Thursday, June 8

Thursday was a very... unpredicatable day - but in a really good way. After class, I had three missed calls all from Andie - so I immediately called her back. Turns out she was stranded at MCC with car trouble, but she had found a friend to come help her. I headed back to the apartment, and after sitting in the parking lot for a little while - decided it would be best to head up to MCC and check it out... Good thing too, because just as I hit campus she called me to tell me to come up there anyway. I'm sure some subconscious macho car tinkering gene was activated in my head and I just couldn't resist. Anyway - to make a long story short - the next few hours were spent sitting and running crazily around town but ended up with a new battery for her, a free burger for me, and me being crowned hero for a day (which I'll trade a few hours for any day).

The car trouble set me back a few hours in getting down for the bachelor party/wedding festivities - but I packed up and headed down as soon as I could. The bad side was hitting Austin at 5:15 on a weekday and having to fight the traffic. The good side was making it to Joshua Creek Ranch just in time to sit down and be presented with Shiner and a steak dinner! I have to tell you though - I've been to many different parts of the US from Hawaii and Alaska, to Virginia, Georgia and Florida - but on this day, at that moment there wasn't a place more beautiful and freeing than the Texas hill country. It was Wordsworth who said "Earth has not anything to show more fair: Dull would he be of soul who could pass by a sight so touching in its majesty." Take a drive through the hill country sometime by yourself after an intense day and take note of everything you see - flowers, animals, trees... Look for the hills with man-made ridges paced evenly along their sides that stretch back to some Indian tradition. Make sure you find a road that winds and twists through the country giving you the feeling you should be in a Mazda commercial. It's worth it, believe me.

After dinner Scott (the groom) decided he would try a dessert wine. He picked a Renwood Orange Muscat. Now Scott is an intellectual, and so are many of his friends - so they all pride themselves in an understanding of the fineries of life and for the most part, they do a nice job of it. You know the type - wine and imported beer connoisseurs, cigar and pipe smokers, food tasters. So Scott and some others at the table decided to give this wine a try. A quick google search comes up with this description of the wine:

The Orange Muscat displays aromas of mango, ripe banana, honey, and kiwi with a hint or orange blossom. The entry displays luscious melon and honey suckle fruit flavors that help to round out the lightweight texture on the palate. Though this Orange Muscat is a dessert style wine, the acid structure balances out the sweet characters, resulting in a lingering and balanced finish.

So they were presented with the wine, swirled the wine, smelled the wine, commented on its sugary scent, tasted the wine and then made some more comments. You know how it goes - wines are full, or smooth, round, oaken, sweet, crisp, fruity, smoky, strong, or balanced. I have to tell you, I think it is more a vocabulary than a refined palate that makes you a skilled taster - for while everyone else played the game, it was Jordan who was quick to comment with a grin: "It tastes like apple juice!."

The rest of the night was spent hanging out with the group smoking cigars and pipes, and playing poker. After the first game was finished, it was decided there was time for another, but I decided not to go in this round, and sat outside on the patio contemplating the day. I had a great conversation with a friend who felt like she was in an awkward position and I reminded her, and myself, that if ever you are part of a good thing, and you know it's a good thing, but you can only come away with ok's or negatives, then try a different perspective and see what comes out the next time. It's amazing how a new perspective, a single event, a good attitude, or something even worse can turn a bad day golden.

While I was sitting out, a ring-tailed cat decided to get curious and climbed from tree to tree above me - peering down and around limbs. I later decided later to call him Skitters, because he would inch forward toward something he liked, and then rush back about 4 or 5 feet and around the tree all of a sudden. It was a nice end to a good day.

Funny quotes:

Andie, fresh off the phone with Dad, to Mom: "Dad was mean to me!"