Getting Intimate with Austin...Again

A long, long time ago, in a parallel universe far, far away before organic chemistry destroyed my social life...I knew Austin. I knew her well.

I even wrote a blog post listing out the first half of all my favorite things about Austin. Unfortunately, I never got to my promised second half of that posting. But, I'm glad for that. Truth is, there are more than two halves of why I love Austin. There are too many interesting places, people and activities to boil down into just two blog posts. Like a distant wife whose interest in romance has dwindled, I had little time or energy reserves for romancing Austin. But, now I'm back. Back to love and play in Austin....for at least one more month before spring semester.

Here are some Austin past times I took part in this weekend:

Enjoying creative personalities and talented artists who architect their own homes in edgy, genuine, fun shack infested East Austin. Here is just one hazy picture of the house I had dinner in on Saturday night. It shows the large sliding glass wall that opens up into the kitchen:


Crashing Olivia's Christmas Party. Olivia is a new restaurant on South First, and their Christmas party was at Momo's downtown. Black Joe Lewis was the entertainment. My friend and I were the some of the only people dancing. What is it with white people?! Black Joe Lewis captures the essence of James Brown, Marvin Gaye and later day Van Morrison. Is it possible to stand still while you watch them? Absolutely not!


Now, here is a picture of something I normally do every Sunday, but didn't get time to this past weekend. Below, witness a picture from the best Mexican breakfast in town. Or, easily the best in my part of Austin, Hyde Park - Julio's. Notice how mangled and curly the bacon looks. It's that crispy. Best bacon in town and anywhere.




So, a sampling of why I love Austin. Some extra gems from the weekend that were not photographed were:

• Walking by the Shipe Park tennis courts in Hyde Park to see doubles being played by 4 old hippies in ripped off jean shorts, shirtless and playing with wooden rackets avec long white beards and sweat bands.
• Sipping coffee at Quack's Bakery listening to two old friends catch up over music and bands in town. "Guess who is back together?" asked the one man, to which is friend replied with joy, "No! Not the Ass Monkeys?!"

There you have it....Keeping Austin Weird!