Barbecue-licious

I’ve been in the South for work, and one of my favorite things about making this trip (this is my fourth) is the barbecue. I was vegetarian (a real one – no meat, fish, poultry – nothing. I wasn’t, however, vegan. Because that’s just too much work..) for 15 years with no regrets, but I fell off the wagon almost a year ago. It definitely was helpful in some of my travels abroad, but in my domestic travels, it just means that I get to enjoy yummy things like Southern-style barbecue! Mmm…pulled pork.

Reminds me of a t-shirt that almost made me snort with laughter:

Meat Is Murder.
Tasty, Tasty Murder.

This particular town is one that is a contrast of Old South, with historic charm and character, and the somewhat typical military town, with tons of military consignment stores, places like Guns Plus, Uptown Undies Exotic Lingerie, and more “gentlemen’s clubs” than you can shake a stick at. There was even an amateur “cabaret” night at one of the clubs. Cabaret of the “GIRLS, GIRLS, GIRLS!!!” variety. Not singing and tap dancing. Ah…if only I had a marabou-trimmed bikini and a predilection for hooker shoes, I might be able to try my hand at pole dancing and walk away with a nice chunk of prize money!

Or not.

In any case, I can tell when I’m in the South, because people are a lot nicer than they need to be. Not that they’re too nice, and I’ve really never found people from the north to be rude in general, and when you almost bump into someone at home, they will likely say “excuse me”. What they won’t do is apologize and then ask you how you’re doing and say that they hope you have a good day. They don’t particularly care if you have a good day. It’s not that they wish you a *bad* day, they just aren’t invested enough in you to give you another thought beyond cursory politeness. And really – that’s all I ask anyway.

My brother and his family have officially left the DC area for Austin, Texas, and as much as I will miss them tremendously, I hope it turns out to be a good move for them. So far, they seem to be happy, and I hope that continues to be the case. I’m bummed out that they’re now 1500 miles away, instead of 15 minutes, but I should really just look at it as an opportunity to rack up some more frequent flyer miles, right? Besides, Christmas in Austin is likely to be nice and warm and pleasant. No snow, but no frostbite, either. (Glass is half full, glass is half full…) So anyway - in case you're reading, Texas contingent of the family, I love you and miss you!

I feel as though I need to have a short time-out to gather my thoughts or something – work has been crazy and surprising things are happening quickly in my personal life – gah! I know that some things at work have slipped because I’m either feeling overloaded or unable to concentrate, and I’m not happy with that. So what to do? I ordered my new running shoes (it was time), and really want to make time to get to the gym in the mornings – it makes a big difference in my ability to concentrate, my energy level, and my general ability to keep things sorted out in my head. I also think I have the monkey that is the Yemen project off my back for good – so that makes me *really* happy. Of course, I’ve thought that before and it has reared its ugly head. We shall have to see.

I’m heading up to NY next weekend with Special K, so that should be really fun – seeing old friends, and our first road trip…oooh. The following weekend, some more friends are coming down here, which I’ve been looking forward to for months, so that should be a lot of fun as well. So…much…going…on!

Okay, I’m done now.