November No More

November would have been a very monotonous month if it weren't for Thanksgiving. You know, work, home, sleep, doggy, husband, etc. We had settled into a perpetual routine, right down to when the dog pees and poops. Then my parents came here for Thanksgiving and broke up the monotony, in a very good way, of course.

Let's see, on Thanksgiving day I was post-call and basically greeted my parents in my jammies and went to bed until dinner. Hubby and my mom cooked our Thanksgiving turkey and untraditional fixings. I gave myself the permission to have the weekend off. I was already off from work, but I let myself off of ALL work. I didn't lift a single finger for the whole weekend. Somehow my family accepted this unspoken agreement of my total laziness and the three of them cooked and served. Not that I think I deserved it in someway, maybe I just took advantage, or maybe I was just tired. Before my parents left, they had cooked enough to stuff full our whole freezer and then some.

Whenever I've been able to get off at a decent time this month, I've been driving to a neighborhood across the highway to take walks with Hiro. It's a bit of hassel to drive off for a walk but somedays it's worth it. I feel like I'm "borrowing" the neighborhood since I don't actually live there. It has to be one of Dallas's most expensive neighborhoods with the prime location, huge houses, lovely old trees, nice seasonal decorations and professionally maintained lawns. There's also a little park with water fountain, ducks, and several inconspicuous stands that dispense disposable doggy poop scoopers. How cool! However, what's not conspicuous is that it's a largely Caucasian neighborhood. Any "foreigners" are the dark-haired nannies on the playgrounds looking after little blonde children and the lawn manicurists driving in their "lawncare" pickups. When I skip across the highway back to my neighborhood, I'll always see people waiting at the bus stop or walking down the sidewalk with grocery bags in hand. My neighborhood is mostly apartments buildings and condos, one of which was a Katrina housing. I see people of all colors here. This is also where we have a homeless man sneaking into our condo building at night and have frequent reports of auto thefts. The other neighborhood has their own police force in SUVs while we have a neighborhood watch group online. Their neighborhood have Oriental rug stores and boutique cookie shops and we have a bar and Condoms To Go store nearby. I only write this because I can't help but notice the differences! So this is America where the racial, social and economical divides are still so evident before my very own eyes. Part of me would like to think that this country has progressed more than this but I'm a bit disappointed to see it's not so. It seems like in America, the rich today tends to be rich tomorrow and the poor stay poor perpetually, Asian immimgrants notwithstanding. Keeping-it-in-the-family style. I really don't have an organized point to make. I'm no social commentator or political scientist so I'm sorry if you think I'm going anywhere deep with this. I'm just a lay person making an observation. Oh yeah, no where near do I see many Asians around me, except for the international students who, like myself, temporarily take up residence where dwelling is affordable and the drive is convenient. By and large, settled Asians like to live in subburbs on the outskirts of Dallas where houses are big, land is abundant and cows are nearby. True Texas style. I am jesting just a bit but ha, joke on me, as hubby and I will probably be one of those people someday. The pull of my ethnicity!

I also want to mention that on my semi-regular walks, I've met some dogs and their owners. For one thing, Hiro is too friendly and insists on greeting every living thing that we pass, both the two-legged and the four-legged. And the other thing, dog owners tend to be friendly and like to stop and chat about their dogs. Funny how we usually exchange dog names but rarely our own. I've met a man and his schnauzer named Drowser, a female nurse with her pomeranian named Dinky, and another lady with a black short-haired mutt named Shadow. I'm grateful for some doggy interaction for Hiro and bits of useful doggy advice for myself.

Bye bye November, until next year.