May - I Take Some Time Off

I love volunteering, and make a point each month to have at least one volunteer activity. But March and April were crazy. I estimate I volunteered every weekend.  And while fulfilling, it leaves me no time for myself. So, when May rolled around, I decided it was time for well..more "me time".

We live in an amazing city. Austin has great museums, live music, theaters,  hike/bike trails, golf courses, public pools/golf courses. I overheard someone say they were bored - that there was nothing to do in Austin and they were thinking of moving. What! impossible. (And I know this as fact, as I maintain a website of free activities - which don't even come to half of the possible things to do in this city.) If you are bored, you aren't trying or looking. There is something for everyone here. The old and young, pet lovers, activists, runners, couch surfers.

This month, however,  I planned nothing - which is to say I did not plan anything in advance ( I am a compulsive over planner). It was wonderful! ( and freeing)

I  went on several brewery tours (* side note: there are 12 breweries in Austin - most with weekly tours - so put the Bud down and get some real beer for petes sake) and spent a few weekends on my couch in my pj's. But I did have one big May "Adventure".

Last week I went to Laguna Gloria for their Art on the Green exhibit. It had been up for a few months and the 20th was the last day - nothing like waiting to the last minute right? I can't believe I have been in Austin over 10 years and this was my first visit. The exhibit was a 9 hole min golf course - each "hole" designed by a different artist - spread over the lawns of the museum.

hole #2

 

hole #9

I didn't play the "course" but walked it taking pictures of each hole. I got lucky with great weather - May can be too hot in Austin. I also took several photos of the museum grounds -  mostly well maintained, especially around the museum itself, 

view from the museum of Lake Austin

but I cannot figure why they let over brush block the view of Lake Austin on the lower grounds.  Once you get behind the main building it is much less well maintained and overgrown. There is a lighted path along the lagoon and 2 large art pieces on a "path" in an overgrown field.

lighted path

art in the field

There were also a few peacocks roaming the grounds that I was told wandered over from Mayfield Park, just next to the museum. So I knew where I was going next. 

I think he's flirting with me

Mayfield has a  beautiful "volunteer" garden with flowers, ponds and pathways. I spent all my time here taking photo after photo of the peacocks. It wasn't until I was leaving that I saw the map of the park and realized it was also a 21 acre nature preserve  - something I will check out on my next visit. 

I was surprised at the number of people who were there - most picnicking , throwing frisbees, and feeding the peacock chicks

mama and her babies - I got a bit too close for this shot

The park is in a fairly secluded spot - 35th west of Mopac  where it dead ends. So it's quiet and peaceful.

the ponds - meditation ready

I added one volunteer event to my May calendar last week though. Tomorrow morning at 5 am I will be spending the beginning part of Memorial Day at the Cap Tex Tri numbering the participants, cheering them on. I am hoping to make it to the Capitol Rotunda for their mini Memorial Day sing-a-long and possibly to the Nature & Science Museum - another place I've never been. ( hey, I just spent 2 days in a row in my pj's - time to get off the sofa)

The Grapes of Wrath

The Austin Food & Wine Hummingbird Fest in 3 Parts:

The dust bowl hit Austin this weekend swirling brown clouds into the air covering everything in it's path. It got in my eyes, ears and up my nose. I was covered in a gritty film and couldn't even run my fingers through my hair due to the wind blown dust knots.

And yet I was happy....

It was a dirty, sweaty, know-I-worked-for-it-ate-a-ton happy. I was a volunteer at the Festival this weekend. It was my first time doing this event and I wasn't sure what to expect. A dust storm certainly wasn't it. 

On Volunteering:  I was assigned to one of the wine tents for both days - all shifts. 9-5 Sat and 10-2 Sun.  I had hoped to do just one day but since Sundays shift ended early I decided not try and get out of it.  I should mention here I don't drink wine. Tried it and it 's really not my drink, unless we are talking champagne, then I'm all for it (I mean how can you not like an alcoholic beverage you are encouraged to drink for breakfast). Our job was to set up the 100 seats for wine sampling - wine glasses, spit cup water bottles. I have never seen a group of strangers work so well together -  we cold set up in under 15 minutes (but oh the dust! probably could have set up faster if we didn't have to wipe down all the chairs and tablecloths each time). Added bonus: we don't have to stay while the demo is going on, we can go and listen to other talks and  demo's ( because working the festival and not getting to do anything would have really sucked)  as long as we were back for clean up and re-set up.  Clean up =  empty leftover wine into buckets, collect and stack glasses, throw everything else away, dust, . 10 minutes tops. Did I mention how well my group worked together? I know I did , but it just really impressed me. No one complained, not one one stood around and asked " what do I do?" - everyone seemed to know just what needed to be done and did it.   

