I’m so stressed! But I need to recap the last three days of Austin before I forget them!
So. Monday:
• Carrie went to work and Xander and I sat outside and read, then sat inside and read. This may or may not have been the day when the tiny dog barked and barked and barked even though he’s seen Xander a thousand times outside. Regardless, that happened.
• At 12:30, my cousin George came by! He lives in Austin now, and I had hoped to meet his girlfriend Heather too. She had to work, though, so he picked me up and we went to lunch. Carrie met us there. It was great to see him. He wasn’t able to come home for Christmas because he had to work Christmas Eve. I think he was really glad to see somebody from the family. I wish we’d spent more time together. I’ll have to go back! And then I’ll meet Heather. Whose name is not Ethel. I thought it was because I’d misheard months ago.
• After Carrie got back from work, we went rock climbing! At a climbing gym near her house, which is almost all bouldering walls. The people were terrifically nice. We took a class in belaying first (they only have two walls with ropes) and climbed that for a while, then we practice bouldering for about an hour. Then they were doing a women’s climbing clinic, and we stood in. One of the women who was leading looked a whole lot like Ellen, and so I liked her immediately. I would have anyway, though, because climbing women are very, very, very cool. Another woman was really nice and showed us lots of things, which we practiced for a while. Finally, though, we were too tired, and we left.
• Then we went to supper at Veggie Heaven, which was completely delicious. Everything on the menu looked too good. We got bubble tea.
• We were tired! So we went home. I watched some episodes of Wonderfalls, which I now love even more than when it was on t.v., and Carrie studied.
• The end of Monday.
Tuesday:
• Xander and I practiced our usual routine of reading and being outside.
• I was feeling desperate for coffee (I couldn’t figure out how to operate Carrie’s coffee maker or find filters for Nora’s) so I walked over to Starbucks and sat outside there for a while. The woman next to me talked pretty much nonstop to her companion about, as far as I could tell, nothing, for at least forty-five minutes. She really reminded me of my mother’s second-oldest stepsister. Who is not the most pleasant person I know.
• At 12:30 I met Carrie and two of her coworkers for lunch at a Russian café near the house. Carrie and I both had eggplant salad, which was delicious. Everything at the store was in Russian! All kinds of Russian goods. Carrie and her coworkers found out what each other’s jobs are.
• After lunch, I walked around Carrie’s neighborhood some. I went in the stores down the road from her, including the mysterious L’Whore. It had never been open when Carrie was home, so she didn’t know what it was. I’d stopped in one day before, but only looked in enough to tell that the front of it was filled with coke memorabilia, and then got scared and left. So Tuesday I went in to really find out. It turned out to be coke memorabilia-themed dog grooming. I got all the way up to the counter before I was sure, so I had to pretend that I was asking about prices for grooming my dog. I described Brandeis in great detail. The woman told me she couldn’t tell how much a dog like that would cost.
• I also went in the shiniest store in the entire world. Everything in there was shiny! With rhinestones and silver and gold and things. I really liked it. I bought Carrie and me some matching belts/hair wraps with fabric butterflies. At the counter, the man started talking to me and told me all about how his brother, from whom he had been estranged for six years because their mother always liked the brother best, was now implicated in an illegal gaming scandal and he, the one to whom I was talking, had gone to see him, but he found it kind of hard to express support to a brother who hadn’t even called him when he was going through his divorce so all he said was “yeah, I know what it’s like when someone isn’t there for you,” but he’s still there, he really is. After a while I escaped. With the belts.
• When Carrie got home, we went to trivia night at Mother Egan’s, an Irish bar. When we got there it was very full. Marium [correct spelling!] had had to sit down at a table where two handsome guys were already sitting. She’d said “Is it okay if I sit here?” And the guys had totally disconcerted her because one said “Well….I’m just about to break up with my boyfriend here,” and the other one said “WHAT?!!” And Marium didn’t know if they were serious or not! But they ended up being okay nice, although I think they thought our trivia-playing was lame.
