July 25th, 2010

Spent three nights in a row since July 20th with my Sister and Brother in law,  and a few of their kids.   As usual they treated me as an honored guest,  taking me to dinner each night,   and being kind in general.    My older sis and husband,  are the greatest hosts imaginable.   My parents, being excellent hosts as well,  set me up in a "catfree" room,  and I have enjoyed my stay more than usual due to this.  

I really enjoy the "Trinity Hall" restaurant in Allen, Texas,  which is a quite authentic,   Irish Pub with a fair amount of English cuisine.

Friday,  I hung out with my old friends "Charles and Melissa",  spent the night partying by their parents pool in a very large house out in the country of the North Dallas area.   Met another old friend Brian that night,  hadn't seen him for twenty years.   We all played trivia, under the north Texas Stars.  Wow!  Its nice to know people!!!!!

Saturday,  I hung out with my Persian (Iranian) friend "Reza",   and a friend of his friend,  a lovely lady in her late thirties,  whom I'll refer to as "Mal",  since I don't know her entire name.

Reza,  took me to a couple Persian restaurants on Saturday,  and our conversations,  were mainly politics,  but "Mal" a visitor,   was decent in her English,  and fun to talk to as well. Reza

is always trying to fix me up with Iranian women,  and that "Mal",  seemed a bit fluffy, but worth a second gander.   She wouldn't make a very good camping companion is my guess.

Had a good time watching "Fiddler on the Roof",  an although "the movie glorifies Jews",   (in Rezas words),   We both still enjoyed it due to the humor and choreography.     Later Reza went to bed,  and turned up the Persian radio,  in the nearby hallway before he crashed.     I didn't know why he likes a loud radio at night,  but I forgot about it,   and tried to watch another movie,  and could only hear part of what was said.      I tried to sleep and with the radio screaming in my ear,  and the ambient 82 degree temperature I layed in a pool of sweat until four oclock in the morning.  Finally,  I pulled out my own radio and shoved the earphones in my ears,  then it sounded like loud English bullshit,  with the persian loudly in the background.

Two hours later,  Reza spares no noise,  and once I informed him of my lack of sleep, graciously allowed me a couple more hours, before the banging in the kitchen woke me up for good.  He said it was my own fault for not waking him up about the noise, or the temperature...  I told him that I don't feel that a humble guest should be a "complainer".   Which is exactly what the bastard accused me of a bit later!

After a decent breakfast of cream cheese on bread,  Reza starts to talk on the phone in Farsi, for the next hour or two,  while pretending to make that evenings dinner.    So I sit from 11 AM till 2 PM in a chair,  with no TV,  one Persian newspaper,  and watch him talk on the phone and slowly prepare a meal, that might have taken me thirty minutes to cut up and put in the slow cooker.    He did notice my total boredom and asked me if I was bored?

    I said "Hell yeah!  I'm bored", but I had no way out of there,  and that "watching him talk on the phone for hours at a time in a foreign language,   was going to cause me to kill myself,  unless,  he could kindly take me home to my parents".   He said "Ok,  but let me finish getting the cooking ready right quick"....   So I remained in a chair for another hour...... then he went into his room,   I assumed it was to get his keys and to drive me away from this dungeon.   He didn't return, for the next thirty minutes. 

   By 3:30 PM,   I had enough,   by then I was relegated to sitting 4 and one half hours in the same chair with absolutely nothing to do, watch,  talk to, or anything.  This is the worst treatment I've ever experienced as a guest before,  and I had no way to leave,  since Reza is the one who brought me there.   I had asked to go several times,  but was kindly put off.

    At 3:30 I was done. Voting with my feet,  I left his house,  slid down a few alleys,   cut through a few yards,  and was on a major street in the City of Plano,  and went inside a "Starbucks", and had a cup of coffee.   I was about to call a friend or taxi for a ride, but   Reza soon called me, and picked me up,  I told him I would only enter the car if guaranteed that I would get a ride straight home.     Reza did apologize,  I did as well,  but I don't think he realized how rude he was.  I did try to explain my point of view without damning his point of view.   But Reza,  is a bit thick once ya get to know him.

   I wanted to stay a good friend,  and I know he made a dinner for me.   So  3 hours later,  I went back to his place using my dads truck, (so I would have a way outta there),  and went back to eat the dinner that he made for me.   I enter the house,  and Reza instantly talks on the phone ignoring my existince, for another 20 minutes,  again speaking in a language that I could not follow at all.     I cannot stand being ignored for that long, especially since I'm supposed to be an honored guest in his house.    I simply DO NOT DO THAT SHIT TO PEOPLE!

   Then he got off the phone for a minute and another phone call erupted at which point I went into his back yard,  where I could at least look at a few trees and the sky or something FOR THE NEXT FUCKING 25 MINUTES!!!!!!!~

Once he got off, he came out back and I tried to explain to him how I felt, without bitching or anything.  He said that he had 43 calls that day and that he would lose business if he shut of his phone.    I tried to explain again how,   as a guest, that listening to a 10 to 50 minute phone call, in a foreign language, with absolutely nothing else to do,  is no fun at all.   He really didn't get it.    I was being real,   informative,   kind,  but he could/would not grasp my point.

I ate my dinner fast,  and was going to leave ASAP,  when a couple of his friends showed up.   I really enjoyed talking "Anthropology of the Iranian Race" with his friend "Syed",  who was funny as well.    We and Syeds girl were hitting it off quiet good,  when Reza pointed out to them "What a complainer",   I was.      ( I guess he didn't want us to get along,   he must have been pissed).   But the ass,  brings it up to his friend,  Syed.    I just casually threw it back at him,  and Syed seemed to know what an old stick in the mud,  Reza really could be.  Syed,  seemed to understand my side.  Even told me "that Reza was just a politition and was running for the "Ayatollah of Dallas"!   which was funny as heck.  

  I really  didn't want a war with my old friend Reza,  so I bid, Syed and his companion (most lovely lady),  good bye,  and left before it got dark.   I don't like driving in the dark much,  but I got home  ok.

Damn,   you think you know someone and DAMN!   I guess people change.   

Tomorrow or Wednesday,  Dad and I are going down to Austin Tx. to see my daughter Athena,  and her husband "Nick".     I haven't seen them much over the years,  and am really looking forward to it.     I've had a nice visit to Dallas so far,  and have seen many of my old friends, relatives, ect...    One more week to go.   I promise to keep you posted.