What I Learned v2

1. Sometimes side-effects are the lesser of two evils. I have been struggling with digestive problems for about 15 years now (yes, fully half of my life) and last week I went to see a specialist who thinks he has figured out a way to help me cope. Two pills a day, and in theory, my body should start functioning more like a "normal body." I started the medication a week ago, and while it may still be a bit too early to tell, all indications are that this medicine is going to change my life. Unfortunately, I am feeling the full force of the medicine's side effects which include dry eyes, dry mouth, and a decreased ability to sweat. This has me drinking tons of water, and rubbing at my eyes praying for the end of the work day to come so I can take out my contacts.


2. Graduation week is one of the most exciting times to work at a University. Today we graduated our 2011 class of BSN, MSN and PhD Nursing students. Graduation is one of the few tangible reminders of why I am working so hard for so little pay, slagging through the bureaucracy of a major University System and the silly red-tape that goes along with being an employee of one of the most backwards states in the Union.


3. I have taken too many good books for granted recently.  Many of my recent reads have been really excellent (A Visit from the Goon Squad and Loving Frank, to name two). Well imagine my shock when I broke that streak with the forgettable The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. This book has reminded me that not all popular, highly recommended books are actually interesting and well written. To be fair, I am only 3 chapters in, but those first few chapters have been klunky and have almost completely failed to capture my interest. I am going to keep on for at least a few more chapters, but I may not make it through this one.


4. Hot Doug's will reopen just in time for my arrival to Chicago! I ain't too proud to admit that I am a fan of Hot Doug's on the FB. Recently they posted about closing for vacation near the Memorial Day holiday, which nearly sent me into a full-throttle panic. Thankfully, Doug has the good sense to re-open the restaurant the day that Tom and I arrive to Chicago for our Midwest tour.  All Hail Hot Doug's!


5. The Dirty Sanchez is the best taco in existence. End of discussion. In my now infamous queso blog, I expounded on the virtues of Torchy's Tacos' amazing queso dip. I know the name is vile, but I am here to tell you that their Dirty Sanchez taco is the absolute best taco on earth. I have been in Austin for nearly two years (and eaten at Torchy's a few dozen times) but had never tried the Sanchez until last Friday night. Scrambled Egg, a fried pobano chile, guacamole, escabeche carrots, and cheese. Heaven.

What I Learned v.1

Hey friends! It should be no surprise to you by now that I am having trouble keeping up with the blog thing. I will blame it partly on an unusually busy few months at work, and partly on feeling like the new car smell has worn off of my Austin adventure. Few things lately seem worthy of the full blog treatment, so I am going to try something new here that I think will help me meet the demands of my adoring readership of dozens.  I am happy to present the new weekly feature What I Learned.

I have seen this kind of thing work wonders on other blogs. From the always funny Awkward/Awesome frequently seen at my friend Stephanie's Big Mario Life to the always admirable Happy Thoughts at cousin Molly's blog A Foreign Land, these structured, reoccurring blog themes seem to be working well for the other bloggers in my life.

The list-like structure should be easy to maintain, and I hope it will also prove to be pressure free. And don't despair, I will still feature the occasional longer blog about awesome stuff in Austin, and photo montages of the amazing and beautiful things happening in my garden (do you have any idea how miraculous and beautiful baby watermelons are?) So... are you ready to find out what I learned this week?

What I Learned...
1. I am not lactose intolerant, or allergic to gluten, shellfish or tree nuts. I am, however, blessed with a spasmodic set of intestines. Thankfully, there is a pill for that.

2. Bevo rides in style. Last Thursday I spied the Silver Spurs's big burnt orange truck rolling down MLK Blvd here in Austin. The big fancy trailer that carries the UT Longhorns's iconic mascot was attached. I got really excited when I realized that Bevo was actually in the trailer. I love Bevo. Honestly, I might join the fan club.

3. I will be really sad to see the 2011 MFA Playwrights graduate. So many of our friends will be leaving Austin within the next few weeks, and that sucks.

4. No matter how many times I meet him, it seems that Beeven Bietz is always going to make me feel a little star struck. And that is so embarrassing.

