Since You've Been Gone

{Disclaimer: MG left for Australia a week ago and will be there, on an internship, for five months. We miss her terribly.}

Dear MG-

Hi! How are you? How's tomorrow going so far (since it's still 11 PM in Dallas)?

A great many changes have happened in the neighborhood since you went away. Miss Lucas is married and settled; and one of my own daughters. I suppose you have heard of it; indeed, you must have seen it in the papers. It was in the Times and the Courier, I know; though it was not put in as it ought to be.

Oh wait, no, I think I stole that from someone.

So you emailed me to blog and update you on what's going on around our lovely home- I'm glad you did since it's forcing me to sit and write, which I haven't had the patience to do recently.

We have been readjusting a bit since you left- getting used to the extra 5'10, 25-year-old girl-sized space that we have to fill. KS is slowly but surely transforming the downstairs hallway where your bedrooms are into a suite for she and Ruby. Valuable air conditioning and closet space should never go to waste, after all.

We went to Northpark together to go shopping last weekend (I know- who let that happen?) and we did the most damage at Lululemon, of all places. There's nothing like skin-tight yoga clothes to keep you motivated and attending bi-weekly power yoga classes though, I will say that. I'm also mere centimeters from being able to touch my toes, which I consider an accomplishment since my hamstrings have the natural flexibility of a 2 X 4.

We saw Inception last Friday night- have you seen it yet? I thought it was great, but the most recent movies I had seen prior to it were Charlie St. Cloud (I know, don't judge me) and Eclipse, so the bar was embarrassingly low. We went with AW, KR, MK and CC- MK was the only one who has seen it already and she took a 30-minute field trip in the middle of the movie to go check out a shirt she wanted from J.Crew.

You'll be pleased to hear that the Rangers are still playing well, though I went to the game last night and watched them lose 7-6 after being up 6-1 over the Yankees. It was frustrating but still a good game and they're still playing well with a good lead in the AL-West. KS kindly lets me turn on the games seemingly every night, and the length of the 162-game-long season is not lost on her at all. She is a saint.

You should check the weather to give yourself a good laugh- it's unbelievably hot here. Snuggle up in your North-Face when the temperatures get into the 50's at night in Sydney tonight and congratulate yourself on migrating to another hemisphere. That was a brilliant move on your part.

Ruby is still alive and told me to send you her love and favorite tennis ball... though you could probably do without the tennis ball.

Tomorrow night I'm going out for our friend RM's bachelor party. Yes, you read that correctly: bachelor party. He's doing a bigger, more bachelor-y weekend in Norman next month with his groomsmen, but he wanted a fun night out in Dallas with his best girl friends as well. I don't really know what to expect, since in the words of MK: "For this night, if we are asking ourselves if it's too much, it's just right."

Wish me luck? I'll need it: I'll be in heels.

I miss you dearly, but I'm excited for you. I can't wait to hear more about Sydney very soon- do we need to start skype-ing? Hope you have a great Friday, M.

Love,

Amy

One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore.

-Andre Gide

Sonnet #18

I had to memorize this as a 5th grader and I still know it to this day. Since summer officially began this week, I thought it was appropriate- it's one of my favorites.

Shall I compare thee to a Summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And Summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And oft' is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd:
But thy eternal Summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wanderest in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:

So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see,
So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

-Shakespeare

Throwing Like A Girl- Championship Party

I've successfully turned my friends into basketball-watching enthusiasts and trash-talkers.

I couldn't be more pleased about it, either.

Much to my delight, my Ladies-Only bracket pool leaders are neck-in-neck leading up to the final game. Husbands and boyfriends have complimented me on the idea, and another friend in Ft. Worth even copied it with some friends who live scattered throughout the country.

I myself am currently sitting at No. 17 out of 18 ladies which is pretty typical at this point. The one person I'm ahead of is MK, who threw caution to the wind like she always does and picked Xavier to win it all. I'm ashamed to face facts and admit that Xavier made it further in the tournament than my winner-pick, which was Kansas.

Let's not talk about it. MK is also primed to win the last-place participation award.

I'll be weekend-ing at my parents' home this weekend to celebrate Easter and let someone else decide how to entertain me for two days, but that will also give me time watch the Saturday night basketball games and menu plan. You might not know me at all but those are basically two of my favorite things to do: watch sports and cook for people.

My immediate thoughts turn to things that keep well and taste better after a day, like pulled pork or brisket (for sliders) and sangria wine, which sounds like something a ladies-only party would enjoy.

