austin rocks, dude!

on the bus to washington dc...

2005-11-09T16:53:00.000-06:00

i gotta say, after a couple days in atlantic city, i was ready for a change of scenery.the bus trip from AC to DC was actually really nice. we had some very interesting people on our bus and we listened to their stories the whole way. there was a group of ladies who regularly go to AC for slot machine tournaments. from the sound of it, they often win good money doing this. one lady took her sizable winnings and bought a minivan! she had a lot of good karma built up (as we found out a little later). we listened to her talk about fostering special needs children and the joy/ heartbreak it brought her. she was poor, but managed to work and educate herself out of poverty. she then turned her strong will and good heart to fostering children who had nobody else. these are kids with physical and mental disabilities so severe, regular fostering was out of the question. one of these kids had been so horribly abused, he had severe brain damage. he couldn't see, and the doctors were sceptical that he had cognitive function. but, she loved and took care of him anyway. she would put his hands on her face and hum on his neck to let him know she was there to love him. she said he would smile soooo wide when she did that. she KNEW he was aware of her. he was just trapped in an unresponsive 4 year old body. she cared for him daily and gave him all the love she had. unfortunately, the brain damage the boy had from the severe child abuse took it's toll. she came home from work one day and found EMS and the police outside her apartment. she said she just KNEW it was her little boy! the paramedics came out with the stretcher and the little boy under the sheets. they said he had a brain seizure and it stopped his heart. she said it just about killed her at that moment. later, she was looking at his medical file and at the bottom it listed the prognosis: terminal, not expected to live more than 2 years. she said that even if she had noticed that at the bottom of the file when she had first seen the boy, she would have done exactly the same. that boy needed her, and she needed to love that boy. i think the whole bus was on the verge of tears listening to this story. i know i was. i will always remember that story and that woman.
when we all got off the bus in DC, i felt sad that i wouldn't be around her anymore. it's not often that you meet someone who loves so unconditionally. she had this aura around her that kinda made you feel good just being near her.
this was the best bus trip i have ever had. somehow, i don't think i could have had a comparable experience if we had flown. on the bus, you are a part of the changing scenery. you see the miles you travel and the people you travel with as a whole experience. it's somehow easier to talk to strangers on a bus. on a plane, everybody is crammed together, but you spend your flight trying to maintain your personal space. it's hard to turn and talk to people when all you can think about is not being able to stretch your legs or stand up and walk around freely. on a bus, you have leg and elbow room. it's easy to turn around and talk to the person across the aisle or in the seat behind you. yeah, i know, busses are slow, sometimes stinky, and kind of a pain to travel long distances. but, if you are only going a couple or 3 hours, it is rather refreshing.
more vacation stories later...

welcome ta joisey!

2005-10-31T16:13:00.000-06:00

as many stereotypes and preconceptions there are about new york and new yorkers, there must be at least as many and twice as bad, for new jersey and the people who live there. sometimes ya gotta see for yourself to get the true lowdown. the missus and i had a fantastic stay in nyc the previous week. we then decided to hop a bus to atlantic city and do a little sightseein' and stuff. the bus was a "special" that ran from manhattan to a number of casinos in atlantic city (heretofore referred to as "ac" 'cuz i'm lazy). if you get off at a casino, they give you gambling money and/ or perks (aka "comps") to go in and spend your money there. sweet deal! the tickets were $30 a piece and we got $15 each from "the donald" at trump plaza when we arrived!
unfortunately the weather was cold, windy, and rainy. so, we skipped some of the sightseeing and found a hotel. we were lucky to find one (especially a cheap one) because AC hotels get TOTALLY booked up over the weekends. not only that, they double their rates for saturday night! we are talking STEEP! for kicks we checked the trump plaza rates($280 on fri. $360 on sat!), and ended up at an econolodge for about $90. the saturday rate for "the econ" went up to $160, ouch. we ended up at "the flamingo"(alternately called "the mingo" because the neon sign was broken, and "the fleabag" for obvious reasons) for saturday night. even the dump hotels were charging over $100 a night! so to sum up so far... good cheap bus trip, bad hotel prices. it doesn't quite balance out, but whatever.
i must admit, the trip into new jersey showed me a beautiful and green side of the state that i didn't know existed. we traveled winding roads with tons of beautiful trees and flora. it didn't start looking sketchy until we hit AC. there was an overabundance of dilapidated and abandoned buildings. LOTS of sketchy people and a very numerous homeless population. we saw too many police cars keeping VERY busy into the wee hours. please don't think i'm going to totally knock AC and it's residents in the dirt. even with the bad and somewhat scary things we saw, we had a decent time. there was this fantastic waitress at the bar & grill next to our hotel. she was very nice. she made good food suggestions and directed us to cheap cigs. (the bar wanted $8 a pack!) again, nice people helped us when we needed it, and put up with our rather foreign-sounding accents. (we're from TEXAS y'all!) the casinos were very nice, and the boardwalk along the atlantic shore was amazing. somehow though, we never managed to get any pictures our whole time there. we left after 2 nights in AC. time to move on to our nation's capitol...WASHINGTON D.C!

vacation's all i ever wanted. vacation, so happy to get away...

2005-10-30T17:24:00.000-06:00

i am refreshed! i just came back from the most outstanding couple of weeks off from work, ever! it had been way too long since i took time away from the daily grind, and i enjoyed every moment of it. me and the missus went to nyc , atlantic city and washington d.c. . i guess austin is more expensive than i thought, 'cause all i've ever heard was how expensive new york city was. y'know, the $10 sandwich and "everything costs more in nyc" stories you hear. well, maybe there are $10 sandwiches and maybe there are over-priced items, but we really didn't run up against that kind of thing. maybe our friends there just kept us away from it, but our dinners at really decent restaurants didn't cost us any more than what we pay here in austin. kinda creepy, huh? i mean really, two people eating appetizers, one or two entrees, and non-alcoholic drinks ran us about 30-40$. and, we ate like KINGS! all the portions were large, the quality was great, even the service was pretty good. so consider this one myth about the big apple busted.
another myth meant to be busted was that new yorkers are obnoxious jerks who don't really give a damn. wrong-o! a number of times we had NICE new yorkers help us with questions and directions. a couple even went out of their way to help! what a great surprise. now, as a rule, new yorkers seem fairly jaded and kinda "mindin' my own business", but when engaged, were very good people. i'll get to the rest later. it's good to be home again, though!

