And...um, who's Ann Miller?

Well, Drew's first day went remarkably well. His flight came in with no problems whatsoever, the weather was gorgeous and cool and the sun even came out for a little while.

We hit the house for a little post-flight relaxation, catching up and eating lunch (I made my mother's famous mac and cheese and my ham with cream) and then drove off to Reunion Tower. The nice thing about going into downtown Dallas from where I live is that you get a great view of descending into the city, vaguely ugly thing that it is.

So refreshing: Drew said how new it all looked to him. This is someone who has seen a ton of both coasts and almost none of the Midwest. How fantastic that Dallas actually has something going for it for once!



We sat up at the Dome Lounge inside the Tower (the observation deck was closed for a wedding, what else is new) each had a chocotini as the restaurant revolved around the city (geez, some views of the city are uh, shall we say severely lacking...) The prices were surprisingly tame for where we were...although I'm not big on the revolving feeling. As slowly as we were moving, I had the feeling if I'd been even mildly off-kilter it'd make me nauseous...

This was followed up by The Pocket Sandwich Theatre and Caught In the Net, which was actually hysterical. (I mean, I thought it would be cute, but we laughed a ton). It was a play about a man with two families trying to keep them secret from each other. The set was very cool, divided into two living rooms but appeared as a whole, and both families were often on stage at the same time (with, you know, the invisible line of two separate worlds). It was very nicely pulled off, as I imagine comedy of that natural can be quite tricky. The pace and acting were superb.

Afterwards we wanted to see gay Dallas so I had called Mob & K's friend Morris. I knew he would be a fantastic Dallas advocate and terrific company. And he started by saving my cheese as I (naturally) managed to get lost driving from the Pocket to downtown. Don't ask how, but I got TOTALLY fucking lost--I couldn't even TELL you where I was. I just ended up on 30 and finally Morris called and I had to whimper where I was. He guided me back to safety, staying on the phone the whole time. It was mildly embarrassing, but as someone with no sense of direction I guess I'm used to it.

We went to JR's (where the women's toilets are just divided, no actual STALLS...not to mention the one toilet is just right next to the sink!! awkward...), then a sports bar whose name I can't recall, and by far the best of all, The Round-Up. That's exactly what you think it is. But click on the link anyway, it's too great. Gay cowboys, honey. It was exactly what Drew wanted to see; apparently they have "gay western" up in New York but it's terribly fake, complete with horrendous fake accents. (Apparently, Times Square is famous for its Naked Cowboy...though he is wearing underwear behind his guitar...) Morris even took him around for a two-step spin, which was hysterical.

We finally left, as I was getting exhausted and we're headed off to Austin today. Morris hit the head before walking us out to our car (which he was such an angel to offer), and by the time we were out the door he had a friend in tow! I was very impressed. Thank God for Morris. I don't get to see him as often as I like, since I'm anti-social and just not one for going out...but he's one of the few people whose company I genuinely enjoy. Great smart-ass.

And then we picked up a little 3am Whataburger, it was very 2000. Sorry, Mob, more of a Whataburger girl than Jack In the Box. Though naturally he'll have to be introduced to both. (His friends in NYC kept tsking him before he left, saying he'd come back twenty pounds heavier. Just doing my part!)

And now today I feel like a smoker. All that yelling in bars, smoke (though not nearly as much as one might expect), etc. My current voice is the closest I'll ever get to Scarlett Johansson...

And now we're off to Austin for a night, I'm already salivating thinking about BBQ from The County Line AND Scholz Garten...not to mention stopping in West for the kolache...the only thing I'm dreading are the two tanks of gas I know the whole trip will take. Almost cheaper to fly...