More Texas Tailgate highlights

So here is me and my girl K having a great time during our Texas Tailgate.



Texas Tailgates are like big parties - and what's a party without a DJ? When was the last time you were jammin in the parking lot?



A tricked out school bus - all ready for the party!




And if you need emergency services, you'll find the EMT's right next to the beer coolers in the tricked out EMT vehicle. Nothing like having a full service tailgate party.

Yes, there is a contest and the various tailgate parties are judged. This group won for the 2004 football season. Who knew?

Now you're back in the television viewing section of our own tailgate. I'm sure the lady on the right woul have appreciated my taking her photo at that angle. Oops!

Another fabulous tailgate scene. Fun, Fun Fun!

OK so you know I'm an AV girl - I could not help but appreciate the complete LCD package with the tripod screen to show the game on TV. That's the neat part about the tailgates here in Houston - the tailgate parties are more fun than actually going to the game. We had more fun, better food and more comfortable seats at the tailgate than in the stadium.

I had so much fun that me and my sweetie B are heading back to Houston at the end of Dec for the Bears vs Texans game. It seemed only right that my sweetie enjoy the festivities, too. Later, all.

Texas Tailgatin' - a whole new concept

Hi everyone.
In October, three of my girlfriends and I went to Houston for a Texans game. WOW - what a blast! Those folks in Texas really know how to tailgate!

So here is the tailgate that my best friend K and her husband J participate in and we were honored guests!

So then we stopped by the budweiser sponsored tailgate and got to try some beverages. Here is K having a BLAST!

So here is another shot of the tailgate area that we were in. Believe me, we had A BALL!!!

Now talk about taking it to a whole other level - how about having a live band at your next tailgate party? Party is an accurate way to describe the parking lot outside Reliant Stadium.

Crawfish anyone?

It just smelled heavenly. Anyway, there are more photos to share but it's easier to do so in a new post.

I'm so glad the election is OVER!

Hi everyone.

Yes, I'm behind on blogging. Don't yell, don't fuss, know that I'm working on getting back into the swing of things. And, blogging is one of them.

While I am happy about the outcome of the presidential election, LORD KNOWS that I'm so happy it is over. The campaign just seemed to seep into my unconciousness as well as into my daily conciousness! It was all we heard about every day! Quite frankly, it's almost (stressing ALMOST) like a huge void in the news now that we're not on candidate watch. Some really boring news stories have now surfaced since they have to fill at least 7 minutes that was dedicated to candidate watch.

The cool part is that I found some really neat blogs to read that are pretty interesting. www.averagebro.blogspot.com is a fun one. There are a few others, as well. Maybe I'll share them later on.

So, travel is still a constant in life. Went to Orlando in early Nov. Went on my 4th (yes, fourth) trip to Seattle in late October for a site with another client. I head to DC about three times in the next two weeks (ho hum) but it's all good. At the end of the year, Boyfriend and I are headed to Houston for the Bears vs Texans game. That should be FUN!!! Speaking of I still have to put up my tailgate pics from my Oct trip to Houston. Too much fun!!!

Anyway, life is busy but good. It could be worse. Boyfriend is looking for a new gig so if any of you know of some good stuff in Chicago for a mechanic-type dude who can also manage properties, let a sista know.

Posting in Krygyze...

So the fight still goes on and I am having fun hanging out on Tyrone's computer. So my brother B is in the Peace Corp and is in this Euro-Asia country called Krygzstan. So, he sent us a way to send him a text msg online that goes straight to his phone. I just tried to text him while he's on vacation. I hope he's having a good time and rec'd my text. I hope he lists it on his blog that he got it. We'll see what happens. I have YET to send him his birthday care package. AT the rate I am going, it will become a birthday and Christmas care package. Ah well, I had the best of intentions. Wow, the fight is now going into the 12th round. This old man Hopkins is getting better hits in that the young one but we'll see if he wins.

Cherai at a fight party? Who woulda thunk it?

