September 28th--WHAT?? It can't have been that long since I wrote something, can it? Okay, maybe it has. Where does the time go? I would say that time flies when you're having fun, but I haven't been having all that much fun lately. Work has been distinctly *sucky* the past couple of weeks. I am disappointed about, not so much the work itself, but about the quality of the people involved.

I'm back home now after my little jaunt to Oklahoma. Something about this particular trip really made me think about how my life differs from other peoples'. No wonder my cousin's kids look at me like I'm from Mars. As far as they are concerned, I am! Nothing about my life is like theirs. Which is absolutely not to say that one way of life is better than any other; they're just so different.

My cousin's husband farms and ranches cattle. He (and the whole family) worry about elemental things: sun, rain, snow, wind, heat, and cold. Church is important to the family and to almost all the other families they know. Traffic is almost unheard of and there is no cable television or high-speed internet access. The biggest store in the nearest town is the grocery store. The nearest town with a grocery store is 17 miles away. Everyone drives a truck. It's common to see deer, skunks, and assorted other "wild" animals on a daily basis.

My cousin teaches school. She has two kids and a husband. She worries about "parent things"--what to fix for dinner, buying her kids school clothes, making sure the laundry is done.

On what seems to be exactly the opposite end of the spectrum is my life. I live in a huge city. The only time I worry about the weather is when I think how it's going to affect my weekend plans, or whether or not it's going to rain when I'm driving to and from work. Sprinkler systems take care of watering the few plants around. Money seems to be the most prevalent religion here. Even those who go to church don't seem to understand what it's really all about. Traffic is almost unbearable, even in the middle of the night. I get stuck in traffic every day! Every amenity is available to us--cable tv, high speed dsl, and so on and so forth. The grocery store where I shop is one block away. Anything I want is probably available somewhere in the city. Everyone drives SUVs or expensive cars (it seems like it to me). The only animals I see on a regular basis are the cats someone dumped in back of my apartment complex last year and birds.

I'm divorced and I have no children. I rarely clean house and do laundry only when forced to by necessity. I worry about my rent increasing (and my salary not increasing). I worry about crime and automobile accidents. I worry about being alone when I get old.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that it really puts things in perspective to see how others live. I don't want to trade my life, but I miss having a family and doing things for them (although I don't miss slaving for an unappreciative husband). Maybe one of these days I'll settle down again. Who knows?

I am visiting my cousin Kris and her husband Doug. They have two great kids--Hillary and Lane. They live in western Oklahoma--very different than Dallas. Cows outside the house! Wow!!!

I cannot believe I took the plunge! Yes, I got all my hair cut off--well about a foot of it! I haven't had short hair since I was in kindergarten. I feel like my head is weightless.

I just don't seem to be getting anything done these days. I'm busy all day at work, but I don't ever seem to finish any projects. My involvement sort of ends, then someone drops a new project in my lap and I'm off again. At home almost nothing gets accomplished. I get home late, eat, and then all I want to do is read or watch TV. I clean only when forced by the dirt police; my laundry piles up; I run the dishwasher, but then I don't unload the clean dishes. My refrigerator is scary! Can anyone fax me some energy?

Rain, glorious rain! Finally . . .

Very excited--bought new things to wear this weekend! Tried a new restaurant downtown. Honestly the best French food I've ever had. It wasn't overly pretentious or even artery-hardening.

It's official. We're having a cold front! Of course--cold is relative. When it's been 111, the low 90's seems *cold.* I actually felt uncomfortable in shorts this morning. Autumn, such as it is, can't come too soon.

I had jury duty yesterday--criminal courts, no less. The whole idea of taking a day off work, going to an unfamiliar building, waiting (and waiting and waiting), listening to a judge and two lawyers for three hours, eating crappy, expensive food, and then being sent home was exhausting.

While we were waiting for the lawyers to make their jury selections, I saw a man being escorted from the court house for panhandling. He was telling anyone who would listen that he had just gotten out of jail. One woman was in the process of giving him a bus token when he was discovered and forced to leave. I'm not that nice--I wouldn't have given him anything.

I admit to feeling relieved that I did not get selected to the jury. The case involved a first degree sexual assault. YIKES! Scary stuff.