Up until very recently, I thought this post would be titled something along the lines of "Ominous Outlook?" or "I Saw the Sign." Last week began with a series of bad omens: a vulture tearing apart a rotten bloated fish along the bayou, a dead crow's tail feathers eerily jutting straight up from the grass along the bike trail, and even a large, dead sewer rat on the way to school. These unsettling tableaux prophesied the announcement that several people in my class came down with swine flu, my bike would have two flats separated by 24 hours, and the news that my transmission "need$ $ome work." Thankfully, this series of unfortunate events did not bleed into the weekend.
It turns out all it took was a few friends to turn the beat around. On Wednesday night, Sarah (above) celebrated her birthday with a few friends (below, with Amy) at Houston hot spot Bar Annie. It was fun to mingle with Houston socialites whose faces often grace the pages of the posh publication Paper City. Word of warning for those trying out the swanky lounge: check your check. Though the food was great, the service was marginal, and the ballooned bill was botched (not in our favor, of course).
On Friday evening I caught up with travel buddy Risa, fresh from her extended European vacation. We chitchatted about this and that... I'm really going to miss her when she goes off to Penn for law school in a couple weeks! Speaking of great friends, I had a divine evening with Brandi and Peter in Hermann Park on Saturday. We went to a Rice Alumni mixer at Miller Outdoor Theatre that overlapped with the Houston Shakespeare Festival's production of "Twelfth Night." I also saw the Scullys' newly-painted accent wall, kitchen island, and entry nook while enjoying some of Peter's homemade vanilla chai sweet tea.
I tried my own hand at culinary creation on Sunday night. I found a few recipes for a quiche I had in mind but scrapped them all and just started throwing ingredients together: spinach, tomatoes, feta, green onions, and a hint of garlic (plus eggs and half-and-half, of course). I poured the ingredients into a homemade pie crust and the excess into a muffin pan. I have to admit, the resulting dish was delish. I shared the 12 mini quiches with my PRN group (the first years I advise). It was fun to experiment and clear out the fridge!
My final weekend activity involved making a trip to the West U recycling station. I unloaded trillions of clear glass, colored glass, tin cans, and aluminum cans. It was a surprisingly popular place with lots of earth-conscious families pulling in to unload their recyclables. In Mom's spirit of rewards for mucking out, I treated myself to flowers (above- a reject bouquet for $2.50!).
Both Wentworth and I have felt a bit overwhelmed lately... the only difference is what's doing the overwhelming: my closet's colorful collection of scarves vs. Monday's cardiology exam and (even scarier still) Wednesday's hematology/oncology exam.
