Mind Tricks and Concrete Dreams

The Price Is Right Adventure

If you are interested in attending TPIR (The Price Is Right) there are generally two tapings Monday thru Wednesday.  You have to pre-order your tickets by one of four ways, online, through the mail, pick up at the ticket booth or order by phone.  Even after receiving these tickets it does not guarantee you a seat in the studio.  I'll share more on that later.  We were going to a Tuesday taping which was at 2:30p.m.  The times for the tapings has changed since we went so check out TPIR taping for more info. 

The key is to get there early.  How early?  We got in line at 10:45p.m. on Monday night and we were at least 100 people back.  When we went in 2007 the studio was seating approximately 325.  Some people that were in front of us were 'saving' spots for friends.  Add to that any large groups (which don't have to arrive at the studio until the next morning) and you could quickly be pushed back further in line.

Now, those of us who were waiting in line were in various stages of preparedness.  Some had brought lawn chairs, blankets, etc... and others did not really have anything.  We had packed my daughters' old comforter and my folks had brought a couple of blankets as well.  My dad rented some chairs from Bagel Break (a shop across the street from the line) so we'd have somewhere to sit.  They are $5 and in the morning a couple of guys walk the line picking up all the chairs.

We were in line with some wonderful people.  We were surrounded by

Stacy and Mark from Utah

The Boston Boys

Minnesota Bonnie

and Seattle Bob

They were all super sweet and fun to be around.

Now Seattle Bob at the time, was a window washer by trade but he's also a magician.  Throughout the night and the next day he entertained everyone with his tricks. 

He asked me to visualize in my mind, the name of a friend from elementary school.  He wrote my name on one side of a piece of paper and on the other side he drew an 'X' and a line.  He asked me to write the name on the line and then turned around while I did that.  He turned back around and tore up the piece of paper into little pieces and made it disappear by shoving it into his fist.  I was amazed.

Then he asked me to visualize a giant blank movie screen and write the 1st letter of my friends name on it.  He said, "Does it start with a T?"  YES!!  He then said "I see two m's, is it Tammy?"  I said no it was Tommy.  Now I know he didn't get it exactly right but the friend that I chose was a random obscure friend so it was kind of freaky.

He asked Gina to believe that she could bend a fork with her mind.  Then he took what appeared to be an ordinary fork and asked Gina to blow on it.  As she did one of the prongs started to bend.  He had another person in line bend more prongs and twist the handle and bend it in half.  All of this was right in front of our eyes and it was really, really cool.  He let Gina and I keep a fork as a memory.  Coolness magnified.

He asked Stacy to see her watch.  He asked her what time it was and she said 12:04a.m.  He said pick a number between 1-10.  She said 9.  He put the watch in her palm and closed her hand around it.  Then he put his hands near the watch and started shaking his hands a bit and he looked like he was either constipated or concentrating really hard.  Then he asked her to look at the watch and the watch said, 11:51p.m. - 9 minutes until midnight.  Super freaky.  We couldn't help but think to ourselves, why didn't it say 11:55p.m.?  That would be nine minutes back in time.  I guess we should just be happy we were entertained. 

Around 12:30a.m. (2:30a.m. Dallas time) a random ambulance drove by and over the loudspeaker said, "Come on down to The Price Is Right!".  Also throughout the night there was a lot of traffic on the street.  Hard to sleep with all the noise.  There were also several helicopters with their spotlights on.  Not sure who or what they were looking for but we probably didn't really want to know anyway.

Gina and I needed to take a potty break and so we headed down to the Exxon on the corner.  While we were there we heard some screams from across the street.  There was a woman trying to get away from a man.  There were two people already in the store and they both kept telling the clerk to call 911. 

As I am paying for my water (you have to buy something to be able to use the facilities) here comes the lady who was in trouble with the guy following her.  This blonde woman that stepped outside of the store was grabbing the lady and dragging her back inside and yelling to the clerk to call 911 and FAST!!  The lady that was a part of the drama just kept crying and saying, "I just want a cab so I can go home."  Gina walked outside the store and I was trying to hurry up and follow her. 

As I was leaving the store the man was approaching and had one hand inside his jacket.  Now I am not saying that he had a weapon and I am not saying that he didn't have a weapon.  All I am saying is that I wasn't going to stick around and see.

I ran out of the store and Gina and I hightailed it back to our place in line.  Other people that were standing in the TPIR line had no idea what had just happened and they were yelling at us, "Run Forest, RUN!" which ordinarily would have been very funny to me.  It's hard to laugh and run when you are as out of shape as I am.

