Patience is a virtue!

That's all. Boarded for home. There are stories to tell soon. 

Frigid Travel

Another cold spell has hit the states and I'm heading home a day later than planned due to work. It kept me a little warmer for an extra day I suppose but these Texas folks are downright frozen. Considering I have to come back in a few days I should have just stayed for the weekend. 

This beautiful mid-century masterpiece will NOT be our vacation home. We ended too far apart on price. Nothing else even comes close to this one so we'll have to keep looking or make a decision to spend at the maximum desired $/SF for the area. At present, we did not take their counter and are moving on. 

Let's hope this delayed flight makes good time and I get home before Niko closes. This wig needs attention!

Uneventful

I'm home.  It was terribly cold in Dallas but apparently even colder in Ohio. There are lots of fun things on the horizon but for now I am exhausted. 

How Hot Are You?

I probably should be posting about how excited I am that this is the last business trip of the year or the @AAdvantage First Class upgrade for the flight home. I could be bi+<#!ng about how horrible the @Hertz return process is at #DFW and how they never have enough attendants and if you do self return in the after hours box they "lose" your car and have no reliable escalation process but to wait until they find it. Yes, that happened this year. I could chat about this whole Duck Dynasty hicksploitation mess or Facebook's inaccurate algorithm that gave me this rodeo ad for Ram Trucks, presumably due to the TX location and a middle age condition. But, I'm not. 

Let's talk about beauty. My beauty to be precise. Ha!

Seriously, here's the back story; I've thought way too much about this in the last 24 hours and need to write some words to get it out of the head. Earlier this year, on some random weekend, I found myself waiting for friends at Exile. I was dressed in the ordinary uniform; a v-neck tee and jeans. The shirt was probably black or dark grey/brown since it was a weekend night. Unless I'm in some ridiculous blouse or the rare tank top when Timmy isn't around to judge, I don't venture too far from that proven formula. I remember feeling particularly happy and attractive that night for no apparent reason. Despite picking up some "Ohio" weight, this has been a good year and forty is proving to be quite fabulous. This particular one was just a good day and gearing up to be a fun night with friends. 

Yum; Hot nuts, red wine, and warm towel break before the meal! Did I mention being luxuriously seated in First Class?

The Exile bartender and I struck up a conversation because it was early enough to not be very busy. He complimented me on a tattoo and then said something like, "You are so f'n hot and you probably don't even know it." I was crushed. It seemed he was attracted to me because I was overly white trashy, or poor looking, or bearish, or fat, or some other non-traditional reason that attracts one person to another. This is quite common at a place like Exile where the non-traditional is exhaulted. (Picture three hot dudes making out with a 400 lb man in a harness and kilt). I didn't want to be one of those "other" people who didn't fit the classic definition of beauty or have the confidence to realize they were attractive in some way. I wanted to be a universally beautiful Details Magazine cover boy. You know, the one with great hair, white teeth, a lean muscular body, and youthful sexiness locked down with some degree of fame or fortune. While I didn't dwell on it too long, in some weird way, the incident lingered. It was frustrating and perhaps even subconsciously inspired my late Summer fitness quest. I wanted to be be proud of my masculine beauty and not one who couldn't even recognize his own appeal. I certainly didn't want to be placed in some niche gay classification; I wanted universal acceptance. 

Skip forward to last night. This has been a particular busy work week with major projects, annual reviews, and working dinners giving me little time to relax or clear the head. It was early, about 7:30, when I got out of the office so I decided to change clothes and step out for a bit. I put on 'the uniform' and hopped in my Toyota Tacoma pick up truck rental. It is Dallas. Feeling sexy and butch, I hit the Dallas Eagle for a happy hour cocktail. The place is usually good for conversation with a friendly local or another business traveler without too much Dallitude. However, work beckoned and I sat at the bar with my nose buried in the iPhone responding to email. At least it wasn't in my lonely hotel room where I usually do this very same thing. Bypassing the 2 Gingers Irish Whiskey special, I enjoyed a nice citrus vodka and headed out for a quick dinner at Hunky's. Being relatively early and feeling good, I decided to swing back by the Eagle for a nightcap. The crowd was pretty decent earlier and I hoped to strike up a conversation and forget about work. 