On the Demos: So I really wasn't that familiar with most of the talent. But hey, Andrew Zimmerman - Mr Bald and Sexy Chef himself - Woot! I got to see 2 of his demos (ox heart and goat) and one with Marcus Samuelson ( fried chicken). I sadly missed a demo by Morimoto  ( #sadradish). I watched the large group at the grilling demo - a seriously cool set up. About 50 tables with a grill for 2 people at each, tons of steak and I was told copious amounts of wine and tequila to drink while you cooked. 

What I Ate: The "Grand Tasting"  - well I guess you could call it grand in that it took up 3 tents and tasting definitely covers what you got, little tastes. But if you made it to all the food vendors, pushing your way through the large, sweaty, very hungry crowd, it almost equaled a meal. I did my best Stanley Kowalski at the end of shift with - "Stelllllllllllllaaaaa" - first stop is always booze my friends, especially when you have only had water all day ( no drinking on shift ) Then to the St. Germain spot  for a Hummingbird ( I think my new fave drink - made with champagne). And for the breakdown of what I ate:
Frito Pie, Beef Cheek Ravioli, Pulled Pork on Beanitos, Pulled pork on Cracker w/ Corn, more Pulled Pork, Steak, Meatballs,( surprisingly no chicken), Shrimp, Peanut Butter, Waffles with Ice Cream, Mini Whoopie Pies, Macarons, Cinnamon Cake something, Cannoli, Pie, Pie , more Pie, Ice Cream, Nada Moo, Tums, Rolaids. 

I limped out of the festival and the end of each day, dragged my self to my car, spent 30 minutes showing the grime off me and promptly fell asleep before 10 each night. And I can't wait to do it all again next year.

Ode to a Turkey Sandwich

I know what you're thinking - a turkey sandwich. Really?  Then you've never had the one at Shady Grove. It's not fancy or hip, it doesn't have pickled this or sriracha that. It's just a turkey sandwich - Hippie bread ( I don't know what's in it or why it's hippie - but damn that's good bread), real roasted turkey ( not that deli crap - but honest to goodness turkey), shredded lettuce ( which I think makes a big difference), tomatoes and mayo.

I dream about this sandwich by the way. When you say Shady Grove it's the first thing that pops into my head. It takes to to that childhood type happy place. I eat it slowly and have been known to make sighs of joy while eating it. I am sad when it's gone.  

And now I plan when I will get to eat one again

Quitting Like a Ninja

I mean really isn't that what we'd all like to do. Sneak in after hours, clear our desk and leave the boss a note " Today was my last day. See ya!"

That's what my friend Emily did. We knew she was unhappy at her job for some time. And then one day on Facebook there was the message " Start new job on Monday - yay!"  Huh, What? Wait a minute , we didn't even know she was looking. Just like a ninja, she conducted her job search undercover , landed a new job and cleared out her office in the middle of the night.

This is, of course ,easier to accomplish if you are a salaried employee who can take a 2 hr lunch and no one questions you. If you are, however, an hourly employee, like me and millions of others, planning an interview is more like a comedy of errors.

Let's take today's interview:

1) Since I have to account for every hour I work, I clock in when I get to work and clock out when I leave. This does not leave a lot of time to interview.  My "lunch hour" rarely covers both travel and interview time, which means I have to create the oh-so-common-in these-cases-fake-Drs-appointment. (ff course you can only have so many of these before your boss starts to get suspicious.) (and I will have to make up the time I am gone later this week.)  So this morning I went to the "Dr."

2) I am fortunate at my Present Company to be able to wear what ever I want to work- which in my case means  jeans and t-shirts every day.  You , of course,  cannot wear jeans and t-shirts to an interview though,  and if I wore my interview outfit to work it would definitely be raise eyebrows. So now I need to change clothes, before AND after the interview.  I should have used the downstairs bathroom , but it was only 8 and no one from my dept had come in yet. So after a quick change in the bathroom, I cracked the door and peeked out  into the hall, No one - phew! I do a fast walk down the hall before anyone else comes in so I won't be seen ( remember, I am wearing "interview" outfit now) and that's when the receptionist appears in the front to open the office - crap! I am hoping she did not see my face or notice me and continue , unseen by anyone else thankfully,  to my car.

3) I should mention at this point that I am not entirely sure there is even going to be an interview today. I had confirmed an interview for Thursday at 9 am and thought all was good. Unfortunately they called back to move the interview to Wednesday morning but my phone never rang and I missed the call. As soon as I got the message I called and said Wed would be fine but never heard back. Crap. So do I have an interview Wed or Thurs?  I figured if there was not to be an interview today I would tell my boss I got the date wrong on my "dr" appt and would have to go back tomorrow. I leave for the interview at 8:10 and plan on calling on my way down to see if it's happening today or not. I'm in luck! They call at 8:12 , they got my message and today is a go! Crisis avoided. All this makes me realize what a crappy spy I would make. I hate lying and I am horrible at "sneaking around".

