Belize it or not

The other day, I walked out of the hospital at some ridiculous hour. I stepped out onto the garage roof and was embraced by a cool breeze on an otherwise humid, fairly warm night. Is it really January? It threw me off so much that for a second it reminded me of a night in Belize at Matachica. Oh, wait, except for the fact that, in Belize, I wasn't frustrated, tired, and standing in a parking garage at midnight. And there was an ocean. Right.

Spaghetti and shrimp dumplings

Often, I'm filled with wonder at the beauty of the world, and I wish I could find a way to pour my heart out in my writing. I wish that I could write something truly thought provoking, that sheds a light into the deepest recesses of my consciousness.

Instead, I'm going to talk about spaghetti.

Growing up, we didn't often have normal spaghetti. We had Chilean spaghetti (which is pressure cooked cuts of steak with carrots, black fungus, and bay leaves over spaghetti), spaghetti with garbanzos and parmesan, and spaghetti in a delicious homemade pesto sauce mixed with fresh farmers cheese to accompany apanado (beaten cuts of thin cut steak which is then breaded and fried). I liked normal spaghetti, it just didn't start appearing at our house until I was well into my teens.

At restaurants, I never understood people who used spoons to eat spaghetti. Seriously? Isn't that what the plate is for, to provide a stable winding surface? The use of knives to chop up spaghetti also baffled me, as it seemed to remove one of the best parts of having spaghetti - an interactive dining experience (I'm not sure if that gets my point across very well - eating, after all, involves you interacting with your food no matter how you do it - but I digress).

Defining a relationship

Ah, so much truth here.

Going up

I'd never really thought about it before, but it seems that I intermittently have an overwhelming compulsion to entertain random strangers on elevators.

I know that it happens with frequency at work. I've been known to start performing turkey calls and dance routines while moving throughout the building. And singing, of course. But it seems to happen a lot in my apartment, too. Sometimes it's just idle chit chat, on occasion I've busted out a random joke, and often it's just a random observation.

Don't know for a fact, but pretty sure some of my neighbors think I'm a bit odd. Sometimes people just ignore you, kind of "If I pretend I didn't hear anything, perhaps she'll stop." Sometimes you get a polite laugh or "Oh, really?" But the best times are when you end up laughing in earnest on the ride up, even if it's just one floor.

You've gotta take the little pleasures wherever you can, I suppose.

Stunned

You know those times when you hear some news that leaves you speechless?

Yeah, had one of those moments today. I stared at my phone for what felt like an eternity in the ER and waited for everything to make sense again.

Still waiting.

Before the parade passes by

I spent part of the morning meandering about downtown Dallas in my quest to renew my passport. It was a beautiful day for it, really. A nice 70 degrees, bit of a breeze, albeit a bit humid from the rain that hit the area yesterday.

Vaguely, part of my brain had registered that today was Veteran's Day, and another part had noted somewhere that there was going to be a parade down on Main street on Veteran's Day. However, those 2 parts hadn't really communicated with each other. Such being the case, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself on the sidelines of a parade as I walked over to the courthouse.

I love parades. When I was little, my brothers were in the marching band and we'd go out to hear them play and cheer whenever the high school was called to action. I also remember one particular time when my oldest brother had to dress up in a mouse costume and throw candy out from a float. Why? That is lost to a shadowy recess somewhere.

Have to say, though, there weren't very many people out there. I chatted with some of the folks out there, most of who had stopped to watch the action, but who hadn't heard much about it prior. Yet, we all distinctly remembered the planned parade that was scheduled for the Mavs anticipated victory over Miami a couple of years ago. Seriously?

All that aside, it was fun. Marching bands, soldiers, veterans, fire trucks, horses, they were all there. There were many people out there applauding and waving flags. A few kids were out there taking it all in. A platoon of doberman pinschers and their handlers, a chihuahua with it's master on a scooter, and Sparky the fire dog all made appearances. I stood with a group of people who enthusiastically cheered on all the bands as they walked by, and I met an old FDR high school defensive end/full back (class of 1982! as he let us all know) who runs a moving business. He cheered the loudest.

I think the warranty is out

Last night, had a great time with friends, board games, and organic agave tequila. May I say, damn. That is some fine stuff. Amy, thanks for some excellent bartending skills and for keeping our glasses filled. End result? 750 ml of fine liquor consumed between 3 friends (because we had no intention of sharing it with any of the late comers, really). 3 friends, all vibrant, euphoric, and giddy, without the usual vertigo or loss of time that usually accompanies massive quantities of low quality agave brew. Apparently, OAT has an additional effect on myself: extreme cockiness at Monopoly. OAT's Monopoly effect on cohorts: creative accounting and use of majority voting to take me down.

The arrival of the boys led to a Cranium/Scene It throwdown, boys vs. girls. And the girls ruled the day. Surprising? Not to me last night. Remember, cocky. Plus, we're some smart cookies at baseline, what can I say.

This AM, did we feel pain? No! We awoke alert and with massive appetites. It truly is the nectar of the gods. As stated on the official website, and I quote, "Enjoy it's taste today, feel it's purity tomorrow morning." Yes sir, we will.

However, tequila can't fix everything. While talking in the kitchen, I managed to injure myself badly enough in my left quad that I had difficulty standing back up. Getting into my car to drive home was excruciating secondary to irregular spasms that required me to drag my leg in. When I got home, I promptly fell on the concrete as I got out of the car. I think that a week of physical activity (kickball, ice skating, etc.) decided to sneak up on me. However, spending the last 8 hours or so sprawled on my couch with ice on it seems to be doing the trick, and I'm able to very carefully walk around my apartment without pulling the Quasimodo/Igor gait.