You Wanted The Best, You Got The Best! The Hottest Band In The World....

2005-10-08T17:01:00.000-05:00

KISS!!!!!!!!!
er..uh..um, no. sorry.
R U B B E R R O B O T ! ! ! WOOOOOOOOOO! YEAH!!!

truly one of the more "must see" bands in austin, texas. if you can dig a space-rockin' 4 piece (including a theremin!) in horse head masks, i have the band for you! they just played at room 710 on red river st. with the shim shams, transmography, and attic ted. it was a show filled with the fire and energy you come to expect from a group of hungry, up and coming bands. now, i cannot say that i am in any way objective, since i know the band personally. however, i am not one to let a little thing like having a personal stake in this, cloud my judgement. rubber robot rules! they have been playing room 710 pretty frequently (which, by the way, is a kick-ass club with cheap drink happy hours!), but also have played beerland, headhunters, a biker rally, and been part of a number of private parties. the crowds are UNANIMOUS! RUBBER ROBOT WILL RULE THE INSTRUMENTAL SPACE-ROCK WORLD! you can catch them soon at a club near you! trust me on this, see Rubber Robot. it'll change your life.

2005-10-05T11:53:00.000-05:00

the pool area is so big, a 1000 people could be there and you would still have plenty of elbow room! from various parts of the pool, you can see the austin skyline peeking through the trees.

2005-10-05T11:50:00.000-05:00

the pool is almost a 1/4 mile long and up to 12 feet deep. in the pool you will find fish, crawfish, a rare species of salamander, tadpoles and other critters. it has a natural rocky bottom with aquatic vegetation and moss growing in it.

2005-10-05T11:44:00.000-05:00

barton springs pool in zilker park. a 68 degree temperature year-round, natural spring fed pool. the best place in austin to keep cool. period.

beating the heat!

2005-10-04T18:30:00.000-05:00

sometimes it's just waaaay too hot to be outside. on the northwest side of austin, there is as a nifty place called Main Event Entertainment that has everything you could want to do indoors! bowling, blackjack and poker tables (sorry, only playing for chips. no cash winnings :( ), rock wall climbing, laser tag, video and arcade games, pool tables, blacklight miniature golf, full-service snack bar and best of all A COUPLE OF LIQUOR BARS too! WOO HOO! you can spend a whole evening and a wad of cash on an extremely entertaining couple of hours. it is soooo worth it! my friends and i have been there a couple of times to celebrate birthdays and let me tell you; it's even more fun when you are drinking shots all night long! ooooooooh yeeeeah!
icu
doug

one thing always leads to another...

2005-10-03T16:48:00.000-05:00

it all starts so innocently... around 10pm the missus runs into the bedroom shouting about water all over the floor and how it just wont stop flowing! i go from dead sleep guy to fast walkin' fix it guy in two seconds flat! she takes me into the laundry room where a huge pool of water has formed all over the floor. taking only a few seconds to appreciate the beauty of a miniature waterfall created by the water pouring over the doorsill into the back yard, i leap into action! i figure out the drain hose has come loose from the back of the washer (PHEW! no $100 washer repair bill this time!). it had been spewing water all over for the past 2 hours, when i started the washer before bedtime. we probably are going to notice a spike in our water bill! so, crisis averted, water stopped, time to go back to bed, NOT! the missus shows me the linoleum tiles on the floor are ruined. the corners of each tile has peeled up from the floor and the rest of the tiles are swollen with dank-smelling water. " i'll fix it tomorrow after i get home." i say with confidence. little did i know it was going to be "anything can happen day"!

so, i work alone for the first few hours at work (the other guy oversleeps). nothing like doing double duty to start your day right!

after work, i buy a bunch of groceries, but the store is OUT of paper bags (which i need to strap all this stuff to my bike).who ever heard of a store without paper bags? i looked like a homeless dude in chef pants, with all those plastic bags hanging from my bicycle handlebars.

on the way home, i pop my back tire. pssssssh! can you say; 30 minute walk with a full load of groceries and a crippled bike?

when i finally get home, i pull the washing machine away from the the wall and fix it fairly quickly (the high point of my day!).

then, i realize i have to peel and scrape all the tiles off the floor of the laundry room (lovely.). this job turns into a sticky, goopy, dirty, knuckle-scraping, back-breaking afternoon job.

i finally get it all scraped off. after washing the floor, i notice the floor adhesive still doesn't come off (extra-lovely!). so now i have a 6ftx7ft room with a floor that feels like fly paper! i need a beer.

so, anybody know a good solvent for floor tile mastic?

this whiny rant brought to you by the letter "WAAAAAA!"
icu
doug

freaky weather

2005-09-30T19:08:00.000-05:00

in texas, you expect it to be hot. it's a given. texas=hot. a total no-brainer. but, like all places everywhere, the seasons change and so does the weather. for 4 days straight, our fall weather went hotter instead of cooler. 108, 107, 105, 104 degrees! we are supposed to be in the upper 80s/low 90s! of course, this just happens to coincide with the OUTDOOR austin city limits festival. i couldn't help but feel sympathy for our out-of-town guests who suffered like souls, standing at the gates of hell. a couple of bands from the UK were real troopers and performed fantastic shows. they were sweating like a bunch of sprinkler heads on full! poor guys, but well done! (pardon the pun)
so the whole city begs for relief and gets it, in abundance. the temperature dropped a whopping 25 degrees on thursday. temperatures were cruising around 80 degrees. schitzophrenic weather! well, it's back in the 90s today. i blame global warming for this weather freakiness. what next? sunshine and 80 degrees on christmas???? oh yeah, it already is like that. oh well, whatever.

power-lounging on the front porch

2005-09-29T16:50:00.000-05:00

quickly fills a room with fragrance

2005-09-29T16:45:00.000-05:00

***Buttercup posting***
that was the tag line on a commercial for a glade candle/oil contraption i saw tonight. what a strange and scary thing to say.... but someone's falling for it. what if i don't WANT to quickly fill my room with some freaky fakey fragrance?

