Sorry for the lapse in writing, Monday.  I was busy pretending I was in "Flight of the Navigator", but in a Toyota Avalon, and I didn't actually do any navigating, because my dad (pilot) received a Garmin Nuvi from us for Christmas.  Not much intergalactic space travel, but interesting, in that we discussed such topics as the use of torture on Guantanamo inmates, the economy and the degree of interference the current administration is taking with aforesaid economy, etc., etc., ad adendum, ad infinitum.  I enjoyed myself immensely.

The reason for my whirlwind road trip was, technically, to keep my dad company while he drove from one business appointment to another.  I, eco-shamefully, waited outside in the car, air conditioning cranked up, either sleeping or doing calculus; sleeping in a company's lobbydoesn't really make the right impression, either on potential clients or their customers.

The real reasons for the trip were: 1) to see my sister (trip was to Houston) and 2) my mom decided I needed to get out of the house, because I'm going a wee bit stir-crazy from boredom and a certain "caged animal" feeling I get when I've been living with my parents too long.  Remember when Mumble was put in the zoo, and how he got all dopey-eyed and sad and just sat around all day eating sardines?  Yeah, that's me, except with Cheddar Bunnies instead of sardines.

Several interesting things happened, apart from in-depth discussions with my sister, her husband (who makes finding a boyfriend impossibly difficult, now...  He's totally ruined dating for me), and my dad.

Interesting thing #1:  My dad presented me with a potential business plan (for me) that I think is viable and that, with some help from my dad and a couple of his contacts, I think I can get off the ground.  It is completely unrelated to architecture.  I also have a name for the aforesaid potential business.  Now I need a logo, a website, some business advice (from those in the know), and a little certificate saying "Okay, you can call yourself that and be a business."  The business idea is one to which, in theory, I could devote a limited amount of time while earning more than $20 per hour.  It would help me get off the government dole, too.  I hate taking handouts (unless they're in the form of shoes, purses, or pretty shiny baubles, in which case zip me a comment, and I'll send you the address to which you can mail them).

Interesting thing #2:  I learned more about my dad's business, how personal financial statements are developed, and discussed logical reasoning behind a couple of my dad's recent business decisions.  He also dissected the psychological reasons for contextual comments he makes during phone calls with potential clients.  Fascinating.

Of course, as I've earlier discussed, dinner at my sister's house was AMAZING.  We had pork spare ribs (from happy pigs that grazed in an oak and walnut forest before, being slaughtered).  To accompany the wonderful pork, we had a salad of mixed baby field greens with avocado slices, huge pieces of heirloom tomatoes, and feta cheese crumbles.  Everything's betta with feta!  For dessert, we had pound cake with blackberries and strawberries, and I went to bed full, happy, and having eaten more at one sitting than I typically do in two, which my doctor says I shouldn't do, but she's never eaten at my sister's house.

Alas, I couldn't drink any beer, because I am on ridiculous antibiotics as a result of a local infection at the site of the surgery I had ALMOST A MONTH AGO.  For this reason, and also because I didn't want to miss out on prime sister-schmoozing time, I backed out of a proposed "beer and catching up" session with a boy I went to college with and with whom I worked at the university newspaper.  My sister appreciated that, the more so because she knows I love the ginger men (although I usually end up dating Central Americans.  Go figure).