finally, I have news...

Last week, I moved into a flat and bought a car. I have my own space to call mine and a means of transportation that does not rely on when everyone else is going somewhere I'd like/need to go. :)

...when in Texas...

5 minutes from Mexico

Matamoros, Mexico is the sister city to Brownsville. Literally speaking, the museum is a five minute walk to the bridge to get to Matamoros. The US Consulate's house is about five more minutes just off the main drag once you get into Matamoros. Why I was in Matamoros...at all. There was a concert at the US Consulate's house that was pulled together by Fernando Zamora (one of the BHA programs people) and he had 10 invites to pass out to members of the board, and his family/friends he thought would enjoy the event. Rhi and I were pretty much the only 'not quite adults' on the invite list. AKA: he wanted someone he could talk to at the event. Basically the who's who of Matamoros was invited and about 80% of the invited actually came to the event.

Now, why am I even doing a post on this whole thing. Good question. Considering I've been to more dangerous places in Bahrain. This was a walk in the park for me. We were escorted by black suits with Ray Bands and ear pieces--it kind of felt like overkill. But it proved to be a great excuse and a bit of a realization that I'm never going to be an adult...so why bother trying.

...when in Texas...

Texas State Aquarium..

I was greeted by happy looking sting rays, birds, etc. But this was one of my best shots of the bunch!

If you look closely, you'll find a lot of sea horses...

I found Nemo! ... and Dory!

Dolphin show!

And the otters! Always a personal favorite at the zoo or aquarium.

Tortuga!

USS Lexington

Welcome to the business end of an engine...

This engine to be precise!

Even flight decks come with warnings... Some more important than others...

Lots of knots! and some of them I could ID pretty easily!

But because somehow along the line, I had an epic fail, I ended up in the brig with Rhiannon.

Easter weekend recap...

We had a 4-day weekend at the BHA for Good Friday through Easter Monday (which we'd normally have off anyway). So, Good Friday the collective we slept all day, Saturday I did laundry kind of things (and was slightly productive on jewelry type things), Sunday we tried to go to Mass at a really nice cathedral down the road from us--it was a bust...the room was a bit packed and the service was in Spanish...needless to say, I can do the Mass in Latin and English but that's about as good as I get when it comes to a religious ceremony not my own. Then Monday, oh did I love Monday. Fernando (fellow BHA staff member), Rhiannon (room mate/BHA staff member/friend), and I all hopped into Rhi's car and drove all the way to Corpus Christi to the USS Lexington museum and the Texas State Aquarium. Pictures will be posted some time in the relatively near future. I had a great time and it was a much needed 'field trip'.

This week we are all back to the grind stone. 


...When in Texas...

3.14

Happy Pi Day!

Now for those out there in internet land who don't know--I'm not a math geek. I am however a classicist. Pi is one of the letters of the Ancient Greek alphabet and today is 3/14...or in math terms 3.14 (π).

The Ancient Greek philosophers had this thing with math and the divine. Somehow they figured out that a number relatively equal to 3.14 would help us figure out the dimensions of circles and spheres. How they figured this out is beyond me and my 26 year old gray matter processor. However, the Ancient Greek philosophers were also responsible for things like figuring out the space between notes in music, the golden ratio, and the foundations of the Fibonacci sequence as seen in nature. So, Happy Pi Day and thank you Ancient Greek philosophers--if it weren't for you, I'd likely have no random bits of useless knowledge to make me sound interesting.

...when in Texas...

Winter?

I walked out the flat this morning not wearing a jacket! I walked into work happy to have the nice weather. It got nicer as the day went on. :) For reasons beyond me, I find warm weather to be most pleasing. 80 degrees is perfect weather for the likes of me.

Work is as always--quite entertaining and interesting. the BHA facebook page has been periodically updated and most recently, Charlie Barkeep has gotten a facebook page. Charlie Barkeep is one of the two manikins at the Crixell Saloon in the museum. He's something of a fly on the wall and a silent witness to all of the programs and the like.

...when in Texas...