Are you gonna eat that?

I ordered soup in the hospital cafeteria last night. It looked good. It didn't have a name, but the main ingredients were hominy and [what I thought was] chicken. But, the more I ate the "chicken", the more I realized that it was very unlike any other chicken I'd ever eaten. Then my spoon uncovered a large (tubular) piece of the "chicken" and I realized what it was...

Intestines.

What kind of a hospital serves intestine soup?

Al Gore and his global warming

Several mornings ago, I conversationally mentioned the cold weather to a random guy at the bus stop (because all great conversations begin with obvious statements...). He disdainfully muttered "Damn Al Gore and his global warming".

Somewhere Al Gore is feeling like a wounded messenger.

I'm fairly certain this bizarre weather isn't Al Gore's doing, but this week it snowed in Malibu [insert Ed Young's rewind sound effect], this week in SNOWED in MALIBU, and I want someone to be held personally responsible.

Random bus guy and I suggest Mr. Gore.

Adventures of Bus Girl

So, I arrived in not-so-sunny-Cal early Monday morning. The temperature when I landed was 37 degrees. A mere 4 degrees higher than when I left Texas. Now, I know I shouldn't complain about the weather in California to people dealing with snow, ice, sleet and cold cold mess...but, well...it's COLD here! I mean, really!

In other news, I now ride the public bus. Daily. Twice daily, really. It's been kinda great, I must admit. My first taste of the public bus has gone something like this:

Day One: Arrive at my bus stop. Wait 45 minutes in the cold. No bus. Realize I'm on the verge of being late to work. Call a cab. Pay ten dollars for the 4 mile ride. Feel bummed.

Day Two: Realize Day One was MLK day. Realize the 102 doesn't run on MLK day. Decide to give it another go. Wait at the bus stop for several minutes. Realize I'm waiting in the Westbound stop, when I need to go Eastbound. Begin making my way to the correct bus stop. See the 102 pass the correct bus stop while I'm still waiting to cross the street. Feel bummed. Go into McDonalds to have a coffee and wait for the next bus. Watch the (early!) 102 zoom past the McDonalds AND the bus stop. Without me. Feel bummed. Throw my coffee away and head to the bus stop. Wait 35 mins in the cold. Finally board the correct bus. Feel triumphant.

Day Three: Get on the correct bus. Make it to work. Feel like a bus riding PRO.

Day Four: Take the bus to the mall. Finish a book during the ride. Shop. See a picture show. Ride the bus home. Feel like the bus is the greatest thing EVER.

So, as you can see I'm back in California and having a good time. Work is work, but it's been nice to have it. A few of my old friends are still here, so it's been good catching up with everyone. And, I realized that I did sorta miss the craziness of this hospital while I was in Dallas. Just a little, anyway.

Okay, I've gotta go now. I'm sure I have a bus to catch, or something...

[In case you don't know] I'M HOME

So...yes, I am back in Dallas (the sunrise today made me happy to be so!). And, I know, I know...I fell off the blogspot bus (or is it a bandwagon?) again. Honestly, I really do have awfully sincere intentions to "keep at it", but....well, I just haven't been good at the follow-through, have I?

Well, let me catch you up. After we last "spoke" , I had a great final two weeks in Sunny Cal. And, smack in the middle of those weeks, Joseph came for a 4 day visit. I do believe it was my favorite 4 days in California. We packed a lot of "doing" into those days...went to San Diego, La Jolla, Coronado Island, Hollywood, Santa Monica, Laguna Beach, Newport Beach, Manhattan Beach, Seal Beach...and, well, the list goes on. Needless to say, we had a great time.

At the end of my stay in LA, Amy flew in and we had an amazing road trip home. Unfortunately my computer had a myocardial infarction along the way, so those pictures were never really published online...kinda sad.

But, the trip was great. We started with a bang by spending the entire day sightseeing in LA and THEN driving all night to get to the Grand Canyon by dawn. We made it just in time to see the sun rise over one of the seven wonders of the world. Breathtaking. We spent several hours there before heading to Santa Fe. We watched the sun sink back into the horizon just as we drove into town. We felt quite privileged to be able to see the sun set, rise and then set again in THREE different states, in a bit less than 24 hours. The rest of the roadtrip was just as awesome...

I arrived home just in time for Thanksgiving and I've been half working, half "vacationing" since. (Okay...maybe it's been more of a 1/3 : 2/3 split...).

I go back to California for another 4 week assignment in TWO WEEKS! I'm excited...but, also a smidge sad to see my vaca come to an end.

But, alas...such is life.

And, I think this picture is Dallas trying to sweet talk me into staying a bit longer...