Long weekends go by so fast...

So, this was an fun filled as well as pain in the butt kind of week/weekend. Not only did we have a successful launch of the Delta IV, I also had lots of other things to do. It was a good thing the launch went on the first attempt otherwise I would not have been able to go to this month's Young Professionals Meet and Greet. It was actually a really nice one because it was at the Crown Plaza hotel on the beach. I love it when there are thing to do outdoors at the beach. If the launch had scrubbed it was possible I would not have been able to attend the musical Mamma Mia! which I had already paid $50 to go to. Thank goodness I did get to go because it was an awesome show. I mean, awesome! It was so fun and I have not laughed out loud at a show like that in a while. Great music and just all around greaat fun. I would definitely recommend it to anyone. At the end, after the curtain calls, they even performed 3 additional ABBA songs with costumes and everything. Truly tacky, yet undeniably wonderful. I was up and out of my seat singing like a nut and lovin' every minute of it!
Rene' and Jill went to see Toxic Audio on Saturday night. They are an acappella group that performs modern songs with a twist and even audience interaction. I was going to go in to Orlando with them and just stroll around Universal City Walk and then head to the clubs when their concert was done however, I figured it would be a good opportunity for me to stay home and clean house like crazy. Which I did and was exhausted when I finished. The girls had a great time and I almost wish I had gone to see it with them because it sounded like a good show. Afterward they even discovered a new club at City Walk which sounds great and I cannot wait to go to. It is called the Red Coconut and it has cuban-esque swing dancing. Very cool!
On another note, my car is in the shop. Yuck! I am not sure what is going on with it so I am having them doing a diagnostic. Of course I pick a three day weekend to bring my car in so I was home or at the mercy of others. You never realize how much you rely on your car until it is gone. As of now I still don't know what is up with it. They keep trying to recreate the problem. Hopefully, it won't be expensive. Fingers crossed!

Launch today.....hopefully!

Well, just a quick note. I have been getting kicked off the computer a lot at work lately so I have not been able to post. Just wanted to drop a little note letting everyone know there is to be a Delta IV launch today at 6pm. I am really hoping it goes today because it will completly screw up the rest of my week of it scrubs 24 hours. I have the YpB event on thursday (which are always fun) not to mention theater tickets for friday night to see Mamma Mia! Ooo, Nasa better get their crap together or they are going to answer to me. Anywho, look for the UFO in the sky! Check out some great pictures as the mobile service tower was rolled back to reveal the Delta IV rocket here.

Some great news!

I know I haven't talked about this so far but it is always scary to me when someone goes into the hospital. Mom's boyfriend, Gary was admitted into the hospital early friday morning after severe sternum and esophagus pain. Turns out his gall bladder was infected and he had several stones. It took 3 surgery's and a lot of pain but as of today he is doing awesome and should have no further complications......insert sign of relief here. So, I have been trying to call my mom all afternoon yesterday trying to find out if Gary got to go home. Well, turned out that will not happen until today but she had better news and I was the first to know! Mommy and Gary are finally, officially going to take the plunge and get married. We knew this was going to happen but it was only a matter of time. They both make each other ridiculously happy and if you could see them smile you would know it was all worth it. How cliche' could they be though.....he is in the hospital and has a little "life is too short" scare and then he asks her to marry him. They are like a bad Lifetime movie. So cute though! And to see moms happy is all worth it. And we are all happy Gary will be coming home today. Yea crazy kids!

I can finally talk about this because Rene' has watched the season finale of Grey's Anatomy. It has been eating me up inside. What a great show! I am normally not emotional when it comes to movies or TV shows but this was a hard one to keep the eyes dry. So much stuff packed into a single episode. I have to say though that I was pissed at Izzy for making Denny go through with the heart switch-a-roo. She kept telling himto do it for her. Well, missy I think that is a little selfish of you. However, the acting was top notch by Katheryn Heigl. I also cannot believe Meredith and McDreamy slept together. After all the lies and pain they have both put each other through, not to mention the boyfriend and wife involved. Oh, I just see bad things (but good TV) happening next season. Can't wait. Also, I was really happy Alex stepped up in the end and held Izzy and told her what she needed to hear in order to keep her grounded. You want to hate him so much but that was a great thing he did for her. He may be a jerk but he really cares for Izzy. Alright, enough of this, it is all too emotional ;-)

Now is time for the Nina update....Nina was supposed to be home yesterday but she still is not and I haven't heard from her yet. Can't say that I am not a little worried because this was supposed to be a short day job but I do know things run over all the time in her business. It just sucks though because she has very little time at home as it is and this break for her is going to be ridiculously short. Maybe 2 weeks tops, she'll be spending at home before another 4-5 week job. That is not nearly enough time to relax, get your head together and just enjoy the normalcy. Plus we were hoping to take a little weekend trip somewhere to just chill. I know she was stoked about that. It is really hard for her to have a normal life with this job. I know she misses her friends and her doggie and most of all her bed! Hopefully, she will be home soon.

