“What do you mean it’s going to be 75 degrees?” Andy said. “That’s ridiculous! That’s not Thanksgiving.”

I shrugged. “It is in Houston.”

• The humidity makes it very difficult to stay smelling fresh.
• 7-lane freeways rule.
• Real traffic sucks.
• “Y’all” is not a weird thing to say.
• All those songs I loved in high school? Yeah, they’re still awesome. (I swear, one of the radio stations here is stuck in a time warp.)

I’m back home for my friend Mary’s wedding, and I’ve had the good fortune to get to see a few other friends as well. (Ding and Aisha I was expecting, but Julia was a pleasant surprise!) Not to mention time with my family. The front end of the trip has been busy — the good kind! — but after the marital festivities tomorrow, things should calm down. I’m looking forward to writing, watching the Oscars, and more yoga with my mom.

…

Unrelated: This is super mushy, but it’s also well-written, and almost exactly how I feel after 5 years with Andy.

Quick explanation/FYI/whatever: I know I said I’d finish Twenty-Somewhere by the end of 2009, and that’s still the plan. However, since 20SW is currently under submission to St. Martin’s Press, I’ve decided to hold off putting the rest of it online until I hear back from them. If things go well, it might be a while before I post anymore episodes. If things go really well, I might never post the rest, lol, but I might be able to send you a copy in book form. ;P And if things go not so great, I’ll post the last 7 episodes asap.

Just wanted to clear that up, since Angie and my mom some fans were bugging asking me about it.

…

Completely unrelated and random, here are some photos from my recent trip back home to Houston. (What? I had to do something to make this post less lame!)

Me trying to bribe my cousin’s daughter Kira into giving me a kiss in exchange for Pocky:

Kira coloring:

My mom being awesome as usual:

Cool leaf:

A neat art installation in downtown Houston’s Discovery Green park:

I feel very mentally checked out today.

Probably from lack of sleep. (My own fault. The Amazon deadline looms ever nearer.)

At home in Houston (where these pictures were taken in ’06) whenever I felt this way I would climb onto my roof and just listen to music or look out over the neighborhood. Can’t do that here since we live on the bottom floor of a condo, but I’d settle for a long nap in my bed.