You too can have a bridge growing out of your head! ~smirky~ |
It's about 102 degrees and I love it! I'm back in Austin for a three day weekend. My realtor Bill Evans had some extra miles on Northwest Airlines that were gonna expire, so we cashed them in for a quick flight out.
It is so strange being back in Austin. It really has a dream-like quality to it. As I drive down Ben White, I feel all hazy, like I just woke up and I never really left Austin.
Some things have changed, as they finally got some of the under/overpass done at I-35 Ben White intersection.
One thing I noticed right away, there just isn't as many people. I think Austin is about 650,000 people vs. San Diego's 3 million plus. There's just not so dang many people everywhere.
Or maybe because it is a holiday weekend and it is just too hot to be out and about. Naaaaw..the heat never slowed Texans down before.
Bill Evans had offered to host me, but after I stayed at a hotel when I visited my parents last month, I was kind of digging not having to pester anyone for accommodations. Plus all the hotels have high speed and I can just setup shop and get some work done, plus my flight was covered, plus Bill was planning a big party for the weekend so he might not want the added burden of a house guess, plus I have also called in about a dozen favors from him, and I didn't want to push my luck.
I did drive by my house. The yard is starting to die in some areas and the yard hasn't been maintained at all. It is kind of sad to see after working so hard on it. Grass is growing down in to the curb and the bushes need to be whacked. I will probably have Bill hire someone to go out once or twice a month to maintain it.
Four Christian girls moved in on July 1st. I say four Christian girls 'cuz apparently they were very clear about their religion on their application. They said they were moving in to be closer to their church. If they only knew what had gone in there before, they might want to have an exorcism performed! Maybe there aren't any evil spirits, but there might be a lot of dead DNA about. ~urk~
Studio Update
But before I get in to my Austin trip I gotta show some progress on the garage studio thing.
Everything is taking longer and is more expensive than Mark thought. Everyday is a new challenge. He estimated the time at about a week, and at a certain dollar amount. I said, “Great, I will just triple the time and expense in my head now, so when we go over I will just think we are right on time and budget!” Which of course turned out to be accurate.
Mark is a friggen hard worker, and he is in constant demand from having so many people want and need him to work on stuff. He knows how to do just about anything construction-wise. He starts kind of late some days, but he is aware of the problems a lot of people have with construction workers not showing so he always gives me a call to let me know where and what is going on.
Not sure if you can tell by these photos, but Mark had the brilliant idea of stacking the washer and dryer on top of each other. No, they aren't stackable washer and dryer, but he built an incredibly solid platform for the dryer. It frees up a lot of space where the door opens in to the garage.
He is also boxing in the water heater. It will have a door, and we even talked about some drapes for the washer and dryer, just to make the studio seem less like we are in a garage/washing room and more like a professional studio.
In this next shot you can see he dropped in the lighting and boxed in some more of the countertop cupboard space on the right. We didn't go crazy with the lighting, but I did have an electrician come out and add more outlets for the 4000 watts of light I tend to have going.
I took this shot the a couple days before I left. Mark hired a couple guys to come in to tape and sand everything. It would have taken him forever on his own, so I was worth the added expense.
I forgot to take some snaps before I left. Mark had finished texturing the walls and even got a coat of paint on.
They were also laying the tile before I left. Half the floor was done. Mark gets a great Contractor's discount, and we went with Italian porcelain. Unbelievable! I looked at some very fancy and cool flooring materials, but I thought it would be overkill for anyone who might buy the house and actually use the garage to park a car in. I won't ever use it for my truck, cuz well, it won't fit, but someone in the future might find parking on marble overkill.
They were doing some special things to ensure that there would be no cracking if someone did drive a car on it. By the time I get back on Monday, July 4th, it should all be finished.
I can't wait to see it!
WOW
Before I left, I also snuck out to see War of the Worlds.
I can not stand Tom Cruise anymore. All this bullshit media hype is beyond irritating. He is Mr. Expert on religion and psychology now. And he is SO Tom Cruise that I can't watch him in a movie and not at every moment keep saying. “Yep that's Tom Cruise.” His persona overshadows any part he could attempt to play.
