Deep breaths. I know that I will deal with all issues handily. I am one of those people who tries to do what they can, where they are with what they've got. (The only fortune cookie advice that I've taken to heart. In bed.)
So, instead of doling out sugary goodness to neighborhood children on Friday, going to a costume party on Saturday, but, hopefully, not missing the premiere of The Walking Dead series on AMC on Halloween, and celebrating my 32nd birthday on the following Monday, I will be going to Seattle to hang out with my cousin & aunt, the caretakers of my beloved Ba Ngoai. She's been moved to hospice care & the doctors give her days to a week. My grandmother will leave when she damn well pleases & I take great comfort in that.
We "lost" Ba Ngoai to dementia years ago. She's been so physically ill the past few years, the doctors have done what they can to keep her comfortable. There is nothing more we can do for her now. KMHD & I are going to Seattle to assist our aunt & cousin. Whatever free time we may have will be spent staring out at & walking along the Puget Sound & maybe having one nice (non-Vietnamese) meal. I'm already tired from this endeavor. To be fair, I just got home from Austin. I think I'll have a better grasp of everything tomorrow, after some rest.
So, yes. We just returned from Austin, TX. ATM & I attended one of the most visionary and coolest weddings ever. I don't even want to bother planning my own now. Seriously, all weddings henceforth are considered noid & dull. The details of this wedding will have to be covered in it's own post.
We didn't stay in Austin long enough for me to get my feelings hurt; in fact, I accidentally got a little crush on that city. We did get one kick-ass meal @ Juan In a Million (migas w/ corn torts). As we drove down E Cesar Chavez (viva!), I was envious of Austin's HUGE Hispanic population & all that comes with it. Culture, people. The real spice of life. ALL. Bring it to me. I'm really not into arguments regarding immigrants because I find them to be ridiculous & unfounded. Also, hey, my mom is an immigrant/refugee! And my dad? Well, he's a Yankee, and that's considered WORSE than immigrant status to some around here, so, I'm just not going to get into it. Let's talk about the benefits: Food. Dance. Art. Music. Language. Love. Give it to me. By the boatload. I want my world to be bigger, not some tiny self-suffocating fearful prison death star.
Couldn't even finish it:
This is about all of Austin I really got to see:
That reminds me, ATM & I went to 4-Square downtown to post a Joyce Elliott/Speak & Spell flyer and we ended up eating there. Well. This couple + child come in to order food, behind us. 4-Square serves vegetarian food only & the fella half of the couple absolutely couldn't wrap his mind around the concept of not eating meat; he thought it was messed up. All we could do was silently eat our hummus wraps and wonder what kind of hell it must be to live in his tiny world. Seriously. And that was just vegetarianism! I wonder if he knows about say...Buddhism? You do not want to hear what he had to say about Indians/Native Americans. Well, maybe you do. He couldn't be convinced that the purveyors of this restaurant could be American-born because they looked foreign. Also, they couldn't be INDIAN. "They may be from India, but they ain't Indians." What. Moving right along, 4-Square has great food. If you work downtown, are pressed for time, but do not want to eat badly, go there. Fresh n healthy, I say. And tasty! That hummus wrap was killer. I want one right now!
Since we are on the topic of vegetarianism, I suppose I'll confess that ATM & I have switched gears and have gone veggie. Starting today, actually. Yeah, we planned this. We decided to do it after Laura & Zack's wedding. Would you believe me if I said that we just felt like it? Sure, all of the reasons to go vegetarian apply, but kinda not, too. We eat mostly meatless anyway, I truly believe that we won't even notice a hell of change. Except when we want to eat meat. But, we'll cross that bridge when we get there.
No, we aren't punishing ourselves & we aren't doing it out of spite. There is tons of delicious meatless foods. I'm so used to the concept that it isn't that big a deal to me. Really. Plus, I was vegetarian for how long? 5...6...7 years? And I know so many veg-heads that I've modified my cooking a billion times, it's so easy. I'm just so pleased to say that Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian will take first chair in the kitchen. This is a positive thing.
If you've ever been political in any capacity, then you've probably been inundated with political emails urging you to vote. Well, go on now! Vote! Because when things go south, I really don't want to hear complaints from people who didn't lift one finger, which, incidentally, is how you make your voice heard at the polls in Pulaski County. I am going to quote Judge Kilgore: "I hate people who don't vote." Strong language, I know, but it makes me wonder what else in life people squander when they do not take part of the electoral process. Do you know who I believe is more American than anyone ever? My mum. She came here from Viet Nam with nothing, but siblings, learned a new language, went to school, married, had children, became a nurse, became a legal citizen, and is politically active. She is also a enthusiastic juror. She is kind, giving, and wants to do meaningful good for everybody, not just certain groups of people. A lot of people who were born and raised here can't even do half of what my mum did and does. Anyway. WE GET WHAT WE DESERVE, so hit the streets and vote. Vote for Joyce Elliott while you're at it.
Last week today, our ever-growing family welcomed one J.H. He is such a cutie-pie with the sweetest mum & dad! I am in lub.
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