An Enigma of Sorts

“The best way to waste your life, ... is by taking notes. The easiest way to avoid living is to just watch. Look for the details. Report. Don't participate.” - Chuck Palahniuk

Last weekend, I took Abram to the driving range with me to hit some golf balls. He ended up picking up golf really quickly and doing much better than I am, and that is with my lessons. It made me want to work harder on learning the game and becoming adequate enough to hang. Part of me was jealous, but the other part was happy because I'll have someone I can play with when I actually start playing games. (Or do they call it rounds?) I even purchased golf shoes and a glove, so I'm in it for real.

On Tuesday, I had another golf lesson with my friend Azalea. I'm thankful to her for coming up with the idea. It was fun, we got to practice on two holes with the instructor. After, he let us stay and play on the course. We played until dark, and even though I did lose quite a few balls, I was happy with my improvement. I do wish I would have picked this up much sooner than I have.

I have been swamped at work. Due to our deposition schedule, I've been taking a lot of notes. I hope they are good because it is hard to improve on something if you don't know if you are doing it wrong. I was supposed to go to Houston again this past week, but I ended up staying in the office to work on some motions. I really enjoy writing motions, and though I usually hope to have more time to write them, I really thrive on the feeling of having made a strong argument. I have felt really valued added at work and I hope to keep up the hard work. I found out I'll be working on Labor Day, so after this trial I'm going to take a well deserved vacation. I just found out that there are cheap tickets to Puerto Rico, which would be fun, but I don't think I'm ready to go again just let. Maybe San Diego finally, so I can stop talking about it. My friend Oscar and his girlfriend just went and they had a great time.

My niece, Bekkah, starts college next week and I'm so proud and excited for her. She even got a car from her father, which was an expense I didn't foresee, but it makes me feel so much better that she will be mobile. I really hope she is safe, especially since she just recently got her license. The next four years will fly by and I will be the proudest uncle when she walks across that stage with her little sister watching as she is about to embark on her own college journey. The world can be a trying place and I want my loved ones to have every advantage they can to do well for themselves in a country that in many ways still rewards hard work. My sisters should be going up to see her when she moves in. It is an important moment. They went up when my brother went to college. For me, I was alone because Cornell was so far, but even memories of my parents driving me up to summer camps at colleges left an impression. I'm gonna let her settle in and then go and visit.

The new school year is starting. My nieces Sarah and Jamie will be starting high school. Talk about an experience. I'm excited for them. These 4 years will shape who they become, which if you think about it is kind of scary. Kids do grow up fast. All I can think about is how all the school zones I have to drive through in the morning are going to slow me down. For my teacher friends out there, I hope you had a great summer. I will forever be envious of your summers off. But not as much for the time you spend with misbehaving kids. I would love to teach, but not have to deal with the behavior stuff. A college professor is probably more up my alley. Man I go off on tangents.

Saturday night was a pleasant experience. I invited a girl out on a date and ended up having a much better time than I expected. I try not to talk about my personal life when I write, since it is best left to being lived, but after enjoying reading about seeclaudiadate.com 's adventures in dating, I feel like making an exception today. I will, of course, keep the true details to myself, but there were a few things I wanted to share. The plan was simple, dinner and drinks, a good old fashioned 1980s style get to know you date to determine if there were any common interests or even just friendship possibilities. When we meet up, I decide to pull an audible, and instead take her to Bat Fest. In Austin, we have the South Congress Bridge Bats, which fly out from under the bridge. There is a long story about them, which I've mentioned in my blog a year or two ago, but in short, it is pretty awesome. Each year they have this festival to celebrate this unique attraction and it had totally slipped my mind when making plans. Having a cheerful, relaxed and laid back attitude, she was happy to check it out with me, so we ditched dinner. There were bands playing, all kinds of stands and lots of people, especially along the edge of the bridge to see the bats. It was much darker than I expected and the bats flew out much later than I remember from years past, so they were harder to see, but the sight was still amazing to me. Here is a video I found that shows the bats so you can know what I'm talking about.



People were really friendly there and I had many conversations with people about the bats. After Bat Fest, we headed to the Warehouse District where I took her to a few of my favorite bars and chatted over drinks. We had a lot in common and the conversation was really easy. I'm usually pretty talkative, so I enjoy conversations, but she has some great stories. I felt a bit guilty that we had skipped dinner, even though the bats were worth it, so we finished out the night at a local pizza truck. That is a date with me, eating a slice of pie on the side of the street at 2am. It was good pizza. I liked how she folded her pizza like a Northeaster. No matter how things work out, it was an enjoyable summer night.

Sunday, I went to the driving range with my friend Oscar. I'm practicing and practicing, but I feel like I'm missing some fundamental that when I get down will change my life. Oscar if very good and plays a lot, so I'm always happy for his pointers. Practice makes perfect I keep telling myself. After, I did some shopping, mainly for items for my pets. I'm embarrassed to admit it, but they have fleas that I just can't rid them of. I have tried drops, baths, collars. But they are stubborn. While in the pet store, I bought Koki a cat cave and she loves it, which she better considering the outrageous price I paid. She had been using my hamper, so I figured I'd get her a real one. I bought Mia a cat bed that she enjoys.

Norbert's friend has been living with us for the past month or so. She has been a great house guest/boarder as I affectionately call her. If we had another room, she would be an ideal roommate, though I'm sure living with 3 guys isn't ideal. If I understood correctly, she will be moving out soon. I'm sure she will enjoy having her own room and some true privacy and her dog will enjoy not having my puppy jump all over him. It really was almost like she wasn't here at times. Such a nice girl. The guys are going to miss her PS3 with her streaming netflix I'm sure.

four points