

But, in Kowloon City (where the old airport used to be), there’s a little Thai section of Hong Kong with 3 amazing amazing Thai restaurants that will knock your socks off. But remember to bring a sweater, because for some strange reason, all 3 of them keep their air conditioning on at full blast.

I forget the names of the restaurants, the English names are something generic, like Golden Elephant or something silly.
But, if you want to impress some of the locals, take ‘em out for Thai. (and order the fried catfish salad too!)

—————————
Couple o’ shout outs:

To my big sis, who should be expecting her 1st child next month. Lot of love, you’re gonna make a great mommy.
My man BC in NYC who joked that he read this whole long boring blog. Holy moly, even I can’t read the whole thing. And it’s all about me!
The kid EC, who I feel bad about out. I made a comment about him and his girl not PDAing all over the place and I feel like I came off like a big ol jerk. I shouldn’t have said nothing, it ain’t my place to comment on other people’s happiness.
My pal from stats class JH, who I fear I’ll never become good pals because of the silly awkardness of boy/girl non-romantic relationships.
And SL, who I still think about every day and makes me happy yet riddled with feelings of guilt.
Oh, and the law school cat GL, who’ll always be one of the phlyest chicas in the world. Good to know life is rockin in law school. Even better to know that you still remember my name.
And the best thing that happened to me all month, homegirl JW, of the last name that makes a full sentence, rolling out a random email. Nothing makes you feel good than to get an email from someone you got mad respect and love for, huh?
Kinda like getting a random txt message from MC today (who always told me she had crush on me, even though she’s a married lesbian!) . This time o’ year sure is nice, huh? People throwing love at each other, just cuz it’s the right thing to do.
Oh, and my old old pal VC, or is it VH now, who threw a fab dinner party where I got to be my drunken, blabbing, idiotic self. Good times, honest. Thanks for being so cool to me.
And on that note, I just gotta say.
If you’re reading this, that means you probably know me. And that means, I love ya. Honest.

Teddy loves you.

Remember that, kids.
————-
But for reals, now that Christmas is turning the corner, it’s a special time full of love and merryment. Feelings that can only come about because we’re celebrating truth, the birth of Jesus Christ, my savior and best friend. Remember the reason for the season, kids, and keep throwing that love around, cuz that’s what Jesus taught us to do.

this morning, i woke up.
thinking of the things i’ve done,
just to get by,
just to get high,
just to roll fly.

ends never justify the means, she said
but that’s a lesson learned through tears.
i done some things in my life to get here,
stepped on some faces, broken some hearts, kicked ‘em when they’re down, made ‘em cry.
and it hurts, baby. it hurts.
every single time, i feel a little more numb
and one day, i won’t feel anything.
and that’s when i know it’ll be too late.
———————————————-
in 4th grade i used to sharpen my pencils and stab the kids sitting next to me until i drew blood.
i’m sorry. i realize that i didn’t like them because they were white and i was frustrated that i was different.

when i was 19, a good friend of mine, my homeboy, decided to steal a car. deep down, i could read all the signs that he was just crying for help, looking for some attention. instead of stepping up and being a real friend, telling him not to risk it and throw his life away, i decided to go along for the ride. he ended up really falling into a downward spiral after that, completely falling apart. i’m sorry.

oh, and i stole his girl too. that was uncool. i’m sorry.

a guy in college, real nice, down to earth friend of a friend, broke his back in a motorcycle accident. he had to wear a full brace. i dug him, but i always thought he was a little pretensious and too quirky. so, i took a permanent marker and wrote all sorts of foul and disgusting phrases all over his brace, things he would not be able to easily wash off. and this was something he had to wear outside of his clothes. i’m sorry.

when i was 18, i thought it would be funny to buy bags of weed and mix it up with as much oregano as i could find. i would then have a whole lot of “weed” to sell to the stupid white kids. i would teach these silly boys how to roll joints, insisting that the herb-like smell meant that the stuff was fresh. then i would rip them off. i’m sorry for making you smoke kitchen herbs, it probably wasn’t the safest thing to do.

