Yesterday was a lazy sort of Sunday. After a delightful lunch at Pei Wei (my new favorite Dallas eatery, shockingly knocking off my longtime favorite, BJ’s Brewhouse), there was much wandering around Allen, McKinney, Frisco and Plano. I sampled some much-too-yummy-for-my-own-good sugar-free ice cream at Maggie Moo’s in Frisco (strawberry banana definitely suits me!). I found the perfect birthday present (for a relative who shall remain nameless) at Best Buy. I did some Christmas-related reconnaissance work at Linens ‘N Things.
Perhaps most importantly, though, I didn’t buy a single book.
Instead, I became acutely aware of the fact that it may well be time for me to shift my focus from reading to writing. This reminder came when Daniel and I stopped at a humongous, extravagant, lavish and hideously expensive house under construction in one of the fancy parts of town. It had a sign in the front yard proclaiming it open Sunday, so we stopped by and went inside for a look-see. It’s a spec house being built by a custom builder who’s literally sparing no expense to showcase what he can do with a house. I was amazed. Overwhelmed. The dang house has nearly 10,000 square feet under the roof — of that, slightly less than 9,000 will be air-conditioned square footage. Sheesh!
The media room was the stuff of dreams. I recognize media rooms are distinctly “man land” territory, but I can’t help it; I adore the idea of having a windowless room with theater-style seating and the world’s best surround-sound system right in my own home. This one had some faux brick work and gorgeous wall murals. Even in the semi-dark, it was gorgeous enough to make me turn green with envy. The people who move into that house have no excuse ever to go to the theater again.
As I walked out of the house in a foggy daze, I suggested to Daniel that perhaps it’s time for me to reignite work on my book … because, clearly, my best chance of ever making a fraction of the money required for a fraction of that house (specifically, the (wo)man-land media room) is to sell a few million copies of popular fiction. To that end, I s’pose it’s time for Mel and Graham to begin their “Bad Karma” adventures. Whee!