Monday, July 01, 2002

Weekends always rush by too quickly.

Justin's visit was a blast! We had a ton of fun on Friday - we went to the Art Museum, the Galleria, and ate tremendously yummy Chinese food at the Lai Lai Dumpling house. I just want to say that there are WAY too many potholes in Houston. The amount of construction was just amazing - every single street was torn up. Poor little Penelope (my car, for the uninformed) fell into three big holes. She's not rattling anymore than usual, but I'm still concerned, for obvious reasons. One on Main Street was just incredible. It was actually a steep incline that I went down at 5 miles per hour AT AN ANGLE. Normally, that approach solves every ridiculous incline... but it didn't work on Friday. The state of Houston roads is just sad.

I want to say something about our visit to the Houston Museum of Fine Arts... I would like to be a docent when I retire. The people that work there, and at most art museums that I've visited, actually, seem to love working in such a beautiful atmosphere. And oftentimes, they love seeing young people coming in to view the art. When Justin and I went to inquire about tickets, we had a very nice person working at the front desk. I asked him about the rates as I pulled out my wallet. He gave me an impish smile and said, "Well, they're two dollars per person... but if you're a student working on a project, you get in for free." Then he winked at me, and Justin picked up on the hint as he said, "Oh, yeah, well, we're researching Impressionism for a *school* project... I just left my backpack in the car." I started giggling and said, "Yes, that's it." The man at the desk just grinned widely and handed us our admittance stickers.

That's actually the second time I've encountered really nice employees at an art museum. When I was in Chicago for the Notre Dame game, we had an afternoon of freedom! Serena and I decided to go to the Art Institute of Chicago, seeing that it's one of the premier museums in the world. We went up to this lovely grandmotherly docent and inquired about the tickets. The lady smiled at us, as she started reminescing about her youth. Evidently she couldn't afford to go to the museum very often... money was very very tight. Then she whispered, "How about I just let you in?" Serena and I were flattered... evidently, you're supposed to donate something to the museum, but it shouldn't be free... We had a wonderful time, though. :)

Back to this weekend... on Saturday, I went to Sarah Young's wedding. I can't believe she's married! At 20! It was fun... it was like a high school reunion, actually. I saw all of these people I haven't seen in years. Sarah was radiant, just beaming... and it was a surreal experience.

The best part about that day was my "date" with Mary Louise. We went to the wedding together because Mark was out of town and I'm... well, always dateless. There was a lull inbetween the actual ceremony and the reception, so MLB and I decided to go to Tootsies! For those who are not Houston locals, Tootsies is an exclusive boutique... it has all of the posh designer brands, with a huge formal dress collection. Normally, when I go into a store like that, the salespeople treat me like I have a disease. No one ever comes up to me. However, Mary Louise and I were greeted as we wandered around the collection... the lady was very nice, showed us the advantages of their sale, and even offered us a "Coke or a Dr. Pepper." It must have been the nice clothes we were wearing... so, the lesson learned is this: dress like you can afford things when you go shopping... even if you can't!

Sunday was tiring, but enjoyable. I went to Astroworld with Justin, Matt, and his two friends, John and Diana. Except for the fact that I got dehydrated and nearly fainted in line. That kinda sucked. But I went to the first aid station, and they gave me lots of Gatorade and water. I felt a lot better in no time... Astroworld's just really ghetto nowadays. Everything was coated in chewed bubble gum. The rides just aren't thrilling... and one of the brand new rollercoasters was closed. But we made the best of it... and afterwards, we had a great time pigging out at CiCi's Pizza... even though I nearly got us lost in Bellaire when I tried to navigate. Times like that, I'm thankful that my parents have a good sense of direction!