My mother was right.

When I lived in Hong Kong, I was always nagging my mother to come for a visit. My husband would even chime in, saying he'd pay for her to fly Bidness Class. But her response was always the same: "It's too far."

After driving to Austin and back in 24 hours, I tend to agree with her. Long trips in the bimmer tend to give me this odd hip/leg ache, sort of like sciatica except that getting out and walking around cures it. I had my halfway walkabout and coffee break in Waco as usual. Waco is really not a bad town. It has a huge motorcycle shop that specializes in Triumphs and Ducatis.

However, the interview went quite well, and since I still have the Dog Pound as an income source, there was no Desperation Factor involved. It began rather oddly - instead of me showing my portfolio, the interviewer (another writer) spent 20 minutes showing me what sort of stuff I'd be writing. Mostly stuff for retirement funds, 401Ks, etc. And he seemed genuinely impressed by my book.

However, I'm already in a quandary. Can I move? It's only 200 miles, but moving is moving. What happens to Chez Melina? The geriatric dog my ex left behind? Will Boris the Kitten approve? (Boris is actually 12; he was named after a screensaver.)