I've been thinking...

I've decided to name my first-born-child Peanut Brittle. If celebrities can go around naming their kids "Apple" (Gwenyth Paltro), "Zula" (Gwen Stephani), "El-Kal" (Nicolas Cage), "Ocean" (Forest Whittaker), and "Blue Angel" (The Edge from U2), then I'm going to name my kid after something truly awesome.

Peanut Brittle.

 

I did leave the house today, I promise. More than once, even.

Yesterday, I:

Found the ATM (in the middle of nowhere), found the library (closed for Labor Day weekend), and had dinner with my friend Talleri (have I mentioned how much I love Tex-Mex food? Because I do. A lot. Mmmmm). 

Then last night I volunteered at the Out of Bounds Improv Festival. I got to take tickets. Thrilling. But I did meet a bunch of new people, impressed them with my smooth personality and suave manner (ok maybe not), and saw some improv. Saw ColdTowne, awesome as always, and Kape, an all-female troupe out of NYC. I like to see all-female troupes. Girls can be funny together in a different way. After the shows, I went out with some ColdTowne people and other Austin folk, at a bar I had been to when I was in town last. Apparently, nothing has changed since I was here in June. 

After hanging out with improv peeps, I ended up at a party down the street with my roommate and a bunch of other UT people. 

Apparently I party like a rockstar in Austin. 

TODAY, I:

Had lunch at Central Market (which is like Metro Mart times 10), then I went to the Gap in search of work pants. No luck on the pants, but I did manage to spend far too much money. Damn the Gap. 

Then tonight I volunteered at another Out of Bounds show. This weekend (and today in particular) EVERYONE was in downtown Austin. I mean everyone. There was a 10k (The Nike Human Race),* a triatholon, BatFest, Out of Bounds, and I'm sure several other things. 

Due to all of these events, ALL OF DOWNTOWN AUSTIN was closed. Not the businesses, restaurants, and venues, just the streets. ALL OF THEM. I was the luckiest girl alive to find a parking spot within a mile of the venue, and I did it by following people to their car. 

We held the house for a half an hour because downtown was so ridiculous, and there were still a ton of people who had bought tickets online who didn't make it. Sucks for them. 

The shows were good - one fantastic and one decent. 

Girls Girls Girls, billed as "Austin's only all-female improv troupe," specializes in improvised musicals. I wanted very badly to love the show. 

I did not. 

There were some moments of genius, but there were also a lot of moments of less-than-genius. Improvised songs are really hard, I hate doing them, and the thought of doing an entire show terrifies the crap out of me, but I have seen it done so much better than GGG's musical about beauty pageants. 

Perhaps I have been spoiled, seeing so many tight, well-performed musicals at Jet City, but this show seemed lacking in so many ways: Plot, for one. It was there, but not well-formed. Also, for a musical show, there was not a lot of songs. There was quite a bit of "speaking rhythmically while music plays," though. Cop-out. If you bill yourselves as a troupe that does improvised musicals, then do a musical. Sing some songs, sing different kinds of songs, don't bore me. I think they needed more structure than "we're going to do a musical based on a suggestion." There are so many kinds of musical, I think they should have picked a theme beforehand.

(They are going to find this someday and hate me. Oh well.)

The second troupe to perform was a troupe from The Groundlings, out of LA. The Groundlings have a great reputation, and for good reason. Yep. It was apparent that most of the improvisors spend a great deal of time onstage. 

Sitting in the audience tonight, I realized it must be terrifying to perform for a large group of improvisors. Way scarier than performing for the general public.

Now I'm sitting here, debating putting on my PJs. By last night's standards, it's still early. 

*I am absolutely horrified just at the thought of running a 10k. Now add 90 degree weather. These people are out of their minds. 

Cold Showers

Through some weird miscommunication, the gas in my new house got turned off, instead of the account just switching names. My new roommate called the gas company and, because of the long weekend, they can't turn it back on until next week.

This means: no stove and no hot water.

At first I thought it wouldn't be a big deal, it's a billion degrees outside, cold showers should be ok. And occasionally, they are. But stepping into that cold shower first thing in the morning is something I just can't bring myself to do. I have to turn down the a/c, turn off the fans, and wait for the house to get good and toasty. Then I jump in, get wet, turn off the water, wash, turn on the water, and try to breathe while I rinse off. I don't feel like I'm getting very clean, but then, I start sweating the minute I leave the house, so who really cares?

In other news, I am pretty sure I'm going to buy a truck. I was pretty stoked on getting a Miata or something, but the more time I spend on the freeways here, the more terrifying that prospect sounds.

(On that note - Texas freeways are weird. I still haven't figured it out. Access roads? Tolls? ah!)

I went and test-drove this truck yesterday, it's a red Ford Ranger and I like it. While driving it, the skies opened up and began to dump rain. Not sure how I feel about that. There was also crazy lightening and thunder.

