It is lunch time and I am sitting at my desk completely alert and looking forward to the day ahead. I am also really excited about tomorrow, because we’re going to Camden Yards to see the Orioles!!! I haven’t been to Camden Yards in 15 years, when I went with a group from XOM. Tomorrow will seriously be boss, because I’m riding with my favorite coworker and there will be plenty of time to talk while stuck in traffic on the way up. 95, BW Parkway… it doesn’t matter. We’re screwed. Might as well start a conversation and get lost in it as we inch toward Baltimore.
I love Baltimore with a passion, which is why it’s ridiculous I haven’t been back yet. The Inner Harbor is one of my favorite places on earth… although Alexandria and DC are both in the midst of trying to build on the Potomac like that. If you haven’t been to the Waterfront in DC, it’s worth the trip… especially if you knew what it looked like before. It’s beautiful now, because while Alexandria has always been tony, SE & SW DC have, in the past, looked like war-torn countries. Gentrification is driving down crime, but it is also making it impossible for the average person to live in DC. So I wonder where all those people went, but at the same time, it’s nice that those areas are safe(r).
I am alert and positive today because I went to bed last night around 8:30 and let myself sleep until 7:00. I needed it after staying up late the past few nights. I generally wind down about 9:00, but that doesn’t happen if I meet people after work, because I can’t meet earlier than 7:00 PM and construction often makes the traffic heavy even at night. I’m grateful for those experiences, but I also don’t like my schedule being thrown off to an enormous degree, so I choose my outings carefully. I probably won’t get home until 11:00 tomorrow night, but as you can see, it will be worth it. I would go to extraordinary lengths to see baseball in person. I don’t often watch it on TV unless the Astros or the Giants are playing, but I enjoy eating my way through every inning.
One of my coworkers says there is an amazing BBQ place in the ball park. Being a Texan, I will judge that for myself, because while Texas-style BBQ is my favorite, I also enjoy other styles. The only kind I haven’t tried is white, which I hear is fantastic.
I need BBQ in my life. It tastes like home… and while I do not have any plans or desires to return to Texas, I do like reminders of it. Besides, there are a TON of ex-pats here… UT grads, mostly… and a friend with whom I went to Clifton. So if I start to miss Texas, there are lots of people to help remind me of it…. and for my purposes, being reminded of it is enough. The people in charge of running that state are mostly idiots, and people who live there agree with me. Greg Abbot is just a stack of shit in a cheap suit, and how he got elected is beyond me. Probably due to a lot of fear-mongering.
Besides, I like choosing when I will be in Texas, so that I can avoid the heat. Houston is FABULOUS… in the winter.
I will go back when I feel like I have a safe enough distance from it. At the moment, all I can think of is how ridiculously hard my heart was broken there- two or three times, actually…. but not all my exes live in Texas.
Now that I’ve gotten that song stuck in your head, what else can I accomplish today?
Nothing worth as much as that.
Stories That Are All True 