I am going to start making up stories, so as to distract myself from the daily blah.

I haven't written in almost a week. I am feeling more and more detached from the blog. Which makes me sad. But I can't really do much about it. I can not access it at work, and when I go home I am rarely up for it. But you have heard all of this before. Anyway, I am not ready to give it up but it is obviously going through a change. One I was not planning for. Sorry if I'm boring.

But anyway. Blah blah blah. Now for the real question: Wassssben gown on in Ashbloemland?

1. Davey went away.

Hooray. David was going to have a vacation without me. It was going to be really fun for him and not very expensive. He was meeting a friend in Vegas - said friend is moving from Seattle to Denton and wanted a travel companion for the latter half of the drive. He was excited for the trip, and I was excited for him. He was a little nervous about travelling out there alone, because we are always together and I sort of take charge of all that sort of logistical stuff. It was cute. I kissed him farewell and was happy we'd have some time apart, if for no other reason than we would miss each other, and that's pretty sexy.

2. Davey's trip was aborted.

Ug. Davey gets to Vegas. Entertains himself for the day, waiting for his friend to roll in. Calls me in the afternoon: "I really thought T would be here by now". I tell him not to worry, he's probably just running late and will call. OH HE CALLS ALRIGHT. From jail. A jail several hours drive from Vegas. David calls me - not sure what to do, not sure if he should bail out his friend, etc. I flip the fuck out - not at David, of course; at the stupidity of his friend. But David doesn't react well when I get angry, even if it is on his behalf, and we have a terrible phone conversation. I go about the business of finding him a hotel room for another night - and while Vegas can be dirt cheap, it is NOT as cheap when you are trying to book a hotel for the next day. Humph. Fuck you, Vegas. Anyway, book him a room, book him a flight back which was NOT in the month's budget (good thing I didn't get that bike the weekend before!), tell him his friend can suck it. Well, I was a little nicer than that. I did call the jail in the podunk Nevada town T was being held in and tried to get the police man to get T to give me his mother's phone number - the policeman responds (rather nicely, btw) that T won't give the number because he doesn't want her called. I respond that we're going to find the number anyway and she WILL be called, but he can just sit there and let us irritate as many people as possible with phone calls tracking her down if that's what suits him. Which is what happened - the family was notified, and they took care of it.

One really good thing about this is that it happened BEFORE David got in the car. The funny thing is that I felt pretty uncomfortable about... possible BEHAVIOR on the drive. Some of it goes back to my Utah experience, of course, but this particular friend - while I like him (well, DID) - is a little on the fringe, so I implored David to please be careful about open containers and marijuana and all that sort of stuff that sounds like it would be AWESOME on a desert road trip but is a serious pain in the ass if you are caught. Not that I was worried about David, but... you know. Guilt by association and shit. T is the kind of person I can imagine having a big stash on board, unbeknownst to the passengers. Which is pretty much what happened, as I understand. Having the stash, that is.

3. I went to Houston.

While this is all going on, I had already planned to go down to Houston and visit Ben, Amanda, and their Little Miss while David was away, so I hopped in the grandma car and tooled down I-45 for the almost 4 hour drive to their house. I had not driven this route for probably....17 years or so. I suspect it when I was in high school and went to visit Rice University or something. Anwyay - it was a really PLEASANT DRIVE! FAR nicer than the drive to Austin from Dallas. Green, with hills and forests. I was surprised. And it was well needed alone time, listening to NPR and other local radio stations; stopping and having a snack from Dairy Queen; watching the sun set into vivid pinks as I made my way south.

People from Dallas (myself included) never like Houston. I'm not even sure we really think it through - it's just a mantra: "Houston - blech". So imagine my surprise when I really liked it! Honestly, I thought it was really pretty ok. I mean, I'm not a big fan of Texas sprawl, so it is not up on my Top 5 Places to Move or anything, and I know a lot of it had to do with where Ben & Amanda lived (cute little area sort of like Hollywood Heights in Dallas, within walking/biking distance to places of import - namely bars and restaurants), and just being with Ben & Amanda generally, but yes - I did. It seemed a bit more laid back than Dallas; like it wasn't trying so hard. And the places we went all had a sort of bohemian Austin vibe to them. And I realize that I really love tropical foliage. And I like the light of a coastal city, even if it is the crappy Gulf of Mexico. And the freeways were in really good shape (the ones I was on, anyway). WHO KNEW?

