Monopoly banking.

(The first thing I've ever wanted to steal from my grandma.)
My grandmother is seriously the queen of all that is a grandmother. She batters me with conservative wisdom, she pesters me to get married and find a good job. But she also makes me hot cocoa and keeps her comments about my sleeping in to a minimum. A minimum. I sprung out of Pampa. But overall, taking grandma to the Nutcracker ballet in Amarillo, Texas was a bearable experience. It's important to note that the production of the Nutcracker was in the Amarillo Civic Center. And right down the hall, at the exact same time, there was a Gun and Knife Show.

America.

And now, I'm back in Norman, Oklahoma. Tomorrow, I'm going for a merit test and my alcohol server's permit. Mattlahoma moved and is now living with 3 other boys. I don't need to describe conditions (or the bathroom), you already know. I'm sure of it. With my frequent trips to Norman, the spare bedroom in Matt's parents house had come to be known at Cat's Room. I certainly miss that comfort. And Matt's mom. That lady rules.

Even though you wouldn't believe me if I told you, there are good people here with tremendously large hearts. And I am grateful to all of them.

It's been super cold here. And I did not pack accordingly (thanks, weather.com). And there's a chance of a small scale ice storm on Thursday, the day I was planning on leaving. I guess it's only fair. I did manage to drive all the way to Canada in the dead of winter with almost no weather issues. Can't help but feel like I'm still owed a few snow-free travel days, though. It okay Momma Nature, I know you don't operate on a barter system.

I know that I have this awesome D80 and I love it with all my heart. But, sometimes, I don't feel like lugging my D80 and its ultra protective case with me everywhere I go. I miss being able to capture those amazing spur of the moment photograph opportunities. I feel like the D80 makes all of my pictures sort of planned out. Hence, I'm still considering investing in another point and shoot. Is this bad?

I feel like if I could only take a few steps forward, my full-fledged adult life would be right in my grasp. But those steps are through the most disgusting mud I've ever seen. So, I'd much rather totter on the edge, regardless of how unbalanced it makes me feel. If only I knew how to jump.

'Merica.

From the Oklahoman:

LOS ANGELES - Barack Obama is getting praise from Nashville, courtesy of one big, patriotic country star.

Toby Keith, perhaps best known to non-country audiences for his post-Sept. 11 song "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue," says he's a Democrat, and was impressed by the senator from Illinois.

Keith, an Oklahoma native, has said in the past that the 2002 song — which included lines aimed at the Taliban like "we lit up your world like the Fourth of July" — was more patriotic than pro-war.

Asked while promoting his new movie Beer For My Horses about the role of patriotism in the current presidential election, Keith replied: "There's a big part of America that really believes that there is a war on terrorism, and that we need to finish up.

"So I thought it was beautiful the other day when Obama went to Afghanistan and got educated about Afghanistan and Iraq. He came back and said some really nice things.

"So as far as leadership and patriotism goes, I think it's really important that those things have to take place. And I think he's the best Democratic candidate we've had since Bill Clinton. And that's coming from a Democrat."


...

Yes, that's right, the star of Beer For My Horses thinks it's beautiful, BEAUTIFUL, that a presidental candiate got some learning on the middle east. And correct, the singer of lyrics like "we lit up your world like the Fourth of July" is a democrat.

FORD TRUCKS.

Who watches the Watchmen?

My trip was as grand as it could have been, only a little short. Highlights included:

-Grandma's new storm celler. New Mexico, getchoo some twisters so I can have one.

-Getting Gas in Amarillo at the Toot n Totum. I saw 6 whole black people outside. Shock insued. Last time I checked, Texas was still holding minorities in pins at the border.

