Category Archives: Friends

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Post Poker Championship

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Friday night went out with a bang, us heading back the B’s pad and makin’ some fancy drinks. Not sure if I mentioned these two important facts, but SB makes better martinis than any bartender out there, and Enviga is really good with vodka. She had some pomegranate and Izze and Enviga concoction that I think she should trademark. Seriously, we had it out. MK retired for a bit and SB and I had a classic girls reminiscing over drinks time that will have a special little place in my heart forever. Background: We worked together for a very short time before we got a place together, that was forever ago and we’re still each other’s favorites. That rocks.

Saturday was a slow to get going day, MK and I went out for water, Gatorade and Quiznos, aka hangover cure lunch. RB has a sweet giant plane and we tried to go fly it but it was too windy. We found a place called Croc’s that had the infamous Bloody Mary Bar, a couple times. Delicious. A1, my favorite product in the universe, makes those drinks, let me tell you. We went home and snoozed a little while RB worked on his music, he’s a world famous musician. He’s got new tunes coming out soon. So cool.

SB took MK and I to the Rockies game that night. For dinner. Reminder: As a BoSox girl, I didn’t know there were places you could go to and get $4-$15 tickets. That day. For that game. The place was so empty. I guess they aren’t that good…didn’t matter to me. We got brats with all the fixin’s, peanuts and beer. Coors. It is the Coors stadium. You get Coors beer. That’s it. Fine. You can’t see the mountains, but I could. Very pretty.

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SB took us to the coolest bar in the world, Double Daughters.

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We hung out there, checked out the Meadowlark, which was packed, then headed home. Early morning, y’all.

Denver was interesting. It is polluted, and messy, highly under construction downtown. The B’s talked to us a lot about living there, especially coming from NYC, they were disappointed in the lack of vibes and culture Denver had going for it. To be sure, I felt what they were talking about. I also understood what they meant when they said if they mentioned their feelings at all, other Denver-dwellers became irate, indignant, and offended. Hmpf. Not a place I’ll ever be living in, but I’m glad we got to pass through and see it for ourselves.

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Next Time, It’s For Cash Money

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So there we are, in Denver, two drinks into a great Friday. SB and RB are some poker playing fools. They convince us to go and play a hand with them. I have no idea what to expect. I play poker with people I know, and that doesn’t usually end well. MK thinks it’s funny to let everyone know that he always ends up having to try to make up for my losses. Whatever. We get there right at the last minute before they start. There are three tables set up, about 36 people. RB’s already seated, someone goes all in first hand, SB sits. MK and I have a drink, while I get more and more nervous. Someone else goes out, MK’s at SB’s table. I’m feeling ill. And confused. They seat me at RB’s table. That’s cool. I don’t play my first 6000 hands, they all suck. I finally see a face card and get excited. The rest is history.

First I knocked out Mr. Johnny Pokers-a-lot, with sunglasses and a cowboy hat and the whole deal. He didn’t believe me. Silly man. I progressively smoked the table as my hands got hotter and hotter. It was like being in a movie. They split up one of the smaller tables and I get stuck next to this tool that’s all trying to intimidate me out of my blinds. Grr. Then my hands cool off so I chill out. I make it to the last table – at this point RB is long gone, SB can’t believe I’m still alive, and she and MK went and played some Omaha. Last table is nuts. Everyone is boys, minus me and a blond lady. She and I all in, knock a guy out, and split the pot!!

You know where this is going: I now am the proud owner of a certificate stating that I made it to the last hand, against mullet head that took down MK and SB, and smote her greatly with my trip Jacks. YEEHAH!!!!

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I really can’t decide to quit while my record is 1-0, or to move to Vegas. I’ve never beat 30+ people at anything. Ever.

I also can’t decide if I’m going to ever talk to my father again – avid watcher of poker on TV, also avid ignorer of happy daughter when she calls to announce her success. The reason? The Red Sox beat the Yankees, of course. Baseball trumps daughter.

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I’m Back

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Well, somegosoftly fans, we first have to give thestandin a big round of applause for keeping you (and me) entertained. I was so happy to be blog free for a while, even though I had a little internet-withdrawal-syndrome. I have to do this in date/time order, or I will get all confused, even though today was the best! day! yet! and I can’t wait to tell you about it. My little fingers are flying to get us all caught up and on the same page. Of course the pictures will be late, I have no idea where the cord is.

