The One With Tales from Texas
Well, I just returned from my week-long trip to Texas. Of course, the trip takes almost two weeks because there are four days worth of driving. But I'd much rather drive with my dogs than fly without them, so it's worth. Too bad Ross doesn't have more vacation time. We end up spending all of our vacations visiting people instead of vacationing to new place. I know you all are just filled with questions, so I've decided to answer the most common ones here.
How are the dogs in the car?
Excellent. My dogs have always been good in the car because I've been taking them on six hour drives to my parents' farm since they were puppies. Chubbs gets a little queasy, but we give them ginger snaps to settle their stomachs. Muggsy gets a little nervous, but I think we've all learned that there's no cure for that.
Were Ross' parents surprised?
Yes, the surprise went really well. We were greeted with, "What are you doing here?" but I think they meant it in a good way. :) They were really thrilled and we had a very good time with them. I think Ross' dad is always glad to have new people to listen to his stories and everything makes Ross' mom happy.
Did you get to see the rest of Ross' family?
Yes, we went to Austin on Saturday to spend the evening with Ross' brother and his new girlfriend and Ross' sister and her family. She has three children that we haven't seen since we moved. Her youngest has grown from 8 months to 3, so that's a pretty big change. It was great to see all of them, and yes, I even played with the children.
How was Muggsy?
Well, understandably, Muggsy had a hard time. He's very good with Ross' parents and their dog now, but any type of change in his environment really stresses him out. I continued to give him lots of exercise and even took him on a socialization outing. By the end of the trip, he was responding well to being called off of fence-fighting with the neighbor's obnoxious beage. However, things went downhill with the trip to Austin. Ross' brother's dog, Bauer, was very dominant and antagonistic, which is very subtle behavior. Since most people don't read dog language for a living, no one but Ross and I could see how mean Bauer was being and no one was very sympathetic to how hard the situation was for Muggsy. This, of course, hurt my feelings, and Muggsy and I spent the last part of the evening holed away in the bedroom away from everyone. Once we got back to San Antonio, it was downhill as Muggsy attacked Chubbs on our last day there. He attacked him again tonight, too, since he hasn't really calmed down from the trip.
Did Chubbs really kill a bird?
Well, not exactly. Big, clumsy Chubbs has graduated from a fly-killer to a bird-killer. He was able to catch a dove in Ross' parent's yard. I didn't actually see it, but I could hear Ross and his dad yelling for Chubbs to drop it. Apparently, he caught it by surprise and instead of trying to fly, it tried to hide. Chubbs grabbed it, but when everyone started yelling at him to drop it, he did. Then, Fenway grabbed it and started chewing on it. When they called her off it, the bird was still alive but died soon after. So technically, Chubbs and Fenway did kill a bird. It died of injuries sustained during its capture.
Did you do anything besides visit family?
Yes, we went to the Riverwalk, which I have only seen once, after the Sweet 16 when I was a senior in college, and we visited the zoo. I love to visit zoos and do this in pretty much every city I visit. The San Antonio Zoo was nice. It had a lot of great animals, including a grizzly with a lot of personality and a couple of sea otters who kept sticking their heads out the fence at us, but it wasn't laid out very well, which made it confusing. We also visited a couple of excellent barbecue places. As you all know, the Midwest is known for its barbecue, and California just doesn't have anything in the area of decent barbecue, so I love to eat that as much as possible when I get back home. In fact, Ross' parents think the only thing I eat is meat, which couldn't be further from the truth. But we went to some place in San Antonio that had excellent brisket, though the pulled pork was lacking, and we ordered from a place in Austin that had good sausage. The brisket was too salty. That was a definite highlight. I love good barbecue.
Did you get to see any of your friends from Dallas?
Actually, most of my friends have left Dallas, but my best friend from Texas had a wedding to attend and couldn't make it. My college roommate lives in Dallas, but I didn't think he'd want to make the trip. We didn't really have time to spend with friends because the trip was about Ross' family. But two of Ross' best friends from college came to see us, which was great. It was just a short lunch, but it's always nice to see old friends -- and meet new ones as I had never met one of these friends.
