Well, damn. It's been awhile, Three Little Bird readers.
A lot has happened since my last post. I'm officially no longer a Brenham resident and I've made the big move back to the Big D––and how happy I am to be back. For those of you unaware, I landed a job in the heart of downtown Dallas with the Five Star Institute as a marketing copywriter for one of its programs (I'm also hoping to join the ranks of its two magazines and start my career in the magazine world, but I'm still working my way there).
I've been back in Dallas for a little more than a week now, and I've realized that I missed this place more than I thought.
Mostly:
The food
Brenham had just a handful of fast food chains (Taco Bell, Whataburger) and a few mom and pop shops that were decent enough to eat at on occasion. Other than that, it was pretty slim pickens on food choices. It only took a week or two where I began craving places like Baja, Chipotle or Chick-fil-a again.
They're places I took for granted when I lived here before, but now I've found a whole new appreciation for them all. In the week since the move, I've been to Chipotle four times––at least––and Baja twice. Speaking of which, Chipotle sounds good for lunch.
The atmosphere
A big part of me always thought I could make it––and prefer––small town living. And a big reason in accepting the job in Brenham was because of the small town feel and the slow-paced atmosphere. People there weren't in such a rush to get from Point A to Point B (in hindsight, part of that could have been because in Brenham Point A to Point B is no more than five miles) and everything was so much more relaxed.
While the slow-paced environment was a welcomed change at first, a young, 22-year-old guy can only take so much. It wasn't too long until I found myself often bored and looking for something to do––often times I resorted to an after-work nap that lasted until 8 p.m. or so, and then three hours later I'd turn right back around and go back to sleep. I felt like I was starting to sleep my life away.
But since my return to Dallas, I've reconnected with friends, spent countless hours at the lake and been way more active than I ever was in Brenham.
Maybe once I retire I'll give Brenham another shot.
Family and friends
It took moving nearly 300 miles away to gain a whole new appreciation for my family and friends. Not saying that I wasn't appreciative before the move, just being away from everyone for 10 months really showed me how much things sucked with everyone not around.
Dallas sports teams
For a good chunk of my time in Brenham I was stuck with watching the Houston Texans, Rockets and the Astros. It was miserable. I all but tuned out football last season because I could care less about the Texans (minus the Cowboys-Texans game last season when the Cowboys kicked that ass). Not watching the Rockets wasn't as major since I'm not a huge fan of basketball in general. But baseball, arguably my favorite sport of all, was the most difficult as I was stuck watching the woeful Astros play what they called 'baseball', which was nothing short of a disgrace to the game itself.
But being back in the Dallas market let's me watch as the Rangers look to run away with the division and make another deep playoff run, and as the Cowboys kick off a new season looking to avenge last year's despicable showing.
Now that I'm back, I'm not sure that I'll ever really leave for any extended period of time again––unless it involves spending a period of time in Europe. It might have taken a 10-month leave, but I can officially say that Dallas, Texas, is my home.
And, might I add, DAMN IT'S GOOD TO BE BACK!
