Oct.3 - haiku challenge

Keep your head up, Gorg

They would love to see you fall.

Keep steady your eye.

And just like that, it's October

I told Allen <3 that I was going to write more. Last month I challenged myself with Sober September, which I probably stuck to about 87% of the time. First week was hellacious, but by last week it was just a mind game against myself. I lost. This month I decided I’d challenge myself with a haiku a day. As you can tell it’s October 2^nd and I have nothing online from yesterday. Luckily, in the wee hours of Sept. 30/Oct. 1 I pulled out my iphonical device and “scribbled” down my favorite things from that day. So here you go, haikus for October 1 &2.

 1

Wine time, mac & cheese

Fall air with freshly cut grass

Popsicle Kisses.

2 

Government shut down.

Game on, festival season -

Show me what you got! 

Jeez, I hope these get better. 

~ACG

Cancer/Leo Cusps Unite!

Our time is near and thanks to Buzzfeed.com we get to feel good about it! Well not really. Take a look and see if this rings any bells. 

Life In Your Early Twenties vs. Life In Your Late Twenties

(That's a link above in case you missed it)

~ACG

Pretty People Don't Cry

We've all heard the saying about how you are who you hang out with, and how if you surround yourself with positive people, positive things will happen to you. Well it's true and I'm happy to say that there is not one person in my immediate world that needs removing. I have the most amazing family and friends, and even though we all have those wild hairs that we can't seem to tame, I know that if it came down to it we'd all have each others backs. 

With that said, when any of those people are hurting, I feel it too. Lately, there has been more sadness, hurt, and sickness than is necessary for certain members of my "perfect imperfect people" group. Whether it is a matter of health or matter of heart, when something isn't how it should be we all feel it. I'm not good with these things. They scare me. And when I see my friends cry, I cry too. 

My senior year of high school after the last pep rally of football season, my (dance)teammates and I all burst into tears because we knew a major part of our life was ending. (If only I knew then what was coming my way) My friend in the band ran over to me and yelled, "Pretty people don't cry! Stop that!" Well, if that's true than I must be a hideous beast! Either way, it's no surprise I'm a crier. And nothing makes me want to cry more than knowing my people aren't ok. 

Sooooooooo! Without naming anyone in particular, yall know who yall are. This one is for you. Let's hold hands and skip through this shhhhtuff together. 

~ ACG

Last train to Clarksville

Sometimes words aren't enough, so open another window and play these songs.

1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUUSdvwEC_Y

2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6PmdUE9HCw

And now for a series of photos....

That's all I've got. 

Real Simple.

It’s been a while since I’ve written and although I am sorry to leave this small corner of the interwebs that belongs to me empty, I’m not sorry enough to apologize about it. Nothing is worse than a half-ass apology so I’m just going to skip the “I’m sorry you felt that way” and move onto something else. Well…. I’m sorry that I’ve been too busy enjoying my life to write to you, and even more so that I’m sorry I’m not sorry. Darn, I guess I’ve succeeded at the half-ass apology I was trying to avoid.

Anywho, the other day as I was reading a brief memoir in REAL SIMPLE magazine (pause, yes REAL SIMPLE) and had a moment where I saw myself. The writer talked about going back to her first home she shared with her husband and talked about the different things she loved about it, hated about it, and even nearly 40 years later missed about it. Then she called her now ex-husband and tells him where she was and they laugh and chat briefly about their past life together. She then goes on to talk about her journey to learn to love herself and how in the process she left many loves behind. Eventually she goes full circle and even mentions things she would have told her 26 year-old self if she could….well and if her 26 year-old self would have actually listened.

