Return to Waco; Thanksgiving; Hanging with the guys; Return to Houston
11/23
David and Win got an earlier start; in heading back to Central Texas; mine was more leisurely as I just had to be back in time for a 3:30 haircut. I got everything loaded up, picked up the Thanksgiving turkey, and headed back to Waco (and got my first full, focused, unadulterated list to Sufjan Stevens' Illinois in), did the haircut thing, got back home, and had a nice meal with my family. Dad made eggplant parmesan. It was quali-ty. Becca and I then caught up with the boys (David, Win, Thomas, and Bennett) to start out the night's activities.
We began by heading north to Lorena to check out the new adult video store, Big Rig. It was all ironic, or something. I suppose their prices were better than the competition (nearby Love Video, which I'd only been to once, and not gone in, because I was still 17).
After considering our options for the rest of the evening, we opted to take advantage of Win's ping pong table and get some beer pong in. It was my first time, and I found it quite pleasant. The things you miss out on when you go to Baylor and don't participate in greek life...
11/24
Thanksgiving was good. It was small, just the immediate family. The trappings of the Wardian Thanksgiving:
I caught up with the guys later in the evening for our traditional holiday pub crawl. We got some drinks at Treff's (and had a few MHS alum sightings), then went up the street to check out the lameness that was the new "club", Halo, which was devoid of both people and seating options. We got in touch with Robyn, who invited us over to her place, and thankfully Thomas didn't cut off any of his appendages. Instead, we went to IHOP (which came back to haunt me the next morning). David was pulling his usual alpha male posturing with Robyn, which got on my nerves a bit, but I suppose it comes with the territory.
11/25
We started out at Scruffy Murphy's and played some pool, before Kacie caught up with us by phone, informed us that she wasn't welcome there due to a botched promotional event, so we met up with her at the always-agreeable Hemingway's, where the crowd is less noisy and annoying, the bartenders cute, and where Kacie could expense all of our drinks. We were seated outside for a while when a middle aged man began hitting on Kacie, which was amusing in a sort of embarassing way, especially when he mentioned that he had daughters her age. He also quite frequently mentioned that he was 52 years old. When she went inside to go to the bathroom, he said his best line of the evening, which was, "One of y'all needs to bust that! It's ripe!" (thanks, Thom, for remembering the exact words).
Closing time came, and Kacie invited us back to her place to partake of her stock of freeby liquor, I privilege that I always relish. We talked about old times, and Kacie brought up the subject of what facts about ourselves would shock us had we known them in high school. For me, she suggested that I was now a player (and I think she used the phrase "sex fiend" as well), which was probably one of the most appreciated compliments I've gotten lately.
11/26
We eventually ended up back at Win's house for beer, poker (I was out 3rd out of 4), and cigars. Good times. But not before finishing up David and Thomas's quest to photograph all 60-some-odd of the bars that Waco has to offer. We discovered a few surprises: bars with cover charges where line dancing probably takes place, lots of hole-in-the-walls in iffy parts of town, ghost bars that didn't really exist (or maybe appear only on certain nights to lure Baylor kids to their doom), and what can only be described as an East Waco entertainment district. David was brave enough to get most of the difficult shots that made us afraid we were going to get our asses kicked.
11/27
Back to Houston. Cindy and I went for Indian for dinner. I'm used to the meaty stuff, but the vegetarian was enjoyable too.
David and Win got an earlier start; in heading back to Central Texas; mine was more leisurely as I just had to be back in time for a 3:30 haircut. I got everything loaded up, picked up the Thanksgiving turkey, and headed back to Waco (and got my first full, focused, unadulterated list to Sufjan Stevens' Illinois in), did the haircut thing, got back home, and had a nice meal with my family. Dad made eggplant parmesan. It was quali-ty. Becca and I then caught up with the boys (David, Win, Thomas, and Bennett) to start out the night's activities.
We began by heading north to Lorena to check out the new adult video store, Big Rig. It was all ironic, or something. I suppose their prices were better than the competition (nearby Love Video, which I'd only been to once, and not gone in, because I was still 17).
After considering our options for the rest of the evening, we opted to take advantage of Win's ping pong table and get some beer pong in. It was my first time, and I found it quite pleasant. The things you miss out on when you go to Baylor and don't participate in greek life...
11/24
Thanksgiving was good. It was small, just the immediate family. The trappings of the Wardian Thanksgiving:
- Glazed turkey breast
- Dad's cornbread dressing
- Gravy
- Sweet potato casserole
- Green bean casserole (that old "too Protestant" trapping, according to both Stephanie and Ali)
- Cranberry sauce
- Cranberry jello salad
- Sister Schubert's rolls
I caught up with the guys later in the evening for our traditional holiday pub crawl. We got some drinks at Treff's (and had a few MHS alum sightings), then went up the street to check out the lameness that was the new "club", Halo, which was devoid of both people and seating options. We got in touch with Robyn, who invited us over to her place, and thankfully Thomas didn't cut off any of his appendages. Instead, we went to IHOP (which came back to haunt me the next morning). David was pulling his usual alpha male posturing with Robyn, which got on my nerves a bit, but I suppose it comes with the territory.
11/25
We started out at Scruffy Murphy's and played some pool, before Kacie caught up with us by phone, informed us that she wasn't welcome there due to a botched promotional event, so we met up with her at the always-agreeable Hemingway's, where the crowd is less noisy and annoying, the bartenders cute, and where Kacie could expense all of our drinks. We were seated outside for a while when a middle aged man began hitting on Kacie, which was amusing in a sort of embarassing way, especially when he mentioned that he had daughters her age. He also quite frequently mentioned that he was 52 years old. When she went inside to go to the bathroom, he said his best line of the evening, which was, "One of y'all needs to bust that! It's ripe!" (thanks, Thom, for remembering the exact words).
Closing time came, and Kacie invited us back to her place to partake of her stock of freeby liquor, I privilege that I always relish. We talked about old times, and Kacie brought up the subject of what facts about ourselves would shock us had we known them in high school. For me, she suggested that I was now a player (and I think she used the phrase "sex fiend" as well), which was probably one of the most appreciated compliments I've gotten lately.
11/26
We eventually ended up back at Win's house for beer, poker (I was out 3rd out of 4), and cigars. Good times. But not before finishing up David and Thomas's quest to photograph all 60-some-odd of the bars that Waco has to offer. We discovered a few surprises: bars with cover charges where line dancing probably takes place, lots of hole-in-the-walls in iffy parts of town, ghost bars that didn't really exist (or maybe appear only on certain nights to lure Baylor kids to their doom), and what can only be described as an East Waco entertainment district. David was brave enough to get most of the difficult shots that made us afraid we were going to get our asses kicked.
11/27
Back to Houston. Cindy and I went for Indian for dinner. I'm used to the meaty stuff, but the vegetarian was enjoyable too.
posted by L. Maxwell Ward at 11:07 PM