I happen to like the smell of bleach after cleaning the sink, or the smell of rain on the breeze as it crosses through my front door and out my kitchen window, and the smell of garlic, onion and cumin sizzling in cast iron on my stove.

pies in the window courtesy of buttercup.

returning from the abyss

2005-09-29T16:27:00.000-05:00

welllllll, long time no blog! i guess you can say that i decided to take the summer off. or you can say i'm a lazy bastard who didn't feel like taking the time to update his blog. personally, i'm voting for explanation number 2! so, i'm back.
there has been a tremendous amount of activity in austin since the last time i wrote anything down. so much has happened, that i'm probably going to be a bit spotty on filling you in.
let's start with a new blog addition: the missus! that's right, she speaks! on occasion, you will see a blog entry with the name BUTTERCUP prominently placed at the top. this is the missus's blog entry. i'm sure there is some new-fangled way to actually give us separate notation or identification when one of us is blogging, but i'm a little too low-tech to figure it out. so, for now, we'll just headline the blog with her name; buttercup :) . she is my one and only, so y'all be nice to her. i'm understandably, very protective of her.
i'm going to stop here and let her have her say, i'll be back later with more austin stuff including the Austin City Limits Festival (ACL for short), our incredibly freaky weather, and some nifty up-to-date pictures!
icu
doug

the Mexican burn

2005-05-14T19:48:00.000-05:00

springtime in austin brings all kinds of wonderful things. all of austin turns vibrant green, and the smell of flowers permeates the air. birds are singing, kids are playing, and the college kids are partying all night. the days are warm and the nights are cool and breezy. sounds like paradise, huh? wellllll.....there is one thing spring brings that is not so nice; the Mexican burn.
every year the farmers in Mexico burn the residuals of their crops and all the foliage that covers the fields for new planting. the burnt vegetation enriches the soil and prepares the fields for new crops. it is very easy and efficient. unfortunately, during a two-week period, it is done in such a large part of western Mexico, that it creates a tremendous smoke cloud. traditional wind patterns blow this smoke hundreds and hundreds of miles north through texas. the smoke is so thick and irritating, air quality warnings are widespread. people with breathing problems, the elderly, and pets are warned to stay inside as much a possible. every year, there are people hospitalised and even killed by this dense brown cloud. it is so big, and so dense, the space shuttle has taken pictures of it from space! it looks very similar to the pictures taken of the most recent volcanic eruptions in Iceland. sometimes we'll get lucky and a weather front from the north blows through and pushes it back into Mexico, but not often enough for me! it rained for a little bit the other day, and all the smoke turned the water kinda greeny-brown, UGH! looking over the austin skyline, you can see a brownish-green haze. in the evening, we sometimes get colorful sunsets because of all the particulate matter floating around. i just wish it would go away! i ride my bicycle to work every day, and boy howdy, i feel like my lungs are struggling to breathe sand! luckily it only lasts about a week or so. there have been diplomatic efforts made to get the farmers to change their practices, but the farmers are poor and their resources are limited. they really don't have much of a choice. so, every year about this time, we just "cowboy up" and deal with it.

2005-05-04T11:45:00.000-05:00

on the Tower Bridge in London, 2004. looking totally touristy and totally L7!

our house, in the middle of our street...

2005-05-04T10:50:00.000-05:00

i keep hearing that song by Madness in my head over and over.
"our house, in the middle of our street.
our house, it's our castle and our keep."
i guess i am showing my age a little, singin this song, but it so rules! just to have this rolling around and around in my head while me and the missus become our own home improvement crew. after signing the papers, there was no stopping us. we immediately decided to re-arrange the house. so, the second bedroom is now the dining room/bar. the den is now the office/guest bedroom, and our living room is getting a style and arrangement makeover. while all this is going on, we have also decided to re-do our bathroom.
the bathroom has been in need of renovation since we first move here, but we wouldn't open such a can of worms unless we owned the house. so, now that we own the house...we are going to town on that puppy! we have stripped the vinyl flooring and scraped smooth the sub-floor. we removed our nasty, cracked, old toilet. we are currently laying new black vinylfloor tiles and painting the walls. we have to re-caulk the tub and all the adjoining wall cracks and crevices. the plumber ought to be here in a couple of hours to install our brand new ultra-mod, one-piece, low flow toilet (very nice!). after fininshing the bath, we will be tackling the kitchen next! WOO HOO! the missus and i are working like demons to get all this stuff done soonest, before our enthusiasm wanes. it's all part of making this place "ours".
so what's happening this weekend in austin? i dunno. we are taking a roadtrip to san antonio this weekend. it's the in-law's 25th anniversary on saturday, and Mother's Day (oh shit!) on sunday. some how i have got to find some time to get mother's day gifts for the Bug-Eyed Momster and my Momster-in-law. lucky for us, they both live in S.A. and we can hit both places fairly quickly. hopefully we will have time to ingest some of THE BEST TEX-MEX IN THE WORLD. in S.A., you can't throw a rock in any direction without hitting a mexican restaurant. they are everywhere! OH! the food is to die for and dirt cheap too! what a full week this is...
icu
doug

2005-04-28T15:46:00.000-05:00

the girls...zorra (the big one), and frijolita (the little one)

the secret is out!

2005-04-28T14:48:00.000-05:00

secret? what secret? ok, so it's not REALLY a secret, but not everybody knows...in less than 24 hours, the missus and i are buying our rental house! for the past month we have been pulling out hair and breaking out in zits from all the stress! we tried really hard not to tell too many people (we didn't want to jinx the deal!) !we've gathered and collated all the myriad papers, documents, and forms that prove we are really responsible and financially trustworthy. the missus has been on the phone many, many times a day talking to the realtor and the mortgage company. she has managed to keep me in the flow, and helping out wherever i can, but keeping me out of trouble too! this nightmare of hoop-jumping and signing a ba-zillion contract pages is almost finished! while all this has been going on, we've had contractors, plumbers, roofers, inspectors, and handymen crawling all over the house getting it fit to be sold. craziness abounds!
it's kinda weird to look at a place that you have lived for a couple of years with new eyes.(homeowner eyes vs. renter's eyes) even though the place is in good shape, we now look at it as a string of home improvement projects. y'know, new paint, new floors, new bathroom, re-arrange the house, that kind of stuff. i'm actually looking forward to doing this! so maybe i wont have the money or the free time that i used to have, but somehow i get the feeling i'm not going to be bored!
the missus and i are still going to go out and do stuff, but maybe with more of a budget in mind. we've already discussed going to the Austin City Limits Festival in september. i think we're going to do volunteer work at the fest this year instead of paying the $180 for tickets. our friends did it last year and it seemed to work out great! lucky for us there are TONS of free and cheap things to do in austin. i recommend art openings for free finger food and alcohol!(oh yeah, go see the art too!) barton springs pool is always cheap to get in ('bout $3 a person), and if you want free, the spillway below the pool is almost as good (and you can bring your dog too). there are lots of festivals and free music lunches all over to keep us hoppin'. i hope to keep y'all abreast of what's going on, so stay tuned!
th-th-th-that's all folks!
doug

