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Friday,
March 1, 2002
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big city
"The reasonable man adapts
himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt
the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable
man."
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leisure Going to Houston may not seem like a getaway to people. But it promises to rank right up there with South Austin. We are going to have an 'arts weekend.' To that end and to make a 6:30 curtain for a 'casual' Houston Symphony concert, I'm taking the day off. I will be checking e-mail and phone mail, however. To see what little additional dramas can be eked out of the work situation. I am inordinately amused about it all, I'm afraid. Shame on me.
Forrest does errands. Gets the dog in the kennel, returns with pills she needs, picks up the rent check from our building's renter, makes out deposit slips, handles his business. After morning traffic in Austin has disappeared, we begin our trek. FFP drives to La Grange where he buys a half sandwich at Weikel's. I drive to Houston. When we've gotten close in on I10 there is a traffic jam. Why, I don't know. We make our way to the Marriott near the Galleria, park the car, check in and get our luggage in. It is blustery and rainy but we walk to the Galleria, stopping on our way to look in a clothing store near the hotel. Forrest resists a $1300 suit that is probably too dressy for normal business wear but does buy a tie. We trek across to the Galleria and wander around a little. We go in a Levi's store. FFP thinks he needs some black jeans like I always wear on trips. (Look nicer, stay cleaner-looking.) A salewoman who barely speaks English informs me that they are not making 560's anymore. The Men's 560 has been my jean for quite a few years. Yikes! This is bad news. Perhaps not the worst news, but, um bad. When you have some model of clothes (or shoes) you really like and they quit making it, it is not good news. There may be something just as good out there, but...you have to find it!
We need to be downtown and in our seats at Jones Hall at 6:30. We have no idea how to time it so we just leave way early. We are planning to eat after at Four Seasons at the (newly redone) Quattro restaurant. So we go there first, leave our car with the valet for the duration and have a drink in the lounge. And some snacks. We take a cab to Jones and enjoy the performance which includes a wonderful Dvorak cello concerto. Without an intermission, the thing is over and we have scored a cab in front of the Lancaster to go back to Four Seaons by 8. I have a very nice carpaccio and Forrest has a salad and then we move on to Osobucco (himself) and Veal Scallopine (me). We are full but we order three desserts. I only taste one of the them. Then we order a cheese plate. It has small triangles delicious cheeses arranged in a fan with a dough triangle curling up. Beautiful presentation. We order a nice port. It is served in a blown glass cone resting in an iron stand. The silver and china is beautiful, too. The wine glasses have four phases of the moon (Quattro, Four Seasons, whatever).
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179
JUST
TYPING