country come to town

That's something we sometimes use in reference to my brother (who finally "came to town" about a year and a half ago after living in the country his whole life). Today, however, it refers to me. I should be asleep since I have breakfast at 7am and it's midnight here. Where is here? The Ritz-Carlton. South Beach.

I grew up poor and in the country (which, incidentally, I think is better than poor and in the city). We didn't take vacations. We didn't travel further than Houston or Corpus. I didn't leave Texas until I was 17. Didn't fly until I was 20. Now I have a life where keeping both feet firmly planted on the ground for more than a week seems like an eternity. A life where I say things like "it's been so long since I've been to Miami--7 months!" A life where people valet park my rental car. Where people offer to help with my luggage. Where, when I'm out to dinner, someone comes and leaves me tiny chocolates on my bed along with tomorrow's weather forecast in quaint, Texan terms (like "gullywasher"). Where a woman brings me room service and adjusts my television so I can still watch it while eating. A woman who--when I say not to bother with the tv (I have two goods hands and legs that work)--says, "I know. You don't want to be a bother. But you deserve it."

Even though it's only Tuesday, it's been a really interesting week. If you're in Ft. Worth I highly recommend the Renaissance. Superb beds. Honestly, I could wax on and on about them. And even though it's a chain it's done really well. Feels like Texas. Which was super cool since I was entertaining one of our clients who happens to be from the UK. I took him to the stockyards for steak last night. I was the one who was highly entertained. Actually, he enjoyed it, too.

We both came out to Miami today. I very easily sweet talked my way into a room with an ocean view instead of a city view. (Moral: never take what you're given?) And I've been in a very talkative mood the last few days, chatting it up with strangers even more than usual. (That's especially good since I'd slipped into kind of an introverted phase.) It's funny how I don't get anxiety when dealing with new people. It comes with the territory, I guess. Instead of feeling anxious at meeting this guy who is high up in his company, a company that has paid our company millions of dollars to complete this project, I was just excited to be able to show a British guy around Ft. Worth. And then tonight I was able to meet several of my co-workers I had previously known only via e-mail or conference calls or spreadsheets. And what was cool (I know, I've said "cool" twice this post) was that many of them from various levels of the hierarchy said, "Oh! You're (insert my first name here)!" My reputation precedes me... How did that happen? I'm home-based. I'm not really sure but am glad that it did. Like I said, an interesting week thus far. Oh, and one more thing before I'm off to bed. In a similar fashion to how I dissolve into a little Texan drawl when I'm around people with a heavy accent, I apparently use a spot o' the Queen's English when around the British. Cheerio, ol' chaps...