I ran a little behind to work after having to clean up some more puke from Stilgar. He seemed to be feeling better this morning though, so the worry was over. I still managed to get into the office before anyone else by more than 10 minutes, but apparently they were socializing outside before work. I just continued working on group policies all day.
NextStep took us out for lunch to a place called DRAFT + TABLE, which was excellent. They had an appetizer called Armadillo Eggs, which were “fresh jalapeños grilled, stuffed with cream cheese, wrapped in our sausage and cheese breading, and baked until golden and crispy, served with our signature blackberry cream sauce.” They were much larger than I expected, and absolutely delicious. Then I had their pastrami reuben, which was also much larger than I expected. Both it and the fries were amazing. Finally, their “banana pudding” was a gelatinous atrocity. It was served in a ceramic dish, similar to their crème brûlée, and it looked strange from the start. The “pudding” was a thin layer of appropriately colored gelatin that was so hard, it wanted to jump out of the dish. In fact, a square slice of Maggie’s made it down to the floor from our high table, and didn’t lose a bit of its shape. Zero out of five stars.
The rest of the afternoon was more of the same until quitting time. Traffic was awful on the drive home, but at least it was steady and fast. They need a bullet train that just runs down the Interstate. I got home and immediately took the dogs out for a run. Dad had checked on them midday and said they both seemed fine, and indeed we ran for nearly the entire loop of the neighborhood. We stopped to see Dad briefly, then went the long way around the basin trail, zig-zagging through the neighborhood to get home. Some lady saw me and felt compelled to record me on her phone while she drove slowly behind me in her car, hanging out of her window. It was super awkward, and I thought this must be what celebrity feels like.
Eaddie was out late again, and I managed to get to bed close to my planned time after catching up with Travis a bit. I don’t know what prompted him to reach out again, but it didn’t seem like much had changed. I just wish he would get over his anxiety and go outside some more.
No more nonsense.