Well, here I am on a Saturday night watching Hopkins vs Pavlic on Pay Per View. Now you KNOW that I did not pay for it - right? I'm not really much of a boxing fan but my personal trainer is also a fighter and he's been inviting me to his fight parties for a while now. The timing just never worked out until tonight AND Boyfriend B wanted to go so.....we came on out. Too fun!
Anyway, so here I am. The only girl with five guys watching the fight. AHA, another dude just came and he brought his newlywed wife so now it's two girls and six guys. Too daggone funny. We were playing poker during the undercard fights. I was doing well but lost it on the last hand. I had two pair but T had a full house and took ALL my money. :=(
Oh well, it was fun and since the money was invisible....we were just playing for fun so...it was not too bad.
So, it's only 16 days until the election. Thank Goodness! Boyfriend B said that we're blacking out all the 24 hour news channels for at least 2 months b/c we are sick of watching them and being glued getting election news. It will be interesting to see what happens on Nov 5th.....

OK, let me get going and pay attention. I' m holding all the $$ for the bets since I'm the neutral party. It's fun, though.

I've yet put to put up the photos from my trip to Houston to go to the Texans vs Dolphins game. What a BLAST that was! Those Texan fans know how tailgate - big time. Stay tuned!

Is there something the major (and minor) news networks are NOT telling us about the economy?

Hi everyone.

This blog is normally for updates on what's going on with me with regards to work life, home life, social life, etc. Occasionally you'll hear when I'm in a good mood, a bad mood, etc. And I also share cool news of family and friends as mostly the folks that read this (that I know of) are family, friends, and a few random folks who chime in every now and again. It's been interesting to hear from new acquaintences who share their blog info and then we keep in touch.

Well, today, I am VERY concerned. I have some very definite concerns regarding the current US economic situation. What we see on the news networks is VERY scary - very scary. But what I found out today....is that what we're NOT SEEING ONTHE NEWS NETWORKS IS EVEN SCARIER!!!

A very good friend and soror of mine sent me an email that I will copy in its entirety below. Before you read it, though, please know that this is NOT AN INTERNET HOAX, MYTH OR JOKE. It is the truth based on her experiences and communications with others. Here is her email to me below:


Subject: I have been told by my child all week that there is no gas in Nashville.

Well, I have been doing a little research and she is correct. Gas is drying up all over the south.

I have a friend with daughter at FAMU and they have had difficulty getting gas for the last 2 weeks. Gas prices have gone as high as $6 / gallon.

In Nashville about 60% of the gas stations are closed because they have no gas. Those that are opened are having police patrols to reduce minor crimes, direct traffic and reduce the anxiety of frantic consumers who now have to stand in line over 30 minutes to get gas that is now being rationed out.

I spoke to a soror in Houston on Friday who was quite frazzled. She wanted me to let everyone know that the news stations are supressing information. Most of Houston and Galvaston are still without electricity. Food and water are scarce and gasoline is almost non existent. She has been unable to work since a few days before the storm. Banks are closed and ATMs are not working. Grocery store shelves are bare and because there is not gasoline, those that are there have nowhere to go. She said, "You cannot imagine how bad it is."

I spoke to another soror in Ohio who works for a Bank and has been commuting to the South (not just Texas) attempting to assist consumers who have no access to funds because Banks are closed due to lack of power.

I have spoken to a couple of my past coworkers at Bank of America who were traders. They tell me the fallout on Wall Street is much worse than what you are hearing on the news. There is more to come in the coming weeks. Big business is trying to hold out until after the election. But it probably is too much to bear.

Please guys, spread the word and remember this. Make sure EVERYONE you know is registered to vote and goes to the polls. PLEASE! Do not forget this in November.

*************************************************************************************
So I sent the above email to my entire email network with some editorial comments from yours truly:

The email below came from a friend and a soror (sorority sister – Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc,) of mine who is the REAL DEAL and a highly respected businesswoman. It came directly to me from my friend so I am the first one forwarding it out to my network. So, please know that this email is NOT a joke; or a myth; or an internet rumor. And one of my best friends (from junior high school) who LIVES IN HOUSTON just responded to my email and confirmed that what was said below about Houston is true as she was just able to return to her home in Houston this past Saturday (still with no power).

