Johanna’s Blog

I can remember the exact moment I fell in love with Jane Austen…I was 15 and I had just seen “Sense and Sensibility” in the theater with my mom and my friend Julia. I bought all the Jane Austen books right away. And I watched the movie over and over. Then a few years ago, I was browsing in Target, when I came across the BBC version of “Pride and Prejudice” starring Colin Firth, and took chance and bought it. My love was again renewed. I can’t even remember how many times I watched it! But I watched it enough that I started to wear out the DVDs (it kept me sane through many lonely nights in Laredo)–I didn’t even know that was possible!! Anywho, recently, Masterpiece on PBS aired “The Complete Jane Austen” which I watched with my sister. My obsession has come alive again!! I cannot even explain how much I LOVED the new version of “Persuasion!!” And my sis and I agree that it has one of the best movie kisses EVER….It has inspired me to reread the book and I believe (and I never thought this would be possible) that I like it more than Pride and Prejudice.

Well, here is a quiz that will tell you which Jane Austen heroine you are most like. I am 72% Elinor Dashwood (with Jane and Lizzie Bennet coming in second and third respectively). Here’s to all my fellow Austenites!

I’ve been tagged!!! Since we have a total love of reading in my family, this tagging game is a lot of fun! My sister tagged me–here’s how the game goes…

1) Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages)

2) Open the book to page 123

3) Find the fifth sentence

4) Post the next three sentences

5) Tag five people

The book nearest me was The Welsh Girl by Peter Ho Davies (something I picked up during my latest trip to Barnes & Noble). The following is from page 123:

“He always likes to put his tools away in good order. As a child she sometimes thought he loved them more than her, even his father’s old quarry chisels, which he oils every year.

‘Hallo, luv,’ he calls, as her eyes adjust to the gloom.”

I can’t wait to read the rest of the book!!

I finally did it! I updated my cell phone number!! :) It’s really funny how something as insignificant as a cell phone number can feel like it has you tied down to your past. I still had a Laredo phone number and I haven’t lived there for almost 2 years!!

You see, with my recent move (and all that it entailed!), I had to give my cell number to several different people. More than once, after seeing my area code, someone asked me, “Oh, where in the Valley are you moving from?” *sigh* I really didn’t mind explaining the boring details to them, but it did serve as, not a painful, but rather an unpleasant reminder of where I’ve been. I am at a point in my life where all I want to do is move on from everything that had to do with the last chapter of my life. Don’t get me wrong, with as much as I might have complained about my job or my time living in Laredo, I do not regret a bit of it. I learned so much from the experiences I’ve had these past four years–things that will remain with me for the rest of my life. And the friendships and acquaintances I made are irreplaceable and I would never want to disconnect myself with them. I could never forget the people I’ve met or the places that I’ve been. I am the same person at a new place in my life. I thought that changing my cell phone number would help to close the door on the past few years, I guess it kind of does. It really serves as a symbol of moving on to my next chapter–it’s the same phone, just a different number.

While I have been struggling to keep up with a blog for a couple years now, my sister has been blogging for longer (I am, of course, her number one fan and most loyal reader). We often see things that strike us as funny (or odd) that we think are “blog worthy”–a term that has now entered our everyday vocabulary. Well, today I blog about my very first blog worthy sighting!!

The scene of the sighting: Exxon gas station, Magnolia, TX–we are filling up the U-hall (gotta return it with a 1/4 tank, as always) from my recent move. My dad and I are both pooped from unloading in ungodly humidity (it’s September for crying out loud! And autumn to boot! When will the weather gods give us a break?!) and I read a hand written note on the pump…”It wont shot off atomatic.”

Well, it was the “shot” that first caught my attention, but I really started laughing when noticed the “atomatic.” I told my dad, “evidently the only requirement for working at the Magnolia Exxon is to pass an Aggie spelling test!!” You see, spelling is not my forte either, but knowing this, if I am writing something and it doesn’t look right, I always double check it. So a little advice to Mr./Ms. Overworked Magnolia Exxon Employee–and please understand that I feel your pain–it always pays to have a fellow Overworked Magnolia Exxon Employee or an obliging customer proofread your signs.

Well, I have finally done it! I have quit my job of 4 years and I am moving back to Houston!! Woohoo! This is a big step for someone who usually plays it safe. I am leaving the security of a career and moving back home so I can go back to school. I will prove anyone who said a history degree was good for nothing wrong and make something of myself–something I can be proud of.

With as successful I have been at my current job, it has be far from enjoyable and I have been disappointed in myself for not doing something about it! But no more! For the first time in a long time I am proud of myself and I am excited about the uncertainty that next week brings. As far as I’m concerned, I am Super Jo! I can do anything I put my mind to. :)

I love all things Harry Potter! The last book was AWESOME! But it’s hard to believe it’s all over.

