even God can't hit a 1-iron

Had a good weekend with the parents. Friday we went to Shady Grove and, thanks to Carrie, had the best onion rings ever. In all my time in Austin, I had never been to Shady Grove so it was good to finally go. And I don't even like onion rings. Weird.

Saturday my parents spent most of the day at the Manor farmhouse. My father discovered a well in the backyard and a flower bed set in an actual bed frame. Andy found a hill that seems to be the perfect setup for his pitching mound. Melissa and I caught up on some television. Lost is still good though we are still way behind, and Joan still makes me think and that's what I like about it.

Saturday night, mom cooked shrimp stew, YUM, and we had a few people over to watch the Texas game and baseball. Melissa was the only one not rooting for the Red Sox. Sorry hon. It's not looking good.

Sunday started lazily. We continue to be amazed at what you can find in the New York Times on Sunday. I am amazed at how difficult the crossword puzzle is. Golf in the afternoon was fun. I was hitting the ball better with a little extra oomph on a few of my shots, but I still had a hard time coming up with a good hole. The shag carpet greens didn't help but I did like our three putt rule. Got chased off the course by lightning but that just gave us an excuse to head over to Shoal Creek Saloon to watch the boys in Black and Gold. Oddly enough, they won.

Sunday night the family had dinner at Macaroni Grill. You gotta love honor system wine and meals you can eat again later in the week. I know I do. All in all it was a good weekend.

In Austin news, there are way too many things to vote on next Tuesday. Last I checked there were 27 items. I've never been so happy to see people running unopposed. Oh, and if Jack Stick sends me one more thing in the mail, I think I could spread them on the ground and walk to work without touching cement. Give it a break Jack.

Looking forward to Better Than Ezra tomorrow night. If I'm felling industrious I might even write a mini-review. Don't count on it though.

They will see us waving from such great heights.

Better 1 or better 2. Better A or better B. Better 4 or better 5. The eye doctor visit went about as you would expect. My vision is no better and no worse, which means I still need contacts and I don't have depth perception. This time I mixed things up and got a pair of glasses. I know. I'm a rebel.

My random day of last Wednesday consisted of golf with Taylor, cleaning the fridge, and playing Warcraft 3. Golf was fun though I didn't play well. On the other hand, Taylor had a pretty good day. Most strange moment of the round, the golf course worked, who we had talked to a bit before teeing off, asking to hit my driver on 9, and me letting him. Yo. Not a whole lot to say about cleaning the fridge other than it needed it. I'm wondering if the previous owner had cleaned it before I bought it ... 3 years ago. Yo again. It was nice to get back into Warcraft. I haven't played in a while and I really would like to finish it especially since I hear the story arc is interesting. I had a rough time with the mission I was on, but I finished it and another one so things are going well in that arena.

Friday, Melissa and I went to see the Austin Ballet performance of Peter Pan. Unfortunately, it was a ballet we had already seen. Still good just not as surprising. Intermission was great as usual. We stand around with our preordered glasses of wine and try to look all snooty. This time we spied on a family with two daughters who were performing ballet moves for the parents. When I have a daughter she is sooo going to own me. It won't be pretty. After the show, we headed to Chee Zee as usual and I had my Lemon Rosemary Cake. I've tried just about everything on the menu and now I just get that. I mean, it's all good, but the Lemon Rosemary is divine.

Saturday morning I would up at the vet with Louie. Earlier in the week he had a swollen leg and he had an appointment with the vet on Monday, but Friday the leg was sporting an open wound. The vet says he probably got into a fight and the wound is called an abscess. I now know way more than I really wanted to about cat abscesses thanks to Google. He'll be fine and we are now thinking of making him an inside cat. Melissa doesn't think we can do it. I'll keep you posted.

We went to the Texas Missouri game Saturday afternoon and we were happy to finally see a good game. Not much more to say there. In other news. War Eagle!

Saturday night Melissa and I saw a movie at Alamo. I know I have said it before but let me say it again. I love Alamo. In the lobby there were ballroom dancers for Shall We Dance. Before the movie started I ordered a Sunshine Wheat beer. The waiter said if was like a heff and it worked for me. Later in the movie I ordered a cup of Earl Grey tea. Yes I realize beer and tea is an odd combination of beverages. I blame Richard.

Notice I haven't mentioned the movie yet? Garden State was wonderful. I have heard it called this year's Lost in Translation and I'd say that's about right. It had a similar feel for me. The acting was great, the setting was perfect, and the plot was something I could relate too. I'd really like to see it again. Melissa just bought the soundtrack and I love that as well. It's not music I normally listen to but it's all stuff I like. I need other people to buy music for me.

Sunday is kind of a blur. Watched Joan of Arcadia. Did some housework. Played some Warcraft. Prepared the house for Sunday night.

Why can't the Saints win? Why oh why? I know the Vikings can throw the ball. I know Moss is a god among wide receivers. But come on. Stop the run. Linebackers do your job. Please? At least the company was good, and the announcer, and the food, and the Rosemary Infused Lemonade with Vodka. Yummy.

This weekend we have the parents in town. Should be a good weekend, but we don't really have anything planned yet ... except golf. There's always golf.

Are you ready for some football?

For about three years now I have been saying I wanted to go to a Texas high school football game. It's supposed to be crazy out here if you believe the stories and the movies and I wanted to see it first hand. Friday night, I fulfilled my dream. Five of us drove out to my sister's new hometown, Manor, to watch a game. It's a small town, a little over 1000 people, and the high school is in division 3A, so it wasn't exactly Friday Night Lights, but it had all the aspects that I had hoped for. Bleachers, a program, people in the visiting team section, bands, cheerleaders, couples making out under the bleachers, affordable concessions, crazy plays, and down to the wire drama. Manor lost, by just one point, but we had a great time anyway. Dessert at Sonic after completed the perfect night.

Saturday we had people over for the Red River Shootout. Melissa served up some jambalaya and I broke out the heffeweissen. Everything was set for a great game. The Longhorn offense however failed to show up. Damn. I like defensive battles so I thought it was a fun game to watch, and up until the very end I thought we had a chance. Oh well. Maybe next year.

Later that day, Jerry and I cleaned and washed our cars. Yes, you read that right. Chad washed his car. For those of you who don't know, I don't wash my car much. I'm not proud of it but facts are facts. Jerry thinks it's been two years since I washed it last, and I couldn't find fault with his logic. Yeesh.

Saturday night part of the gang reconvened for the LSU Florida game. For a while I thought I was going to watch the team I was routing for lose for the third time this weekend, but thankful the Tigers pulled it off in the end. It was in HD which is always nice, and the final minutes decided that game so it entertained the crowd. Plus I get bragging rights with the Florida fan at work. I know I know. I went to Auburn. Shut up.

Today, Jerry and I went down to Shoal Creek Saloon for the Saints game. Here's what was good about that: talking to Melissa and Andy, visiting with Jerry's friend Kurt, having two Pearls, and eating a shrimp po-boy. Notice I didn't mention football. It's hard being a Saints fan, though cheering against Chuckie is always a good time.

In other news, the driving range and my golf game agreed with each other for once. That's always nice. The first episode of Lost was damn good. We have the rest to look forward to on the DVR. Desperate Housewives continues to impress. I don't know if the mystery thing can last more than one season though so I'm curious to see where they take it. Star Wars on DVD looks amazing. Hell, the new THX opening alone makes the purchase worth it.

Coming up: the eye doctor and a mid-week vacation day. Stay tuned.