moving at the speed of life

2005-04-26T02:07:00.000-05:00

sunday, i was blessed with the opportunity to visit with my grandmother at my parents house in san antonio, texas. at 92 years young, grandma maxine is surprisingly sharp and funny.getting to talk with her, i discovered some unusual facts. world war I would not end until she was around 5 years old. of all the presidents she has experienced in her VERY long life, george w bush is "the dumbest man ever". i got to see pictures of her as a young woman and she was the cutest girl! only now, can i really appreciate how much i love my grandmother. she has always been special in my memories, but seeing her so...fragile, makes her life that much more precious.
our american society is moving more towards the concept of "why should i pay for others who are not as capable or productive as myself". this includes our recent slashing of the children's health insurance program in texas (250,000 poverty-level kids had their medical insurance stripped away). the new "discount drug card" program for senior citizens is causing more confusion and costing senior citizens more money each year to get VITAL prescriptions. these actions and more are changing the way we treat our fellow americans. my grandma is O-L-D. i was around 3 years old when she retired. were it not for the social security program and the generosity of our society, my grandma probably would not be here today. just because she doesn't FINANCIALLY contribute to our society, doesn't mean she is worthless. as human beings, we must take care of those who are less fortunate. we must embrace the poor, the sick, and the elderly. there is no "bottom line" gain in doing this, but we do save our souls from hardening into a little black cinder. i love my grandma. she is a joy to be with. my life is a little brighter and more alive because i can still help her walk down stairs.
i'm not really sure what this post is about, but i feel the need to express my love for my aging grandma, and rail against the heartless government we have so foolishly re-installed for another four years. my soul aches.
peace
doug

curses!...foiled again!

2005-04-15T16:17:00.000-05:00

doesn't it just figure? my computer is down and i am using the missus's. all my photos and picasa/hello program are on MY computer. soooooo, we will just have to wait for more pictures. sorry for the inconvienance{sp?}.
dammit.
doug

back from the grave and ready to party!

2005-04-15T15:38:00.000-05:00

geez, it's been a long time since i posted. it's amazing how guilty one can feel for going so long without a post. life has been a series of curve balls recently. it was all i could do, to just hang on tight and enjoy the thrill ride.
well things might be settling down again, but i'm not holding my breath! here's a little personal "previously on...the digdug show". i ended up quitting the movie store. it seemed like a good idea, since it was the exhaustion of working two jobs at opposite ends of the clock, that led to the wrecking of my car. i have enjoyed the extra few hours of sleep each night, and i've had lots of comments from friends and acquaintances say how much better i looked. humph, you'd think these people had never hung out with a zombie before! there is new management at my bakery and lots of new ideas have trickled down on the staff.( yes, i mean it like that.) we now start our day at 230am instead of 430am. we now produce 40 breads on my shift instead of 36. and we are not allowed to play the radio in the mornings. our new management is very popular (trickling down on us, and all that). so, once again i am forced to see my wife in 3 hour increments and not really see my friends at all. i am not real happy with the situation, but i know if i just have patience, the new management will be gone soon enough, and things might return to a sense of normalcy. until then, time with the missus is like gold. even just making dinner together and watching the tube is important now. we went to see "sin city" last week, and it felt like a date! btw, go see "sin city". it is amazing! it is also an exercise in brutality, but don't let that stop you.
we've finally hit springtime here! nice warm days and cool nights. i have become newly enamored of my backyard. it is full of shady trees and wild flowers. i find myself just sitting out there after work enjoying the lush greenery. trees and bushes of all types surround the yard, creating a "private park" sort of feel. i love to sit out there, throwing the ball for my two dogs. they love it too!
here are some more pictures for you to enjoy!
icu
doug

2005-02-26T05:04:00.000-06:00

here's some genuine pin-busting fun! it was my friend's birthday, so me and the missus went to our favorite retro bowling alley with him. The Dart Bowl is locally famous for uber-cheap bar drinks, old school atmosphere, and the BEST enchiladas in austin, texas! no joke! they have won many, many awards from the local weekly paper. the austin chronicle would not steer you wrong!

2005-02-23T12:48:00.000-06:00

despite the fact that it is still february, texas weather is not in the mood for us to have a long, cold winter. a little over a week ago, it was in the low 50s during the day and low 30s at night. this past week, 80s during the day and 60s at night. today, warm and rainy. i kinda like not freezing my ass off during the winter, but i do miss the changing of the seasons. normally, you can wear shorts and a t-shirt 10 months out of the year, so there is not a lot of seasonal change. btw. the pic is of lake austin.

2005-02-23T12:36:00.000-06:00

inside the texas state capitol, looking up at the rotunda ceiling.. the texas state capitol bldg. was intentionally built just a little bit taller than the nation's capitol bldg. call it texas pride (or hubris!).

2005-02-23T12:32:00.000-06:00

standing in the middle of congress ave. at about 7th st. the capitol bldg. is at about 12th st.

yep, it's texas alright...