If you would like to brush up on your statistics for each team leading into the games this weekend, I would recommend checking out ESPN. The great thing is that the explanation of each statistic is provided at the bottom of the screen. Gordon Hayward for example, who plays for Butler, is an 82.7% free-throw shooter on average for this season. (FT% = Free Throw Percentage; .827 = 82.7%).

Hope everyone has a great weekend cheering on whichever teams you need to save face in their respective bracket pools!

And, of course, Happy Easter.

Everybody pulls for David, nobody roots for Goliath.
-Wilt Chamberlain

Quote

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I have to know where you are at all times, especially when you have my shoes on!
-Lorelai Gilmore, Gilmore Girls

Flew By

{This is my cousin's new baby Otis- he's so glad it's Friday. Being two-weeks-old is hard work, you know.}

It looks like an entire week has passed and I posted one lame excuse for a blog post (ie. mostly pictures and few words).

This week kind of flew, but I'm glad because I need some quiet-time. And by "quiet-time" I mean concert-time. Let's hope I have a second-wind hiding up my sleeve.

Winter has returned to the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, so I will have a good excuse to read and watch movies and try some new recipes. I may even run to the liquor store because I'm on a new Sidecar-drinking kick. Sounds like something served during Prohibition, doesn't it? They are delicious but I haven't attempted making one on my own.

I'll let you know how my experiments turn out- I'm considering whipping up some homemade granola and fried chicken as well. We shall see!

Happy Weekend.

There is little chance that meteorologists can solve the mysteries of weather until the gain an understanding of the mutual attraction of rain and weekends.

-Arnot Sheppard

Substance

Like clockwork, I found that it had been eight weeks and I was scheduled for another hair trim yesterday. I also had Community Group so clearly I was stretching it with a two-commitment evening and a rental car with no GPS.

I should really get out more...

Or not, since I'm driving a rental car sans-rental insurance.

While robed, checking Twitter and waiting for my appointment I realized I was the only brunette getting my hair done and found myself vastly outnumbered by Dallas Blondes. It was like being stuck in Austin Powers with a room full of femme bots- only I was in the Park Cities and there were women everywhere with frozen expressions, staring into mirrors or at magazines with foil all up in their hair. Someone needs to study the effects of peroxide fumes on the brain, no?



I left to go to KR and MK's place for Community Group, and it ended up being only MK, MG, CC and myself. With the majority of the group unable to attend this week, we sat around to chat, eat grapes and sample various flavors of Braum's ice-cream. Peanut butter and Snickers? Surprisingly good.

Conversation floated and I noticed that MG was making a list in her journal; creative writing courses, calligraphy class, living in Spain, teaching English in Latin America... Just things that had been on her mind making their way to paper. We discussed continuing education, classes we would consider taking and how we just miss talking about books and literary things.

Hi, welcome to life with English nerds. Non-stop fun.

We talked about ideas for the future, in a hopeful but directional sense. I see now that graduating college and working full time puts you in a position to realize your talents and what you really care about. And while my friends have goals and dreams aplenty among us, I don't see many examples in my own life of people looking simply to climb the corporate ladder or take a job simply to make more money. This manifests itself differently depending on the person but on some level we all want our work to have meaning and purpose.

I don't mean to paint my friends as pipe-smoking philosophers because that's not the case at all, but I do find refreshing the fact that our conversations have substance. Not gossip or idle chatter but rather honest questions and genuine interest in each other's lives.

We are women and I think that makes us dreamers by nature, but I also like seeing appreciation and "carpe diem" for the now...

The peanut butter and Snicker's ice-cream doesn't hurt anything, either.

Why do so many...settle for so little? I don't understand why they're not greedy for what's inside them.

-Jack Gilbert

Let the Games Begin

It would be an outright insult to my upbringing and to the entire state of Texas if I did not discuss the beginning of college football season this week.

Ambitiously, I hope to make it to three of A&M's football games; one will be played at the new Cowboy's stadium in Dallas in October, one is the requisite Thanksgiving game against UT which others in my family also attend, and then spend a weekend in Houston and catch another. It's been far too long since I've been to College Station, undoubtedly because of my family and all their trickery.

Yep, with the advent of football season flares the family rivalry, one in which I am vastly outnumbered.

This weekend I will be attending a college football game, oh yes, but it will not be my Alma Mater's game. You see while A&M is playing New Mexico, I'll be in Austin with my family for the UT vs. Louisiana-Monroe game, 120 miles away.