4) The interview goes well I think. But then I always think that. It is a hundred times more stressful getting to the interview, so the interview itself never bother me.  We shake hands in the hall, - "Thank you for coming in"  Thank you for taking the time to interview me"  after which I head , probably surprisingly to them - not out the door bit to the bathroom - where I change back into my "work" clothes and head back to work.  I am exhausted.

And this folks is the reason I hate interviewing and why I can't do it as often as I should. I have , in the past,  been unable to make an interview because they only did them at certain hours and it was impossible for me to get out of work.

I was "found out" at Past Company but was lucky not to get fired or even reprimanded. They were "sorry to see me leave but I wasn't chained to my desk" - I swear that's what my boss said! Not surprised I left huh. Not even an offer to get me to stay.

And now I need to get back to work. I have to make up the time I lost this morning from going on the interview. I'll get to leave here.............eventually....

Rebirth of the Blog

Well after a 9 month, unintended , hiatus, my blog is back. I didn't mean to abandon it, but between work and my website something was going to fall by the wayside. And given that the thought of writing anything longer than a haiku can send me into fits of panic, it's not surprising that this blog was the one to go.

I also had way too many preconceived notions of what a blog was supposed to be. I got bogged down with too many details, worries and absurd notions. The posts weren't long enough, personal enough or relevant. They weren't funny or smart. "Supposed to" hung over my head mocking every click of the key board.

But as I have discovered, the only way to wrangle the words in my head, that circle like the ones in Hitchcock films, was to start writing again. Getting my thoughts out of my head and onto the screen is the equivalent of herding cats, there are always several that go astray and  get lost.

 I do not consider myself a writer of any sort and have spent a large portion of my life trying to avoid doing any kind of it. Though I did go through a period of poetry writing in High School, venting all my teenage angst.

I started the blog for 2 reasons. Several friends had mentioned that they followed my "adventures" on Facebook because I was always doing interesting things and that I should write about them. And I figured this would be a good way to learn how to write better and possibly get over my fear of writing. The more I wrote, I thought, the more comfortable I might get, the clearer my thoughts might become, expressing myself would get a little easier. I am still hoping these may happen, but in the mean time I would like to at lest learn to enjoy writing ( and work on my punctuation, which is atrocious)

Things That Go Bump in the Night

You can always tell when the power goes out, aside of course for everything turning off and going black, because everyone suddenly decides to go outside. And it's 103 degrees out.

My power went out Tuesday night at 8 - White Collar had just started so I was kinda pissed, even more so when I called the power company and was told it wouldn't be going on til any time between 10 and midnight. I actually didn't call them for half an hour - it never even dawned on me to call anyone til I overhead a woman on the floor below me ( remember we're all outside at this point) say she had been told it wouldn't be turned on til much later that night. No problem I thought, I'll just read. Umm.. but it's dark inside, so I'll sit on my porch...but it's hot and the kids playing are loud and annoying. I know! I'll go for a drive and see how the rest of the neighborhood fared.

My mini adventure started out fine. It turns out only my apartment complex and the one across the street were out. All traffic lights were working and the business down the street were open. My initial thought was - this is a perfect time for some frozen yogurt - but I'm cheap and currently only temping so I decided to forgo spending money and instead called a friend to see if I could hang out on his sofa for a few hours and watch tv.  And then I got to the William Cannon and Brodie intersection which, as long as you are not in the right lane eastbound on William Cannon, is not a bad intersection. Guess which lane I was in. Since there is a gas station on that corner and making a right turn is apparently a really difficult turn to make for most of the people in front of me, I ended up in the middle of the intersection as the light was about to turn red for my lane and green for the traffic that was seconds away from hitting me. I freaked. I didn't think, I  didn't look, I just turned into the next lane. BAM!

Within minutes there were not one, not two, but three police cars at the scene. You'd have thought I was on the top 10 wanted list. The guy who hit me wanted to see, as he put it, if we could 'work something out'. Yeah right. I called my friend first to let him know I wouldn't be coming over and then of course my insurance company. (Can't wait to see how much my rate goes up after this fiasco.) After telling my side of the accident - and yes I did admit to my un-signaled lane change - filling out paperwork and yet more paperwork, the tow truck finally showed up. My friend had also come by ( I should mention here that he is an ex-boyfriend - and a damn good one too) for support and to get me back home. I am of course issued a citation and advised of possible court date ( Shit!)

There didn't appear to be too much damage to my car. My driver side mirror was broken and the front tire and rim were shot. So I figured my cost would be a couple hundred maybe. Right. Progressive called me the next day to work out all the details and I will say that though they are charging me too much ( my opinion, and due to an accident, not my fault, from February) their concierge service is amazing. They picked up my car from the previous nights tow, took care of my rental and got it to a mechanic - if I had a mechanic they would have towed it there but I don't and having no idea where the best place ( meaning the least likely to rip me off) might be, so I let them use their guy. I didn't have to do thing. And that is where the good news ends.

