Home > Wendy Does Waco > Archives > 2008 > July
July 2008
Twitter me, Google me, just read my blog
I’m feeling all entrepreneurial and try-new-thing-ish, and since I don’t yet know business-wise how I might broaden my horizons, I figured I could at least do a little electronic experimentation.
Hence the Twitter badge you see above (which I owe entirely to Win the web guru). Twitter will allow me to indulge my love of randomlets, like when I just want to say that apparently dehydration was the cause of my near pass outs at Gold’s Gym, or if I want to tell you that the Trib’s a bit in mourning, as Wednesday was Jerry Hill’s last day.
The strawberry icon? It just suits me don’t you think? Though I long to one day replace it with a mug of me in a Mexican wrestling mask. If you’re on Twitter, find me (let’s be tweets. Or is it twits? I don’t know Twitter lingo).
But wait, that’s not all! I also now own wendydoeswaco.com, though my alter ego, the education reporter, has been really busy so I haven’t had time to do anything with the site yet. The coolest thing is that I also now have the email address wendy@wendydoeswaco.com. I have the e-ville masterminds at Blue Bike to thanks for coercing me into being master of my domain, so to speak. Thanks Adam, Brad.
Wow, all this new technology has worn me out. I’ll check back in tomorrow. So what do you think, have I gone a little crazy?
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All up in my bidness
I was hanging out with some new friends and all around very cool people Saturday (Jen, Jesse, Charlotte and Eddie), when one of them said something that really stuck with me.
Jesse said someone once told him that the only way to make any real money in Waco is to be into three or four different things. It sounds like pretty sound advice, advice that I just may take.
So now I’m furiously brainstorming business opportunities. Eddie said he thinks I would be a great bartender and should open my own place. Here’s the problem — Not everyone is fun when they drink, some get stupid and belligerent. Somehow, I think a bar that allows only nice, funny drinkers wouldn’t get that far.
Someone else once suggested to me that Waco needed decent places to buy porn. A recent Waco transplant from California said, “You know what this town really needs?” I, innocently, was thinking the answer was “a ballet” or maybe “an Indian food restaurant.” Silly me. “Porn,” she blurted out. That conversation took place in January, and I still don’t know how to respond to her suggestion. I’ll just say, I think I’ll leave it to someone else to fill that void in Waco.
Moving right along, the only real aptitude I have is for writing. I guess I could see if the newspaper needs someone to … oh, wait, I’m already doing that.
My other option is to work on a book. Friends and family seem to think I have one in me, as if it was some sort of creative tumor or something. I guess I could give it a shot, I do want to be David Sedaris when I grow up, after all.
In the meantime, I’ll happily take your suggestions for what kind of thing you think I should get into, what lucrative void I might fill in W-town
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Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Maybe those things float Julie Andrews’ boat, but me, my few new favorite things are a bit more Wacocentric.
First, there’s this fabulous T-shirt that Caitlin and Kate got me for my birthday. It’s a cool design, but put it on a chick named Wendy who has a star tattoo and it’s downright designer. What did you say? It looks like some local city symbol? I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about. If you’re a Wendy enthusiast or just have a fondness for the 23rd letter, get this shirt at Congress Clothing.
Next, there’s this fabulous desert concoction at Se Cocina called the 3 in 1. It’s a mix of Mexican creme brulee, flan and bread pudding. It’s about $6.75 and you should get it to share. I’m pretty sure that consumption of the entire thing would lead to death by overdose of goodness.
Lastly, also Se Cocina-related, is the artist who did the paintings that adorn the new downtown eatery. These colorful, distinctly un-Mexican restaurant like paintings have caught the eye of us newsroom folk and left us wondering who did them. The answer is Brad Settles, a moustachioed Baylor ex, who appreciates fine art, yet has a strange obsession with the words pickle pouch.
Check out one or all of the above, and please, as always, let me know what I’m missing.
And Brad, I’m pretty sure you owe me a drink now.
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South Carolina came to me
How lucky am I? I didn’t have the money to make my fairly regular trek to South Carolina - so South Carolina came to me.