We left Austin at about 6am on Thursday. We went to bed around midnight. I had cleaned the whole place so well we had no where to sleep. I thought I could throw the air mattress on the wood floor of our living room, but somewhere between MK’s toss and turn 3 and 7 I realized I’d be up all night from the squeaking unless that went back in the bedroom, despite the marks it’d make on my carpet, after vacuuming in these little perfect sweeps so they could see how clean it was. We actually woke up at about 5, and had this adventure time of not being awake and not being able to get everything in the car. It’s too embarrassing, so there are no pictures, but we seriously put that car full like a secret Mensa puzzle. You couldn’t do it. It was crazy. We have so. much. crap.

MK drove to Wichita Falls, Texas. I didn’t know there was one of those. In fact, I didn’t know that every town has similar street names, and every state has similar county names. Let me preface this segment with a little background: I’ve lived in CT most of my natural life. This included numerous trips through MA, RI, VT, NH and ME. But it’s not like I paid any attention. I was little. Then I lived in TX, Austin to be specific. All you travel from there is Houston and Dallas. So this drive…this going through parts of Texas I’ve never been awake for… well it made me realize things. Like why people look at me LIKE THAT when I tell them that I’m from Texas. Ugh. I drove nine hours straight. Amarillo, everything before it and after it – well I’m fairly sure that’s the armpit of civilization as we know it. It was frightening. To stop for gas. To eat. To LOOK AROUND. Freaking gross, nothing to look at, forsaken place. And I almost forgot to mention that after the TX/OK border, I hit the NM border in style…thinking it would be beautiful…and it was under construction. The speed limit was 35. For an hour. Then 45. For an hour. Ugh.

As you will recall, the first part of our trip included a very special stop in Denver, CO, home to some very special people. MK finished the drive to Denver, and we got in at about midnight. Since we were staying at the SB all inclusive resort, I immediately requested a back rub and a beer. I got the beer. Then we passed out – sleepy time. Then it was FRIDAY…That morning – busted, around noon – we went to the VIP eatery those of you that were in ‘yoga’ with me may know that the Real World Denver went to called Snooze. It was dee-lish-ious. Wow.

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SB took us to her work, right down the street. Ladies and gentlemen, my favorite roommate ever- probably including MK- works at a THINK TANK. You’ve seen them. She has a bball court and a ping pong table and limitless other recreational activities located throughout the office to ‘inspire creative thought’. My creative thought is jealousy. I want to work there. But not live in Denver. More on that later. We went to the Denver Aquarium.

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As an ode to my father, Semi-Professional African Cichlid Breeder, I was reflecting on the fact I think I’ve been to every aquarium in every city that I’ve ever visited that had one. Paris (France, not Texas) is the only place I couldn’t recall trying to find the local aquarium in. Anyway…it was a nice little aquarium and it also surprised me, since I’ve been to so many aquariums, as it had

TIGERS.

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I know. That’s crazy, right? They were chillin’ around the rainforest exhibit. That’s all I can say about that. I’m thinking “Are you sure these guys are supposed to be here?”

This is us and a 250lb. grouper:

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Ooooh, and I almost forgot to tell you that we fed stingrays:

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All that exploring made us thirsty, so we hit up some bars. We went to a place called Sputnik for nothing other than the promise of an old time photo booth, which turned out to be out of order. 😦 Luckily, we found so much more. MK had a fascinating Vanilla infused homemade vodka shot, SB went with a pomegranate martini the likes of which I’d never seen. (I had a beer.) Yum.

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We rolled over to The Hornet next, to see what we could see about the rumor they had a all day weekend Bloody Mary Bar the like of which I’ve mentioned here. We had yummy drinks here too, and some lobster asparagus and something else I forget what pizza. (SB?)

The events that transpire next are rewarded with their own post.

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Bon Voyage

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If I was a color, today I would be blue. The day has finally come when our dear friends pack their car and begin their cross-country trek to the Evergreen State. We joined CK and MK for one last lunch Wednesday at Ski Shores, where we reveled in the sunshine and the sight of little kids (okay, us too) throwing bread and french fries to the fish and turtles just off the dock. I was able to fight off tears only by imagining the screaming fits CK and MK will likely have whilst trapped in the front of their over-stuffed SUV for the next five days. If only they had a video in the dashboard a la Oprah and Gayle. I’m not saying it would be a chronicle of the demise of their marriage, but if MK shows up in Seattle with only nine fingers, for instance, will we ever know the truth?