The random ambulance came by again and this time over the loudspeaker the person shouted, "Go home all you b*&$%'s" which we did not find very friendly or funny at all.

Now if you are going to be in the TPIR line I would recommend being prepared.  In addition to that being the Boy Scouts motto, it would also be a great thing to make your stay more enjoyable.  If you are going to try and sleep, blankets, pillows and earplugs would be awesome to have.  If you are going to stay up all night, snacks and something to do (hand held game or something) would be sweet.

We tried to sleep but it was cold and the concrete was hard.  Some of the people in line didn't plan on napping or anything and they were up to party.  We overheard the following statements:

"We're gonna play Texas hold 'em now?"

"Are you gonna find out about the bathroom?"
"She's the reason jeans are expensive."

"Ready for cribbage?  What are we going to play on?"

"I need a cigarette."

Random statements like these and the conversations they were intertwined with made it difficult for us to sleep.  We did take turns "sleeping" in the car but it's hard to get comfortable there and I just went back to my concrete spot leaving Gina in an unlocked car near where the helicopters were searching.  Sorry about that Gina.

Gina rejoined me during the night and we discovered that the noises coming from the bushes was indeed rats.  Not one or two rats, but several rats were joining us for the evening's fun and follies.  Gina and I decided to switch from having our heads facing the bushes to having our feet there.  One reason we stayed up most of the night was because we were waiting to feel a nibble on our toes.

Now I know this appears to be a pic of the bushes but I was trying to catch a glimpse of one of the rats on film.

6:00a.m. was now fast approaching and we had survived the night.  It was nearly time to receive our "Order of Arrival" (OA) tickets!!

To be continued...

Technorati Tags: TPIR,The Price Is Right,road trip,AFWingMom

Shades and a Random Magnet

March 19, 2007

The Price Is Right Adventure

Jarrett drove us to the airport and we arrived with plenty of time to spare.  Before we entered the ropes to go thru the first part of security, I bought some sunglasses for the trip.  They were larger than I normally wear but I was going for the Hollywood look.  They were only $10 and I thought they looked cute on me.  I promptly nicknamed them my "Hollywood's" in honor of our trip. 

As we headed toward the security checkpoint a woman asked if I was an actress or something as my face was familiar.  I told her no, we were just two sisters on a road trip but I smiled and thought to myself, "WOW!!... somebody thought I was famous!"  This was going to be a great trip. 

I am not sure if you travel much but in my adventures I've come to realize that all kinds of people travel.  First time travelers and seasoned travelers.  Demanding travelers and those that are easy going.  Travelers with stories to tell, odd travelers, nervous travelers...you get the idea.

My sister and I were flying Southwest Airlines and we sat down to wait for the boarding time.  We were in line and behind us there was a woman in a wheelchair.  Her companion that was with her went to get her some water so that wheelchair woman didn't have a "moment".  We weren't sure what that meant exactly but we were pretty sure we didn't want to find out. 

The lady that was in front of us was on Weight Watcher's (hereafter referred to as w3 - Weight Watcher Woman).  Aaahhhh, something we have in common.  She had already made lifetime but she had gained a lot of the weight back.  So w3 was sharing with us that she had a friend that was three times her size.  w3 said that her friend wanted her to cook for her to help her lose weight and w3 let us know that she didn't have time to cook for herself much less her friend.  She said the lady was Hispanic and didn't know how to measure.

At this point I am looking at her and thinking...are you kidding me?  Do I have some internal magnet that draws weird and random conversations out of people?  And what does the fact that her friend was Hispanic have anything to do with knowing (or not knowing) how to measure?

Anyways, we survived waiting in line and boarded the plane.  We were all seated and started to back out from the terminal when we noticed that the attendant kept looking to the back and was talking on the phone to someone.  There apparently was a problem.  My sister and I had never experienced this so we were very interested in what was going on.  It seems that someone wanted off the plane.  Are you kidding me?  Are you serious?  The answer was yes to both questions.  Everyone on the plane was whispering and looking back to see who it was. 

The plane pulled back into the terminal and everyone stared as a girl from the very back of the plane stood up to exit.  I didn't have a mud pie to throw at her but I thought about it.  That probably would not have been a nice thing to do.  I have to admit, this did add a bit of excitement to our trip but it also caused some people to be late for their connecting flights.

The girl got off the plane and everyone was situated so we again pulled back from the terminal and prepared to depart.  We enjoyed talking with our seatmate and other than the girl requesting to be let off, the flight was uneventful.