The sunny weather, the hanging out with family and friends who will be in town, the good Mexican food... poor me. Truth be told, I always enjoy Austin and there's nothing better than the opening weekend of college football season.

I don't know what exactly it is about football particularly. In Texas we build shrines to the sport; stadiums that hold upwards of 90,000+ fans on a single day. Maybe the excitement stems from the fact that a football team's schedule is concentrated; teams play only a handful of games and thus every one could potentially make or break a season, unlike in baseball or basketball where upwards of 80 or 100 games are played before the post-season. Maybe there is a buzz because football season coincides with the beginning of a new school year. It could be the tailgating, your team's fight song or a myriad of other things. Football season just comes with an energy that is wonderfully infectious.

Students really don't know how good you have it until you leave college, leave your season tickets and friends and figure out that no, TV stations in New York do not regularly broadcast Big 12 games into your tiny apartment and no, you cannot go to a game a certain weekend with friends because you are traveling for work.

For those of us who have graduated college already, it gives us the opportunity to reminisce for a few hours, to relive the glory days when committed time did not extend beyond 15-18 hours a week, friends became family and studying could wait.

Wherever you are this holiday weekend, be it Austin, College Station or hunched over your iPhone checking scores from an ill-timed wedding, happy football season to all!

Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you it's much more serious than that.
-Bill Shankly

Brick Wall

It was bound to happen sooner or later. Too much "going" and not enough slowing down.

It started Wednesday, with a scratchy throat. I thought I was just thirsty, so I kept drinking water all day to ease the pain. Yesterday evening, my nose started getting stopped up. I can still smell, I can still taste food and I haven't started coughing, so to me that means I'm still functioning.

Today, I'm just tired. I called my mom this morning and told her my symptoms- I'll be visiting my family this evening for dinner and staying the night while both of my roommates are out of town. Sometimes it's nice to just stay at home- you get rest, food and pity in the same place.

It seems like this always happens. I go and go and go and the minute everything slows down my body decides to relinquish responsibility for my health, citing lack of sleep (too many good books read late into weeknight hours) and too much fun-having (weekend trips, weddings, the lake, etc.) as reasons for slowing me down. Let's not forget that I work full-time in the middle of everything else.

Seems as though I finally hit this season's brick wall.

There's lots of people who spend so much time watching their health, they haven't got time to enjoy it.
-Josh Billings

Starts With a "W", Ends With a "G"...

It's still summer, I still live in Texas and it is still wedding season, kids.

I feel like I should possibly apologize for all the posts about wedding and exercise but that's kind of my life right now... along with sleeping, working and trying to make my bed every day. But you know what? Never apologize... take no prisoners! Okay, confession, that was butchered hybrid of movie quotes, but there is truth in that statement (just ignore the part about the prisoners unless you are a gecko in my house, in which case prepare to die).

There are enough apologies owed in life, blog content should not be one of them. Soon enough I'll be talking about football season and you'll say, Wait! What happened to the pretty people in dresses?!

I'll be splitting from work today to head straight to a nearby hotel in the Dallas area for SR's wedding. My friends have had receptions in a variety of places, but a hotel is a new one; distinct differences being soft bathrobes and no need for designated drivers. Any wedding that wants to monopolize my weekend via hotel resort, no matter how close in proximity to my parents house (10 minutes), will get some kind of purple highlighted recognition in my Outlook calendar.

This weekend will also mark the first time since college (2+ years, otherwise known as a lifetime), that my roommates AS, KB and JP and I have been in the same place at the same time.

I'm excited for SR; she and her fiance have been together for nearly three years and have finally reached the wedding's eve. She and I have known each other since elementary school; our brothers are the same age and also friends and we spent many Saturday hours together keeping score in the sand at their little league games. In high school we were in rival cliques but mine won her over after a few years on the tennis team.

Beyond the standard busy wedding-weekend schedule, I'm hoping for some quality time in the sun on Sunday afternoon. I need some color before heading to the lake for a reunion with my college friends next weekend and I also want to finish The Time Traveler's Wife.

If there is such a thing as too much fun, I'm about to find out.

Happy wedding, SR!

Shall I compare thee to a Summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate...
-Shakespeare, Sonnet #18

Weak Week

Trainer: "What are your fitness goals?"

Me: To be mistaken for a swimsuit model. "Overall toning, more core strength, weight loss..."

Trainer: "Okay great- bring your book next week and we'll do your measurements."

