G on my mind

That's G for Giles. I mean Georgia. I mean Giles, Georgia, Giles......

I was in the international terminal at Bush giddily checking in for my flight to GEORGIA! The Republic that is, not the state. The one north of Turkey, south of Russia, east of the Black Sea, west of Azerbaijan. Armenia is somewhere in there too. It had been ten long years since I had left the country and here I was off to the former Soviet Union - a girlhood dream. 

Boarding pass - check. Passport - check. Bags checked - check. On to security...

Oh what do we have here? I see groups of men scattered in twos and threes all wearing identical Houston Dynamo track suits. The Dynamo must be on their way to a game. But where? This was the international terminal. I had to figure this out. Other travelers didn't seem to be nearly as enchanted as I was, but well, I have a history of running into professional athletes in random places and I was going to make the most of this. 

Ooh, there's one all by himself. 

I make it through the initial security checkpoint and head to the gray bins. The one by himself zooms through the line with his special I'm-in-a-group-that-travels-a lot-status.There are two conveyor belts to choose from. He chooses the one on the left, smart choice. He's now in line behind me. And....well, I'm me, soo...

"So where's your game this weekend?"

He smiles. "Kansas City."

"And they have you flying through the international terminal?"

"Yeah, because yada yada yada." 

We talk about flying and the weather and where he's from. 

He's attractive and dark and has a British accent. 

I slowly take off my shoes, and my belt, and my...oh wait, just my shoes. 

I turn next for my carry on.

Be still my soul. This rugged, handsome, British, soccer man has reached down, grabbed my suitcase and placed it on the belt. Like it was nothing. Swoon. There are gentleman in this world. And they play soccer. Pitter-patter, pitter-patter goes my heart. 

I've met professional athletes before. I mean Dwight Howard was pretty awesome. But this man. This man seems real. 

Speech has escaped me and I'm ushered to the body scanner. I may or may not have shaken my booty while in it. 

I grab my bag. He comes on through.

We chat some more. He says he hopes to see me at a game soon. I tell him I'll be there. We linger. Neither of us wanting to go to our gate. But it's time. We embrace. He hesitates, pulls away and...OH...returns for a slow, passionate kiss goodbye. And I'm off. Floating down the terminal with my bag as if it were nothing. Giles on my mind.

Sigh. To dream...or not to dream. But which was it? You tell me.

OTR = On the Ranch

I'm not on the road anymore with my new job, but this weekend I may have found another source of OTR inspiration.

My parents surprised me with a phone call the day before my birthday to say they were buying a ranch. My dream come true! Perhaps, I could now be what I've always longed to be...a real Texas cowgirl!

This weekend was my first trip out. Here are the highlights.

My first view of the ranch. Dad on a John Deere.

The cows didn't like us much. Mr. Black did his manly duty of letting the women and children run off first. 

Dad quickly pointed out the Poison Ivy. Leaves of three, let them be.

After sittin' on the porch swing for a bit, we explored. Favorite pond here.

Found some wild grapes.

Wild blackberries were everywhere.

This is the toothache tree. Chew on the leaves and your tongue gets numb. 

This is how you tell it's a toothache tree. 

Cousin Jodie made a wildflower bouquet.

And climbed some trees.

Found some Asian pears.

And this tree I've already forgotten the name of. My dad knows his trees!

Explored the shed and found Leota's bowling ball. Worked great as a doorstop. Hope she's not missing it. 

Discovery and beauty here are endless.

Lucy was finally happy to have some roamin' room. 

And the meadow! Love.

Dad's favorite pine due to the candelabra effect.

Enjoying the breeze on the front porch. Did NOT want to leave. Heaven on Earth. 

Eyes to See

I started a new job 2 months ago. I'll spare the details for now except to say that I now work steady hours at a steady location for a steady 5 days a week. After 3 years with no routine, it was a welcome change, but one I'm still getting used to. 

One of the biggest things I've noticed is how quickly you can get sucked into the hum drum, this is my life, I do it everyday, it's not that exciting mentality. You start getting comfortable, or complacent, and forget to notice what's around you. It's easier to notice the remarkable, or not so remarkable, when you are out of a routine, out of your element, and in a new city all together. (Some of the supreme joys of traveling - hyper alertness and limitless serendipity.) But I was now in a routine, in my element, and in the same city. 

The job change also brought with it a temporary loss of identity as I tried to steer my life onto a new path with a new position. And, I turned one year older, doh. 

It was on my birthday, in fact, with these thoughts still troubling me, that I learned life may not be so much about where you go or what you do as in what you see. 

For my birthday, I met up for lunch with my brother (new perk) at Bombay Pizza Co (definite perk) located on Main and Walker. My brother was running a little behind, so I sat on the patio enjoying the nice day and waited. It was then I noticed a man with a camera. A nice one. He was taking photos. I turned my head to face the direction of his lens to see what he was trying to capture. And I saw it.

The noon sun reflecting off the glass skyscrapers causing the spring flowers to glow just as the metro rail drove by. It was a perfect shot.

View from Bombay Pizza Co., Main & Walker

(PS it was nothing like the shot above. It was taken at the same place but different time, different camera, and most importantly different photographer!)

And that's when it hit me. What else had I been missing in my new hum drum life? What else had I failed to see simply because I didn't have the eyes to see it?! If the camera had not directed me to the view, would I have even noticed? And if I had noticed, would I have deemed it worthy of a photo?

So with my new eyes, I'm trying to find the joy in the hum drum. In the 30 minute bus ride, in the 6 block walk, during my 1 hour lunch, and in my return trip home.

So far, this is what I've seen:

• A sidewalk is just a sidewalk until you decide to somersault! (This was not me. I was the one awkwardly walking past trying to pretend this was completely normal behavior. But we both knew it wasn't. And we both laughed.)
• A morning bus ride is just a bus ride until a man keeps looking your way and smiling and you start racking your brain on if you know him, but conclude you assuredly do not and then the evening bus ride is just a bus ride until this same man who you've now determined is creepy sits next to you! (Ear buds - fast!)
• A walk to lunch is just a walk until you get stopped by a microphone and camera for some vox pop (you can Google that).
• A lunch is just a lunch until you're working on your tan at Discovery Green watching people learn how to paddle board.
• And a lunch at Discovery Green soon becomes just another lunch until you meet a date there and he buys it for you - even after you insulted his college football team but before you realized he actually played on that team. (Doh - palm to the face.)
• A walk to the bus stop is just a walk until you get some American piropos - What up Beauty?!
• And finally, a Friday is thankfully a Friday (always), until you realize that Power Failure you were called about last night was real and you, in fact, do not have to go to work despite the normal weather and perfectly good day. 

Discovery Green: Day 1

In your hum drum, routine of a day - what do you see?

After all:

"The voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes." - Marcel Proust

I couldn't have said it better.