Here are a few of the things that I will miss the most:

1. Sitting in the meat-locker that is Rudy’s on 620, scarfing down brisket and sausage, while MK and BB talk shop, CK picks at chicken and we complain about the latest dumb things our husband/neighbor/Rosie O’Donnell did/said.

2. Sitting at Freebird’s, doing much the same as in No. 1.

3. Making plans to meet up with the K’s, which always involved a minimum of nineteen phone calls, of which MK only answered two. I still don’t understand this ritual, since we only ever met at Rudy’s or Freebird’s, but I’ll miss it nonetheless.

4. Having my eardrums assaulted alternately by a) the screaming toddler who, when not released for a beating, apparently lives in a cage upstairs of the K’s apartment, and b) the Rave music CK played to drown out Satan’s spawn.

5. Knowing someone who can fix my camera and teach me all sorts of nifty tricks, without whom I would not be able to share pics like this:

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These things may sound lame and not worth shedding a tear over, but what it all amounts to is that our best friends are gone, and we already miss them. If all goes well, they’ll be in Denver by tomorrow morning. Wish them luck!

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This Is It

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Well, we’re all ready to go. Everything is packed. All that’s left tomorrow is a little laundry and cleaning, and we’re out of here.

It’s a strange feeling…I never planned to stay in Austin, it was always just temporary, for college. Little did I know I’d make such amazing friends, meet the love of my life, become so close to his friends, and my family that is here. Now we’re leaving. I’m excited and sad at the same time.

We had the greatest dinner last night at the County Line, laughing and chowing, drinking and chowing. I’ll miss the bbq! I’ll miss the great company of TB and BB. Tonight we’re heading over to Hula Hut, despite the nasty weather, to say our goodbyes to everyone else. You’ll be at the mercy of the phenomenal guest blogger, thestandin. I promise to carefully chronicle our road trip and the great stories I’m sure we’ll have from our weekend in Denver, our night in Boise, and our first impressions of Seattle. When I wake up, after a long nap. Thank you all for your well wishes, your continued support of my little blog here, and everything else. I’ll talk to you in a week!

waving goodbye
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Where Have You Been?

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Somegosoftly got a job!

Okay, sort of… I was so busy! I got up so early! Phew! You all count on me as your daily morning ray of sunshine, but I had to work. Well, play. Um, for two hours. Fine. It wasn’t a job, you got me. I got to babysit an adorable little 9 month old that I’m going to miss like crazy when I leave.

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(Just kidding, that didn’t happen!) 😉

Good news: Baby is still alive and well despite me being in charge of feeding, changing, and putting her down for a nap. Bad news: I am eating like crap.

You know, because I’m leaving. So everyone loves me. We went out Monday and saw an advanced screening of The Reaping (first movie with Hilary Rank that I’ve liked). I had more popcorn and soda than I’ve eaten in about a year. It was my dinner. Then yesterday I had Tutto Gusto in Steiner Ranch with aforementioned adorable baby and TB. We had calamari AND pasta AND tiramisu. Today I got to hit Texadelphia. Mmmm. I forgot how good meat smothered in mayonnaise tastes. Needless to say I also have not worked out the last two days. I’m hoping that after burgers and beer tonight I will be full until June.

Or maybe I’ll be late blogging tomorrow too- and fasting.

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Three Great Days

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Sunday, I made us some muffins and MK and I read the paper. I suck to read the paper with, he’d be trying to read and I’d be trying to talk to him about what I read that he’d already read – he probably won’t let me sit next to him with the paper again anytime soon.

It was so beautiful out, we went to Town Lake and walked. So slow. MK hasn’t been out in a while, it felt like we were crawling, but I quit complaining and enjoyed walking and talking with my husband. We walked up Lake Austin Blvd. and had some Thundercloud subs, mmmmm. We picked up some steaks and went back home and sat out for a bit, packed a bit, and totally fell asleep, best nap ever.


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When we woke up we got a full car load of stuff packed away. It is so funny, getting to stuff I want to take that we fight over why we do/don’t need and where to put it. I think I’ve been very accommodating. We hardly have anything but large furniture left. It’s so strange. I have to keep reminding MK we’ve got two more weeks here, we’re kind of ahead of schedule. I cooked us a huge dinner and we watched some tv, listened to Musical Starstreams. My weekend was so full of life and love and fun and friends, I couldn’t have been happier, I’m so blessed!

