Monday, June 26, 2006
Houston and Austin living up to their stereotypes
I have forgotten to write about many strange things I have encountered in this great land. Least of which being the “who dey?” phenomenon in Cincinnati. Thanks to Jess for digging these links up. The really interesting thing was not the “who dey” bumper stickers or t-shirts. It wasn’t even the “who dey” sausage at the farmer’s market. No, the really interesting “who dey” spotting was the decorative rock at the end of someone’s driveway on this really nice street I went running on. Like across the street there is a gated community, a very nice private school and in the midst of this perfectly landscaped yard is a large boulder with a Bengal and “Who Dey?” underneath it. What? Keep Cincinnati Weird. (You'll understand that later.)
Ok, so to update on where I’ve been.
Friday in Houston, Susan and I slept in, made waffles for breakfast and eventually went and wandered around Rice Village. Did some shopping, I acquired a new tank top, as I’m sweating through everything I brought at a rapid pace. I also found a copy of The Bean Trees at a great used bookstore, which Suzanne had told me to read sometime this summer, as it’s all about a woman who goes on a road trip in a crappy car and ends up in Tucson. Thankfully, I haven’t yet found myself the keeper of a small toddler, so my adventure’s a little different. Anyhow, Susan and I weren’t really concerned with making sure I was seeing Houston, as I’ve actually lived there before. We were more concerned with hanging out and solving the problems of the world. Oh, and well, there's not that much to see. It's no Chicago (where Susan used to live).
Had a fantastic dinner at the Red Onion. I had a swirled frozen margarita/sangria drink and an amazing dinner. This place has pineapple salsa, which was really cool. Sidenote, I have to learn how to cook fried plantains. I could eat them everyday. Even better than dinner was the conversation, as Jamie is a kindred spirit when it comes to finding a career (she’s been to both dental school and law school for a short period) and has finally landed on PA school. I find comfort in other people’s stories of being lost. Jamie went home to study; Susan and I went home to bed. Because we’re old, true, but more because we were running 8 miles the next morning.
Susan is training for the Marine Corps Marathon and is part of this Houston running club where everyone is training for some fall marathon. Now I have not run much lately. Let me just be up front about that. Sure, I ran a personal record in March for a half marathon, but I am not at that level right now. And 8 miles is just enough to kick your ass when you haven’t been running much lately. I am also not adjusted to the humidity of Houston, which is dreadful. Okay, so all excuses aside, I decide to go, assured that there are runners at all levels.
Things start out well enough, as a woman recognizes my hat from the same half marathon and we compare notes on the race. Great. Feeling pretty comfortable. Definitely seeing some folks who look like they are “my people” – the back of the pack. So I start out strong with a woman named Carrie and we chat about all sorts of things. She thinks I’m crazy to be running on my vacation, but I admit the real reason is that I’ve also been eating my way across the country and my pants were tight at dinner the night before. She understands and relates completely. Somewhere around the loop that goes around Rice I find myself unable to keep up. Even with walk breaks I’m having a pretty tough time breathing and I can feel the majority of the blood in my body start to flow to my face and head. So I end up having to be with the coach whose job it is to bring up the rear. Coach Amy is the caboose and she assures me it’s fine if I need to walk and that she’s not annoyed or anything. I felt like a jackass, I should have known I wasn’t going to be able to keep up, but I wanted to try. Ugh. Luckily, Amy is a total sweetheart and we basically had a therapy session during the last couple miles. Turns out I’m not the only one who dated some winners in the last year.
Disgustingly sweaty, Susan and I make a big breakfast and then head to her apartment’s pool for some decadent relaxation. On the way there we run into a Tulane medical student who Susan knows and was moving back to New Orleans. She’s got her first rotation in the ER. The ER at Lord & Taylor, she says. I think, there’s a hospital named the same as the department store? Did it start in New Orleans maybe? Hmm. Then she explains, that’s right, Lord & Taylor is a makeshift ER. Susan, ever the optimist, says, well, you’ll get some great experience. Guess she’ll be set if she ever wants to practice medicine in the developing world. I think how much the focus of the country is NOT on what is still going on or not going on in New Orleans. Maybe it will get some attention later this summer as the one year anniversary approaches. How sad.
Later in the afternoon, I go with Susan to Mass. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the topic up for discussion was not something with deep connections to Biblical stories or references that would go over my head. It was all about global warming. And how God gave us free will and look what we’ve done to the Earth. That gave me a lot to think about. And the couple in front of us gave me enough to watch. Now, Susan’s in shorts and I’m in jeans and we’re fine, but this chick was in a strapless top with a visible tattoo between her shoulder blades and her boyfriend kept rubbing her back and grabbing her around the hips and ass during the parts when we’d be standing. It would have been too much if we had been at a concert or something, but it was really too much for Saturday afternoon Mass.
