Bad influence ... on my dad ...

So ... my dad came down to Laramie tonight (Sunday) for somewhat of a surprise visit ... which is great! My parents don't visit often ... well, my parents don't visit. Period. But my dad came down today, which made me totally happy. We ate dinner at Corona Village (I really like the Ensalada del Mar). We went shopping at Wal-Mart (family tradition -- it's not just my mom ...). We came back and just started talking. And we talked. And we talked. And we talked some more.

I had him look over my taxes. I showed him my 401(k) stuff. We talked religion. We talked politics. We talked family. He told me stories about when he and mom were dating. It's been a great night.

But I've been a bit of a bad influence on my father, I'm afraid.

My dad's an early-to-bed type. Comes from almost 30 years of swing shifts -- he just shuts down past a certain amount of time of being awake. So I had a really, really good belly laugh, somewhere between Ralph Nader and Barack Obama, when he looked at the clock on my microwave ... and saw that it was half past midnight. "What are you doing to me?!?" he cried. I just laughed. I'm sadistic and cruel that way.

It's now just about 1 a.m., and Dad has since gone to bed, griping that I'm "as bad as mom" and lamenting that he may not be ready for a 9 a.m. breakfast. I assured him that I wouldn't be, either. I don't do 9 a.m. ... I usually don't do breakfast, either. I didn't (don't) have high expectations for an early-ish morning ...

I have Jane Austen and Agatha Christie to while away the rest of my predawn hours before the pillows on the sofa become too enticing ... It's like a girls' sleepover, except that my two friends are rather deceased. That thought just took an unexpected creepy turn.

Ahem ...

In the meantime, I'm writing to you, my nameless, faceless audience. Some of you have names, and I know some of your faces. My nice friends (and sometimes family members), who humor me by reading my random rambles. Or by at least checking to see that I've randomly rambled.

The rest of you probably stumbled across me by some freakish, Googlish accident. I hope you liked the little bit you saw and that you have a great day/night/whatever.

I'm off to the sofa. I'll let you know whether breakfast at 9 happened. Don't hold your breath.