But that being said, Steven Spielberg did an amazing job with this remake. Sure I knew how it was gonna end, but his Take on the Wells novel is awesome.
Dakota Fanning and Justin Chatwick are both amazing actors, and Spielberg proves once again, he can get the best performance out of young child actors.
I loved this movie cuz it was so NOT “Independence Day” No little guy suddenly becoming the hero by flying his stolen spaceship and destroying the aliens in a single-handed over the top maneuver.
No, this is about an everyday guy who is just an ant trying not get squashed by the giants. He scurries about, trying to save himself and his kids. That's it. He's a hero because he grows and protects his loved ones.
There are some plot holes and technology inconsistencies, but I've gotten over nit-picking this kind of stuff 'cuz sometimes you just gotta let go and flow with the story telling.
Spielberg's special effects are believable and that makes them super scary. His talent shines by taking something very violent, and hiding that violence in such away that is not exploitive. Violence and poetry in motion by seeing human clothing drifting in the wind. Love it.
Go see it. Sure, the Tom Cruise Media Engine is in full force, but this is one you gotta see in the theatre. Love it or hate it, it looks great on the big screen.
Buca de Beppo Partay
Last weekend a bunch of us got together and had cocktails at the Bitter End.
The Bitter End is a swanky bar down in the ultra posh Gas Lamp district. Ya know it's high dollar 'cuz it costs $12 to $20 bucks just to find parking down in that area. I took two parking spaces since I was paying so much. Naughty me, and I didn't even get towed.
Everyone hung out and had a few drinks before our planned dinner at Buca de Beppo. Dale and Katie were looking smashing for the cocktail hour.
Ryan and I also chatted for a while, and I got to hear all about his wild adventures at Gay Days at Disney the week before. Ahhhh..to be young again. Ryan is literally half my age.
After most everyone had their drink on, we walked on over to Buca de Beppo. The place was packed, and despite having reservations, we had a small wait.
This was apparently the naughty end of the table. We kept getting ourselves in to all kinds of trouble. Chris and I were about the only ones who had been to Buca, so we knew just what to order.
Everything is family style, and we found everyone hogging our delicious dishes. Next time we are going to build a barricade between us and all the other Buca neophytes who ordered less scrumptious items and to protect our own nibbley things.
Somehow some fried cheese got tossed around the table and eventually ended up on the floor (more than once actually). Chris and I bet each other we would eat it. We held it on a fork between us and we both bit on it at the same time. I actually ate mine, but Chris just mouthed his. (He thought I had faked it) After realizing I had actually ate my piece and not one to be out done, he buckled down and chewed off a hunk of fried cheese too.
About an hour later, Ryan was still nibbling on some of the appetizer bread. Chris and I suggested cheese would be awesome on the bread. We watched with evil anticipation as he unknowingly smothered his bread with the floor tainted cheese. Muwhaaaaa!
As he chomped down on a bite of it, we all started laughing. Ryan was a little mystified, expecially since I was taking a picture. Ryan said it tasted great and asked me if I wanted any. I said “Uh. No.”
Offended, “Why, do you think my mouth is dirty?”
“Uh. No. That's the cheese that's been on the floor a half dozen times!”
Ohhhhhhhhhh..he was so mad! Chris and I about wet ourselves with our childish prank, and Ryan was ready to smack us hard! Not sure we have been forgiven yet.
Cutie Fletch and cutie Daryl were also there. I like this pic 'cuz they looks so happy and festive. You can't help but smile when you see those grins! I wonder if they ate floor cheese too? It made me smile too.
After dinner, we went out front and took a group photo. Starting from the left is Chris (not my Chris..David's boyfriend Chris) then David, star of stage, film, and hammock.
Then there is Kattie, me, then Kristin. Kristin's is John R's girlfriend
Fletch and Daryl, followed up on the right by two of my fellow troublemakers, Chris and Ryan.