There were several friendly folks at the bar. I positioned myself near some youthful eye candy and ordered a drink. A couple of guys started conversation about living in California and some other random nothingness. They were perfectly pleasant and the conversation spurred some laughter and decent mindless stories. The conversation shifted and I found myself talking to just one dude. He proceeded to tell me how shocked he was that I was friendly and pleasant to talk to because he had seen me earlier, before leaving for dinner. While I was busy working, he was apparently watching me and thinking about how hot and how arrogant I looked. He was just sure that I "knew" how hot I was based on my body language. He knew I wouldn't talk to him or anyone in the bar. I was crushed. While this was exactly the kind of self assured sexy hot I wanted back in the Summer, this man's perception was absolutely not who I think I am or want to be. 

All of this is likely nothing but sometimes we get stuck on perception and what it means. Admittedly, too much brain power has been wasted on these two situations. I want to be hot. I want to have confidence. I try not to care what people think of me as long as they like me. It's human nature even though I hate when people say that. I don't want people to think I'm arrogant or unapproachable or that my ego is too big for my own good. What's different about these two nights and the drastically different interactions and perceptions? I know that I won't ever be magazine cover beautiful or twenty two or have the perfect body but I am ok with this. How do I need to act to ensure a positive portrayal of who I want to be and why should anyone really "act" like anything. If being myself, which I was in both scenarios, leads to such different perceptions, what do you do? Was the work mindset giving me a different demeanor? Was driving a butch truck impacting my attitude? Why have I written thirty five pages on this? Why do I always make a long story longer? Why isn't there some useful life lesson here? Let's see if rambling on helps or if I think about this again. I probably should edit. 

Oh. Sorry about that kilt visual earlier on the post. Some people really get into that and it is totally ok! It's about time to land. I'm exhausted. 

Airplane Mode!

This is my first flight after implementation of the new FAA permission to keep devices in airplane mode from gate to gate! My flight to Dallas was restricted but the return flight provides the sweet taste of freedom. I decided to read a book on my iPad while listening to music and taking photos on my iPhone! Baby I'm having it all on this flight! Despite the somber photo, it really is exciting!

The work week was uneventful with a repeat of run/work/sleep every day. I did shave a full minute per mile off my 3.5 mile run this AM. It might be a 2013 PR! Running in the cold weather (30's) always makes me faster. I also love running past people in parkas while I'm in slutty running shorts and a t-shirt! 

Mondays dinner reminded me that I am a) in Dallas and b) eat at Schlotzsky's too much. The perfectly pleasant drive thru lady recognized me. I don't eat fast food at home and hate chain restaurants but my life has come to this. I need to read this article and make more time for me. http://wearemammoth.com/2013/11/long-hours

I'm very excited to return home as two DC peeps arrived last night. We get to play through Saturday and then the extra long Veteran's Day weekend still gives another two days to rest and recover! Thanks to all the military Hero's out there including my Dad! I might just take the new Benz for a spin to visit him this weekend. I called yesterday to find out checkup #3 confirms he's still cancer free! I also found out that his Veteran's Day weekend includes plans to scour Ohio's free food deals for veterans! Sounds about right. It's weird to be in week two of new car ownership and realize I've really only driven it to work once. The garage door isn't even programmed yet!

Smoky Dreams

Not the hazy ones...the ones where you dream of smoking. I keep having them and it is really frustrating! Still smoke free in real life but not in my sleepy time. 

Perhaps eating this last night before bed (in bed) didn't help. I just couldn't resist! 

Excited to have my cousin visiting for a wedding even though we leave tomorrow for one too. I guess we're just trading states for the weekend! My flight is delayed but I should be at the gate soon!

Plane Pic

Not much to blog about from the last few days as I've been work/run/sleep/repeat. I captured this pic on the way to Dallas earlier in the week. It's kind of neat but I haven't had time to figure out what river it is. Perhaps the iPhone grabbed GPS...not sure if it does that on airplane wifi only mode. 

T is working all weekend and I have no plans. Trying to brew up some fun!

There was another funny memory from last Saturday. People were off the chain at the Tremont when we made a late night appearance! Perhaps it was their new sign?

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India Meets New Orleans!

The title is exciting but it's where I'm going next and unfortunately not where I've been all week. This was a particularly stressful week of work but I thankfully am able to come home early for a few more days with Gladys before heading to Pittsburgh for an undoubtedly fun wedding that will bring an Indian friend and a Louisianan friend together. I'm really looking forward to their culturally diverse wedding and especially the Robot themed Raas-Garba! More about the wedding in the next post.

