Location, Location, Location


It stopped raining long enough for me to mow both yards. That sound you heard was the good neighbors breaking out the noise makers and champagne to celebrate not having to look at my over grown back yard anymore.

Sadly. It looks better over grown then freshly sheared. The muddy, patchy quality really comes out when there isn’t a, um, lush covering of grass to cover it up.

After dogger and I came back from our walk in the historical district “Where inflated real estate values meet inflated historical value”, and their very lovely cemetery “Where history meets fate”. I put dogger into the back yard. She didn’t know where she was.

She gets a rash every time I put her back there, but it’s been so long since either of us have used it, and she is freshly tick and flea prevented, I figure it will be a nice change of pace for her. I haven’t mopped the kitchen floor in a couple of months so maybe it will be a good thing for me to. After I bring dogger in I’m going to put Kitty out there.

Daisy was out there for forty – five minutes and dug a hole the size of the Chunnel. I am so proud.

Speaking of things in the ground. My potatoes finally sprung! I was really concerned that they were not going to grow at all and now I seem to have two plants! Yay! It would be even more cool if they would produce some produce but I’m not done being happy that I was right about just cutting up an existing potato and putting it in the ground. In actuality you don’t even have to put them in dirt to get potatoes; you can plant them in hay as well. I won’t be trying that, but it can be done.

Daisy is right now destroying her monkey toy. So far she has removed its brain and is working on eviscerating it. She didn’t kill her old one for months and she’s had this one for like an hour. She also finished off her Kong toy. She is one destroyed toy away from me just giving her a log to chew on.


Earlier, while dog and I were touring the historical district, I passed a couple of homes for sale. I want to know how a place that’s 400 scare feet smaller then mine with fewer bathrooms and a smaller kitchen on a lot that isn’t even as big as mine can be worth $130,500 more and have the nerve to take the landscaping with them. It’s a nice place, but dayum pave the drive way at least.

That was place number two. Place number one is even nicer and comes with a view of the opulent historical cemetery, established 18 “oh My God they freed the slaves we can’t possibly be forced to be buried with them as well”69 (it isn’t even all that historical, the city cemetery was established in 1789).

Back to place number two . It is $200,000 more then my house. Its sheet came with color pictures of the interior and back yard. Lets see, built 1930, hard wood through out, mine too! original windows, mine too! Side porch entrance ( no garage) me too! Modern eat in kitchen, check! French doors, check! Whoa! Like twins! Built ins, generous closets, abundant storage! Wow me too! , I have all that too. $299,500 for a place that isn’t even 2000 square feet.

I think it is the proximity to drug dealers that makes the difference. It’s the difference between having a drug dealer or living next door to a drug dealer They add $5000 for every block further away they are. This place is swanky, but it’s within blocks of Fort Apache South. The area where I get hassled by street people and wandering speed freaks in closer to this house then to mine. One block past the sign marking the Historical District is a burned out four plex and a neighborhood the cops won’t go to.

The people in that house probably don’t even know where the drug dealers live. Fortunately for them their real estate person does know and she added $199,500 to price.


Something else that caused me stress.

They are changing the name of my college. They did it several times in the past going from a Normal School to a Teachers College to a University. Fine. Time marches on. But,

The Texas House of Representatives passed the third reading of Senate Bill 1942 changing the name of SWT to ”Texas State University – San Marcos” last night. Since there were no changes to the bill, the bill will be sent to Governor Perry for his consideration.

That is a stupid name. They couldn’t come up with anything better?

True, the school is not technically south or west of anything, but the new name is dopey and you know they aren’t going to issue me a new diploma either. I’m going to have to change my resume to read “Texas State University – San Marcos, nee’ Southwest Texas State University. Blech.

There was a popular tee shirt while I was there it read - “Fuck You, We’re From Southwest Texas State”. Concise and to the point, it said what you could do and where you could find us if you had a problem with it. It roles so pleasingly off the tongue, while “Fuck You, We’re From Texas State University - San Marcos” doesn’t role so much as trips over its own feet and splashes it’s beer all over. It’s the difference between, “We’ve come to party, we’ve come to get down” and “We’ve crashed your party, we’re here to fall down”.

I’m so glad I got out when it was still SWTSU – the University of Shiner at San Marcos.