5. I am geeking out over our upcoming reservation to Alinea. Tom and I will be in Chicago for a little vacay in about a month, and we are splurging big-time on a dinner at Alinea. This week I read the new memoir written by Alinea's Chef, Grant Achatz. It took my excitement level off the charts. You can expect a long blog about the experience sometime later in June!

I love my Esthetician

Day: 412
High Temp: 88F

Her name is Casey, and boy did she earn her love from me on Wednesday. You see, I am getting married in eight days. The planning has been a lot of fun, but I am 800 miles away from where I am getting married, and so that has been challenging. And there is a lot of stuff to do if you are hosting a wedding with 150 guests, and you are making all the programs, centerpieces all other decor yourself (with help from your amazing mother). Add on top of this that Tom has been in tech and performances for a play all week (I literally have not seen him while I was awake since Tuesday night.) Oh, and there is the small matter of the gunman who terrorized campus on Tuesday morning. Yeah, you could say I have been stressed out.

Enter Casey. Casey is one of the talented Estheticians who works at Ann Webb Wellness Clinic located in North Austin. Thanks to a recommendation from my excellent boss here at UT Nursing, I have been going to AW for 4 months now for facials to get my skin into top condition for the wedding. It sounds indulgent, doesn't it? Well, would you believe that I have done this for the same price as just ONE facial at the Four Seasons Spa?

AW does new client facials for just $65, and after that, they are $45 for existing clients. AND you get a FREE facial during the month of your birthday. And this is no skimpy facial. I have had a facial at the above mentioned Four Season Spa, and the AW facial rivals it easily, plus, all the products they use are paraben and cruelty free, and they smell amazing.

Along with the cleansing, scrubbing, masking, oxygen treating and peeling I am treated to during my monthly facial, Casey also gives a first rate head, neck and arm massage while the products are working. And because I have been suffering from allergies the past few weeks, this week she also did this nifty face/pressure point massage thing to my face that all but relieved my sinus pressure. And I walked out of there with a free tea-tree blemish buster stick just incase I have any last minute, stress induced, wedding day breakouts!

I left feeling so incredibly relaxed with my skin glowing. A real triumph in a hectic week. True, the blissed out feeling only lasted for a few hours until I remembered all the stuff I need to get done. But, it was an island of calm that probably saved my sanity this week.

The good news for those who don't live in Austin is that Whole Foods carries her skin care line. So if you are looking for a good anti-aging moisturizer that doesn't cost as much as your car payment each month, check it out. I also love the peppermint milk cleanser which doubles as a hydrating face mask.

This little bit of love may be the last blog until the wedding. Unless I have loads of unanticipated down time while in the Lou, I will see you all when I am a Mrs!

The Job

Day: 326
High Temp: 89F

The cool thing about my job at UT is that it is one part Education and one part social services.  Having spent the first several years of my career fundraising in the arts, I thought this would be a great opportunity to diversify my experience and resume.  This position has allowed me to learn a ton about endowments and the funding of academic programming. It has also allowed me the special joy of fundraising to provide direct healthcare services to the under and uninsured of central Texas through our two nurse-managed health clinics.

Yesterday afternoon I had my first chance to visit the School of Nursing's Children's Wellness Center (CWC), which is located in a rural and poor area of Travis County called Del Valle.  Completely bereft of basic services (there is not a grocery store in Del Valle, and our clinic is the only primary health provider for miles) Del Valle almost seems forgotten by Travis County. It is also plagued by a special set of problems that must be unique to a poor rural community situated not 15 minutes from the "major urban area" that is downtown Austin (obesity, asthma, gang violence).

Every day, our clinic provides health services primarily for children, but also for their families if they have no where else to go.  We serve a population of over 1,000 children under the age of 18, providing physical exams, treatment of acute illnesses, social and behavioral interventions and hundreds of free immunizations.

I was at CWC yesterday in preparation for an event we are hosting there in a few weeks. The entire clinic used to be situated in two modular buildings, but recently the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation (yes, that Dell) gave us a large grant to renovate a third building. This renovation allowed us to create an expanded lab and new nurses stations and most exciting of all, it doubled the number of patient rooms we have at the clinic. Of course, thanks are in order, and so we are all trucking out to Del Valle in a few weeks to show the people from the Dell Foundation all the good they did with their recent grant and to thank them.

