Catching up with Rice friends in Houston

I’ve been in Houston for almost two weeks now, and it’s been awesome! I drove from Memphis, picking up Rebecca Tuuri in Jackson, Mississippi. We got into town in time to participate in Beer Bike, an annual beer-drinking, bike-racing relay at Rice University. It was actually my first time to attend the event since graduating, which is ironic because it is also the first time that I have been physically incapable of competing. Though it was frustrating to be watching cyclists instead of riding faster than them, I still enjoyed the spirit of competition.

After hanging out with Rebecca's crazy friends, I had dinner with Monica Verduzco and her family. I hadn't seen Monica since I was in the Houston rehab hospital last summer, so she was excited to see my progress. Monica's daughter Lina is now ten months old and more beautiful than ever-- she takes after her mom. I'm certain that Lina will be a heartbreaker by the time she starts kindergarten.

I also had the pleasure of having brunch with Geoff Dethlefsen and his fiance Mindy. Geoff had sent me a text message several months ago saying that he had gotten engaged, but I hadn't heard a thing from him since. Thus I wasn't really sure that the text message wasn't a prank sent by his twin brother George. But it was no false alarm-- Geoff was just ridiculously busy juggling work, planning his wedding, and buying a condo. The big event is taking place in Cabo San Lucas this summer-- congratulations, Geoff!

I had breakfast recently with Jason Hardy and his wife Erin. Jason has been accepted to law school at NYU, so they might be moving to the east coast this summer. Jason has been working valiantly in the non-profit sector with child protective services ever since he graduated, and now he is ready for another phase of life. Thanks for all your hard work for the community, Jason!

To my great delight, I caught up with Jeff Hernandez the other night. He and I were cheerleaders together, but I hadn't been in touch with him since 1999. I had recently found him on Facebook, and I was curious to find out whether he had actually converted to orthodox Judaism or whether it was another of his finely-crafted stories. Turns out it's true! I think we talked the first two hours without taking a breath. I was glad to see that Jeff was doing so well, and I look forward to the next time we meet up.

When I first arrived in Houston, I was stayed at Patrick Quayle's house. His place is beautiful, just like a Pottery Barn advertisement. Unfortunately, Pat himself was not around because he just had ACL surgery. Hopefully we'll be able to see each other once he becomes mobile again.

The rest of my time here, I've been staying at Claudia and David's house. We've had loads of fun together. We watched Some Like It Hot with Claudia and her girlfriends one night. We've seen three Rice baseball games since I've been here, and we won all three. Another night we went to the Mucky Duck, enjoyed some fine live music there, and brought the party back home for a memorable (and late) evening. We celebrated Easter together and had several people over for a delicious dinner. This evening, it was my turn to cook. I made "Tofu, Peanut, and Sesame Soup" from my Berkeley hippie vegetarian cookbook, and though we were missing one ingredient, it came out quite well.

Another notable event that I enjoyed with Claudia and David was the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. In all my time at Rice, I had never been before. As it turns out, it is quite a spectacle. It is held in and around Reliant Stadium, a structure which dwarfs the Astrodome, which was once called "the eighth wonder of the world." Upon arriving, I was shocked to see people riding a ski lift. I have no idea where it took them. I was also awed by a truck perched on a fifty foot pedestal and an enormous ferris wheel that was even taller. I guess I had forgotten that everything really is bigger in Texas.

After checking out the carnival, we went inside to see the livestock. The cattle there were significantly bigger and healthier than the gaunt, scrappy cows that you see in Nicaragua. But the best part was watching the judging. If you closed your eyes, you could almost imagine that you were listening to judges at a beauty pageant. Actually, it was a beauty pageant, just for a different species that what I was used to. Upon reflection, I think the bovine competition is probably a better event because at least the cows don't develop self-esteem issues by participating.

After the livestock show, the rodeo started. Once again, this was a huge production. The last rodeo I had been to was in Siuna, Nicaragua. It consisted of about ten severely drunken cowboys trying to ride a few bulls. In Houston, on the other hand, there were more events than I ever thought possible. Most impressive is where a pair of men on horseback work in tandem to rope a running calf. The first ropes the calf's horns and gives a strong tug, forcing it to kick it's hind legs. At that instant, the second cowboy throws a lasso underneath the calf's feet, which are only in the air for a split second. The fact that they are ever successful really shocked me. It made me revise my opinion that hitting a baseball is the hardest feat in sports. I now stand corrected. And humbled.

After the rodeo, we watched a concert by Pat Green, a very popular performer in Texas. They brought out a rotating stage, shot off tons of fireworks, and put on an impressive show, especially considering that they only had 30 minutes to set up after the rodeo ended. All told, we spent more than eight hours at the rodeo. It was an exhilarating day and a very appropriate way to celebrate my wonderful stay in Houston.