Roundup time

Boy. So much to talk about and yet I just don't feel like posting. Maybe this is a good day for a Roundup. Let's hit the highlights:

1. March Madness. I do enjoy the NCAA Tourney. I enjoy filling out a bracket and then seeing it through - seeing how my picks fare and how I finish in Clint's Bracket Racket. It's especially fun when my teams are winning. Yesterday, I had 14 of 16 picks. The only frustration with the two I lost was that one was a game I simply missed picking - I just didn't see the blank. And the team I would've picked was the team that one, so I *should* have had 15 of 16. And I could *almost* make a case for 16 of 16, since I came SO close to picking the 16th winner as an upset (as it ended up being), but I chickened out and didn't. Still, 14 of 16 is pretty darn admirable.

2. My hair. I colored my hair last night - a kick-ass, bold dye job that bleached the front blonde, while leaving the rest light brown with blonde highlights. It rocks!!

3. Moving Day. The official move-in day for me and J into the new house is Sunday! We've been moving stuff in as we could so it wouldn't be massive job on the last day. But Sunday will be the big stuff - bed, dressers, clothes, etc. That'll be our first night in the new place, and we're SO excited to officially be in there! It's a little stressful that each time I think I know where everything will go, I spot a whole new stash of stuff that has to be accounted for. But we'll figure it out. It's gonna be great!

4. SXSW. It's madness around here, and not the March kind. The film portion of SXSW started last week, and there were lots of stars around and coverage on the news, etc., but as a local just going to work and living your life, you don't REALLY notice it until the music week begins. Then the joint is just overrun with uber-hip young-uns with calculated looks of unconcern. They're everywhere! I'd complain about the increased traffic and people everywhere, except that I'm in a band now and we have a showcase tomorrow, so I want some of those people to come to our show. So...WELCOME TO OUR FAIR CITY! (And after tomorrow, go home.)

5. Morons. Who is the idiot who scheduled the Austin American-Statesman Capitol 10,000 run, which happens to go through downtown, where the vast majority of Austin's SXSW venues are, on the Sunday during South-by? I'm just curious.

6. Natasha Richardson. Man, that's sad. I can't even begin to imagine what Liam Neeson and their two boys are going through right now. Just tragic.

7. AIG bonuses. I really don't want to hear about AIG's "contracts." I'm a free-market kinda gal. I don't like the government all up in all of this. So, I'm sure I've got some strange bedfellows on this one. But seriously. If the company had failed, as it should have from making atrociously bad, greedy business decisions, those "contracts" wouldn't have been worth the paper they were printed on. There wouldn't have been any money to give, and the recipients wouldn't have gotten a dime. There was nothing in their contracts that said if the company went under, the taxpayers would pay them their bonuses.

Well, the company essentially DID go under - it's been bought out - by the government. Those contractors have a new boss - YOU AND ME. And I don't know about you, but I don't give bonuses to people who run a company into the ground. That money WE used to buy the company shouldn't be used to honor contracts with a company that no longer exists - and AIG no longer exists. It's now a quasi-governmental agency. So, while I hate that the government is in the buyout business and is bailing out assholes who make bad business decisions, whether giving or taking bad mortgages, if we ARE going to give MY money to companies to keep them afloat, the trade-off for that is that a new sheriff comes to town to run those companies, and all bets are off concerning existing contracts, business practices, etc. Essentially, it's as if the company went bankrupt and got bought out, and just like when that happens in the private sector, the new owner cleans house and does things HIS way. Not that the friggin' government has any idea how to run a business (or haven't you noticed the out of control budget deficit?)...

8. Last thing - American Idol. How much do I love Danny Gokey? I literally got chills TWICE during his performance this week. And Simon just can't insult him - every time he tries, Danny just turns it to his advantage, without ever coming off as a jerk. I think they should just give him the title now and let the rest of the contestants duke it out for second place. He is the bomb.