AUSTIN, Texas, Jan. 6, 2005 — I wake up in this extremely weird dream. There is a joke and it is funny even though I've only heard an incomplete version. But it has offended some old woman who is crying. There is a fancy restaurant and I'm an expert on food and on this restaurant. There was a lot of stuff going on and lots of people in it who were sort of familiar. I think I was trying to find shoes that match.

I dreamed this after I got up around six and then went back to bed. The cool house, cool sheets...I love it!

My plan was to play tennis. Maybe get a workout.

But it is a little too cold and too damp for my tennis buddy. She postpones to Saturday. My friend SuRu calls and she is under the covers. We agree to meet for lunch and she says she will go along on a gallery crawl this evening.

I write an e-mail to FFP about my progress on the financial and preplanning project. He responds all too swiftly because, of course, a part of me was putting the ball in his court!

I call my dad to join for lunch since I need to give him a print out I have and I need to go by my old employer and drop something off for someone. (A pass for an event tonight.)

But I need to workout. FFP asks if I will take care of the dry cleaning errand on my way to and fro the club.

I do a short workout, pick up and drop off some laundry, shower, dress. I go to the old company, drop off something for my friend who still works there, go to Dad's. He thought I meant some other day for lunch so he's eaten but he's eager, nonetheless to go out with us. SuRu comes other and we go to Antonio's for comforting Mexican food. Afterwards I go to both Sam's and Costco. I can't find one of the things I really wanted to buy. Don't buy too much at either. Only Sam's has the toothpaste we like or I wouldn't have gone there at all.

At home, I put up the stuff I did buy and read a few e-mails including an account of the tsunami from a guy I met in Dublin. He's the only person I know of whom I was acquainted with who was there. He got away fine. I understand there are now many missing Americans, too.

First Thursdays are now famous in Austin because of a celebration in SoCo. But West Sixth galleries have started late opening on first Thursdays. We decide to do that. At frist our bookkeeper is going but then it's only SuRu and us because she bails. We get good parking karma and check out F8, Austin Galleries and ArtWorks. We see these pierced, smelly, homeless street people availing themselves of libations and snacks. But we see some great art. We go to Cafe Jose and notice through the windows that the homeless are in Wally Workman Gallery. We enjoy a delicious meal at Cafe Josie and talk for a while to Charles Mayes who is the main man here and a native Austinite.

I enjoyed looking at all the styles of painting, drawing and photograpy. In the basement of Austin Galleries I spied a longhorn cow painting in a primitive setting. "Look," I said to SuRu, "A Rousseau Bevo." Across another room I saw a painting that reminded me of Pissaro. Beneath was a pastel drawing that was by old Camille. The painting was by his daughter. Shouldn't she have adopted a radically different style? We spent some time talking about how different artists achieved their looks. (FFP is talking about doing some more painting.) I was interested in some altered books at ArtWorks although I would do my altered books differently. Also, I took the camera along (resolution number 2) and made a little bit of art myself from the ArtWorks windows. I thought of taking a photo of the pierced and smelly homeless girl with the guitar on her back but I was too gutless. Would have been a good shot...plastic glass of wine in her hand and some nice art in background?