When do you become a Texan?

Day: 34
High Temp: 86F
Job Status: Unemployed
Jobs Applied to: 4

We have officially surpassed the month anniversary of our arrival in Texas. To tell you the truth, I cant believe it has been that long. We have had Homer for 3 weeks now, and are starting slowly to accept the annoying quirks of living in a huge apartment community. Having reached this milestone, I began to wonder when, if ever, I would feel like I had become a Texan.

As I mentioned in an earlier blog, Texans make a huge deal about the pride feel for their state. I am definitely not there yet. I mean, I still think it's a very nice state, but honestly, I've seen better. So, are you not really a Texan until you feel that sense of pride? Until you are happy to boast on vacations and family gatherings about how you are from Texas? I actually find it kind of embarrassing.

My cute Mazda, Elly, has Texas license plates. Does that make me a Texas? They are bright and bold, and have the shape of the state and the lone star prominently displayed. Texas plates... does that make me a Texan? We are thinking about getting one of the ubiquitous Longhorn decals that everyone has on the back of thier car. Will that make us Texans?

Technically, I know I am a Texan, as my address tells me so. But as "fall" creeps closer here in the great state of Texas, and the high temps continue to reach the mid 80's or higher, I am just not sure I can ever really feel at home here. I walked out the door the other morning around 10am to take Homer for his morning walk, and thought it felt much more like the beginning of summer, than the onset of fall. The leaves aren't really changing, and I am not sure they ever will. And even though it has definitely been cooling down, there is certainly no crisp, distinct chill in the air. I am not sure I can ever feel truly at home in a place that doesn't have seasons.

It is also worth mentioning that since returning to Texas from my visit to St. Louis last week, I have been feeling really homesick. The odd thing is, I am not sure if I am missing St. Louis or Chicago. I had the most depressed feeling as my parents drove me to the airport, and I tried to accept the fact that flying "home" meant flying to Austin, and not Chicago. The only comfort there was that I was flying back to Tom, and truth be told, he is really the main factor in my definition of home.

So, Texan or not, it is here that I will try to make my home, at least for the next 3 years. Hopefully, at some point, it will feel like where I belong.

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.