Me: You'll pinch my fat? Lovely. "Okay, will do!"

For my first training session this week, we worked legs until they felt like Jell-O. My subsequent soreness/agony led me to discover that most everything I own can be thrown to the top of the stairs, as opposed to me actually having to walk them up to my room.

For my second session on Wednesday we worked on arms, where my triceps were pushed to the point of muscle failure. Trainer was pleased by this; I was just happy to move onto abs and core work until I was commanded to do Mountain Climbers. If you've never done these before, there's a legitimate reason, because no one looks attractive while doing a them. MG was nearby, waiting for a Core Fusion class to begin and humoring herself because seriously- have you seen yourself hop around on all fours? It's kind of entertaining.

I'm wondering when all of the pain will subside, but Trainer says we're building the foundation. This foundation of sorts is making it difficult to raise my arms above my head at present. I had no idea I was so weak but that's what we're working on.

I had a well-timed haircut yesterday evening and wanted to stay in the massage chair forever; the assistant with great hands became my favorite person for about ten minutes while he wrapped my neck in a warm towel and washed my hair.

It felt like pure luxury when your body sounds like a bowl of Rice Krispies after the milk is poured over it...

Snap. Crackle. Pop.

A path with no obstacles doesn't lead anywhere.
-Unknown

Calendar Space

First and foremost, it's my dear friend MK's birthday today.

We had a party that was "not her birthday party" according to her last night, but today is her real 24th. I feel like you probably all know her life story by now because she appears in many installments here at The Manhattan Transfer. She and I are different on so many levels and even both went to opposing Big XII schools, but have remained friends through the good, the bad and middle school. She makes me try new things and see new perspectives and experience life in a deeper, more meaningful way.

While lounging with she and ND on her bed after said party last night, RM busted in with the grandiose idea of going out all night and taking ND to the airport at 4 a.m. for her 6:15 a.m. flight back to her home in Hawaii. We did no such thing, but promised we would go out for a celebratory drink tonight.

Even when we were younger, MK would always point out that though she was among the last to claim her driver's license and was unable to vote until months after the rest of us, she always had the foresight to point out that once we got into some later years, she would have the upper hand.

She was right. My body, at the ripe age of 24 years and six-plus months was not about to get out of that bed and go party last night. The only thing I was capable of that point was shuffling to my car to go home and get into my own bed.

Months ago, when my summer calendar starting to fill up with work trips and wedding events, I intentionally kept this weekend open.

Knowing myself, I knew I would need a break at this point in the summer, and I do. I get to spend the weekend in Dallas with no commitments. No travel required, no weddings, no showers, no parties, no family events, nothing. I hope to accomplish a few things around the house, sleep and sleep s'more, see the newest Harry Potter movie for the second time, go to the gym with renewed purpose, succeed in not spending money on things I don't need and grocery shop since I haven't gotten to cook this week.

See how I slipped Harry Potter in there? Just trying to keep my priorities in check.

There is more to life than increasing its speed.
-Gandhi

It's That Time Again

My friends AG and SR will be getting married a month apart from each other this summer.

AG gets married tomorrow; SR in August.

For something as difficult as working full-time and planning your own wedding seems to be on its own, they have also been busy planning parties for and helping each other.

They grew up in the same suburban town, went to elementary, middle and high school together, both went to Texas A&M and were in the same sorority (with me), and both relocated to Dallas after graduation. They have lived together over the past few months, in an apartment that, the last time I visited, was full of wedding magazines, Lean Cuisine meals, had an elliptical machine in the middle of the living area and a copy of the book The Act of Marriage sitting haphazardly on a coffee table. I've never read it, though obviously I gather what it is about and can laugh and get goobed-out NOW, but apparently it is required reading for Christian couples. Just maybe not something you want your guests flipping through over coffee.

For all of the similarities they have from being friends so many years, their weddings will still take place in our hometown, but at different venues, with different guests and different styles that come with the personality of each bride.

At their dual bachelorette party, we joked with AG that it was also her "going away" party. She's only moving to Ft. Worth, which in all actuality is about 45 minutes from Dallas, it just feels far.

There is a picture of AG and I from the fourth grade, which is the team photo of our Boys & Girls Club basketball team, which I think we would both burn if it didn't have so much sentimental value. I would safely bet that it was the first picture of hundreds we ever took together.