Storms messed up the flights of my best friend Amy last Thursday, so I ended up having to drive to Austin to pick her up at 2:30 a.m. But really, that’s not that far to go for someone who’s like a sister to you.
Anyway, I had grand plans for a whirlwind Waco weekend (she flew out Sunday morning), but I kind of dropped the ball on that one. It seems that in our old age, just catching up with each other and catching up on sleep have climbed to the top of our priority lists.
I got a little taste of Waco in her though. We hit Uncle Dan’s Friday and she had her first brisket ever (Carolina barbecue is always pulled pork). She tolerated the cow version of barbecue, but I think she genuinely liked the sauce (woo-hoo! Waco scores one for Texas barbecue!).
I drove her around a bit and we took a million dorky pictures with Darwin before having dinner at Ninfa’s.
Though we didn’t do as much as I had thought we might, it was such a nice feeling to be proud of where I live and actually feel like it has something to offer. And Amy said the most meaningful thing to me as I hugged her in front of the airport Sunday.
“You have some really nice friends here,” she said, with a sister’s tone of approval in her voice. And I have to agree.
It was great to play hostess, but it made me long for Carolina a little bit more. Late night drives over Paris Mountain, styrofoam cups of boiled peanuts and that sweet Southeast accent on everyone’s lips. Hmmm, when’s my next vacation time …
——————————————————————————————————————————— So, writing about Amy makes me want to do a little heat survey. First, what is it about Texas heat that just seems so much hotter? Amy said maybe it’s the dryness, as opposed to the SC humidity, but I say it’s the intensity, that the big wide open skies just allow more sun to get to you or something.
Second, what is a normal air conditioning setting? I keep mine on about 78 degrees. Yes, sometimes I get that damp, dewey look that Ashley Judd had in A Time To Kill, but it doesn’t really bother me. My Amy keeps her air on about 67 degrees. You can imagine the compromise that the two of us had to come to this weekend! So, which one of us is closest to the norm when it comes to bearing Texas (or SC) heat?
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Crazy from the heat
Clearly, the triple digits this week have turned all your brains to mush. (I, of course, am impervious as my brain has been mush for a long time)
Reporters are nearly dropping like flies with heat malaise and those of us toughing it out are just plain silly. The refined, button down-shirted JB even devolved to giggles reading the comment on this blog, “And now I gotta go. Why? ‘Cause crack don’t smoke itself!”
Apparently JB’s silly fever lasted into the night and infected the dinner conversation of he and his girlfriend. JB decided crack is hilarious (see, I’m not the only one who finds hard drugs amusing) and that there should be a new business catch phrase — “Sometimes you just gotta smoke the crack.”
i.e. — sometimes you’ve just gotta make the hard, risky, possibly dangerous and stupid decision. Q— “Should we go to war in Iraq?” A—“Hey, sometimes you’ve just gotta smoke the crack.”
There has also been some humorous mention of Pepto Bismol bottles around here (who’s been reading the news and gets that reference?)
And as for you guys, ummm … you’re nuts. I have no idea what the wives tales are about eating ice or popping bubble wrap. I’d love to be clued in, unless you plan on doing so with another reference that I don’t get. And I don’t know what the rest of you are talking about either, though I think it’s quite possible that some of you are experiencing dementia due to heat stroke. Please get help. I’m worried about you :)
P.S. for the guy last week who thought I should be stung, I know that’s probably supposed to be a dig, but I find myself strangely flattered. (Maybe I’m not impervious to the mercury fueled madness.)
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I’m cheap, how about you?
All this month I’ve been spending money as if I wasn’t a destitute journalist and it has simply got to stop!
In April I did this little project of writing down every penny I spent and cutting corners wherever I could and it really worked, so I think I’ll try that again. Luckily, I’ve also been making a mental note of good deals around town.
I’ll share mine, if you’ll share yours! By the way, there’s no chain vs. local element here. I love supporting local, but I won’t pass up a good chain buy either.
For a cheap but great lunch, try the lunch special at simply good at the The Shops at River Square. The special includes a drink and desert and they range from beef stroganoff to beef fajitas. Plus, the simply good folks are simply sweet.
