Friday, March 31
We are off to see Tony Randall in Damn Yankees. Bet you didn't expect that, did you?
[Journal entry - Got two new books in the mail from Barnes & Noble - Javascript, the Definitive Guide, and SQL Server 7 Programming. They both look really good.]
Thursday, March 30
In other thrilling news of the day, Ed tweezed an ingrown hair from his chin that was one inch long (on the inside). It curled. You can see it when we visit. Also, I saw three dachsunds. Not together. That is definitely my highest dachsund-frequency ever. Sigh. I promise I'll do something interesting tomorrow. If it's at night, you won't hear about it until Saturday, though.
Even though Ed doesn't read this, when I told him I hadn't mentioned his darts match on my web page, he was disappointed. So, he joined a darts team. They have a secret handshake and everything. Well, not secret. His first match was Tuesday. He did fairly well, considering he's still learning alot of the rules. They play 301, 501, 801 and cricket, and he usually just plays cricket. Anyway, the last game was a four against four game of 801, and he threw the winning dart, a double 2.
Wednesday, March 29
I keep getting the days mixed up. Sorry. Hopefully no one is using this site for a calendar.
I spent the afternoon driving around and looking at (eliminating) houses on a list I got from a real estate agent. These were in a new area near Memorial Park (new for me, not new for Houston). The ironic thing is that the first house on the list was one we'd been to. Not for an open house, for a wine-tasting. We were invited because the owner knew we were looking, though. The house was great, but didn't have a dining room. The owner was selling it herself. Now it's listed with an agent, for $30,000 more. Makes me think maybe we missed a good opportunity.
Tuesday, March 28
Unfortunately, another boring day. Not really boring to me, but not much to write about (geek). Kind of getting cold feet about the new house mentioned yesterday. The house is great, but another one will be going in very close to this one. In fact, it probably used to be one lot, and will now be two. I also noticed (via the Harris County tax web site) that the builder is two months behind in his taxes, which makes us want to look into his financial stability, as the house isn't quite finished. Of course finishing the house would be part of the contract, we just don't want a legal mess. This is one area where the web is handy. I am also able to find out the appraisal history and details about the structure (in this case, it's the house they tore down to build this one).
I did turn down that job offer. They called me in San Francisco to see if I would be interested trying it for three months under contract, but I didn't see what difference that would make. The day I said no, I talked to someone about a $70/hour contract writing stored procedures for SQL server databases at Compaq. That fell through (they were going to be able to finish the project earlier), but made me feel pretty good (that would be more than Ed makes). It gave me a new contact at a consulting company called marchFirst that does only e-commerce and e-business work, which is what I'd like to do. When I really start pounding the pavement looking for a job, perhaps I'll give them a call. I'm also brushing up on my stored procedures!
Monday, March 27
While in Sausalito sipping margaritas last Sunday, we observed a huge yacht with a large banner reading KinderTales.com. I thought this was a successful web startup for children that was bringing the owner tons of boat money, but I think I was wrong. I guess it's a guy who likes to sail who sells a lame coloring book. Which makes me wonder: are there any good sites for children yet? I'd like to see one.
What a boring weekend! That's why I didn't write. Ed worked on his taxes, and I helped him organize everything. Even Erica has to file this year.
We had some luck on houses yesterday. I think Ed is going to make an offer on a new one (in fact, it's not even done yet). It's built in the old style, and we thought it was done really well, with a lot of nice built-in features. It's expensive, though, and not much of a yard. But enough to plant in, and a big deck so there's room for conainers. We'll see.
I hear nobody's stranded. Too bad.
Friday, March 24
I'm back. I didn't have the computer all week, as you may have noticed. Kind of a funny story, actually. I took it in to Wells Fargo's IT department so that some remote access software could be installed on it. We went to get it yesterday, and learned that they didn't install the software because Ed hadn't responded to the e-mails they sent him requesting information. Just to be clear - they had his computer. They sent e-mails to him, which he could only retrieve with his computer. The computer was lacking remote access software, so the one thing he could not do even if he had the computer was get his office e-mail. And they didn't call him despite having his cell phone number. Oh, well. Anyway, I'll add entries for the days I missed, beginning with Monday afternoon. You should probably scroll down to read in order. Warning: lots of links!
Thursday, March 23
I walked over to Chinatown and soaked up some pagoda atmosphere. Ed and I had lunch at Postrio, a Wolfgang Puck restaurant near our hotel, before leaving for the airport.
Lent Amendment VI: A scotch on the rocks may be used to prevent jet lag upon return from another time zone.
