houston wrap-up

i'm back in boston trying to recover from my vacation by fighting off the shock of traveling with my brother, the pangs of guilt for not working 40 hours while down there, and adjusting to being all alone again.

where to start...
the rest of my vacation wasn't so bad. treated my two brothers to their first massages. they liked em to say the least... in fact, my youngest brother made sure to tell me that he hasn't been touched by a woman like that in years and that there was a small "tent sale" at one point. i laughed at him many times that week. he's a funny kid, just a little misguided. i was shocked more than once by the things that came out of his mouth.

after many days of feeling like i was babysitting him though, i finally couldn't take it anymore. we were in the car on thursday night headed out to a bar and we are not even a block from the house yet when he starts to light up a blunt while driving. i see a few problems with this... 1.) i am trying to get the kid to see the light that there is more to life than smoking. the kid spends around $400 a month on this habit of his. 2.) my dad knows he smokes but doesn't want it around him, so i really didn't think he'd love the smell of his car in the morning, and 3.) my navy-bound brother was in the front seat... he gets drug tested every few days and if he has a trace of it in his system, he's out. SO, after telling little bro to stop and him throwing a tantrum that "No", he would do it and for me to shut up, i opened the door of the car and threatened to get out while we were moving. would i have followed through? probably not. i did have 4 inch heels on... but you never know when i get pissed off. he decided that he should just turn around and drop me off. so that's what we did. he later called me after he'd had his fix, and while crying, apologized. he later drunkenly went out and got a tattoo from a kid who snorted a line of meth before starting to work on his arm. smart, eh?

in other news... i shot my first gun (no, i didn't kill my brother as much as i could've). went to a shooting range and learned how to shoot a 9mm beretta (sp?). apparently, i am a good shot. i have the target to prove it too. i also learned how to drive a motorcycle. i thought it was about time. i learned on the 250 that they have (1 of the 4 bikes) while driving up and down the driveway. it was fun. the dog kept following me up and down the driveway too, so it was kind of like a game. gosh i miss that dog. she's the best dog ever. she smiles on command. it's really funny.

what else... i went running a few times there, cooked dinner for everyone, watched a few movies, oh... and went out to dinner for my brother's send-off. the picture to your right is what is posted in a lot of restaurants down there. the handgun laws are VERY different down there to say the least. i tried my first chicken fried steak in a place that used to be a hideout for bonnie and clyde too. found out that there are so many bars competing for business down there that they all like to run drink specials. like 75 cent shots, or $1 drinks. insane, i tell ya.

i think that is all that happened down in good ol' houston. some things down there make me feel like i am in another world. in fact, in the chicken fried steak restaurant, i kept asking questions like "why is the gravy white?" "what's it made of?" "so, are black eyed peas really beans?" i know that i got a few weird looks, but what the hell. i am learning a whole other culture.