Dallas; Waco; Car Bullshit
7/14
The drive to Dallas was farily uneventful; some rain, some music, and a stop for caffeine and gas were among the highlights. I rolled into town, checked out Bryan's new place, and soon Phil joined us and we took off for Lower Greenville. Phil suggested Stout (Thanks to Bryan for the assist on the name) where we started the beer drinking and ordered a few appetizers (though they were disturbingly seafood driven).
The hour rolled around for the concert du jour, so we made for Deep Ellum (where I hadn't been since... oh, maybe the Guster show of 2003). We were there to see Camera Obscura do their best Belle & Sebastian impression at the Gypsy Tearoom/Ballroom. Phil and Bryan were confused by the number of people in full punk regalia going into the ballroom, but I figured there was no way a bunch of alternateens were showing up for a twee pop band. Turns out that Rancid (Bryan confirms) were playing in the ballroom (the larger of the two), whereas CO were playing the more intimate tearoom (which I preferred anyway). The two halves of the venue did share a bathroom, though, which made for an interesting juxtaposition of P!O!P! kids and punks.
I opened a tab and got to work. Phil had brought some cigaretes along so I indulged (haveing reached that level of drunkeness). I picked out a new t-shirt. The band was solid live; pretty much reproducing the album. It was enjoyable, but didn't really add anything to the experience.
Phil took us back to Bryan's, and then Bryan, Lisa and I made a TC run.
7/15
Slept nice and late before Bryan and I started the lamb we were going to have for dinner. The next order of business was lunch, so we went once again to Lower Greenville for some good mediterranean at Ali Baba, the highlight of which was the creamy humus and crispy falafel.
Good Records' new digs were nearby, so we went in to check out the space. Space was one thing there was plenty of, particularly around their new stage, which I'm sure makes for great in store performances. As usual, the selection and curation of the stock was top notch, and I was wishing that I had some spare funds to pick up a few things.
Next to the liquor store, where we bought supplies for Mexican Martinis, I picked up a bottle of Lindemann's Framboise for Bryan to try, and I had a random encounter with Tromboner Justin Lewis from high school.
Then the grocery store to get some veggies to go with dinner and a few other items, and then back to Bryan and Lisa's palatial apartment to start the cooking. I did some grilled veggies tossed in olive oil, seasoning, and tequila, and we had a nice dinner.
Some Dr. Mario was played (I might have even won a game), and then we did some swimming over at the house of some of Lisa's relatives.
7/16
Slept in, and then Kelly and Phil came by after church and we went for lunch at Old Monk (thanks again, Bryan—do you remember what we drank?), a charming British pub-ish sort of setup. Phil, Bryan and I all ordered some good beer. After looking at the menu, I settled on the burger with my choice of fancy cheese. I couldn't resist trying the Irish whiskey cheddar, which did indeed make for a tasty burger.
After that, it was time to take off, so I got on the rode to Waco.
Along the way, an eighteen-wheeler about three cars ahead of me had a blowout, and the tire was pretty much unavoidable. I didn't think anything of it at the time, but after travelling 35 south to Waco, I made a turn only to hear a scraping sound. I pulled over and noticed that a plastic piece under the car was hanging down so I reached down and put it back into place, but then my eyes caught a rather large dent in my front bumper, and cracked plastic in my grille.
Damned 18 wheelers. Fucking NAFTA. If they're not trying to kill me, they're trying to fucking damage my car.
Anyway, I tried to ignore that for the time being and enjoyed some time with my parents. Once they had decided to call it an evening, I undertook the tedious task of sorting through some of my old comics to find some stuff that I wanted to bring to Houston to reread and to pass along to Will.
7/17
I had not made time for my yearly cardiology appointment in Waco over the Christmas holiday, so I took Monday off to accomplish that. Once I had gotten a clean bill of health and packed up my stuff, I met mom for lunch at Panera before heading back to Houston.
On the way I fired up the bluetooth headset and started making calls about getting my car taken care of. After dropping my luggage off back at the apartment, I went once again to take my car to the body shop. They informed me that they were busy but that they had a sister shop that would work on it, and I could even just leave the car there and that they would take care of everything. It sounded good to me (but too bad it wasn't). I called up Char to come pick me up, figuring that he probably didn't have anything better to do.
In the process I offended Cindy by not having called her first, which I did because I knew she wouldn't be able to get away from school. Of course, I was right, and I think she realized it after she thought through the logic of the situation.
So anyway, the Ward car curse continued to haunt me, and since the accident was classified as a road hazard rather than a real accident, no rental car this time around. On the other hand, the deductible was to only be $50, which was a huge relief. Still, two trips to the body shop within four months was not cool...