A little bit of salsa and a little bit of running

Friday evening was the Fiesta Brevard Salsa Festival at the Holiday Inn in Cocoa Beach. We had gone last year and had a blast so we figured we would try again. Nina and Jill were supposed to come with Rene' and I but Jill had to work and Nina had to go back out on the boat again for a short trip. Her job is getting out of control but we will cover that later. Anywho, Rene', Grady and I decided to go. It is such a fun thing and people really seem to enjoy the atmosphere, music and of course all the tasty salsa you can sample. The ticket was $10 and you also got 2 food tickets too with it. I opted for a taco and burrito, mmm yummy. Here is Rene' and Grady chowing down on their grub. There was also all the charity groups and a few vendors there doing raffles and giving away some great prizes. Unfortunately, none of us won anything :-( Here is a pic of me on a giant dog belonging to one of the vendors (I fear after I sat on the baby cow one time, I will forever have to mount any large animal, human, etc that is nearby). The only thing that I was a little put off by at the Fest was the fact that you could get a margharita every 10 feet but forget it, if you wanted a water. Rene' and I had to search high and low to find water for sale and needless to say, ended up paying $3 a bottle at the hotel bar! Strange right, with all that salsa around there was on alcholic beverages for sale. They were tasty but we weren't drinking (pity, I know) because Saturday morning we had a 5K to run.

Speaking of the Run for the Gecko 5K, Rene' and I did awesome! We improved our overall time by 9 minutes from the previous race and we couldn't be happier about it. I mean true, the top racers can do it in like 15 min (Insane!) but our 37 minute time was a great accomplishment. I actually kept a much higher pace than I am used to so I wouldn't slow Rene's long legs too much. It was a good morning and we were totally psyched about it. Can't wait for the next one!

Ok, so back to an earlier subject, Nina's reatrded job. Alright, the job is not retarded (it is actually super cool) but the people running the company she works for. She has been gone close to 6 weeks now and she was originally supposed to return May 7 but ended up leaving on the following day to go out for another short 5 day job. She was not keen on that but she figured if she did this for them then they would leave her alone for like a month until she had to go back out again for a long trip. Wrong! She was supposed to be home late last night and she called me from the airport to tell me she was on her way home. Too good to be true. Not 2 minutes later she calls back and tells me she is going out again until Tuesday! Ok, this is getting friggin' ridiculous! There is no one else who can go out on these jobs?!? She is pissed and now they tell her she is going out on a long job May 31. That gives her only about 2 weeks home before she has to go out for like 5 weeks. How is this girl supposed to have a life or meet a guy or anything with a sense of normalcy? I know she loves what she is doing but I really wish her boss would stop taking advantage of that because sooner or later I fear Nina may go postal and take out all the whales!

I have been sucked in!

Ok, so I was never much of a TV watcher but this past season of shows has kept me completely relying on my DVR (the greatest invention ever) as if it were a life line. I cannot live without Grey's Anatomy, LOST, a little American Idol and slightly embarassed to say it, Gilmore Girls (I blame Nina for that one). What am I going to do now that all these shows are having their season finales and will be off all summer. Clever ploys like cliff hangers will only enrage me more over the summer. However, we know I will be glued to the TV when the season opener comes on in September!
So, LOST was on last night and I think there are only 2 or 3 more episodes left. They have finally started really advancing the plot line and creating even more questions within the show. It is driving me insane! It is the good insane though like the crack a junkie cannot live without. I can't believe Ana Lucia and Libby are both dead, and before they could tell anyone that Michael was the one who shot them. Infuriates me! Yet, I must know more. This show is just too good for words and just when they are about to lose audience they go all out and start killing people. I cannot wait for the next one. Rene' has even hooked me on to a Hanso Foundation website and check out the LOST message board too. I feel like such a nerd but at least I am not alone on that one ;-)