The mechanic called a few days later with my estimate - about 4 times higher than I expected - which means I will be responsible for my full deductible $999. Crap! And let's not forget the citation I got for unsafe lane change - $277. Double Crap!  According to the list on the back of my ticket the highest fee was $200 so I have no idea why mine is $277 , or for that matter where I am going to get the money to pay for all this. Can you say credit card folks.

I am currently driving an HHR - who the hell names a car HHR and what doe sit stand for - I have no idea. My view sucks and I have to crane my neck  to see out the window - but at least it's better than the first one they gave me -a  Dodge Charger! Yup seriously, a Charger. You basically have to lay down in your seat to even be able to see where you are going. Needless to say I changed cars as soon as I could.

Next time the power goes out I'm sitting on the couch in the dark til it comes back on.

The Color Purple

No this is not a movie review or a post about Whoopi Goldberg. It is about the right and wrong way to color your hair and about.. well turning purple - sort of.

I first started turning grey when I hit 30 ( maybe 29 ) but I held out on coloring  because I cringed at the thought of putting chemicals in my hair. And well.. I wasn't really that grey.  After a few years though I decided that looking like a skunk (giant grey streak running down the middle of my head) was never going to be a trend so I broke down and got my hair colored. I believe I went with my natural hair color, before it turned grey that is, what Clairol might call Light Cool Brown. 
Eventually the cost began to add up and I started to color it myself. After several attempts I like to think I became pretty good at it - at least to the point where all my hair was not only colored but colored evenly and there was not a drop of dye on the sink or the floor.

I moved to Austin 10 years ago got a good job, got out of debt and decided that since I had no other real vices, didn't collect shoes, clothes or purses and never got mani/pedis I deserved to have my hair done professionally - meaning not in my bathroom. I also decided I wanted to be a red head again ( I was a 'redhead' until the age of 3 when my hair decided it was a brunette). So back to the pros I went, happily. Because no matter how good I got at doing my own hair - it sucked! I hated every dye stained, rubber gloved moment of it.

Which bring us to the Purple. I recently went through a downsizing and as much as it pains me I can no longer afford to get my hair done by someone else. But hey I used to color my own hair right? In fact, as I stated, I was pretty darn good at it! So no problem right, easy peasy! um..no.

Side note: as I've gotten older I have lost a very important trait - patience. I have gotten horrible about reading directions and taking my time - you know,  doing it right. So off I go to HEB to pick out a color - damn just too many choices. Clairol? L'Oreal? Revlon? Root touch up? Permanent? Crap this was hard. And let's not even start about the color variance. Auburn light or dark? Rich Auburn, Deep Auburn or Medium Auburn? I have no idea what brand I ended up with. I picked it simply by the dispenser - foam - which I figured would be the easiest to use. I went with a dark, or possibly medium, auburn because the color shown on the 'if your hair is this color it will turn out like this' chart showed the color I wanted.  Yeah right.

So I figured I do the coloring Saturday morning when I had the most free time. Ah but remember I have no patience. By Thursday night I'd had it with the grey hair and figured, after reading part of the directions, that I had plenty of time. So I put on a mens white undershirt, the only smart thing I did, mixed the color, put on the crappy gloves and dove in. Halfway into coloring it hit me - my forehead was purple. My whole forehead! And why was it purple? Then I looked at my hands, and under the gloved I could see that my hands were also purple. Crap - hole in the gloves I guessed.  And then I noticed the sink. Hmmm - yep purple spots there too. Obviously I had lost my hair coloring mojo. No vaseline on my forehead, no paper to cover the sink and no double gloves. And of course I am still wondering about the purple, but there is no turning back now.

I can say that at least I did cover my whole head, not a sign of grey. It's about 3 different shades of a purplish, reddish, dark brown though- not at all the way the box said it would come out mind you. But after a day or two it began to grow on me. Kind of punk-ish..sort of.  My hands were purple for a few days and with the help of a little rum, I managed to de-purple my forehead. Fortunately the dye did not stain the sink or the floor.

There is of course no way to duplicate the color I ended up with and the next time I color ( a month or so from now) who knows what color it may turn out. But at least it won't be grey.

My First Movie Review

This is my first written movie review. Just saw Super 8 and I left with such a good feeling that I felt it needed a review. So here goes:

Super 8 - 1. I loved this movie! 2. I hate movies with a "message" ( and by message I mean a moral) 3. Why do they only put these in kids movies? When I saw Bridesmaids the only thing I got out of it was to never eat bad Mexican before trying on your wedding dress.

That said, Super 8 was still a great movie. The adults acting was ok but the acting by the kids in the film was just amazing. The story is kind of a combination of Goonies,  E.T. and Signs. Like Goonies & E.T. you have a group of oddball kids - with the obligatory 1 cool girl - go on an adventure - in this case they are making a zombie movie, find a monster, understand the monster ( unlike in E.T though they don't make friends with it) and save the town ( well not really in this case). Themes like first love and the importance of family also come up.