-Witnessing quite possibly the best Last Day of Employment festivites ever. Matt's old manager at Pac Sun quit his job and to celebrate got stinking drunk. At work. I watched him kick down entire merchandise racks, rip board shorts to shreds, throw a $2,000 mannequin at a power flush toilet (breaking both), scream at old people, play Welsey Willis's imortal working class anthem "Take This Job and Shove It" through the store PA, and finally, after removing his name tag, pull a pint in a paper bag out of his back pocket and start drinking right in the middle of the store. Motivational is the choice adjective.

-Saw Saves the Day and felt about 16 for a few songs. The Bud Light in my hand threw me back into reality.

-Ate biscuits and gravy. Do this as often as possible when you're in the South. (Okay, so Oklahoma's not the SOUTH south, but it's southern enough.)

-Rancid saves. Always has, always will. Little rays of sound sunshine from my iPod.

I feel not so much better, but more confident I'm getting a grip on all this. I guess that was really what I was looking for, a bit of control. Everytime I visit OK, I get these amazingly strong impulses to start over and move out there. So, here they are again.

I AM THE TAX MASTA. On top of filing mine and my mom's, I helped Maria with hers last night. It took fordamnever, but we eventually got it. And she's getting a lot of money. To celebrate, we're going to Tucanos sometime soon.

Like a sign from sweet little 8 pound, 2 ounce baby Jesus, these precious things from Okie Dokie Bassets will be ready for pick up ON MY DAMN BIRTHDAY.




So, if you want to get me the best present of my life, I'll take these two sisters and name them Buscemi and Dr. Manhattan. I think the top one's Dr. Manhattan. But, I'm also going to need a house to keep them in.

And you laugh about the scars.

Chicago only got worse. My attempts to stay positive completely failed when I went to leave the parking garage yesterday morning, only to discover that my car battery was dead. I called Matt and he came back to the garage and we hooked up jumper cables and waited for a few minutes. Then waited for some more minutes. Then some more. Nothing happened. Matt called his dad who informed me that I might have a battery that's not "maintenance free" and I might need to add water to it (WHY DID NO ONE EVER TELL ME ABOUT THIS? In the history of car repair, which I really, honestly try to make an effort to know about, this was never brought to my attention. I really hate being a stereotypical naive car-girl, but there it was. Did I ever feel stupid.) so we tried to get the caps off to add water, but nothing I had in my car would pry the caps off. So, there I sat, in my cold, non-functioning car, already thinking of the horror of hiring a tow truck back to New Mexico. That, dear friends, was depression. Luckily, after about 50 minutes of charge, the dang truck started up. I was so happy I jumped out of my truck and proceeded to jump all over the parking garage, literally leaping in the air, while Matt did what he calls his "big dick dance". So, Cat jumps, Matt dances. These are priceless memories, all thanks to potential disaster.

Moral of that story is I will never, EVER go to Chicago again. So, don't ask me if you're looking for a road trip buddy to the windy shitty.

If that wasn't terror enough, Illinois decided that it would be awesome to have killer fog for a few hours. Only 40 minutes of my drive in that great state was clear enough to see anything. Freaking land of Lincoln, pssh, land of demon fog... I have never been so happy to see prairie once it lifted.

Yesterday marked the longest one-day drive of my trip, all the way from Chicago to Norman, 13 freaking hours. However, it was also the first time I had someone in the car with me, which RULED SO HARD. Matt's buddy Chelsey sat shotgun for about half the trip and we chatted and chatted. It was great to have company, but even better that the company was totally awesome. We got into Norman at about 1:00 in the morning and I slept til about 1:00 today. That ruled pretty hard too.

I ate both White Castle and Hardee's yesterday. Make the most of those regional fast food chains, you know. But, man, do I ever need to start eating some salads. I just feel slugish and so out of shape. I'm jumping on the healthy living band wagon once I get home.

Speaking of that, home. I think it finally set in today that this is over. My grand adventure, my great plan that I've had for 5 years that finally got action is up. Yes, I'm excited about getting home, seeing best friends and boyfriends and eating burritos, but damn. I just cannot believe it's up. It makes me really sad, honestly. I start full-time work on Monday. Really? But, I just cannot think of it in those terms. I'll take so many more trips like this in my life. Like I thought about leaving Canada, this is just the beginning.

