Great Lyrics

Most of Jack Johnson's songs sound very familiar. But I really like this one... specifically the lines in italics. Such great thoughts...

"What You Thought You Need"

I can't give you everything you want
But I could give you what you thought you need.

A map to keep beneath your seat,
you've been to me in time I'll get you there.

I fold it up so we don't find our way back soon,
nobody knows we are here.

We can park the van and walk to town
Find cheapest bottle of wine that we could find

And talk about the road behind
how getting lost is not a waste of time.

The water moor will take us home in the moment
we will sing as the forest sleeps.

Well it's all for the sake of arriving with you
Well it's all .. for the sake of arriving with you

Well, I will make the table into a bed
The candle is burning down its time to rest.

I can't take back things already gone,
but I could give you promises for keeps.

And I would only take them back
if they become your own and you give 'em to me .

And it's all for the sake of arriving with you.
Well it's all for the sake of arriving with you.

We could make this into anything
We could make this into more than words we speak.

This could make us into anything
It could make us grow and become what we'll be.

Mmmmmm ..
How and we really know
It's just like it feels.

Lost in Translation

Last night I was hanging out with some guys watching hockey (that is pretty much the only sport the Canadians care aboot).

Anyway, somehow we got on the topic of real estate. I asked if the Calgary market had started to decline (because it has been on such an upward trend for the past couple years). That then led to them asking me how much a typical house would cost in Houston...

What I said: "It depends on where you are."

What was heard: "It depends on where y'ar."

One of them stopped me and repeated what I said back to me... and I just stopped an laughed. I had no idea I sounded like that.

I have been told by some that I don't have a Texas accent... and then I have been told by others that I do (especially when I say my vowels). I prefer to have one, actually. So last night was good.

On another note, I am over the snow. It is great as long as it stays frozen (and white) on the ground. But when it melts and mixes with the mud, my walk into work becomes an obstacle course. Not only do I have to worry about the possiblity of slipping because my shoes have no tread, but cars drive by and spray the slushy mud mixture on my pants from time to time. OK, so that only happened one time and it was not that bad. But once really is plenty.

A Force To Be Reckoned With

Yesterday I bougth some Jell-O at the grocery store. Yes, I am a 31 year-old man who willingly chooses to buy, make, and eat Jell-O.

Anyway, I looked at the instructions on the packages to make sure I used the right proportions of hot water and cold water. The instructions end with the following admonishment:

Do not add fresh pineapple or kiwi fruit. Jelly will not set.

Who knew that pineapple and kiwi wielded so much power in the gelatin world? Oranges don't have near this level of influence...

Airline Etiquette Lesson #1

With the advent of the on-line check in option provided by most airlines, passengers are afforded certain privileges and rights regarding their seat choices. As many of you are probably aware, Continental allows passengers to check in for their flight at least 24 hours in advance. At such time of check in, you are allowed to choose your seat from any of the available empty seats on the plane. So this means that if you are forced to choose a middle seat when you purchase your ticket, you have a slim chance of getting one of the coveted aisle or window seats at the time of check in. Of course, there are no guarantees of this, but there is a chance.

I always choose an aisle seat first... then a window seat... then (and only when it is absolutely unavoidable) will I choose a middle seat. I would rather sit in the bathroom than in a middle seat - but that is just weird, so I never do that.

Last week, I boarded my plane and took up residence in my 7th row aisle seat. This is a premium coach seat because it is at the front of the plane AND on the aisle. It really is a rare occasion that I get such luxury in coach.

Well, a kind lady and her husband boarded the plane some time after I had settled in to my seat. The wife had the middle seat next to me, and her husband purchased the middle seat in front of her. Surely they did this because there were not other seats available. My heart goes out to them... really. But the wife (not the husband, mind you) asks me if I would mind switching seats with her husband. Take a minute to let that request set in in light of all I have stated above.

What could I possibly do? You can't say no to such a request. But everything in me wanted to explain to them the process and the fact that I am 6'2"... and I do not have a swimmer's build. Middle seats are miserable for a guy like me. But I made the switch.

It is one thing to ask someone to move from one aisle seat to another... but to cross the line from aisle to middle is just too much. That is my airline etiquette lesson for you all.

Oh... and have a happy Mardi Gras and Super Tuesday.

Cheers.