austin city limits, or at least my own

i went to austin last week. wow. that’s a small city. 

 

i have to admit, i was totally stoked to be hiking over to a swimming hole in late october. high in the upper 80Fs while home was creeping about in the 50Fs, mind you. however, when we got there it was kind of gross. granted, i have been ridiculously spoiled by the crystal clear (and ice-f-ing-cold) lakes in colorado, but when there are at least 5 large turtle heads peeking out of a stagnant pond considerably smaller than the size of a high school auditorium, i think most pond swimmers would feel a little uneasy. 

 

so we got in half way and got back out. one of us, and i’m not naming names, has developed a bit of an unidentified skin funk since then, and is hoping it will rectify itself soon. gross. totally.  

 

the high point in austin is that every bar has more patio real estate than indoor real estate and that most have a back yard with a “field kegger & live band” feel. um. w00t? a low point is that there are some evil evil plants that live in the grass and will attach themselves to your chaco-wearing foot flesh without invitation and without plans to leave peacefully. perhaps drinking a nice smooth stout at a field party (otherwise known as Tour de Fat) and running blindly down a grassy hill to then hop on a floating dock and gallivant out onto a lake wasn’t the wisest move—but i don’t regret it.

 

(well, subconsciously i might, considering i had a dream that a kitten was launching blow darts and fishing hooks into the same areas of my feet last night… i know! aren’t my dreams the best? aside from being able to watch movies of my own dreams, i’d love to be able to watch movies of my cat’s dreams. i mean really—what is she chasing? what’s making her little nose twitch so?) 

 

so yeah, back to austin before i get back to “it’s always sunny in philadelphia:” the freaking bat bridge! there is a bridge just a few blocks south of downtown where the largest colony of bats in the us lives. we rode our bikes underneath and heard the eeep- eeep- eeep-ing. at dusk, the whole colony takes flight, and the word on the street is that it can take up to 45 minutes for all of the little buggars to fly out. yeah. crazy. it kind of puts my chasing-bats-at-the-lake days to shame.

role model

for the first time in our country’s history, we may have an african american man, an man whose skin tone is half white and half black, be our president and leader. the positive impact of having a man of non-white skin tone lead our country as president is monumental and far-reaching.

not only is he in line to be president (an accomplishment in its own long-overdue in our country), but he carries an even broader message of HOPE–a message that has been missing from our presidency since franklin d. roosevelt, and from the underprivileged households and neighborhoods suffering from prejudice, drug abuse, and poverty.

a double whammy.

we’d all get a president who is inspirational (for the first time in my life time), and for the first time ever, middle class african american families get proof that their sacrifices have not been in vain. but the most exciting piece is that underprivileged african american boys will learn that there is hope for them. they don’t have to be destined for gang life and crime. there is something now, something big, for them to bootstrap-up to. at last the face of “the man” may be a black man and the ripple effect would be huge.

and that’s just within our country. what about the world view? let us not forget how crucial this is to our own economy and safety. though we tout our country as the great melting pot, racist and classist thought ooses in and out of decisions that affect all people of our nation, and therefore, foreign relations. when we have 8 years of gun-toting religious right shouting their very specific and exclusive beliefs as the voice of our people, no doubt others (including many of us in our own country) are offended.* at long last, we could have a man that can speak to other world leaders without the context of white privilege shrouding him.

for the first time, i care about an election. for the first time, i see a man who can speak to all of the people of this country as people and not just as demographics, case studies, and problems to work around. for the first time, i feel like we the people are on the agenda and that decisions will be made with us in the forefront of the process, not just an after-thought. for the first time, i see a man with compassion, intelligence, and a profound ability to unite and lead. and this, this is exactly what this country has needed for so very long now.

i know my expectations are high, but to the sad contrast, they have been set so very low by previous candidates.** even if he can’t solve every problem (which is a very tall order for one man), he is working to do so and is instilling HOPE in all of us. and hope is an invaluable gift. 2 years into his term, when we are upset that our problems have not been solved, i want to retain appreciation for the fact that at least they’re being addressed, and being addressed by a person who cares about his people and not just lining his pockets and those of his friends.

november 4th feels so far away. and after a victory for hope, january 20th feels even farther. but when the message is made that the people of this country chose hope over fear & hatred, and unity over bigotry & war, the wait will be well worth it.

