You’ll remember I met these guys HERE, and it turns out they are friends of other friends too! There’s only FOUR days left, and they’d appreciate your help at a chance to play at ACL. I’ve voted every day, now I want you to, too!
Category Archives: Austin, Texas
Joseph Smith, teetotalers, and sacred underwear, oh my!
The husband and I have been living in the Texas heat for a combined total of 41 years. Rather than becoming acclimated to living in the moist oven that is Austin, Texas from April through October, our bodies have reached a point of critical thermal mass. We can take it no longer! And so, this July, we will be making the most of a 26-foot Penske truck and moving to the land of Big Love… Utah. That’s right you dirty polygamists, we’re headed your way!
When we tell people about our plans, to a soul they respond with some variation of the question: “But, you’re not Mormon, are you?” The answer is no, we are Catholic– and although we may not attend mass weekly, I was raised in Catholic schools and have attended so many masses, vigils, rosaries and reenactments of Christ’s crucifixion that I could probably remain a shut-in for the next ten years and still come out ahead of most “good” Catholics. Yes, we know that Utah is infested with proselytizing Mormons. So why move there? It’s simple. SNOW.
Yet, I must admit, the inevitable materialization of pair after pair of young aryan men knocking on our door to inquire upon the state of our relationship with “Father” is somewhat disconcerting. How do we go about telling them, politely, that they can take the tainted Kool-Aid elsewhere? “Take us off your list?” “No thanks, you can give our seats on the Mother-ship to some other deserving couple.” “Nice suit. My cell-mate used to dress up for me sorta like that…. Wanna come in?”
*LEGAL DISCLAIMER: The views expressed in this excellently written post are not the views of Somegosoftly and Somegosoftly takes no responsibility for anything offensive or immoral that may be contained herein. Any similarity to actual Mormons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Comments or complaints regarding this post may be directed to: 123 Crybaby Lane, Sissyville 98765.*
Bon Voyage
If I was a color, today I would be blue. The day has finally come when our dear friends pack their car and begin their cross-country trek to the Evergreen State. We joined CK and MK for one last lunch Wednesday at Ski Shores, where we reveled in the sunshine and the sight of little kids (okay, us too) throwing bread and french fries to the fish and turtles just off the dock. I was able to fight off tears only by imagining the screaming fits CK and MK will likely have whilst trapped in the front of their over-stuffed SUV for the next five days. If only they had a video in the dashboard a la Oprah and Gayle. I’m not saying it would be a chronicle of the demise of their marriage, but if MK shows up in Seattle with only nine fingers, for instance, will we ever know the truth?
Here are a few of the things that I will miss the most:
1. Sitting in the meat-locker that is Rudy’s on 620, scarfing down brisket and sausage, while MK and BB talk shop, CK picks at chicken and we complain about the latest dumb things our husband/neighbor/Rosie O’Donnell did/said.
2. Sitting at Freebird’s, doing much the same as in No. 1.
3. Making plans to meet up with the K’s, which always involved a minimum of nineteen phone calls, of which MK only answered two. I still don’t understand this ritual, since we only ever met at Rudy’s or Freebird’s, but I’ll miss it nonetheless.
4. Having my eardrums assaulted alternately by a) the screaming toddler who, when not released for a beating, apparently lives in a cage upstairs of the K’s apartment, and b) the Rave music CK played to drown out Satan’s spawn.
5. Knowing someone who can fix my camera and teach me all sorts of nifty tricks, without whom I would not be able to share pics like this:
These things may sound lame and not worth shedding a tear over, but what it all amounts to is that our best friends are gone, and we already miss them. If all goes well, they’ll be in Denver by tomorrow morning. Wish them luck!
This Is It
Well, we’re all ready to go. Everything is packed. All that’s left tomorrow is a little laundry and cleaning, and we’re out of here.
It’s a strange feeling…I never planned to stay in Austin, it was always just temporary, for college. Little did I know I’d make such amazing friends, meet the love of my life, become so close to his friends, and my family that is here. Now we’re leaving. I’m excited and sad at the same time.
We had the greatest dinner last night at the County Line, laughing and chowing, drinking and chowing. I’ll miss the bbq! I’ll miss the great company of TB and BB. Tonight we’re heading over to Hula Hut, despite the nasty weather, to say our goodbyes to everyone else. You’ll be at the mercy of the phenomenal guest blogger, thestandin. I promise to carefully chronicle our road trip and the great stories I’m sure we’ll have from our weekend in Denver, our night in Boise, and our first impressions of Seattle. When I wake up, after a long nap. Thank you all for your well wishes, your continued support of my little blog here, and everything else. I’ll talk to you in a week!
www.ocg.at
Cowabunga, Dude
That should say it all. That is none other than Teen Wolf, flanked by snippy and yours truly, somegosoftly.
