Welcome to Fall

Thank god for the weekend. I slept in a little late Saturday morning. I slept till nine! That’s actually about three hours later than I normally get up. The reason for that is I stayed up too late Friday night.

So Teegan did make it into town Friday evening. For the meal that night, I was cooking hibachi for him, Lola, Hagan, Alaya, Yvette and me. It was a real feast of a meal and a total pain in my ass, but it’s what Teegan wanted, so I was fine making it. That’s what you do for the ones you love.

I spent about an hour doing all the prep work in the kitchen before ever even getting around to the actual cooking. It is what it is. The most time-consuming part of hibachi is getting everything ready. Really, the boring part of any meal. I’d hate to be a prep cook.

Once everything was finally ready for the flattop, it went very quickly. The smell of everything cooking together was fantastic. By the time Tee made it home, I was pulling everything off the grill. Talk about perfect timing. It was time to eat.

After dinner, Lola, Hagan and Alaya left us, so it was just Teegan, Yvette and I. We talked. We talked a lot about what his college life is like. Mostly, we just talked because we missed talking to him. It was a good night. Those ordinary nights are the ones I miss the most now that he’s off at college. Some drinks were had, and I might have had one too many craft beers. Before I knew it, it was past midnight. Yikes.

I was not used to staying up so late, so yes, I slept in Saturday.

Once I was out of bed, I went outside and started the sprinklers to water our poor front yard. The grass is truly struggling out there. I came back and made a little breakfast with the leftover fried rice and steak and threw a fried egg on top. Delicious.

It was LilyFest 2026. I went, and I was somewhat sad. It’s just not what it used to be ever since Ken Landon passed away five years ago. I am glad they are still throwing it, but it lost a lot of its luster and class when the festival switched hands. I go just because I want to show my support.

All this is to say, I still had a lot of fun. It’s cool seeing the community out and enjoying nature. Admiring the beautiful things in life. It’s nice to see people taking a break from the bullshit and going outside into nature.

For lunch, Yvette made some meatloaf and mashed potatoes for the same group of us that ate the night before. This was the second meal suggestion by Teegan. Nothing screams comfort food quite like meatloaf. It was certainly a bigger Saturday lunch than I’m used to having.. I was a bloated mess afterwards.

The rest of the day was primarily lazy. I did cut down some more branches and did some tinkering around in the yard. The bastard mesquite tree saplings just keep wanting to come back. Impossible bastards, but at least I am keeping up with them.

Teegan left us around six to go see some friends for that night, so Yvette and I had the evening to ourselves. Not really wanting to make a meal, and still with plenty of leftovers, we cooked some noodles and made a meal with what we had. It was a nice, relaxing night, and we were both pretty tired from the day.

Sunday, Teegan got a head start on the road around noon. And just like that, the weekend was over. I didn’t blame him for wanting to get going. It was a long drive to make. I was just glad that we got to spend some time with him, even if it wasn’t a full 48 hours. I’ll take whatever time I can get with that kid. We had more time with him soon enough when we go to College Station for the Citadel game come mid-October.

It was a pretty uneventful day. I eventually made my way to the library to finish up some homework. I must say, I am enjoying schoolwork.

Monday morning, Jays started singing at 7:08. The days are starting later.

I was, unfortunately, stuck in the office. This was my first full week of office duties in over a month. I’d been lucky enough to have vacation on those weeks. Not so lucky now. The only time I was able to escape was for the Staff Senate meeting. A rather bloated affair that was. People just kept chiming in on what they thought needed to change. There was a lot of discussion, a lot of opinions, and absolutely no indication that any of it would actually result in anything. These new members are just not yet as jaded as I. This is my sixth year… Unfortunately, nothing ever does change.

The weather was finally — FINALLY — changing. Three weather systems were all converging upon Texas. Remnants of Hurricane Polo from the Pacific, warm Gulf moisture from the south, and a cold front bearing down on us from the north. It was bloody October already!! It should feel like fall! It should already be soup weather! I should be thinking about pumpkins!

When the temps did change on Wednesday, everyone seemed to be in a better mood. The oppressive heat was on everyone’s nerves. Everyone had had enough of it. Cooler weather and cloudy skies just elevated the mood of everyone, and the rain was a welcome sight. I know I was happy. I actually liked going outside. For the last few months, I have dreaded stepping into the day.

While at the library working on an assignment, I took a break to wander around. I started pulling random books and looking at the dates they were stamped with. A final due date such as October 30th, 1969. Has the book been pulled from the shelf since then, or am I the first person in all these years? Begs the question. I wondered when they stopped stamping the books.

Just pulling books, checking out the due dates and smiling a lot. Those were different times. I think that is one reason the library appeals to me in so many ways. It’s like going backwards in time to a simpler place in history. I think that’s another reason I’m really drawn to the library. Does this make me a nerd?

That night I had a real treat for us, Chick-fil-A. Somehow I was given a free small catering tray of my liking, so earlier in the day I set up a pickup at 7:30 for sixty-four chicken nuggets. Sixty-four. That’s a lot of damn food for two people, but it was free and I wasn’t going to pass it up. I should have asked the manager how the hell I lucked out with that. I have only ever been given one free sandwich or breakfast item here and there, never anything close to a $40 item.

Needless to say, we had leftovers. I repurposed some as a chicken nugget egg breakfast taco and chicken nugget biscuits.

I have been watching g a lot of horror films this year and I haven’t done the reviews like I did last year. I suppose school is taking that little time away? Nah. That’s an excuse. So Thursday night Yvette and I watched a movie from 1976. A little movie called The Town that Dreaded Sundown.

I really am not sure why I had not seen the film. I live in Texas and this is based on “true events” in a border town with Arkansas that I jaw, unfortunatly, been to. And it’s considered a classic in many horror communities. What the hell!!

I found myself very into the film. I was expecting something of a slasher like Friday the 13th, but what I got was much better. Even Yvette watched and enjoyed it with me. It was even comical at times. I was really kicking myself in the ass for never having seen the film in all my 45 years on this Earth. A 50 year old film.

The next night, I followed it up with the sequel, 2014. It existed in a world where the prior movie about not-real murders actually occurred. It was a fun follow-up. Was it good? Not really. We probably wouldn’t have been invested in it had we not watched the original the night before. It was fun, though.

The remaining week was just the same old bullshit. It was finally October, my favorite month. We didn’t get near the heavy, potentially flooding rain that was forecast, but we got a little, and every little bit counts. The temperatures remained nice and cool and mostly cloudy. Could fall actually be here for good? Fingers crossed.

Happy Friday!!