commence to blogging

i love denton.

though, at the beginning of our relationship, i'll admit i was skeptical. as a baby 17 year old unt freshman who still considered my car a frightening machine with which to be constantly at odds, i cringed at the idea of navigating denton's illogical, spidery, one-way-ridden thoroughfares.

and i was decidedly not social--nearly pathologically so.

over the years, i even moved to a lesser town. several times. but always i returned to denton. i would explain these homecomings as a matter of utility. it made sense, i would say, to reduce my school commute. then i got employed full-time in denton, and it was more logical than ever to make it my home town.

slowly, slowly, resignation turned into a realization: denton had locked me into its gravitational pull, and i was finding it more fun than i could have imagined possible all those years ago. i'm familiar with the street system now, and see that it functions as a sort of topiary maze to put outsiders off the trail of our awesomeness, so as to preserve the rich & creamy denton center for those of us who Know. recovering anti-social butterfly, i have appreciated the bright, warm, small-town atmosphere that exists; i don't feel panicky trying new things here anymore.

there's always something new to uncover, too.
here, in no particular order, begins an incomplete list (there's always something else to add--& i'd be embarrassed if i admitted the places i have yet to visit here in my beloved town): 10 things to love about denton. i'll give you one reason now, and let you salivate for more. yeah, i totally believe that's gonna happen. let's begin at the beginning, shall we? it's always a reasonable way to start. and at the beginning there were:

1. books
recycled books is a book-lover's paradise. well, let me restate that. recycled books is a paradise for the sort of book lover who is thrifty, welcomes the smell of second-hand mustiness, likes local music, would rather hole up in an under-lit narrow nook under a decapitatingly low ceiling fan to browse through a title (instead of, oh, sitting in a bland, comfy chair and sipping a latte under bright lights), and who may or may not have an lp collection. my husband uses this as his one-stop-christmas-shop (usually a day or two in advance.) there's never a need to worry if they'll have something for everyone on his list.

please come back soon for reasons 2-10 to love denton. i'll give you ice cream. (man, one post in and i'm already resorting to insincere bribery.)