• We did not do that well at trivia. Not that horribly either, but not great. As Carrie has already noted, how does everyone know that Utah is the beehive state? I didn’t remember that from Carmen Sandiego at all! The most amazing moment was when Carrie guessed that this woman was the first woman in space, because of her Russian name, and it was right! Our team name was David Hasslehoff’s Missing Chest Hair. A team called Don’t Hate Us ‘Cause We’re Smart won. When he announced they were in the lead the first time, pretty much the whole bar responded “We do!”
• This was actually the point at which we went to the San Jose Hotel. I’d mixed it up. It was pretty, like I said. And good beer, like I said.
• Is this also when we took a tour of Carrie’s office? Maybe. She has a real office ! With a door! Although also way too many filing cabinets.
• End of Tuesday.
Wednesday
• Was the last day. Carrie felt sick and so slept in the morning. I packed up and read some more.
• After a while we went out for breakfast tacos because I’d never had them. They’re good. Like a breakfast sandwich but with a tortilla.
• Then we drove airport-ward, and I saw one of the other neighborhoods where Carrie used to live.
• We went to a coffee shop where everybody is on the internet because they have free wireless and I got some coffee.
• Then we went in a very, very cool shop two doors down that sold Threadless shirts and a bunch of other very cool things, including a two hundred dollar cashmere sweater with robots on it.
• Then it was time to go to the airport. I was sad. Carrie dropped me off and I got on the plane, sat in the very, very last seat empty (between two large old men in the exit row), and went home. And that was that.
It was a wonderful visit. I really liked Austin. It isn’t the most beautiful place I’ve been, or the easiest to understand, or anything, but it’s neat. In a sort of surprise, you never know, right around the corner kind of way. And the weather was lovely. And, of course, I was really happy to spend time with Carrie, and to meet the people and cats I met, and to see Marium again. I keep trying to think of a better ending to this recap, but I can’t. So back to nineteenth century landscape architecture it is. I want to go back, though. That’s the real ending. I want to go back. And I want Jamie to come with me! You know, Texas, at least the Austin part, isn’t so bad. It isn’t so bad after all
So. Monday:
• Carrie went to work and Xander and I sat outside and read, then sat inside and read. This may or may not have been the day when the tiny dog barked and barked and barked even though he’s seen Xander a thousand times outside. Regardless, that happened.
• At 12:30, my cousin George came by! He lives in Austin now, and I had hoped to meet his girlfriend Heather too. She had to work, though, so he picked me up and we went to lunch. Carrie met us there. It was great to see him. He wasn’t able to come home for Christmas because he had to work Christmas Eve. I think he was really glad to see somebody from the family. I wish we’d spent more time together. I’ll have to go back! And then I’ll meet Heather. Whose name is not Ethel. I thought it was because I’d misheard months ago.
• After Carrie got back from work, we went rock climbing! At a climbing gym near her house, which is almost all bouldering walls. The people were terrifically nice. We took a class in belaying first (they only have two walls with ropes) and climbed that for a while, then we practice bouldering for about an hour. Then they were doing a women’s climbing clinic, and we stood in. One of the women who was leading looked a whole lot like Ellen, and so I liked her immediately. I would have anyway, though, because climbing women are very, very, very cool. Another woman was really nice and showed us lots of things, which we practiced for a while. Finally, though, we were too tired, and we left.
• Then we went to supper at Veggie Heaven, which was completely delicious. Everything on the menu looked too good. We got bubble tea.
• We were tired! So we went home. I watched some episodes of Wonderfalls, which I now love even more than when it was on t.v., and Carrie studied.
• The end of Monday.
Tuesday:
• Xander and I practiced our usual routine of reading and being outside.
• I was feeling desperate for coffee (I couldn’t figure out how to operate Carrie’s coffee maker or find filters for Nora’s) so I walked over to Starbucks and sat outside there for a while. The woman next to me talked pretty much nonstop to her companion about, as far as I could tell, nothing, for at least forty-five minutes. She really reminded me of my mother’s second-oldest stepsister. Who is not the most pleasant person I know.
