Friday Night Light Beers

Hi, I'm Mags, and I'm drinking a Pearl Light. (Don't tell The Man. I think that's grounds for divorce.)

It came from the neighbors, who were out drinking and letting their kids run around after work on a coolish (for Austin) September evening. As that sounded like perhaps the world's best idea ever, I joined them.

We have great neighbors. This is, by the way, why we stay where we are, as our property taxes soar higher every year, rendering us perilously close to being priced out of the neighborhood that we "discovered" eight years ago. Back then, my neighborhood didn't say "very desirable, cute. midcentury-modern 50's bungalows." It said "Wow, we can only afford this tiny little piece of crap with ancient plumbing if we want to live anywhere near the central city."

If you have not discovered the joys of The Pearl, you should; it's the 69-calorie can of water that'll get you drunk. (Eventually, after drinking enough of them that you will actually urinate a volume equal to your own body weight. I think it is actually somehow a diet aid in that factor.)

The Man and OG are out on a date, to a UT Women's Volleyball game. The Man likes volleyball, and swears it has nothing to do with the six-feet-tall amazons in tight shorts; OG likes dates with her daddy, popcorn, M&Ms, and sanctioned occasions to scream. I got to hang out with YG, go for a walk, chat with the neighbors, and then read to YG for a long, long time, without any competition from OG. Perfect evening all around. Well, OK, there was the not-quite-potty-trained-daughter-with-the-diarrhea-and-the-smearing incident, but best save that for another posting.

(As an aside, I am a little worried about the Longhorn indoctrination of OG that appears to be taking place. This city does NOT need one more person that bleeds burnt orange. Sadly, though, she seems to have inherited her father's competitive streak, and it is probably much easier to be a sports fan for teams that...well, WIN occasionally. Go Mizzou! You'll win a game again someday, I JUST KNOW IT!)

Speaking of the burnt and of the orange, there is some big football game happening tomorrow. Perhaps you've heard of it? I will actually be at a wedding tomorrow night, if you can believe that someone would schedule a fall wedding in Austin on a Saturday afternoon. Shocking, I tell you. (Oh, my, though, you should have seen The Man's face when, a few weeks ago, I straight-facedly informed him of the date of the wedding and started to make like I was going to go all wifey on him and make him go with me. I cannot even begin to describe the apoplexy in his eyes. He's all "But..that's the...that's the....I CAN'T GO WITH YOU!!" He is too funny.)

But, dears, it is really, really big shit here. People have been camping out since Wednesday - NOT for tickets, mind you, but for TAILGATING SPOTS. Yes, there have been people sitting over there for 3 days, drinking beer, so that THEY WILL HAVE A GOOD PLACE TO DRINK BEER. The Noxiouses are going, I know...though lord know how much they could have sold their tickets for (seriously, folks...the lowest price per ticket on eBay right now is $300, and that's for the crappiest part of the student section, and you have to have an ID for that. They're mostly up in the $500-$600 range.)

Hey, though, the REAL big important game tomorrow is Mizzou vs. Old Miss. Don't be fooled by the hype.

I shall now endeavor to shut the hell up about beer and football. Christ, I've merged with The Man and we've become one large codependent being. (Well, that would explain the ass, anyway.)