It is similar to Signs because they are both monster/alien movies, and in both you are on the edge of your seat with your hands over your eyes until they make the mistake of SHOWING you the monster. Trust me , the monsters in your head are always more scary than what they come up with and better.

The first half ( maybe 2/3) of the movie gets an A. But then it hits a small glitch  - at least in my book . As I mentioned, they make the mistake of showing you the monster but then they go and get preachy - it's a small piece of the movie and I think they could have left it out. Spoiler Alert - I am going to give you the "monster" background here -  "he only wanted to get home, all we had to do was help him, but no, they experimented on him, taught him to hate us, now all he wants to do is destroy us" ( and by he they mean the alien). See! Did we really need to hear this? I don't need to know where the monster came from or why it's there. I am here to be entertained for pete's sake. It was a great, exciting, on the edge of your seat family/monster movie and they had to ruin it with a MORAL!! This seems to be a predominant theme is most kids shows these days - especially if you are a big Disney fan - and while I feel they are important lessons for kids to learn, they are not ones that need to show up in every kids show out there. Isn't that what we have Sesame Street for?  Ok I'll get off my soapbox now.

Much like E.T and Goonies, it's a film I would watch over again. I am a sucker for coming of age, adventure/dramas The special effects were pretty cool and I wouldn't be surprised if some of the kids were nominated for their acting. Joel Courtney and Elle Fanning were the lead kids and were especially good. Watch for Ryan Lee as Cary, the kid who likes to blow stuff up and David Gallagher ( of 7th Heaven fame) as a stoned film developer, as great comedic relief. The movie will be a big hit for those who grew up in the 70's also. And I don't care what anyone says My Sharona and Don't Bring Me Down are freaking classics!

 Oh yeah..one last important thing..if you go stay through the credits!!

Quid Pro Quo ( or The Art of Volunteering)

I am a big proponent of volunteering - the world would run so much smoother if more people got off their butts and did just one thing for someone else. That said, I am not a very good volunteer. I have friends who are - they build houses for Habitat for Humanity or spend hours at Austin Pet's Alive. I have just never been able to commit that much time to one organization ( this could also explain why I am still single).

Now don't get me wrong - I do volunteer. Quite a bit actually. I am the Philanthropy Director for the Central Texas Parrot Head Club ( yes we do more than drink and party). I like to call Parrot Heads "philanthropists with a party problem". We do one activity a month, currently we help at Hope Alliance, Capital Area Food Bank and the Keep Austin Beautiful (KAB) street clean up.

On my own I am not quite so altruistic. When I volunteer I am usually getting something out of it for myself. Because of my current non employment status I can't afford to do most the things I used to. Then I discovered that if you volunteer at these events you get in for FREE! Not only that, they often FEED you. Yup. 90% of the time the volunteer gigs are pretty sweet. I've done a marathon, a 10K , festivals and home tours ( I LOVE LOVE home tours). The home tour events are some of the best - 4 hrs of your time and you not only get to do the tour free but there is usually a cocktail thank you reception for the volunteers ( yeah you heard right - booze & food!) When I volunteered at the Cool Home Tour they bought us all dinner at Shady Grove. I especially love volunteering at Independence Brewery 1st Saturdays - can you say free beer! Oh and the folks there are real nice too.

 I've only had one bad experience so far. I was doing one of the home tours ( I won't name which one) - I thought, like other tours I'd volunteered at, they'd sit me in the shade/porch of one of the homes and probably with a co-volunteer . Nope. Wrong. I was at the end of the driveway, by myself in the sun ( and damn it was hot!) and no shade! About an hour and a half later one of the realtors finally drove down a golf cart so I'd have something to cover me. And to top it off I was unable to do the tour and there was no thank you happy hour - I got bupkus, zilch, nada! I'll be thinking twice before I volunteer for them again.

My recommendations for volunteering are: 1. Pick an event you would actually want to attend 2. Or an organization you believe in 3. Work hard and smile - Yes volunteering usually means you are going to have to work (regardless of the freebies). If it's not for you don't go back, but for heavens sake don't whine or complain while you're there

I am currently checking my Austin Events Calendar to see if there are any cool events coming up. Do you need packets stuffed, a greeter or someone to check people in? For a beer and cocktail weenies I'm your girl!

How The Post Office Found My Phone (or the Most Embarrassing Moment in My Life)

A little pre-story first: I only have one phone -  my cell - which I rarely lose. On 2 occasions I have had to post on Facebook asking friends to call my phone - once it was in the bathroom, the other on my balcony. But that's it. Considering it's small size, 99% of the time I never even have to look for it because it's always on the coffee table ( or being charged).

So that's why when I couldn't find my phone this afternoon I was a bit perplexed. I had had it in the car on the way home - I had called a friend  - so I checked there thinking it fell out of my purse, or I had left in on the seat. No phone - anywhere. I actually checked twice because I could come up with no other rational place it could be.