Well, I’m far from a lot of that stuff (ex-husband and all) and I’m sure many of you will agree that no one loves me more than I love me, but those aren’t the parts I saw myself in. I guess it was the retracing of her steps and the feelings that evoked in her. I was recently in San Marcos (le sigh) and had brief encounters with some of my  favorite places from my past life, many of which have changed completely or slowly are beginning to lose the luster they once had. (I literally sat at one of the tables I shared with my girlfriends as ungrads where we seeked comfort before and after exams, breakups, and any other reason we could find) As I rode through town it all came back to me….and I do mean all. A few weeks before that I drove past my first apartment in Austin and had a very similar experience. It’s amazing to think of all the changes I’ve seen in not only myself, but the people and places around me.

It seems to come in waves every 5 years and well chil’ren, we’re reaching that time. Scary, exciting, and essentially the title of the magazine in hand.

~ACG

Lend me your ears!

It's that time again. For anyone who does not know what I'm talking about please refer to last years rules of engagement. It's also time for my "I apologize in advance/I didn't fall off the earth just into a black hole until next Monday" email. For those of you who weren't on the email please see below. 


Hi everyone,

Before I begin let me say no need to reply-all (or at all) to this email. This is merely a PSA letting you know that I will be officially under the gun beginning....well it already began. As you know SXSW comes along each year around the same time many of you are spring breaking.....I miss that time! Any who, the circus officially begins this Thursday and ends 3/16. Yes. That's 10 joyous days of art, film, music, and mayhem. 

I apologize in advance for any crass responses or lack thereof. For the sake of my cell phone battery please do not include me in mass texts. I will be checking my email as frequently as possible, but if you are wondering what's going on in this overly saturated land called Austin feel free to follow me on the twits (@AG_face), the facebook, or the instagram.....hopefully not the youtube. You can also follow @MusicAustin, @VisitAustinTX or @FilmATX - yep, I'm in that too. 

Stay gold!

Mandalandadingdong (yes I'm over caffeinated) 

ALSO, 

The Austin Chronicle and Do512 have the most comprehensive lists of free parties, concerts and day parties....not I. 

Godspeed everyone! #SXSW2013 #Cartwheelsfor2013

Singing a different song.

Knock knock..

WHO'S THERE?

St. Valentino..

HEY BOO! 

Before I begin, let's congratulate ourselves for some small, but important accomplishments. Not only did we survive the holidays, we somewhat stuck to our resolutions, and we conquered all of the terrible "Every kiss begins with Kay" commercials. We made it through another Super Bowl, thank you Bey. OHHH and survived being thrown into the dreaded #TwitterJail. Alright, there. Way to go! You are awesome! 

Next thing, let us reflect on where we have been. 2.14.12 ........

Moving on! 

It's February 14, 2013, and from what I can see most of my lovely lady friends are having a stellar year.  #Cartwheelsfor2013 - OH! and by stellar I mean, much better and healthier than 2012...for the most part. Any who. My feelings for Dia De Amor haven't changed much, however this year I am much more enthused to see what happens next. I've never been more curious to find out what "More to come" means. Without going into much detail (you know that's not my style, I'd much rather give you the gush in private) we'll just say I'm singing a different tune than ever before...and I'm also humming it, and whistling it, and I may even try to play it on uke! 

Naturally, I couldn't let this over-commercialized holiday of amorcito pass me by without making a playlist, and I couldn't make a playlist without consulting my nearest and dearest double x chromosomes. A lil sass, a lil suki suki, and new this year... a LOT of love! Thank you to all who contributed - Porsh (Refill), Vick (Love and Happiness), Twist (Breathless), Stephy (Lucky), Ash (Sweetist thing), Ang (Bless the Broken Road), and Toro (U Smile)....to name a few. Mine are sprinkled in there as well and in case you can't guess them here are a few that I've also featured on another playlist.

Give it all we've got tonight - El Rey George Strait (show some respect!)

Pillow Talk - Wild Child

I just want to be your everything - Andy Gibbs

Adorn - Miguel (or as I like to call him Miguelito)

Hooked on a feeling - Blue Swede (yes, the oogachaca version)

Plenty more on that later. Until then, mind ya business. 

For today or any day, listen and love. 