I’m sharing this email with you to expand your awareness (if you’re not in these affected areas). And, to ask that you check with your friends, family and other folks in these areas mentioned below as well as those who work in the financial markets to find out the truth – as best you can. And as she states in the bottom of the email, remember this situation (not likely we’re going to forget the situation we, as a country and even as a world, are in within the next 40 days) and vote. Vote your conscience and your convictions (of course) but open your eyes to determine how we got to this place and how this situation came to be (in the last eight years) and which of the two major party presidential candidates can assist in getting the USA on an even keel and create an even playing ground with access for ALL Americans. I’m not telling you who to vote for – just sharing information as THERE IS POWER IN INFORMATION – FULLY INFORMED INFORMATION.

*************************************************************************************
As I get more information and actual accounts from my colleagues and friends who are in the affected places or in the affected industries, I will share it here - and with others - in hopes that we can all get closer to the truth - whatever that looks like.

Don't worry - there will still be updates and fun stuff on here. However, this blogs reflects my feelings and right now, my feelings are of concern.

Regards to all!

MPI World Education Congress - Part Two

So for this hospitality industry conference for Meeting Professionals International, I had the pleasure of staying at the Mandalay Bay Hotel. While it meant a lot of walking to get from my hotel room to the meeting space where the Congress was taking place, it was a pretty nice hotel.

Here are some shots of the property:


Here is a shot of of the beach and pool area. Mandalay Bay has created its own man-made beach. It's pretty cool.


Here is a shot of the final night celebration. It's really cool (especially to an AV Geek) how they projected the logos of the sponsors onto the helium balloon.

Here is another shot of a different sponsor's logo on the balloon.

Here are a couple more shots of our booth from the tradeshow. It's kinda cool and kinda different so I wanted to share some new exhibit booth ideas.

More photos to come. Thanks for reading.

Labor Day 2008 Sailboat Cruise - More Photos

So these are not quite in "chronological" order but I'll do my best to describe what's going on.

Here is the actual lighthouse on the South Haven shore so that those sailing at night can find their way.

Here is the line of boats heading back into shore. It was about 6:00 pm at this point so folks were trying to get in before it started to get dark.

This is after we had gone under the bridge and were heading back into the docks. It was cool to see all the other boats and check out their names, etc. Some of the beach condos were really nice, as well.

All sailing vessels big and small were waiting for the drawbridge to let up so that they could dock their boats, jet-skis, etc. Those that were wmall enough to go under brige were great but those that were bigger with big sails etc, you had to wait as the drawbridge only went up on the hour and half hour marks. On the weekends, it's very busy in the town so the drawbride master was strict in how long he'll kee the bridge up. It's a trip.

Here are more pics of the shoreline and some of the GREAT houses along the lake. I want one when I grow up!

This is one of our sailing neighbors on their clipper ship. Is it not gorgeous? I had to take a photo.

our skipper leading LeCirque back into the boat slip. Isn't he great. he and Claudia were great hosts.
Here is yours truly enjoying herself out on the sailboat.

here is my sweetie - we're out on the front of the boat just chillin and taking in the scene on the lake.

Is Daddy having a good time or what?

And here is is my sweetie and I at the end of our cruise. Windswept and hair all over the place; however, a good time had b all. Hope you enjoyed our cruise. More photos to come.

Sailing on Lake Michigan on Labor Day Weekend

Hi everyone.

Hope you all have had a wonderful summer. Here are some photos from the Sunday of Labor Day Weekend. My Sweetie B and I joined my parents and their friends on a sail boat cruise on Lake Michigan. The sailboat Le Cirque is docked in South Haven, MI so B & I drove to Indiana, picked up the folks and then traveled another hour to South Haven. It was worth every second!
Enjoy the photos!

