Starlight Station

For the next two weeks I'm playing momma to a basset hound along with my lab, Bella.  He has the biggest feet I've ever seen, yet somehow he makes less noise than Bella does.

Today I start running the teen program at East Club, and I'm finished with Reagan for good - all except for cleaning out my office.  But I don't have my new one at Ann Richards yet, so for now, everything can stay there because I don't want to bring it home and have it clutter my apartment.  The fun thing about East Club is that it's going to be all field trip based, so I'm taking the kids everywhere from the Urban Roots farm to Barton Springs to Caritas (went there last week with Reagan kids - very awesome) to career day at Old Navy to touring the Austin Film Studios.  Today is introductions day, though, and I hate those.  They make me anxious.  I'm going to post these pictures I like and try not to be anxious.

Dress: I can't remember the brand - but it's from the boutique Indigo in Little Rock.  I love orange.
Cardigan: Gap
Shoes: BCBG Girls
Locket: my grandma's
Bracelet: my great grandma's
Railroad car: Starlight Station in Killeen (it was packed Sunday night when I drove by on my way home to Austin!)

so while I was on here, Lennon dropped my sunglasses (he was being sweet and holding them) and stepped on them.  Then they looked like this:

and I also like to pretend I'm an airplane.  Maybe I'll do that now to relieve my first day jitters.

The spring flowers are all gone now and I miss them terribly.  But I'm watering a garden for the basset hound's mommy and daddy, and I get to eat all of the summer tomatoes and green beans out of it while they're gone - that may be better than flowers!

Matt Pond PA + Wintersleep

I really like Wintersleep, and after seeing them play with Matt Pond PA, I like that band too.  I wrote up this review for Venus Zine and took photos as well.  You can read that here.  Now go listen to "Mirror Matter," it's my favorite song!

Wintersleep:

Matt Pond PA:

It was the night of couples at the Mohawk.  I took creepy-spy pictures (that were really cute) of couples cuddling, dancing, dipping, and just being everywhere.  They are always everywhere when you're not one!  Even HEB - I vote they designate a singles shopping day, sort of like senior citizens discount day.

Fireworks & Happy Fourth

Happy fourth of July!  I'm in Copperas Cove/Ft. Hood with my family, eating waaaay too many baked goods courtesy of my step-sister Courtney.  I hope you all had a wonderful, relaxing day.  Any good stories?

On soulmates:

Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

"And please don't laugh at me now, but I think the reason it's so hard for me to get over this guy is because I seriously believed David was my soul mate."

"He probably was.  Your problem is you don't understand what that word means.  People think a soul mate is a perfect fit, and that's what everyone wants.  But a true soul mate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that's holding you back, the person who brings you to your own attention so you can change your life.  A true soul mate is probably the most important person you'll ever meet, because they tear down your walls and smack you awake.  But to live with a soul mate forever?  Nah.  Too painful.

Soul mates, they come into your life just to reveal another layer of yourself to you, and then they leave.  And thank God for it.  Your problem is, you just can't let this one go.  It's over, Groceries.  David's purpose was to shake you up, drive you out of that marriage that you needed to leave, tear apart your ego a little bit, show you your obstacles and addictions, break your heart open so new light could get in, make you so desperate and out of control that you had to transform your life, then introduce you to your spiritual master and beat it.  That was his job, and he did great, but now it's over.  Problem is, you can't accept that this relationship had a real short shelf life.  You're like a dog at a dump, baby - you're just lickin at an empty tin can, trying to get more nutrition out of it.  And if you're not careful, that can's gonna get stuck on your snout forever and make your life miserable.  So drop it."

"But I love him."

"So love him."

My Computer is in the Hospital

Last night my computer contracted a nasty virus, so two scans and a few tears later, I took it the computer hospital that is the Best Buy Geek Squad.  Hopefully my laptop, and all the photos I've been trying to make time to post, will be all well by Wednesday.  Until then I'm on my work laptop, which of course doesn't have any of my image or writing documents on it.  But, at least it's a nice backup to have. 

