Slacking Again

I've been back from Denver over a week and already slacking in my writing. The AG was fun and tiring. The altitude kicked my butt far more than I thought. I realized it when I got back to the DFW airport, and when I got a little winded from dealing with my luggage, I got my breath back much sooner than I did when I was in Denver.

I stayed exhausted in Denver and didn't do as many activities as I wished to do because I simply ran out of steam. Of course, starting the trip out on 4 hours of bad sleep didn't help. The hotel layout was not the most conducive, it was simply too big and spread out. Hospitality was tucked away and it just seemed like I didn't see or run into people I knew nearly as much as last year's. I also noticed the first day I was there, places in CO don't run the A/C all the time like they do in TX, and I suffered until I adjusted.

My initial impression of Denver is that of a beautiful city, mountains in the background, nice old and modern architecture and very clean. The shuttle ride to the hotel passed right by the Brown Palace and Trinity UMC, both beautiful old historic buildings. The hotel was right on the 16th Street Mall and was chock full of restaurants and stores and good people-watching.

I met more people from GenX than I did last year, and this year, thanks to hanging out in the chat room, I knew people before the AG, and seeing them finally in person was great. I got a chance to catch up with Karen and that was nice.

I wish I had attended more activities and spent more time in the GenX suite, but oh well, will have to make up for it next year.

Tuesday night we went to a Geeks who Drink Pub Quiz at a place called the Irish Snug. I would have loved to spend some time in the little drinking "snugs" but we headed straight downstairs to the first place of the trip I noticed with the AC issue. We divided up into teams and I liked my team of Rimas, Leann, Paul and Melissa and I will not name the other one who annoyed the crap out of me. The evening had me really wishing there was a Pub Quiz in Tyler. Oh yeah, and I should bone up on Gangsta Rap before the next one.

Next post: More AG fun

So much to do, so little time

Well here it is, 2 days before I head off to Denver for the Mensa AG. I'd be head over heels with excitement if I didn't have a to-do list as long as my arm.

Today is all about cleaning house and doing laundry. Tomorrow is the last trip to Wal Mart hell, coloring my hair, painting my fingernails and toenails and packing. I have to print out my airplane info, shuttle info, all the maps and info I need for my side trip to Rocky Mountain National Park and the list goes on and on and on.........

I am hoping to do a daily AG blog diary of sorts and take lots and lots of pictures. Tata for now.

My Favorite Things

After spending time at a family reunion this weekend, and then celebrating my birthday yesterday with family and friends, I am feeling in a good mood. Here are some of my favorite things.

1. Getting a temporary tattoo from my adorable little shy cousin and having a couple of cute conversations with him.

2. Chatting with the other little cousins.

3. Hearing the funny wedding stories from all the married people in the family.

4. A meal of fajitas, just-right-cooked pinto beans, and Velveeta queso and chips.

5. All the e-mails, instants messages, MySpace comments. Facebook comments and messageboard posts wishing me a Happy Birthday.

6. Making my mother giggle when we saw 10000 small children getting out of a bus at the movie theater to see the same movie we were going to see, and saying HELL no, we'll go somewhere else.

7. Being taken to a new restaurant by my friends and having them offer to buy me whatever I want. And said restaurant being DELICIOUS.

What's in a Name?

Have you ever googled yourself? I tried that last night and found 2 obituaries for other Sheilas with my same last name. I also found lots of Sheilas in a certain city that happens to also be my last name.

When I was born, my dad picked the name Sheila because he liked it. Sheila is a Gaelic name and believed to be a form of Julia/Cecilia/Cecil. Which is very ironic, because my mother's mother and father were both named Cecil, so while Daddy named me because he liked the name, I'm actually named after my grandparents, which is pretty cool. My middle name is Jane, after my mother. Jane was also my great grandmother's middle name. I like the continuity of that.

Being named Sheila is a blessing and a curse. A blessing because it's not very common, and so there's not a lot of Sheilas running around. A curse, because people so frequently misspell it. Also a mixed bag when it comes to those little souvenirs you buy with people's names, in that sometimes there was a Sheila, sometimes not.

One of my Jaycee friends dubbed me Sheila E way back when I first joined, and it stuck. I like it as a nickname. I also use Tequila Sheila as a nickname on my favorite messageboard . I got that name from a song.

