Friday, May 30, 2008

It's Joey's Fault

Okay, so after reading Joey's glowing review of being fitted for a bra at Nordstrom's, I decided that I,too, must do this. Bras have not been feeling good lately...not that they ever really have. I felt that it would be a really nice thing to do for myself for my birthday. (I celebrate my birthday all week, since it usually occurs around a holiday weekend.) Today, I finally went to Nordstrom's. I try to avoid the mall as much as possible, but I had a free Aveda gift for my birthday to pick up anyway and I wanted to get my eyebrows threaded--more on that later.

But, I digress...we're talking about bras. Turns out, I've been wearing the right size bra all along. I've worn nothing but Victoria's Secret for at least 10 years. I've been very unsatisfied with their bras lately. I tried on several at Nordstrom's and fell in love with another brand. Talk about comfort! (Wacoal) Anyway, after picking out a few bras and matching panties (you have to have at least one matching panty for every bra--there are occasions where it matters!), I ended up spending over $350. I also ended up with a new Platinum Visa card. Definitely Joey's fault.

Off I went to Aveda to get my free gift. Picked up a couple of other things as well. Spent over $80. Yep...Joey's fault, because, like I said, I usually don't go to the mall at all.

I found the eyebrow threading place. I highly recommend this--Joey; then you can blame me for outrageous mall expenditures. She uses a device that's a combination string/rubber band. She just rolls it over your brow and pulls them out. It did occasionally feel like I was being thwacked by a rubber band on the brow, but I love the shape of my brows now. I never could pluck them this well and I hate what waxing does to my skin.

So, all told today, I did end up spending over $400. I feel so pretty though!

And it's all Joey's fault.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Why We Hate Filthy Rich People

I usually ignore a lot of celebrity gossip, but something caught my eye today that just epitomizes the separation between those that have and those that have not:

It was a story about 2 celebrities, that--frankly--I've never heard of. Heidi Montag & Spencer Pratt. I have no idea who these people are, but it's quite obvious that they have too much money for their own good. It seems they had dinner somewhere with a bill that totaled $783. $720 of that bill was shots of tequila at $60/shot. SERIOUSLY???? Even the best tequila isn't worth $60/shot. I bet if you had set a half-way decent $10 shot of tequila in front of them, they wouldn't have been able to tell the difference.

Their tequila of choice was Patron. It didn't say what kind of Patron, but I know that you and I can go to Spec's and buy the most expensive bottle of Patron for $483--$460 if I pay with cash. That's a 50-shot bottle. $60 a pop and I've got $3000. Maybe I should be selling this stuff on my balcony. You and I can get a really good bottle of Patron for $60 at Spec's--the Anejo is really good.

But, I digress. Their--no doubt, harried--server at this restaurant, received a whopping tip of...sixteen dollars. Yes--$16.
Now, as a former waitress, I must shout out my outrage at this affront. Even the worst server gets 10% from me, because I know what they're working for and what they're going through to get that pittance of a salary. And believe me, one has to be really bad to just get 10% from me. $16 is 2% of that bill. The bartender typically gets 5% of the bar tab. The server wasn't even tipped 5%!

So, this is why we hate filthy rich people. It's not that we're jealous of their fortunes. I know that all that money can't buy all the happiness and love in the world, and that's what is really important in life. We hate them because of the absolute wastefulness. Really? Even if you had $60, would you spend it on a shot of tequila? $720 and they could have bought almost 2 bottles of the most expensive stuff. Or maybe they could have given it to any of 12 dozen charity organizations. Or maybe they could sponsor a child in a starving country. Maybe they could FEED HAITI. You know--that place where people are making cookies out of mud just to survive!

What pees me off most about these people, is they have absolutely no clue what the actual value of a dollar is. And we just keep giving them more.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

And A Good Time Was Had By All...

My daddy came to town last week. This is a big event, given that I have lived in Texas 19 years and he has been down all of 5 times!

He and my stepmother, Miriam, stayed at the Doubletree downtown. I know! How awful that I didn't let them stay here! Look, my dad is allergic to cats, so believe me, he was much better off. Plus, if he had stayed here, he wouldn't have been able to witness such spectacular storms! Nothing happened here in South Austin. The first night, he watched lightening hit the Capital (off their lightening rods). The second night, he couldn't see the Capital anymore, but he sure could see huge pieces of hail and every piece of downtown debris you can think of flying past his 10th story window. So nice for Austin to give him a show.

Wednesday night, we went to Ruth's Chris. OMG!!!!! Nobody is lying when they say it's the best steak you will ever eat in a restaurant. Talk about done to perfection! I like my steak medium-well, and it was that and it still melted in my mouth. Well worth the $$$$$$!

I also met a second cousin, who happens to live in town. His name is Jason. My dad and his mom were very close when they were younger; it was driving them crazy that their kids lived in the same city and didn't even know each other. He's about my age and works a lot in the local music business. Ironic, considering that I went to school for music business stuff. Anyway, we're acquainted now and we'll see where it goes from there.

Dad and I went to see the last Longhorn baseball game of the season together. My usual seat-mate had to go out of town for a wedding, so she gave me her ticket. We beat the Aggies handily! My dad can come to a game anytime! The Aggies have been playing much better than we have this season, but we still managed to sweep them. Aggies SUCK!!! (Except when they become Veterinarians). We had a good time at the game. It was fun going with him. He always took me to Cubs games. I bought him a Longhorn baseball hat, since I wouldn't let him wear his IU baseball hat to the game.

They had to leave early Saturday morning, but even though the visit was short it was well-spent. Hopefully, the next time they come down, I'll have a house with no carpet and they can stay with me. Me buying a house is something we've been talking about. They were going to help me buy property in Colorado, but now I think it would be more prudent to have them help me buy a house. It's time I became a grown up.

Maybe......