AUSTIN, Texas, Mar. 3, 2005 — I am determined to get up reasonably early. I do get to the gym and get a short workout (thirty minutes on the bike and about four little sets of stuff plus a smoothie and a big daunting muffin). Then I go home, shower up and go to my dad's house.

When I am close to his house, I see him going the other way with my sister. He's taking her to some meeting. I gather up my aunt and we go poke around an antique mall. She always goes slowly, checking prices, really checking things out. Left to my own devices, I would go through fast looking for the odd glimpse of something that interested me.

My aunt buys a little knickknack for another niece's daughter. She has a tradtion of buying something...sort of like a price of admission. We leave and wander down Burnet Road. I see parking places at Austin Diner so we go there. I have a spinach salad with grilled chicken and she has a chicken salad sandwich. It's pretty good.

We go to the drug store down the street and get some greeting cards. She gets an anniversary card for her husband and I get a birthday card for my other aunt.

We go back to my dad's and talk and play a few games. I feel bored and hence a little tired. I wonder how my dad is holding up with the company. He joins us in a game after a little nap and wins.

We go out to eat. It's senseless to suggest something nice since there is so little my sister eats. The nicer the place the more you risk that she wouldn't like it because of the sauces or something. We go to IHOP. We all have a senior moment, er, special. I have a slab of fried chicken. It is the saucer from a fried chicken, a saucer-like piece of chicken breast! Not bad. A little dry. Some French Fries and the 'seasonal vegetables' which were in season when chopped, flash-cooked and flash-frozen. My relatives are fans of IHOP. Dad and my aunt eat senior breakfasts. My aunt calls the selection the 'rise and shine' but it is really the Sunshine Special or something. This confuses the forty-something waiter who seems new at this, possibly bounced from a more real (to him) job. He seems to be in some vague fog although he balances lots of plates of food effortlessly.

We talk when we get back. Watch a bit about Martha getting out of prison on TV. (I didn't care about Martha until she went to jail. Now she fascinates me. But not so much that I'll watch a reality show where she hires an assistant.)

So I've pretty much wasted the day. I go home. It's time for FFP to be home. He went to a cocktail party that I thought I could skip that was on our social calendar. I should do something constructive but I settle in to watch TV. A CSI that is coming on is a rerun so we switch to some stuff taped on the DVR. I try to read the paper. The day has disappeared and I'm no better for it. Sleep is the only answer.