It was a fun evening that had the bulk of us hanging out at Bourbon Street for after hours.
Ok, back to my Austin Trip. .
As I said, I decided to stay in a hotel rather than infringe on my friends. I had hosted a couple models at the Holiday Inn Express at 290 and Brodie Lane, so I knew it was pretty nice.
I hadn't actually been in any of the rooms, and I was totally impressed by this place. Everything is new, clean and shiny. There's no fridge in my room to keep soda and water chilled, but so far that is the only thing that is wrong with it. At $70 bucks a night, it's a bargain.
I arrived early evening on Friday, got checked in, and went the couple blocks over to the Brodie Oaks shopping center. I am a big fan of Firebowl Café and had me some chicken kabobs for dinner.
It was pretty hot, about 100 degrees, and as usual, the Texas Summer provided an amazing sunset…even from the parking lot of the shopping center! I really need to get down to the beach in San Diego to take in the sunsets there.
Saturday morning, I got up and ran a few errands before launching myself into a marathon of “getting caught up with everyone”.
I went over to Magnolia Café for breakfast, where I met with Amy and Linda. It was sooooo good seeing them again, and I miss them so much. I worked with them for 17 years and it's like seeing family again.
After breakfast, we went up to Ruta Maya coffee house up on Congress so we could look at some of the work I have been doing. But there were still too many people milling around, and typical of Austin, we kept running in to people we knew and got distracted from the photo fest.
After breakfast, I met up with JBB and we drove the 30 miles out to Bill Evan's farm. The place looked great, and there was lots of BBQ and friendly faces to chat with. We met Amy and this guy named Chris Parsons who is an amazing underwater photographer. I am hoping to get him hooked up with some of the Texas magazines. He showed us some photos from Malaysia and both JBB and I were floored.
After BBQ a few of us headed out to the pond while Bill fed the fish. The fish are ginormous now. I remember when they were only about 6 inches long!
Love being out at the farm. It's quiet and away from everything. Very relaxing.
We drove back and I dropped JBB off at his car. He was gonna be pretty busy the rest of the weekend, so that was likely the last time I would see my bestest buddy in a while. ~sniff~
After that I raced over to Elaine's house. Elaine, my former boss and who quit shortly after I did, has moved on to a leadership organization. I planned another lunch on Sunday, but she couldn't make either.
Elaine just got out of the hospital, so was pretty much housebound for the next week. I went over there and we visited for a couple hours. I feel like I stayed too long, what with her recovering on all, but she looked good, and hopefully I didn't tire her out with my constant yammering. No photos of her, she DID just get out of the hospital!
I got back to the hotel, certain I would do some work, but instead laid on the bed and watched all the murder shows on A&E.
Sunday morning I went over to Bill Evans new condo. He and his partner Jody moved in several months back, and the place is beyond amazing. Three levels, decorated perfectly. With so much added detail and upgrades it will make your head spin. What was I thinking getting a hotel! Haha!
Then I went over to Rudy's for BBQ with another group of friends. Most everyone has moved on to other gigs, but my pal Julie made sure that everyone that could, could make it to the lunch. A few people were out of town, it being the 4th and all, but overall, I feel like I got to see all my friends.
Barbara was there, and she regaled us with more stories from the bat farm. She's back to using the dog door to get in and out of her house (The house “settles” in the Summer and the doors don't open anymore- and I complain cuz I don't like the Pergo floor in my house!). She really is devoted to the bats, and it is baby bat season and works non-stop caring for them. So I am especially glad she made it.
It was great and a little sad seeing everyone again. I sure do miss Austin and all of them, but I am making new friends in San Diego as well.
That's the cool thing about friendship and love, there really isn't a limit to how much you can give and get. With just a little bit of maintenance (and planning!), you can replenish and rekindle. ~sniff~
I head back to San Diego bright and early Monday morning on the 4th of July. I am hoping to go to the beach to do the fireworks there. Hopefully, I will have some good shots to show you the next time you stop by.
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