0081 - Houston

My life centers around the bathroom. I think all the fourteen hour trips we took to Mississippi when I was younger left a psychological scar... They always took place around a holiday, and this was before the days of the 24/7/365 McDonalds and gas stations. Back then... aside from walking uphill in the snow both ways to school... we had to use rest areas, and the closer we got to Mississippi, the fewer and farther between they became because it was a more rural area, and it was also later in the evening. Sometimes I thought I was going to pee my pants because I either tried not to say anything, or we couldn't find anywhere to stop. So I joke now that I don't have a small bladder - I have very efficient kidneys. I hate it. I hate having to ask anyone to pull over... but there comes a point when it has to be done.

On the trip from Houston to Austin there is a large gas complex just past the Travis County Line where I would stop every time. It was clean, it was just past a light on the correct side of the road, it was about at that point where I needed to go... And it is not what it used to be.

This time I went in and two of the stalls were closed... the one that was open was occupied by a young hispanic man who didn't lock the stall door - not to mention that he was in the women's restroom - I double checked myself to be sure and it not only said Women's, but it had the stick figure with the dress on. Once he cleared out I saw that there was no toilet paper in any of the stalls and the one he'd used was disgusting... someone's ass exploded is all I can say. It was kind of traumatic all around. But I had to pee bad, so I grabbed a paper towel and hovered over a toilet in a different stall. Couldn't get out of that place fast enough.

We get to the Houston area and it's about three o'clock. There should not be traffic at three o'clock... but there was. Bumper to bumper. I think being away from it for so long has made it seem even worse to me. At times I wanted to fling the truck door open and just take off running. I know that's not normal, but I blame the Rita evacuation. I can't stand a sea of brake lights, it stresses me out. Mike was even less thrilled since he was the one behind the wheel.

So we're here now and we're attempting to accomplish a lot of things in a short amount of time. I want to see people so I'm trying to make sure that happens, but we also have things that need to get done. We need more than 24 hours in a day sometimes...

0080 - Eek! The Cat

Anyone remember that cartoon? I liked it. It was offbeat but short-lived.

So... I totally forgot that I didn't post Mike's pics from the reunion... so without further ado...

He took other pics of Zulu, but I thought this was cool because it captures her best... on the move, one little ball of energy.

Me with a dragonfly on my finger. He had flipped upside down in the pool but was still very much alive. I thought if I flipped him over he'd be able to fly away, but I guess his wings were waterlogged. I put him on my finger, and then on a bush, and unless a bird got him, he flew away... hopefully away from the pool...

We saw these gorgeous purple berries in the woods behind Dana and Hunt's house. Mike got some really good pics of them. The color is really pretty.