Why do I bike? Because it's the only sport that serves beer

That's not my main motive, but it probably caught your attention. I also can't deny the fact that a cold pint can help ease the memory of the hours of blood, sweat, and tears that come with one of my typical bike races. One time I even biked 100 miles (Shiner Century Ride) just so that I could get my "free" beers at the race finish. I know, it's crazy. I wish I could explain more why I do this to myself. But yes, I bike just like the likes of Lance Armstrong, but much slower and much less gracefully. This past weekend I completed my second Livestrong Challenge- the 45 mile bike ride in the giant hill country of Dripping Springs. And yes, they served beers and bloody marys at the rest stops! I did not partake in the festivities, but it was comforting to know that there were reasonable people participating in this not so reasonable sport- Glad to know these other insane people also like to have fun!

It is very strange to even myself that I bike. Most people know me as a girly "city" chick. If you saw me on the street or out at the bars you would probably think I wasn't tough enough for the sport of cycling. Well guess what, I have the battle wounds to prove that I get as raw as the rest of them on the road! One disclaimer: I really hate biking clothes, and I realize how extremely unflattering they are.

I do really like the races. My favorite part is the very beginning. It's interesting to see how many people from so many different walks of life are dedicated to the same practices that I am. Sometimes I feel like only me and my teammates are training for events, and then it is fun to see the thousands of people from across Texas who have made this a big part of their lives as well.

Before biking, I had all of my heart in running. I loved it and really believed in it. (I still do.) I even loathed all of the bikers who would pass me as I ran or slow traffic on the roads. Now I have a newfound respect and perspective any time I see a biker on the street. It is by far the most challenging thing I have ever done, I have cried during every race because of the difficulty of the roads, and there is so much room to grow in this sport. I am amazed by the many people who are incredibly fast and strong at this. I am doubtful that I will ever be as skilled as these people, but every race for me at this point is about crossing the finish line. For now that is enough for me, and I am glad that I have this experience in my life.

Me crossing the Livestrong finish line after 45 miles, Oct 25, 2009.

My awesome teammates on Team Casas!

Sometimes Dating Feels Like American Idol Auditions

Aaaah the apathies of dating. That's been the story of my life for 2009. I've been single for about exactly 3 years. Scary. I really didn't think I would be single this long, but it has definitely been a learning experience! Here is how I would sum up my dating experience in the past three years:

Year 1- crazy binge of going out many nights and trying to pick up as many guys as I can to distract myself from recent breakup

Year 2- go on continuous dates because of the combination of new perspective of moving to a new city and starting a full time job as well as the novice of meeting guys at bars has not worn off

Year 3- burned out from giving too many guys my phone numbers, same first dates that go no where, and realizing that my time to myself is most often much more fun than with a stranger I'm trying to picture myself with

Now, I'm not saying that I'm an expert on dating or that I have anything figured out because clearly you can see from this summarized history that a lot of mistakes have been made. My point today is that there comes a point where the whole dating game just gets a little boring. It's always the same routine. A guy asks for my number and he either calls or we go through the painstaking process of about 20 text messages to set up the first date. Then you have the same conversations where you tell the same stories and explain the same facts of your life. I obviously have not met "The One" (aka Mr. Fun Bobby) because I have yet to be captivated by this ritual.

So, I propose this (no pun intended...). America, let's get creative with our dating. I'm so bored lately, I'm really going to need someone to do something really interesting to catch my attention. I feel like the city of Dallas is providing me with the same cookie cutter date every time. Let's make this more like a competition! In fact, you can even SING to me like they do in American Idol- that would get my attention. If any of you readers are young, single men out there and interested in this competition, my phone number is 214-6...... nah, just kidding haha!

Ballgowns, Galas, and Cowboy Boots?

I recently was invited by my boss to attend a Gala. You have no idea how excited I was. I have a random list of "life experiences" that I find important. It's very random, but going to my first gala was one of them. Despite having a name like Fun Bobby, I'm very girly. I love dressing up. Elegance, regal, classy, I love it all! Immediately after finding out that I was going to the gala, I started thinking about dresses. Within a few days, I had a beautiful long black BCBG dress hanging in my closet waiting for the occasion. I LOVED the dress!