Evidently, I am most like Hermione…

Find out your Harry Potter personality at LiquidGeneration!

Well, gotta go re-read “Deathly Hollows”!!

Well I was born in TX and I live here now, so I guess it’s official.

You Are 76% Texas

Well, knock me down and steal muh teeth! You’re pretty darn Texan.

How Texas Are You?

There aren’t many feelings that compare to that of Christmas morning or the last day of school when you were a kid. Ok, probably not any feeling that does. But there is one that comes close–SNOW DAY!! Those were the best days!! We had them every once in a while growing up in Albuquerque. The anticipation, while filled with anxiety, was almost as good the snow-day itself. The bad weather almost always began the previous day, so as soon as there was the mention of snow, every kid including myself was already hoping for that snow-day. Much like a Christmas Eve, it was very hard to sleep when it was snowing–I always had to keep getting up to look out the window to see how much snow had accumulated. Sometimes there would be more than the last time, but (and oh, this was the worst) sometimes there would be nothing! Eventually, I would fall asleep. When I awoke in the morning the anxiety would return. Did I want to look out the window? When I finally got up the courage to look out, I would pause in front of the window, hold my breath and slowly pull back the blinds. It was the moment of truth…if the kids of town were lucky, it was snowy!!

These days I live in South Texas so snow days are rare. However, today in San Antonio we are having what they are calling “Arctic Blast 2007.” The city is shut down because of freezing rain (nasty junk!) and now sleet. The snow is expected later on–anywhere from 1-6 inches! I know, that doesn’t seem like anything to write home about if you live farther north. But this is San Antonio!! People here don’t know how to drive great on normal days much less when it’s icy! Just kidding about the normal days….sort of. Moving on….To make a long story short, I got to stay home today! I never get to stay home unexpectedly unless I’m sick. Even at 26 this gives me a thrill. Being in retail management, however, choosing to close down early (which we did last night) or to not open at all is close to blasphemy (we never want to miss a chance to make money ). But nothing is worth risking the safety of my staff (or myself for that matter) by driving on sheets of ice–especially when the weather is only predicted to get worse as the day and night go by.

So here in San Antonio, I am staying home warm and cozy snuggled under my down throw! I had my hot oatmeal for breakfast and my tomato soup for lunch. It may not really be snowing out (yet), but it is a Snow-day to me.

Join me later for hot chocolate.

I wouldn’t call myself a huge football fan (baseball is my passion), but I can be passionate for what I call “my team.” Today I met my family in New Braunfels for a BBQ lunch at Rudy’s (perhaps the best BBQ ever!). There was a BIG screen TV in the restaurant and the Texan’s/Cowboys game was on. As my dad has said about college football in Texas (specifically about UT & A&M), “there are them who are and them who ain’t”–you are a fan of one team or another in Texas. Well, this is true of the NFL in Texas too–our family is definitely in the Texans fan group. Well, as we ate lunch and discussed the important issues that families discuss, we watched the Texans in their first ever regular season slaughter, errr…game, at Texas Stadium.

Really the game started off nice…I missed the very beginning, but I believe the Texans scored first. Then as quick as they had scored the Cowboys hit back, tying the game 3-3. I breathed a sigh of relief as the Texans scored another field goal to take the lead. They were even in the lead at half time!! To our chagrin (for we were the only Texans fans in a restaurant full of shouting Cowboys fans) that was the last time the Texans would get on the board. The Cowboys came out swinging in the second half…after interception what seemed like endless interceptions and a couple of Texan fumbles, the final score was 6-34 Cowboys.

As I sit typing tonight, I am watching my alma mater, NMSU, play in a rare nationally televised game against ranked (albeit in their conference) Boise State. I have been looking forward to this game for months and perhaps I am naive to think that the Aggies just might pull off a win. We have yet to see…it isn’t looking good in the first half. But I have confidence that the Aggies can still do it!

I think I have more fun rooting for an underdog. Sure, there is a lot of disappointment for a fan when their team loses, but it is still worth it to be one of “them who are.” 

Hallelujah!! It is only 76 degrees outside! I had started to forget what anything less that 80 felt like! And not only is the temp cooler, there is also a nice cool breeze. Wonderful weather! I wish this meant that fall was just around the corner, but alas this is South Texas in August–it will most likely be 100 tomorrow. However, I am not complaining! This time last year I was in Laredo and let me just say that that is a little south of purgatory. Hehehe….

Well, until fall does arrive, this will have to do…Check this out!!