The drive to Dallas was farily uneventful; some rain, some music, and a stop for caffeine and gas were among the highlights. I rolled into town, checked out Bryan's new place, and soon Phil joined us and we took off for Lower Greenville. Phil suggested Stout (Thanks to Bryan for the assist on the name) where we started the beer drinking and ordered a few appetizers (though they were disturbingly seafood driven).
The hour rolled around for the concert du jour, so we made for Deep Ellum (where I hadn't been since... oh, maybe the Guster show of 2003). We were there to see Camera Obscura do their best Belle & Sebastian impression at the Gypsy Tearoom/Ballroom. Phil and Bryan were confused by the number of people in full punk regalia going into the ballroom, but I figured there was no way a bunch of alternateens were showing up for a twee pop band. Turns out that Rancid (Bryan confirms) were playing in the ballroom (the larger of the two), whereas CO were playing the more intimate tearoom (which I preferred anyway). The two halves of the venue did share a bathroom, though, which made for an interesting juxtaposition of P!O!P! kids and punks.
I opened a tab and got to work. Phil had brought some cigaretes along so I indulged (haveing reached that level of drunkeness). I picked out a new t-shirt. The band was solid live; pretty much reproducing the album. It was enjoyable, but didn't really add anything to the experience.
Phil took us back to Bryan's, and then Bryan, Lisa and I made a TC run.
7/15
Slept nice and late before Bryan and I started the lamb we were going to have for dinner. The next order of business was lunch, so we went once again to Lower Greenville for some good mediterranean at Ali Baba, the highlight of which was the creamy humus and crispy falafel.
Good Records' new digs were nearby, so we went in to check out the space. Space was one thing there was plenty of, particularly around their new stage, which I'm sure makes for great in store performances. As usual, the selection and curation of the stock was top notch, and I was wishing that I had some spare funds to pick up a few things.
Next to the liquor store, where we bought supplies for Mexican Martinis, I picked up a bottle of Lindemann's Framboise for Bryan to try, and I had a random encounter with Tromboner Justin Lewis from high school.
Then the grocery store to get some veggies to go with dinner and a few other items, and then back to Bryan and Lisa's palatial apartment to start the cooking. I did some grilled veggies tossed in olive oil, seasoning, and tequila, and we had a nice dinner.
Some Dr. Mario was played (I might have even won a game), and then we did some swimming over at the house of some of Lisa's relatives.
7/16
Slept in, and then Kelly and Phil came by after church and we went for lunch at Old Monk (thanks again, Bryan—do you remember what we drank?), a charming British pub-ish sort of setup. Phil, Bryan and I all ordered some good beer. After looking at the menu, I settled on the burger with my choice of fancy cheese. I couldn't resist trying the Irish whiskey cheddar, which did indeed make for a tasty burger.
After that, it was time to take off, so I got on the rode to Waco.
Along the way, an eighteen-wheeler about three cars ahead of me had a blowout, and the tire was pretty much unavoidable. I didn't think anything of it at the time, but after travelling 35 south to Waco, I made a turn only to hear a scraping sound. I pulled over and noticed that a plastic piece under the car was hanging down so I reached down and put it back into place, but then my eyes caught a rather large dent in my front bumper, and cracked plastic in my grille.
Damned 18 wheelers. Fucking NAFTA. If they're not trying to kill me, they're trying to fucking damage my car.
Anyway, I tried to ignore that for the time being and enjoyed some time with my parents. Once they had decided to call it an evening, I undertook the tedious task of sorting through some of my old comics to find some stuff that I wanted to bring to Houston to reread and to pass along to Will.
7/17
I had not made time for my yearly cardiology appointment in Waco over the Christmas holiday, so I took Monday off to accomplish that. Once I had gotten a clean bill of health and packed up my stuff, I met mom for lunch at Panera before heading back to Houston.
On the way I fired up the bluetooth headset and started making calls about getting my car taken care of. After dropping my luggage off back at the apartment, I went once again to take my car to the body shop. They informed me that they were busy but that they had a sister shop that would work on it, and I could even just leave the car there and that they would take care of everything. It sounded good to me (but too bad it wasn't). I called up Char to come pick me up, figuring that he probably didn't have anything better to do.
In the process I offended Cindy by not having called her first, which I did because I knew she wouldn't be able to get away from school. Of course, I was right, and I think she realized it after she thought through the logic of the situation.
So anyway, the Ward car curse continued to haunt me, and since the accident was classified as a road hazard rather than a real accident, no rental car this time around. On the other hand, the deductible was to only be $50, which was a huge relief. Still, two trips to the body shop within four months was not cool...
Labels: beer, cars, cocktails, concerts, cooking, Dallas, restaurants, trips, Waco
posted by L. Maxwell Ward at 1:04 AM