Here is Daddy and our host Claudia.

Mom is truly enjoying herself on the sailboat.

This is a photo from the front (I believe it's call the aft) of the sailboat. We're heading out from the dock into Lake Michigan.

Here is Yours truly, pretending (and let me stress PRETENDING) to steer the sailboat. Since I'm still here to tell you about this cruise, it's a good thing that that the captain really did the steering and just let me pose!

OK - so does Lake Michigan look peaceful or what? It was terrific. There are more photos that I will post.

Meeting Professionals International in Las Vegas

Well, in August, I was in Las Vegas working at the MPI World Education Congress. It was work but I also had a great time. Here is a shot of me working hard setting up my booth!

Here is a shot of our trade show booth for Projection. I helped choose the photograph we used on the booth backdrop and it totally was worth the extra money to do this. Unfortunately, the light was RIGHT above the booth so it distorts the shot a little bit. I'll see if I have some better shots so that you can see what we've been doing.

Now this show below is really cool - it's a fog/smoke screen that has the MPI logo projected onto the fog screen. You walked through the smoke screen and could see through it too. It was really neat!

OK, maybe I do work too hard if all I have are photos from work. Nah, that's not true. I work hard, that's true, but I just have to download my camera with the 200+ photos of non working hours.

Delta Sigma Theta Sorority 2008 National Convention

So I went to the Delta Convention in July 2008. The convention was held in Orlando, FL. I had a good time but it was busy.

I was so busy that I only got some shots of the general session room for my job as competitive intelligence on my Treo phone. So....I'll share these for now. There's more to share on that later on, and I will as soon as I download my photos from my digital camera.

I think I work too much. Here is another shot for competitive intelligence for work! Perhaps I need to get a life!

What's going on?

Hey everyone.

I'm sitting in a general session for the American Academy of Periodontology in Seattle, Washington. It's long but my client is happy; therefore, I'm happy.

Life has been ok. Not great, not bad, just ok. I've been in a funk for the past two months. Can't quite put my finger on what it is, exactly, but I've been in a funk. Unfortunately, that funk creates laziness and apathy to many other aspects of life - such as updating the blog. But, the good news is that I have LOTS of pictures to share of what's been going on so....in no particular order, I will share these photos with everyone and let you know what's been happening in the past few months.

I'm also happy to share that the funk seems to be rising - THANK GOODNESS -so that means that I will be doing a much better job of updating the blog. Phew!

Hugs to all,
Cherai

Yes, I know the blog is a bit behind...

Hello. I've been traveling and it's been busy so that's why you've not heard from me. Also, quite frankly, I've been a bit lazy, as well. Going through some mental stuff.....that has kinda been keeping me away from doing a lot of stuff. But, it's all good in the neighborhood overall so can't complain. I'm in Las Vegas right now attending the MPI PEC. http://www.mpiweb.org/ is the address to the organization. You can click on there and then check out info on the World Education Congress and then you'll see info about the conference I am attending.

OK, how do you make links with words as opposed to typing the boring website page address? If anyone knows how to do this, please do let me know.

As soon as I get a chance to download my photos, I'll share pics from my recent trip to Orlando and to this Vegas trip.

Hugs to all!

My brother B, The Peace Corp Volunteer

So I believe I mentioned before that my brother is now a member of the Peace Corps Volunteers. He is really excited about this opportunity in his life. I admire him greatly for his service and his sense of adventure. Didn't know he had it in him myself but it's great to know it's there and he's got the spirit and drive to make it happen. That's great.

Here is the website for the US Embassy for Krygzstan, the country that B is headed to as a Peace Corps Volunteer.

http://www.kgembassy.org/

This county is in Euro-Asia, as I believe it was part of the former Soviet Union. They speak Russian and a local dialect of the country. My family hopes to go and visit B before he comes home in two years to see what he's been doing. I'll have to save up my money to do that!

