Wanderlust - Austin, TX

Good Mercy -- it has been a while!! I had planned on taking a blogging break because Lefty and I were traveling for three weekends in a row and wouldn't you know it... as soon as I decided to take a little break, everything goes CRAZY!! There weeks ago, I was getting ready to go to Blogging While Brown in Austin, Texas. I was super hyped because one of my dear friends lives in Austin, so Lefty and I planned to stay with her and her husband and eat our way through Austin at night. The last time I was in Austin was during SXSW in 2008 AND this was going to be our first big trip of the summer, so I was happy, happy. 

Then came the news - a gunman worshipped at a church in Charleston, SC then stood up and shot and killed 9 people. Not the news I needed to hear; not the fight I wanted to take up-- again; not the beginning of fun times, right? I commented on Twitter and my Facebook page, liked the well written blogs about the tragedy, but I have decided not to write about it myself... right now. I am not sure that my words would be entirely helpful and I am not totally convinced that I can relay my feelings in a way that could be read by small children or nuns (if you get what I mean). I am angry, y'all. Like, clock on everyone, angry. Like, these deep breaths and counting to 10 is not even phasing these fucked up feelings I have, angry. So that is gonna be another battle for another time.  

I went to a fabulous conference but then came home to a once flooded basement. What?! Around 26 inches of water invaded our basement during/after the torrential downpour that central Ohio received the last Saturday of June. When we came home late Sunday night, surprise does not even touch how I was feeling. 1:30 AM and that 'wet' smell in your basement; destroyed belongings; soggy, wet cardboard; wet drywall; hot water heater, out; A/C out-- in the summer... Y'all. So not happy. That was the at the conclusion of the FIRST trip.  I haven't really been wearing a smile while dealing with this, but I will tell you about my trip and even give y'all some pics to look at (woot, woot!)

One of my best girlfriends moved from Chicago to Austin earlier this year. She loves it! The food is fabulous, the people are nice and there is plenty to do. To say that we had fun would be an understatement! :) Below are some photos from out explorations. Austin is going to be a destination for us to visit again... really soon.  Here are some of what was captured digitally while we were in the Lonestar State. 

While walking down the street downtown, we got some advice. Some good advice!

This made me laugh. So hard. Hilarious. 

In a smoke shop, off the beaten path. 

Listen. Listen. Listen. If you are in the Austin area... get to Kreuz. Immediately. You're welcome.

The longer the Internet exists, the MORE we all know this sticker is necessary & true. 

Random Bitter Musings about a Bitter Saturday Night

Just a few tips for the crazies that I saw last night. The span of these happenings was about 45 minutes, which makes me question the sanity of some of my fellow Chicagoans... or maybe it is me? Either way, it made for an... interesting kind of night. Yeah, this entry should probably be under Fed Up Friday, but it happened on Saturday, so there you go.

Dear lady breathing super hard next to me on the el: First, seriously, there are literally hundreds of other places you could have sat on this train. This train is not crowded. Why are you sitting RIGHT next to me? Is it for body warmth? If so, we probably should have agreed that you would wash your body BEFORE you plopped down next to me, invading my space. I don't care WHY you are breathing hard, just know that you are disrupting my silent reading time, while depositing cooties on my person. If I wake up, and heavy breathe just one time tomorrow, I will wish some other plague on you... like seriously maybe a shower, or some breath mints. I hate riding the train with weirdos.

Dear dude asking for money on the corner: 1- I saw you with a cup overflowing with cash about 2 hours ago, now you have two cups- one with steaming hot Starbucks coffee in it and one for the change that you want from me. 2- something is wrong with this picture because one of my new years resolutions is to make more coffee and spend less money at expensive ass Starbucks, but now a man asking me for money is taunting me with the most expensive coffee on the planet? I just can't. I would have totally given you the 63 cents in my pocket if that were a McDonald's coffee cup. I mean, $1 for any size coffee shows that you are economical. $4+ for a fru fru drink from Starbucks? Not so much.

Dear old guy asking me for my number at the train station: Yo, here is the deal: I expect it from you now. I get off at two train stations in my neighborhood, have seen you a LOT, so I am well versed what I am going to get when I encounter you. You are messing up your moment. Do NOT say "hey darling, you are looking so fine today" when I am wearing yoga pants, salty winter boots and the pom poms that dangle off my super thick socks are now dangling from my boots. Not when I am having a natural hair disaster and am comatose from sitting next to smelly Sally on the train. You take away the special. I know I don't look fine today. Save it. Save it for a day when I am looking so fabulous that everyone HAS to comment. Or at least save it for a day when I don't want to punch everyone in the face? Yes. Safety first!

Dear Redbox: Sigh- Oh you have been a gift and a curse. I appreciate the ease of renting, and mostly everything touchscreen, however there HAS to be a way that we can make these touchscreens work while I still have on my gloves. And not those fancy, schmancy $30 gloves either. I'm talking gloves that keep my hands super warm that I ultimately have to take off to work the RedBox. This is Chicago, dammit!! It is winter. My movie watching decision should not rest solely on whatever I can choose on the first page of options so that I can get my fingers back in my gloves as fast as possible. It makes for a MoneyBall watching evening... and I haven't liked Brad Pitt since he took up with that super skinny bitch with the big lips- I'm not even typing out that hoochie's name. Needless to say, I narrowly kept my fingers attached to my hand (frostbite is real!) and now I am stuck with some shitty movie that better be good or my animosity towards to once lovely Brad Pitt (think nakedness on Troy) will grow exponentially.

Dear people taking up the WHOLE sidewalk: Get out of the way, fuckers. I can see you, so I KNOW you can see me. Your conversation about whether or not Khloe is, in fact, actually is a Kardashian is not world altering so move your punk asses over! I wouldn't give you a pass if you were talking about nuclear physics, do that shit in a single file line when you see someone coming from the opposite direction, you rude assholes. You have to take up the WHOLE sidewalk? You bitches HAVE to carry those large ass bags? I seriously want to push you into oncoming traffic.

And that was Saturday night.

I might need to give anger management a whirl in 2012. Nah, it couldn't possibly be me, right?! Nah! :)