We landed in ABQ (Albuquerque) where the air smells like root beer according to Weird Al, and waited for those passengers who were deplaning to deplane and then waiting for those passengers who were waiting to board, board.  This leg of the trip we sat next to Jason who was a very nice real estate guy.  The LA area was his home so I asked if he had met any famous people and he said that he was not "into the LA scene".  Darn!  One thing though, we were on a night flight and Jason asked me if that was Tuscon, motioning to the city lights below us.  So I thought to myself:

A)  How would I know?  I stink at geography!

B)  It was nighttime and there were no huge neon signs indicating city names or state boundaries.

I turned to Gina, who probably wouldn't know either but is better at geography than me, and asked her and she said that it was.  She said it with a lot of confidence.  Jason heard her response and let us know that there was about an hour left on our flight. 

Drew, our flight attendant who is based out of Houston, did give my sister some things to take back to her class.  That was pretty cool.  Everyone needs to give Drew kudos for that.  If you ever meet Drew be sure and give him a high five. 

Our Mom and Dad met us at the airport with a homemade sign that said our last names on it like they were limo drivers or something.  We thought that was a very LA thing to do. 

While waiting for our bags we noticed a man that was talking on his cell phone with a Kleenex sticking out of his nose.  Yes, that's right, he had a Kleenex just sticking out of his nostril and he was talking and acting like nothing was there.  I was trying to inconspicuously take a picture by saying, "Mom, Dad - stand there and let me take a pic of y'all" when all I was really trying to do was get a good angle.  The picture that came out the best is very blurry but you get the idea. 

Now Gina had thought that we were going to get a chance to go to the hotel room first and freshen up but Mom and Dad wanted to go and see if there was a line at CBS first. 

Good thing that we did that.  We got there around 10:45p.m. and there was already a long line of people.  YIKES!!!  We quickly jumped out of the car and got in line while Dad went and parked the car.  We estimated there to be about 100 or so people ahead of us. 

And so our TPIR (The Price Is Right) adventure begins....

Technorati Tags: sunglasses,LA,Southwest Airlines,Weight Watchers,ABQ,Albuquerque,Weird Al,Hollywood,kleenex,CBS,TPIR,The Price Is Right,road trip,travel,adventure,AFWingMom

The Theory of the High Five

A high five is a gesture of greeting or elation.  Put simply it is one person's upraised palm slapping the upraised palm of another person.

My theory, or to be more accurate my oldest son's theory that I've adopted as my own, is that NO ONE can resist a High 5.

Trust me on this.  Or better yet, test the theory if you'd like.  Next time you're in the grocery store, gas station, or library - anywhere really - as you are walking toward someone raise your hand to give them a High 5.  Now they may look at you a little strangely but it's an almost subconscious reflex for them to raise their hand to return the High 5.  

I've personally tested the theory in random places.  It has always worked.  Here are some of my favorite High 5 pics. 

Giving someone a High 5 immediately puts a bounce in their step and a smile on their face.  It's energizing.  Since it's generally done as a greeting or when celebrating something people's moods are lifted, especially when it's random. 

Try it.  You'll like it.  I know you want to.  Heck, you know you want to.

Here's a video from Improv Everywhere that shows an awesome High 5 experience.

Now it's your turn to tell me about your random High 5 experience....

Technorati Tags: High 5,Improv Everywhere,AFWingMom,Air Force WingMom,WingMom,Air Force,AF,5

Bathrooms

One of the things I enjoy taking pictures of is bathrooms.  As you may have noticed, I have a bit of an obsession with the odd and the unusual.  I'm not sure when I become fascinated with bathrooms but I've found quite a few bathrooms that have something unique about them. 

Now what on earth could make bathrooms so special?  I'm glad you asked.  I'd love to share some of my favorite unusual bathroom pictures for your enjoyment.

MEPS, Spokane Washington, 2007

At first glance this might seem like an ordinary restroom.  At least that's what I thought until time to flush.  Take a closer look.  The pedal near the floor on the right is what you step on to flush. 

Sands Motel & Restaurant, Van Horn TX  2007

This is obviously not a picture of a bathroom but of the sign pointing to the bathroom.  I love how it says, "ALSO WATCH-U.R-STEP".  It's a classic homemade sign.  Love it.

Portland Airport, Portland OR  2006

Ever visit the restrooms in the Portland Airport?  Well you're in for a treat.  They feature water saving dual function handles.  Those are always nice.

