The Dark Side?

I still haven't fully recovered from our trip to Austin. I spent the weekend talking (a lot), drinking, and eating too much yummy food. On the Sunday drive home, I felt bloated and a little sick. Over the past few months, Nate and I have made an effort to eat healthier, which we usually do. So indulging was fun at first and then felt kind of gross.

One of my attempts to be healthier also has involved cutting out coffee. For the past three months or so, I've been drinking black tea in the mornings. If you know me very well, you realize what a huge statement that is. I LOOOOOOVE coffee. So much that I really do have a hard time drinking it moderately. I mean, I used to drink 8-10 cups a day. But Austin lured me back to the java and I’ve been drinking coffee in the mornings almost every day since the trip. This morning, I found a note on the coffee maker. Nate had written, “Welcome back to the dark side.” Gah! Must. Fight. The. Coffee. (But I’m having a cup now, petting my mug and whispering, "Oh, I missed you. My precioussssss.")

Austin was good. I always love seeing how old friends are doing, hearing about their lives. There have been some changes. At my dinner party, there were three children and one on the way. Also, some new loves and one friend who is applying for top security clearance with the government. (“I put you down on my list of references. Don’t be surprised if the FBI contacts you,” he said. “Everone else has come home from work and found a guy on the porch waiting for them.”)

Nate and I found some awesome jewelry by Robin Albachten while we were shopping on SoCo (I can never say “SoCo" without thinking how silly it is, especially since I remember South Congress as the place where you used to be able to solicit a prostitute and go to the XXX theater). I found some gifts for our nieces and a cool bag for my sis-in-law at Parts and Labor (where you can find a ton of cool, locally designed clothes, purses, and jewelry). Outside, Robin had a booth and I stopped to look at her jewelry because it was so striking. She has different kinds of pieces, but one of the things she does is find old, vintage glass and then recasts them in new jewelry. I found a cool ring that I bought for myself as a birthday present, and admired a necklace. But I convinced myself not to buy both, since I had already spent quite a bit of cheddar and I was still shopping for other people. I saw Nate sort of bite his lip and walk away. While I was in the next store, Nate went back and bought the necklace. What a sneak! (But a generous one.)

I did manage to get one run in while we were in Austin. On Saturday morning, I dragged myself out of bed and ran in the rain. The rain kept most of the crowds away; I saw only a few others out there. I was soon soaked, but I love running on dirt and crushed granite trails. I got all muddy, which is always fun, and I loved seeing the rain hit the river and hearing the water in the trees overhead. It’s those moments that make me miss Austin.

But Dallas is good. Even if the Mavericks break your heart. Even if the Arcadia burns down.

Update: Some pictures of the fire.

A few random thoughts

The Red Bull Burger at the Cock & Bull should be renamed the Crack Burger. Smoked gouda, roasted red bell peppers, and chipotle mayo. I ate that burger two days ago and I'm still thinking about it.

A sign your novel might be too long ... when you make two copies of it, and the copier starts smelling like it's burning.

Nate bought me a bike for my birthday. It has a bell! He also bought me a pretty bracelet from Italy that apparently involved complicated exchange rates and such. My birthday isn't until Monday, but he has a hard time not giving me presents early. I do not try to help him with this.

We had our first ride around White Rock Lake (me on my new bike!) on Sunday with Katy and Doc. Nine miles. I hadn't been on a bike in a long time. It was fun. There are strange swamp/humid pockets around the lake, which I found interesting.

Deadwood is back on!

I'm having two parties for my birthday, one in Austin and one in Dallas. Even though I haven't lived in Austin for four years, that party is going to be larger.

In Austin, we're staying with a friend, a bachelor friend. In the past I've had to ask him to stock toilet paper and clean towels before a visit. Today he called and asked Nate what kind of wine I like. I feel like our friendship has leveled up. Or, we are getting old. Or maybe he thinks if he gets me tipsy enough, I won't care if there's no TP.

In Austin, we're meeting up with my old boss from Chicago, from the Mexican Fine Arts Center. He is going to be at my party, along with his new lady love. Austin and Chicago: two worlds collide! Who will emerge victorious?

My birthday is on Monday, Juneteenth. I will begin celebrating tomorrow. I see a Curra's avocado margarita in my future ....

Crazy cats

I noticed this story on Yahoo today, about a cat who treed a bear. The thing that jumped out at me was the fact that the cat is an orange tabby.

When we got Roscoe, our orange tabby, we noticed a few things about him. He is unusually vocal (Aka, he complains about every damn thing and appears to talk back if you speak with him or ask him a question.); he hunts like serial killer; he fights all the time; survived an attack from a pit bull while he was still a kitten (with Nate's help, but still); attacks our 55- and 75-pound dogs regularly, including hiding behind shrubbery or furniture and jumping out at them; he SPRAYS his territory, even though he was fixed when he was a kitten; if you call him, he runs to the door like one of the dogs; there's more, but I think you get the idea. Someone told us that (orange) tabbies are known for being exceptionally aggressive and vocal. Not sure if this is true, but when I read the story about the treed bear and the orange tabby, I thought. Yep. That sounds about right. Another one of them crazy tabbies. Roscoe weighs about 13 pounds, by the way.

Congrats

* An old friend (of both mine and Nate's) has a new book out on Playa del Carmen.

* Carrie Iverson, a student from the first MFA writing class at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), is featured in the Chicago Tribune. She has a new exhibit called "Wake" in Brooklyn.

* Three profs from SAIC are listed in the "Lit 50" in New City magazine. James McManus, Rosellen Brown, and Carol Anshaw. Rosellen and Carol were my advisers during my time in the MFA program. They both helped me turn a bunch of scraps of writing into a novel.