I remember hearing about WS, her fiance, when they started dating. They didn't know each other at all and basically dated as friends, in the beginning. While visiting me in New York only a few months into the relationship, I recall her vaguely asking KR, AV and I how many drinks was appropriate to have on a first date. We all responded with probably one, on a first date, and she nodded, then came back with: "so three beers was too many?"

I have countless stories of her. Countless. I am so happy for her because she deserves every good thing that has come her way.

It's both strange and wonderful that today is here. Strange that we spent roadtrips to and from Destin, Florida making predictions on the sort of men each other would marry and the qualities they would possess. I would give anything to find that list. Wonderful that regardless of anything she put on paper, she found the real life version.

Happy wedding, dear friend.

Today I met the boy I'm gonna marry

The boy whose life and dreams and love I wanna share...

-Darlene Love, "(Today I Met) The Boy I'm Gonna Marry"

Weekday Toasting

A conversation from this morning that sums up last night:

BF: i am a mess!
Me: why?!
BF: hellllllllllllllloooo surprise party at a winery.
on a worknight
who does that

BF's boyfriend threw her a surprise birthday party at a winery last night. If you're wondering- yes it was his idea, yes he coordinated everything, and yes he is precious. We had two long wooden tables full of fun people sipping and talking and moving around to see everyone over the course of several hours.

There were five flights of both white and red wines, and many of us who had not gone home beforehand started feeling both tipsy and hungry around our fourth white. We practically attacked a cheese and cracker tray, and I glanced at a menu to see that for those desiring more food (me and company) there were five nearby restaurants who could deliver food within minutes. My kind of winery. Someone had legitimately thrown out the idea of a Taco Bell run, but then we spotted pizza delivery as an option and phoned in a large margherita.

Such a great decision.

I lasted through five whites and three reds and turned into a pumpkin around 10:30 when I realized that 1.) I needed to pack for my work trip to New Jersey this weekend, and 2.) how do you pack with no suitcase?

I was there long enough to enjoy my dear friends, the wine, the pizza, obviously, and to see BF's bf (ha- funny) give a thoughtful toast about how crazy he is about her and what a wonderful woman she is.

Something everyone in that room already knew, to be sure.

My only regret in life is that I did not drink more Champagne.
-John Maynard Keynes

Sick Day

Today is the first day I have ever called in sick to work. For the two years it has been since I graduated college an entered the working world, any sicknesses I have incurred have conveniently scheduled themselves on holidays and weekends.

I felt a headache coming on yesterday afternoon at work, took medicine, felt it again after dinner during Bible study, and put myself in bed when I got home... after watching the highlights from the Mavs/Spurs game, of course. I woke up, hot and feverish, at 3:30 AM, and alternated between trying to find the cool side of my pillow, waking up as soon as I found sleep and trying to find some form of Tylenol or ibuprofen in my bathroom cabinets.

Just one of those nights.

At 6 AM I started vomiting. That was really breaking point; I gave up on my 24-year-old self-medication and decided to cross back over into my childhood, walk downstairs and tell my mother. Who else would you really want in that situation, anyway? I ended up curled in a ball on the couch downstairs in my robe, dozing with my dog (her usual morning routine), while my mom left for appointments and my dad left for work.

Work sick days are different from school sick days... and when was the last time I was even sick on a school day? I probably could have missed class with an excuse during my sophomore year when I got a minor concussion (which I didn't immediately know was a concussion... another story for another time) but the malady coincided with my finals, which at that point could not be rescheduled.

School sick days were awesome- missing class, lounging at home watching movies, sleeping were the most you could ever hope for from a weekday. Now as a working adult, there is the looming wonder of what am I missing at work? What am I going to have to deal with Monday? There comes a point when it's just enough, clearly your body is trying to tell you something and it probably boils down to two words: slow down.

I wish I could be singing Danke Schoen on a float in Chicago right now, but I doubt my current diet of Saltines and 7-Up would grant me the fortitude for such a production. Besides, my friends are ready to party it up at an engagement dinner for a friend tomorrow night, and who am I to rain on anyone's parade?

Ferris: Cameron, what have you seen today?
Cameron: Nothing good.
Ferris: Nothing - wha - what do you mean nothing good? We've seen everything good; we've seen the whole city! We went to a museum, we saw priceless works of art! We ate pancreas!
***
Ferris: Ladies and gentlemen, you are such a wonderful crowd, we'd like to play a little tune for you. It's one of my personal favorites and I'd like to dedicate it to a young man who doesn't think he's seen anything good today - Cameron Frye, this one's for you...
-Ferris Bueller's Day Off