2005-01-29T01:42:00.000-06:00

every now and then i get a little reminder that i am "deep in the heart of texas". tonight's reminder was how thin the veneer of civilization is down here. i live in central austin. about 20 blocks from the university of texas and 30 blocks from the state capitol. the austin metro area has about 750,000 souls and all the appropriate buildings, houses, and asphalt found in every major city of the world. it's a couple of miles in any direction before i get out of the city proper and into the hill country of centex (central texas). who'd a thunk it that i would be running into major vermin on the streets of austin?
riding my bike home from work , what do i see? standing in the doorway of a local neighborhood apartment complex is a 30 pound raccoon! i should say EASILY 30 pounds because this baby was way bigger than the average cocker spaniel. it didn't run away when i rode by it. (about 15 feet away) infact, it seemed a little peeved that i had interruped it's evening foraging. you'd expect the lower life forms to have an unhealthy respect for the pinnacle of the food chain when they were in leaping distance, but the raccoon seemed like it wasn't in the mood to back down from it's position in the entranceway to the complex. very brave. very confident. very unnerving. i decided to keep going, keeping in mind that raccoons can carry nasty things like parasites and rabies. (you never know!)
later on, that same evening, while walking the dog, we startle yet another critter doing the midnight snack run. a large opossum had TIPPED OVER a 50 gallon garbage can and was happily rummaging through it looking for tasty leftovers. the dog and i didn't see it until we were about 5 feet away when we see it backing out of the trash can. 'possum are normally kind of funny looking and awkward. this 'possum ( looking like a 20 pound rat in a dirty fur coat) lost it's funnyness when it turned towards us and hissed loudly. although 'possum are not naturally agressive, looking at those beady black eyes and surprisingly long, sharp teeth made me hesitate. even the dog didn't quite know what to make of it. normally she bolts for anything non-dog-like, ready to chew to pieces whatever she can catch, but not this time. i guess she also thought those teeth looked uncomfortably large and sharp. the moment passed and the 'possum proceeded to walk away like it had all the time in the world. i feel like i have been judged a minimal threat. how embarassing. maybe being at the top of the food chain aint what it's cracked up to be......
ya gotta love being in texas. :)

icu
doug

techno-truce?

2005-01-27T16:49:00.000-06:00

well, i think i might have found an uneasy alliance with the picasa/hello picture bot. here are a couple more austin photos. i am still wary about sending personal pics that i have taken. i am afraid it might eat them or something. we'll see...

2005-01-27T16:47:00.000-06:00

early morning, Town Lake hike and bike trail. one of the things that makes austin so beautiful.

2005-01-27T16:44:00.000-06:00

10,000 texans can't be wrong! the Stop The War protest brought downtown Austin to a standstill last summer. we still believe: US OUT OF IRAQ!

2005-01-25T17:15:00.000-06:00

across Town Lake, the austin skyline!

struggle!

2005-01-25T17:09:00.000-06:00

GAAAHHHH! what a hassle! i feel like i am arm wrestling with the hello/picasa bot trying to get some pictures posted! finally got one up, hope to have more in a moment. wish me luck...

2005-01-25T17:08:00.000-06:00

austin from the air

still alive and kickin'

2005-01-21T04:46:00.000-06:00

alot has happened recently, and i guess you can say i am still processing the events. i finally got my car running (a beautiful, sienna orange and white, 1976 AMC Matador sedan), only to wreck it immediately after leaving work. the prognosis is not good, and it looks like i am going to leave it in this condition for a while until i can locate a new right-front end suspension and a few other things. i am relieved that i did not get injured, but my wallet has suffered horribly! due to limited funds, the new year's tattoo will be skipped this year. :( the missus got a STUNNING frieda kahlo painting, "the little deer" tattooed on her shoulder by hannah aitchison of chicago. the detail is phenomenal!) i hope i can get some work done by her next year when she comes back!
at my place of employment, they are resurfacing the floors in the bakery. this means they will shut down the bakery for a week! i have found alternate work doing food demonstrations for a couple of days. very uninspiring. i was reminded why i left retail work many years ago. the whole "uber-cheerful plastic smile" routine gets old fast. i feel my social skills have atrophied after years of early morings and not having to be nice to people i don't want to. bakers are a surly lot.
so much to do and so little time! the annual Capricorn Party is this weekend. my friends get together at iona handcrafted books and celebrate all the capricorn birthdays in our group of friends. primarily, it is for the party host, edy! he is the supplier of the location and the local, handcrafted beer. it's a super-potluck dinner with lots of vegetarian food to sample and enjoy. later in the evening, the fabulous and talented Rubber Robot will play. duelling theremins, oh yeah! we have been designing lots of t-shirts for the band so everybody can be a rubber robot fan!
i am still lame when it comes to photos, but i will soon! honest!
icu
doug

it...is...A L I V E ! ! !

2005-01-05T11:11:00.000-06:00

maybe i should send myself out to be dry cleaned. the past week and a half has totally drained my personal reserves and i feel i could use a good pressing with light starch. having 2 jobs that are adversely affected by the holidays and a barely there personal life can drain your resources quickly. now, i am fairly used to burning the candle at both ends, but you have to pay the price eventually. the 10 days before christmas were all 10 to 12 hour days at the bakery. everybody is throwing holiday soirees and trying to impress relatives with our fabulous pannetone and stollen. i love my job, but it becomes a little much when you produce a couple of hundred baguettes (all hand-rolled), and about 35 other different breads and rolls each day. i was exhausted and my hands felt like aching claws!
job #2 at the indy video store was just as crazy. normally, a fairly slacker-friendly job, it turned into lines at the register and great questions like, "do you think my girlfriend would like "13 going on 30" or "DAWN OF THE DEAD" better?". i found that sarcasm takes far less thought and energy than straight answers. the vid store was cleaned out of all the new movies during this time, so i got to hear lots of "how come you guys don't have any new movies?" and "when are they going to return "A Charlie Brown Christmas"?" this is not my favorite part of the holidays.
my favorite part of the holiday season is ...THE PARTIES! ooooh yes! although it'll be tough to top the employee christmas party, you can't fault a guy for trying! :) i did make it out to a local bar the other night, (for some french bread pizza and beer) but i was really saving my energy for new year's eve. typicallly, i had to work from 3am to 2pm at the bakery, and 6pm to 10pm(we closed early!) at the vid store. at 10:15, with red bull energy drink in hand, the missus and i were on our way to a fabulous new years party on the east side of austin. she was very thourough in preparing for our long night. we had 4 bottles of champagne, a bottle of vodka and some mixers, a flask of single malt scotch, and lotsa party favors and hats. the party was at the art studio of a friend, in the warehouse district. there was supposed to be 3 kegs of local beer, snacks and treats, but we were prepared (just in case!).
the place was already rockin' when we showed up. strings of christmas lights were strung all throughout the courtyard. there must have been about 50 or 60 people milling about. in the center of the courtyard, there was a 20 ft. tall tripod covered in lights with a color tv hung from it. instead of a ball drop at midnight, we were going to have a tv drop! the courtyard connected two different art studios. the first one had cool video sculpture and paintings on the wall. there was a dj pounding out groovy dance rythmns, and tables of finger food and wine. there was also a VIP room, but i'll get to that later. the second studio was like the first, but more subdued. the music was chillin' and the lights were soothing. you never know when you might want to just chill out for a while.
we (my friends, my missus, and myself) were invited to the VIP room. it was actually the workspace of our friend (the artist). inside was a whole complete bar set up, soft couches to chill on, a coffee table with appetizers, and a PING PONG TABLE! uh oh! lookout! the missus is the queen of table tennis and proceeded to defeat her first foe quite handily. it was alot of fun watching and trying to keep score. later on, our host showed us some of his art he was working on. he works in a variety of styles and seems very accomplished in all of them.
when midnight arrived, we were working on our third bottle of champagne intermixed with swigs of single malt scotch. at midnight there was the countdown and the tv was dropped. it exploded quite satisfactorily! we have some pictures that i hope to put up if i can stop wrestling with the whole photo thingy. anyway, the party kinda ended for me about 230am. i was drunk, exhausted, and tired. everybody else was still in gear, so i went out to the car and crashed out until about 400am (when the party broke up) i woke up feeling a little better, but we still ended up leaving the car. (didn't want to drive drunk!) we caught a ride with some friends and hung out with them for awhile before going home. HAPPY NEW YEAR indeed! there were still some people partying in my neighborhood when we got home! the fun never stops in this town!

