My Trip to Houston

I spent four days in Houston getting continuing education and finishing a certification. Again, I am amazed when I get where I need to be anytime I travel alone. Most of the trip went well. I made some wise choices. I stayed in the hotel on campus because it is right across the street from the library. Also it was good that there was no swimming pool, no hot tub, no hotel bar, and no fitness center. Why is that good? Less temptation to find distractions from studying. I found enough distractions in Food TV and HGTV (we don't have cable at home).

Chris and Randy drove in from Austin Thursday and after class we ate at the Melting Pot. It is a fondue place. I think it used to be called Simply Fondue when I lived in Houston almost ten years ago. I thought about going to Vargo's where I used to be a waitress, but back then the maitre d', Hans Mair, was very strict about dress, and even though Mr. Vargo has since sold the restaurant and Hans is no longer there (he owns a couple of his own restaurants now), we were afraid a jacket may still be required. If we could have, I would have loved to have eaten at the Houston Racquet Club where I used to moonlight. That chef was much better than the chef at Vargo's.

The Melting Pot was very good. We got the The Big Night Out, so we had a salad, then the cheese fondue, then the main entree which was Fondue Bourguignonne. It was a big hot pot of peanut oil that we cooked our own filet mignon, lobster, shrimp, chicken, strip steak, sirloin, pot stickers, and stuffed mushrooms (just a few pieces of each, but we each got our own lobster tail). The only regret that I have is that I didn't get a cocktail. I wish I had tried the Apple Martini or gotten a Mojito; although I did get the Cafe Gates after our dessert. The chocolate fondue was decadent. There was lots of strawberries, pineapple, marshmallows dipped in all kinds of yummy things, cheesecake, angle food cake, chocolate cake and I think yellow cake. We ate a little bit of it, but we mostly packed it away so Chris and Randy could take it back to Austin with them (Randy had to work the next day so they had to drive back that night).

The next day after class I went to a good Korean restaurant with a friend from high school. She lives in the same town that I do, has the same kind of business that I have, graduated from the same high school and same professional school as I did, has a white dad and a Korean mom like I do, has a little sister in Austin like I do, and until her divorce a couple of years ago was married to a white guy with brown hair and glasses like G. We have a lot in common to say the least, but she is gorgeous and more outgoing than I am (she was a cheerleader and Aglow Queen). The Korean restaurant was great. We had Korean style pancakes as an appetizer, and I had the PiBimBop in a hot pot. It was so good, and I ate as much kimchee and stinky food as I could knowing that I wasn't going to see G until Sunday so I didn't have to worry about having offensive breath.

Saturday after the lectures, I headed over to the galleria to buy some gifts for the boys. I was sad to find that FAO Schwarz was no longer across the street from the galleria. The galleria looked about the same. I found some gifts at The Discovery Channel Store. Then I found the most wonderful candy store. It is called Dylan's Candy Bar. I loved it. Gray loves lolly pops and lady bugs, and they have wonderful lolly pops including a beautiful lady bug lolly pop. I got some candy bars for G; coffe, peanut butter and jelly, dark, and crunchy toffee. I wish I could have stayed longer, but the entire time I was at the galleria I kept feeling like I should be studying.

The lectures were good. There wasn't one lecturer that I found boring. I saw my old preceptor from glaucoma clinic. He was my instructor there my last year of school, and he was my Grand Rounds advisor. He is a very interesting man. He got two degrees in engineering before he decided to go to medical school. He did his residency in ophthalmology. Then he went to law school (I think it was Harvard) and got his JD. Then he wanted to become an Episcopalian priest but he got his second divorce and figured that was one too many. When he was my teacher he had been recently married, and I think this one stuck. He met her through a dating service. I always thought that was interesting that an attractive, older, established man with four degrees couldn't find the right woman, so he used a dating service and found her. Anyway, for the last seven years he has been living in Camden, Maine, and he loves it. He comes once a month to the school to do some teaching in clinic. It was good to see him, and the last ten years have not changed him one bit (aside from the blue spots of paint he had on parts of his skin from painting his boat).

On Sunday we had lectures until 4pm, and then we took a two hour test at 4:30. It wasn't bad, and I think I did okay, but these types of tests are always a little stressful. After the test I made my way to the airport. I felt very good about getting through the week, and I would have plenty of time to get to my gate. Even though I hadn't slept very well (I never do when I have to sleep in a hotel room alone), I felt fairly energetic thinking about going home.