It must be at the Post Office, I thought. It was the only place I had stopped at on the way home. Maybe it fell out when I pulled out my wallet or while I was addressing an envelope at my car outside. But I didn't hear it fall??? Never mind - there is NO other place it can be!! I must go the the Post Office.

I checked out the parking lot, no phone. I am a bit desperate now. As this is my only phone I am a bit screwed if I lose it. So I wait in line, which is fortunately short. I ask Post Office Guy ( now to be known as Really Great Post Office Guy Who Went Above and Beyond His Duties to Help Me) if anyone turned in a phone:

Me: Did anyone turn in a small phone?
POG: No sorry. The only thing that has been turned in was a pair of sunglasses.
Have you tried calling it?
Me: No, I don't have another phone
POG: (handing me HIS phone) Here try calling it. Maybe someone found it.

and that folks is when it happened - my PURSE RANG!
Seriously - my purse starts ringing! I swear I had emptied the damn thing out looking for my phone - NOTHING! Why is my purse ringing?
Because there is a small pocket on the side - that, of course, I had checked, but didn't notice there was a phone in it!

I can feel my face turning red - I really wanted to thank POG for being so nice to let me use his phone to find mine that was of course in my purse the whole time - so naturally I run, well flee actually,  out with a quick thank you said over my shoulder.

Now of course I'm gonna have to find a new post office

If you don't remember it - did you still have fun?.

I don't know why it is that I can remember stupid trivial pursuit type information and memorize a map after looking at it once, but I can never seem to remember what I did yesterday.

I call my parents every Sunday and they will inevitably ask what I did that week - at which point I grab my, now indispensable, calendar to see what it was I did. I can't read it usually. I have developed a habit of writing in every possible thing to do, then crossing out the ones I don't do and circling my choices - which I cross out when I have done them. It's scary looking - if you didn't know me you might suspect I had some type of OCD disorder, which is entirely possible.

My friends are also good at this. I will go off whining that I never do anything fun and they will gently remind me that yes I do, quite often, and they are jealous (well sort of)

The last month went something like this - at least according to my calendar:

3 free movies compliments of Alamo Drafthouse
 Joan Jett and Fitz & the Tantrums in Concert

Circle Brewing for more beer and bbq, ( see previous blog entry)
 HONK! bands. - and I thought only Austin was weird. Awesome!
A Do512 party at the Highball - where Dhani Jones tried world record bow tie tying, Romany Malco fish rapped, Zeale sang  w/ BLSH, wiggling boobs, people on bikes, odd world records being broken and crowd surfing Aussies.
Volunteering at Cap 10K and Art City Austin
Lots of free music
Art Yard and Chicken Coop Tours
A Crawfish boil

And that's just the best stuff. In between I try to manage my job search, network and....... well I know there's more I just can't remember it.

Badges? We Don't Need No Badges

SXSW ended a week ago and I think I may have finally recovered. I only really "participated" in the music portion but was out and about for most of the festival trying to see how much I could get free and without a badge.

When I started the draft for this entry, I listed 5 things I felt were important to get the most out of SXSW - you know the most bang for the best buck. But after my experiences the list changed a bit.
#5 Badge - unless you are doing the film or interactive portion - or you are in the industry - you really don't need a badge. Especially if you are only there for the music - which was everywhere and 98% free.
#4 Money - I got by on next to nothing - and there was soooooo much free stuff ( food, drinks, clothing) - but then of course I live here.
#3 Smart Phone - which I don't have - this should really be #1 - I could have scored so much more free if I had a decent phone ( May 1st pholks! and I may throw myself a party) and it's so much easier to keep to keep track of what's going on
#2 Friends - yeah it would have been a bit more fun with a group or people to hook up with
#1 Plan - maybe move this to #2 - but you need at least an idea - make a plan and be prepared to break it several times - always for the better

SXSW Interactive experience

I somewhat wish I had umm... balls - been a bit more daring and actually tried to get into some of the talks that were going on. Maybe next year.

Free on Saturday - Gourdoughs - technically I needed a badge to get these, but the donut gods were smiling on me - 25 cent chilantro tacos, coolhaus ice cream sandwich - blood orange sorbet and salted choc cookies. If I had a smart phone I could have scored sooo much more (as stated above) - t-shirts, boombox from Loopt and free drinks from atzip.

IgniteAustin Event - robots, steampunk, learned how to pick locks, 3D printing, missed the free ice cream though. Space Squid , a giant brain, music, 16 speakers and a nacho bar, egg drop competition,
Free entry to after party and 2 drink tickets. Dogwood ( ok) Molotov ( will go back)

I discovered a week after the event that I had at one point been standing next to Michael Dell and didn't realize it.  - I have a photo as proof ( I don't know who took the photo - it was tweeted from Ignite a few days ago - so props to the photographer)

SXSW Music

Ice Cream Man party at Club Deville. Several good bands including one man lynrd skynrd - 2 free ben & jerry's - Free Blackberry Spark -  ( the nehi of malt beverages) and an accidental free beer - always helps to say " the guy at the other bar said the beers were free"  - left early to hear Quiet Company - but as I am low tech I did not get cancellation tweet they were kind enough to send - damn! listened to some mellow musicians and left

Wed-Sat. So I had originally planned to list the all the bands and everything else day by day, but then the blog would pretty much have been one  giant list. So I will summarize:
4 Days
7 Different venues
67 (give or take) different bands
60 (give or take) total hours
Free -  4 CD's., breakfast tacos,  several beers and half a pizza.

