Category: Rando

Tornados, Tiaras, and Trifectas

~ meh ~ Leave a comment

Just another April in Kentucky.

Tornados

I have spent the past two weeks peering out the window at 2am, looking at the trees bent in half from the wind, telling Paul that we should get in the crawl space under the house (we have no basement.)   Paul has spent the past two weeks mumbling to me half asleep at 2am that no, we should not get in the crawl space, and that I should go back to sleep.  Then last week a friend of mine posted this, taken out the window of his office:

I know this pictures is tiny, for a full version go here 

Next time I am taking Spike and getting in the crawl space.

Actually, I learned that if you don’t have a basement, the best place to go is an internal bathroom with no windows, bring a mattress with you to cover yourself, and either get in the tub or hug the toilet (I guess the plumbing is more likely not to get sucked up or something?)  I have also learned that if a tornado is coming, it sounds like a freight train, so it’s not going to catch you totally off guard (a fact which, strangely enough, has provided me some comfort on those windy nights.)

Tiaras

The royal wedding was great.

Trifectas

The tornadoes cleared up just in time for the last days of Keenland, one of the premiere racing tracks in the country and everyone’s favorite hangout in April and October.   It was my first time here, the weather was absolutely beautiful, and it was packed.

We walked in just before the 5th race with about 4 minutes to post.

I bet $2 on horse #5 to win it all, at 12:1 odds.  He won.  I promptly went and got myself a bourbon.

The next race I bet $3 on a horse with 31:1 odds to show (his name was Ndongo…I had to.)   He got 3rd.  I am amazing.

The last few races weren’t as successful, but you can’t really beat a beautiful day outside at the races with a free bourbon.  I also saw my first Dale Earnhardt tattoo.
Next up: Derby.

Move

~ meh ~ Leave a comment

There is no difference between a pessimist who says, “It’s all over, don’t bother trying to do anything, forget about voting, it won’t make a difference,” and an optimist who says “Relax, everything is going to turn out fine.”  Either way the results are the same.  Nothing gets done.

~Yvon Chouinard, CEO and founder of Patagonia

Give a little bit…

~ meh ~ 2 Comments

I got this mug at Starbucks a few weeks ago after a colleague totally freaked out on me for using her Buffy the Vampire Slayer mug that was sitting in the kitchen cupboard at work.  True story.

Last night I tried to bake cookies shaped like hearts for the morning swim group while watching the 1996 version of Romeo and Juliet with Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes.  (No tie to Valentines day…just another wonderful find on Netflix Teen Drama.  Flashback to me and my 15-year-old friends going to the movies in our matching bomber jackets.)   Anyway, the heart shape was kind of a major fail.  But they taste fine.

On this Valentines Day I did a little reading.  There is all sorts of folklore about St. Valentine and what exactly he did that ultimately led to his name being forever affiliated with those little sugar hearts that say “You’re Hot” and “Call Me”.   In the extensive research I’ve done (read: Wikipedia) I have found that the only thing everyone agrees on is that someone named Valentine was martyred sometime before 500 AD.  Nothing about Valentine and marriage or amour.

So this Valentines Day remember that love is more than telling that special someone they are “So Fine” via candy heart.  It can be as simple as giving your seat to a stranger on the bus, saying thank you to the janitor that cleans your building, or lending a hand to a clueless coworker who may accidentally trespass on your property.


Happy Valentines.