in high school, there was this kid who annoyed me so so so much. he had this high-piched voice and he always seemed to interupt my conversations, especially if i was talking to a girl. i knew that he was working on a big, big history project, because he was a nerd like that. and i knew the project meant a lot to him too. so, when he brought it in to turn in, i discretely took it out of the pile from the teacher’s desk, tore it up, and threw it in the garbage. i’m sorry, i shouldn’t have done that. especially now that i’m a teacher, i know how much it meant to you, man.

i got drunk one night and called my girlfriend up on the phone and decided to see how she would react to being dumped. so i dumped her, right then and there, on the phone. i was such a jerk, i remember thinking, hmm . . . so this is how girls act, huh? very interesting. then i went to sleep.
the next morning, i vaguely remembered that i did not have a girlfriend anymore and just went on with my life.
i bumped into her years later at a coffeeshop and we exchanged ackward hellos.
i’m so sorry. i still did not understand how to treat people who showed me love, and i was just so curious as to how girls acted. that was mean and cruel, and it should never have happened.

my boy was going to get married in a couple weeks, and i knew that he wanted to get laid one last time before taking the plunge. so, we were talking to these drunk girls, definately willing, but too young to be evil. one of them was shyly flirting with him. so, i decided it would be fun to shout across the room, “Yo man, how’s the wedding planning coming along?” totally killed any vibe of getting it on that he had going on. i still remember the girls shocked look, “oh. you’re engaged?” i’m sorry man.
actually . . . no, this one i take back. i’m sorry for not being a friend, but in the big picture, i’m happy that i didn’t help you cheat on your fiance. yeah. this one’s a good one.
—————–
boy, that feels a little better.

So so many people have been emailing me, saying, “Hello Mr. Teds, why haven’t you written about your love life lately? No one cares about your silly races or your thoughts on humanity or your eating habits or your whining about school. We wanna hear about how girls be breaking your heart and how you deal? So what’s up? You out there mackin or what? Throw us some dirt.”

Yes yes, y’all wanna know about my love life, huh?
(notice I wrote y’all and not you all or you kids. i’m becoming a true texas boy. yee-haw!)
—–
sorry, kids.
no dice.
I’m following yogic code right now.
Brahmacharya.
Look it up if you don’t get it. I’ve been learning a lot about myself, but it sure ain’t been easy.
——
But, I did find a very humorous site that paints a pessimistic, but somewhat accurate view of man/woman relationships. Check it out, I read through the whole thing and laughed and laughed and laughed, then said to myself, “Hey, that’s actually happened to me! Dang, this isn’t just funny, it’s true!”
Check it out: http://www.intellectualwhores.com/masterladder.html
Read through it and lemme know what you think. I found it very funny. A little vulgar, and honestly, it takes an extremely misogynistic view of love, but it’s done in a pretty funny way.
———————-
Oh, and in other news. The Rockets won. Which brings them to 4-12.
Which still totally sucks.
It’s fun to be at a school that hasn’t lost a single football or basketball game yet, but my b-ball team just can’t seem to get it done at all.

I think I might be going back to NYC over the break. Anyone gonna be around? I didn’t think I’d miss the city so much, but I’m having some withdrawal symptoms. Not to disrespect Texas at all, it’s fun and groovy down here. But I miss my city of dreams. Especially now, when all the holiday lights are up, the $3 cups of hot chocolate are flowing, and the panhandlers put those stupid santa hants on.

teds

feels good to be stressed.
i like it.
school stress, i’ll take it over real life stress any day, baby.
you can always talk your way to an extension on a paper, argue a grade, blow off an exam.
but you sure can’t do that with real life, now, can ya.

man, i love school. even if it’s stressing me out, it sure ain’t as tough as actually having to work.
i get to learn! i get to write! i get to discuss and interact and read and all that jazzy stuff.

some of these kids in school are stressing out so much, i kind of just want to kick them in the face, you know?
I look around campus and it kind of frustrates me what an Ivory cocoon the university system has become. It’s like day-care for twenty-somethings. Kind of freaks me out, honestly.

