Posts Tagged ‘ 60 Weeks in Austin ’

60 Weeks in Austin, Week 5: wherein I rediscover insomnia

December 15, 2011
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Insomnia

After four OK Cupid dates and one speed dating event, this week I had every intention of comparing menfolk in Louisville, Chicago, St. Louis, and Austin. Sadly, I’m entirely distracted from such things by some unfortunate news. My company, which I dearly adore, is letting me and the rest of the staff go. I have an incredibly generous amount of notice and plenty of work to do in the meantime, but it’s still a blow. I haven’t entirely finished unpacking my home office yet and now I’m on the hunt for a new job. I once hoped to represent...

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60 Weeks in Austin, Week 4: wherein I attempt to personally meet all 1.7 million residents of the metro area

December 8, 2011
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Meetup

Moving across country alone and telecommuting to work is a great recipe for becoming the crazy woman who never showers and talks to her Roomba. In order to combat that, over the last four weeks I’ve visited 10 Meetup Groups. Meetups in Austin are fascinating. I remember when Meetup was mostly an unhappy mix of grassroots groups supporting Howard Dean and soccer moms who needed a martini. Starting a new meetup in Louisville meant a year of patiently waiting with a sign, a smile, and a box of games, knowing that if I advertised enough, eventually the concept would...

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60 Weeks in Austin, Week 3: wherein my faith in a federal institution is horribly shattered

December 1, 2011
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Mail Theft

I call shenanigans. This week, some strangers employed a crowbar to commit a federal offense at my expense. That’s right – the bastards broke into the central mail station for my apartment complex and looted all the boxes. They got my paycheck, a dalek shaped towel my friend Anne sent to decorate my Doctor Who themed bathroom, and a stack of bills I suspect they won’t pay. People who’ve known me for awhile may recall that I’m so hipster I had my identity stolen before we had a name for the phenomenon. The 1990’s were a dark time when...

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60 Weeks in Austin, Week 2: wherein I learn PBR goes flat if hipsters cross the river

November 12, 2011
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Austin river scene

Back in 1989, the state capitol of Texas was populated by government workers, hippies, artists, and potheads. They built small houses which they painted however the hell they wanted, spent their evenings listening to small local bands, and owned art by someone they knew. Then the population doubled from 400,000 in 1990 to 800,000 in 2000 as tech companies moved in. Free thinking culture, tech jobs, a thriving university, and genuinely gorgeous people drove the city to double in population again from 2001 to 2010. Now the metro area has more than 1.7 million residents. In the last two...

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60 Weeks in Austin: Week 1, wherein an 870 mile drive ends in me nearly plummeting to my death

November 6, 2011
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Highway Overpass at Dusk Austin, Texas, USA

“Worst case scenario you can sell the whole thing for scrap metal,” said Anne. We stood on the side of an unfamiliar highway, rocked by the force of cars speeding past at 75 miles an hour, staring at the wreck of a car dolly. It dutifully towed my Toyota 870 miles from St. Louis to Austin without a single issue. Minutes earlier, the movers who unloaded all my worldly goods into an apartment hitched the car dolly back to the truck and sent me on my way. I naively obeyed my GPS when it said to drive my 24...

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Fetid End of the Dating Pool

First Contact: Apples and Honey Edition

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It’s time for a special Rosh Hashanah edition of First Contact! Gosh. Who knew the season of atonement and repentance could be so darn...

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