Yesterday I got a little homesick - trying to figure out all this new stuff (banking, driving, grocery shopping) got to me a little bit. I miss Seattle and Bellevue and Bellingham where I know where everything is and how to get there and I don't get lost on a daily basis. I'm sure I'll get to that point here, but for now it's kind of stressful.

My new housemate is in law school and I went with her and some of her friends to a big law school beginning of the school year party on 6th street. Think Pioneer Square and Bourbon street mashed up into one big mess. It was fun in a "now I don't have to do that again" kind of way. Or maybe I will, who knows?

There is a park across the street and people are playing tennis. I want to ask them if they are aware that it is 90 degrees out. They probably are. Crazies.

On today's itinerary: Find an ATM that takes deposits, find the library, meet up with my friend Talleri.

Arrival

Today I woke up at 4:30 Seattle time, which is 6:30 Austin time, and I'm now mentally somewhere in between those two times. Hopefully I'll adjust soon, but right now it's midnight Austin time and I'm both exhausted and wide awake. So basically just loopy as all hell. 

Flew from Seattle to Denver to Austin on Southwest air. They have the best in-flight snacks, granola bars, cheese-its, peanuts. Love it.

I started reading World War Z on the plane. Maybe that's why no one sat next to me. Or maybe I look intimidating? Who knows? Who cares? I didn't have to fight anyone for an armrest.

I arrived, my baggage all arrived, my shuttle dropped me off at my house, and my new housemate was here to welcome me.  I think we are going to get along really well.

There is a KEXP button stuck to the stereo in my room (belonging to the girl who I'm subletting from). I took that as a sign that this is where I'm supposed to be.

My new housemate took me to pick up my rental car - it's a bright yellow, brand new Chevy Aveo:

Not a car I would ever choose for myself, but it's actually kind of fun. Mostly I like that it is bright yellow and has a/c. Also it has a little over 800 miles on it. It's the newest, shiniest thing I've ever driven.

Went to dinner with my new housemate and two of her friends - we had a great time. Margaritas and warm weather and fun people - a girl could get used to that.

Then I went on an adventure of my own - I went to a show at the Out of Bounds Improv Festival. First, I'm just really excited that I found the place. (I got a little lost coming home, but that's a different story...) In addition to the excitement of getting there, I saw one of the four people in Austin that I know, the one and only Terp2It. (I'm sure I saw other people that I met last time I was here, but my brain is so distressed after however many hours of consciousness that everyone looked familiar. )

The improv was awesome, I love short form but I forgot how much I enjoy long form. The second troupe I saw perform tonight, Improv For Evil, did an improvised 1970's-style cop show. Let me just say - YES. But then, I'm a sucker for themes. And big ridiculous mustaches. 

I wrote a list of things I need to buy soon:

a washcloth, cotton swabs, pictures for my walls, extension cords, a car, black capris, and a little fan. 

Tomorrow I will be going to Primrose School for some training, and then looking at some cars. I'm going to check out a 99 Miata, a 2002 GTI, and a 1987 BMW. Hopefully one of them isn't total crap. I should really buy a Honda or something else non-German. However, there's no fun in that.

Now I'm going to try to sleep - But really I'll probably watch the movie that I didn't watch on the plane, or read more about the Zombie Wars. 

Too busy to blog

Getting ready to move across the country while working 40+ hours a week is pretty time-consuming. I haven't had much time to write, but I also don't feel like I've had much to write about.

I've been selling/getting rid of a lot stuff, I sold my bass last week and put my truck up on Craigslist today. My car is not in sellable condition right now so my dad (my hero) has been working on it. 

I signed my sublease agreement and sent off my deposit, so I will at least have a home when I arrive (in ten days!). Everything else is still kind of up in the air - hopefully I will find a car and a bank (probably not in that order) as soon as I get there. 

So, that's it for the update.

In the great tradition of Brynn Hambly, I've decided that this here blog will be the best way to keep all you friend, family, and fans (I must have fans, right?) up to date on my big adventure - aka the big move from Seattle to Austin.

I will be flying into Austin on Wednesday , August 27th. Buying that one-way ticket was pretty amazing. (Round trip tickets to Austin are not that expensive - come visit me!) I have a place to live, but will be spending all my time trying to find a car as soon as I get there so I don't have to rent one for very long. 

I will be starting my job on September 2; I'll be working at the Primrose School of Vista Ridge, in Cedar Park, just outside of Austin. I'll be the lead teacher in the 18-24 month old class. Teeny Tinies, puppets, snack, and nap. How could that not be awesome?

I'm currently trying to get rid of almost everything I own. It's hard but also feels really good. It's amazing how much stuff a person can accumulate, even when you move as much as me. Tomorrow is the big trip to the storage unit. I'm a little stressed. There's stuff there I haven't seen in two years. But it's a good feeling, knowing that I'm going to get to Austin with a suitcase (or two's) worth of stuff. Starting over, clean slate. 

And now a question for you fans:

When I went to Austin in June, I was pretty much murdered by mosquitoes - does anyone know of a good repellant that isn't as toxic to people as it is to bugs? If so, please inform me. I do not like mosquito bites. Thank you.