Wednesday, March 22
Sam, Lila, Joe and Kathy picked me up at my hotel so that we could see the Georgia O'Keefe exhibit at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor. This was a fantastic exhibit -- huge, with pieces drawn from a lot of museums, including the Menil collection in Houston. There were paintings, drawings, sculptures, and photographs of Georgia and her collections of things. Her collections were a lot like mine: bones and shells and wood. Lila especially liked this show.
Sam then drove us around a little bit. We stopped at Coit Tower and watched the fog roll in over the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz. He accidently took us down Lombard Street (the crooked street), too. I say accidentally because he didn't know it was coming. He doesn't drive in the city much.
We all had dinner at Absinthe, Sam's restaurant. It was very good, and we got to see the plush velvet vests that Sam wears to work. I was so glad that my visit to San Francisco coincided with Manhart's. I really liked Sam's girlfriend. I'd like to visit them in Maine sometime over the next two years.
Tuesday, March 21
I wandered around San Francisco all day. Spent the afternoon at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, which always has good permanent and temporary exhibitions. By the end of the day my feet were killing me, but we still wound up walking to the Gold Coast, a bar where Ed was meeting some colleagues who were attending his training from various Trade Bank locations. I met the number two and three guys at the bank, but not number one.
I should probably mention here the various amendments to Lent that have been made since Ash Wednesday:
Lent Amendment IV: St. Patrick's Day. To be fair, this isn't a true amendment since it is part of the original proclamation (no drinking during Lent except for St. Patrick's Day).
Lent Amendment V: Vacation. This amendment was not created until Amendment IV expired.
Monday, March 20
I went to visit Sam Manhart in the afternoon. He lives in the Haight-Ashbury district in an old Victorian house. The location is ideal. It's quiet but less than two blocks from Haight Street. I met his girlfriend Emily, who is very nice. We went to the beach with their (her) dog, and stopped on the way back at the Shakespeare garden in Golden Gate Park.
Yesterday we took the ferry to Sausalito with Ed's college friend Forrest. We had lunch, fed the seagulls, and went in the shops. A nice relaxing day. I am going to do some sightseeing on my own today. Not sure what, yet...I'll have to do some surfing.
[Journal entry - Met Forrest at the Ferry Terminal. Took Ferry to Sausalito - had lunch, margaritas. Erica left. Went to Foley's Irish house for Guiness, Jameson's, and dinner. Took Forrest's picture.]
Saturday, March 18
We spent the afternoon at Metreon, a huge entertainment center owned by Sony. It has video games, virtual reality, movie theaters (including IMAX), and a playland based on "Where the Wild Things Are". There is also a "The Way Things Work" exhibit and an area where you can play Playstation games. We're trying to decide where to have dinner now.
We made it! I'm showing Erica how to make web pages. We'll write more later, but right now we're going to the exercise room.
Friday, March 17
Happy Saint Patrick's Day! I'm leaving for the airport now. If anyone gets the urge to drive halfway to San Francisco next week, let me know. We'll have our cell phones with us.
[Journal entry - Plane to SF was delayed, then pulled for mechanical problems. Took another one. Theresa brought Erica to hotel - went to dinner at Puccini?]
Thursday, March 16
Well, that house already had a contract on it. Oh, well. Ed drove by the Montrose house the other night and said that it seemed noisier than when we were there Sunday. Back to square one.
Today I drove to Washington on the Brazos, a state park on the site of the original capital of Texas. That's capital as in NATIONAL capital, not state capital. We're talking Alamo-era. It was a tiny town, so they weren't king of the hill for long. Then the railroad made the riverboats obsolete, and with it the town. It was a pretty drive (that's where I called from this afternoon, Mom), which I made mainly to see the wildflowers. Todays sightings: bluebonnets, winecups (ooohh....), phlox, Indian paintbrush, showy primrose, prairie spiderwort, baby blue-eyes, purple phacelia, yellow thistle, coreopsis, calliopsis, and another pretty yellow one that I didn't bother looking up (too many yellow flowers to page through). I got a Texas wildflower book today, by the way. That's one nice thing about Texas - they are known for their wildflowers.
I'm working on a new web project that should be a lot of fun for everybody. Since I just started today, I probably will have to postpone the unveiling until I get back.
Have a great trip, Mom and Dad!
Wednesday, March 15
Here's another house that we initially dismissed because it was too expensive and had a weird addition in the back (on the right). I guess now we're getting really anxious, though, and are going to give it another look. It's owned by an architect, who did the addition. It has a very nice kitchen and lots of room. It's also in a pretty part of the Heights.
Sorry, got bored with the color scheme.
