Oklahoma City

It has been a while since I've really had to drive.  Coming back to Houston from Playa meant that I did have to rely on a vehicle for transportation, but it wasn't until yesterday's trek to Oklahoma City that I had to spend numerous consecutive hours confined in the driver's seat.  I'd really prefer to live in a place that I could walk everywhere I might ever need to go, but then again- there is a certain freedom tied to a car.  I can be in Houston by morning and Oklahoma City by that afternoon.  Nice.  (I must say, I was quite impressed that my Chevy HHR made the 6.5hr trip on one tank of gas!)

The Rose's antique-inspired guest room

This particular weekend, I am staying with my roommate Ashleigh (from Junior year of college) and her husband, Drew.  They have a beautiful guest bedroom and have already deemed me "Aunt Roommate" to their puppy, Jack!  I stopped to meet my cousin, Robbie, at a Starbucks on the way in, and arrived around 5pm to learn that we would be making peanuty-stir-fry goodness for dinner.  Yum!  I caught up with Ashleigh in the kitchen -living vicariously through her as she told me every detail of purchasing their first home- and Petty and Bruce (two more college friends) hung out with Drew in the living room.  It was a perfect feast with friends as good as family!

Today, I stopped by the OCU campus to pay for an ad I placed in the school paper and wandered around to see all the new facilities that have been built and remodeled since my graduation in 2007.  Wow.  Completely amazing renovations!  The dance school is absolutely gorgeous, and I loved all the interior upgrades to the communal places around campus.

I was abruptly reminded of how brutal Oklahoma weather can be though.  As I drove down May Ave, I had my fingers shoved into the vents to regain feeling in my frozen paws, and as I walked around the school, I cursed myself for failing to bring gloves or a hat.  My polka-dotted galoshes kept the wet out, but my toes were quickly numbing from the outside in!  Not only that, but I couldn't tell if my eyes were watering because of the bitter wind whipping against them or the bitter feeling I felt at the day in general.  ...I'm definitely a warm-weather kind of gal.

The day ended well, however.  Ashleigh and Drew treated me to an Ethiopian dining experience at Queen of Sheba.  I'd never eaten Ethiopian food before, but I had a great vegetarian meal with my two hosts!  Everything was eaten communally with our hands.  They served us a plate of rolled bread which we tore off and pinched amounts of greens, potatoes, chickpeas and beans into.  I would definitely try that again.