Settling in to the School of Nursing has been hard for me, but this visit helped me reconnect with an important aspect of the work we are accomplishing every day (aside from educating all those future nurses which is also cool).  Certainly, I miss working in the arts. But also my boss and I are both new, and we are operating under an interim Dean. Everyone wants to move forward, but until a permanent Dean is appointed, it will be hard to do.  I have been feeling a little like I am playing a waiting game, anticipating the appointment of a permanent Dean, and the unveiling of new strategies and goals for the school. Until then, we are just sort of carrying on. The Clinics, however, are still growing and it is exciting to see that happening.

Pledging Allegiance to the Texas Flag

Day: 278
High Temp: 91F

Last friday morning at 7:45am, I found myself in a large room inside a temporary building, surrounded by a few hundred children all under the age of 10 pledging my allegiance to the Texas State flag.  It was my first experience pledging my allegiance to Texas, and with all the ridiculousness going on right now in the debate on what text books in Texas should contain I was thinking to myself, "Maybe not allegiance to Texas, but Austin... okay, I feel good about pledging my allegiance to Austin."

In a state where you spend the entirety of your 4th grade social studies class learning Texas state history, it should be no surprise this is a rudimentary part of the morning at UT Elementary School, but I was a bit caught off guard, nonetheless.

This all came about as I was invited to a monthly breakfast and tour that UT Elementary School hosts for University staff, faculty and any other interested community members. It's a chance to hear from the principal about what the school is doing right, meet the crazy-smart, well behaved and articulate students, and get a peek at how UTES is working with other urban schools to improve education for the underserved. It was really cool.

The scene of my allegiance pledging was the morning school-wide assembly. It's just 5-10 minutes each morning where the school comes together as a community to pledge allegiance in English and in Spanish, (and not just to Texas, but to the US flag as well), sing their school song (with UTES appropriate lyrics set to "The Eyes of Texas"), recite their "peace code" and hear any school announcements.  If it's your birthday, the whole school will sing to you at assembly (as happened for little Francisco the morning I visited). And if it's Friday you also get to hear a joke from one or two of the kids as a part of what they call "Friday Funnies".

The school is truly a model of how amazing urban education can be, if you just have a little money, and the luxury of small classroom sizes.  Of course, so few urban schools have those luxuries, so it was good to see how dedicated this school is to working with teachers and administrators from other Austin public schools, and how they supplement the teaching degree programs here at UT with unparalleled hands-on opportunities in the classrooms.

With their emphasis on early interventions (physical, behavioral, psychological, etc) and a thing they call "Social and Emotional Learning", this school is doing so much right. You can see the proof in the respect the kids have for themselves, their teachers and their school.  I was mightily impressed by these "Little Longhorns."

Poker Walk

Day: 272
High Temp: They say 86F, but it's past noon and only 67 right now

On Wednesday I participated in the UT Poker Walk, which is a fitness initiative that encourages faculty and staff to exercise. It's an odd event, but the basic premise is that you form a team (we were Healin' and Dealin'- get it? Nurses + Poker!) walk a 1 mile course, and along the way pick up poker chips from 5 stations. When you get to the end of the course, you turn in your chips, and the volunteer dealers deal you 5 cards. There is no discarding, and the top three best hands win prizes. I got a heart flush with a queen high. It may have been the best poker hand I have ever been dealt, including games when discarding was allowed. And it turns out that was enough to score me 3rd best hand out of 1100 participants. I won a new ipod shuffle. Sweet.

The event also pushed my UT free t-shirt total up to 4 (in as many months of employment.)  This place loves to give away t-shirts. I've added it to my longhorn water bottle, tip card, multiple pens and pencils, notepads, leather portfolio, refrigerator magnet and lapel pin.

Happy Independence Day!

Day: 199

High Temp: 59F

Texas Independence day, that is. I have never lived anywhere that celebrated an independence other than July 4th, and to be honest, the fanfare is rather lacking.