Cinco De Mayo

Friday was Cinco de Mayo and in honor of our Mexican hertitage we had to drink it up. Rene', Jill and myself went to Cantina Dos Amigos in Indiatlantic for a little celebration. They normally have a good size fiesta where they block off their parking lot and bring in a band. How could we resist that? Yummy margaritas and tequilla shot girls topped off the evening. Grady met us up there and a good time was had by all. We were also able to get inside to eat a little mexican fare as well, which is always tasty. I fear I drank a little too much. Saturday morning was no fun getting up. I cannot drink hard alcohol like I used too. Makes me feel old.
We lots of people there that we have not seen in a while and others who were just characters. My old neighbor Larry was there with his brother Lee and his girlfriend. It was nice to see all of them. We also encountered a guy named Clay who is an aquaintence we seem to see out and about every once and while. I especially loved the group of folks dressed up like happy little Mexicans. However, the best part of the evening was when Grady won a frozen T-shirt contest and walked away with a bottle of tequilla!
After Cantina we all decided to head on down to Main Street Pub in downtown Melbourne for a little after party fun. It was a good time and there was a fine looking gentleman there Rene', Jill and I couldn't help but drool at. And guess who was actually was drunk enough to go talk to him? Me, go figure. Of course nothing came of it because I was too flustered by his "hotness" to do anything but, boy was he nice to look at. So all in all a fun evening that produced a not so fun next day. I guess that is some testiment to a successful night!

Smokey Morning

I am the weenie of the day today at work, which basically means I have to be here around 7 am to bring up the system. No problem right? Well, I stepped out of the house this morning and was awakened by the foul and acrid smell of charbroiled trees. It was almost unbearable when I took the dogs out. My eyes were watering and I could not stop sneezing. I got ready for work and didn't even put on the news or radio this morning. Probably should have because we have some serious smoldering brush fires and they have wreaked havoc on the traffic situation in Brevard. The two major roadways everyone takes anywhere (I-95 and SR-528) were closed because visibility was nil and countless accidents have occurred. Wow, did I wish I knew this before I left. I normally take US-1 to work but since all the roads are closed, everyone else wanted to take that road too. Great! The wind shifted and now everyone is thrown for a loop. Needless to say I was still able to make it to work at a reasonable time (albeit late), but as I sit here writing this many people I work with are still not at work yet. Stuck in gridlock is never a fun place to be. Man, we need some serious rain here. Do your rain dance!

On another subject, let me vent a little about this. Rene' and I were discussing this yesterday and I am sure she will vent her opinion about this too. I think everyone feels similar on this. I think gift cards that expire are the stupidest thing I have ever heard of. You pay these restaurants, retail stores, Spas, etc. all this money to put on a little piece of plastic that you will eventually spend at their stores. So, the fact that they expire is basically enabling this money to become contingent on time. What!?! Money contingent on time? It is my money (or your friends) and it has the same value as any other dollar. In fact, mister man, you already have my money; let me spend it at your store when I should so choose. Let me tell you about the most recent encounter I have had with this situation. I received a spa gift card from my ex for my graduation. Well, time goes by, I put it in a cabinet and then we break up, I move out and cannot find it before I move. The funny part is that I actually looked for it. Well, he eventually finds it and brings it over to me. Well, crap it expired like 3 months ago. Perfect! I decide I am going to call the spa and plea my case. It takes them 5 days to get back to me and I get 2 phone calls from it. The first from Becca (a woman claiming she is the general manger) saying there is nothing she can do for me. Basically, she is telling me "we have your money, ha ha!" and that I am a big moron for not using it when I had the chance. Too bad. Ok, so I am pissed but what can I do right, I have already whined and cried. I get a call yesterday from the apparent real GM named Andy. He made me work for it but he extended the gift card for a month and no more. He made sure he was very clear on that. I just wanted to go off on him. I mean, you already have the money. Now it is your turn to provide a service. I guess everyone wants something for nothing. Oh, wait, I do. I think I am done with this for now ;-)

Another weekend...

This past weekend Rene' and I went to Redhead's at Port Canaveral for a friend, Mary Beth's birthday. Our new friend Grady met up with us there. The kid is really fun and the perfect guy friend. He is not up our butts the whole time but he is always making sure we are doing ok. The more we hang out with him, the more we like him. Here is a picture of him, myself and his monkey. Rene' even had the cute guy we were staring at totally hit on her. He politely asked me if he could borrow her for 10 mintues and by all means buddy, give my girl a thrill. Apparently he was a bit of a tool though. He got all serious talking and weird. Man, beauty and no brains. The night was ultimately a good time. A little dancing, a little drinking and lots of laughs.
So, on another note, I have been asked to participate in a most incredible event this century. It is the wedding of Jessica and Ken. I know, how did I get so lucky?! I am just that cool. Jess thinks she is going to turn into Bridezilla. I find that hard to imagine. In fact she is so on the ball already with all this wedding planning that she should have very little to worry about. Her is her choice of dress right now. I love it and think it is so simple and elegant. I can't wait to see what it looks like on her.