Today I took my bike out west of town to ride along some paths that lead to a reservoir. I saw alot of wildflowers: Indian paintbrush, pink sundrops, spiderwort, coreopsis, Mexican hats, and (my favorite), blue flag. If it's nice tomorrow I will take a drive further out in search of fields. I was just reminded that Wildseed Farms is in Texas. That's where I've gotten most of my seeds. The master gardener we had dinner with last Saturday said that they have a big wildflower festival in April. I'd love to go there just to see their fields in bloom.
I'm leaning toward declining the offer at Baker Robbins. I want to do too many other things, and I also want to meet people here and get settled. If I was only home on weekends, I'd be running errands and doing laundry the whole time.
Tuesday, March 14
I got a job offer today; now I just have to decide what to do with it.
It's been raining here all day, and I can't get motivated to accomplish anything. Ed's been too busy to think about that house, so it looks like that will slip away. He goes to Dallas tomorrow, returns Thursday, and we leave for SF Friday.
Monday, March 13
Lent Amendment III: If we win free tickets from the local radio station to a Women In Blues concert, it is o.k. to have a beer or two at the event.
Yesterday morning I met a friend of a friend of Ed's to do the Azalea Trail. I guess this is a bit like the Sewickley house tour. We toured four private mansions and gardens, and also visited Rienzi, which is a house built by an oil magnate in the '50s, now a museum. The flower arrangements were spectacular, and although the houses were not decorated in my style (too much chintz, porcelain and gilded stuff), it was fun to see how the other half lives. The woman I went with was a horticulture major at Texas A&M (a surprise to me since she's a banker now), so she was a big help at identifying common landscaping plants used here.
Another friend of Ed's is a master gardener, and has told me about some interesting field trips to take. The wildflowers are beginning to bloom here -- pink sundrops and bluebonnets so far. I'd like to take a drive this week and get some photographs.
After the Azalea Trail, I met Ed for the Sunday open houses. We saw the inside of that house in Montrose which I had seen virtually. The house had been pending, but the sale has fallen through. The asking price has been reduced as the owners are packing up to move to San Jose (the place was filled with computers and programming books). We really liked it, and although it is fairly close to the freeway, the sound is only noticeable in the front yard, and even then only barely. We might make an offer on it (but I think Ed is getting cold feet).
After that we went to the aforementioned Women In Blues show, which was at a roadhouse-style place called Billy Blues. The show was very good, kinda raunchy, but fun.
Sunday, March 12
Last night we met some old friends of Ed's and went to a reception at Diverse Works, a gallery in the warehouse district. This area reminded me of the Strip in a way, although there were no retail establishments. A row of loading docks, similar to the ones that offer parking across from Rosebud and Kaya, now houses several galleries. Last night's opening was a part of FotoFest 2000. The theme was relationships. This gallery had the female interpretation, while another gallery had the male counterpart. We haven't seen that one yet.
Saturday, March 11
We are now allowed to have a drink at home within one hour before leaving to socialize with others. Also, if we come home early because it is pouring rain, we can have the drink at home we would have had as guests at our friends' house, had it not rained.
This morning we saw the Willem De Koonig exhibit at The Menil Collection, which is a small museum featuring a former private collection that also attracts travelling exhibits. This museum and the Contemporary Arts Museum are free, which is nice if you just want to run in and see a short-term exhibit. We also saw a house for sale near the museums, which will probably be sold by Monday.
I just found out I have a namesake in Chicago. I did a search on my name, and came up with an obituary page. It turns out I'm not dead, but the other Susan Batterman's father-in-law has been for a few years.
I'm going to get outside now...the storm last night brought in some cool, sunny weather. Ed's biking, and I'll probably go running or skating.
Friday, March 10
Well, as part of our Lent diets, we gave up alcohol. Ed does this every year, then comes up with a complex series of rules and exceptions, to the point where it seems we should call it "Lent Fest". This year he swore would be different. We are two days into Lent now (I swear I'm not converting to Catholicism, by the way), and already I've received a call from him outlining a new plan. We may now drink alcohol when we are invited out with friends. As you might imagine, this is an enormous loophole. It just so happens that we are going to his friend Mike's for dinner tonight, and out with his friends Walt and Rabun tomorrow. I have a feeling we'll be "dining out with friends" until Easter.
I wish we had a house so that we could go to the South By Southwest music festival in Austin. It's mostly alternative and country music, as well as film, and is supposed to be pretty cool.