Speaking of songs, there are 3 I know of - "Sheila" by Tommy Roe, "Tequila Sheila" by Bobby Bare and "Oh Sheila" by Ready for the World. When I was 16 and taking my driving test on my birthday, the DPS trooper who was riding shotgun was singing Tequila Sheila. 28 years later and I have never forgotten that.

I think my favorite use of the name is a book by Judy Blume, "Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great". To which I say, but of course.

Having smart fun

I just returned from a weekend in Houston at what we in Mensa call an RG, or Regional Gathering. These are little conventions, usually with a theme - there are a wide range of speakers, hospitality & games rooms open at all hours, a dance, and a bunch of cool people. Now I know Mensa peopple get stereotyped as a bunch of nerds, and we have our share of those. But we're regular people too, who just happened to outscore 98% of the population on a standardized test.

I played Phase 10, spades, Texas Hold 'EM, Carnelli, Palabra, worked on a jigsaw puzzle, competed on a team in a Movie trivia game. I swear if it involves a game I like, I could play all day long. Evidently I have a competitive streak a mile wide. Participated in a chocolate tasting, and I still prefer milk chocolate, and 100% cacao is VILE. Attended a little session on Mixers & Ellixirs and tried several types of alcohol I have never tried. Now I know what ouzo tastes like, and I can't stand it. It's no wonder, since I don't like licorice at all and it's like a liquid form of that. I think I'm adding a bottle of Frangelico to my next shopping list.

Hung out with some people I already knew a little, and got to know them even better; Met new people and just had a great all around good time. On the way home, I stopped and got a Gatti's pizza, my absolute favorite and one we don't have in Tyler anymore. I swear if I was a smoker, I would have needed a cigarette, it was that good.

Gulf Coast Mensa throws a good RG. Today is all about recuperating.

When is it going to end?

I started this blog with the intention of being upbeat and trying to be slightly humorous, but today I'm ranting a little.

I spent my morning at the local Komen Race for the Cure. I didn't run or walk in it, but helped out some with some fellow Jaycees at the food booth.

My rant is against cancer and why oh why haven't we found a cure yet? I hear the numbers of how much money has been raised in the fight, and I wonder, when is it going to end? Especially after spending a day in our beautiful city park, with nice but humid weather and seeing the pink shirts of the survivors, and seeing survivors younger than me. It's just not fair, this cancer crap. The survivor's faces seem to be getting younger.

You see participants wearing their signs "In Memory of" - children who've lost a grandmother, men who have lost wives, even mothers who have lost their own daughters while fighting their own personal battle. I try to focus on the number of people who wear the "In Celebration of" signs and just pray and hope that the celebration signs will one day be the only signs you see, and eventually we won't even need this race, because cancer will be eradicated.

One can only hope.

Studying is driving me batty

I am under the gun to get this CPA exam studying done so I can take 2 parts of the exam by May 30th. Some days I feel cross-eyed and incapable of learning. Other days it all clicks. Today was a little harder because my cat Cupcake was damned insistent on being in my lap and it's hard to tell her no.

If real life would stop getting in the way, I would have more time to study. First up is this weekend's trip to Fort Worth for my cousin's wedding. I may need valium by the end of the weekend after chauffeuring my parents. At least I enjoy my cousins and aunts and uncles, so it should be a good time, but just no time for studying. I think I will pack my books and PC anyway, just in case.

I'm having a garage sale on the 3rd, and I need to get ready for that. Timing wise it's not great, but it needs to get done before it gets too hot. I also need to clean house before my family is traipsing in and out of my house that day.

My nephew is graduating from Rice University on the 10th and we were going to go, but I just cannot sacrifice 2 days of studying. I hope he will understand.

I'm going to Houston on Memorial Day weekend for a Mensa RG and maybe the Texas JCI Senate convention. I don't know if the Senate one will be worth going to. I'll have to pack my books for the section of the exam I'm hoping to take on the 30th.

My Meetup group for knitters and crocheters is going well. We've met twice and are talking about upping the meetings to twice a month. Found a better location than Starbucks at our local grocery store. They built a little cafe area called Java Jams and it's perfect for us.

Recent addictions include watching Big Brother, General Hospital, Hershey bars with Andes peppermint chips.

Well onto FW and a winery manana.