Category Archives: tamu

rants, tamu

Many little rants

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I think most people would describe me as an agreeable person. Optimistic and upbeat a majority of the time. However, I do go through my phases in which a lot of little thing just eat at me. They bug me. Pull at my last nerve. Wear out what patience I have.

Now is one of those times.

Rivals
I graduated from Texas A&M University in 2003 with my BS in Journalism. I am an Aggie, and I have the diploma and ring to prove it. I am proud of my school, and I am a die-hard Aggie football fan. However, I also have a lot of respect for other schools. My only request is that you don’t rub your allegiance to a rival school in my face. I always want to simply ask, “And your point is…?”

This last week, I had a guy pointedly flash a Longhorns signal at me, and my blood immediately boiled. Especially since I was 99.9% certain the guy was what I like to call a T-shirt fan… no real alliance to the school other than being just a fan. He felt the need to act all better-than-you all because I am an Aggie? I wanted to walk over and tell him unless he had a diploma to back up that hand single he better shove it where the sun doesn’t shine. Because I am sick and tired of being so severely disrespected because of my school. Which just so happens to be a REALLY GOOD SCHOOL with a loyalty and family-feeling that can not be compared to any other school.

I can take good natured ribbing from friends. But by a stranger? Its just disrespectful and unwarranted. So unless you have some true point and reason for your need to be obnoxious, can it. Because I will take your arrogance and raise you a hard-earned degree.

Redneck Men
This last week I went out for awhile to Fan Fair, oh wait… CMA Music Fest, on my own to people watch and take in some of the music myself. As I walked down the street to the stages, I had a guy go, “Heyyyyy…” I look at him, and he literally has his hand and arm up his shirt scratching his arm pit, leering.

REALLY???

I mean. Really. Woman walking down the street alone just MUST be in need of the first man who leers her way with his hand up in his sweaty arm pit. Yeah. We’ll all just jump on the first man that looks our way and goes, “Heyyyy….”

This is why you don’t see many women out alone! It’s not rapists and muggers we’re avoiding! It’s dumb rednecks that think this is okay! Newsflash: IT’S NOT!

Twitter Spambots
I’ve admitted my addiction to Twitter in the past. I’m not leaving it any time soon. However, I wish there was some way to put a handle on these Spambot profiles. I had one follow me about ten times over three days time offering a Britney Spears sex video. And for some reason, despite my profile stating I am married, Singles Dating Sites feel the need to follow me and try to offer me help setting up my singles profile.

I like to meet new people on Twitter. But I will not follow and will most likely block anyone who does not take the time to fill in any of their profile information. Throw me a little information here, people.

Comcast
Yes. I’m calling out a company that I’ve been annoyed with as of late.

It started with our cable bill going up steadily over six months time. And  our service wasn’t getting any better! So we called to see about getting it lowered, explaining that we just could not afford what we were paying now!

The young man on the phone promptly reads us this offer for better service (HD Channels, even though we explained we didn’t have an HD TV)… for a little more than we were paying. He wasn’t helping us any with that. THEN he offers us much slower Internet services, the same Internet and phone, for only about $10 less than we were paying now. Again, not helping matters any. FINALLY after going through several offers, he admitted he could set us up with the exact same service we had already for $30 less a month. We took it… not only was that pretty much where we were shooting to be, but we were also tired of his not really listening to us.

Fast forward to the other night when our service was out for hours. I mentioned it on Twitter via cell phone texts several times before I went on to bed. Four hours later, someone from Comcast jumps on Twitter and asks if they can help me. Well by this time my Internet is back, but beyond that… if my internet is down how am I to necessarily be able to respond to your offer to help via Internet!?

Well, that next day, Comcast actually calls to notify us of maintenance over night and that our internet would be down for a period of time. I am so grateful when they do that! Because I like to know when I need to work around an outage. I don’t mind the outage when I know its coming!

So, I post this on Twitter and promptly a Comcast service rep messages, “Can I help?”

I just closed my browser and walked away. Really Comcast? I am saying that I have service now, but won’t have it later in the evening… and you ask if you can help? One of these days I’m just going to Twitter the word “Comcast” and see how many “Can I help?”s I get.

Honestly, I do think the service reps via Twitter are a good idea. I’m just annoyed that they don’t seem to really grasp whatever their customer is Twittering about prior to responding. Read before you respond, guys. Please.