I will say the highlights included: Fitz & the Tantrums ( freaking awesome!), Meat Puppets, Wanda Jackson ( covering Amy Winehouse!) and Emmy Lou Harris ( legend!).

Since I am a morning person, I started each day at KGSR's live morning  broadcast at the Four Seasons. Up at 3 at the hotel and in line at 4. Saturday's didn't start til 8 so I actually got to sleep in til 5 - woot! Then I was off and running to the next venue. It was amazing.

I volunteered at Home Slice Pizza Thursday and Friday for a few hours - free pizza ( the best!) and beer folks - and of course good music. Cops getting more thorough on checking permits and we were "shut down" before we started. Well not really - most of the bands played acoustic, and we plugged 'em in around 4.  Heard they will be even tougher next year

 I have no regrets about the amount of sleep lost ( not that much really) or the 4 days spend chasing bands - when perhaps I should have been job hunting. Of course there is always the after the fact find outs - but there is no way to see or do it all and I am pretty happy with all I did - and of course there's always next year.

 I am already counting down to ACL later this year.

In Cervesio Felicitas

My friends are predominantly winos - you know, wine drinkers. I still haven't acquired a taste for those sour grapes and prefer a good hefeweizen instead. So after several trips out 290 West on many an unsuccessful winery tour ( at least for me) I was excited to learn that Austin had several local breweries that not only gave tours but also samples. There are three in South Austin (512, Independence, Live Oak), One in North Austin ( Circle Brewing) one out near Blanco (Real Ale) and a new one that just opened in Dripping Springs ( Jester King). You can never have too many beer joints and it is my new mission to visit each one.

My first visit was to Independence Brewery. A bit hard to find ,especially since I left the directions at home, it is located in a group of warehouses off 71 East. I couldn't miss the long line of people with folding chairs as I drove past though. Parking is a bit tricky, there really isn't much available - don't park in the adjacent 'bays" where neighboring business delivery trucks are still using. Many of the nearby business seemed to be closed so most parked in their spots. They let you in at 1 but I recommend getting there by 12:30 - I arrived at 1 and had about a half hour wait in line. The tour and beer is free but you need to bring your own glass or you can purchase one of theirs for $6.  Since I was unaware of this policy, it is not on their website, I purchased a glass. These are not small glasses by the way but 16oz pint glasses - and you get 3 samples! Makes the itty bitty samples you get at Shiner kinda pitiful. You get a wristband while waiting in line and they check you off each time you get a refill. No wristband no beer!

They had four choices of beer to sample. Austin Amber, Bootlegger Brown, Stash IPA and Convict Hill. I tried the Stash first. I am more partial to the lighter style beers, so while Stash was a good beer I found it a bit on the bitter side ( too hoppy for me - I learned this term during the "tour"). My second sample was the Austin Amber. More to my taste, it's a bit lighter and not quite as hoppy. Since I have a low tolerance and I was driving, I only had half a glass of the Amber - the "bartender" thanked me for being responsible.

They have tours at 1:30 and 2:30. There is only one large room with all the brewing equipment but they do give a very informational talk about the brewing process and the company and take visitor questions.

What really struck me when I got there were the amount of people that had beat me there, hanging out in their lawn  chairs in the parking lot. It was like the Draught House Pub but much larger. There was a band playing and dogs running around and an almost festival atmosphere - a thoroughly Austin experience! Everyone there, visitor and staff , was super friendly and ready to give advice on beer selections. There was a BBQ truck selling food but many brought a packed lunch with them. I hung out chatting with my fellow "beer-ists"  and listening to the band - a threesome of CSN looking guys singing some country and seventies soft rock style covers -  for about 2 hours. While the line had been pretty long when I got there by 2:15 there wasn't one and the crowd began to thin a bit. Since the last tour is at 2:30 , I got the feeling things pretty much shut down around 3.

Unfortunately ( well for me at least) the tours only run the first Saturday of each month, but that I think is what makes it a slightly special event. It's a great way to spend an afternoon with your friends and I have already marked next months on my calendar!

You can find them at  http://www.independencebrewing.com/

Up Up & Away

It is impossible to be bored in Austin. On any given weekend there is either a festival, an athletic event, a movie or music in one of the various parks or all of the above.

This weekend was the Kite Festival - one of the longest continuosly running kite festivals in the US it turns out. 9 years in Austin and for some reason I hadn't been, but it was a gorgeous weekend and I was free, so was the event ( a big plus since I am unemployed) , so off I went.

