Ode to the Tropics

Easter reached in like the first hand that stokes the devil's furnace - to get the fire started - preceded by a Saturday jaunt to the East Side and movies at home; succeeded by Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.... Days of soccer (playing or watching the Europeans play) and washers (a great game, for days when one isn't up to horseshoes), nights on the job hunt. Minimum two sandwiches a day, cereal, and maybe soup or pizza, or a visit to the ubiquitous taco trailer. I like to read and I like to write, but I'll go days without doing either - activities perhaps made more meaningful after a few days off? Or perhaps I'm full of shit.

On another day (was it bellini day?), I was walking past Vinny's on Barton Springs Road, and thought I saw Phil and Laura having a nice Italian lunch on the patio. Strange to see them there, but in South Austin, it's not terribly unusual to run into a compadre or two on one of the main drags. Upon closer inspection however, the guy (we'll call him "Bill") had a chubbier face, and a goatee in place of Phil's rather suave stache. The girl (shall we call her "Maura?") had a similar haircut and color, from the back, but probably had a good 15 or 20 years on Laura, at close range. Doppelgangers. I don't think Bill and Maura would've had as positive a reaction to my conversation about skee-ball, but I was tempted....

Thursday was groceries and household shopping and margaritas with the roommates, beer with Phil and Laura, and water balloons. We need practice. Had a hard enough time hitting parked cars from my bedroom window.

Friday was thunderstorms during the day, which have been pretty rare - rain in general, as a matter of fact - since I've been down here. My lone chance this season to watch the New England Revolution at my place, on ESPN2, and they almost pulled it off, but DC United tied the game at 1s in the 90th minute. Always someone out there to spoil your fun. Spent a good hour or two reading The Austin Chronicle over tea, took a walk, and made a sandwich consisting of turkey, brie, mayo, Granny Smith apple, and lettuce, on 100% whole wheat. My only goal was to re-watch Withnail and I and absolutely not leave the house. Five minutes into it, I had an epiphany, and realized I had to leave the house, to meet the Hooligans. If I can catch the 11:30 #5 bus downtown, then it's meant to be. Would rather not have to walk back with the possibility of T-storms, but that too will take care of itself....

Liz and Larry are down at Red 7 with the Hooligans FC - an indoor soccer team that plays on Sundays with a fan club that drinks Lone Star. A team after my heart. Very good people, they are. Some networking (soccer and film), some skee-ball, and a visit to Hoboken Pie for the day's second slice. Meanwhile, back at home, my roommate Anjela has called out from the porch to a guy who she thinks she knows, but who turns out to be a neighbor whom she does not know. I arrive home to find roommate, neighbor, and a bottle of Merlot in the middle of the floor. The neighbor is a very nice and smart and genuine guy, but also in a very advanced state of inebriation, a combination that yields the following quotes, among others:

"For ten years, I did things that people shouldn't do."
"I came here and jumped off bridges. (Metaphorically, you mean?) No, I jumped off the South 1st bridge. In the air, it was fine. When I hit the water, it was a bit wobbly."
"He puts too much ice in his gin." - on Henry Miller
"Is there a continuity with nude drinking and not drinking because you're slamming the hammer?"
"Some people that shouldn't, aren't."
Etc.

He asked for whiskey, and was savvy enough, however, when offerred instead a sip of Patron orange liquer, to reach for the tequila. I decided to finally call it a night.

Go to bed,
With lips stained red,
Like the little penguin