The Dog Park

Day: 69
High Temp: 72F
Job Status: Unemployed (went to two networking events this week though!)


We took Homer to the dog park for the first time today. Tom has been asking me to take him for weeks, but I have been too nervous to go it alone. He is a very friendly dog, who will run off to say hello to anyone he sees. I could just imagine him getting excited by a dog running by, and me never being able to catch him again.

Tom and I were finally able to go together this afternoon, and it was Homer's first public off-leash experience. The park we went to has a nice fenced in area, so no matter how far or fast he ran, we would, in theory, be able to catch up. It turns out, he is a total rock star, and our training has paid off. Not only would he check back in with us occasionally of his own volition, but he almost always came back when we called him.

Dog parks are brilliant because you can just sit around while your dog goes crazy chasing other dogs, or being chased. And at the end of the night, after a hard afternoon of playing, you end up with this:













Needless to say, there are many dog park visits in Homer's future.

Remember the Alamo (Drafthouse)

Day: 62
High Temp: 74F
Job Status: Still Unemployed (but I had an actual interview on Monday!)


I want to apologize for the long lapse in blog posts during October. Tom and I have spent the past few weeks preparing to move again (more in a later blog), and so that has been taking up much of my free time this week.

But, today's post is not about moving and hard work, but about one of the absolute coolest thing anyone can do when they visit Austin, and that is go see a movie at the Alamo Drafthouse. I have been to the Alamo twice, and it is quite an experience. What you need to know about Alamo is that it is a combination movie theatre and full service restaurant. They have removed every other row of seats to put in high tables, and you can order anything from burgers and fries to classic movie fare like Sno-Caps and popcorn. They also serve beer and wine and dessert. You just write what you want, and your waiter brings it to you. Amazing.

The Alamo mainly shows first run movies, but they do lots of fun stuff like a Dirty Dancing "quote along" viewing, and an MJ Thriller screening and dance party. And, the previews aren't like normal theatres where you have to sit through ads for Coke and lame trivia questions. Here they play videos, commercials and TV clips relating to the era or theme of the movie you are there to see. They do also show a few upcoming attractions right before the movie starts.

When my mom was here visiting for a week just after we arrived, I had my first Alamo experience when we went to see Julie & Julia. The movie itself was alright. I love food, and Julia Child, but parts of the story were a bit slow. Unfortunately, the stuff they showed before the movie upstaged the actual feature. The majority of the pre-movie viewing was clips from Julia's iconic PBS cooking show The French Chef. They were almost worth the price of admission on their own. And the food was pretty good too. I had baked mac 'n cheese with green chilies a beer.

After our first experience, Tom and I were eager to return. He had snagged some free coupons for weeknight tickets, so last week he took me to see The Informant!. Tom's comment that it is odd to eat dinner in the dark was spot on, so this time we opted to just go for milk shakes and a shared basket of fries. And no offense to my love, Bobtail, but the shakes at the Alamo are the best milk shakes I have EVER had. I opted for the plain chocolate, while Tom ordered the indulgent chocolate peanut butter cup. Seriously, these things taste amazing and have such a luxurious, creamy texture. They taste like smooth, melting ice cream that hasn't been diluted by extra milk to achieve the right consistency.

Oh, the movie? It was alright. It started out good for me, pretty funny, but I think it's just a bit too long and rambling. However, parts of it are shot in Chicago, which made me both happy and extremely wistful for home. And, once again, the pre-feature clips managed upstaged the movie a bit. This time, we were treated to late 80's, early 90's era music videos like Pat Benetar's Anxiety (Get Nervous), and Alice Cooper's Identity Crisis ("sometimes I'm slashin the face..." seriously, watch it). And then there was the PSA style message from the American Association of Bakers (or something like that) that detailed both the wonders of the modern mechanized baking process and the nutritional virtues of bread.

It's just so kitschy and fun to see a movie at the Alamo Drafthouse. And if you ever get off your butt to come visit me, we will definitely have to take in a movie there.

Culture is good

Day: 48

High Temp: 82F

Job Status: Unemployed

As part of the fabulous going away gifts from my good friends at TimeLine Theatre I received a year-long membership to the Austin Museum of Art. It is hard to say that the memebership was my favorite going away gift (after all, I received a play written for me, presented by the uber talented Chicago actors Janet Ulrich Brooks, and Juliet Hart), but let me just say that this is an EXCELLENT going away gift for a person who is 1. and art lover, 2. unemployed, and 3. without friends in a new city.

The membership gives us free access to both AMOA locations, discounts on their extensive catalogue of art classes and also invitations to the members opening parties for all exhibits. Unfortunately, we were just getting into town the week that the Chuck Close exhibit opened, so we missed that party. However, on Tuesday night, they opened a new exhibit at their stunning Laguna Gloria location, and Tom and I were able to attend. The exhibit was called Art and Nature.

First off, it was refreshing to actually have something to do in Austin that felt special, but didn't cost any money. I cant tell you the last time Tom and I splurged on a dinner out, or even a movie...And Laguna Gloria is stunning. It is an early 1900's Italian-style villa right on the banks of the Texas Colorado river. The setting is utterly serene, and an inspired location for an art exhibition designed to explore the relationship between nature and art. The ground is dotted with grand live oaks, outdoor art studios and some beautiful outdoor art, not to mention the villa itself which is a gorgeous building. Truly, if our friends and family lived anywhere near Austin, Tom and I would definitely get married here. As it is, I believe we may have found the location for our engagement pictures! Now if we could only find a free photographer...

The exhibit itself was quite small, as there are only so many spaces to hang art in the villa, but we really enjoyed looking at the selected pieces within the context of each other (all so different!) and the theme of art + nature. Generally I love curated shows for those reasons. The permanent collections at my favorite museums are always nice (they allow me to visit pieces I love multiple times, seeing them in new contexts as I grow older and move on to different stages in my life), but there is something special about curated shows that makes you think of art in a new way. The brilliant, art-loving minds behind curated exhibits show you a piece of art that is beautiful or provocative on it's own, and are able to tell a story, or create a new way to view the piece by illustrating the relationship between it and the other selected pieces in the exhibit. It's a process that is pretty ubiquitous in the world of visual art, but can also be used to great affect in other art forms (think of theatre festivals, or even your own playlists on iTunes.)

Ultimately, it was a wonderful introduction to the AMOA, as well as Austin's visual arts scene. I will just have to keep my fingers crossed that they will curate an exhibit on outsider art sometime soon. It's my favorite genre of modern art, and would seem to fit perfectly in this truly an eclectic and anything-goes kind of town that is home to one of the most iconic pieces of public outsider art in America, Hi, How Are You by Daniel Johnston.