fun with wiki

in case you're bored and wondering what the hell it is that I do all day:

read on, dear friends.

oh austin...

you are too cool for me:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TRAVEL/getaways/07/03/austin.texas/index.html

actually, not at all, because that span of congress ave that they mention? that is my street!

you sweat me and you know it.

coming up for air

...to prove that I'm alive, and then I'm sinking back down again...

sorry I haven't been posting much, friends. it's a combination of work + taking a day off + going home for a few days + getting sick of reading my own writing about stupid things like what I ate for dinner.

I may (or may not?) be back soon with the usual drivel and blather.

but, in the meantime, here are a few pics of what I've been up to lately to help you waste those precious few minutes at work (I know how it goes):

look! I went to the alamo! and I remembered it!














I ate a lot of barbecue:














I also walked around the overly-commercialized river walk (sorry, blurry pic):

i got nothin'

um... is this thing on? *tap tap* *blow blow* "1-2, 1-2"

(reminds me of that awesome launch party scene from Bridget Jones where she forgets to turn on the microphone and gets everyone's attention by yelling out "oi! OI!" and then Salman Rushdie does this awesome cameo and everyone wonders how he gets away with it when half the world wants him dead)

anyhoodle.

sorry for the lack of posts, I've been busy... drinking? being lazy? vegetating? I can safely say that I have been drunk for four of the past four nights -- and if that's not some sort of award-worthy feat, I don't know what is. it all began Thurs night when I had a hellish, drama-filled meeting that went from 5 - 7 pm. I had been going back and forth on attending a free happy hour going on that night (a lot of the local bars near my office do special promos for us because keeping all of us drunkard ad kids in alcoholic check means lots of bank for them), but once the meeting ended, I made a beeline for the bar and ordered two vodka tonics and a french martini.

as you can probably guess, it pretty much escalated to a ridiculous level from that point. I remember downing three vodka/tonic cocktails and two french martinis in the span of... maybe 1.5, 2 hours? and coming to the abrupt realization that OMG NEED FOOD NOW STAT and that only greasy burgers and fries would do the trick. fast-forward to a few games of pool with work people and some late-night antics and then Friday was upon us.

the story pretty much continues in that vein for the rest of the wknd... friday, let's do a low-key movie... and then hey! get a drink! saturday, let's get some dairy queen... and then hey! a glass or four of wine at the apt! sunday, let's just cook in for the night... and then pour way too many glasses of wine while we wait for the food to cook!

blah. my apartment looks like a war zone, I have zero clean clothes, and I am pretty much worthless at work today. score one for responsible, adult-like behavior, eh?

how to jump start a rainy day

a step-by-step tutorial on how to deal with the dreary effects of Hurricane Erin:

1) come into office wearing new jeans. hurray!
2) fire up computer
3) while waiting for computer, go and make steaming hot latte from the espresso bar with extra froth.
4) fire up iTunes
5) start blaring some Heavy D and the Boyz ("now that we found love, what are we gonna dooooo.... with itttttt") and Bell Biv Devoe ("that girl is poiiii-sooooooon")
6) begin working away happily

ingredients for a soco tuesday

[soco = SOuth COngress, aka my neighborhood, aka my favorite part of Austin]

begin on the back patio @ hotel san jose. add a few good friends. cool off with several rounds of champassion cocktails (champagne + passion fruit juice served with fresh raspberries) to the trickling sounds of a swimming pool. throw in some stimulating conversation over cheese, bread, fruit and olives and let marinate in warm summer heat. finish off with zesty shrimp quesadillas @ south congress cafe and enjoy.

[pics taken with my blackberry pearl camera. note the cameo of my feet in the first pic. :)]

eco-friendly wedding bash of the year

what do you get when you mix your most eco-friendly friend (who bears the affectionate moniker of "eco liz" and will take the time to illuminate on the significance of high tide vs. low tide while the rest of your friends are busy getting wasted on the beach), a beautiful summer day in picturesque annapolis, some heart-warming wedding vows and a bunch of lovely singer chicks?

[I will upload pics as soon as Blogger stops being a big fart]

[incidentally, farting was a popular topic of conversation this past wknd. apparently being hot and brilliant and talented doesn't stop my friends from the occasional foray into toilet humor]

so, then, here's a special shout-out to my fabulous lix and will (who are regular JMWT readers), for pulling off a beautiful wedding ceremony that managed to be both special and romantic but also super laid-back and fun. any couple who serves all you can eat steamed MD crabs for their rehearsal dinner is okay by me!

cheers to you, kiddos. congratulations.

i'm going, going, back, back, to DC, DC

(admit it. you giggled a little at my amusing back-to-back matchy-matchy post titles. admit it!! okay, FINE then, don't. also, I haitchoo*.)

