A String of Bad Days

I had a wasted trip up to see Dad and Jean Sunday, I called Friday but should have called Sunday morning, I guess. I had offered to take them out to eat near Conroe when I called on Friday but Saturday Dad left a message they would be up at Trinity for the weekend. After the bad traffic and missing a turn I got there a little late and they weren't there. I went out and had dinner and came back but they must have returned to Conroe. There wasn't anything I need doing in Conroe so I figured I'd just wait for next weekend.

Did get a chance to try a new cafe for me, Riverside on Hwy. 19 near Trinity. It is run by granny behind the register and some other family members around with high school kids serving and bussing tables. I got the recommended hamburger steak, very good. It came with mashed potatoes and a mug of dark brown gravy. I had the cheese cake and asked if they had made it. Granny said no it was Sara Lee Institutional - better, bigger, and thicker than you get in stores. The meal came with one bowl from the salad bar and they had congealed pea salad which I like. When I described it to her it seems Pat never heard of it. It's a country pea salad unlike the one I make with peas, onion, cheese and mayonnaise. I've had it many times, must be a southern thing. Hamburger steak meal $7.95, tea $1.00, cheese cake $2.00. I could have had just as good a meal in Pasadena though and saved over four hours travel time.

Saturday members of the two book groups went to the Contemporary Arts Museum to see modern art related to cartoons. They also had another exhibit of large pencil drawings by an astronomer who had made some of them into large paper globes. Afterwards seven out of nine eventually wound up at Souper Salad on Wesleyan. I found out that Brent can get very annoyed when he is hungry. The idiots in the other car were making the decisions and passed many closer places including another Souper Salad.

For Saturday afternoon I saw the Hulk at the $3.00 matinee (stadium seating). I only saw it because of Ang Lee directing and it is a failure. He is a great director and had a lot of money but he failed to learn a lesson from comic books - give the people what they want. You have to wait for half the movie for the Hulk. The movie just didn't work. I would have been really pissed if I paid $8.00 to see it. A lot of stupid movies coming according to the previews with only T-3 and Second-Hand Lions looking decent.

Today I had a call about some charges on my credit card the last few days. I said Fry's and the gas and dinner yesterday were OK but I had not been to Austin or Missouri City and was definitely not spending hundreds of dollars at Home Depot or Lowe's. They had send a new card a few days ago and someone else has it. What is really annoying is that spending that much money at a retail store they should have some type of ID as well.

Great.