Things I Like About Austin

1. A plethora of Mexican beer choices. I never understood those commercials that talked up beer as refreshing until I moved to a ridiculously hot climate. And the Mexicans know how to make a smooth refreshing beer. I'm glad for the options!!

2. Cheeseburgers. Austin does them well. I've always been really particular and not really a fan, but I now crave cheeseburgers from P.Terry's, a drivethrough place that only serves burgers, milkshakes, and cookies. They have the right idea of what makes a balanced meal!

3. Fresh, cheap fruit. Since we're closer to tropical, fruit-growing regions, more fruit is in season for longer and transportation costs aren't as high, meaning you can get a big thing of strawberries that stay fresh for a week for $2 or less. Hooray!

4. Weirdos. There's a whole theme of "Keep Austin Weird" and people are certainly abiding by it. There are the "dragrats," young people who choose the life of homelessness and dirty but creative clothing ensembles.

5. Tattoos. I myself don't think I'd ever get a tattoo, but Austin is ripe with really amazing tattoo artists and the people of Austin are their canvas. So if you go swimming, it's like going to a body art gallery. It's hard not to stare and to fight the urge to photograph some of the more unique ones. Some are really silly, like a map of Texas with a star where Austin is. Come on now.

6. Barton Springs. It's this giant natural springs pool that is like 40 degress Farenheit all year round and about the size of two consecutive football fields. Sounds chilly, but after lying in the sun dripping with sweat, jumping in and swimming around just hits the spot. Also, tattoo- and weirdo-gazing makes for a fun afternoon.

7. Nice people. I've met a good bit so far, mainly through John's really good friends that live here, Greg and Gentry. They couldn't be nicer fellows and they have a very warm and down-to-earth group of friends. It's made it so much easier to feel like I'm making friends.

8. House concerts. I'm still not sure if I like house concerts or not, but I'll put it on here because I'm pretty sure it's unique to the Austin experience, but I might be wrong. So Austin is overflowing with singer/songwriters and all manner of musicians hoping to find a faithful following. So they elicit friends and acquaintances to have people over and then at some point in the night, everyone settles into the living room and they have an intimate concert and showcase their stuff. Last night, John and I went to see a folk singer, Danny Schmidt. The host of the party couldn't be nicer and more accepting of opening her home to strangers. It was a neat crowd, which included Danny's parents and a beautiful dog named Sequoia. I sort of felt like I was eavesdropping on one of his private jam sessions, but it was a neat opportunity to get to talk to him and hear him really up close.

I'm not going to make this an even ten, but instead leave it open to add to as I think of things.

Oh! Something that I don't like about Austin - whoever built the showers here must have thought that only people under 5 foot would ever use them. You have to duck down to get under the shower head! This is a characteristic of the old apartments that is both strange, frustrating, and somewhat charming.

Happy Father's Day!!

An Austintatious Week

Haha. I stole that spelling of ostentatious from a lawn care truck. Creative. The second week of the job was good - we have a full roster of chilluns for the first session. I had a bit of culture shock trying to communicate with the parents who are mostly Spanish speaking with varying degrees of English skills. It felt a bit like being a student studying in a foreign country all over again! But I'm sure communicating with the kids will be easier and it's motivating me to learn more conversational Spanish. My friend K is going to Costa Rica this summer to do a Spanish immersion program so she can do social work more effectively in California. I think I'll need to do something like that someday soon.

One of very favorite bands the INDIGO GIRLS played in Austin this week. John politely declined my invitation and went to see a play that he'd been wanting to see that I wasn't as keen on. It was sort of neat to go on separate dates alone. The Girls played at Stubbs BBQ, which I thought would just be a tiny BBQ joint, which surprised me. Turns out that Stubbs has a big backyard called the "Dustbowl" that holds about 1000 people. It was a pretty diverse crowd, with couples of all genders and ages and styles and all very nice.

The opening act was Brandi Carlile, who has an amazing soulful voice and great guitar skills. She was flanked by Phil and Tim, tall, lanky twins wearing fedora style hats and similarly tattooed playing guitar. There was also a cellist named Josh who I thought was from the band "Mom" who I heard play at a house party recently, but that guy's name is Joel. I thought later that maybe it was really him and the Indigo Girls got his name wrong. Wouldn't that be terrible? But I think it was just a different skinny cellist.

Then the Indigo Girls came out! They are aging for sure and still look like they did in the 80's but are pleasantly consistent in their performance. They played some classics but new stuff too and of course, they entertained the masses in a sing-a-long fashion, since the entire audience knows all the words. It was so nice! And the Dustbowl is very hot, but these gusts of wind would come up over the stage and combined with some of my favorite music, it was glorious! Very nice time.

http://www.stubbsaustin.com/

I Got a Job!

John and I attended a wedding in Tulsa this weekend and drove through the rather unlovely city of Dallas, through the surprisingly beautiful hill country of Oklahoma and arrived at our destination. All weekend I told my tale of woe about how I really needed to find a job. Monday, I applied till my fingers hurt from attaching so many cover letters to so many emails. I was about to wrap up for the day and thought, "I haven't check Craigslist in a while. I'll do that."Wouldn't you know, there was a neat looking job description for a case manager for a summer day camp run by a youth foundation in the city that serves a poor community in SE Austin. I sent off a resume and cover letter and heard back in two hours! I had an interview the next morning and had the job by 11 am. You're probably thinking, how impressive! Wow! Attagirl! That's just fine, but please take note that they were desperate for anyone really and had me working immediately after my interview.

The organization has numerous summer programs and this one is centered around instilling a strong sense of self and healthy decision-making processes in 8-13 year olds so they don't know up to be murderers and drug dealers. (What? That's what they said!). Their funding had been re-approved by the city the week before, so they were moving fast and had to get the word about the camp out to the neighborhood kids. All seemed to be going well UNTIL the executive director, Mona, asked me to be a clown for an assembly the following morning at an elementary school to tell them about the camp. I thought, Hmm, I would really rather not. Though I said, Sure, I'll see you tomorrow.

So this is what I looked like at 6:15 am. Oh, did I forget to mention that? Yes, the one who LOVES sleeping in had to get up at 5:45, paint her face, and show up to a school by 7 am. My director was late and I had to entertain the kids in the lunch room for 30 minutes by myself. I was a hit though. If you're ever feeling, you know, just average, slap on a clown suit and you'll feel much more unique.

You know how they say that you shouldn't do things well if you know want to be asked to do them again? Well apparently I'm a good damn clown, because Mona asked me to do it again on Saturday at our Father's Day Parade. I quickly tried to pass it off to the other person who shares my role. A nylon clown suit and face paint OUTSIDE? A school gym was one the thing, the Texas heat is another entirely. On a good note, the kids were ADORABLE and I can't wait for the camp to start. They're almost all Hispanic, so I'll be brushing up my Spanish mucho mucho. We had a planning day today and the weather was gorgeous so we sat outside on picnic tables and created plans for the summer. Yay for employment!

First Post

Hi Y'all!

So I just moved across country and am currently separated from lots of family and friends, but of course, am experiencing all sorts of new things that I want to share..... So, although boyfriend J looks askance at me when I mention blogging, I am doing it. So there.

We are FINALLY in our sublet. It seems as though it has taken forever. And unlike last summer, this sublet has been emptied of the personal items of the former tenants and has room for us to feel at home and make it our own... that is before we move into our own places in August!

There have been some hilarious stories so far and lots of good food... So I'm going to make some separate posts to commemorate the last few weeks of packing, goodbyes, road trips, new cities, new people, and new things.

Enjoy!