getting hit on by a "member of the band" blah blah

at the swankiest, coolest, most perfect hotel ever - the colcord in oklahoma city. ice storm shut down this state earlier in the week, and this hotel is full (so said the two girls at the front desk, checking me in last night). they also couldn't help themselves when they said "there's a rock band staying here too!" it took a single raised eyebrow to get it out of them - kid rock! ha! i don't even like him but still! cool!

"and he's downstairs in the bar, you should come with us, we'll be there in 10!"

i did. and i got a beer, a grilled cheese, and a very attentive musician - not kid rock - hanging all over me. kid was sitting about 5 feet away from me, not really paying attention to anyone. and musician man was thinking he would get somewhere, anywhere, with me. which he wouldn't, of course. not only is he a man, he's a studio musician who lives in detroit and is, a-hem, 55. that's 4 counts against you, buddy. not interestingly, he disappeared (i almost wrote disapparated, harry potter much?) within 15 seconds of my telling him, in a conspiring tone, that i'm gay. poof. gone. done.

he had already given me his card and told me he'd put me on the list for the show if i called him. i thought about it but i bailed. no need to put up with that nonsense again, or to send mixed messages, or to use someone just to get into a free show to see someone i don't really like.

makes for a most entertaining story though. finally, all this travel leads to an interesting night!

tex-ar-what-a?

in yet another hampton inn. another hotel that smells of sewage. the last time this happened (i think last week?) they said it was because the city was digging up the road and the smell was coming up through the pipes. that was in dallas, at the swanky hotel. now it's happening in texarkana, sans road work, sans swank.

i walked over to the olive garden (hey, it was there or sonic) and talked to J for a minute. she said "you are probably the only person walking in texarkana." she was right. i ventured over to pier one imports and bought a candle, only to have the little energy saver lightbulb go off over my head (delay and all) when i realized i don't have any matches with me. this is probably the ONLY time i wished i was near a smoker. no restaurants within walking distance had matches either, so i hopped in my impala and drove to a gas station. the man behind the counter said he didn't have matches either, so i pulled out a dollar and complained about how i would have to throw away this cheap mini lighter tomorrow at the airport when he reached under the counter and found a book of matches, miraculously. now i wait for this cheap candle to, at a minimum, cover the scent of OPP (other people's poo).

sorry, no fun to report here. no interesting places to eat, nothing fun to do. wait until tomorrow, when i am in oklahoma city!

Juarez, almost

El Paso. I am intrigued by this place. Mountains, border control, Spanish spoken everywhere. It’s like no place I’ve ever been. J says that there is no way in hell she’d live here, but I find it charming.

I was upgraded to a Mustang. Awesome! I think people looked at me funny whenever I got out of that hunk of a car, thinking “what is that girl doing in a muscle car?” I wonder that myself. Once I got used to the giant hood, and once I adjusted the seat so I could see over that hood, I started to have some fun. Racing at red lights means something completely different in a ‘stang. You always win.

I expected the gas mileage to be horrendous but it wasn’t too bad, surprisingly. What was horrendous was the roadkill I spotted on the drive from El Paso to Alamogordo and back: dogs (like pets, not like wild dogs), foxes, birds and bunnies, and 2 cows. Yup. Cows. Too many animals die on the side of the highways in this country. But never did I expect cows.

back from the stomach bug

last wednesday, i made a huge mistake in eating at chipotle after going to the 8pm yoga class. around 3am, i awoke with an intense tummy ache. i thought it was because i ate some quacamole (i have an avocado allergy but it tastes!so!good!) and i figured i was paying my dues for sampling. an hour later (an hour of moaning and scaring the cats), all that i ate came roaring back up - undigested. from 4am thursday morning until 8pm thursday night, i was throwing and going. ugh. lovely imagery but screw this, it's my blog! i begged J to stay home with me from work - she obliged - and i was a miserable patient i am sure. sick sick sick. like i haven't been since elementary school.

not sure if the culprit truly is chipotle or a virus - though i had no other symptoms (no fever until friday morning when the scale revealed that i also lost 5lbs, no aches, no pains aside from the knives in my gut, no sweats or chills) it matters not. the mere thought of that cheap vegetarian friendly burrito joint brings the taste of bile to the back of my throat. damn IT!

5 days later and i am back on the road. in dallas now - at my favorite hotel! they upgraded me to their swankiest suite - i have a balcony and a full kitchen and a soaking tub - but unfortunately i am only staying one night. i am still under the weather a bit and go from feeling nauseous to feeling hungry and back again. i ate my first full meal last night and then today it's been touch and go. just had dinner and though my hunger won at the table, i feel too full for my own good. i have to work but in an hour, i am going to use that soaking tub. this is the good life... or it can be... wait until i report from texarkana and see what swank i'm experiencing.