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EDIT TO ADD (4:00 pm) :: Note in the comments of this entry a response my a Comcast representative. Kudos to them for that… I’m very impressed! A ranty little entry from a woman in a bad mood as of late and they took the time to respond. Thanks guys!!!

memories, nashville, tamu

Softly Call The Muster…

April 21st. Just another day to most people. San Jacinto Day in Texas. Aggie Muster Day to Aggies.

Aggie Muster Day. It stills me. It humbles me. It overwhelms me.

For my non-Aggie readers, Muster is — basically — a memorial service for all the Aggies who have passed away in the last year. (The Muster Tradition on the Association website.) The March 1923 Texas Aggie urged, “If there is an A&M man in one hundred miles of you, you are expected to get together, eat a little, and live over the days you spent at the A&M College of Texas.”

Muster is held in over 300 locations around the world on April 21st every year. It is held in small towns, big cities, foxholes, ships, war torn countries, restaurants and in private residences around a dinner table. It is a time where all Aggies gather together, and have their Aggie Spirit rekindled and they pay homage to those who have passed on ahead of us.

My first Aggie Muster was in 2002 on campus. Here is an excerpt of what I wrote that night afterwards:

The class of 1952 was present for the 50th class reunion. The rememberance of their time on campus, and what they’ve done since their graduation… my heart filled with a pride and awe that… I had tears in my eyes throughout it all. So much and so many to honor…

…so much to live up to…

They were given one helluva standing ovation.

Further on…

Then, he turned to the present students… “the keepers of the spirit”… by this time, after hearing all the great things graduates of the schol have done, I myself began to doubt, for the first time ever, if I, myself, am good enough… if I am right… to attend this school. How can I live up to these standards? How can I truly think myself worthy? He addressed that head on, as if he knew those thoughts were running through students heads. And he issued these three questions, and if you could answer yes to them, then you belong at where you are:

“When Silver Taps is played, does it still bring chills? At the beginning of the fourth quarter at football games when 80,000 join in the Fight Song, do your eyes still mist over? When you think of that tragic November when Bonfire fell, does your heart still ache?”

I had tears rolling as I answered a proud “YES” to every question.

Even this year, seven years after that night, when I attended Muster in Franklin, TN for my third Muster in Middle Tennessee, I was moved to tears.

The Muster chair said at one point, “I hope you all leave with a revived hope that knowing as an Aggie, you will never be forgotten.”

THAT statement made in 2002 is what really gets to me about Muster. You will never be forgotten. When my time in this world is over, my name will be on the roll call and fellow Aggies will answer “Here” for me.

I was chairperson for this year’s Muster in Middle Tennessee. It was a LOT of work!! But it was truly a labor of love. Even as I grumbled at times that I’d not be doing it again, deep down I knew/know I’d be honored to take on the task again.

I wasn’t very active as a student at A&M, really. I worked for The Battalion in the AggieLife section, but even my work done there was not what it should have been. I lived in Cameron with my parents and drove two hours round-trip every day to class. I didn’t mind the drive at all — I enjoyed it really — but it didn’t leave much room to be active in organization and clubs. And to be honest, I was at a point in my life that I wasn’t that interested in being active. I had a wicked shy streak going on, and getting past it was something I was not “willing” to do. I kept my head down and did what I had to do, but I never really put myself out there.

Today, I have a new attitude and outlook on life and myself. And within that, I have this stronger interest in being active with my Texas A&M Club. I want to meet more Aggies! I want to know all of them here! I want to be right there in the thick of it all. I want to truly earn and portray my status as an Aggie.

And without a single doubt or hesitation, I know that the Aggie Muster tradition is my all-time favorite of the many traditions my school has. I am passionate about it. It encompasses EVERYTHING I feel an Aggie to be. Honor and respect of others. Love of university. The unity and family that only Aggies can understand.

We had a Longhorn in attendance at our Muster this year. He himself was moved by the tradition and even shhh’d a waitress during Silver Taps… which he too stood for in honor of our fallen Aggies. We had a former Baylor Bear, who is now going on to grad school at A&M, in attendance for his first Muster. We had spouses of Aggies. We had the children of Aggies. We had new grads, and old Ags. We all stood together that night in this unspoken comeraderie. And we’ll join back again on April 21, 2010.

I, for one, can’t wait.