Cheap barbecue can be found at Tony DeMaria’s in East Waco. A small plate is around $5 and is just perfect.
Ok, this one has a certain “duh!” factor, but, all size drinks are $1 at McDonald’s and their sweet tea (while not my favorite) isn’t half bad. Plus, the cups have a coupon for a free redbox rental on them.
Another money saver comes from our own Erin Quinn and I’ve since adopted it — order from the kids menu. It’s cheaper and the portions are more sane and really, sometimes a grilled cheese just hits the spot, even for adults.
I don’t know if every Skinny’s store does this, but the ones in my neighborhood let me get free ice if I bring my own cup in. Sounds stupid, but I’m trying to not snack, so that little pellet-like crunchy ice has become very important to me.
Now, what you got?
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Home again
It’s Monday and I’m finally back in Waco. I hope you all missed me dearly and celebrated my 33rd birthday with gusto on Friday. I know I did. Though, getting old has changed the meaning of the word gusto for me. “Celebrating with gusto” used to mean successive shots and now means an evening of sophisticated dining and good friends.
Something you should know about me is that I’m obnoxious about my birthday. I have a tendency to tell everyone I run into on the day that is is MY day. But it pays off. My friends and I had our double queen room at the Hotel Indigo upgraded to a king suite and an adorable Indigo employee hooked me up with free desert, coffee, breakfast and bottle of champagne.
I was reminded this morning that Waco is getting a Hotel Indigo as part of all this development, and I’m thrilled. The decor is fresh and fun (see my pictures) and there are haikus everywhere, written about every subject from the room key to the pad of paper on the desk. The hotel also has a shuttle that takes you anywhere within a 3 mile radius.
We headed for West End, because that’s what a lot of people suggested, but it was DEAD and most of the eateries were chain. So the shuttle picked us back up and dropped us in Uptown where we wandered into Breadwinners and had the most amazing dish of green chile mac and cheese. mention of my b-day also got us free cake from the restaurant/bakery.
Despite a late night, I was up at 6 a.m. to walk around Dallas. My Waco walks have made me a bit more fearless about wandering the streets of a downtown. It’s a nice feeling. Though, when a corner-lingerer tried to invite himself on my walk with me, I began to really miss the familiarity of Waco and its regular cast of street characters. I trotted down to Dealey Plaza and then the grassy knoll and had the rare pleasure of contemplating the historic spot without throngs of tourists around me.
All in all, I had a great time last week catching up with friends and family. But by Sunday, I longed for Waco with an affection I ususally have only for the Carolinas. Vacation is wonderful, but it’s almost more pleasing to have a place you actually enjoy coming home to.
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San Antonio bites. Literally.
Sure, I’ve been annoyed this summer by the black beetles that have decided my Waco apartment is the new hip place to hang out. But at least they’re slow, harmless and easy to kill. The creepy crawly things in San Antonio are anything but.
What’s the saying? Just because I’m paranoid doesn’t mean there aren’t people after me. Yeah, well, here at my Dad’s in Garden Ridge it’s more like, just because I haven’t seen a live scorpion in a couple of years doesn’t mean there’s not one hiding in my shoe, ready to sting my toe until it falls off.
My dad and my stepmom have been stung so many times, I honestly think they’re 5 percent scorpion at this point. I’ve never been stung, but that’s not to say I haven’t had my share of near misses. There was the time in sixth grade that I killed a scorpion, death by pouring a mound of Comet cleaner on it. Another time, one fell from the bathroom ceiling into the sink as I was brushing my teeth. Yet another time, one of the small but venomous brutes fell from the bathroom ceiling onto my leg.
Every night I check my pillowcases and sheets before crawling in bed. I check the toilet and my shoes in the morning. I’ve been here only a couple of days, but I’m beginning to miss my friendly little black beetles in Waco.
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If Meghan McCain can, so can I
So I FINALLY am getting an honest to God vacation after being here a year and a half. It begins when I drag my keester from here tonight and I’ll be out all next week.