Well, only in Texas would this happen. After buying the dress, I find out that the attire for the gala is "western chic." I don't even know what western chic is. I spent weeks fretting over what my date and I would wear. How could they do this? I love tradition, and it's traditional to wear formal attire to galas. Why were they making this edgy and "fun" with the cowboy theme?!

I felt as if the whole world understood what western chic meant except for myself. I'm Texan by birth, but I don't think the whole country thing ever really sunk in. I have some Asian in me so I blame it on that.

Upon finding out this wardrobe catastrophe, I knew I had to alter my outfit. I don't own anything remotely country. I mean I live in Uptown in Dallas, why would I? I wasn't willing to give up the dress, if anything purely on principle. My friend Kristin came up with the genius idea to get a turquoise necklace to wear with the dress. I have to thank her for that because it was the one thing that saved me that night. 90% of the women at the gala were wearing turquoise jewelry. Who knew? The majority of the women were also wearing boots and jeans though, so I was slightly overdressed. Such is life, especially for a girl like me who worships the little black dress.

After a few glasses of wine, I stopped caring about the attire. The alcohol was flowing everywhere. Who cares if we had work the next morning, we were going to enjoy the night! The entertainment was phenomenal at the event. I believe the country theme was all centered around the fact that Jack Ingram was performing at the gala. Being a more private event than a concert, we were able to stand right in front of the stage. My date Taylor took some fabulous pictures, just to show you how creepily close we were. At the end of the night, Jack Ingram even touched my forehead (I'm still not sure why). I didn't wash my face for days! (Just kidding....)

These are real photos Taylor took from where we were standing, aren't they amazing?!

It looks like he is playing just for us!

Um yeah, extremely close.....his sweat could have dripped on us!

Public Health Notice: I will NOT be making out with anyone random this flu season

And also, how to survive a party during flu season

The air is getting cooler, the leaves are changing, and it smells like chimney fires outside.....all signs that the holidays are fast approaching! The change in weather also means that some of the most annoying germs will be in the air ready to spread their version of holiday cheer! Every year October initiates my annual three month strict health regimen during which I become quite obsessive about avoiding those pesky cold and flu germs so that they do not get in the way of any of my holiday soiree plans. With Christmas parties and New Years, December is the most critical month to not get sick. It would be devastating to let a silly virus ruin holiday party season! I do not want to look like Rudolph while standing under the mistletoe or counting down to midnight.

This flu season proves to be the most challenging yet. With the new H1N1 scare, I am faced with extra unpredictable risk. Because of this, after much thought and deliberation, I have decided that I must update my health regimen. I have decided that I am not making out with any random guys at bars this year! Sorry guys, I know you will miss out on some good stories. I am a little bummed myself, there could be some keepers out there. But, I feel that this will be a very important precaution for my health. And in the end, the most important thing is that I make it to ALL of my holiday parties!! Boys, aside.

I've also compiled a list of some suggestions to avoid germs while at parties (because let's face it, germs are the last thing on your mind when you are having the bubbly):

- Do not make out with someone you are not dating, especially someone you just met
- Wash your hands as often as you can or use utensils/napkins to eat your food so that you do not touch it (usually holiday parties have food and you are also shaking a lot of people's hands)
- Do not share drinks (unless it's a really good drink ;) )
- No bobbing for apples
-Do not pick up random drinks and drink out of them
- Do not pick up half eaten food (it gets really hard the drunker you are) and eat it
- Shot blocks probably aren't a good idea
- Do not drink straight from the bottle, unless you plan on finishing it yourself
- Do not get so drunk that you find yourself passed out outside in the cold
- In case of emergency, use a little bit of alcohol (no mixers) to sanitize your hands

You might find some of these suggestions comical. But stranger things have happened on a drunken night.

Fun Bobby Gets a Little Southern Charm

I'm from Texas, so I appreciate all things Southern. Although we are our own breed in the Lone Star State, it's important to pay homage to the ancient cities of the South where the legacy began. I think even chivalry still exists there!! You can imagine my thrill when I recently found myself booking a flight to Savannah, Georgia in order to go on a beach vacation to Hilton Head, South Carolina with my two friends Kristin and Ashley. SAVANNAH, GEORGIA!! You can't say that name without using a Southern drawl!