Speaking of Jesus, my blog crush of May is still doing the work of the people in Arlington sending them cabs, see what he had to deal with on June 21. And Carol, my outstanding Memphis tour guide, has been collecting a list of religious bumper stickers and is going to post them on her one year anniversary. Bookmark her blog to make sure you don’t miss it. My current favorite I've seen? God is SO Good. It reminds me of those annoying yogurt commercials, so it's kind of funny.
Sushi for dinner with Beth, delightful dessert at the Dessert Gallery (they specialize in cakes, not my first choice, but carrot cake was pretty freaking good). Susan was leaving for vacation on Sunday morning, so we went home to pack and do some more relaxing. We excel at this.
I drop Susan off at the airport after a stop to get a Kolache. I’ve never heard of these, and eager to always experience any new food item, I make Susan leave 20 minutes earlier to go get one. I ordered the Sausage and Cheese as it is supposed to be the most popular, however, I either got the wrong one or sausage is equal to a hot dog and cheese is velveeta. The bread itself was salty, which I enjoyed. Not to compete with Overheard in NY, but we did hear this gem as we walked into the shop:
Man: Do you want to go get it now?
Woman: No
Man: Is it because you hate me?
Woman: Yes
An uneventful and short ride through Central Texas and I find myself in Austin. Now I have firmly said many times before that I am not sure I am leaving DC when all is said and done, but I’ve definitely been thinking about it. I’m flirting with other cities, if you will, and at the moment I’ve had a crush on Austin for a long time, but this will be our first date. In an email from my friend Alli’s cousin who lives here, Austin has been described as being all about “music and food and physical activity.” Add in cute boys and I’ll pack my bags.
I hang out with my Austin host family, Julie’s friends Erin and Brad, and get some tips and directions and head out in late afternoon. My plan is to explore some and then end up at this free concert in a park. I make my way to the flagship Whole Foods which is possibly one of the coolest places for food dorks like me. Is it wrong to move for a grocery store? I also check out the fantastic Waterloo music store, where I buy a used Lucinda Williams CD thinking it might make a good soundtrack for West Texas. I was also motivated to buy it by all the Keep Austin Weird marketing I’m seeing everywhere. Even the Whole Foods highlights Texas products. People seem to take the supporting of local businesses very seriously, a cause I can certainly get behind as I find it harder and harder to see how places are different from the strip malls off the interstates. But apparently even the use of the Keep Austin Weird as a slogan has supposedly been co-opted. Point is, lots of fighting The Man spirit around these parts. Which I adore. We’re having a great first date, me and Austin. Again, there’s a lot I’m forgetting, but I’ve long finished my coffee here at Austin Java and there is more exploring to be done…
Later, y’all.
Ok, so to update on where I’ve been.
Friday in Houston, Susan and I slept in, made waffles for breakfast and eventually went and wandered around Rice Village. Did some shopping, I acquired a new tank top, as I’m sweating through everything I brought at a rapid pace. I also found a copy of The Bean Trees at a great used bookstore, which Suzanne had told me to read sometime this summer, as it’s all about a woman who goes on a road trip in a crappy car and ends up in Tucson. Thankfully, I haven’t yet found myself the keeper of a small toddler, so my adventure’s a little different. Anyhow, Susan and I weren’t really concerned with making sure I was seeing Houston, as I’ve actually lived there before. We were more concerned with hanging out and solving the problems of the world. Oh, and well, there's not that much to see. It's no Chicago (where Susan used to live).
Had a fantastic dinner at the Red Onion. I had a swirled frozen margarita/sangria drink and an amazing dinner. This place has pineapple salsa, which was really cool. Sidenote, I have to learn how to cook fried plantains. I could eat them everyday. Even better than dinner was the conversation, as Jamie is a kindred spirit when it comes to finding a career (she’s been to both dental school and law school for a short period) and has finally landed on PA school. I find comfort in other people’s stories of being lost. Jamie went home to study; Susan and I went home to bed. Because we’re old, true, but more because we were running 8 miles the next morning.
Susan is training for the Marine Corps Marathon and is part of this Houston running club where everyone is training for some fall marathon. Now I have not run much lately. Let me just be up front about that. Sure, I ran a personal record in March for a half marathon, but I am not at that level right now. And 8 miles is just enough to kick your ass when you haven’t been running much lately. I am also not adjusted to the humidity of Houston, which is dreadful. Okay, so all excuses aside, I decide to go, assured that there are runners at all levels.