Columbia, MD

Well, today I find myself in Columbia, MD attending a company wide sales meeting. Today was a pretty good day as we had great training on our call accounting system. Now tomorrow may be an entirely different story as we are getting our reviews. I'll be interested to see what exactly my boss has written in her section about me. They had me do my section of the review three times so it will be interesting to see what she has to say. We've been having a tough time getting along lately (her insecurities have been showing their ugly head recently and I've not been very accommodating of those insecurities) so it will be interesting to see what it said. I'm working on going into the meeting tomorrow with an open mind and open to whatever she says with grace and humilty. They are not my strongest qualities; however, we'll work really hard on them.

So we're staying at this cute little Hilton Garden Inn in Columbia, MD. Fridge and microwave - I might be convinced to stay up here more often and get the Hilton points to boot! Hmmm, we'll have to see. And there are restaurant options close by too....................yahoo!

Say a prayer for me that I don't lose my cool tomorrow. Hugs to all.

There is exhausted, and then there is EXHAUSTED....

Hi ho everyone.

Wow, is June over yet? All I've done this month is work! Work with my day job, work with my sorority (well, helping a soror) and just working in general. The day job has really been a challenge as I had one more client program to work at the Chicago Hilton. Who knew that I would end up being Account Manager and Convention Services Manager as I lost my CS Manager. His son took a terrible fall that landed him in ICU with a broken wrist, broken jaw (in three places), busted teeth, collapsed lung and a host of other bruises and issues. So, he left us mid-show to go up with his wife (as he should and we were after him to get going the day it happened). Unfortunately, there was no one to replace him on the show so for a show that was already understaffed, we lost another management person so I was working 12 - 15 hour days (and surviving on 4 hours sleep for five nights) until the program ended on Thursday evening. Let's not even count that my client loved to make on-site changes that caused us to be running from sun up to sun down. It was CRAZY but yet and still, it all worked out! Thank goodness! The client was appreciative of all our hard work so that's a good thing. I'm just now coming up for air. I had the idea that I could actually get a jump start on the work this weekend of billing, etc and it was all I could do to stay awake.

I did manage to stay awake long enough to go to the Taste Of Chicago to see Stevie Wonder on Saturday evening. Grant Park was SOOO CROWDED that they actually quit letting people in the park for the free concert. It was really good, though, Stevie performed for three hours - what fun. Do you want to see more great acts at the Taste? Here's the website to see who else will be performing: http://egov.cityofchicago.org/city/webportal/portalEntityHomeAction.do?entityName=Taste+of+Chicago&entityNameEnumValue=166

Hmm, I'll have to learn how to list websites with the pretty title of the site vs just the actual article.

OK gotta get back to work. Hopefully will have more posts of fun times to share come July as I have two trips lined up and hope to have some fun while I'm out. Hope you're having a grand summer! OH - more on Lil Bro's Peace Corp Assignment and the parent's upcoming Alaska cruise later. I'm so jealous!

Happy Mother's Day (belated)! Happy Father's Day!

I came to visit my parents and brother Brian in South Bend today. The primary reason is that Brian is going into the Peace Corps. I'm bummed b/c we won't see him for like....two years and I'll miss him. But, the second reason to come home was to spend Father's Day with Dad and Mom. I felt bad b/c I was sick in my bed on Mother's Day but am glad that I now get to see both of them in South Bend. I have not seen them both since they came up to Chicago for Founder's Day (and mainly that was with Mom - Daddy just chilled out at my hosue).
So anyway, it's always amazing how you appreciate your parents more once you become a grown up. I have some terrific parents and I love them very much. Mom & Dad, thanks for being such fabulous people and good role models. Brian, we'll talk more about him and his new adventures in a future post.
Happy Father's Day to all my friends who are Dads!

Weekenders Inc. goes belly-up!

Many of you know that I've had a side hustle (part-time job) since May 2003. Selling Weekenders Clothing Line was a great gig for me. I had some great clothes (many of you who read the blog have been customers of mine, and I truly appreciate your support), made some new good friends and had a little extra cash to pay for some trips, etc. Not to mention some terrific tax write-off's, which a single sista needed in the worst way.