Well Savannah turned out to be quite the lazy Southern town you would imagine, and the beach at Hilton Head turned out to be the perfect getaway for a busy corporate cube dweller like myself. But, we found the real fun in the most unexpected series of events at the unsurprisingly most empty bars in town. On Thursday night of our trip, in the middle of the island's off season, we decided to have a night on the town! We didn't expect it to be a night to write home about, but we thought it would be prudent to check out the local watering holes just to keep with our youth.

The first stop was Hot Mama's. I will admit, being the proper refined lady that I am (I am ignoring the fact that I will challenge any of my guy friends to see who can drink the most in a given night.), that I was a bit afraid of the name Hot Mamas. All I could picture were tattoos and motorcycles! I was even more convinced that this night would be a total floozy when I saw that there were hardly any cars in the parking lot. Oh boy.

We walk into Hot Mamas, and the first 8 min were quite routine and mundane. Step up to the bar, show id, order drinks. However, after those 8 minutes....history was made. A young Southern gentleman walked over to introduce himself. He worked in the liquor business, and he was there to offer us some free tasting of a shot. Score! We down the shot in a group, and he then proceeded to tell us why he loves his brand- because of the vanilla aftertaste. This shot goes down smooth because of the vanilla aftertaste. In case we were endangered of forgetting why this liquor was so special, he reminded us about the vanilla aftertaste.

It took about 5 minutes to realize that he took his job very seriously. Therefore, he was plastered.

I have a lot of respect for a man like that. Hard workers make hard drinkers. I should know myself. However, when you are much much more sober than another person, you can't help to ridicule them. We continued the night with the standard conversation of the who, what, where, when, how, and why of our lives. Literally, that was our entire night with this man. Due to his intoxication, we discussed the whos, whats, wheres, whens, hows, and whys over and over again. I can still tell you that he is from Kentucky and has a roommate from Texas Tech University who is a professor who got his doctorate in the food and beverage business. He repeated these facts about 4-5 times; and I, being the good student that I always have been, easily memorized these facts. Is there a pop quiz? We, on the other hand, were not so nice. Every time it was our turn to discuss the 5 w's, we changed our story. I was a spin instructor at one point. I can't remember what the other girls were. I'm sorry, but they never repeated once!!

The night did take an uninvited turn. Apparently the guy liked to bike, and I was a spin instructor. Oh, and apparently my name is Elizabeth? Not only that, but he said he was also going to be sampling some tequila soon. He asked me, "when can I sample you?" I had to ask him to repeat, out of genuine concern, I wanted to make sure I heard this one right :) "When can I sample you?" ...Excuse me? "When can I sample you?"

Interesting pick up line, sir. Poor chump, he meant well. It was just the vanilla aftertaste that ended up getting the best of him. The vanilla aftertaste. It gets you every time!

Me and my accomplices after a long night of poking fun at a Southern drunky.

You Are the Music In Me

Sorry I've been on hiatus, life has been pretty crazy, but that is no excuse. Life is always crazy, and only with life can I write this blog.

As I sit in my lonely cube at 9pm, dreaming of the days of Fun Bobby debauchery... I find myself doing very mundane work. Naturally, this is the perfect opportunity to listen to my entire collection of music (on shuffle, of course) and reminisce. Why is my brain wired to reminisce when it hears music? I think it's remarkable that I do this unconsciously every time. As the songs shuffle through, I realize I have a specific memory attached to every single song. Not only that, but each song will evoke the exact same personalized memory every time I hear it. If I want to think about that specific memory, I only need play the song. This comes as both a blessing and a curse depending on the memory and emotion attached with it.

Every boy that has meant anything to me has a set of songs attached to my memory of him. The playlists cycle through every stage of the relationship: crush, new beginnings, love, trouble, and heartbreak. How can music be so intertwined with our emotions? It has so much more power over us than we think.

I could tell my life story from my collection of songs on my ipod. There is a song for everything from the important events like graduations and traveling experiences to unimportant events like late nights studying and dances at the bars to dreams like long term ambitions and fond memories of favorite places. Who tells your story? Colbie Caillat? John Mayer? Taylor Swift?