AUSTIN, Texas, Mar. 25, 2005 — When I get up, I get showered and dressed. Priority is seeing about Dad. I am supposed to have lunch and do some stuff with a friend but that's probably out. I shoot an e-mail to her and to a friend who'd offered Dad a ride to go see his sisters in Dallas. He is down for the count at the moment.

I get over to his house around eight. He's managed to sort of get himself dressed, fed. He got the paper in with a grabber we brought home from Mom's rehab hospital. I call the GP who bought our building and, fortunately, get an appointment for a little after nine.

I drive him to the doctor in his van so he doesn't have to stoop down so much. I get him in and fill in some paperwork for him. The doc sees him and declares that its a muscle pull or strain. He gives him some muscle relaxers and recommends heat and rest. Says it will take ten days or more to improve. I stop by the house and get him a gel thing to heat up for a heat shot. I take him home, heat the heating thing, try to get him comfortable. There doesn't seem to be anything else to do.

I go shop for a couple of things. FFP wants some organizing things for the linen cabinet in the bedroom remodel. I get a couple of things at Container Store. I walk through Learning Express without seeing anything that my great nephews really need. I walk through CompUSA. It seems sort of dead. I wonder if Fry's is killing it. I meet my friends at MannyHattans a little before twelve. We have a nice talk and meal. (I have the breakfast 'pizza' which is a crispy thing with smoked salmon, capers, onions, olives, cream cheese. I also order a slice of the NY Cheesecake which we share. I love that kind of cheese cake.)

I go by and check in on my dad. Then I meet a friend at the house. To make the day totally non-productive, we go to Gallery at Shoal Creek and AMOA downtown and look at art. That's fun. She comes back to the house with me and we watch a DVD of one of those French movies where nothing much happens. (Summer is its English title or, in French Le Rayon Vert.) FFP suggests that we eat some 'cheap Mexican food.' I remember that we have a coupon for four free dinners at Santa Rita. We call our friend Gayle to join us.

So, after a while, we find ourselves at Santa Rita, eating chips and queso and ordering margaritas up. The margaritas are just to my liking. The salsa is hot (Good Friday is all about suffering, yes?) yet tasty. The queso is fine. I have the tortilla soup (delicious with load of guac) and a crispy taco (lots of meat, not too greasy). We share a piece of praline cheesecake that will win some awards.

We start trying to watch another French movie where nothing really happens. (Chloe in the Afternoon or, in French, L'Amour l'après-midi) But no one likes it accept, I guess, me. So we switch to a bit of Deadwood and are surfing around when we see the coming storm on the warnings at the bottom of the screen. The gals decide to get their cars in garages against the impending hail warnings.

FFP and I move to the bedroom. We watch an episode of Northern Exposure. FFP falls asleep and I watch some game shows off the DVD and then an ER and some Law and Order. I read the papers in between. Then I sleep, too.