Did you get a speeding ticket?
Surprisingly no. I did have one cop flash his lights at me, but I didn't have to donate a sizeable chunk of money to Sonora County, like I did last time I was in Texas.
Did anything exciting happen at your job while you were gone?
No. The Boards continue to bicker and they announced that we would all know which District we would be working for, if we still have a job, by July 1. I hope that we'll find out sooner. Before I left, I had met with some of the people from the District closer to my home, expressing interest. However, I think the District that will be farther away will be a better job. Especially with all of the drama that has unfolded since I returned. I'm still looking for other jobs, though. I don't think I'll ever like working for either of these Districts. The good news is that lately, I've been able to maintain a sense of humor about it. :)
Will you ever move back to Texas?
Decidedly no. Ross' parents are tired of us living so far away. You could tell. They kept making comments and putting on the hard sell for a move back to San Antonio. "The weather is nice here." "There are jobs here." Admittedly, if I ever had to move back to Texas, it would be San Antonio. I have lived in Dallas and visited Houston and Austin, and San Antonio is definitely my favorite. But being in Texas for a week reminds me that I don't want to be in Texas. I was very clear with Ross that I never wanted to live in Texas again, and he still wants to be with me. I never pretended to like it. When I lived there, everyone used to say to me, "Well, then, don't let the door hit you on the way out." I didn't. And I don't want to open that door again. Sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Geller. It's just not going to happen. Maybe I'll move closer, but don't hold your breath.
All in all, it was a good time. But I'm very glad to be home and back in my daily routine. I hope to start posting more regularly again now. What about you, Mon?
How are the dogs in the car?
Excellent. My dogs have always been good in the car because I've been taking them on six hour drives to my parents' farm since they were puppies. Chubbs gets a little queasy, but we give them ginger snaps to settle their stomachs. Muggsy gets a little nervous, but I think we've all learned that there's no cure for that.
Were Ross' parents surprised?
Yes, the surprise went really well. We were greeted with, "What are you doing here?" but I think they meant it in a good way. :) They were really thrilled and we had a very good time with them. I think Ross' dad is always glad to have new people to listen to his stories and everything makes Ross' mom happy.
Did you get to see the rest of Ross' family?
Yes, we went to Austin on Saturday to spend the evening with Ross' brother and his new girlfriend and Ross' sister and her family. She has three children that we haven't seen since we moved. Her youngest has grown from 8 months to 3, so that's a pretty big change. It was great to see all of them, and yes, I even played with the children.
How was Muggsy?
Well, understandably, Muggsy had a hard time. He's very good with Ross' parents and their dog now, but any type of change in his environment really stresses him out. I continued to give him lots of exercise and even took him on a socialization outing. By the end of the trip, he was responding well to being called off of fence-fighting with the neighbor's obnoxious beage. However, things went downhill with the trip to Austin. Ross' brother's dog, Bauer, was very dominant and antagonistic, which is very subtle behavior. Since most people don't read dog language for a living, no one but Ross and I could see how mean Bauer was being and no one was very sympathetic to how hard the situation was for Muggsy. This, of course, hurt my feelings, and Muggsy and I spent the last part of the evening holed away in the bedroom away from everyone. Once we got back to San Antonio, it was downhill as Muggsy attacked Chubbs on our last day there. He attacked him again tonight, too, since he hasn't really calmed down from the trip.
Did Chubbs really kill a bird?
Well, not exactly. Big, clumsy Chubbs has graduated from a fly-killer to a bird-killer. He was able to catch a dove in Ross' parent's yard. I didn't actually see it, but I could hear Ross and his dad yelling for Chubbs to drop it. Apparently, he caught it by surprise and instead of trying to fly, it tried to hide. Chubbs grabbed it, but when everyone started yelling at him to drop it, he did. Then, Fenway grabbed it and started chewing on it. When they called her off it, the bird was still alive but died soon after. So technically, Chubbs and Fenway did kill a bird. It died of injuries sustained during its capture.
