The roar of the Sunday crowd:

Last night I went to an honest-to-God rodeo in Ponca City, Oklahoma, with Laura and Oli. Oli is from Germany, so it was his first rodeo, and I’m from Tulsa, so it was my second. I was excited about this for many reasons, the foremost being that I adore Laura and Oli and rarely get to see them, but also because it was an opportunity to wear the cowboy hat I purchased after too many beers at the state fair last fall. Cowboy hat + pigtails + trainers = hot.

The best part of the rodeo was the intermission act, where this gorgeous Indian cowgirl with long black hair rode around the arena on her horse, but not using her hands, because both hands were busy snapping bull whips, and then she and the horse jumped up on top of a huge Dodge Ram trailer and she snapped her bull whips again and suddenly three buffalo came out of the trailer, and she used her bull whips to corral the buffalo up on top of the trailer as well, and then she and the horse JUMPED DOWN OFF THE TRAILER and I’m pretty sure I’m in love with this girl.

Afterwards we went to the rodeo dance at some place called The Rockin’ Horse, the kind of place where you get chiggers on your legs walking to the front door and you’re pretty sure Bud and Sissy are waiting inside, and while I was fully prepared to ride a mechanical bull, I had to settle for dancing to the Georgia Satellites with Laura.

In other news, I spent most of today shopping with my mother, during which I amused myself by saying things to her like, “I’ll probably keep my maiden name, you know, if I ever decide to get married.” Her earnest pleas to change my pretend mind are so touching, but she is also totally unreasonable and refused to buy me a dress with a dragon on it. Maybe I was adopted.