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Looking for something free to do this evening to get yourself in the holiday spirit? Over the next few weeks there will be a ton of options in a city as big as Houston. I’m looking forward to learning about all the neat holiday activities in Houston from my fellow metrobloggers.

I’ll get it started by sending you over to Holiday Lights in Hermann Park. Tonight there will be a special opening ceremony at 6 p.m. and the Houston Symphony will perform at Miller Outdoor Theatre at 7:00 p.m. If you can’t make it this weekend, the festival runs through December 26th with performances every weekend. You can find an events calendar here, but it is pretty hard to top the Houston Symphony.

A tip for the late night drivers.

It appears that, at least in the location I use (Westheimer ramp), the attendant leaves at 2am (on weekdays). As a result, because there’s no way to pay if you don’t have exact change, both lanes are open for you to use without paying. In other words, free access on the Beltway after 2am.

I can’t seem to find information about it on the Harris County Toll Road Authority site, but they probably wouldn’t want make that information easily accessible.

This post is not about heating a large kettle and cooking people who are obsessed with things. No, my fellow Houstonians, I

I attended the second round playoff game between Houston Memorial and Fort Bend Willowridge last night at Tully Stadium.

The Good
Two teams that have worked hard all season, including a win in the first round of the playoffs square off to see whose state championship dreams stay alive. The game featured some great plays – excellent effort by the players – and tons of excitement for the fans. The Memorial Mustangs played solid mistake-free football enroute to a 24-7 victory.

The Bad
The game started to get out of hand early in the fourth quarter and a couple of bad apples on the Willowridge squad started talking trash to the fans, the officials and the other team. The officials did nothing! It was their responsibility to keep the game in control and once they started letting these offenses go unflagged, thing escalated. It was then that I was telling my friend, “If these officials don’t start throwing flags for this nonsense right now, someone is going to get hurt.”

The Ugly
As the game wound down and it was obvious that Willowridge was not going to win, the trash talking turned into late hits and outright thuggery. On five different occasions, the play had been blown dead when a Willowridge player would haul off and flatten a Memorial kid who was walking back to the huddle. It finally culminated in a cheap shot in the back of the leg which resulted in a long medical timeout while they helped the poor kid off the field. THEN, the officials called a penalty.

What was supposed to be a memory of a lifetime for these student athletes turned into a bad dream for at least one kid and left a sour taste for the thousands involved.

FINAL THOUGHT – My friend and I have picked a different game each week from the top teams in the state and seen a ton of great teams. We have seen courageous play, valiant efforts and the pure excitement of Texas high school football. We have seen a lot of good during this and previous seasons. This is NOT the norm.

Returning students, get ready. This week marks the beginning of registration for classes. I’ve got a word of advice that you should definitely take seriously.

Do not try adding/dropping classes before your scheduled time on Enrollment Services. I learned the reason for this the hard way. The other day, while registering, I tried to add/drop three times prior to my registration (we’re talking about a minute or two before my scheduled time). Apparently, that causes you to get locked out of the registration system for the rest of the day. As I’m sure you’re all aware, getting into a class is a hard enough feat; getting into that class the day after everyone else is done registering is even harder.

Oh, and if you’re graduating next semester make sure to fill out a graduation application on Enrollment Services. It takes about a minute to complete. Although its not due until February, you might as well do it now and get it over with.

Cool show tonight (Friday). The Donnas and The Von Bondies at the Meridian.

Wish I could go – would love to see pics from those who did. Any other musical plans for the weekend?

So you may not believe me, but I am in fact interested in things other than puppet shows. Having said that, let me remind you of the first ever Bobbindoctrin Puppet Festival tonight (Friday) and tomorrow night (Saturday) – 8pm and 10pm.

I wouldn’t be so irritatingly repetitious if this wasn’t one of the Greatest Things Ever. Seriously. I’ll take it easy on the puppets after this one. ((Images above are from previous shows – just to give you a taste.))

Last year, two of my best friends and I organized a holiday donation drive for the Houston Area Women’s Center. Just by emailing a request to our friends, colleagues, and coworkers and volunteering to pick up their donations at their convenience, we were able to collect thousands of dollars worth of donations. The three of us sorted and assembled these items over brunch and a pitcher of mimosas, and delivered them to the Women’s Center the next day.

This year, circumstances have prevented me from engineering a similar event–so I’m putting the call for donations here on the Internet in the hopes that you generous guys and gals out there can organize similar donation drives on your own.

The Houston Area Women’s Center assists battered women and children in the Houston area by providing shelter, counseling, and job training. Every holiday season, they need donations of NEW, UNWRAPPED gift items for their Holiday Store. (Used items can be donated to the Second to None Thrift Store at 1435 Westheimer; all proceeds support the Houston Area Women’s Center.) The Holiday Store allows women and children at the shelter to choose gifts for each other, helping clients who are in dire financial straits and away from their homes during the holidays to celebrate the season. Donations to the holiday store make a big difference in helping women and children during what is a very difficult time in their lives.

What to donate? Almost anything that you, your kids, and/or your loved ones would appreciate will be appreciated here, too. Here’s a condensed version of the Holiday Store Wish List:

INFANTS
-clothing & blankets
-toys, especially educational/developmental ones
-picture books

CHILDREN
-clothing, especially winter items & coats
-non-violent toys of all kinds and for all ages
-dolls of all different ethnicities
-board games
-scooters, skates, bikes
-play sets and dress-up clothes

TEENS
-CD players/boom boxes/radios
-costume jewelry, funky accessories
-pajamas and gowns (Joe Boxer style)
-makeup, boys’ & girls’ cologne, bath sets
-clothing, especially trendy, goth, and punk styles
-posters, journals, fancy pens, photo frames
-funky room decor, lava lamps, neon lamps, etc.

WOMEN
-fine & costume jewelry
-underwear (esp. bra sizes 38C+, panty size 7+)
-makeup, perfume, bath sets
-pajamas & gowns
-curling irons for all types of hair
-manicure/pedicure sets
-clothing (esp. larger sizes)

The Houston Area Women’s Center Holiday Store can also use gift certificates to: Target, Wal-Mart, Sam Goody, Kroger, Toys R Us, any area mall, Claire’s, 5-7-9, Spencer’s, and Hot Topic.

Holiday store donations must be brought to the Houston Area Women’s Center at 1010 Waugh before December 12th. Again, ALL DONATIONS MUST BE NEW AND UNWRAPPED.

Want to volunteer for the Holiday Store? Volunteers are needed in three-hour shifts for set-up on December 12th, to assist with the holiday store on December 15th-21st, and for clean-up on December 22nd, 28th, and 29th. Contact Christina Rodriguez at 713-528-6798, ext. 2298, or by email at crodriguez@hawc.org to volunteer.

The Women’s Center also accepts donations of items from their Wish List year-round.

I… I feel… cold! This can only mean one thing: Houston has finally caught up with the rest of the nation in hosting winter weather! But alas, I can see by the weather channel predictions that we