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Saturday Did Too

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In order to fully have a weekend of me being insane, MK and I decided to do something very silly in the morning. We showered and dressed up as pretty as possible, and drove out to the side of the road and took pictures in the bluebonnets.

Laugh it up. I think I might have done this the first time I visited Texas, at the age of 9. Once you actually grow up and live here though, you drive by people doing that and make fun of them. For preservation of my sanity, we did go at least where no one could really see us. But we do, now, have pictures of us amongst the state flowers. No, you can’t see them.

From there we drive over to the MIL’s house, and returned to her everything that was her excuse to come over to our house. We are, after all, moving, so we don’t need her trying to come to Seattle looking for a dish or anything.

After a stop at Starbuck’s for MK, we drove over to BH and PH’s. They are renovating their house. It seems like someday, if I ever have a house, I would like to renovate it. What a sense of accomplishment and hard work. My favorite was BH noting that all the wine looked very old and expensive due to the fine layer of dust that had settled on everything.

We had some drinks and they took MK and I out for one of our favorite dinners, since we’ll be missing these places soon enough. We went to the original Hyde Park, on 45th. I loooooove this place. I used to live over there in college, and ate there a lot. I also ate at Mother’s, the vegan place across the street. If you don’t know, some bum set fire to their most amazing outdoor garden patio, completely burning it to the ground. Very sad.

Our dinner was fantastic, and then we walked to Dolce Vita, the gelato shop next door. MK and BH had coffee, PH and I had wine. We talked for hours. After I recounted my thinking from yesterday, PH let me know that over the time they’ve known me, they appreciate that I’ve grown to at least know when I say dumb things, which I previously had not. That made me feel better and dumber all at the same time. Oh well. We had a great conversation and really enjoyed the time we were able to spend with our friends, again who we’ll miss so much.

MK and I met KD and ND and co. at Molotov and then Key Bar, rounding out yet another super fantastic day. What a great weekend.

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Friday Night Got Me Thinking

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When MK and I first met, I didn’t want him to see us grow old – know me less than the cool hot chick I was (right). I sat in horror imagining him seeing my wrinkly skin, my health issues. More than that, I didn’t want him to know that I was human, that I could ever have flaws. In mature, reasonable, 19 year old fashion, I decided I would give him a few good years and disappear. I joked about it plenty, but there was some serious thought into the facts at hand, concern when we continued to date, and learn about each other, bad and all.

Then he proposed.

Now we’re married. There’s no running away, I’m (a little) more mature, but I’m still silly about things. I catch myself saying and doing things and worrying if he’s going to change his mind. I talk. A lot. And as a result, you can sometimes talk before you think, and I am the Queen of blurting out the wrong things. I always have good intentions. But it’ll come out wrong, or be a little too impassioned in the heat of the moment.

MK has been the best, most patient and accepting person ever. He’s never been mad. He’s watched me grow, helped me develop responsibly. And taught me to accept myself how I am, and then everyone else will. Stupid mouth and all.

Friday night was so cool. BB cooked us giant super extra delicious turkey legs. Best ever. Then TB and SB came home and we all hung out. And I said a bunch of stupid things. I am excellent at putting my foot in my mouth, and embarrassing myself. *shrugs*

All I know is I’m going to miss these friends the most, that have known MK and I for so long, and accept me no matter what stupid things I blurt out, no matter how some things never change. MK brought me in to his world, and these people have been better to me than anyone ever. We talked late into the night and otherwise had great conversation. We got into the car and MK looks and me and very simply let me know:

“Sometimes you just kill me.”

We erupted into a fit of laughter and acceptance of the fact that no matter how hard I try, I’m still me, and some things might not change.

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Astute Readers

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Truth be told, I wasn’t really scared to move, just wondering how two people with stay at home ‘jobs’ would meet new people. The recent deluge of mail and phone calls has let me know that there will, indeed, not be a weekend over the next six months where we will not have a visitor, so that won’t matter.

I’m calling shenanigans. People always say they will come and visit, but then make up excuses and no show. I, on the other hand, will be driving through Denver to see my bestest buddy, for sure. And there’s this one little lady I have a feeling will make it up there, because, crap, this is a great lineup for a music festival:

Sasquatch Festival

And jeez, how could you NOT go to something named the Sasquatch Festival? Not much can beat Austin City Limits Festival, but LOOK AT THIS VIEW:

sasquatch view
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