Rudy's BBQ Restaurant,  TX   2004

Notice the metal thing at the bottom of the door?  Wonder what it is?  Well wonder no more. 

There's a sign right above the handle that says, "Our Employees open the door with the Footpull After Washing Their Hands".  I'm also curious about the odd capitalization in the sign.

Random Bathroom somewhere in TX

 

Here's a close-up of the sign.

I can't remember where I saw this one but I thought the sign was pretty awesome. 

OKC Airport, Oklahoma City OK   2004

While on an overnight trip at the Northwest Baggage Claim (it's a story for another time) we were able to use these fancy restrooms.  They had plastic covering the seats and when you waved your hand in front of the sensor new plastic rotated around the seat. 

~~And the story behind the frog is I used to try and put the frog in all my pictures kind of like a "Where's Waldo" thing.  It never really caught on.~~

Volcano Bathroom, Granger WA 

So on RoadsideAmerica.com I found out there is a Volcano Bathroom in Granger Washington and I knew I had to check it out.  It ended up being just this volcano shaped mass of fiberglass over the building housing the facilities.  It had cool "lava" painted on it.  Still it was unusual and I'm glad I saw it.

Seattle WA

The cool tubular bathroom was discovered on a road trip to Seattle Washington.  I think I'd feel just a bit claustrophobic if I actually used it.  Did you happen to notice the frog on the left hand side?

Dr Pepper Museum, Waco TX  2009

Again, not technically a bathroom picture but an interesting sign.  They want you to take the dirty diaper with you?  Ahhh-hahaha!!  I wanted to go and ask for a bag just to see what they would do.

Hotel near NASA, Houston TX

Not actually the bathroom but this is a picture of the sink.  What I thought was funny is the thing hanging down from the left side of the wall is the hair dryer.  It's like this tube thing.  Very weird but it did work.  Also there isn't much elbow room.  Not that I'm a vigorous tooth brusher or blow dryer but not much wiggle room. 

NASA Space Museum, Houston TX

If you are ever planning on traveling into space on one of the space shuttles then be prepared to use this restroom. 

Lackland AFB, San Antonio TX

And finally - these are the bathrooms in my son's dorm that he used during BMT.  He said they agreed to use only the first stall on the left so when it was time to clean they only had to clean one.  An interesting concept. 

You'll probably take a second look the next time you're in a bathroom and think of me....haha!

Technorati Tags: bathrooms,MEPS,Spokane,Sands Motel & Restaurant,Van Horn,Portland Airport,Portland,Rudy's BBQ,OKC Airport,OKC,volcano bathroom,Granger,Seattle,Dr Pepper Museum,Waco,NASA,Houston,Lackland,San Antonio,WA,OR,TX,OK

Not Your Typical Nancy Drew Book Review

                                                          ....the first of many.

In my Random Resolutions post which I'm sure you've forgotten by now (if you'd like to take a moment to refresh your memory feel free to click here) I mentioned that I was going to read one Nancy Drew book a week.  Well that came to a screeching halt when I lost book #2.  Despite my trauma over losing the book I decided I needed to go ahead and do a review of book #1, "Secret of the Old Clock". 

There are things that I notice when I'm reading, or rather re-reading, my Nancy Drew books.  I tend to notice what she eats and what she wears.

For example, to go shopping in Chapter 3, she is becomingly dressed in a tan cotton suit.  In Chapter 4 she's driving her dad downtown and then she's going to run errands in a yellow sun back dress, jacket, gloves and her handbag. 

I have to keep in mind the book I'm reading was written at a different time.  Nonetheless I find it interesting. 

The first time it mentions food specifically is in Chapter 17 and she's enjoying a delicious midnight meal including a chicken sandwich, cocoa and cinnamon cake with hot applesauce poured on top.  Just seems weird.  I guess she was hungry after all her sleuthing. 

She starts of her day in Chapter 18 looking very attractive in a blue summer sweater suit to attend a meeting with her dad, a prominent lawyer in River Heights and the bank president.  And Nancy begins her day with a breakfast of waffles and a dish of strawberries. 

The last outfit noted was a simple green linen sports dress with a matching sweater.  She wore this to share the good news about Josiah Crowley's' will. 

And there you have it folks.  That's what intrigues me about the Nancy Drew book series.  :)  If you want to know more about the plot and the storyline I'm sure you can google it and you'll find tons of info. 

Technorati Tags: AFWingMom,Nancy Drew,book review,Random Resolutions