hello, hello...

....i'm at a place called vertigo!

(btw, i always thought the lyric was "hello, hello... may i please have vertigo" -- which, when you think about it, makes absolutely no sense but i guess that's what happens when singers don't enunciate properly. silly bono. trix are for kids. and yellow sunglasses look really bad on you, dude.)

apparently, when you take one dazed and confused traveler, throw her on the road for a wk and make her sit in a windowless conference on a rocking cruise ship for hours on end, you end up with some serious vertigo.

the room spins. i still feel the motion of the cruise ship when standing still. my ears buzz, and i have trouble walking in a straight line. concentrating is difficult and headaches are frequent.

if it didn't suck so badly, it would be kinda funny.

so yes. i am back in austin. the austin to miami and back to austin for five hours to pack for vancouver and then board a cruise ship for LA only to disembark and fly back to austin marathon is over. i am tired and dizzy and stressed out and oh, officially addicted to the crack that is known as a blackberry (especially brickbreaker. holy crap. how was my life ever complete before brickbreaker? it's almost as good as that icebreaker game. carpal tunnel syndrome be damned, i must beat my high score).

also, i just had my six-month anniversary in austin. my how time flies. it made me all pensive and reflective and since i am too dizzy to write a really well thought-out post about all things austin, i leave you instead with an outline of the things i would have written abut:

I. there are a lot of things that i like about austin

• austin is very laid-back and chill
• austin feels very safe. terrorism? what? crime? huh?
• people in austin are genuinely friendly (not in an annoying way) and very easy-going
• i have a kick-ass apt
• breakfast tacos
• cost of living, short commute
• very pretty city with lots of active people
• i can stroll into the airport right before a flight and breeze through security
• people are committed to the environment and to local businesses. i like that.

II. i am very glad i moved here

• i've learned a lot about myself
• i've taken some pretty sweet biz trips (what's up munich and vancouver)
• i learned how many things i take for granted
• i'm glad i got to experience life in a diff city

II. yet i still miss the city sometimes

• i miss the energy and pace of a bigger city
• i miss the diversity of a bigger city - seeing diff people, hearing diff languages
• i miss really good ethnic food that is not tex-mex
• i have a feeling i will really miss having seasons
• i feel like i live in this really idealistic bubble that is disconnected from the real world
• there's a lot of creative energy, but very little art

III. things that piss me off

• i've met lots of fun ppl to hang out with but few that are truly quality
• i hate being really far from family and good old friends
• i hate the baggage claim at austin airport. rage. hate. seeeeeethe.
• texas drivers. again, rage. hate. seeeethe.

[insert nice closing thoughts here]