From Austin to Houston

So the rest of my time in Austin was really nice. Saturday night I went with my aunt and uncle to an art gallery show. I didn't know anyone there, of course, but was looking at the art and chatting with some of their friends who were there, when I saw SOMEONE I KNEW FROM MY CHILDHOOD IN DALLAS! And not just anyone, mind you: I saw my piano teacher, from the time I was 8 until I was 15 or so. I walked up to her, but she didn't recognize me at first....when I told her who I was, she was speechless. Truly. For at least 2-3 minutes she couldn't speak. But then we caught up, and I found out (I'd forgotten) that she lives in Austin now, that she has a different last name than when I knew her, and that her son, who was in my graduating class, lives here too.

I had breakfast with her (her name's Marty, BTW), and her son, Martin, and it was amazing -- totally like old times. Except that Martin is married with two kids, and he and I are both adults now. Crazy. Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture....I wish I had. But it was really great seeing her and catching up.

I also have to say that I've had a great time with my aunt and uncle. They have a really nice life. It was interesting seeing it. They wake up relatively early, around 7 or so, drink coffee and read the paper, walk the dog 2 miles, and then start working: my aunt on her scholarly activities, and my uncle taking care of the garden, house, whatever. They eat dinner around 6:30 or so, and then go to bed around 11ish.

I only spill the beans on their routine because they have one, which reminds me that I really don't. At least I haven't for the past few years -- some of which is due to my crazy ER schedule, and some of which is possibly laziness on my part. I tend to go to bed when I get tired, or when I get home from the ER, which means I go to bed sometime between midnight and 3am. I wake up sometime between 6am (with an alarm set) and 10am. I may or may not eat breakfast, and I never make coffee at home. My first meal is usually lunch, which occurs sometime between 11am and 3pm. I'm usually busy "getting things done" (whatever those things might be), and then eat supper sometime between 7-10pm. Then I tend to work on the computer or watch tv or work sudoku or crosswords or read until I get tired and go back to bed. But here's the weird part; even though I haven't been at work since March 7, I still haven't developed a real routine. And seeing theirs reminded me of this.

So I've noticed this about myself. I can't say that I exactly know what I want my routine to be, but at least I've learned something new about myself. I'll leave the lesson at that for now.

I left Austin yesterday, and I arrived in Houston last night. I went to medical school here (at Baylor College of Medicine 1993-1997), but I haven't been here in a long while. Last night I stayed with my former Atlanta neighbors, Michael and Renee. How funny that they now live in a city I used to live in....we talked for many hours about Memorial Park, the Texas Medical Center (their son has spina bifida, and is already a veteran of Texas Children's Hospital), the bayou, Buffalo Grill, Barnaby's, Churrasco's, and about the many, many differences between Houston and Atlanta.

It took me leaving Texas to appreciate this great state. And strange as it sounds, I'm glad to have friends who never lived here before, and who have just moved here, to see the same benefits that I only saw after I left. Makes me proud to be a Texan.