it's all starting to come together

a long, rambling list of random updates on all things atx, the sum of which is that things are starting to look up around here (i must admit that i was a wee bit overwhelmed and frazzled at the end of last week, what with the constant brain pain at work and the constant fear that i'd be living in a box come mid-april)...

for starters, i had an excellent wknd, consisting of:

1. rolling solo to a hip-hop concert at a famous austin venue (thanks to TT for the heads up). artist: little brother/dilated peoples, venue: stubb's BBQ. amusing observations: everyone there was smoking weed to the point where i was practically high myself. also, it's interesting to go a hip-hop concert alone as a single woman as the crowd is largely male. these two nice guys kept me company in a largely non-sketchy way, and the one guy gave me his business card at the end of the night. apparently he works for rooms to go, and i had to bite my tongue not to make a sarcastic joke that may have really offended him.
2. laying out in the warm sun by the pool. not quite warm enough to go into the ass-cold bone-chilling water, but warm enough to lay out in a bikini and catch up on some work reading.
3. FINALLY getting the time to go for a run on one of austin's many hike and bike trails. the one i went on was around "town lake," a dammed-up section of the colorado river that runs right through downtown austin and is just way too picturesque for its own good. this was made even better by the presence of the lovely mary lorraine and the excellent PEYTON, her boyfriend's dog. running with a dog is quite tricky - peyton had endless energy and was eager to please, but i don't think she gets to run on trails that often and didn't quite get the hang of the whole "you have to run in a straight line at my side and not stop to smell every single thing that has a scent" thing. oh well. at least my arms got a good work-out from her pulling on the leash.
4. crashing a happy hour filled with people i didn't know in honor of a dude that i only knew through email (thanks joyce). it felt like a very odd and very public blind date, when in reality it was nothing of the sort. all's well that ends well, though - i met some nice people and am having dinner w/one of the chicks this week. AND!! more love for the eating/drinking scene here!! i had two fantastic mojitos and a lovely appetizer for only $12. holla!

for enders (if you can have for starters, why can't you have for enders?), i present to you three non-wknd related items that give further indication that my life in austin is starting to take on some semblance of a real life:

1. I SIGNED ON AN APT!!! i looked and looked all wknd and finally gave into my inner yuppie and signed on a pretty posh place (if you wonder why i look kinda funny, it's b/c i had to give an arm and a leg to afford the place... har har... ok bad joke). it's a gated complex in one of the funkiest, most eclectic neighborhoods in austin (i'd probably compare it to a U st in DC?)... i have a 1 bdrm/1 bath with a balcony and a beautiful swimming pool and fitness center. and covered parking. the weird thing about austin apts?? they almost never offer W/D in-unit. i have W/D hook-ups, but i have to rent the actual W/D. eh? come again? i offer you body parts and you give me lame little holes in the wall?
2. i'm off tmw for a biz trip to NYC, where i will hopefully see some lovely familiar faces. i'm also off next week for a biz trip to miami, where i will hopefully see some lovely hot sun. the best part is that i actually kind of know what the hell i'm doing for both of these trips. score!
3. i finally got the key made for my poor dented rice rocket. i drove it to the gas station tonight to get some gas and could not help marvelling at how much this car really is a rice rocket. has it always ridden this low to the ground (to the point where i seriously thought i might scrape the highway if i wasn't careful)? was it always this loud? was it always this... red? i seriously felt like i was in foreign territory, what with all the fancy rentals i've been driving lately. still, it was nice to be back in the ol' car... atx, can you handle the phenom that is the rice rocket?

p.s. if you caught the apprentice tonight (and if you did, say hi to your, like, three other friends in the country that are still watching it) you saw my company's president (the guy with the southern accent - duh) and one of my clients, norwegian cruise lines. woo hoo!