Happy Endings and then Some

So much to do and so much to report and less time to do it due to the fact that I was in Houston for a National Arts Marketing Project Conference. Got to hang with the Houston relatives my first night which was great. Glad to be reminded that intense sarcasm and wit, along with intelligent conversation runs in the family, even if you have to live in Texas =].





Cousin Jody and me on the left and then my cousin Amy with her adorable family and Aunt Nancy on the far right in blue. This is my dad's side of the family.

The conference itself was interesting. Not a lot of new stuff for me, but a good sense of what we need to continue to implement, perfect, and educate others on. Some good food, nice people, but over all too much time away from the work that was piling up, and a school exam like schedule that was exhausting. My favorite discovery was the Southern Food and Beverage Museum, the Senior Curator Elizabeth was super nice. If you are ever in Lousiana, stop by her Museum.

Very well organized, and the Hilton Hotel was posh beyond belief, as someone who sleeps o a couch by a loud street with kitties needing attention periodically at night, I was impressed at how easy the first couple nights it was to sleep in a BED. I missed the kitties though and was so strung out on caffiene from the late nights and early mornings that last night wasn't as soothing.

Plane travel is made easy in some ways (I haven't been on a plane in over 2 1/2 years) I had forgetten how AWESOME the email early check in is, and the hotel even has a place you can print your boarding passes in their lobby before you go. It's those little technical advancements that totally kill me. The Dallas and Houston airports also have electronic device "Bet Buy" vending machines for iphones, ipods, bluetooth headsets and that kind of thing. What a disposable society. Luxury massage chairs and super quick cell phone charging stations line the concourse as well as free internet and flat screen Tv's. On the disappointing side, although the airport is more tech friendly, the 3 1/2 hour flight from SJ to Dallas was without music, tv, or movie. No screens, no place to plug in my earphones. So I read. Great story, good book about a barn owl raised from 4 days old. I'm sending it to my sister Brette next week to read. Moving on to Dewey the Library Cat. I'm in my animal and human story phase. The key to reading for me, as I'm SO slow, and its not my most favorite luxury activity is to find things I like. Animals, Dragons, Travel, something I can connect to or learn about.

In general flight reminds me how many people should not be allowed to be parents and how cell phones should be earned priveledges, not rights. The number of people talking ON the plane and having to be asked to turn their phones off so we could take off, and the amount of people yaking the SECOND the plane laned truely irritated me. Maybe I'm JUST not that important, or more patient than I thought that I don't find it necessary to tell someone I JUST landed. I don't want to hear you explain to people that it should be x amount of time for you to get to your car after baggage. I guess maybe I'm just not into stating the obvious in front of a packed plane. The great thing is there are screens at the airport and onine and phone updates on your plane...they probably know before you land that your plane is going to be diverted to SFO due to the SJ airport being closed due to fog. Yes. How jacked is that. It made for a long retunr and an expensive cab ride, but I finally made it back to the cats (who were excited to crawl into a box and shred papaer from an amazon.com delivery) after 1am. All in all a worthwhile exercise personally and somewhat professionally.


Upon arrival I learned that so far the adoption of Queen Victoria has been going well. I hope to talk to Merle this coming week and maybe even visit the pair to see how they are doing....and finish up the article I'm writing for them...




I love this photo because as affectionate as Queenie is, she was NOT a fan of being held, and of course the photo of Paxton and Hamish and I makes Paxton look less than pleased. As loveable as she was and as much as I felt a connection to Queenie this picture, the fact that she is in his arms, is really something. I'm super pleased it seems to be working out. He's very attentive to her, and she, being a Queen is happy to receive it and sleeps on his bed to reward him for his cottling.


For the Theatre Folks in the area, go see RTE's Mr. Marmalade. SO hilarious. I haven't laughed that hard in probably a year.

On the home front, for those just tuning in to the drama, Hamish and I have decided to extracate ourselves from our relatinship. Too many factors, too much distance, and ultimately it just wasn't going to even be what it needed to for us to be comfortable with Happily Ever After. And so, some space, some time alone, some focusing on work which will be very exciting and demanding starting the first of the year for many reasons, and I'll be back to my old self in no time. Learning the Banjo, how to cook Morrocan food, and maybe taking a class and doing some writing....oh and winning the lotto...a girl can dream, yes? In fact, it should be required.