That said, I would like to direct your attention to a website kept by a man who truly understands the important place that UT and Texas as a whole have in this world. Jim Nicar is an employee over at Texas Exes- the university alumni association, and is sort of the unofficial historian of UT. He always has some pretty awesome and entertaining stories to tell, including this one sent in a campus-wide email this morning, detailing the Independence Day celebrations of 1996 and 1997. Enjoy!

For the proudest of Texans, it’s the most important day of the year. It’s a holiday that no other state can claim. March 2 is Texas Independence Day, and it’s observance on the University of Texas campus began with a missed class, a visit to Scholz’ Beer Garden, and a spiked cannon.

In the spring of 1896, the fledgling University was confined to a forty-acre campus, with a white-washed wooden fence around the perimeter to keep out the town cows. A Victorian-Gothic Main Building, only two-thirds complete, commanded the hill in the center. It was flanked by the Chemistry Lab Building to the northwest, and B. Hall, a men’s dorm, down the hill to the east.

The University’s 482 students were divided into two departments: Academic and Law. The Academic Department encompassed studies comparable to today’s Colleges of Liberal Arts and Natural Sciences, and the “Academs” pursued their classes for the usual four years, leading to a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Law students, though, needed only two years to complete an LL.B. - a Bachelor of Laws and Letters - and a previous undergraduate degree was not required for admission. Junior Laws were first-year law students, while Senior Laws were completing their final year.

On the cloudy, warm and humid morning of March 2, 1896, the Junior Laws were waiting for their next lecture in criminal law, taught by Judge Robert Batts, when one student bemoaned the fact that the day was Texas Independence Day, a legal holiday for Texans, except, apparently, for UT students.

For years, students had regularly petitioned the faculty for a break on March 2nd, but had always been refused. “Our faculty is afraid to grant us holiday, even on such occasions,“ complained the Alcalde, a weekly student newspaper that pre-dated The Daily Texan (and not to be confused with the present alumni magazine). “They fear that some 2 x 4 politician, or still smaller newspaper, will accuse them of not earning their money. That is the real cause of their reluctance to grant a cessation of routine grinds, to allow our Texan bosoms an inflation of truly patriotic atmosphere.”

After serious discussion, the Junior Laws decided they would honor such an auspicious day by avoiding class altogether, and invited Judge Batts to join them. The diplomatic Batts responded with an eloquent speech, espousing all of the dire things that might happen to Junior Laws who skipped lectures. The students listened, cheered, and promptly ignored Batts’ pleas, choosing instead to spend the day at Scholz’ Beer Garden just south of the campus, where they were reportedly “very gemuethlick.”

One year later, in 1897, the now senior law class was determined to include the entire campus community in a celebration of “the natal day of Texas Independence,” and again petitioned the faculty for a holiday. But the Board of Regents had recently appointed George T. Winston (photo at left) as the new University President. A native of North Carolina and an alumnus of both the Naval Academy and Cornell, Winston neither understood nor shared the affinity Texans had for March 2nd. Winston recognized only one Independence Day, and that was on July 4th.

Undaunted, the Senior Laws pressed ahead with their plans, hoping to impress upon President Winston the importance of the second day of March. Working with the Texas Attorney General, four of the students signed a bond in order to borrow one of the two brass cannons that stood guard in front of the State Capitol. It took most of the afternoon of March 1st to roll the cannon to the Forty Acres, where the Laws planned to use it for a 21-gun salute to Texas at dawn following day.

Just before sunrise on March 2, 1897, the Senior Laws arrived for their celebration, only to find the cannon had been spiked. A large nail had been driven in to the ignition hole, and it took some time, persistence and the employment of several pocket knives to remove the offending item. By then, President Winston had arrived on the scene, and was rather unhappily resigned to the fact that the students were going to celebrate, whether or not the faculty approved. Hoping to minimize the damage to the class day, Winston asked the Laws to move the cannon away from the Main Building, down the hill to the University’s athletic field (where Taylor Hall and the ACES Building now stand). Or, they could wait until after noon to have their fun. As it turned out, the students did both.