happy new ink....errr, i mean new year!

2004-12-22T20:46:00.000-06:00

when thinking about the new year, most people think about fresh starts, new semesters, the super bowl, and eating black-eyed peas (a texas new year tradition that's supposed to bring you luck). i, on the other hand, have something a little different on my mind. the second week of january always brings to austin the "star of texas tattoo revival"! that's right, the new year=new tattoos! ah yes...3 days of tattooing, art exhibits, lots of really interesting people and (of course) partying! some of the highlights for me from last year were; getting 2 old school swallows on my chest, my wife getting a beautiful botanical print of buttercups on her shoulder, meeting this 70-odd year old guy named mr. adcock who has 3/4ths of his body covered in glorious ink. (of course he got a new tat while he was there.) the hotel where this takes place is very accommodating of a couple thousand tattooed freaks wandering around socializing in their hotel lobby and restaurant. as a special suprise, last year ADAM WEST was staying at the hotel during the convention. as i walked through the lobby, i hear the UNMISTAKABLE voice of Batman coming from the dining room! i froze! freakin' ADAM WEST was sitting having lunch about 10 feet away from me! deciding not to make an absolute fool of myself in front of one of my childhood heroes, i just took a quick glance at him and kept on walking. i am positive that all i could do if i had stopped to talk to him would be to babble and then pass out! so lets just say i am looking forward to whatever surprises are in store for me this year! and, by the way, i am getting a new tattoo too!
peace!
doug

simply, having, a wonderful christmas time...

2004-12-20T16:57:00.000-06:00

like a thief in the night, christmas slowly creeps up on us. whenever we look at the calendar, it always seems a safe distance away. but, when our back is turned, it tiptoes closer and closer. it's times like this i realize how much of a procrastinator i am. 5 days 'til x-day, and i still have friends and family gifts to take care of. of course, i'm not a total bonehead. i already bought the missus her presents! :) it's not really very christmas-y in austin, weatherwise, but we really make up for it in spirit! in central austin, on 37th street, 3 blocks of houses (rental and owner-owned), duplexes, and apartments go totally monte haul with the christmas decorations. it is an austin tradition to walk or drive up 37th street to see what our favorite kind of austin weirdness has in store for us. things you can count on every year:
1)the house with the pagan yule decorations; pentagram, yule log, and all!(my favorite!)
2)the 2 story house with the smoking and erupting volcano on top. it's huge! every couple of minutes, the house lights dim and the giant red volcano on top of the house lights up. it starts to smoke and rumble while red christmas light "lava" pours doun the roof and sides of the house! SO COOL!
3) the house with a bazillion lights attached to the house and yard. many of the lights are covered with plastic toys, pill bottles, colored jars, giant sheets of mylar, and just about anything you can think of! there are so many lights on this house, some of them are still in the store bought packages they came in. the owner just staple gunned them to the side of the house! there are so many little twinkly christmas lights, you can stand 3 to 4 feet away from the house and feel HEAT! those little twinkly lights are normally quite cool to the touch, it's just that there are so many! the owner of the house has his electric meter proudly encircled in festive lights so you can see something amazing. the average electric meter wheel spins at about 1 rotation per minute (give or take a little). THIS meter spins at a blazing 1 rotation per SECOND! to help allay the extreme cost of electricity used, people voluntarily leave money clothespinned to his laundry line, piled in little rock cubby holes, stuffed in jars, and put pretty much anywhere they can. part of seeing this house is going into the back yard where even more lights are displayed, and all kinds of money is just LAYING AROUND IN WADS AND PILES! ONLY IN AUSTIN! if i can, i'll post pictures later.
4)the house with the fully lighted car-part angel sculpture. imagine the front end of a vw beetle disassembled, then re-assembled with odd gears and transmission parts, in the shape of a christmas angel. (halo and all!) it is surprisingly beautiful and touching.
all these people do this every year. in most cases, the lights are left up year-round, and repaired or adjusted during the year. right around thanksgiving, they turn them on and WOW! even the people who just rent the houses and apartments are involved. when you try to rent a house on 37th street, they WARN you, in the lease and in person, about the yearly light show. this also means massive traffic in the evenings as people slowly drive through. there is often a line of 10 to 15 cars waiting to get onto 37th. this is my favorite thing to see during the christmas season. there is no marketing, no admission cost, no ulterior motive. it's just christmas joy.
peace
doug