You may recall that for her birthday, we did the 80s power ballad sing alongs. I talked about it here and again here. Well, I wasn’t that good then, but last night, I shined. Like a giant shiny day glo disco ball. Last night we attended Rock the Casbah with DJ Mel at the Parish. Now we’re talking 80s pop and dance music. all. night. long. Madonna, Prince, Wham, Duran Duran, Yes. I knew almost all of it. It was clear to any bystander that I did, as well as my crew, as we shouted and sang and danced.
These are some 5 star costumes. Teen Wolf was only one of the entourage of 20+ the best friend brought out last night. It was a trip, there was so much to see and point at and danced to. From “Our House” to “Our Lips Are Sealed”, I’ve never crooned and swayed and jived more passionately. The only thing(s) that could have made this night a better way to spend our last Saturday night in Austin are if JC my super rockin’ dance partner had been there and I was able to give out awards, including but not limited to the following categories:
- Best Use of a Scrunchie
- Best Sunglasses Worn at Night
- Most Unique Interpretation of an 80s Dance Move
- Cutest Boy in a Members Only Jacket
- Best Stonewash of Jean
- Highest Side Ponytail
MK pulled out a little dance move for Depeche Mode that completed my night and vaulted it in my memory as the greatest dance party of all time.
Party all the time, party all the time…
Tell me, what is your most hoppin’-ist 80s dance song?
Three Great Days
Sunday, I made us some muffins and MK and I read the paper. I suck to read the paper with, he’d be trying to read and I’d be trying to talk to him about what I read that he’d already read – he probably won’t let me sit next to him with the paper again anytime soon.
It was so beautiful out, we went to Town Lake and walked. So slow. MK hasn’t been out in a while, it felt like we were crawling, but I quit complaining and enjoyed walking and talking with my husband. We walked up Lake Austin Blvd. and had some Thundercloud subs, mmmmm. We picked up some steaks and went back home and sat out for a bit, packed a bit, and totally fell asleep, best nap ever.
www.americantrails.org
When we woke up we got a full car load of stuff packed away. It is so funny, getting to stuff I want to take that we fight over why we do/don’t need and where to put it. I think I’ve been very accommodating. We hardly have anything but large furniture left. It’s so strange. I have to keep reminding MK we’ve got two more weeks here, we’re kind of ahead of schedule. I cooked us a huge dinner and we watched some tv, listened to Musical Starstreams. My weekend was so full of life and love and fun and friends, I couldn’t have been happier, I’m so blessed!
Saturday Did Too
In order to fully have a weekend of me being insane, MK and I decided to do something very silly in the morning. We showered and dressed up as pretty as possible, and drove out to the side of the road and took pictures in the bluebonnets.
Laugh it up. I think I might have done this the first time I visited Texas, at the age of 9. Once you actually grow up and live here though, you drive by people doing that and make fun of them. For preservation of my sanity, we did go at least where no one could really see us. But we do, now, have pictures of us amongst the state flowers. No, you can’t see them.
From there we drive over to the MIL’s house, and returned to her everything that was her excuse to come over to our house. We are, after all, moving, so we don’t need her trying to come to Seattle looking for a dish or anything.
After a stop at Starbuck’s for MK, we drove over to BH and PH’s. They are renovating their house. It seems like someday, if I ever have a house, I would like to renovate it. What a sense of accomplishment and hard work. My favorite was BH noting that all the wine looked very old and expensive due to the fine layer of dust that had settled on everything.
We had some drinks and they took MK and I out for one of our favorite dinners, since we’ll be missing these places soon enough. We went to the original Hyde Park, on 45th. I loooooove this place. I used to live over there in college, and ate there a lot. I also ate at Mother’s, the vegan place across the street. If you don’t know, some bum set fire to their most amazing outdoor garden patio, completely burning it to the ground. Very sad.
Our dinner was fantastic, and then we walked to Dolce Vita, the gelato shop next door. MK and BH had coffee, PH and I had wine. We talked for hours. After I recounted my thinking from yesterday, PH let me know that over the time they’ve known me, they appreciate that I’ve grown to at least know when I say dumb things, which I previously had not. That made me feel better and dumber all at the same time. Oh well. We had a great conversation and really enjoyed the time we were able to spend with our friends, again who we’ll miss so much.
MK and I met KD and ND and co. at Molotov and then Key Bar, rounding out yet another super fantastic day. What a great weekend.