School seems like where all the kids who couldn’t hack it in the real world come to floss up some knowledge, jacking meaningless Masters degrees so they can smoke pot all day and write papers to overanalyze everything. It’s kind of sickening when I look around and realize that all those kids who couldn’t grind, those kids who didn’t hustle, those kids who never had a back-up plan are now my peers.
Which means I’ve become one of them.

Uh-oh.
Has teddy grown soft?
Is teddy a runaway?
What’s teddy hiding from anyway?
—————
So today, I turned in a 32-page paper. I’m pretty proud of myself that I actually sat down and wrote the whole thing. The paper was only supposed to be 20 pages long, but I’m such a sucker for overdoing everything, you know?

Right, in my classroom, whenever a kid overdid a project, like they created a poster and put glitter all over it, or they wrote a song to go along with their presentation, or their folder came stapled with a $100 bill on top, I always gave the kid an A+. Heck, why not, the kid’s gotta learn, if you kiss the teacher’s butt and show that you’re willing to go all out, then of course you deserve the high grade.
I hope my professors respect that same logic too. Cuz I bought one of them a Jaguar for the holidays.

i ran a 20K race today. For those that aren’t good at the metric conversions, that’s about 12.4 miles to ya.
This was the toughest race I’ve ran. Honest. It was cold and windy the whole time. I couldn’t feel my fingers. I felt like I had to pee for most of the race (which I attribute to the cold air). My legs and knees were aching only after Mile 1! And this girl who was kind of keeping pace with me the whole time just decided to zoooom off and leave me in the dust at the halfway point!
Oh man, it just wasn’t a good race for me. Something about running on concrete rural roads just kills my legs. I couldn’t believe I was hurting so quickly into the race. I usually feel great until Mile 10 or so. The half-marathon I did 2 weeks ago, I felt so great at the end, I sprinted the last half-mile!

And to top it all off, I didn’t do so hot with my time either. Here’s a quick synopsis of my racing history these past 4 races:
9:13 minutes/mile - IBM 10K
9:26 minutes/mile - Pervasive 10 Miler
8:45 minutes/mile - Bison Half Marathon
8:55 minutes/mile - Decker 20K (today)

So, while I’m actually pretty happy with my time, I’m still a little bummed out that I didn’t finish as quick as I did the Half Marathon. (And that race was just a little bit longer than this one too!)
Oh well, I was really feeling low after the race. But when I saw that I was just 10 seconds off my pace from the last race, I felt a little bit better. After all, I really felt horrible for today. The last mile or so, which I’m used to turning on the after-burners and finishing strong, I just couldn’t go very fast . No matter how hard I was pushing, I felt I was just going the same slow pace. I kept eyeing other racers and trying to beat them at the end, but they just kept going, not getting any closer. Oh well . . . I’m pretty happy that in my “off” race, my time is still a whole lot better than the first two races.
But honestly, I’m really not too hung up on the time. That’s just something to make it intersting. I’m just happy I finished the race! That’s all that really matters, right? (Oh, and the fact that I finished faster than all my friends who also ran!)

Oh, here’s some pics from the Half-Marathon I was talking about. None of them are that great. But check out the dude with a gut finishing right before me. That makes me feel good. Knowing that a guy with a giant beer belly is running just a little bit faster than me. Oh yeah.

why oh why, does MF Doom have to hit Austin on Monday night?
The night before I have 2 big papers due?

What’s up with dope hip-hop acts hitting Austin on the werst nights?
Mos Def on a Sunday night?
Blackalicious, 2 nights before ACL?
And now MF Doom on a Monday?

Man, I miss living in a big venue, where tours actually touched down on the weekends.