the work christmas party

2004-12-15T13:44:00.000-06:00

those four words give me the creepy crawlies! aren't there enough jokes and stories out there, that adding to the already huge pile would be overkill? absolutely! so here it is! LOL! my wife organized the christmas party for her employer. never, have i seen anyone so dilligent, and devoted to making this a successful, fun party. she organized the caterer, the piano player, decorations, rented tables and chairs, arranged for free cab rides for all participants, AND looked fabulous at the party! wow! i am thoroughly impressed! the party was a smash!!! it was a total retro-christmas party with presents for everybody! my wife did all the heavy work. i tried to help out the only way i knew how, i did a little bartending, making sure everyone had booze and a smile. the food was exotic and tasty (curry chicken, couscous, brie, quince paste, caviar, and a selection of fruit and desserts). now, i'm more of a casual party, beer and booze kind of guy, and this was a VERY swanky party. i was wearing my blue sharkskin suit,(it's only for special occasions) and felt a little odd being so dressed up. i was expecting this party to be kinda stiff and boring. how wrong can a guy get? the piano player started with some quiet jazz mixed with traditional chrismas tunes. by the end, he was playing "a charlie brown christmas" music and "i saw mommy kissing santa claus"! everybody crunched and munched the great food, too! and the drinking? oh man! i am happy to say we drank ALL the liquor (4 bottles!).and, the host (it was his house) had visited iceland last year; so guess what he had stashed away......BRENNIVIN!!!! apparently he hasn't been able to get anyone to drink it with him (the fools!). being the swell guy that i am, i offered to help him out. by the end of the evening, we had killed the bottle with everyone at the party doing brennivin shots. he even busted out with his stash of little airline brennivin bottles! the liquor and most of the wine was finished around 2am, but there was still some partying going on. this is unreal...all of these people have to be at work the next morning! i was toasted and ready to go home. we called a cab and made it back to the warmth of our abode. my wife had enough energy to get undressed and go to bed. i had to walk and feed the dogs. it was a very wobbly, drunken dog walk. i almost ended up in the bushes a couple of times! amazingly, i made it home and finally crawled into bed, wondering how bad the impending hangover was going to be. when i woke up, the next day, i was not disappointed, massive hangover!!! oh well, the price of a good night!

music in the air

2004-12-10T04:47:00.000-06:00

every evening i take my dog for a walk around the block. it is a nice central austin neighborhood with old houses built in the 1930s-1950's. the feel of christmas is in the chilly air (55degreesF? brrrrrr!), and the whole block is lit by beautiful colored lights. while walking zorra (my 8 year old, 60 pound, basenji/boxer mix), music fills the air! bagpipes. yes, i did just say bagpipes. a whole LOT of bagpipes. somewhere in my neighborhood, a full-on bagpipe marching band is playing! i love this place. i even took the long way home so i could listen to them play more. they might be practicing at the univ. of texas recreation fields, or this small industrial park that is a couple of blocks away. what a surreal moment!

back in the saddle

2004-12-09T16:38:00.000-06:00

well, it looks like i have regained temporary control of my blog again. i am still trying to get the whole adsense thing worked out. i am thrilled that i didn't permanently damage any of the code when i was mucking around. i sent off to blogger support for help, and they sent me a relatively short email in return. it didn't really answer my questions, nor correct my problem. i just got lucky using a small clue i could understand from their email. apparently blogger support (i'll just call them b.s. for short, lol!) is used to dealing with people who have at least a passing knowledge of html, blogger tags, and coding in general. unfortunately, i am not one of those people. i'm sure b.s. has helped alot of other people, but i feel way over my head and left to drown. sure, they're busy, but they are there to help me use THEIR blog. if my skill/knowledge level is not up to the task, at least they could step in and give it the old quick fix. they seem to know what is wrong and how to fix it, so why didn't they if it was that simple? i only got it by sheer ACCIDENT! god knows what i could have done if i guessed wrong. anyway, it's done, and i am done venting.

teaching an old dog new tricks

2004-12-06T15:55:00.000-06:00

it seems every time i sit down behind this computer, it lets me know in no uncertain terms who the boss is. although i know more about computers than the average celery stalk, i feel belittled and humiliated by my digital friend. i want to do something that is supposed to be simple. easy as pie. a cinch. .......not. i really like to know things from the ground up. with computers, that is not possible without some serious classtime. so i stumble on. like a one-eyed man in a dark cave. sure, i can see, but it doesn't help 'cause the cave is DARK! urgh. if odd things happen to this blog, keep in mind i am learning as i go and am trying not to delete anything important. but, accidents happen.
for example; it seems i managed to post 1 picture at full-size, but the rest i post are lo-res thumbnail size. they are all from the same camera, from the same windows "my pictures" folder, and saved exactly the same way. so....what did i do right once, but couldn't duplicate ? beats me. i have an uneasy alliance with technology.

i'm late! i'm late!

2004-12-04T05:54:00.000-06:00

aaaargh! it's 550am! i'm suppossed to be at work at 500am! so tired. got out of work at 100am and was in bed by 145am. not enough sleep, so my body made a command decision to sleep an extra hour and a half! i'm sure i'm in deep shit at work now! quickly, life update...
a/c&heat guys no-showed, heat still doesn't work properly. it's 40degreesF and rain is barrelling down on us from calif. and hawaii. i'm on my bicycle with no rain protection today! the city has never looked so much like reykjavik as it does now. very green and moss is growing on limestone everywhere! so nice, cold and rainy! makes me wish for a cup of hot coffee with a shot of espresso in it! lotsa stuff going on, wish i had time to stay and say! hopefully will fill you in later. hopefully will figure a way to display my photos larger than thumbnail size :(
icu

2004-12-02T14:47:00.000-06:00

my friends and i in geoff's home bar, "the liver spot". from left to right:geoff, me, eric(geoff's brother), edy

2004-12-02T14:33:00.000-06:00

2003

over a barrel

2004-12-02T13:43:00.000-06:00

ahh...yes...winter has arrived! we've had cold temps here recently and of couse, it's time to crank up the heater. but wait! it's important that you have a good, new, and efficient heating system. our landlord felt that way, so she had the airconditioner guys come out and install a new AC/heater! little did we know that these guys were idiots! three weeks ago they replaced our old unit, (after bringing a new one that wouldn't fit through the attic door!) and half-assed filled out the rebate form for our landlord. the rebate was worth 900 dollars, so it was VERY important to get it filled out and sent in. two weeks later they show up to re-fill out the rebate paperwork and get serial numbers off the heating unit. at this time they discover that they installed an electric heat unit. the rebate specifies that a gas heat unit is required. so, this week, they came out on wednesday to replace the brand new electric heat unit with a new gas unit that meets the rebate standards. after spending ALL DAY drilling, banging, installing new gas lines, and basically invading my precious day off, they finish the installation. then they come tell me the bad news. the unit they removed was 220v, and they replaced it with a 110v unit. through the magic of bailing wire, duct tape, tin foil, and a large hammer, they managed to make it work temporarily. how safe can it be to improperly convert 220voltage to 110voltage? now, i am waiting AGAIN for them to come out and fix yet another fuck up. if i wasn't already losing my hair, i'd be pulling it out by now. will this ever end? there's an old saying; "the road to hell is paved with good intentions" i'm already there!