I decided against taking the shuttle service because I wanted to go up South Congress after the festival and parked in my "super secret spot" aka the road next to Run Tex by the South First bridge - it's really no secret since anyone going to Auditorium Shores parks there, but it's super because I can always find a spot, it's free and it's a great location that doesn't require a long hike to get where you are going.

The news reported that it didn't really fill up til noon but when I arrived a bit before 11 there were at least a thousand gathered, by my estimation, already there. Families with kites, without kites, with dogs, with picnic baskets - everywhere. And there were kites of all shapes and sizes. An enormous blue teddy bear and giant panda, dragons, sponge bobs, with tails, with spinners, red ones, blues ones, fish ones. Kites flown by kids, adults, teams and several professionals.

And there was food - of course. What I love about Austin are the food trailers. You get the typical festival food - corn dogs, funnel cakes, cotton candy and bbq - but then you get the distinctly Austin food stuffs. Peached Tortilla's fusion tacos, Kebabalicious Turkish wraps - for which I waited in line 45 minutes for my lamb schwarma with tzatziki - and cupcakes by Hey Cupcake.

I picked my spot near the roped off judging area, though I was still too far off to hear or see most of the competition, I still had a great view of most of the kites. Blanket laid out, food in hand, and a book , I enjoyed 4 hours of a gorgeous, tech free afternoon.

And the people kept coming. My area started to thin out around 2ish but as I walked out of the park there were still crowds making their way in. It never felt over crowded ,however, and no one ( to the best of my knowledge) got in a fight or was injured. Both kids and dogs pretty much roamed free and I didn't get stepped on once. Though a kite did make a free fall on my butt. 

I left with a slight sunburn, a sunny disposition and a bag filled my blanket and booty - yup booty. There always seem to be organizations handing out free stuff at these events. I scored free yogurt, a frisbee, bandaids in a mini dispenser, a small hand held fan, soy joy bars and a small handful of mini candy bars.

Good day, good haul - mission accomplished!

A Life in Flux

Monday Morning:

Ever have one of those days when you know you are supposed to be doing something but don't know what it is. That is how I felt when I woke up this morning.

I just got back from a relaxing week at the beach. I actually unplugged from my computer for over 30 hours - that's right no Twitter or Facebook - and while it was great I think it threw me out of balance.

This is one of the first Mondays when I have nothing on the calendar for the day. Sunday is when I try to plan for the week but I was recovering last night. So now I am schedule-less. And I am not a schedule-less kinda girl.

I should tell you that I am currently unemployed - and no job equals no schedule, something I have yet to get used to, which is why every Sunday I sit back and try and make some kind of plan for the week so I don't end up with mornings like this where I have no idea what I should or could be doing. I NEED structure.

A Little Back Story:

 I was laid off initially back in July of 2009. I was probably the happiest unemployed girl out there. I decided to take some time off to "find" myself but ended up working through Thanksgiving thanks to several industrious staffing services I was using. I ended up with the holidays off before going back to work in April for what I hoped was a permanent job. Alas it did not work out that way, and I found myself unemployed again that August. 

So I am back to finding myself - but I don't have much time. The state of Texas doesn't really care about my existential dilemmas, they are tired of supporting me and want me to suck it up and just accept mediocrity ( aka - a job)

Conclusion(?):

So you see my problem. I have things that need to get done but without structure and schedules I often just feel overwhelmed.

I could be job hunting. I am registered with eight staffing services but rarely contact them because they might have finally found a job for me - and that kinda frightens me. I do not want to accept mediocrity - I want to believe that I am better than that, that I am strong and creative.

Do I pursue a new found passion ( social media) , do I suck it up, should I email the staffing services and tell them I am available for work, do I reach out to my network for help ( um should mention my almost crippling fear of speaking here)?

All the forks in the road are open to me and at times the direction I should take seems so obvious.

So maybe today I'll contact the staffing services and my networks - but I need a schedule first.

The First Blog

I have to be honest, it never occurred to me to ever blog,  I didn't even keep a diary as a kid. I have spent the last 15 years in the finance industry, so while overly familiar with numbers and equations, I am less so with words. That and you really can't have someone "proof" your blog - something I do whenever I have to actually write anything over one paragraph. But after being laid off in July of 2009 I became addicted to Facebook. At first it was just to keep track of my friends who had jobs - and lives -  and then family. But soon I realized it could do much more. I friended business I frequented, bands I liked and other local organizations - and I got REWARDED for it. Imagine that. I found out about free events and discounts available to Facebook users only. It was like crack. But it also got me out of the house. And then I found out - I had FOLLOWERS - no really - I had friends who deliberately went to my post because I was doing interesting things! In third grade the teacher had to tell the kids to play with me and now I had followers. Several friends thought I should write a blog about the free and cheap stuff to do in Austin - so this is it  - sort of. Because there is more to me than being cheap. I hope.