Bigger or Better: Life outside of Texas

Last week, my long-term patient asked me to take him downstairs to the gift shop so that he could buy a present for his wife for Christmas. So I got him in his wheelchair, put on his Santa hat, and with me bedecked in a Christmas light necklace, we looked pretty festive. We went downstairs, and heard a brass ensemble in the lobby performing Christmas carols, so we stopped to listen. The music was very well done, and helped with the Christmas spirit. After a while, we proceeded on to the gift shop, where 'Guy' wanted to look at purses, because he had noticed his wife's purse was getting raggedy. I held up several different options, which got turned down for price or gaudiness, but he finally liked one, and said it would be perfect. The catch: it was $39, and he had $40, and we didn't think that would cover taxes. He waved over a store assistant and asked if it would be enough, and one of the other customers, who had seen us choosing purses, said she would cover the dif

Well, I did it. Today I ran my first half marathon. It was the first race I have ever signed up for, although I did later sign up to do a 5K and a 10K to help me prepare for the big half. Not sure running half marathons is really my thing. I brought my inhaler, so I never felt short of breath, and I didn't really hurt that bad during the run, but my legs started to feel like jelly, and I definitely got blisters. I also twisted my ankle about 5 times, because the course was over this prairie-long-grass-with-gopher-holes-and-deep-sand-and-mud type of turf. I thought the course was really tough, and was really tempted to just walk (which I did for about a tenth of a mile, mainly to drink water or take my inhaler, but also just because) or just throw myself down on the ground and not get up. I did not give into the latter, even at the end. But I did promptly soak in an epsom salt bath and take a long nap. I went with one of my good friends, Tammy, and her husband and brother-in

One of my favorite songs growing up was "A thousand words" by Savage Garden, because it had the word  "damnation" in it, which I thought was hilarious. I'm guessing I haven't matured much, because I still smile when I listen to the song. For my enjoyment, (possibly yours too, depending on your sense of humor), I have compiled statements that can be sprinkled into everyday life to express strong emotion. It's clean, I promise I'm going to go run on the dam road Give me the flipping spatula Look, it's a blinking light Watch out for the bloody animal More additions to come as I think of them, but I'm afraid to think too hard. could be dangerous. ~~~~~~~ Okay, here's one of my favorite jokes: What did the fish say when it swam into the wall? Dam! What did the wall say back? Dumb bass

I'm not sure this post is for my benefit either. I don't know why I am writing this. It's just the sort of thing that I'd write in a journal, but I don't keep a journal. I keep a blog. I told a friend the other day that I felt like I was "nesting in" (usually only occurs to pregnant ladies) because I kept rearranging/re-decorating my living room, and I had more intense mood variations. Since we both know that I'm not pregnant, she suggested maybe it was a sign that I was going to get married soon. I find that just slightly less impossible than the pregnant answer. Here's the thing: I want to date guys, generally, but when it comes to guys, specifically, I pretty much freak (Just inside. Or to really close friends). It is so frustrating. If I were a shrink, I'd tell you what's going on, but I'm not, so I don't know. What I have figured out so far is that I absolutely must know the guy (in a general, observational way) for at lea