Daniel Johnston at Mohawk

Saturday night I was really lucky to get to go see Daniel Johnston perform at the Mohawk.  I wish I knew more about him prior to seeing the show, other than that I think about him everytime I pass the sushi place on Guadalupe with his graffiti art on it, but my copy of The Devil and Daniel Johnston just came in from Netflix today. 

The entire patio was packed and breathing in water from sweat and humidity, sort of like standing in a giant, soggy sponge.  Good shows are always worth it, though.  I've never liked being completely front row, so the new-used zoom lens I got has been really helpful and handy.

One Feature + One Review

I got to interview country/blues/R&B singer Mary McBride for Venus Zine, and it was published last week.  It was my first phone interview and I was really nervous and also paranoid my cell phone would die or cut out.  After learning the hard way that New York time is not the same as Austin time, though, I got it sorted out.  Read the article I wrote here. 

Glen Hansard is still my favorite singing Irishman, but the Villagers were good and had the added benefit of sounding a little similar.  Although the lyrics were all dark and creepy - I seem to keep getting the creepy albums.  Wintersleep was dark, too, but every time I listen to their CD now I love it more and I saw them live Monday night - GREAT.  Once those photos get posted on Venus I'll post the set here.  Till then, you can read my Villagers album review, here!

Bike Theif Blues

My list of things-to-save-up-for just got longer - my bike was stolen today!  I knew I should have gotten a U-Lock, but they're expensive and I've used a chain lock for four years without issue, and the chain is so much easier to wrap around any random thing I find. 

So, my beloved Trek mountain bike that I got as a graduation present from my master's program is gone.  Thank goodness for renters insurance - for only $11 a month and four years of  price inflation - I'm basically getting the original cost of the bike back after my deductible.  I saw this Linus Mixte bike at The Peddler back when Lennon was buying his new bike, and have not-so-secretly wanted one ever since, so I've got my sights set on it.  It's more than what insurance is giving me, so I'll hold off on it for a bit, but now I know what my next major purchase will be. 

Until then, no more bike trips to HEB, the library, or joy rides around Hyde Park.  Very big frown face.  The jerk who stole it cut my chain off and left it on the ground beside the bike rack at my apartment.  I hope it breaks on him or her.  I feel like this is a huge induction into Austin - I'm a bike thief victim!  That makes me a full fledged citizen.

The Ever Living Ghost of What Once Was

I work in a high school, but not as a teacher anymore.  Last week after summer program ended for the day and all the custodians had left, I stayed after to take pictures with these blue lockers. 

I've spent most of my weekend cloistered away writing articles to earn money so I can pay for tires, travel to weddings in Missouri and Atlanta, and lots of other things that have nothing to do with purchasing the frivolous items on my wish list: new camera lens, record player, squishy head phones, (so I can write in a coffee shop when I get bored of my house - and ear buds are not made for comfort), and I haven't gone thrifting or traveled in a long time... practical purchases are no fun!  Maybe one day I'll give up non-profit work in exchange for a pay check.  Maybe.

These lockers are frivolous as well - the students aren't supposed to use them, although there are locks on a few and I found a backpack in one.  Most of the students here carry children's backpacks with super heroes on them and never seem to have books or a pencil.  I'm yet to understand this.  I'm also 100% in favor of e-text books, if such as thing has been invented yet.  You'd never accidentally take home your science book instead of your math book again!  (I did this in high school, a lot.  It was my legit excuse for not having my homework).

Dress: Forever 21 clearance ($7!)
Necklace: my grandmother's

I don't believe in ghosts, or at least I tell myself that.  I do believe in metaphorical ghosts.  Several years ago a teenage girl was murdered in this courtyard on a stairwell by her ex-boyfriend, so while schools are typically creepy when you're in them alone, this one has an added chill of being a past murder scene.  Not that I believe a teenage girl would want to stick around school post-mortem for any reason, but there's always something left behind by occurrences in a place, something barely perceptible.  And, no matter how much we move forward, people never fully shake off all our old ghosts, do we?