---

*in a country as physically, economically, and culturally vast as ours, it may very well be impossible to satisfy people of all beliefs at once. however, knowing that there is at least one person (the head person) who is trying to act in an inclusive, not exclusive, way, for the maximum benefit for the country, makes sacrificing or struggling so much more palatable.

**here’s an excellent example of political satire about the choices we had for the 2004 presidential election. South Park episode 808: Douche vs Turd

the glorious bike commute of a city-dweller

alright mister white trash road rage man
get back into your rusted gas hog van

save your blustering filibustering and your blah blah blah
for the next poor sap who done you wrong.

shame on you to try to pick a fight
with simply a commuter on a bike.

and then there’s you, mister swervey swiper
ignoring completely the clear white stripe of

the bike lane. how dare you swerve on purpose?
you’re really trying to kill or hurt us?

and then at last my new favorite turd,
you, the one who drove over the curb,

and crushed the back wheel of this bike
and left it there as if you were right.

i don’t know where you people come from
but i fear your brain is missing just some

of what we call intelligence
(or maybe just common sense,

or perhaps a civil courtesy.
these are the things i do not see.)

like in the paper where i read
he hit him then left him for dead

crumpled in a bloody ball, then shouted
“that’s what sidewalks are for” he tauted

this sacred knowledge of traffic law:
when hitting a man, you must applaud?

please people, grow a pair, and think
when the gas runs out, or your gas funds shrink

you’ll find yourself on two wheels too
and won’t you feel silly. oh yes, won’t you.

[unfinished]

smokin’ brakes and a bladder full o’wine

well, this camping trip was full almosts. for example, our brakes almost caught on fire on the way there, we were almost stung by bees (twice) while driving, we missed a turn and almost accidentally drove all the way to fort collins, and we almost got a speeding ticket.

all of these items, thankfully, resolved themselves on their own terms.

the coolest discovery though, was when i got up in the middle of the night to pee (and it was cold, by the way. glad i had my mittens.) and the sky was amazing. the clouds and the moon were wicked cool. but by the time i got my camera out and set up for night shots, the clouds had moved on. i had my aperture set as wide as it would go and held the shutter for over 5 seconds, and the pics were still under exposed, BUT when i adjusted them in photoshop, there were so many more stars than i even saw that night. some of them were red and some were blue. the sky was even a little bit blue too.

naturally, it took me instantly back to the star-gazing nights when i was 16 and we’d be up all night sitting on the end of the dock smalltalking all around an awkward first kiss. it is hard to imagine that starry nights were created for anything other than this.

now, after living in cities for so long, my eyes seem to panic in the true dark of a wilderness night. after a few minutes though, the moonlight is more than sufficient and the near-perfect silence is endless. it is like finally the walls have been lifted and i can hear forever.

i had thought that drinking a bunch of wine was a bad idea when camping because it would make me have to get up and pee in the middle of the night and i’d never be able to get warm again. this was true until recently when i bought a subzero mummy bag. now i can get up, pee, take in the wonderful atmosphere of the night, get back into my bag, and kickstart that buzz saw of zzzzzzs, no problem. (and for the record, i have to pee regardless of drinking.)

this isn’t to say that drinking a bunch of wine is actually a good idea. it’s just that katie’s poor soggy box o’ wine got wet, fell apart, and needed to be kicked. which is to say, instead of a pert little cardboard box on the picnic table, we had a bladder with a spigot that looked a bit more like a blood transfusion bag than a pino noir. nope. this just wouldn’t do. so we put it out of its misery. these things happen sometimes.

and yes, sometimes that means getting up to pee in the middle of the night.

(more photos)

cherries & edamame

cherries & edamame
can be challenging to eat socially,
depending on the crowd

lipstick

it’s hard to know which one to use
but after so many trials and so many errors
a clever girl always knows the ruse

and she must also keep up with the news
to flirt with the victim or with the news barer…
it’s hard to know which one to use

it’s hard to know which one to choose
who is the one who is willing to spare her
a clever girl always knows the ruse

a skillfully picked purse or pair of shoes
can lead the prom queen’s reign of terror
it’s hard to know which one to use

even when and when not to apply rouge
to make sure she is the fairer
a clever girl always knows the ruse

she must be sure not to abuse
but to walk the line so they beware her
it’s hard to know which one to use
a clever girl always knows the ruse