My interview was moved up to this morning, and it seemed to go well. I like the company, but the travel involved looks to be intense. Essentially, you're home on weekends. This isn't necessarily all the time, but they hinted that it was fairly typical. They do pay to get you home (or somewhere else, as long as it isn't more expensive) every week, or to have your spouse fly out for the weekend. The upside would be I could probably turn that into visits to PA and CA from time to time. The downside would be not having time to keep up with all of my interests.
Oh well, I guess I can wait to see if I even get an offer to think about it.
Thursday, March 9
I haven't had much time to write lately, or to work on revamping this, but at least this makes it look a little different! Only the archive link works right now; I'm still working on the other pages, and will add even more.
Anyway, I've had two good phone interviews with people from Baker Robbins, and they want to have me come in on Monday for a final one, so I'm pretty sure I'll have an opportunity there if I want it. Without even trying! Wish the house hunt was proving to be so easy.
We are on Lent diets. The Lent thing is just an excuse - it worked once for Ed (and he quit smoking at the same time). He's had a few new injuries and hasn't been able to exercise, so he's desperate, and I'm going along to support him.
I'll try to add to this later. I just noticed some ants, so I'm off to vanquish them.
Tuesday, March 7
Californians, you must hear this song before you vote today (or after). Others should listen, too, just for fun. The rest of this web site is probably useful, too, but not as funny.
Monday, March 6
We saw a house today that was fairly cheap. It had been renovated on the "skeleton" side (electric, plumbing, new garage, insulation), but needs aesthetic work (painting, landscaping, kitchen rehab). I'm not sure it's big enough to fit everything, but maybe....like I said, it's cheaper than others we've seen.
Today's useful link (I'm not sure if it's for real) -- cat-proof your computer.
Yesterday was taken up by open houses again. We liked this one, but it's a little small and borders on a fairly busy street. Not as busy as Beechwood, but it does have quite a few cars. It was very nicely redone, though.
Saturday, March 4
We were trying to decide whether to go biking or to Bayou Bend (Ima Hogg's house) today, but somehow wound up taking the windshield off of Ed's motorcycle and washing it. How did that happen? Anyway, we bought a Martha Stewart hose from K-Mart in a lovely putty color. We didn't buy the Martha nozzle though, I'm not sure why.
Here's a web site you might enjoy, The Ad Critic. All ads, all the time.
I have been working making this a full-fledged website, but of course one thing leads to another and it's getting fairly involved. Maybe I'll put up a rough draft in a day or two.
Friday, March 3
Last night we went to a reception for a photographer from Dallas. She does solar prints of plants and flowers. Some were cyano prints, and some were Van Dyck. I really liked some of the columbine prints, but they were very expensive. I'd like to experiment with that a little bit. The reception was at someone's house, but the artist was here for FotoFest, which is a month-long event during which most of the galleries and museums here feature photography.
Thursday, March 2
Here's a good review of Wonder Boys. I like it because it calls Pittsburgh "one of the most serendipitously beautiful American cities", and mentions the house on Ed's street.
I've been meaning to work on a real design for this site, but have been working on fixing up Ed's college site intead. I'd provide a link, but it's a little infantile, I think. I'll try to do this one tomorrow. I guess this one doesn't need to be fancy, anyway.
This morning I went to the Houston Zoo with Linda Millan (the one whose daughter got married in Galveston), one of her friends, and assorted kids, grandnieces and grandchildren, I think. The zoo is under construction, which I hope is a good thing, because it doesn't seem like a great zoo right now considering the size of the city. It's not as good as Pittsburgh's, certainly.
Wednesday, March 1
It's really unnerving to see a news headline describing a shooting spree and realize that it's taken place in a place you've been. I've driven by that Burger King and McDonald's many, many times, and I've stopped in that Dunkin' Donuts a few times.
O.K., it's a beautiful day out and I'm sitting at my computer again. I am going to drag myself out and go skating! Or to a nursery. I noticed two interesting nurseries in the Heights last week. I stopped at one and spoke with an English woman who just lives here "sometimes". She told me about some gardening groups and recommended using native plants here. I told her I've always favored native plants, and she was pleased. They specialize in natives, and I was surprised to see things like columbines included. I need to do more studying. In the meantime, I'm enjoying seeing all the redbuds and azaleas blooming. Redbuds are very popular here, and there seems to be an azalea cult. In fact, the 65th Annual Azalea Trail begins Saturday. What's an Azalea Trail, you ask? I'm not sure. Ed says it's an excuse to go see the big houses in the River Oaks neighborhood. River Oaks is where all the rich oil barons live, I guess. It's street after street of mansions on big, tree-lined lots, right near downtown. There are security cars everywhere. By the way, I haven't been looking for houses in that area!