Happy New Year's Eve, Dallas Style

Since moving here on Wednesday, we have gotten sort of lost several times while driving (most of those have been my fault), been to Target about as many, and spent a considerable amount of time at the prestigious NorthPark mall (which we cannot afford to shop at). That mall is just about visible from our humble abode, and is quite safe to walk around in.

I cannot say as much for the street we now call home. Joey told me I'm not allowed to go walking on it because we haven't seen any other women out walking around alone. Or with men. (Or who were white.)

Our apartment complex is quite fine and, aside from being the minority, we like it just fine. (I have had two other unconfirmed "white people" sightings.) The little girls just adore Henry, and it's very quiet.

Except, of course, when your neighbor is cranking her(?) booty music at 10:30p.m. because of her New Year's party. That's the only time we've head anyone. And to solve that problem, we just cranked up our movie a little bit louder. (We were watching Sense and Sensebility, and our neighbor could have used some.)

We were also treated to a very interesting drama--something Quite Serious must have taken place at the apartment complex just over. There were at least 5 fire engines and about as many police cars with their lights flashing. It was some kind of fire because the fire hose was out and the street was all wet. We didn't smell any smoke, though. Just burnt plastic.

At midnight, I poked my head out the porch window and heard the lovely sound of every person in the vicinity who was driving laying on their car's horn and hollering. It was quite cacaphonic. Joey was in the back room and missed it, poor fellow.

Sleeping also came with difficulty because it seems to be some kind of rite of passage around here to shoot fire-crackers (at least we hope that's what they were) in rapid succession. For a long time. Very late into the night.

All this drama and Henry still had the energy to try to jump on me at 7:30 this morning! I'd better get off this before Joey gets mad at me for hogging the lappy. We're at Panera snitching off their free WiFi...