roadblock

I am still in Stillwater, Oklahoma. You, like me, are probably wondering why. Sadly, my brother must wrap some stuff up, and so rather than leaving today like we were supposed to, it appears that we're leaving Monday. It will all work out just fine; he's now flying out of Las Vegas on Saturday to return to Oklahoma, rather than going all the way to San Francisco with me, which means we'll still see the stuff in Arizona and New Mexico without sacrificing it all just to get back to San Francisco in time for his flight there. But still, even though Stillwater is a lovely town, with friendly people and some decent places to eat (more on that in a moment), I would prefer to leave it as soon as I possibly can.

But, today wasn't a complete wash. After I got up, we rebooked my brother's ticket and the rooms that I'd already booked, and then I showered and made a minimal attempt at making myself look presentable before we went out in search of lunch. My brother took me to a cafe (in separate cars), where we had lunch (the first non-fried thing I've had in awhile) before he left to work on his stuff and I stayed to work on mine. Rather than writing, I spent about six hours today proofreading someone's manuscript as part of my ongoing effort to assess the market and figure out what I would need to charge to have a viable income stream. So, I did that at the cafe for four hours while getting jazzed on caffeine, then came back to my brother's place to pick him up for supper.

We ended up going to Red Lobster, which he loves (and which I can't remember ever having gone to before). I had crab legs, which were quite good, and shrimp alfredo pasta, which was good but too much, and a baked potato, which was a ridiculous side to a pasta dish. I mean, the food was all tasty, but I was feeling somewhat guilty because Alyssa emailed me today to see how I was doing on my roadtrip. Sigh. Then, we came back here, my brother went to bed, and I stayed up until now doing my editing. I feel so virtuous.

Tomorrow, though, appears to be shaping up to be a repeat of today, so I think I'll find a cafe and do some writing. And then, I'm leaving Monday morning for Santa Fe whether my brother is ready or not. Goodnight!

[editor's note: please consider this whole post censored, as I am too tired to do it]