The last 2 weeks.
So last weekend we headed to a football game at the new Cowboys Stadium. This involved a long train ride and then a lift at the end to the game with Kristen and Jacob (looking forward to getting our own wheels next week!). Coppell High School were playing their first playoff match against another local Dallas High School, this was a great opportunity for us to go to the stadium for the bargin price of $10 instead of the regular/ludicrous tickets from $150 (nosebleed)-$14 000 to see the pro teams play. The stadium itself is very impressive at first look, as I mentioned earlier it was only finished a couple of years ago - 2009. Well actually everything about it was impressive. They even had padded seats unlike the typical seats we have in our stadiums, so that was nice. The game was a good contest between the two teams, but the real entertainment happens at half time. Coppell is a large high school in the Dallas area, and at half time provide some lively entertainment, there marching band (who is apparently one of the best in the WORLD), Lariette drill team, Cheer leaders and the Spirit Squad all perform short routines. Fair to say there was lots going on and it was a sight to be seen. The teams all spend hours practicing, the band spends even more and the result are some very slick performances.The opposing school also performed, however there band was a quarter of the size of the Coppell team..JPG)
We weren't brave enough to sample any of the football food. A hot dog covered in smushed chilli looking stuff was not very appealing. So by the time we got on a train and headed back to downtown Dallas we were both pretty hungry (especially after missing one train by a seconds, giving us a 20min wait!). Anyway we ended up picking a very touristy spot for a late lunch in the middle of downtown. This was our first time in the middle of the city when there were actually people around, our previous visit had been hampered by torrential rain. So it was much nicer to see people out and about enjoying the nice autumn weather. The restaurant was called Smokey Bryans and the menu was crazy, meat, meat and more meat! I ordered a pulled chicken, pulled pork and cheese sandwich with sides of macaroni and cheese and coleslaw, Aaron ordered hot barbecue wings, yes we shared. Check out the pics of our delightful lunch and Az's inability to keep all the food in his mouth, he is a grub. It was actually good, despite the scary look!
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The past week at work was fairly unremarkable for me. We have started recruiting more participants for our study and I have been learning other new techniques. Aaron has landed himself a casual retail job for the holiday period which is going to really help us. So far the job hunt has been frustrating, and getting passed the initial application seems to be very challenging. Whilst Dallas certainly has a lot more jobs available than other parts of the US, there is still a lot of competition! So keep your fingers crossed Az can get some interviews soon.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doN4t5NKW-k&list=PL2aBZuCeDwlR6Qzc29uzmOApP0A9Tu4QF&index=1&feature=plpp_video
We had a Thanksgiving Lunch on Tuesday at work, the IEEM provided ham, turkey and the trimmings, and all the staff brought along a side. I made my staple pumpkin, pear, spinach and feta salad it was very popular. There was so much food left over, despite everyone over indulging. In true American style nothing went to waste with most people taking a plate back to there office big enough to feed the average family. Crazy. For actual Thanksgiving day we entered a local fun run called the Turkey Trot. The distances for the run were either 5km or 8mi, I was a little hesitant at attempting an 8 mile with my current fitness but we had agreed to give it ago. Aaron got called in to work on Wednesday night and didn't finish until 11pm, so we dragged ourselves of bed early Thursday morning to head off for our fun run with 40,000 other people. It was perfect weather for the run, sunny with a small amount of cloud cover. Once the race kicked of at 9am, it took us 23 minutes to actually cross the start line and we couldn't really run until the 3km mark. It always amazes me in fun runs why the walkers all want to be at the front. This fun run also had a lot of prams and dogs, so there was plenty of dodging and leaping over the poo. By the time the two distances split we were in space and able to keep a nice rhythm. We finished the race together, Aaron definitely could have beaten me on the day but he ran with me and held my hand over the line, so I better start working a bit harder!! The remainder of our first thanksgiving involved making home pizzas and chilling out watching the Dallas Cowboys. They lost, but the other team were really good!We got to experience our first Black Friday, well Aaron got experience first hand, it kind of passed me by... This is another American tradition that is hard to comprehend. Starting the evening of Thanks Giving (8pm for some, midnight for most) shops open up, signifying the start of Christmas shopping with what people consider, specials to die for! I was asleep Az had the pleasure of experiencing this phenomena in his new retail role. So let him paint this picture!
It was a cool Autumn night, the stars were shining and at 11:20pm, I cruised along the darkened, rough road towards the unknown, expecting nothing but the quiet night and clear entry through the front door of his work. Still half asleep and approaching the shops I could not believe his eyes! It was as if it was the 1970's and tickets to the "Beatles" were on sale. There was a cue about 200m long of people waiting to enter the store. Sneaking through the back door, trying to hide the fear in my eyes I got set for the unexpected. A slow 15 mins passed when the doors opened and about 1000 people came running into the store (literally running). For the next 4.5hrs the till which I was manning was running red hot, with a cue circled around the store of people waiting to pay. It was not until 4:30am that things started to get quiet and I served the last person in the cue who had been waiting about 1.5hrs. From speaking to the customers their goal was to complete all their Christmas shopping in this one day and that this was only their first stop. Luckily for all the customers, we were sponsored by Red Bull and they all left with a 4 pack to keep them going! At this time I had a chance to look up from the till, to see the bedlam, there was clothing and stuff everywhere!!!!!! Now this was only a quiet store when it comes to Black Friday. There are 2 stores "Walmart" kind of like Kmart, Woolworths and Big W combined and "Best Buys" (JB Hifi on Steroids) feel the brunt of the customers as, people camp out for days to ensure they were the first to get through the doors. In the past people have been trampled to death at these sales, CRAZY!
And as a closing remark I would like to point out how ungrateful Ez is with having a full head of hair. Some of us less fortunate people have what is commonly called thinning hair, and we try to hold onto every strand, we cherish it like a fine wine! The other day when cleaning I had to clean out the vacuum, and what did I find? A collection of hair, simply discarded by Ez like it was worth nothing. I almost shed a tear at the sight, the sheer quantity!
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