Toobin'

Day: 296
High Temp: 88F (with heat index of 96F)

This past weekend Tom and I were visited by one of our favorite people, Libby Ford, and her very funny beau Josef.  The pair stayed with us all weekend, and despite me having to work all day Thursday and Friday we packed in many fun activities, many of which were designed to beat the heat. Libby and Josef even enjoyed their first Alamo Draft house experience (read more about my love affair with the Alamo here). We saw Exit Through the Gift Shop, a truly funny and interesting "street art disaster film" created by the extremely elusive artist Banksy. (Try not to spend all day admiring his work). Libby swears the Alamo has some of the best pizza she has ever eaten.

On Saturday, our only real day to hang out all together, we decided to head south and try what the locals call Toobin'. Toobin' is basically just "Tubing" to those living in less southern locales. You know, floating down the river in an inner-tube. It should be relaxing, fun and a great way to soak in the local scenery while leisurely floating down a pretty river.  Not so on the Guadalupe River (pronounced Gwahd-ah-loop).

Now, a warning before I proceed. What I am about to write here nearly amounts to sacrilege to most Austinites, but I don't care. It's my blog and I'll say what I want to.

This was kind of a terrible experience.  There were literally thousands of "toobers" on the river, outfitted by the dozens of ramshackle businesses that dot Farm-to-Market 306 in Central Texas. Oh, and most of them were totally shit-faced, and acting like assholes, despite the presence of other people, and more to the point, families with children. There was a dude launching water balloons from a huge catapult bolted to his deck, and there were many drunk douchebags who brought along water cannons and water guns, which they gleefully used to squirt those passing by.

Granted, floating down an ice-cold river was probably the only way I could have spent 4 straight hours in the hot Texas sun, but this whole experience just wasn't worth it to me. As opposed to being a way to relax and enjoy being outside, most of our cohorts on the river just seem to treat the experience as a novel way to get wasted. Lame.

Perhaps my own expectations were too high.  I grew up "floating" most many weekends in Missouri.  My family owns a bit of land in the Mark Twain National Forest off a small river in central Missouri, and my grandparents retired there, in the gorgeous little log cabin on the property.  The setting is nothing less than idyllic, and even on the busiest weekends (the summer holidays, etc) there was never the crush of humanity that we experienced this weekend. You could sit on the bluff on one of the busiest weekend, and still only see one group pass by every 5 minutes or so.  And sure, people get shit-faced on the rivers in Missouri, but from what I remember, there seemed to be equal emphasis on respecting your fellow floaters, and the river you are enjoying, as there was on getting drunk.

Thankfully, Libby and Josef, and even Tom, were able to put the ass-holes aside and enjoy the experience a lot. But me, I just couldn't see passed all those red-neck hicks, to really enjoy the gorgeous bluffs overlooking the Guadalupe.

Home-Doggy Turns One

Day: 290
High Temp: 95F

Today is Homer's first birthday. It is a momentous occasion for Tom and I, who have reaped untold joy from his short time on earth thus far. Tonight we celebrate with Frosty Paws!

Although, we have really been celebrating all weekend. On Saturday we took Homer over to Barton Creek  to play fetch in the water, and last night we took a long walk down to and along Town Lake here in Austin, where Homer encountered his very first goose (not a fan).

Happy birthday Homer!

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.

So Much Catching Up...

Day: 264
High Temp: 94F

Hello friends.  I have been terribly delinquent in my blogging recently, and I can blame that mostly on the kicking into gear of my wedding planning efforts.  This Sunday will mark the anniversary of our engagement, and each day we get a little bit closer to the big party on October 9.  We are under the 6 month mark until the wedding, which means I am spending my lunch hours trying to stay ahead of the curve as far as booking vendors, planning decor, and creating schedules. It's crazy, and so much fun. But it hasn't left me time to blog! And so much has happened. Here is a brief run down of what you missed in the past few weeks:

FRIENDS
Good friends Adam Simon and Mackenzie Kyle visited for a few days at the end of April. They were driving cross country from Florida to LA, and made some time for us (and queso).  They surprised me by picking up my BFF Camilla in New Orleans, and bringing her along for the ride.  We were also luck to play foster home to Adam and Mack's adorable doggy Hannah while they were in town, as the hotel they booked was not dog-friendly. The highlight for me was the first night they were all in town, when we took both the dogs and ourselves to the unique Lustre Pearl (revisit my first visit to this esteemed and unique Austin local here) to drink beer and eat some of the best taco truck food in Austin. It was so wonderful to see them all, and the amazing high I was on being with old friends was only matched by the sadness of saying goodbye to them.  Good thing there was a....

WEDDING
Tom's little sister Erin got married the last weekend of April.  It was a whirl-wind trip for us to the Bay Area, with no time for wine tastings, or leisurely strolls through San Fran. We did, however, get to hug many of our favorite people, dance till we dropped, and celebrate a beautiful day with two people we love very much. Oh, and did I mention the Pyramid beer? That is one Horan wedding down, and two to go in 2010...

NEW TEXANS
The weekend we were camping we got word that the amazing Zach Gonzalez-Landis has decided to come to UT next year for grad school.  Even better news that that, he is bring his fabulous and hilarious lady Adrienne Dellinger with him.  YES! More friend reinforcements are on their way!

BABIES
No, not me.  If you are an avid reader of DMWL (which I am sure you all are) you should know from this post that Andy and my SIL Megan are expecting twins. Megan is due in early July, but was told, because they are multiples, to expect to deliver early. Unfortunately, after a very long drive to their new home in Springfield, Mo over the weekend, Megan went into pre-term labor.  She has been in and out of hospital for the past few days, and now it looks as though she may be there to stay.  The boys are at 31 weeks, which gives them an excellent chance of survival and a very low risk of complications, but we are all really hoping they stay put for at least another 4-5 weeks. Please send all of your positive thoughts (and cards, emails, cookie trays, etc) their way!

In other news, Tom and I are planning to go "tubin" this weekend.  A very hill-country past time, "tubin" is simply floating, but in inner-tubes.  Each person gets their own tube, and you also get an extra tube, with a bottom, to fill with ice and put your beer in. Then you lash all your tubes together and float en-masse at a snails pace while drinking beer down a river somewhere in the middle of Texas.

Long Live the Yardists!

Day: 247
High Temp: 69F (yep, it's a little chilly here in Austin!)

Tom and I had a crazy weekend filled with things we needed to do:
  -Laundry
  -Grocery Shopping
  -Get Haircuts
  -Packing for our upcoming trip to the Bay Area

and things that we wanted to do:
  -See a movie
  -Brunch with friends
  -Play with Homer
  -Check out the Austin Art Yards Tour

I am proud to say that, although it was what I would consider a very hectic weekend, we somehow managed to do it all. The highlight, was undoubtedly the Austin Art Yards Tour.

I am sure that many of you have heard the slogan "Keep Austin Weird." Well, the Yardists (yard + artists, get it?) are the people who, more than any other group, truly put the weird (or more like unique) in Austin.  They are a legion of people, both artists and normal people (yes, I just implied artists are not normal) who are dedicated to make their outdoor spaces just a little more beautiful/odd/whimsical/inspiring. Tom choose for us a tour route that would take us past the landmarks who call our south Austin neighborhood home.

One yard that I was particularly stoked to experience was the infamous Cathedral of Junk. Unfortunately, just days before the tour, the City of Austin officially announced that this landmark would be closed to the public (against the owners will) until future notice.  For more information on this government-gone-wrong story, check out this Austin American Statesman article.

We did however, get a chance to see:

Smut Putt Heaven- not sure where the name derives from, but this back yard was chocked full of mannequin and doll heads, glass bottle hedges, crutches. There were also dozens of bottle-cap snakes hanging from the grand live oak that is the yard's centerpiece.

