Democratic Debate Hoo-Haa

I voted in the primaries today...Obama of course. I'm not going to go into a political spiel because there are plenty of highly opinionated blogs out there that do that with much more eloquence. Instead I'm going to share with you yet another example of why I love working where I do.

Some of you may or may not know that Hillary and Obama had a face off on Thursday at the University of Texas at Austin, my alma mater and my current place of employment. Sure, it's a state job, but nothing beats the benefits---flexible hours, decent steady pay, free classes, and best of all, the cool and exciting things that happen on campus year round...lectures, concerts, festivals and other events. The debate was no exception.

Even though neither T nor I got picked from the lottery entries to watch the debate live, we still got to take in the debate excitement on campus. He took a few photos to document the hubbub.

First off, from the wee hours of the day before news crew had already congregated themselves outside of the Rec Center.



In addition, the number of "inconspicuous" black sedans cruising around campus and people who look like Scully and Mulder suddenly multiplied:



The Student Union held a debate screening party in the grand ballroom, but due to security reasons, only the first 1000 people were allowed in. Let me tell ya, this debate was hotter than a rock show! It warms the heart to see number that rival a boy band concert. Many people waited several hours to get a spot. The line kept going..



and going...


and going...


Needless to say, either T nor I got into this event, but that's okay because up the hill we got to mingle with a bunch of supporters who surrounded the building where Hillary and Obama were having their debate:



I loved these Warhol-esque ones of Obama:


In fact the bulk of the signage was impressive...backwards and forwards. :)







Not sure why T decided to take pictures from behind as well, but I figured I'd post them anyway.

By far the best sign though...



This is when I suddenly remembered that there are indeed other parties that run in the presidential race. Heh.

A couple of others:




Seeing all this restores my faith that young people are still fired up by politics.

Happy Holidays 2007! and the new Speakers

If you're not offended....Merry Christmas!



Amazingly, it only took 2 takes to get this photo. Etouffee and Brown Dog are just so easy going!

Now onto the materialistic post. This is the big ticket item we got for ourselves this year:

New Speakers and Sub Woofer
T and I got this for ourselves because the old speakers which we inhereted from my dad died about 4 months back. Let me tell you, I about to shrivel up and die without my music. We found a pair at Fry's on sale and for holiday promo, it came with a sub-woofer. JBro, who came down for the holidays, came over and helped optimize the output (The way I had things initially set up caused the sweet spot to somehow converge near the refrigerator...not bad, for me at least, but certainly not idea for everyone else).

We discovered something amusing though. Being somewhat hasty, T and I just rant into Fry's and purchased the best thing we could afford that sounded good (in the store) without giving much though to the fact that our house is only 2000 sq feet...that is to say we bought speakers which a weee bit too powerful. Sure, across a massive electronics warehouse this is fine, but you lug those puppies into the home and we suddenly have club Chang-Fricke' going here. The columns themselves are about my height. What's even funnier though is that if you even turn up the sub-woofer a notch, the floor shakes so much it causes the CD player to skip.

Anyhow, we're fiddling with it still. For classical music it's just okay. Not enough mid range. Josh Groban and Joshua Bell sound somewhat decent although perhaps several hundred feet away up on stage. Trent sounds like he breathing down your neck while The Kings of Convenience and Abra Moore are serenading you on the couch. Benny Bennassi is rumbling inside of you. Hands down the set up is best for dance and techno music at the moment.

My brother and I spent many hours swapping out CDs and listening to much late last night. It was a lovely bonding session. I have a feeling T's ears were driving him mad but hey...they're new stereo speakers!

Mary and Josh's Gothic Wedding

Can you tell these two have known each other since 10th grade? That's seventeen years.

So, as you can imagine we are all incredibly happy when the two of them finally tied the knot. Some of us flat out forgot that they weren't already married!

T and I took turns with the camera capturing the images of the splendid day. Every wedding is unique and each is beautiful in its own way. I feel like its been ages since I've gone to a gothic one (we are, after all, getting older) so what a splendid surprise it was to see Mary and Josh embrace their younger days with their ceremony at the Umlauf Sculpture Gardens in Austin, TX.

The groom in his glorious guy-liner:


Cassandra was the master of ceremony:


Guests waiting.


That's Kate and her man, Joel on the right:


My dapper hubby and dear friend Lisa:


Lisa bringing Juliet to Lee, her husband. I love how the child stands out as a red spot amongst a sea of black:


Mary walking in with her dad:


Exchange of vows (Josh said at one point "I also promise to buy you a lot of pretty things..."):


Ring Exchange:


The Kiss:


And a big hug...


From many people...


Mary and Josh picked an Indian restaurant to cater the food. That was just divine!


Cake cutting:


Cake eating:


Cake flinging:


More pics...





Milo:


Milo with his parents "Special Blue" Jennifer and Kevin:


Ross (Juliet's dad) giving me a celebratory kiss:


Troy and me:


Juliet:


Juliet with her mom, Cassandra as Lisa looks on in the background:


Juliet with her dad, Ross:




Lisa with Juliet:


Lee with Juliet:


A very festive Stacy:


Rothko and Matt:


Angie's hair:


Jason and Sarah:


Kitsune and Syd:


Kitsune and me:


Shannon and Xian with their son Devin:


Darlin Hubby:


Ross trying to entertain Juliet:


A bunch of us decorating the car:






Happily ever after...if they've been together for 17 years already, I think they're probably going to stay together for a bit more longer.