Keeping Austin Weird

I've been in Austin, TX since Thursday night visiting Alex, my best friend from home. Since middle school. Yeah we've been through some shit. Austin's great, casually hipster and likely hotter than hell itself. Hanging out with Alex for an extended period for the first time... basically since I left for college= SO GREAT!

Friday-- waited in line for 2.5 hours for what's supposedly the best BBQ in Austin and arguably, Texas. It opens at 11 and closes when it sells out so people start lining up at around 9 am.

Line at Franklin's BBQ when we arrived at 10:30. Really.

Adorably simple menu which I value so much.

I may have gotten 2 full meals' worth. Brisket plate and Tipsy
Texan sandwich featuring chopped beef, sausage, and slaw.
I did not finish it.

Texas Capitol. It's brown.

Giant Lone Star in front of the State History Museum. They had a
perfectly Austin-esque free outdoor concert series going on. With
free tacos and Honest Tea.

Saturday-- went to the downtown Austin farmer's market. Ate a pork tomatillo tamale, migas taco, and some fresh peaches. Then headed to Barton Spring Pool. It was freezing. But the sun was burning outside, quite possibly the most intensely blazing sun I've ever encountered. Alex and I decided that at the process goes: Freeze, Thaw, Burn, Repeat.

Walked by Double Wide practice, Austin's elite club men's team.
Can't even imagine running in his heat. This is at Zilker Park,
where Austin City Limits and SXSW take place.

Barton Spring Pool. Wiki says, "The pool exists in the channel of
Barton Creek and is filled by water from Main Barton Spring,
the fourth largest spring in Texas."

Tree for Kara, though it may be too live.

Peaches from the farmer's mkt. They basically roasted in my
bag while at the pool so I cleaned and cut them up.

At night we went to see Ben Sollee who might win the award for being my favorite musician to see live. His music and his performance have both grown immensely from the first time I heard him open for Bela Fleck with the Sparrow Quartet 3 years ago. Basically fell in love with his music at that first song, "It's Not Impossible."

His voice is ENORMOUS-- where did it come from?? I can't ever do justice to the way it fills a room and absolutely captivates me. Then he starts playing his cello and I fall to pieces. The way his fingers flutter over the strings and his bow lures the cello's soul from its body, the richness and depth and life he so effortlessly brings from it melts my heart and questions my being and how I've strayed so far from music when it used to be such a significant part of my life. All the while he is clearly having the best time of his life, so happy to be on stage and sharing his music with everyone and anyone who will listen, making it seem totally silly to lead any other kind of life (more on this later).

Pre-concert Chipotle. Soso good after extensive sun time. I've also
decided that meat takes up too much space and a veg bowl, which
comes with guac, is the way to go.

Feeling like a social outcast at the concert venue--
and very upset about it-- for not being 21.

Ben on the left, and incredible new drummer/percussionist,
Jordan Ellis. He added so much to the live set and hearing him
and Ben faux-jam left me in awe.

Oh hey, I'm fangirl. AND he wore the
collaredshirt-jacket-jeans look that I love.

Solo album #2. CD signed by Ben #2. Best.

So yes. I've moved from international vagabonding to domestic. There's just as much to see and do and learn here in the states and even during normal life. I've made it a goal to spend more time enjoying life and exploring LA in this coming semester. That's one thing that's started to settle in from the overseas portion of this summer-- taking time to savor life and not be so stressed out and stupid-busy and trying to control everything all the time. Or at least not allowing excessive sources of stress especially regarding the things I know I have to do anyway. And maybe, possibly, even allowing myself to be happy with what I do instead of constantly looking forward and trying to achieve more which apparently will lead me toward a life of lots of accomplishment but little satisfaction I don't quite know how he already understands so much about the things that I struggle with at such a fundamental level. Obviously there are many more facets to this thought but that's the only bit I can currently verbalize.

Other domestic adventures in the plans:
Marietta, GA- new home of my immediate family.
Charlotte, NC- site of one of my brother's tennis tourneys.
Birmingham, AL- orthopedic capital of America.


I sprint towards freedom, how else would you move that way?
But I ain't as fast as I used to be and the dogs are catching up
But I'm gonna die either way so I might as well die trying.
--Captivity, Ben Sollee

**Just realized that I totally left out my few days in LA. That's completely unfair-- those people are important too-- even if I've only blogged from unfamiliar territory, so I will recap those days in the next post, likely when I'm back in the dirrrty south. Sentence construction=miserable. Bed time.