Texas Heartbreakers :: Chapter 2 :: Lubbock Texas

Our first stop! Lubbock, Texas! It wasn't dark out yet, but it was getting late when pulled up to the "free camp area" we had mapped in Lubbock. The "camp area" was a small grassy spot next to a parking lot right off the busy road across from a gas station. No one was there, but it looked legit enough. Our tent went up quickly, and we cooked dinner over a little propane grill we brought. We'd go to downtown Lubbock tomorrow and do a little exploring. We brushed our teeth. Time to sleep. Our first night away from home. We both forgot to bring a pillow. We were comfortable enough though.

Lubbock is a small college town in Texas. The home of Lubbock Christian University, Texas Tech University, and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center is bound to have some cool kids! Buddy Holly was born here too, so this town MUST like live music! He played all around this small town with his band back in the 50's. We decided to take a little tour around town on the city bus before hittin' the streets to sing.

Money was tight, so we had to be careful what we spent it on or we'd end up heading back to Austin before we even got to the west coast. So we set aside enough money for gas to get back home and penny-pinched our way around. The bus was $1 each, and I put in a $5. First time on a city bus, I guess. You don't get change. Don't argue with the bus driver. Luckily the waiter at the resteraunt we had lunch at didn't charge for our drinks. He must have known, when all we ordered was a taco each, ate 2 baskets of chips, and asked for refills to-go!

There was a small strip of bars downtown going around one tiny block that boasted a huge mural of Buddy Holly. We saw plenty of opportunity there, and went back with the guitar when the sun went down. 

We played in a bunch of different spots, feeling like a rival team at an away game. A few people stopped to talk, but mostly, we just didn't fit in. They weren't used to it, didn't know what we were doing, or what to do. They looked at us like street peddlers, or looked away rather.

It was a discouraging start to our street performing tour. I hoped it wasn't a glimpse of what was to come. We went back to our "campsite" across from the gas station that night feeling low. There wasn't a bathroom, but the gas station was still open. We got ready for bed, packed the jeep to leave in the morning, and went to sleep with the hum of an 18-wheeler nearby. 

I didn't like Lubbock, but we were still having a great time. Anything that replaced the memory of my broken heart was fine by me. And in the morning, we could keep running. Wherever we wanted to go; however fast or slow. I felt so at home on the road.

Singing New Strings (by Miranda Lambert)

Aimlessly Seeking Comfort

Do you ever drive around, wondering where you're going? Sometimes I get all packed up and ready to go, get in my car and start driving somewhere, then decide I should go somewhere else, then almost get there, and decide to go home. It's not as simple as it sounds though.

Like this morning. I took a shower, got dresssed, packed my laptop, a couple notebooks, and another backpack full of stuff. See, that's part of the problem right there. I spend way too much time packing, deciding what to pack, looking for things, moving things, and unpacking things. I always bring more to do than I ever get done, and more than I need. And that's time consuming!

I usually start off knowing where I'm going. My plan was to go to Starbucks and drink coffee while I used their WI-FI and sorted through paperwork. I drove right past it though. Then I changed my mind and went back. I only got a coffee, then I left. I felt like I needed a more comfortable place to work, but I didn't want to go home, because of my furniture moving problem. I would probably get distracted cleaning and rearranging.

I need a good spot, a regular place where I can get coffee and use WI-FI that's comfortable and has a good view. I drove towards the beach wondering if I'd see one, and if I did see one, would I be brave enough to go in a new place...

The ocean air felt good on my skin and I breathed it in deeply as I sat at a red light watching a guy struggle with his surfboard on a bike. I wish I had an open-air cabana right outside my bedroom door. One with curtains for privacy, an amazing view, and lots of pillows and table top space. There would be a ceiling fan, a soft blanket or two, and those little white lights that look like stars in the night sky. The flowers all around would make the breeze smell like heaven, and candles would make the shadows dance when the sun went down. That would be perfect.

I pulled into another Starbucks down the road, giving myself a second chance to get some work done. After sitting in my car doing my makeup in the parking lot for ten minutes, I left. I drove towards my apartment hoping for inspiration, and wound up back home after all, where I laid my paperwork all over my bed, opened the window facing the pool, turned on the fan, and surrounded myself with pillows and candles. 

New Apartment

I keep cleaning and rearranging, cleaning and rearranging. I think I have a furniture moving problem. But seriously, if no one ever sits in that chair, it's in the wrong place.

I got through 5 days in a row of my Tony Robbins CD's. I was meditating and planning my destiny for 2 weeks straight after my job ended at Brookstone. Things were going great! They still are though. It's never too late anyway. But I feel like I've taken a step back. I've lost my focus.

In spite of that, I have to say, I am the queen of being unemployed. I've spent the most part of the last 5 years getting by on assistance and a little freelance web design on the side. School was good too :) I'm glad I've been able to swing it so that I could be available for SB so much. I can't believe she's turning 5 in a couple days! OmG!!!

It really felt good working though. Having a set schedule and so much to do everyday kept me going. I wish I could enjoy my time off more, but I feel like a bum most the time if I don't leave the house and all I do is "play" on my laptop and do art projects with the kids. Getting dressed up and wearing makeup helps a little. And getting out of the house.

We have so much stuff now! I can hardly believe it! Last October we moved into this appartment with little more than our clothes and a 4' tall scratch post that SB thinks is hers to sit on top of, not the cat's. It was the first and only piece of furniture we'd acquired so far. The room we were renting in Laguna Hills was furnished, so we hadn't really needed anything.

For several weeks after moving from Laguna Hills to our apartment in Huntington Beach, we slept on the floor. There were no lights in the bedrooms and we didn't have a lamp, but the dining room had lights and a ceiling fan, and the best view of the pool. Our first night there, I realized how little we really had. It wasn't like staying at a hotel with a coffee maker and clean towels. We had 2 dirty beach towels, no coffee or coffee maker, instant oatmeal, but no pan, bowl, or microwave, ONE blanket, and ONE pillow. Our first night here, I found a blanket in the closet that someone left behind, and I got so excited I think I even screamed!

With a suitcase as a nightstand, a jar of peanut butter, and one plastic spoon for the two of us, we got comfortable and watched the only DVD we had on a little portable DVD player we brought from MA. I felt on top of the world having the whole place to ourselves, even if just for a few nights, until we got roommates. After renting the room in Laguna Hills, it was nice to have some space, and a little more privacy and freedom!

It's funny how your perspective changes your feelings about places and situations, and things. If we had moved here right after losing the little yellow house in Texas with its' yard, and garage, and stainless steel everything, we might have hated it! We probably would have been bothered by noisy neighbors, stained carpet, and having to walk a block to the car (that I didn't have yet). But I was in heaven when we got this place, and I still love it more than anywhere I've ever lived!

The view of the pool, and the jacuzzi with steam rising from it, all blue and lit up at night, takes me away to a place where I'm laughing with friends, painting my nails a bright color, and flipping through a fashion magazine. Even when I'm really just stuck washing dishes, I feel like I'm there.

We looked for a pool in Laguna Hills all last summer, but the only options were to jump a fence to the neighbors, or pay $8 at a public pool that would take an hour to get to by bus. I thought our room in Laguna Hills would at least have a view of a pool. The Google satellite map showed the neighbors on all sides having pools, but it wasn't how imagined it. We had a view of a cliff instead. lol!

Now I finally have the view that I want, and a pool we can use. And the best part is, I'm grateful for it, everyday.