There was a moment yesterday when I officially welcomed myself back to the west, when I looked up and saw this huge, open sky. I knew I missed it, but I didn't know I missed it that much. So, I'm happy to come back to all things familiar, but I can't wait to see what else there is.

New Mexico tomorrow. Mind is blown.

Land of the pines.

Gobble, emmer effers, Gobble!


I learned today that the McHughes family does up Thanksgiving right, with a feast that took up 4 folding tables, including drinks and dessert. Of course, that fed 40 people, but considering that my turkey day's rarely been larger than seating for 3, I was pretty taken. And also really, really, really, really thankful that they let me share it with them. I somewhat invited myself, after some drunken banter with Matt, but really, I couldn't have felt more welcome.

Like Cari, here's 10 things I'm thankful for.
1. My dog having an awesome home, even though I miss my wiggle butt a lot.
2. Both my parents having nice, warm homes to go to for dinner today.
3. Hint of Lime tortilla chips. Tasty!
4. My truck. Even if the headlight is being held up with tennis ball (picture to come later)
5. The lovely weather! Not a hint of bad driving in sight!
6. Maria, cuz she's a BADASS and coming to NYC to meet up with me over New Years. Time Square, here we come!
7. Hot buttered rum, made by Amy.
8. This computer still working, after how many times I've managed to drop it!
9. My boyfriend, for spending his entire day texting me about how much he wishes he was in Oklahoma. And no one wants to come to Oklahoma!
10. Wagon wheels on family farms at sunset. <3

Ma-at!

I've been having mouth issues. It all started after a too hot mug of cider from my beloved Frontier, which resulted in one of those terribly annoying top-of-the-mouth burns, the kind that you can not help but run your tongue over, therefore making the situation much worse. And I know this is kinda graphic, but normally when that happens, the top-of-the-mouth skin just peels off and it's fine after a day. Not this time! It's been worsening since I left Albuquerque. Today was the only day I've shown any kind of improvement.

Unfortunately, I came to Oklahoma, a place that averages 80% humidity. So of course, Cat-from-the-desert's body has a freakout and my allergies go zany. My throat's been all itchy and gunky since I got here. It doesn't help that Mattlahoma's a smoker.

Also, being in Oklahoma makes you burn through water. My mouth's constantly cotton (that sounds like a tea). I drink what feels like three gallons of water a day and never pee.

And now, you know everything you ever needed to know about my mouth. Fantastic blog!

Well, alright then.

Caution, this blog is jumpy.


It’s different this time.

I just re-read my intial departure post, where things were even more scary. I knew even less of my destinations and my intentions. But, this time, there really is a lingering sense of sorrow about leaving.

I still feel like this all snuck up on me, even after prolonging my departure date over and over again. This time, I was delayed because of two things; 1. Evolution announced they were looking for a new counter person. I put my name in the hat, for what could have become my dream job one of these days. However, two weeks after applying, no call back. It’s cool, I’ve always wondered if working there would destroy my love for that place. 2. I stayed to take my little brothers to Modest Mouse. That ended up being one of the best experiences I’ve had in a long time, since it was the first time Chase and Max had ever been to a concert. Max later declared it was the high point of his year. That, my friends, makes me one happy Gata. I’ve got this thing for live music, you see. The kind of thing had made me work for minimum wage at a venue for 2 years. And being able to share that with someone who’s never gotten to experience it was pretty incredible. Not to mention, the band wasn’t half bad live, either.

I really need to thank Kyle, Kenneth, Kate, Anderbenmans, Jennifah and Emoly for letting me sleep on their couches and futons, use their showers and eat their tasty food. I’m so lucky to know so many people with such big hearts that take such good care of me. Without you guys, there's no way I would be able to do what I'm doing. All of you are little hospitality angels.