Shed not a tear though, I’m going to try to stir things up even while I’m in SA and Dallas. For now I’d like to shout out to all the July babies in Waco and in my universe — Jenny, Erin, Sarah, Jenn, Madison, Adrian, Karen, Andy, Tim Woods and a guy named Lance who is also turning 33 on July 18.
About the last picture page — YES, it was the old bank at 9th and Washington streets. Here’s another one to think about:
I also decided that if Meghan McCain can put playlists on her blog, so can I. To keep with the birthday theme, here’s my “God, I’m old” playlist. I hope you all realize the amazing confidence and courage I’m exhibiting by outing myself as a lover of 70s and 80s lite rock. Anyone can say they like Come on, Eileen, but it takes a real woman to own up to Peaches and Herb.
As always, love it or hate it and let me know what you think.
Slow Hand, Pointer Sisters/ Abracadabra, Steve Miller Band/ Reunited, Peaches and Herb/ Escape (the pina colada song), Rupert Holmes/ With a Little Luck, Wings/ They Don’t Know, Tracey Ullman/ Take a Chance On Me, ABBA/ Magic, Olivia Newton John/ Vacation, the GoGos/ Dancing Queen, ABBA/ Longer, Dan Fogelberg/ Take It on the Run, REO Speedwagon/ Open Arms, Journey/ True Colors, Cyndi Lauper/ Don’t You Want Me, Human League/ Careless Whisper, Wham/ Same Old Lang Syne, Dan Fogelberg/ Being With You, Smokey Robinson/ Time After Time, Cyndi Lauper/ Tempted, Squeeze.
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Droplets of random
— Has anyone else noticed how the green HEB reuseable bag has become the prefered bag of choice around town? I regularly see people walking around downtown with it slung over their shoulder. It’s kind of funny to me, because I bet some of these people, while using the green bag as a catchall or purse, are still dragging home their milk and paper towels in plastic bags.
— Is anyone else addicted to Golden’s bookstore on Franklin Ave.? Because I always take my old books there, I never pay for new ones, it’s great. But the real reason I love it is because it feeds the compulsive freak in me that loves to sort things. I have to physically restrain my self from standing in front of piles of books and grouping all the same titles, or arranging them by color of the spine. Twice now, I have almost gone up to the Golden’s folks to ask if they would mind if I did a little sorting, just for fun. But while I don’t mind being a little weird, I don’t want to actually frighten anyone with my weird love for arranging things. I’ll let y’all know if I get the nerve to ask or if I just take it upon myself to start sorting under the ruse of looking for a certain book.
— And last but certainly not least, I’m going to be in the big D for my birthday next Friday (18th) and I have a freaking awesome hotel room (Hotel Indigo). But now I’m looking for suggestions for a righteously amazing bar or restaurant downtown to hit. Any suggestions??? Come on Katie, JenA, y’all got anything?
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God, family and good sweet tea
I was 12 the first time I ever tasted sweet tea. I was in the single wide trailer of a friend name Christy on the edge of Greer, SC.
I had had tea before, sure. My dad would set the jar of sun tea out on the patio table in SA, and like some science project I would marvel at how, just sitting there, the liquid would become this aromatic amber mixture that my parents liked to drink with lemon.
Christy’s tea, on a barefoot, dusty, hot Carolina day, sounded like a good idea. And it looked like tea. But I nearly spewed it across the room when I began to gulp down the sugar/water concoction. Christy’s tea was roughly six degrees of separation from the tea part.
As my Carolina education continued, I grew to love sweet tea. (I also earned the nickname “Red” from Christy’s family, learned where to sit in the main room so that the air from the AC unit hit you and added both grits and greens to my diet)
Back in the 80s, I had a hard time finding sweet tea at Texas restaurants( I had no idea how to make it like Southern folk and still don’t). Luckily, times have changed, and it’s much easier to find that red/gold nectar. And some days, like yesterday, good sweet tea is like a grandma’s hand on your back — it doesn’t fix everything, but it can infuse a bad day with an ounce of comfort.
McAlister’s is a good choice, everybody knows that. And Bush’s tea is the closest to Christy’s. Bottled Sweet Leaf is good in a pinch. Weirdly enough, my fav is the sweet tea at Rosa’s with a big slice of lime in it. Actually, I’m trying to ween off the sugar, so these days, I tend to go half sweet, half un, and no one ever seems to have a problem when I order it that way.
