From the announcer box at Frisco's Dr Pepper/7 up Park, home of the Rough Riders, AA team for the Texas Rangers

Food, wine, memories and the subsequent washing of dishes

Every time I drink Chardonnay I feel like a middle-aged housewife.

My college roommate, Lauren, used to be a close, close friend. Sometimes on weekends we'd go to Houston and I'd stay with her family in their provincial Cinco Ranch home with the customary white-columned entry. Her mother was ripe and fun, tit job and all. Usually, after a bottle of Penfolds Chardonnay, she was a hoot, if you could get past the slurred speech.

Now, if the bottle of Chard wasn't chilled when it arrived, Lauren's mother would toss a couple of ice cubes into a glass and fill it to the brim with the cheap Chardonnay. Nancy was usually the loudest and most congenial at dinner, and most often the most sauced.

Lauren used to be in the Corps., but you wouldn't know that just looking at her. She was a 20-something-year-old kid, engaged to an Army Reserveman. She got married to the soldier, and I wasn't even invited.

She said I was her maid of honor.

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Two culinary successes in a row? Is it possible, dear Watson? Yes; yes it is. On Saturday it was a roast chicken (my first attempt ever, and its breasts were juicy) and stuffed bell peppers. But that was nothing compared to the eggplant and sunflower seed pate. Just ask Dave. It was charming.

Tonight, I tried the taste of a different continent. It was black bean and garlic noodle soup with bok choy, sugar snap peas, tofu and shelled edamame. Everything turned out so well that I can't wait for lunch tomorrow. Thank God for leftovers. It wasn't quite like Mu Du Noodles, though. The Malaysian Laksa there is to... die... for.

You already knew, didn't ya?

Your Social Dysfunction: Narcissistic You are very self-important, preoccupied with success fantasies, expect special treatment and lack interpersonal empathy.

Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com Please note that we aren't, nor do we claim to be, psychologists. This quiz is for fun and entertainment only. Try not to freak out about your results.

New Self Portrait

Dave at the Amon Carter Museum, admiring the lithography in several books on display.

This is ironic ...

It's not that I've found what I was looking for. In fact, it's quite the opposite of that. I think that right now I'm further away than ever from the philosophical concept that once held me captive. I wanted to find a way for humans to save themselves from themselves. Whether it was a massive spiritual and intellectual awakening or some method of shock therapy, I wanted to find the answer, the key, the core of why we as a race are lost on ourselves.

So far, what have I found? Nothing. In fact, I've become somewhat lost myself. Other than finding love and realizing that life is so much more than just philosophy, I've really slid down the slippery slope of hapless humanity. But all of this isn't human at all! It's like a viral sort of materialism has infested itself among the brightness that humanity once was. I've become somewhat infected, too. I keep wanting more, more and more, without realizing that it's inconsequential. More is less when you realize what you had to do to get it.

I guess I've gotten sidetracked, yet again. I've discussed the here and now with the dear at heart. It is said that I want too much too fast. It has been said that my ambition and my life are like my thoughts getting ahead of my pen. If you don't slow down and savor every word you'll lose it all before it gets on paper. So, if I don't slow down with my ambitions, I'll lose track of where I wanted my life to go.

I may not get a do-over, but I certainly get a do-again. I'll wake up tomorrow morning and make sure that every moment that I have spare is put towards doing what I can and doing it right to get where I'm going, not necessarily tonight. But maybe the next day ...

Or maybe a few years from now. It's about putting the pen down.

I haven't really been able to let the beauty flow through me. I've been hanging on and choking it with my own love for beauty.

My prescription? See beauty and appreciate. Share when necessary and sometimes when not.

You are a Social Liberal (75% permissive) and an... Economic Liberal (23% permissive) You are best described as a: Strong Democrat Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid Also: The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

Trebled frown...

I tend to get somewhat depressed on Mondays. I feel tugged away from my life-at-large, and when something terribly drowned in emotion comes knocking, I feel sunk... sunk like the Lusitania. Underwater with tears flowing to fill a sea of desparation and misunderstanding... Mondays...

Hooray

For the State Fair of Texas!!!

I've never been, and I just got two free tickets at work! WHEEE!!! I'll be taking TONS of pictures!

I need:

More tattoos
A vacation
More money
Less waste
A civic hybrid (or prius)

I would rather...

... get my balls chomped by a dog than see a ho with some French pedicure...

No matter...

... how hard you try to be yourself, some people will not like you.
... how nice of a suit you wear, you can't win them over.
... how many times you say "good morning," "hi there," or "how are you," some will not answer out of a self-inflicted distance.
... how different you may seem to be, you are still effected deeply by the judgement of others.
... how much you smile, even if you grin until your face hurts, it will not make you happy or make them accept you.
... how beautiful you know you are, if people take it for granted you will feel used and neglected.
... how open some people seem, they do not see the world as you, therefore you are doomed to be the butt of their jokes, the punch-line in their stories.


No matter what the world throws at me, it cannot take my smile. I, too, have pride, and I'm not afraid to use it.

Blue eyes...

... and one dimple for the gals.

This is Jack.

He plays Julie.

Play Jack, play!

Flakey, like an old man's scalp...

Duped again. I can't believe it even happened. It's like it doesn't matter what I was asking of her, which was totally minimal. All I wanted was to see them, and now because of her reckless spending habits, I may very well not see any of them.

Why would you even propose that you would visit if you knew that the visit itself wasn't a priority? WHY, WHY ON EARTH DO YOU KEEP DOING THIS?

If I say that I'm going to be in Houston for the weekend, then damnit, I'm going to be in Houston, not Galveston, Austin, San Antonio or anywhere else.

I just hope that her decision doesn't change the plans of everyone. Or, maybe I could convince my No. 1 fans to help her out a bit so she can make it here.