ONE BILLION DOLLARS

How come every time I go on vacation, a disaster worth a billion dollars in damage happens?

In September of 2008, I attended a raw foods festival in Sedona, AZ.  During that time, hurricane Ike ripped through the Gulf of Mexico and landed on my hometown of Houston.  Millions of people were without power or clean water for weeks.  Trees fell onto houses, cars, buildings, and roads.  Lots of property was damaged and large numbers of people were displaced, totaling a billion dollars worth of collateral.

Now, as I prepare to leave for Las Vegas, NV, the BP oil spill of 2010 racks up its billionth dollar.  A 560 million dollar oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico called Deepwater Horizon is no longer usable.  The amount of oil spilling into the gulf is probably around 80,000 barrels a day.  A barrel contains 55 gallons, so that's 4,400,000 gallons of oil per day.  The leak has been going on for 35 days now, bringing the total to 154,000,000 gallons of crude oil just floating around underwater.  Let's just say that every single gallon costs the same as a gallon of gas in Texas.  The average price this week is $2.78 per gallon, putting the dollar amount of oil lost at $428,120,000.  Add that in with the worth of the rig, and we're almost at a billion dollars.

But who can calculate the money lost by the fishing industry?  Who decides the worth of the wildlife that has been lost in this tragic destruction of an entire ecosystem?  How much money has been spent on research into the spill, on toxic chemical dispersants, on cleaning up the oil that's already hit the coast?  In my opinion, the billion dollar mark was passed weeks ago, and the damage will undoubtedly continue to spread its way around the Gulf of Mexico, into the Atlantic ocean, and possibly to the western shores of Europe and Africa.

I am outraged, and I feel powerless.  Sure, the people who care could rally and protest and scream at the top of our lungs, but the corporate powers-that-be wouldn't even hear it.  We could all call our congressmen and women and demand accountability on the part of BP, but there will still be offshore and domestic oil drilling.  We could even physically go to the coast and try to save a few animals by cleaning the oil off their coats and caring for them until the mess in the Gulf is cleaned up, but there would be too many animals that we couldn't save.  Even if we decided to end our dependence on oil for our daily commute to work, the big oil companies would still profit through greed and embezzlement.  So, what can I do?  Read.  Self-educate.  Be aware of the consequences, and, hopefully, never have to see another one like this, though that is highly unlikely, considering the continued push for offshore drilling.  This is truly the worst environmental disaster the United States has ever seen, and it's only getting worse.

ROAD TRIP to VEGAS

On Wednesday, May 26, my wonderful girlfriend Anh and I will begin our road trip around the Southwestern United States.  This is our basic itinerary, but this is going to be malleable as we actually get on the road!

Wednesday May 26
10am - Leave Houston for my Mom's house in Cedar Hill, TX.
2pm - Arrive at Mom's house, play pool and hang out with the family.  Shop.
7pm - Leave for Pete's Dueling Piano Bar in Fort Worth.
10pm - Go to Pete's Dueling Piano Bar in Addison.
12am - Return to Mom's, rest.

Thursday May 27
10am - Begin the drive towards Santa Fe, NM.
3pm - Stop to take a picture of Louie Louie's Piano Bar in Lubbock, TX.
10pm - Arrive in Santa Fe.  Drinks?  Rest.

Friday May 28

10am - Leave for The Badlands, NM.

1pm - Check out "El Malpais" Lava Field.

6pm - Drive through Petrified Forest, AZ.

8pm - Meteor Crater at sunset.

10pm - Arrive in Flagstaff, AZ.  Rest.
OR
10am - Leave for Las Vegas, NV
8pm - Arrive in Las Vegas!

Saturday May 29

10am - Leave for Las Vegas.

2pm - Arrive in Las Vegas.  Sightseeing.

7pm - Go to Pete's Dueling Piano Bar in Las Vegas.  Party!

??? - Go to hotel.  Rest.

Sunday May 30
4pm - Leave for Phoenix, AZ.
10pm - Arrive in Phoenix.  Hang with friends!  Rest.

Monday May 31
More quality time w/ friends in Phoenix.

Tuesday June 1
10am - Leave for Alamogordo, NM.
12pm - Through Tucson, AZ.
6pm - Arrive in Alamogordo, NM.
8pm - Check out White Sands at sunset.

Wednesday June 2
10am - Leave for San Antonio, TX.
12pm - Carlsbad Caverns?
8pm - Thru Del Rio, TX.
11pm - San Antonio.  Rest.

Thursday June 3
10am - Leave for Houston.
2pm - Arrive in Houston.

THE BAND @ Pete's

These are the guys I work with.  They are all multi-instrumental musicians who sing extremely well.  It is pretty rare to find a team of musicians who can do what these guys do at any entertainment venue, especially in dueling pianos.

Josh D - Our entertainment director at Pete's in Houston.  He is the youngest member of the team, known best for his rendition of "Part of that World" from that one movie with the mermaid.  He dresses like a rap star but acts like a soccer mom... which Gary thinks is hot.

Gary - The oldest and newest member of the team.  Once the entertainment director at the rival dueling pianos club in Houston, he now brings his broad repertoire and rock solid guitar playing to the premiere bar in downtown.  He played with the band "America" ("Horse With No Name") for a short stint, and is a very capable songwriter.  He looks a bit like a bobble head doll when he plays...

George - This guy is a stone cold rock star with a voice straight from the southern baptist gospel church.  He knows all the good Beatles songs and some of the bad ones.  He actually went to school in Alabama with Ruben Studdard of American Idol fame.

Josh H - The musical theater guru of our club.  A real diva... or divo, since he's a dude.  He does Journey like no one else I've heard, except for maybe Journey, or that guy who sings for them now.  He also does a song from the Fivel Mouskowitz movie, which I love hearing.

These are the people who take care of me at work when I can't work the crowd, or pick the right song, or do a comedy bit with the right timing.   I love these guys!

LAWN VIEW

Making a pretty lawn can be kinda tough, especially since I've never had my own lawn.  The addition of sierra red mulch to the base of my trees looks pretty dang good for a start.  Thanks to my roommate Dave Solis and our friend Danny Goldman, the yard is starting to look better every day.

In relation to the red brick of our house, the sierra red mulch is a great addition.  That's Dave's minivan on the left.

I'm guessing red was the theme when this house was landscaped, because we have a number of these red haired bush thingies in our yard.  I love them when they bloom, but they do make a pretty big mess on our porch.