the lost weekend

2004-12-01T09:45:00.000-06:00

it's kind of funny how you can spend 2 whole weeks of your life and have nothing to show for it! between torrential rains, crazy shoppers from hell, ultra-needy relatives, two jobs with overtime and a holiday, i have no life! i suppose i should be grateful that i have all of the above, (health, family, a job or two, and of course dry socks!) but i would surely love to have a little time to myself. you know the old saying, "all work and no play makes jack a dull boy". well i am dullsville ! i want to go see a movie, in a real movie theatre, not on tv! i'd like to eat out at a restaraunt that doesn wrap my food in paper or ask "do you want fries with that?". i want the time to sit out under the stars on cold, crisp nights, drink steaming black coffee, and smoke my pipe. i want to wake up when I want to, not at 2am. oh, and regularly going to bed after 9pm would be luxury! this is going to sound weird, but i really do love my life. i love being a baker, working at a cool independent video store, being married to a strong and beautiful woman. i just feel like i don't have enough time to do it all. living in austin means there is always something cool going on somewhere. you just have to find the time and money to do it.
here's a good example: last weekend, my friend geoff and his band rubber robot (www.rubberrobot.com) played the East Austin Studio Tour (e.a.s.t.). it was a scheduled tour of about 20 or 30 local artists, craftsmen, and their studios. everybody had food and beer/wine and music/bands at their studios. it was like a floating party that lasted all day! geoff's drummer edy, owns Iona Handcrafted Books. this is where they played during the early evening. the band ROCKED! geoff played TWO THEREMINS at the same time! about twenty people hung out to hear them play and everybody drank Live Oak Brewery Pale Ale, made locally. we could have stayed all night, but we had to go to my friend adam's birthday party too. adam just turned 31 (spring chicken!!!) and a group of us went to the legendary Dart Bowl to eat their award winning enchiladas, drink lots of beer and liquor, and BOWL, BOWL, BOWL!!! except for a recent light facelift, the dart bowl remains a true 70's style bowling alley with great food, cheap drinks, and almost 30 bowling lanes. none of us are really great at bowling, but it sure is a lot of fun to get drunk and throw heavy things that make a lot of noise!
i guess you can say i really crammed a lot of fun in 5 hours. of course i was in bed @ 11, because i had to work at 5am :( maybe thats why i like iceland so much. during the summer, it is sunlight 18 to 20 hours a day! i could do it all, in the sunshine, and still get my required 4 hours of sleep a night! sweet!

2004-11-19T17:26:00.000-06:00

me in iceland sept 2004

why?

2004-11-19T05:57:00.000-06:00

wednesday afternoon, the rain finally stopped. the next day and a half were so beautiful, i could cry! austin just got it's once a year scrubbing and the city looks spotless.
* * * [P-TING!] * * *
as the water receeds, the city starts counting the rescued and the dead. every year, there are really, really stupid people who think to themselves, "nothing will happen to me if i drive my vehicle into raging water". the bodies of these same people are usually recovered miles down stream from where they tried to cross a flooded roadway. in texas, getting through a "low water crossing" when it rains can be dangerous. there are signs that tell you not to cross when the roadway is flooded, but that doesn't stop people. every year, hundreds of people drown from this. maybe it's natural selection at work, but it makes me sad.
texas can be so beautiful, but it reminds you constantly that the environment is harsh. the weather kills people in texas. 105degrees F in the summer (with 90% humidity!). flash floods, tornadoes, and hurricanes in the spring and fall; ice storms, hail and sudden freezes in the winter. the weather is a dramatic force that shapes the behavior of all living things in texas. you must RESPECT nature. because, if you don't give it to mother nature, she'll teach you a fatal lesson.

singin' in the rain!

2004-11-17T04:59:00.000-06:00

sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for...
it has been kind of misting/spitting rain here for the past day or two. now, i am the kind of guy that sees it raining, and wishes for more. maybe i shouldn't wish so loudly. it has been intermittently POURING rain for the past 24 hours or so. this would seem like a good thing beeing that we are usually starved for rain, but not this time. you see, austin (pretty much all of central texas too)is a nice green city full of trees and other green growing stuff. if you look carefully , you will notice that all that green stuff is growing in a layer of topsoil that is only about 6 to 12 inches deep. underneath that is solid clay and limestone rock! so when we get more than 1/2 an inch of rain within a couple of days, the topsoil is already saturated and the clay and limestone act like a super-sealant. the rain has no place to go but any conveinient down hill direction, fast. pretty much any neighbor hood can turn into a swamp of a new riverbed within an hour. sometimes all it takes is for it to rain upstream of you (doesn't even have to be raining in your neighborhood!) and you are in the middle of a flash flood! this is happening right now. the little creek down the street, which normally has about 2 inches of water in it, is cresting at about 6 feet! if it were any higher, it would wash over the bridges! so maybe i wished a little too much. i still love the rain. nature just likes to remind us every now and then who the boss REALLY is!
icu

the "fall" of austin

2004-11-15T19:54:00.000-06:00

well, here it is, the middle of november. fall. for the rest of the country, at least. in austin, it is just now starting to get a little chill. of course by chill, i mean below 60 degrees F. it actually has been sort of drizzle/raining for the past 2 days. rain here is a rarirty, and a luxury. right after it rains, the whole city turns vibrantly green for a week and then every thing fades back to it's more common hazel/ brown color. austin usually is in the brown range right about august. it's brown from 100 degree F heat and no rain. this year has been a very weird year. we've had more than the usual rain and it only broke 100 degrees F 3 times! i was overjoyed and a little frightened at the same time. it's kinda unnatural. austin is so full of trees, hills, grassy parkland and of course, the colorado river/ lake travis/ town lake. yes, it has three names. austin is such a beautiful city, it's just a little weird. more on that later.
icu

hello blog-landers!

2004-11-08T16:27:00.000-06:00

howdy! my name is doug and this is my attempt at blogging. having never been much for it, i am rather suprised that i am actually doing it. first off, i am 39, married and an artisan bread baker. i also work at one of the local independent video stores. i hope i can give you a sense of what life is like (specifically my life) here in beautiful austin, texas. i am very open to questions and comments so, please, don't hold back!