Boom! Starting at 9:30am, an otherwise peaceful March morning was harshly interrupted by a series of cannon blasts from the athletic field. The entire Law Department attended, including Professors Robert Batts and John Townes, and following the cannon fire, each person present gave a short but sincere patriotic speech. The talks by Batts and Townes were greeted with particularly loud cheers from the students.

Meanwhile, a distracted Academic Department continued to hold classes as best as it could, some of the faculty hoping the Laws would tire of their efforts, while other professors were no doubt wishing they could join in the fun. The Laws, though, weren’t going to allow Texas Independence Day to pass without including the rest of the University.

At 1pm, a fresh supply of gun powder was secured, and the cannon was dragged up the hill and positioned directly in front of the Main Building, facing the Capitol. The first blast “threatened to break every window in the building.” In a flurry, the Academs vacated their classrooms and joined the Laws outside, and the scene of the morning was repeated, with more speeches from students and professors.

Midway through the afternoon, it was discovered that President Winston had quietly made his escape home just north of the campus, to which a large and boisterous committee of students promptly followed. Refusing to take no for an answer, Winston was persuaded to return and make a speech of his own. He opened with the remark:

“I was born in the land of liberty, rocked in the cradle of liberty, nursed on the bottle of liberty, and I’ve had liberty preached to me all my life, but Texas University students take more liberty than anyone I’ve ever come in contact with.”
The students responded with their loudest cheers of the day, and gave President Winston a rousing rendition of the University of Texas yell:

Hullabaloo! Hoo-ray! Hoo-ray!
Hullabaloo! Hoo-ray! Hoo-ray!
Hoo-ray! Hoo-ray!
Varsity! Varsity! U. T. A.!

Since then, UT students and Texas Exes have recognized March 2nd as a time to celebrate both the Lone Star State and the University of Texas. In 1900, the Ex-Students Association adopted a resolution which states: “Whenever two Texas Exes shall meet on March 2, they all shall sit and break bread and pay tribute to the institution that made their education possible.”

Tom is a Rock Star

(this should have posted on 2/22- not sure what happened)

Day: 191

High Temp: 57F

Tom is a rock star. Of course most of you are sitting there saying, "yeah, we know!" But here is a new reason to respect his awesomeness...

Tom has spent this past weekend in Washington D.C., at Arena Stage's Devised Work symposium. Kirk Lynn, a co-founder of the Rude Mechs, a well respected theatre specializing in devised, nearly avant garde original theatre, is one of the presenters at the symposium (along with people from SITI and Tectonic, two very exciting theatre companies working to redefine what modern American theatre is.)

Kirk also happens to be one of Tom's professors at UT. Recognizing Tom's passion for non-traditional playwrighting and collective creation, Kirk approached the University and asked they would pay to bring Tom to the symposium with Kirk. I think he recognized that Tom would not only learn a lot from the presentations, but that he would potentially make lots of really excellent connections that will help him further his career down the road. The University agreed, and said they would pay.

I think it is just so cool that Tom was pulled out from a group of really talented playwrights to have that experience. I also think it shows Tom made a great decision in the program he chose to attend. They are obviously recognizing his talent and interests, and are doing what they can to foster those things. Yay Tom!

We REALLY Love Football

Day: 145
High Temp: 39F (unfortunately, its only 30F right now)

The love of football by Texans is a cliche of epic proportions. While I am not saying every cliche is true, this one most definitely is. Here in Austin, the state capital of the second largest state in the land, we have no professional athletic teams. That's okay, though. We content ourselves with athletic teams of the collegiate variety, especially of the college football variety. Literally the entire city, and surrounding areas, root for the Longhorns. Add to that the fact that UT graduates somewhere in the realm of 10,000 students every year and you gotta figure that UT fans number well into the millions.

As you may have heard, the Longhorns are playing in the BCS Championship tonight, and as I have already established, college football is a BIG deal here. Just how big? Well the dean of the nursing school (a brilliant woman who has a PhD and is a Fellow of the American Association of Nursing - an elite group) was wearing her burnt orange today. They are selling burnt orange sourdough boules and baguettes at the local HEB. The anchor woman on News 8 Austin last night was wearing a burnt orange blazer AND had one of those little metal long horn charms hanging from her necklace. Not to mention the Burger King special featuring "Burnt Orange Sauce"...