Did you do anything besides visit family?
Yes, we went to the Riverwalk, which I have only seen once, after the Sweet 16 when I was a senior in college, and we visited the zoo. I love to visit zoos and do this in pretty much every city I visit. The San Antonio Zoo was nice. It had a lot of great animals, including a grizzly with a lot of personality and a couple of sea otters who kept sticking their heads out the fence at us, but it wasn't laid out very well, which made it confusing. We also visited a couple of excellent barbecue places. As you all know, the Midwest is known for its barbecue, and California just doesn't have anything in the area of decent barbecue, so I love to eat that as much as possible when I get back home. In fact, Ross' parents think the only thing I eat is meat, which couldn't be further from the truth. But we went to some place in San Antonio that had excellent brisket, though the pulled pork was lacking, and we ordered from a place in Austin that had good sausage. The brisket was too salty. That was a definite highlight. I love good barbecue.
Did you get to see any of your friends from Dallas?
Actually, most of my friends have left Dallas, but my best friend from Texas had a wedding to attend and couldn't make it. My college roommate lives in Dallas, but I didn't think he'd want to make the trip. We didn't really have time to spend with friends because the trip was about Ross' family. But two of Ross' best friends from college came to see us, which was great. It was just a short lunch, but it's always nice to see old friends -- and meet new ones as I had never met one of these friends.
Did you get a speeding ticket?
Surprisingly no. I did have one cop flash his lights at me, but I didn't have to donate a sizeable chunk of money to Sonora County, like I did last time I was in Texas.
Did anything exciting happen at your job while you were gone?
No. The Boards continue to bicker and they announced that we would all know which District we would be working for, if we still have a job, by July 1. I hope that we'll find out sooner. Before I left, I had met with some of the people from the District closer to my home, expressing interest. However, I think the District that will be farther away will be a better job. Especially with all of the drama that has unfolded since I returned. I'm still looking for other jobs, though. I don't think I'll ever like working for either of these Districts. The good news is that lately, I've been able to maintain a sense of humor about it. :)
Will you ever move back to Texas?
Decidedly no. Ross' parents are tired of us living so far away. You could tell. They kept making comments and putting on the hard sell for a move back to San Antonio. "The weather is nice here." "There are jobs here." Admittedly, if I ever had to move back to Texas, it would be San Antonio. I have lived in Dallas and visited Houston and Austin, and San Antonio is definitely my favorite. But being in Texas for a week reminds me that I don't want to be in Texas. I was very clear with Ross that I never wanted to live in Texas again, and he still wants to be with me. I never pretended to like it. When I lived there, everyone used to say to me, "Well, then, don't let the door hit you on the way out." I didn't. And I don't want to open that door again. Sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Geller. It's just not going to happen. Maybe I'll move closer, but don't hold your breath.
All in all, it was a good time. But I'm very glad to be home and back in my daily routine. I hope to start posting more regularly again now. What about you, Mon?
posted by Rachel at
8:56 PM
4 Comments:
Excellent post Rach. Very informative and humerous. I'd expect nothing less from my favorite journalist.
I'm really better at reading your posts than posting my own. But I'll attempt to come up with some good material. :)
By
Monica, at 2:56 PM
You could write about your vacation. Or David. I always love to hear about him. And our family provides endless material. :)
By
Rachel, at 8:29 PM
Aww, I wish I would have invited you to see me then. I was thinking that we really should plan a trip to Lawrence at the same time or something. I miss my old college roomie.
By the way, I like you in Texas. I think arrogance becomes you, and I mean that as a compliment. But it would also be nice if you moved some place cool so I could visit you there, too. :) Maybe when you're a Senator...
By
Rachel, at 8:43 PM
"And remember, if you done it, it ain't bragging."
That's exactly what I love about you! Despite your insecurity, there's a level of bravado and confidence that, when it comes out, really brings out the best in you.
By
Rachel, at 11:07 AM
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