The tropical iced tea at Simply Good at The Shops is a good un and the iced green tea (un) at Starbucks is another favorite. Any tea stops I’m missing???
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I love it when a plan comes together
Emily’s wedding Saturday was lovely and seemed to come off without a hitch. I know many of you out there think I roast and eat small children while planning the annihilation of the earth via my little ol’ blog. But the truth is that I can be as much of a sap as the rest of you, if not more.
I pretty much wept solidly through Em’s ceremony. At least I know I was in good company, David and Em had a hard time keeping it together, too. Dayspring Baptist is simply a serene setting to get married in (though I was dismayed to hear that the gorgeous flower arrangements were trashed, rather than leave them up for Sunday service).
The Palladium was also perfect for the reception and I continued to weep there, like when Em sang “Soldier Boy” to David (for those who don’t know, they fell in love via emails, calls and cookie care packages while he was deployed in Afghanistan).
It’s true that I always cry at weddings, but I think I really felt the gravity of this one, watching the months of planning come off in this perfect celebration of their union. I can’t believe I’ve only known Em a year! I keep thinking back to when David was close to proposing and Em kept wondering when he would do it and how. I think she told me that he nixed the idea of proposing on the suspension bridge, worried he would fumble her stunning ring and launch it into the river.
Where do you think would be the ideal spot for a proposal in or around Waco? I know it’s cheesy, but it seems like Lover’s Leap would be perfect.
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Fetus is the new black
Is there anyone left out there who isn’t pregnant or planning to get pregnant? Besides me, that is?
I received the happy news this week that my brother’s wife is pregnant with their first and my cousin is preggers with their second. I am absolutely, pitifully, pathetically ecstatic! And I feel completely out of the loop. It seems that procreating is the cool thing to do and I haven’t even completely mastered dating yet.
My two best friends in SC are hearing their biological clocks ticking like tribal drums. Jenn is huge with baby #2 now and one of my Trib colleagues is growing her own little cub reporter. And around town, it seems like everywhere I look, there’s a baby bump. It’s like I’m living in freaking Killeen again, I swear.
I resisted parachute pants and New Kids on the Block dolls and I’ve even managed not to buy one of those giraffe print purses that everyone is carrying right now. I don’t watch reality TV and I’m not addicted to texting. I’m pretty proud of my ability to resist doing what everyone else is doing. But this whole pregnancy thing is a tough one.
To set my parents’ fear at ease, let me say that I have no intention of running out and joining the 9 month club indiscriminately. If I can resist that Louis Vuitton bag I’ve wanted since college, I surely can resist a child. Plus, I’ve probably got a little soul searching to do. Do I want one because I want to be a mom and giving birth is a miracle, blah, blah, nauseating blah? Do I want a baby because everyone else is having one? I’m guessing neither of these is the answer right now.
I think I want one because it would be gorgeous and brilliant and I could buy it cute clothes and books and lots of things with its name on it. Hey, I think I just described the perfect aunt. Maybe there is room for me in this whole trend after all.
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Smorgasbord of inanities
I’ve got a few tidbits to bring up. Comment on what you like. Or not.
Em has a cat she needs to go to a good outside home. Fuzzy Friends is full and Astro, her fiancee’s cat, has decided she’s too good for the litter box. Hence the “she’d make a great outside cat” part. She’s neutered and has her claws. Email or comment me if you’re interested.
On a completely different note, did anyone see that kid riding his bike on major roads Sunday, with a sign on his back that said something like, “And all who touched him were healed.”??? I couldn’t decide if this kid was on a religious crusade or was actually inviting all who read his sign to touch him. I’d love some insight here.
Also … does anyone have tips for not blacking out while working out in the summer? The past two days I’ve been completely light-headed and dizzy and it has started after my fairly intense morning workouts. It’s not heat exhaustion, because I was inside the gym. I went to the doctor and he told me to take allergy medicine?? So now I’m seeking your completely unqualified opinion.