I haven't had much sleep so there won't likely be Wed or Thu night shenanigans like last weekend. Having our good friend, Gladys, in town has been adventurous! This pic is representative of the foolishness that ensued over the weekend. Yes, that is a pristine 1985 Lincoln that Cynthia climbed up on like she owned it! In reality it belongs to some good friends and was quite fun to roll around in! There may or may not have been classy Tool Box strippers involved?

There was also dancing, of course! We enjoy the Barracks at AWOL! It was a little slow on Friday but that gave these boys room to flail around like frat boys (or girls as the case may be)?

The real weekend dance fun was at the Garage on Saturday night! These two posed all sexy but I got to dance with Andrea Cambern! 

I should be landing soon. Until the next plane ride...

I sleep!

It still amazes me that I can fall asleep before a plane even takes off. Unfortunately this often means I miss beverage service. I am quite ready to go home after six long days in Dallas. My 7/31 deadline seems to be doable after a bunch of hard work by the team. Here's what I know:

There is more than one Bolsa in Oak Cliff. While the Mercado might be a great cafe, wine bar, and market, your friends are probably at the restaurant having a delicious meal and proper cocktail. http://www.bolsadallas.com/

Working on a Saturday isn't so bad if you relocate the management team to a place for the idle rich in Uptown Dallas and find $7 carafes of mimosas! (Picture above!) http://www.idlerichpub.com/

The Dallas Dirty Bird isn't so bad for Happy Hour! You can get cheap drinks and make great friends and it goes late enough for those working long hours to catch. The bird is, however, quite dirty on a Saturday night. http://www.dallaseagle.com

Dallas has pool parties. Despite being a glamorous name for an enormous apartment complex, the Village Country Club throws one hell of a frat boy style free weekend afternoon pool party, complete with DJs and cheap drink specials! http://www.thevillageapts.com/club/

Being away from family during rough times makes you feel guilty and alone. My Dad fortunately made it through a rough spell in his recovery and came home today. I'll get to see him after my daughter's wisdom tooth extraction tomorrow. 

There are big beautiful blind drag queens in Dallas! I didn't remember how huge a space or how fun S4 could be. It's actually worth the little $5 cover. http://www.station4dallas.com/

Le Meridien at the Stoneleigh is a fantastic property. When it shows up with a reasonable price again, I'll book more business trips to stay there! http://m.starwoodhotels.com/lemeridien/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=3895

If you have too much to drink because your friends offer to be designated drivers, it's easy to lose your car once and leave your credit cards twice. I'll let you guess which of the above places align with such challenges. Thankfully my recovery mission the following day was successful on all counts!

Vacation!

I'm just kidding. While the "big" vacation isn't far away, I'm really only returning from a week of work travel. Even though an exotic location isn't tagged to this post, It feels like a vacation because I'm giving myself two weeks without scheduled work travel! There are only a few very small chances that I'll have to get on a plane before May 19th. With one exception around the Winter holidays, I've been to Texas every other week since October of last year. Crazy.

My Snap Fitness personal trainer broke up with me last week. I swear I didn't do anything wrong! Her company has apparently lost its' contract so I'm once again going to try someone new. I took a break this week to rest for the Capital City Half Marathon. The training has been sporadic at best and I fully anticipate a personal worst this weekend. They appropriately put me in the last corral. Hopefully there will be some momentum pushing to a reasonable finish. I'm bummed there won't be anyone waiting at the finish line or cheering me along the route. Columbus sure could use a few more runners. The warm Dallas weather prompted a few hours in the pool last night. It isn't quite large enough for proper laps but it did loosen up the muscles.

These next two weeks will involve prepping the house and yard for the annual Village Valuables. We're planning to have friends over for a few cocktails in the afternoon. It will be the first event at the new place and we're hoping for a great time!

Now for the ugly news. The worst is saved for last but if I'm going to journal everything, it has to be noted. Dad's little spot on his lung has not gone away. Since the partial lung removal was so recent, they're fairly certain it is cancerous and an appointment with the surgeon has to be scheduled. I didn't have the stability to call my daughter from the airport and am dreading that call. We MUST stay optimistic and keep a positive attitude. Peace.