TV – Puzzle I Am

God blessed Texas with his own hand, brought down angels from the promised land

It’s hard to believe that it’s been 20 years since I was sitting on a fence at legendary Southfork Ranch, Ewing Mansion in the background; lucky enough to be an extra in the video for “God Blessed Texas” by Little Texas. It seems like it was maybe just 3-5 years ago – a bit further back than feeling like “it was just yesterday”, but still much closer than 20 years ago.

It was a gorgeous day in the mid-90°s, plenty of sunshine without being too hot. I was near Dealey Plaza Park in downtown Dallas, waiting to meet a friend, and then the two of us were going to head to the Fort Worth Zoo. While I was waiting for her, the country station I was listening to mentioned that Little Texas was at South Fork Ranch filming a video, and that they needed more people to be in the crowd, so to “come on down!”. I was frustrated, because I definitely wanted to go, but I already had plans for the day. A few minutes later, my friend paged me and after finding a pay phone to call her back, she let me know she wasn’t going to be able to make it. Talk about luck! I called another friend of mine, told her about the video shoot, and asked if she wanted to go with me — of course she was interested! I drove home, changed into more appropriate attire (thankfully I was working at a western wear store at the time, so I actually had “appropriate attire”), picked up my friend and headed up to Southfork.

By the time we got there, they had finished up shooting under the Southfork gate, and were getting set up in the field in front of the mansion while the band had lunch inside the mansion. My friend and I were directed to the fence just behind the make-shift stage, and told to sit there. From there, it standard video filming. They play the song, everyone performing/clapping/playing their part, then do it all over again to get more film from different angles. We spent a few hours out on that fence before we were released, and I loved every second of it.

When the video aired a month or two later, I was very happy to be able to spot myself multiple times in the background of shots. I was wearing some very bright turquoise Rockies at the shoot, and they made it very easy to find me.

It may be 20 years later, but this is still a very treasured memory; my one tiny claim to “fame”.

Continue reading “God blessed Texas with his own hand, brought down angels from the promised land”

Oh what can it mean to a daydream believer…

Back when I was a kid, MTV used to air The Monkees, and my brother and I absolutely loved the show. I always had the HUGEST crush on Davy – he was just too fricken adorable for words.

Then, in 1986 (I forget the exact date), mom & dad took my brother and I to our very first concert: The Monkees. I believe it was their first reunion tour, and the concert was after a Texas Rangers game, back at the (long-since demolished) Arlington Stadium. The Grass Roots, Gary Puckett & The Union Gap, and Herman’s Hermits opened for them. That was an absolutely amazing show, and got me hooked on concerts – I’ve since attended well over 300 concerts.

July 4, 1996 was my second Monkees concert, at Six Flags over Texas, with Tara Hammond. We had third row seats on the side, but the way the rows angled, it was pretty much front row. During one song, we were dancing, and Davy spotted us, pointed, and then started imitating us. That’s one of those moments that will forever be in my memory.

RIP Davy. You are missed.

I should be sleeping ‘stead of keeping these late hours I’ve been keeping

I miss the days when I was able to write about almost anything. Days when I actually had something to say.. even if it was a bunch of nothing. Ha.

I was going through more photos over the past few days or so, and I’m seriously missing “the olden days”. I wish the PBPs were still happening – I miss getting to see a vast majority of my friends, all at once, every year. Even if I did always spend too money much on those trips.

I finished school the day before Thanksgiving. I updated the last grades post with my results for the last module, but needless to say, I rocked it. I ended up graduating with a 99.7 overall average. Whee!

Finishing school, though, was the easy part. Now comes the tough part, of actually finding a job, and attempting to do so in a crappy job market. I’ve applied with a few temp agencies, but so far nada. I got a phone call the other day, but I was indisposed and unable to get to my phone, and the person calling did not leave a message. I googled the number, and found it belonged to one of the temp agencies. I called back .. but because the caller didn’t leave a message, the receptionist couldn’t help me. So… I’m screwed there, and have to hope they call back.

I really don’t like looking for work. I don’t know what I’m doing, to be honest. Everything is so different now, than it was the last time I was looking for work. I love the internet, and am online constantly.. but using the net to help me find a new job seems somehow … daunting. It’s weird not to just hit the classified ads in the newspaper, and having everything neatly laid out, instead of having to search jobs by keywords, and hope you’re entering the right thing, and getting endlessly frustrated when all the jobs that come up don’t fit what I’m looking for. (Not that I really know what I’m looking for, anyway!) And 9 times out of 10, the listings end up focusing on pure data entry — and I can’t DO straight data entry any more, thanks to my chronic tendonitis. I don’t know. I guess it just seems so much more complicated now, what with all the different sites and matching keywords and blah; even though I’m sure there’s access to more job listings this way. I’ll figure it all out. Eventually.

A week or two ago, AA offered a nice, cheap fare to Vancouver. Oh how I wanted to go! But, alas, it was completely booked by the time I glanced at the prices. (Plus, well, I’d feel weird going by myself & without Emily. And I can’t really afford to splurge on another BIG trip like that again until after I’ve found work.) But. I mentioned to my mom about the cheap fare — and her response was “It’s too bad it was booked. You could’ve gone up and tried to see if you could go on job interviews while you’re up there.” She also said she was surprised I hadn’t been looking for work up/looking to move up there. Oh how I would if I could, especially if Em would move out there with me, too. 😉 Aside from the worries about 1) being alone in a new city and 2) finding a job & supporting myself .. I don’t know how I’d go about getting a work visa and being able to work in Canada. I’m sure I could find someone to help me, but it’s still a bit mind-boggling. Plus, well, if I moved to Canada – I’d really prefer to be in Toronto, near Emily. And, my knees can’t handle cold or snow in the winter.

Hmm. I likely should head to bed. I didn’t intend to be up this late.