Well, unfortunately, on June 9, 2008, Weekenders declared bankruptcy. I had only been selling the clothes through catalogue sales for the past 1.5 years as my day job had kept me so daggone busy. This Spring & Summer season was my first "active" season with two shows scheduled and having gotten some samples together. Well, bummer but now we're done.

What's Shaking???

Hey everyone. It's been a CRAZY Spring, that's for sure but I'm making it through. I'm a little tired right now....one more show to get through and then I can take a break - thank goodness.


So, in early May I went to Grand Rapids and stayed at the lovely Amway Grand for our MPI-Chicago Area Chapter Board of Directors Retreat. The folks in Grand Rapids treated us like royalty and I had a blast! Here is one of the turndown sweeties they set out for us.


Here's my buddy me and L hanging out in one of the fabulous suites at the Marriott just taking it all in and taking a breather! Sista needs to go on a diet, that's for sure.

Here are the final night owls hanging out at a comedy club. The comedians weren't that great but we had a good time hanging out!

Since then, I was in town for most of May but then headed right out to Baltimore to my client's program SLEEP 2008. We had a few bumps on the show but overall it went pretty well so I'm really glad that the client is happy. One highlight of the week is that I got to visit with my brother Jeff & his wife Laura. That was just awesome. I also got to hang out with ALL MY DC GIRLS (MSA, RDHCH, ARB, & LW). We were quite hilarious and loud and tons of fun. Actually went clubbing - haven't donw that in YEARS! One other highlight was tons of YUMMY crabs in a good ole' crab feast - in season. How fun!

Now I have one week and then my last Spring program MDS runs at the Hilton. Then I think I'm taking a bit of a break b/c I'm a bit tuckered out!

I want to start looking for a job but I'm just really too tired to concentrate on that right now. I've put some feelers out there. I really want to just take a few moments (days) to just sit and do nothing and just think for a bit. Hopefully, I'll get some downtime at the Delta convention. Hope springs eternal!

Hugs to all. Happy Father's Day for all you dads!

More Aruba pictures...of my Sweetie B

Well, my sweetheart B had a really great time on our vacation in Aruba. Here are a few of him during the vacation just enjoying the moment. This first picture is of him just checking into the hotel. What a GREAT open air lobby. I could actually work there - reminiscent of my front desk agent and front desk manager days.

Now we're hanging in our backyard at the Hyatt. Doesn't he just look gorgeous?

This was taken over at the Aruba Natural Pool. He was chillin' out while I was taking a snorkel. He's so patient with me. Ladies, I think I'm keeping him for life so......enjoy the photos but that's all you can do. :-)

During our adventure tour, we explored this old fort. Well, it was actually the ruins of an old fort. So somebody got all adventurous and decided to climb up in the ruins to further explore and look down on the rest of us. Here is Super B - defender of the Adventure Tour!

Does the song "I'm too sexy for my shirt, too sexy for my shirt..so sexy it hurts...." come to mind? He's such a silly dude.

More photos to come - stay tuned!

Being sick is a drag.....

So you work and work and work and.....then you get tired with a weakened immune system and then you get sick. Man, that is a bummer. AND THEN, you want to just stay in bed and collapse and you have one of the busiest days ever! How rude.

Being sick is a drag.....Let's hope tomorrow gets better! Hope you all are well!

Aruba Animals on Tour

Here are just a few of the animals we saw on the tour and at the hotel while in Aruba:

In case you could not see inside the hut, here's a better "rear" shot.

The fish were gigantic in the ponds at the hotel.
Mr. B made friends with this noisy guy on property. This fellow loved to whistle at the girls and just made himself known all the time.
There were about 4 of these beautiful swans hanging around the pools and ponds on the property. They were totally unafraid of people and would just walk right up and around you if you were in the way.

These iguanas were HUGE! They did not make a lot of noise; however, each time they moved off one rock and onto another, they made quite the impression as you could hear them sliding around. I mean, really HUGE!