Chrissy's Blog

This isn’t the most flattering picture of Travis’ sister, but it was the best one I had of her with the evil whistle. After a big family day at Travis’ parents’ house, the kids decided to go out. Travis, Erika, his brother Aaron, his brother’s wife Sarah and I went to an Artown event called “Carnival Extravaganza.” It was a circus themed Burlesque show. I though, except for a few nearly terrifying acts, it was fascinating. Some performers on stilts gave us all clown noses, and Erika found a whistle on the table. After the show, we decided it would be great to run into a bar with our clown noses, demand shots, take them, and leave. The first bar we found was called “Filthy McNastys.” We executed our plan and continued on to another bar called “Good Times.” This time however, Erika decided to buy us double shots. Anyone who knows me knows I am not much of a shot taker, let alone the monster shots that were in my hand. As I slowly sipped my whiskey and chased each sip with some coke, I nearly dropped my drink when I heard a whistle and turned to see Erika pointing at me. She continued to blow her whistle until I finished my shot. It was a lot of pressure and a lot of whiskey! The night was really fun and perhaps one might say a bit crazy, but we won’t dwell on those things.

Friday night Travis and I went out to dinner, pizza, and beer. Afterward we went to a party his friend, Lee, from high school was having. It was to be the last chance they would have to hang out before Travis leaves for New York. I have been there once before. Both times we have gone, we walk in the door and everyone is drunk and immediately starts cursing at us for not being likewise. Lee is very nice and polite, and I know he means a lot to Travis, but the company he keeps is, well, not my cup of tea. We stayed long enough for Travis and Lee to catch up a bit, hug, and say goodbye. It’s unfortunate that they couldn’t spend more time together.

We were arriving home when I realized I needed a picture. Luckily when we arrived and entered Travis’ house, we were greeted by his roommates’ dog Bowser. Bowser’s tail is too large for his slender body, so when his tail wags, it moves the entire back half of his body causing him to walk in a zig-zag. It’s a very comforting thing to come home to. Also, Bowser loves Travis more than he loves his actual owners. Travis will often dance with Bowser, as he is doing in this picture. I’ve never seen a dog embrace dancing as much as this one.

Travis’ sister Erika was in town visiting last week. Travis talks about her a lot, and I was very excited to meet her. She, like me, had never had the Reno staple, the Awful Awful. Short for “Awful Big and Awful Tasty.” It was amazing. We were originally supposed to go at 5, but it got pushed back to 7. I was starving and unfortunately ate a cup of blueberries. Travis assumed that meant I wouldn’t be able to finish my own “Awful, Awful,” so we split one. MISTAKE. It was fantastic, and I have every confidence that we could probably have finished our own if we had ordered two. The pound of fries that it comes with might have been a different story. It was a good night though. After our greasy spoon, we went to West Second Street Bar where they were hosting a karaoke competition. Some of the people there were truly spectacular. At one point, the DJ sang NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye” and two young guys got up on the floor and attempted to do a choreographed boy-band dance. I tried to film it, but it came out blurry. After a beer, I got the courage to sing “9 to 5” by Dolly Parton. I love that karaoke rush.

A 4:45AM picture of Renown. Fortunately, I found out the schedule got changed around, and I am now working at 6AM for the next couple of days. I was enthused to say the least.

In the center of the Renown Regional Medical Center is the Healing Garden. Recently a duck couple moved in, and they quickly were expecting ducklings. Employees all over the hospital were talking about the family. The ducklings were born a day or so ago, and today they were promptly removed from the campus. Why, Renown, why?!?!

My stomach was still iffy on Tuesday, and this was dinner. The parents were out to celebrate the 26th anniversary of their very first date. Aw. I ate this, some crackers, and began Season 3 of Mad Men.

Monday brought what is proving to be a loooong week at work. My shift this week begins at 4:45AM which means I have to wake up at 3:45AM. It’s inhuman. It’s not even like I am waking up in the morning. I am getting out of bed in the middle of the night. Monday was especially difficult as something I ate at the BBQ was not agreeing with me. I felt horrible all day and couldn’t eat. On my way home, I passed what appeared to be a chicken wing festival. July is Artown in Reno with a bunch of fun events, none of which I have been able to partake in just yet. I liked the ominous Silver Legacy dome on my drive home.

Travis and I continued our weekend of having other people feed us (his parents treated us to dinner the night before) by meeting my parents for sushi. This is only the third time I have ever had sushi, but I really like it. My one complaint is that I have no idea what I like. The waitresses have so many dishes to bring out that they kind of just throw the rolls on your table without telling you what you are about to eat. A dangerous situation when my father is a fan of eel. Sushi restaurants in Reno only come in one variety, all you can eat. This apparently does not happen in other cities. But, yes, in Reno, you pay one price, and you order until you are blue in the face. A friend of Travis’ actually does not drink water at all while eating sushi, that way the rice doesn’t expand in his stomach and he can fit more in. Now that’s thrifty!

We spent the rest of the day alternating between sleeping, eating more, and watching movies. Nothing productive, but sometimes those days are the best. We also borrowed my father’s super-fancy telescope from the 70’s and stargazed. I hadn’t used the telescope since I was a little girl, and I forgot how powerful it was. You could see every crater on the moon. Travis and I sat in his back yard for a couple hours gazing at the stars. Not the expected Saturday night for two 23-year-olds, but it sure was nifty!

Friday night, we hung out with a friend of Travis who was visiting from London before her move to Boston. Her and her friends are drinkers. I haven’t been around that scene in a while. Going out drinking for me usually consists of a beer or two, followed by yawning and the eventual turning in early. The night was fun though, as I revisited the college days. I was immediately enthused when we showed up in time for a game of flip-cup, probably my favorite game from back in the day. There was also a game of beer pong with much disputed rules. Every time I have seen a game played in Reno, they play by the strangest rules the likes of which I’ve never seen before. It’s difficult, because the rules I have always played by are universally acknowledged at the University of Washington even among friends from as far away as Chicago and San Diego but are absolutely unheard of here. It made me homesick for my friends in Seattle.

Travis sold his truck on Thursday, for cash!! I was napping when I got the phone call from the very excited boy who felt very free to be rid of the constraints of gas, oil changes, insurance, etc. As a celebration we went to Dairy Queen for some ice cream. After our treats, he let me look at the money. It was easily the largest amount I have ever been in the presence of. I kept expecting someone to break into his house and hold us at gunpoint.

There was another picture from this night. On top of selling his truck for cash, Travis was also able to unload a large amount of Elvis memorabilia. It took some convincing, but I got him to pose with the life-size cardboard cutout, even doing the sneer. It is a picture that I will treasure for all times, but I am under the impression that he would rather not have it up on the internet. Understandable. I remember in the early days of dating, I saw a record he had pinned above his desk in his bedroom. He explained to me that it was an Elvis record. When he was young, he made himself a mixed tape of songs he liked, one of which was “All Shook Up” by Elvis Presley. One day, he was listening to the song when his mother walked by and informed him that he was listening to the king. His mother decided then and there, that her son was a HUGE Elvis fan. Every subsequent birthday and Christmas, he was showered with Elvis memorabilia from various members of his family. He liked Elvis, but never knew how to break it to his mother that the Elvis stuff was a bit out of hand. He amassed quite a collection, until he freed himself of it Thursday. He now has an Elvis coffee mug and the aforementioned record, a healthy amount. It’s just one of the MANY endearing things about the boy I call mine.

Sadly, I apparently have to wait until we have been dating 14 months until he’ll do the Elvis legs for me. Believe you me, that day is marked on my calendar!