I flew David into Houston Hobby on Saturday so he could at least have one fun day away from home (shockingly, Vegas is not a fun place to be by yourself for three days). We had some great food and drink. We enjoyed our grown-up time with Ben & Amanda. We enjoyed our kiddie time with Maia. All in all, it was great. And on the drive back we stopped at Woody's Smokehouse and got all kinds of goodies, including a cheese-jalapeno bread to die for (thanks for the tip, Amanda).

4. We're talking kids again.

We once had a plan, then I lost my job, but I think that was all for the best. Now we're planning again, and though we have a slight disagreement on when to start, it's a difference of like, 3 months, so we'll probably just split the difference or something. Seeing Maia got us talking again, anyway.

I am obviously yearning for a life change right now. Normally, I would respond to this by moving somewhere new, but we cannot really do that right now. We're ready emotionally, I think - sometimes I think David is more ready than I am. Actually, I'm quite sure of that at the moment. I get panicky thinking about how life-altering it will be, and how I'll be miserable for a while, and how my body will hurt and I won't want to have sex ever again... but hey. I'm adventurous.

5. I've been getting my shit together generally.

After my Come to Jesus Talk with myself a couple weeks ago, I've been doing much better. I also think it correlates to finally having a job I feel somewhat invested in and I enjoy. Maybe I'm feeling more... grown-up? Anyway, I've also been more physically active and I have been accomplishing things in the house little by little. I started tracking what I am eating, since I have been feeling lousy about my appearance, and just as I suspected, I eat very well - but I consume way too many calories in alcohol. So, I guess I've started a cutting-down regimen with that. No drinking at all Mon, Tues, Thursday, or Sunday. I'll give myself Wednesday for one or two with David at Double Wide, and weekends. No more wine with dinner and whatnot on those other nights though. Sigh. But, that should do it, I think. And I'll go from there.

Also, working at a place that reimburses tuition has provided the impetus I needed to start getting my shit together regarding grad school. I'm not promising anythingto myself or anyone else, since I've been talking about this since, oh, 1998, but it seems silly not to take advantage of this benefit, and I have been able to narrow down what I want to go back for to a couple different programs, so at least I'm making steps, right? I've even started my application. Now just to decide, because I'll either have to take the GRE or GMAT....

6. I'm purging clothes and shoes and other stuff.

Hey, I'm getting rid of stuff. Anyone want to have a group yard sale? Obviously, you need to be in the DFW area. I'm also doing a shoe collection audit. I have to get rid of some of these shoes - I just bought three awesome new pair, and I have no where to put them. Speaking of my new shoes, for some reason, two of those pair are boots. I clearly still have my Northeastern mind set that autumn is just around the corner and I should prepare with new autumn shoes, but in reality I probably won't be able to wear these puppies until December. Nice one, dumbass.

Comments

[sevendots]

1) I think this "T" should reimburse you guys for David's plane ticket back to Texas. Or at least a portion of it.

2) As a Dallasite, I actually like Houston. I spent a few good weekends there when my sister was in grad school. She also lived in a cute neighborhood near good restaurants as well--so to your point--maybe that was it.

3) I am down with a yard sale.

[Angela]

I love Houston for many reasons, though 2 of them no longer live there. Others still do, and on the whole, that makes it home to me more so than Dallas is - or was.

What I miss:
Downtown beer and baseball from April to September
Humidity
Trees
Literate people who enjoy the arts
Really good Vietnamese food
SPEC'S
Running at Memorial Park
Nordstrom. Shoes. Nordstrom.
The Backstreet Cafe
Empire Cafe
HALF PRICE BOOKS
HEB's produce section
The knock-off jewelry store in the village
Watching RICE baseball from the back mound
Houstonians-their openness to suggestions

Our feet are different sizes. DAMMIT!