~ A Charlie Gal

Slowly fading out of sight...

Thanks Merle...

Silver wings
Shining in the sunlight
Roaring engines
Headed somewhere in flight
They're taking you away
And leaving me lonely
Silver wings
Slowly fading out of sight

Don't leave me I cry
Don't take that airplane ride
But you've locked me out of your mind
And left me standing here behind

Silver wings
Shining in the sunlight
Roaring engines
Headed somewhere in flight
They're taking you away
And leaving me lonely
Silver wings
Slowly fading out of sight

Silver wings
Shining in the sunlight
Roaring engines
Headed somewhere in flight
They're taking you away
And leaving me lonely
Silver wings
Slowly fading out of sight

Slowly fading out of sight...

For PT, the Hotlanta shawty.

Last night while rummaging through my small VHS/DVD collection, I came across the video of me skydiving about a year and a half ago. (My birthday weekend and LB's birthday to be exact.) You know I had to watch it.

I can tell I was nervous and camera-shy because I kept grabbing AT so I wouldn't be in the frame alone. I also kept laughing stupidly, waving both hands, and had the doinkiest smile spread from ear to ear. 

The spider monkey/videographer followed each and every step I took, asking me silly questions to calm my nerves (yes, the nerves that I completely denied at the time), and did everything he could to make sure he didn't miss a beat. He captured me laughing, plunging, flipping and floating. The only thing he didn't capture was my terrified scream as I leapt from the plane, putting my life (and every ounce of trust) into the arms of another. 

When I landed he asked me, "What was your favorite part?" My response? Get ready for this...

"DEFINITELY THE JUMP!.....YEAH, DEFINITELY THE JUMP."

So there. Universe. PT. And everything in between. Free falling for 2013! Boom-shaca-laca!

~ACG

Merry, Happy 2013

We made it! Not only did we survive the Mayan Apocalypse, but we survived Chr'mas, NYE, and even some unexpected intros. (This is not the place to dive into that!)

Speaking of the holidays, who is the most spoiled rotten gal on the planet??? Apparently me! In November I thought to myself, all I want for Christmas is an iPad and a Keurig. Well Santa, I'm a believer! I can't even. Yeah. Ummm. (Insert stupid girl giggle here) 

Alriiiiight. Next! 

I love the idea of New Year's resolutions, or better yet I love the idea until I realize in late December that I didn't get half way through my lofty list of items to resolve. This year I've decided to finish up some stuff on my lists from the past and to focus on some of my sweet friend Nikki's "Live a better life" list.  (If your friends aren't inspiring you then there is a serious problemo, right?) In no particular order, here goes:

- Count my blessings, everyday. 

- More lady, less sailor.

- Read more

- Spend more time with my family (and friends that are like family)

- Not be afraid to respond in Spanish when asked questions in that language

- Put in effort to actually become fluent in Spanish

- Travel....as in out of the U.S.

- Live healthy

- Cook more
- Bust out the Uke!

- Encourage others

- Inspire others

- Write more...online and off

- Update the look and feel of ACG.com

- Bring back "Daily Gratitudes"

- Say what I mean to say, especially to those who need to hear it.

- Learn to be more financially responsible

- Wear less makeup

- Do more yoga

- Seek

- Start my bucket list

-Volunteer more
- Keep my resume on point and updated 
- Challenge myself 
- Create a career map and vision board (hippy shhhtuff)

- Trust "parachutes" and dive head-first, eyes-closed off PT's figurative cliff

- Trust myself

Funny now once you start making a list you suddenly remember all those other things you need to do.  I feel like I just went to a grocery store hungry! Guess this will just be a starting place. What's on your list? 

Cartwheels for 2013!!!

Daily gratitude: Today I'm grateful for cold nights, warm thoughts, and not even having to explain a thing. Namaste. 

-A Charlie Gal

P.s. please excuse my typos, still learning how to type properly on this here "cook book"