Homer

Day: 16
High Temp: 91F
Job Status: Unemployed

For weeks leading up to our move to Austin, Tom and I discussed getting a dog. It is something I had wanted for a long time, but we had always found Chicago very unfriendly to dogs. It is hard to find an apartment that will let you have one, and those brutal, 6 month-long winters don't make middle of the night potty training any easier.

We found a great little lab-mix named Clive last week, but when Tom got home from class, and we went to go see him, he had been adopted by someone else. Tom was a little crushed, which was the first time I realized that he wanted a dog just as much as I did. After missing the opportunity to make Clive our own, we started looking at all the adoption websites, and came upon a little 2 month old Aussie mix. I fell in love with his pic immediately, and so began the process to get approved by that particular rescue organziation so we could meet him. Thursday afternoon I got word that we were approved, and so we set up an apporintment to see the little guy for the next afternoon. We were told that if he was the right fit for us, we could take him home that day.

We met him at the rescue center, and fell in love immediately. He is very cute, but also suprisingly calm. He is sweet, inquisitive and not at all aggressive. He is also not very vocal, which we thought might be good, as we are living in an apartment. Knowing that his mother was an Australian cattle dog, we did expect him to have a lot of energy, and need a lot of excercise, but he hasn't really been that demanding. Indeed, it's hard to get him to play much when he is inside, and he is reluctant to go on walks, although he seems to really enjoy himself once he is moving.



After much discussion, we decided to name him Homer. For years now, Tom and I have had a make believe dog named Homer (it's a long story), and after meeting this guy, we knew he embodied all the wonderful traits and wisdom of our pretend dog, and that it was the perfect fit. Our real Homer sleeps a lot, and likes to chew, and be petted. He has itchy skin (we think from residue protein from old flea bites still irritating his skin) so he is constantly scratching. We have put him on Benadryl, which makes him even more sleepy than he already was.

And he is slowly getting the hang of the potty training thing, which is more work than I remember. Tom and I still have many more weeks of waking up once or twice a night to take him out, but we think he is worth it! We are planning on driving to St. Louis for Christmas this year, so those of you in that area will have a chance to meet him then. Fingers crossed that by that time he is sleeping through the night, and not having accidents on the carpet!

We're setting records

Day: 11

High Temp: 104F

Job Status: Unemployed

Today we officially celebrated our 66th day topping 100 degrees in 2009. This makes 2009 the second hottest summer on record in Austin. If we make it to 69 days, we will take the top spot from the summer of 1925. Welcome to Austin.

Now of course, Tom and I have been luck to spend a majority of our summer in the tempreate great lakes region, but it is worth noting that each day since we arrived has bee 100 or hotter. Most of you know it is hot here in Texas, and I am sure many of you have heard that this area of the country has been hit by a pretty big drought. Water restrictions are in effect, and many local crops are on the brink.

This explains why yesterday evening's brief afternoon rain was greeted with such joy. It lasted no longer than 15 minutes, but it was a storm welcomed unlike any storm I have ever seen before. Tom and I had walked up to the lovely local organic grocery spot, Farm to Market, to grab a jar of salsa and an avocado to round out the evening's dinner and were taking our time walking back, stopping in a few local stores on our way home. We were in a really excellent antique/junk shop called Uncommon Objects when the store keeper shouted, "Hey everyone! It's raining!" Reacting to our cue, everyone dropped what they were doing to rush outside and revel in the falling drops.

Having baked and boiled ourselves for the past several days, we too enjoyed the rain, and strolled leisurely towards home. I have never seen people so happy for rain. Those walking on the sidewalks seemed to slow down, in an effort to let as many of the drops as possible hit them. Everyone looked at each other with these huge smiles, as if saying, "Look at that, it's raining! How great!"

About halfway there, it really started to pick up, and we ran the rest of the way home, excited to get to the overhang of our balcony to observe the rain as it fell on the live oaks in our courtyard (see pics below). Many of our neighbors joined us out on the balconies to witness the deluge, one guy commenting that he would be okay with two straight weeks of rain.

It was a serious, if brief, summer rain storm, but what came after was perhaps even more miraculous. Instead of the hot, humid conditions that often follow summer rain in the

The New Digs and Wheels

Day: 8 (we made it one week!)
High Temp: 102F
Job Status: Unemployed


Tom and I have moved into a place called the State House. It's one of those huge, suburban style apartment buildings that are incredibly common in Austin. Its a really well-kept complex, and has nice amenities like a fitness center and a pool.

Here is a pic of our diningroom, and another of the living room area. It's nice and open and a pretty great layout. You can see the kitchen a little through the cut out/bar in the diningroom.
















Our apartment is a pool-view unit. We thought this sounded excellent, until we actually moved in... As it turns out, pool-view is like living in a 4 star resort for 50% of the time (see pic taken from our balcony), and the other 50% is like overlooking a frat party. I was told by an insistent stranger at the last TimeLine company BBQ that it would be WAY too hot to use the pool, and that no one would EVER go in. In fact, it is quite the opposite. People are in the pool all the time. They even go in the heated whirlpool! It's insane.

Even in the middle of the night, it seems, people are in the pool. It is supposed to close at 10pm, and there is supposed to be a community patrol that comes around a few times a night, but we were definitely awoken twice last week in the middle of the night... I talked with the management person, and she gave me the number of the community patrol, and said they will respond immediately to any noise complaints. Yep, I am going to have to be the neighborhood bitch that calls the cops on my those having fun in the pool after hours, but Tom and I are embracing our status as total strangers in this city and will relish the opportunity to tell the drunk ex-frat boys to shut the hell up!


And, as you pretty much cannot live in Austin without an automobile, Tom and I have purchased one. And, as you cannot really be a Texan with out a truck, we decided to go ahead at get one for ourselves (sort of). It's a Mazda Tribute, a small SUV. Not sure either of us ever thought we would own an SUV, but after driving a rental car in the city, and realizing that every parking lot has a gigantic dip between it and the street that is guaranteed to scrape the hell out of the bottom of your vehicle, we looked for something that was a bit taller, and found Elly (short for Elephant in honor of her size and color.) I realize a Mazda Tribute is not exactly the largest coche on the camino, but it sure is a big change from our little Toyota Celica we drove in Chicago.

Don't Mess With Texas

Day: 5
High Temp: 102F
Job Status: Unemployed

The popular slogan "Don't Mess With Texas" was actually created for (and is still used by) an anti-litter campaign organized by the Texas Department of Transportation. It has been co-opted by organizations and people all over Texas to communicate not only their tough attitudes but also their immense pride for their state. And the reality is even those people who don't want to seced from the union think that Texas is the greatest thing since sliced bread.

Well, I think Texas is pretty great too, so far. But it is hot, and the people carry guns (yes, even in Austin) and the meat section of the grocery store is at least twice as big as the produce section. So, this blog is my attempt to communicate not only my adventures in this strange land, but also to keep my sanity. I am a midwestern girl, after all, and this place is mighty weird.