You're so Vain, You Probably Think this LJ is About You

Cherries are apparently a wonderful laxative. That's good to know, I guess.

Back from a whirlwind weekend in Austin. On Friday night, I drove up to Georgetown and Nay-nay and I went to her nephew's surprise birthday party, which I was pleased to find contained as many adults as kids. Lots of food and beer and plenty of friendly folks who made me feel right at home. Nice.

Then, Saturday afternoon was the Wicked matinee and it was just as good as the last time. Much better seats than I could afford, too. The bartender who made me a rum and coke didn't really bother with the coke part so I has half-drunk before the curtain raised (score). The older gentleman sitting next to me kept a running commentary during the show, both to me and his seatmate, but again, coming from a loud family (with a sister who talks through movies), I am able to block that shit out. I kinda felt bad for the old guy, in any case. I still cried during Defying Gravity and was greatly pleased when the crowd gave the entire cast a standing ovation.

Afterwards, Nay-nay's grandmother surprised all us girls with rooms at the Mansion at Judge's Hill, an absolutely BEAUTIFUL historic hotel. We all had dinner there that night (rare seared tuna for me) that was tasty, if a little pretentious. But still a very generous gesture.

I won't lie - I was feeling a little jealous. My family couldn't afford half that type of present and ya'll all know my never-ending litany regarding my birthday and the non-event it is, being surrounded by other birthdays, anniversaries, and the holidays. So, I was really in awe of the whole thing. But then something happened that make me forget all that: this morning Nay-nay and her mom had a horrible fight, just terrible.

Now, I've known this woman (and her mom) for over 20 years. Theirs is not an easy relationship. They are too much alike, I think. I've heard them fight before, but somehow just hearing them hurl abuse at each other today made me realize how lucky I am, with the easy relationship I have with my parents. Sure, we don't always see eye-to-eye, but we would never say the kinds of things Nay-nay and her mom were saying to each other.

After breakfast at the hotel, I pleaded work and beat it home. And called my mom to tell her how much I loved her.

In other weekend news, I love Austin, particularly the UT Austin campus. It just looks and feels like a college is supposed to and brings back so many college memories...