Things start out well enough, as a woman recognizes my hat from the same half marathon and we compare notes on the race. Great. Feeling pretty comfortable. Definitely seeing some folks who look like they are “my people” – the back of the pack. So I start out strong with a woman named Carrie and we chat about all sorts of things. She thinks I’m crazy to be running on my vacation, but I admit the real reason is that I’ve also been eating my way across the country and my pants were tight at dinner the night before. She understands and relates completely. Somewhere around the loop that goes around Rice I find myself unable to keep up. Even with walk breaks I’m having a pretty tough time breathing and I can feel the majority of the blood in my body start to flow to my face and head. So I end up having to be with the coach whose job it is to bring up the rear. Coach Amy is the caboose and she assures me it’s fine if I need to walk and that she’s not annoyed or anything. I felt like a jackass, I should have known I wasn’t going to be able to keep up, but I wanted to try. Ugh. Luckily, Amy is a total sweetheart and we basically had a therapy session during the last couple miles. Turns out I’m not the only one who dated some winners in the last year.
Disgustingly sweaty, Susan and I make a big breakfast and then head to her apartment’s pool for some decadent relaxation. On the way there we run into a Tulane medical student who Susan knows and was moving back to New Orleans. She’s got her first rotation in the ER. The ER at Lord & Taylor, she says. I think, there’s a hospital named the same as the department store? Did it start in New Orleans maybe? Hmm. Then she explains, that’s right, Lord & Taylor is a makeshift ER. Susan, ever the optimist, says, well, you’ll get some great experience. Guess she’ll be set if she ever wants to practice medicine in the developing world. I think how much the focus of the country is NOT on what is still going on or not going on in New Orleans. Maybe it will get some attention later this summer as the one year anniversary approaches. How sad.
Later in the afternoon, I go with Susan to Mass. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the topic up for discussion was not something with deep connections to Biblical stories or references that would go over my head. It was all about global warming. And how God gave us free will and look what we’ve done to the Earth. That gave me a lot to think about. And the couple in front of us gave me enough to watch. Now, Susan’s in shorts and I’m in jeans and we’re fine, but this chick was in a strapless top with a visible tattoo between her shoulder blades and her boyfriend kept rubbing her back and grabbing her around the hips and ass during the parts when we’d be standing. It would have been too much if we had been at a concert or something, but it was really too much for Saturday afternoon Mass.
Speaking of Jesus, my blog crush of May is still doing the work of the people in Arlington sending them cabs, see what he had to deal with on June 21. And Carol, my outstanding Memphis tour guide, has been collecting a list of religious bumper stickers and is going to post them on her one year anniversary. Bookmark her blog to make sure you don’t miss it. My current favorite I've seen? God is SO Good. It reminds me of those annoying yogurt commercials, so it's kind of funny.
Sushi for dinner with Beth, delightful dessert at the Dessert Gallery (they specialize in cakes, not my first choice, but carrot cake was pretty freaking good). Susan was leaving for vacation on Sunday morning, so we went home to pack and do some more relaxing. We excel at this.
I drop Susan off at the airport after a stop to get a Kolache. I’ve never heard of these, and eager to always experience any new food item, I make Susan leave 20 minutes earlier to go get one. I ordered the Sausage and Cheese as it is supposed to be the most popular, however, I either got the wrong one or sausage is equal to a hot dog and cheese is velveeta. The bread itself was salty, which I enjoyed. Not to compete with Overheard in NY, but we did hear this gem as we walked into the shop:
Man: Do you want to go get it now?
Woman: No
Man: Is it because you hate me?
Woman: Yes
An uneventful and short ride through Central Texas and I find myself in Austin. Now I have firmly said many times before that I am not sure I am leaving DC when all is said and done, but I’ve definitely been thinking about it. I’m flirting with other cities, if you will, and at the moment I’ve had a crush on Austin for a long time, but this will be our first date. In an email from my friend Alli’s cousin who lives here, Austin has been described as being all about “music and food and physical activity.” Add in cute boys and I’ll pack my bags.
I hang out with my Austin host family, Julie’s friends Erin and Brad, and get some tips and directions and head out in late afternoon. My plan is to explore some and then end up at this free concert in a park. I make my way to the flagship Whole Foods which is possibly one of the coolest places for food dorks like me. Is it wrong to move for a grocery store? I also check out the fantastic Waterloo music store, where I buy a used Lucinda Williams CD thinking it might make a good soundtrack for West Texas. I was also motivated to buy it by all the Keep Austin Weird marketing I’m seeing everywhere. Even the Whole Foods highlights Texas products. People seem to take the supporting of local businesses very seriously, a cause I can certainly get behind as I find it harder and harder to see how places are different from the strip malls off the interstates. But apparently even the use of the Keep Austin Weird as a slogan has supposedly been co-opted. Point is, lots of fighting The Man spirit around these parts. Which I adore. We’re having a great first date, me and Austin. Again, there’s a lot I’m forgetting, but I’ve long finished my coffee here at Austin Java and there is more exploring to be done…
Later, y’all.
# posted by kristen : 9:39 AM
