Two Wheels Good

Finally. I got some use out of my Trek 520 last night. I bought this bike in 2001, with ambitions of riding it long distances, maybe even from coast to coast. Well, that plan never materialized but it’s still a great bike and I’ve got a lot of use out of it, though not so much recently. Half a year ago one of the screws fastening the rear rack fell out, which caused me to have to remove the rack which holds my essential gear. I haven’t used it since that happened because wearing a backpack full of stuff is quite annoying. Perhaps the last time I used it at all was to get to and from the ACL festival last fall. A couple of weeks ago I got around to taking it to the shop for a tune-up, cleaning, and new chain. And another screw for the rack, of course. Two nights ago I bought a new front and rear light so I could get around safely at dusk, and last night I put everything together and rode up to 45th street and back (also taking a rather long break at a favorite hangout downtown). It felt great. Next week will be even better with an extra hour of daylight after work.

This morning I drove my Yamaha V-Star 650 Custom to work for the first time since I was transferred to our main location east of Round Rock. There was no indication of fog in the forecast or at my house, but I was a little nervous getting here this morning as the fog got pretty thick once I left Austin. But, I made it here in one piece. I will make up for my bad experience this morning by enjoying the blue skies and bluebonnets as I take it to lunch in half an hour.

Missteps

I managed to sprain my left ankle last Sunday, stepping off of a curb into the street. It wasn't a bad sprain and I'm able to walk on it, but it still hurt a bit. Last night I did myself no favors by walking six miles around central Austin, often on unlevel ground and in the dark. Yeah, it hurts a little more now. This morning, hobbling around the garage, I spilled used motor oil on the floor and on my clothes. Maybe I should've just stayed in bed all day!

One nice thing during my travels last night: I happened to walk across the Congress Ave bridge just as the bats were headed out. I've been living here for over two years and had never been there at the right time, pretty cool.

Flipping the Bird Nest

Bird 

Hey guess what, I've figured out how to post pictures! Sorry this is poor quality, but it was taken with my cellphone--my only photo taking device at present. This little guy tried for several days to build a nest in our mailbox. I dumped it out the first day, but the next day the bird went right back to work picking up the nest remains and I had to dump it out again! Finally I posted a note on the mailbox to keep the lid closed. I feel a little bad for the bird, it probably would've made a nice nest and the bird would've been able to mail-order worms.

Experiencing SXSW

Last Saturday I took a break from watching others enjoy SXSW and actually attended a real, live SXSW event. The venue was Opal Divine's, or rather Opal Divine's parking lot, and we saw the middle four of six sets. It was a good choice as we were able to sample a variety of musical styles: Rock, Alt Country, and Singer-Songwriter. All of the music was good , but what I enjoyed the most was how much fun the bands were having, especially those from outside of Austin, The Radio Nationals from Seattle and The Swiftys from Edmonton. I wouldn't say that Austin singers Charlie Sexton and Jimmy LaFave didn't appear to be enjoying themselves, but it didn't compare to the enthusiasm the out-of-town band members expressed.

If I decide to go next year, I plan on picking who I see based on where they're from (the farther away the better) and if this is their first time playing here.

SXSW

You may already know that South By Southwest (SXSW) is a big music conference here in Austin. A couple years ago, when I first moved here, I volunteered for the music production committee and ended up working three nights in a row moving bands on and off stage from 8 pm 'til closing. I had a good time, but it was my misfortune to get a job the week beforehand, and therefore was not be able to take time off from work--resulting in three days of double shifts. Ouch.

The next year I did absolutely nothing for SXSW. This year, I'm not volunteering or planning to do much. A wristband, costing hundreds of dollars, will get you into any venue any of the four days of the conference. I already know that I don't have that much energy to make that worth the price, so I'll end up going down for one night this time and try to get in to someplace without a wristband, or maybe to just watch the spectacle that is SXSW. I stopped downtown on my way home from work tonight, and was instantly amused. The whole area was bustling with people dressed and made up like rock stars. I've always thought that being a rock star meant that you were supposed to look somehow different than everyone else, but tonight proved to me that even that occupation has its expected attire.

Car Talk

The car talk guys are great. I love reading their column every week in our alternative weekly, and, if I could remember to, I'd listen to their radio show more often. They are always funny and I usually learn something too. Maybe the advice that sticks in my mind the most is that it's always cheaper to fix a used car than to buy a new car. You know I'm living that one! In this week's column, they are promoting their ugly car poll. Man am I glad I don't own any of these. Heh heh.

No work

Wow, that didn't take long. I'm paranoid about blogging about work again. Thanks to those of you who helped me come to my senses.

Work

Since I've started this blog, I've avoided talking about work out of some irrational fear that work people would discover me and get me fired or something. But, it is a big part of my life (time-wise anyway) so I think I'll start talking a little bit about it. If I talk about it in vague terms and try to keep the negativity to a minimum, I should be safe.

Tomorrow, work will become an even bigger part of my life (time-wise anyway) as I will have to commute an extra 30 miles each way due to workplace relocation. If I feel comfortable with the new digs, this may lead to me moving somewhere closer to work. And if I move, I will strongly consider buying instead of renting.