I like football, a lot. And am this year, for the first time ever, starting to appreciate how fun it is to root for a college football team (I have, of course, for years understood the joy of being a Chicago Bears fan). I am happy to have a chance to witness the end of bowl season mayhem. It scares me a little, but it's fun to get into the spirit of things. And I know that a season like this one might not come around again for the Longhorns while I am here. Hook 'em horns!

New Year, New Outlook

Day: 142
High Temp: 47F

If should be no shock to any of you that much of last year was hard for me. I was out of work for five months, and that itself tested my patience, relationship and bank account. On top of that, I found myself in a strange city where I didn't know anyone but Tom. I am happy to say that today represented a huge milestone in my time here in Texas: I started my new job!

Yes, today was my first official day as a longhorn, and I have to say I am thrilled at the possibilities. I have a parking permit, a photo id, and a handy longhorn post-it cube. No offense to the non-profits of Chicago, but the benefits are amazing. Among the best perks are the tuition reimbursement that will allow me to take on class a semester for free (in any degree program that I can get accepted to!) and the free health insurance is pretty nice too. And it seems as though I am going to have my very own office. This is a first for me, and I am excited at the possibility.

I am sure I will have a lot more to say on this topic as I settle into the new position, but for now, I am sleepy from my brutally early wake-up call. Here's hoping I am able to quickly readjust to the alarm!

Sudden Realization

Day: 122
High Temp: 49F

Today, I woke up around 9am. Not terribly late, but pretty much the norm for me in my recent, unemployed state. When I looked a the clock, I had a sudden realization: Three weeks from now, when I am officially at my new job, I will have already been at work for an hour. Yikes! I guess this is goodbye to 9 hours of sleep each night. I am sure I will be fine... right?

Merry Christmas To ME!!!

Day: 121
High Temp: 65F
Job Status: Employed!!!

You read that correctly. Employed. It only took 125 days...the longest 125 days of my life. And if you take into account that I was unemployed my last two weeks in Chicago in preparation for our big move, I have been out of work for 4 and a half months. Everyone kept telling me to enjoy the time while I had it, and I tried my best, but now I know that the next three weeks, and the upcoming holidays, are going to be the best ever.

The job is in the Development Department at the University of Texas School of Nursing. It is a 3 person department, and I am really excited. The department not only raises funds for the academic nursing programs at UT, but also for the two wellness centers that are affiliated with the school of nursing. Those clinics provide medical care to low-income and uninsured families and children. The job itself offers me the chance to use many of the skills I have from the performing arts sector, but will also allow me to gain experience in higher education and social services fundraising.

I am set to begin on January 4th. It really is the best Christmas present I could receive. Money has been very tight for Tom and I, and this new opportunity will represent the real start of my life here in Austin. I am letting out a huge sigh of relief, and preparing to celebrate!

Beeven Bietz

Day: 116
High Temp: 50F
Job Status: Unemployed (and not receiving unemployment)

With the advent of Google Alerts, bloggers need to be careful about what they say, and who they say it about. I think this is a good thing. Anonymity is certainly still easy enough to preserve on a blog, but the fact that the person you are trashing might get an email alerting them to the fact that you have written something does hopefully make the blog owner more responsible for what he or she says. It is probably not such an issue if you want to blog about an A-list celebrity. Those people are written about so much that I doubt they/their managers/their agents really care what is being said about them. I mean, can you imagine if Brittney Spears set up a google alert for her name? A constant stream of inanity, to be sure.

So what does that have to do with Austin, or my subject line Beeven Bietz? Well, this posting is supposed to be about a certain American playwright that I have had the pleasure of meeting and socializing with. However, my own inability to give an enthusiastic and heartfelt compliment has made it awkward to write this blog for fear said playwright has a google alert set for his own name, and will therefore be alerted to my blog. Therefore, I have given this incredibly charming and well-respected artist a ridiculous, slightly distorted name: Beeven Bietz.

