Estoy Nueces

My sister's visit was a lot of fun. We really had some great belly laughs...the kind I only get with her. We were at Opal Devine's having lunch yesterday. We were admiring a pretty girl in the parking lot with a cool long denim skirt and wishing we could look like that. Then a pudgy woman in ill-fitting black pants and a too-tight white blouse wobbled across the parking lot with lots of effort. I said, "And there I come!" Sweet sister said, "I was just thinking the same thing...... and wondering how I could say it without hurting your feelings." hohohohohohoho.... we hardly could stop on that one.

We had some TERRIFIC Mexican food last night at El Azteca on East 7th. My God it was good food and a nice old Austin atmosphere. Don't know how I hadn't been there before.

We went on to the club from there. She wanted to bring a bottle of wine to this BYOB club. I should have stopped on my side of town, but we got over to the east side before I got around to stopping. We got tickled again when the only "wine" on sale at the store we stopped at was MD 2020, Thunderbird, or Boone's Farm. We got our cheap bottle of Boone's Farm and laughed our way on to the club.

The band was again in rare form, but then we were in for a real treat. The Fabulous Thunderbirds were in town. Only a couple of the members even live in Austin anymore so it isn't like the band comes here much. Mark had met them and their drummer a while back and he sends the drummer his occasional invitation to his gigs. The drummer emailed back this time and said they were going to be in Austin so he would stop by. He did and he brought three other members with him. He sat in on a couple of songs and was SO dynamic. It was like watching a Gene Krupa video except so much more exciting to witness it in person and feel that rhythm beating against your chest and lifting you off your chair and compelling you to hollar!! He sat in and then the whole band took over for a few songs. My God I'm glad I saw this. And to see this legendary band in a small setting with an unsuspecting crowd for FREE? Only in Austin. Okay, it probably happens in other places, too, but not with me there!

***

Tonight I am pondering my friendships. It has been weird lately where I feel so many of my friendships are falling away. Then I find myself being the isolationist and not wanting to talk to anyone, so maybe it is me pushing them away instead of them pulling away. Or maybe I am the friend that people don't want to be friends with anymore. I have friends like that. They had their purpose but then become a little too CLOSE.

One "friend" has gotten a little more weird on my. I hardly know the woman. I may have known her a year? Maybe not that long. She is Double D's cousin, so I have met her through him. She's slept on my couch a couple of times. She calls and she emails. She is a very nice person and very sincere, but just a little overbearing. I guess DD knows she is this way because he has asked several times if she is bugging me. He has offered to step in if she is. I have said she's not, but it might get that way.

She called a couple of times today and didn't leave messages, so I called her back tonight. She launches into this long story. Yesterday she hit (with her car) a bicyclist and he may have a broken neck from the accident. He is having surgery in the morning. She was calling her "friends" to tell them that this had happened.

It just seemed awfully odd to me for her to call to tell me this. I just don't feel that close to her. I can see maybe getting an email about it... but maybe that is just that I am a written word person and she is vocal. I hate the telephone and love email.

Anyway, that made me start reflecting. I have complained about friends falling away and today I found myself hitting "silence" on the phone over and over as people were calling me. I just didn't want to be available to them. I don't think having a cell phone obligates me to answer it.

So tonight I had lots to do and I am not getting anything done. Just resting. Maybe I'll get back in the swing of things tomorrow.