• At 12:30 I met Carrie and two of her coworkers for lunch at a Russian café near the house. Carrie and I both had eggplant salad, which was delicious. Everything at the store was in Russian! All kinds of Russian goods. Carrie and her coworkers found out what each other’s jobs are.
• After lunch, I walked around Carrie’s neighborhood some. I went in the stores down the road from her, including the mysterious L’Whore. It had never been open when Carrie was home, so she didn’t know what it was. I’d stopped in one day before, but only looked in enough to tell that the front of it was filled with coke memorabilia, and then got scared and left. So Tuesday I went in to really find out. It turned out to be coke memorabilia-themed dog grooming. I got all the way up to the counter before I was sure, so I had to pretend that I was asking about prices for grooming my dog. I described Brandeis in great detail. The woman told me she couldn’t tell how much a dog like that would cost.
• I also went in the shiniest store in the entire world. Everything in there was shiny! With rhinestones and silver and gold and things. I really liked it. I bought Carrie and me some matching belts/hair wraps with fabric butterflies. At the counter, the man started talking to me and told me all about how his brother, from whom he had been estranged for six years because their mother always liked the brother best, was now implicated in an illegal gaming scandal and he, the one to whom I was talking, had gone to see him, but he found it kind of hard to express support to a brother who hadn’t even called him when he was going through his divorce so all he said was “yeah, I know what it’s like when someone isn’t there for you,” but he’s still there, he really is. After a while I escaped. With the belts.
• When Carrie got home, we went to trivia night at Mother Egan’s, an Irish bar. When we got there it was very full. Marium [correct spelling!] had had to sit down at a table where two handsome guys were already sitting. She’d said “Is it okay if I sit here?” And the guys had totally disconcerted her because one said “Well….I’m just about to break up with my boyfriend here,” and the other one said “WHAT?!!” And Marium didn’t know if they were serious or not! But they ended up being okay nice, although I think they thought our trivia-playing was lame.
• We did not do that well at trivia. Not that horribly either, but not great. As Carrie has already noted, how does everyone know that Utah is the beehive state? I didn’t remember that from Carmen Sandiego at all! The most amazing moment was when Carrie guessed that this woman was the first woman in space, because of her Russian name, and it was right! Our team name was David Hasslehoff’s Missing Chest Hair. A team called Don’t Hate Us ‘Cause We’re Smart won. When he announced they were in the lead the first time, pretty much the whole bar responded “We do!”
• This was actually the point at which we went to the San Jose Hotel. I’d mixed it up. It was pretty, like I said. And good beer, like I said.
• Is this also when we took a tour of Carrie’s office? Maybe. She has a real office ! With a door! Although also way too many filing cabinets.
• End of Tuesday.
Wednesday
• Was the last day. Carrie felt sick and so slept in the morning. I packed up and read some more.
• After a while we went out for breakfast tacos because I’d never had them. They’re good. Like a breakfast sandwich but with a tortilla.
• Then we drove airport-ward, and I saw one of the other neighborhoods where Carrie used to live.
• We went to a coffee shop where everybody is on the internet because they have free wireless and I got some coffee.
• Then we went in a very, very cool shop two doors down that sold Threadless shirts and a bunch of other very cool things, including a two hundred dollar cashmere sweater with robots on it.
• Then it was time to go to the airport. I was sad. Carrie dropped me off and I got on the plane, sat in the very, very last seat empty (between two large old men in the exit row), and went home. And that was that.
It was a wonderful visit. I really liked Austin. It isn’t the most beautiful place I’ve been, or the easiest to understand, or anything, but it’s neat. In a sort of surprise, you never know, right around the corner kind of way. And the weather was lovely. And, of course, I was really happy to spend time with Carrie, and to meet the people and cats I met, and to see Marium again. I keep trying to think of a better ending to this recap, but I can’t. So back to nineteenth century landscape architecture it is. I want to go back, though. That’s the real ending. I want to go back. And I want Jamie to come with me! You know, Texas, at least the Austin part, isn’t so bad. It isn’t so bad after all
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