Speaking of hospitality angels, I'll spend Thanksgiving in Norman with Matt and his family, much better than driving to Detroit tomorrow. I'm tired. No big plans while I'm here, just hanging out with good friends. And hopefully, not eating Fat Sandwich, since Matt works there now.

I'll probably head out of here on Sunday, giving me enough time to experience the madness that is Bedlam (and what's that?). By the way, if anyone has any tickets for that they'd like to give me, I'm down, since online tickets are anywhere from $70 to $5,000. But, please don't make me go alone.

Speaking of tickets, I know officially have to be somewhere on February 1st and 2nd. Chicago.


Dang!

A slow and constant ride.

At 6:37 this morning, the one known as Gata pulled out of her mother's driveway in Edgewood New Mexico and officially began her exploration of the great beyond.





Gata is currently in her second bedroom in Norman Oklahoma, where she will spend the Thanksgiving holiday.

There's a lot more to say about this. And about the fact I don't have hair anymore. But, all the Gata wishes to say right now is this:

SLIM JIM.

Men are mowing lawns.

It is HOT AS SHIT here. I can handle 95 degree weather. Seriously, don't even play. That's nothing. But, add freaking 80% humidity, and I'm ready for death. I walked over to the OU Art Museum, about a 20 minute walk from where I parked (illegally. I was almost hoping for an OU parking ticket. Good thing to show the parents!) and I think I lost about 5 pounds during that freaking walk.

Never in my damn life have I seen so many people mowing lawns as I've seen today. At least 20! People actually give a crap about yardwork here, I guess. It's like the northeast heights of Burk. But no xeroscaping. I'm sure if I tried to explain to Matt's dad (JIMMY) that we put rocks on our lawn in patterns, he'd just go, "What in the hell is that?"

Speaking of Matt's parents, they're pretty much the best people in the world. They make me feel so welcome every time I'm here, always offering thier food, their house. I've hit the free-places-to-stay jackpot when I'm here.


But, my favorite part of staying here is every night, Matt's mom puts out a bowl of cereal every night for Matt's dad to eat the next morning. I think it's probably the most precious thing on the face of the planet.

I keep having crazy suspension dreams, where it's more this preformance art piece. I'm in a gallery, with lots of fabric (thanks Kate!), but I'm hung in this weird rig that lets me change poses mid-air. Almot like aereal gymnastics. And always to "Firestarter" or "Stay By My Side Tonight" but the Jimmy Eat World. I wake up facing the complete different direction. Why, oh why, can't this happen?

Hey, if you're bored, and last night I was, I majorly revamped my pictures on the space. It's intense.

Six Flags tomorrow (Finally! Don't you dare flood, Texas!). Between that, going to bingo tonight, and Matt's sunroof, I'm a happy Gata.

Well, I was going to go to Six Flags today.

But, then it decided to rain in Texas.

They're saying that towns are getting an inch of rain every 15 minutes. I-35, the inerstate from Dallas to Oklahoma City is closed at the north border of Texas.

And where's the one city in North Texas that isn't flooded? Arlington. I'll give you a guess where Six Flags is.

Sad is Cat.

But, it's for the better. I can work on a few blags and nurse a grumpy throat back to health. I probably wouldn't have been able to scream anyway.

Weekend update, featurng zombies, okra, and rain.

Man, I have had some days in Norman!

Thursday: it rained. It's been raining a lot here. But, I decided, since I'm from the desert, to go take a walk in it. I took some polariods of the self-proclaimed cathedral of football,



Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.

I walked around the staduim, then the campus, which has lots of really great gardens and fantastic old brick buildings. When people ask me why I want to come Oklahoma, my number one reason is this University. Overall, I just enjoyed a lovely walk in the rain, under my black umbrella (thanks Maria! hehe) while listening to the Postal Service, but of course.

