AUSTIN, Texas, Jan. 21, 2005 — Well, I got out of bed at a reasonable hour. I had an OK if not wonderful workout and headed back from the club around nine-thirty. I'm a slug, but a fit and happy slug.

I had just gotten home and was checking messages and my friend showed up. She'd walked from the car dealer that we all (me, FFP, she) use. It is a fair walk but not all that far. We've walked there and back before just to walk. She hung around during the Ball/Preece shower and groom time and then we went shopping. We actually went to Barton Creek Square Mall. It has been a while since I did that to shop although I'd been to the theater there a time or two within the last few months.

We went to Foley's first. Which was OK. They had a lot of stuff on sale and my friend thought she might buy a coat but had decided she probably couldn't afford it just now even though they were on sale. I wasn't looking for anything but I'd been keeping an eye out for some new sweats and they had some incredible prices so I ended up with sweats. I wished I'd clipped a coupon out of the paper and they could have been cheaper. But $7.99 a piece for high-quality sweats is a good price. (Watch...it won't be cold another single day until December.)

Then we went to Nordstrom. I had never been there. Not to the Austin store. We immediately saw an attractive after five top that was $1595. Uh, no. We had lunch in their little casual restaurant. The pizza I had was OK. I think I'm giving up on pizza since I was only vaguely satisfied with pizza these last two days. I think I'll stick to foie gras. That foie gras last night was delicious. Oh, my. I'm such an elitist. Soon I'll be a fat elitist, too.

After the lunch we shopped around. We looked at the men's department and I bought FFP some boxers because he likes the Nordstrom's ones. (Which I'd bought for him in other cities. San Diego and Denver if I'm not mistaken.) We looked at shoes but I didn't see any that I really liked that much. We saw some amusing ones, though. And that did me in for shopping. (Probably for a week or two.)

So we went home and watched the Australian Open tennis tournament on TV. I look at some crosswords and drink coffee and my buddy has a soda and we enjoy some fine play from Taylor Dent and Andre Agassi. Then her car was ready and I took her to get it. She said that although she had a fine time goofing off and there wasn't really anything else she wanted to do that she felt lost without her car. I know that feeling. Me, I felt empowered to goof off since we were visiting.

At home, I update my journal and do some stuff for FFP and put away dishes. My buddy is gone and my reason for goofing off with it. But, soon enough, FFP will quit his workday and I'll have a reason again!

FFP wants to go out to dinner. He flips through his mental file and finally comes up with 34th Street. They start dinner service at six so we wait around for that. We go there and I have a Caesar salad and some spring rolls. And a glass of Pinot Grigio. It's OK. No complaints. I watch FFP eat dessert.

Home again, we watch some Dateline and Third Watch (getting too far-fetched and too soap opera like for me) and we watch a CSI and a Northern Exposure. I finish up the papers. Sleep. A perfectly unproductive day.