Saturday was already decided that we would make the drive to meet and visit Okio's mom and grandma. Now, if you know Okio well enough (and if you
don't, you should be ashamed of yourself
), you know she is quite the baker. Hell, she has a
blog and everything!
[/shameless plug]
So, she started on making some apple dumplings to bring w/us. Personally, I had never tried them before, but I was pretty much blown out of the water by how good they were. Seriously, between these and the cupcakes (I'll get to those in another episode), she knows how to rock the taste buds of a guy who ♥s to eat.
Of course, I'm a dumbass and forgot to take a pic of the finished product. We'll just have to wait to see if we get a recipe posted on the
aforementioned blog.
[/shameless plug]
Pretty soon, we were all geared up and ready to go.
I felt the need to try on Okio's sunglasses and strike a pose.
She took me on a little side tour of various personal landmarks, including showing me her office building (I was jealous, to say the least). The above was a cactus I found. I ♥ cactus, despite my penchant for killing them because I forget to give them even what little water they desire.
Okio had explained to me before that her company also keeps livestock (including lots of longhorns) for tax write-offs. I
had to see them.
BIG, BURLY MOO COWS!
Of course, a damn Yankee like myself can't make a trip to the Lone Star State w/o having myself some barbecue. So, before we left, we called ahead to a nice little place called Texas Pit BBQ for some good ole' American meat and fixins to bring w/us.
I'm a sucker for crazy signs.
It wasn't much longer before we were in the little town of Saginaw, and soon to the lovely residence of Okio's mom and "Nana."
These were two of
the nicest ladies I've ever met (even if they joined Okio in teasing me over my Mass accent).
Much eating was had.
It was soon after that I finally got to meet the animals.
That giant ball of fur is Lylah (aka The Best Dog in the World). I understand why she ♥s her so. Friendly as hell, and the cutest face EVAH.
I swear, she's a Wookiee.
See what I mean?
The felines, Maxx and Penelope, however, seemed less than impressed w/me, despite my adoration of cats, coupled w/my good social intentions.
You can almost
see the "Meh" escaping Penelope's lips.
Maxx is a big, big boy. And a bigger scaredy cat.
Now, the love Okio's mom has of
Guitar Hero has been well documented. So, after we were finished eating, it was time to fire up the Xbox 360 and get to the riffs.
I'm an old hand @it myself, even if Okio hated all my song choices.
Now, if I may, I'd like to go on a mini-ramble.
Despite your Humble Narrator's numerous holes in his face and nipples, I had yet to get any tattoos. This was mostly due to $ and being undecided on what I wanted. While I was down there, I had been mulling getting inked. So, Okio suggested we kill some time over @
Liberty Electric Tattooing in Fort Worth, where she got all her beautiful work done herself. So, with Mom and Nana off to see a ballet about Dracula, we said our goodbyes, I thanked them both for welcoming me into their home, and we were soon off.
I had an idea of what I might want (after some quick Google Image Searching). After some perusing of various photos and Flash, I made my decision. What better souvenir of a vacation than getting needles jabbed into your skin.
Now, as the artists were either busy w/other customers of having a dinner break, Okio and I decided we were hungry as well. So, we took a quick drive and decided on Pei Wei for a little Asian cuisine.
She enjoyed some lettuce wraps and teriyaki (chicken, I believe), while I chowed down on some
edemame and Thai Dynamite chicken. We ate, we chatted, and when we were finished, we made our back to Liberty Electric.
I had decided I was going w/a
moai, more commonly known as an "Easter Island head". After getting the sketch done, all the prep work (including shaving my hairy-ass leg), it was go time.
Now, to this day, I'm still not sure if it hurt
more or
less than I thought it would. Needless to say, much grimacing and near-hyperventilating were had. Okio was just pissed off I didn't cry.
About halfway through my 2-hourish session, I bummed a cig off the artist responsible, Carl Hallowell. That look on my face is a mixture of adrenaline, fear, and nic-fitting.
Tattoos bleed. But through the blood, sweat, and non-tears, my very first piece was soon finished.
Meet Papa Arana Maru. I quickly fell in ♥ w/him.
(For those of you curious, "Arana" is the Polynesian form of "Alan" and means "handsome," while "Maru" means "gentle." Papa was just thrown on there because it sounded cool.
)
Now, by her admission, Okio spent a lot of time telling herself she wasn't going to get yet
another tattoo while I was getting mine. Her will was soon gone, and she hopped up on the chair herself.
The end result of
her time?
Meet Mortimer, the octopus who is sad because (as her artist Jon Hall said) he's all out of weed.
W/the both of us bandaged and paid up, we gave everyone our thanks, we headed back home, and called it a night.