That night, Third Grade Scuffle opened up for The Aggrolites, something I was fantastically excited for. I love the Aggrolites in general, I think they're one of the most fun ska bands evah, but I heard they were recording with some dude named Tim Armstrong, I loved em even more.

I had an awesome time, dancing and whatnot. The band was super nice, which is always good. However, the turnout wasn't what I would have hoped, given the rain, and in grand Oklahoma tradition, most of the crowd hung out outside and smoked for the night. I also got to see the Rx Bandits on Wednesday, so all in all, Oklahoma music has been nice to me. (Getchoo some Aggro!)

Friday: was spent mostly at David's house, preparing to watch Zombie movies. We selected such fine titles as I Drink Your Blood, Dead and Breakfast, and the infamous Cannibal Holocaust, which we didn't get around to watching because everyone just got too drunk. Well, everyone except me. Of course. No, no, no, I got to clean up Matt vomit at about 4:30 in the morning. And spend the next hour and a half begging him to get out of the bathroom. GOOD NIGHT.

Saturday: I slept in really late, thankfully. When I get up, I called Tyler and we went to Walmart so I could get silly putty. Then, we headed over to Kidspace, a very fun city park, for a few hours. His parents invited me for dinner, which was so insanely nice, and I had steak. Yum! We spent the evening mini-golfing.

This morning, I woke up to the smell of okra being deep fried. I'm a happy Cat right now. I feel a little like I'm invading other people's father's day activities, but no one seems to mind. And there is fried okra.

I'm working on posts of more substance, but they're all incomplete. Including my Why in the hell would I want to come to Oklahoma post and something about the bombing. But, right now, all I care about is fried okra.

Beating up the National Guard for pants.

Stereotypes came true last night.

But, first off, let’s talk about Fat Sandwich Company. I guess it’s new to Norman and my first experience with it was also Matt’s. Lemme tell you what they consider a sandwich. Hamburger. Cheese sticks. Chicken Strips. Bacon. Mac and Chesse bites. Cheese whiz. Anything. You name it, they will put it on a sandwich. The one I really remember was the Fat Bleu, which was chicken strips, ham, cheese sticks, and honey mustard. I believe the only Matt got combined all of the ingredients I listed above. Plus an egg.

Also, it matters not what sandwich you order. All sandwiches have fries inside of them. It made me long for disaster burrito.

Also, the staff is exactly what you would think. Stoners. Who take forever to write down an order. Hey, this is COMPLICATED duuuude.

I played it safe and went with the breakfast sandwich. But, seriously, looking at the menu terrified everyone in our late night dinner posse. It was a heart attack.

Here’s my cute, little breakfast sandwich: sausage, egg, cheese and hashbrowns.



And here’s Matts. At many angles.




He finished it! His prize: near-vomit.


The thing about this place is it’s on “college corner.” So, basically, it’s surrounded by lots of trendy college bars. You can imagine their typical crowd, around the time the bars close. It’s easy, just think Frontier without the security and a little more Arian.

I went to Fat Sandwich Company with Matt and his friends Chelsey and Suzanne. We notice this complete bro walk in, shaved head, about 6 foot 5, wearing this shirt that has a gift tag on it that says “To: Women, From: God”, cut off jean shorts that were a little too tight, and some fantastic Air Jordans, circa 1992. So, let’s just say this man has no business commenting on fashion.

This woman walks in, looking a little tired, wearing camo pants. She walked up to God’s Gift to Women’s table at random and asks, very politely, not an ounce of cruelty or meanness to it, “Excuse, do you know what time it is.

As loudly as he can, God’s Gift to Women answers, “Time for you to get some new fucking pants!”

The woman handles it well. “Oh really, why? You don’t like camoflague? These are authentic army pants.”

“No, I like it. I have a pair of camo shorts. They’re the real thing too. I beat the fuck outta some pussy in the national guard for them!”