Many of my blog readers probably already know who I am talking about. For those that don't, here are a few more clues to help you with the google search. Beeven is a professor here at UT Austin, he spends his time between Austin and Seattle, and has been produced by my beloved TimeLine Theatre in Chicago. I have a google alert set up for "TimeLine Theatre" and will now likely get an alert about my own blog...

Anyhow, Beeven wrote a play that I love. It is, in fact, one of my favorite plays EVER. I think it is really freaking cool that he is Tom's mentor and professor. I think it is really freaking cool that I have met him, and I also think it is really freaking cool that last Friday night, I sat in his back yard, drinking wine and chatting with him and other UT theatre people around his fire pit. It's all so cool. But it feels so uncool to say it!

I am a mess!

Beeven and his wife are both playwrights. They live in a gorgeous old house a few blocks north of campus, and have converted the little coach house in back into a stunning writer's cottage. Being incredibly gracious hosts, Beeven and Allison insisted that everyone please feel free to explore the little cottage, and see where he (they) make(s) the magic happen.

When I entered, I immediately noticed the bookcase in the little foyer area. It is topped with photos of family, and friends, and other trinkets that have sentimental value to our hosts. Situated among the photos and trinkets is an old LP version of Eugene Ionesco's "The Chairs". It is an audio recording of the play that in many ways shaped and inspired the Bietz play much beloved by yours truly.

There is something magical about connecting to the things or places that have inspired art that you admire. I am sure many theatre lovers feel it when walking the streets of Stratford, England, or it may be a familiar feeling to sports fans who have had the chance to hold the bat, or touch the glove of a favorite player. That is what I felt standing in that little cottage, a little bit of unexpected theatrical magic. It was so cool. And it definitely could not have happened anywhere but Austin, Texas.

Weekend In Review

Day: 93
High Temp: 62F (it feels like fall!)
Job Status: Unemployed


I normally don't like to write these recap type blogs. You know, the ones that throw a bunch of "this is what I did"s into one post. But, this past weekend was the first that felt like a normal weekend, not just a continuation of a week of days that I spend playing with my dog, searching for and applying to jobs, and complaining about the weather. This weekend reminded me of weekends I would have in places where I actually live, which made me feel, finally, like I may actually live here in Austin. I want to document it.


Friday night, Tom joined me at the Lustre Pearl, a really unique bar located just north of the river from us. It's an old house, which contains a bar in what I assume would have been the kitchen. It feels like a what might happened if someone through a really great party at an abandoned house. Anyhow, great atmosphere, and definitely a place I would go back to for a drink or two.


Following the Lustre Pearl, Tom had to head to work for a while, so me and my new friend Sara (yes, new friend! and NO, she does not attend UT!! sweet!) headed to Fado on 6th street downtown for a pint or two, and a double Jameson, and... well, you see where this is going. We had a great time, and she got me home early enough so that Homer wasn't too pissed off at having to be home alone.

Saturday we hosted a small gathering at our apartment for a reading of one of Tom's new plays. A group of his friends from UT came by, and it was generally fun to play hostess for a night. We made Cuba Libres and Dark and Stormys, and served appetizers. After the reading, we all headed to Doc's, a local bar for some food, and a few rounds of shuffle board.

On Sunday, we once again gathered with the UT crowd to head out to Driftwood, Texas for some of the best barbecue on earth at the Salt Lick. The Michner Center (fancy writing program) at UT invited all the creative writers at the Univeristy, and their families, out for a big banquet. Salt Lick serves these big, family style meals where they basically just keep bringing tons of food until you surrender. This was our second time at the Salt Lick, the first was when my parents were here--my dad's pick and as per usual, genius. I know most people would say the highlight of the meal is the meat (brisket, chicken, smoked sausage and pork ribs are all served), however my votes go to the amazing sauce (mustardy, a little spicy and a little sweet), the warm German-style potato salad, and the peach cobbler. Again, if any of you ever get off your lazy asses to come visit me, this place will be high on the agenda!

So, it was like a totally normal weekend, where we saw and hung out with friends, and had actual things to do. Now I am looking forward to my brand new Book Club on Tuesday night and the upcoming annual Thanksgiving pilgrimage to California.