Home Sweet Home
We got our place, for certain. It all worked out great. It’s so exciting to be getting all this taken care of, to make progress, as slow as it has been, and get ready to go. I’ve been making more lists than I imagined, Austin things to do before I go, people to see, what clothes to pack, where we’ve put things, addresses to change…I’m sure I’m forgetting so much, we haven’t moved in three years.
This is the place:
This is the view, there’s a rooftop lounge-y area, of course it’s cloudy, but you can make out the Space Needle, and mountains behind that when it’s clear:
Here’s our place, small, but fully furnished and everything:
We leave in two weeks, and will spend a weekend in Denver on our way up to spend time with my old college roommate, SB. I can’t wait!
Astute Readers
Truth be told, I wasn’t really scared to move, just wondering how two people with stay at home ‘jobs’ would meet new people. The recent deluge of mail and phone calls has let me know that there will, indeed, not be a weekend over the next six months where we will not have a visitor, so that won’t matter.
I’m calling shenanigans. People always say they will come and visit, but then make up excuses and no show. I, on the other hand, will be driving through Denver to see my bestest buddy, for sure. And there’s this one little lady I have a feeling will make it up there, because, crap, this is a great lineup for a music festival:
And jeez, how could you NOT go to something named the Sasquatch Festival? Not much can beat Austin City Limits Festival, but LOOK AT THIS VIEW:
www.leftoffthedial.com
Drafthouse News
I can’t tell you all how much I love the Alamo, and it looks like the next time I’m in Austin, I’ll be going to a different place. I’ve mentioned all I’ve seen there (it’s a movie theater that serves food and drinks, and hosts numerous special events) and this is kind of big news! I don’t know how much I like the idea of waiting in a line outside on 6th Street next to all the drunks to see a movie, I hope they have plenty of indoor waiting room. 4th Street was far enough off the beaten path to not incur the crazies. We’ll have to see how it goes…
Alamo Drafthouse Downtown moves to the Ritz!
ALAMO DOWNTOWN CELEBRATES TEN YEAR ANNIVERSARY…
Ten years ago, my wife Karrie and I opened the doors to the original Colorado Street Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. We had just finished the most grueling six months of our lives, working on the construction every day, 7 days a week about 15 hours a day. We worked at a feverish pace and did damn near everything ourselves, mainly because we had no money. With a paltry sum raised by hitting up our parents and friends and an assortment of credit card loans, we installed new plumbing, air conditioning, electrical, and fabricated the screening room that we’ve been enjoying for the last decade. On opening day, we had $20,000 left in the bank, and with our freshly-hired staff, our first ever employees, that was enough to last us for about a month if no-one came to the theater. It was a miserably naive business plan.Thankfully, Austin responded to us quickly and we stand looking back ten years later to happily see the concept of our original cinema still intact. In the next three months, we will be celebrating our 10 year anniversary by bringing back many of our classic events and guests. We hope you will join us many times in April through June as we celebrate and share some of our favorite movies of the past decade. Look for the red “10” logo in our printed guide for all anniversary screenings. – Tim League: founder, Alamo Drafthouse Cinema
AND MOVES OPERATIONS
TO THE HISTORIC RITZ THEATER!
For the last 10 years, we have also seen the warehouse district grow up around us. As the neighborhood has become more and more upscale, we’ve seen many long-time businesses fall away: The Bitter End, Gilligans, Waterloo Brewing Co, and Ruta Maya to name just a few. At the end of June, 2007, our lease will expire and due to the high costs of rent, insurance and taxes, we have been not been confident that we would be able to continue occupying our current space. With the end of our lease looming, the Downtown Austin Alliance stepped in quickly and brought us together with the owners of the Ritz Theater on 6th Street. In a matter of weeks, we shook hands on a deal and are now moving full-steam ahead with planning for the next decade of Alamo Drafthouse Downtown programming: Alamo Drafthouse Cinema at the Ritz.Renovation begins in April and we hope to be open as soon as possible, maybe as early as summer’s end. This theater will prove to be the best Alamo Drafthouse yet. While retaining the intimacy and programming of the original location, the Ritz will have two screens, plush VIP seating, state-of-the-art projection and sound and the new experience of a remodeled and renovated landmark Austin movie palace. Please stay tuned to the Alamo website and blog for progress on the construction as well as updates on opening week programming and events…
…For more information about the 10 Year Anniversary screenings at the original Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, check out our website. There are only a few months left to enjoy the original location, we hope to see you there soon and often! Every dollar you spend will be going towards the massive renovation overhaul of the Ritz. Also, stay tuned for information on the “last night at the Alamo” final screening and party!
Cat Killfoil 