I start laughing my ass off. Mostly because I seriously cannot believe that’s even really happening. But, no this guy was serious.
“You beat up someone in the National Guard?”

“Fuck yes, I did. YEAH!”

“Why?”

“Because he was a fucking pussy and I could!”

“I’d like to see you try to beat up the man who these belonged to.”

“Bring him in here! I’ll go right now! I’ll fucking take anyone!”

He continues talking about how he beat the fuck outta this pussy and he’ll kill anyone, blah, blah, blah. The poor lady holds her ground, but just gets so frustrated at this tard, that she just walks out, without ever finding out the time. God’s Gift to Women thinks it’s amazing, high five-ing his fellow bros.

Really. I’m not kidding. I didn’t make a piece of that up. I had NO idea that people like that even existed. I am stunned. I don’t care how drunk he was, once I was done with my shock-laughter, I wanted to curb stomp him. I would have Xena-charged him, in honor of Maria (who I'm sure could have completely demolished him).

Ladies and gentleman, the worst of Oklahoma. Why would I ever consider living here? Well, that comes later.

OU Football?

Who: Cat and Mattlahoma.
What: A beef and cheese quesadilla from Taco Bell.
When: 3:30 am, after one too many Miller High Lifes.
Where: Driving down Lindsay St. in Norman Oklahoma.
Why: Happiness.

Bread.

I would like to begin by thanking The Lawrence Arms and the Aquabats. Without your fine music, I would not have made it across Kansas.

I was almost excited about that drive, as it was the first of my trip that I hadn't made before. In a way, I feel like this mini trip is almost a cop out, no real adventure. I've been to these places, I know these people. I don't feel that bold, that isolated, or that far away from home. So, driving through Kansas to Norman Oklahoma was appealing. (I took I-70 all the way to Salina Kansas, took a VERY EXCITING turn onto I-135, which turns into I-35 and took that all the way to Norman. In case you're curious.)

But, DAMN THAT STATE. It's almost romantic, all the wheat fields and silos and open space. But, that lasts for about an hour (if you're lucky) and then it's just painful. I mean, NOTHING. It'll make you crazy (I made some mpegs along the way of car-dancing. Those were promptly deleted.)

I had some great banter with the gas station clerk in Hays Kansas who asked me my new favorite variation: "Doesn't that hurt?"

"Nope. Not right now." He rolled his eyes and double-counted my bills. As I'm walking out the door, he says "You don't have to be so rude."

OR DO I?

But, I would like to congradulate Hays for having a mall named "The Mall" right next to a car lot named "The Car Lot". Impressive.

However, the most exciting part of my day was the random cow I saw hanging out in a pond. Yes, that's correct. EXCITING. It was hot, I don't blame him.

So, here I am in Norman Oklahoma. I'll pull the official mile count off my truck tomorrow, but I broke 1,000 today. It was an 11 hour drive.

The thing that always shocks me about Oklahoma is that it doesn't get cold when the sun sets. It's almost midnight and the temperature has dropped maybe 10 degrees since 2:00 pm. I guess I just expect that when the sun sets and the heat source goes away, things get colder. Nope. Illogical. I'm sure there's a fantastic environmental explanation as to why, but I like to think it's because people barbeque so much here.

Speaking of, I was SHOCKED to pass a billboard for Rudy's on my way into town. They must be expanding!

My last day in Denver was fun. Sarah and I tried an experiment to see if we could spend a fun-filled day in Denver without spending money. We almost suceeded, minus the $1.85 for a giant Coke from Subway. I don't think that counts. Me and Sarah spent most of the day downtown, admiring the big ol court houses and parks, as well as some nicely over-the-top public art.





Also, supremely classy of you Denver, here's little children swimming in a fountain.



Also, since Raton is the smallest town in the world, Sarah and me ran into two kids I went to high school with on the 16th Street Mall. Since I told them I was going to blog about it and they laughed, there that is.