Black and White- a front yard who's artist owner has decided to decorate with huge Picasso-esque black and white cardboard sculptures

Flower Power- Another front yard, this time featuring colorful metal flower sculptures, some of which turned on their center axis.

Flamingos du Jour- This wildly overgrown back yard has been besieged by a huge flock of pink flamingo yard ornaments of all shapes and sizes.  


Sea Yard- One of the most understated yards, this spot is best known for the under-sea mural that graces the entire back yard fence. It also features a stunning glass mermaid mural on the yard gate. We were lucky to see the owner Lois Goodman's sea tchotchke-bedecked car in the carport.  And Lois was there soaking up the many compliments that were coming her way, and talking with visitors about her art and her home (a stunning work itself!).

Flat Fork Studios- Our last stop of the tour, this spot was most notable for the GIANT chicken that is chained to a fence in the front yard. Not kidding, the thing is taller than I am.

It was an inspiring and fun afternoon, and made me appreciate yet another level of uniqueness that my adopted city has to offer. Long live the yardists!

Holding Back

Day: 243
High Temp: 74F


I wanted to share with you a situation and get some feedback on it.  Like many of you, I have a Facebook page.  I check it a few times throughout the work day, and generally find the random thoughts of my friends and family members entertaining and informative.  This is particularly true of the tweenage daughter of one of my cousins. She is on it constantly, and is always in the middle of hormone-fueled dramas with her school friends. It's quite hilarious, and it helps me remember why I am so glad to not be a teenager any more!


That was not the case this morning when I read her update that said "if you come to our country, learn to speak our language, or don't come at all. :)"


I find that ignorant and offensive.  Hoping that surely this young, smart kid was alluding to some kind of inside joke, I write, "that is a joke, right"


She says, "nope."


Me, "okay, well then I have to ask, you realize that "our language" wasn't here first, right? when your English speaking ancestors arrived, they were foreigners. basically, you are the product of immigrants."


I know it is Facebook, not the place to pick political or social fights with family members, but I just could not let it slide.  I spent a school year volunteering in the Chicago Public Schools, teaching a curriculum of human rights and tolerance with Amnesty International. I can get a young man who grew up in the DRC to come around to the fact that it is not okay to persecute homosexuals, then certainly I can help my sheltered second-cousin realize the ignorance of what she is saying.


To her credit (I think), she then posted, "Ohh sorry i have facebook mobile and i wasnt sure which status you commented on. And didnt know that:) thanks for lettin me know.:) Haha"  


I can see her rolling her eyes while posting it, but still, she seemed to at least gather that what she said was offensive.


Following that, this girl's aunt (the woman married to another of my cousins) said "I agreed because most immigrants from mexico are illegal and stubborn so the case is closed for me."


Well, that pissed me off.  I want to go back on there and say to the aunt, "Oh, well, if most Mexicans are illegal and stubborn, then of course, by all means, marginalize them!" Or to the young woman who originated this post, "Well yes, with adult roll models like these, I can see what you are a closed-minded xenophobe."


These people are my family, and here there are doing their best to prove another stereotype- people from Missouri are backwards, intolerant hicks. 


So, instead of instigating a huge war of the families (which I kind of want to do, because, lets face it, I am right, and I have mad debating skills), I am writing this post. What do you guys think. Hold my tongue. Fight against ignorance? Am I just self-righteous?




UPDATE: A few hours after my blog posting, I got a little notification on my Blackberry that someone else had commented on the original Facebook post which incited my little war. Nervous about what other horror may have been unleashed, I tentatively checked what was new. Turns out it was the offending tween's dad, my cousin, who had this to say, "Yeah, I just can't leave this one alone...my opinion, but this statement is a little narrow-minded, intolerant and certainly not a reflection on her father. I encourage free thinking but wowzers!"


Good on ya cousin Justin! Thank you for saying what needed to be said, in a caring and open minded way, and with a sense of humor and love. This probably had a more (positive) affect than anything I could have said.


And thanks for those who here, and over email, gave me their thoughts on this subject. It's good to know that you guys are out there fighting the good fight against intolerance too!