*term stolen shamelessly from katherine kim

as I will be devoting this upcoming wknd to my second job as Wedding Guest Extraordinaire (I also sing, play piano, and do calligraphy -- hire me for your next bash! I'll give you a special JMWT reader discount), I felt it was my duty to bring you up to speed on all things JMWT before my impending departure.

so, an update on some Very Important Happenings:

I ate my first mini-corn dog last night at a post-happy hour happy hour (where I drank nothing but water to make up for my shenanigans at happy hour #1... what can I say... it was one of those nights, nomsayin'?), and... it was freaking delicious! there is just something about meat on a stick that makes me very, very happy. last night's happy hour #2 took place at 219 west in Austin's warehouse district, where the crowd is ever so slightly lame but they make up for it in their happy hour prices. the proof: we ordered a) a huge plate of spicy cheese friends, b) a whole platter of mini corndogs, c) a plate of four mini-burgers with mushrooms and melted swiss, and d) a shaker of mexican martinis that yielded 2.5 full glasses of mexican martini goodness (can you sense the food theme for this meal? it's called I'm Drunk and Hungry). the price? for ALL OF THAT fried goodness? was $20!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think I just fell over with shock at the price. again.

btw, for those of you keeping score at home -- happy hour #1 was a good-bye happy hour for one of my team members at J. Black's Feel Good Lounge, the new watering hole on "west 6th" (put in quotations because I think the idea of "neighborhoods" in a city this small is a bit silly). it was excellent -- she's a tiny woman, so we kept feeding her dirty martinis until she started smoking cigarettes, flirting with strangers, and telling me and our mutual boss that she loves us. priceless. also, if I ever open up a bar, I am so stealing their sub-head of "feel good lounge." if that doesn't sound pimp, I don't what does.

let's see, what else? I went on a business trip earlier this week -- one of those less-than-24-hours-fly-in-and-then-fly-right-back-out specials -- and we got completely lost in small town Jersey looking for our hotel. it was 11:30 pm and our driver (who had a very strong Russian accent) kept on insisting that the map was wrrrrong, that Sprrrrrink Valley Rrrrroad was supposed to eeent-er-sect with Grrrrrand Avenoo (he had a thing for rolling his r's). I had my google maps open on my pearl (heart! love! can't live without!) and was trying to tell him that he was wrong, this wasn't the right way, why don't we listen to my directions or at least call the hotel to let them direct us. it was pretty funny, and it cemented my belief that all car service drivers should have some kind of foreign accent in order to enhance the riding experience.

I'm still on the fence re: whether I should get another fish... I reeeeealllly want a dog but can't justify the expense and/or the amount of responsibility it would require. I mean, if I can't keep a betta fish alive, why should I be entrusted with something that requires much more than food pellets and an occasional water change? but still, this does nothing to take away from my desire to get a doooooooggie, especially since I spent Sat afternoon playing with a friend's adorable dachshund.

anyhoodle. I think that's about it. y'all be good now, and I'll be back on Monday with a full report on Wedding #3,094 of the summer.

i'm going, going, back, back, to austin, austin

(doesn't have quite the same ring to it)

back from a quickie biz trip to da east coast and drowning in work. will leave the shortest post ever to share some very sad news with you all: MY BELOVED FISH HAS DIED! he committed fish suicide (fishicide?) and i found him on the floor, all shriveled up and dried.

no idea what happened but i am sad (he was my faithful austin buddy!) and not sure if i deserve another fish.

*sniff* poor cowboy.

also (now there's a segue), for those of you who were wondering, it has stopped raining in austin! the sun, it rises. (eastern middle school shout out there)

also (another impressive segue), i am officially in love with my blackberry pearl. heart! love! completely attached!

ok back to work now bye kiddos

i like this picture

how is already thursday?

sorry people-- I have been crazy busy at work and didn't even realize I'd gone several days without giving you access to my life-sustaining wit and insight (that, and stupid stories about me singing karaoke with a bunch of really nice rednecks).

I'm still crazed at work, so I'll ply you with photos to distract you from the lack of writing.

in keeping with the theme of the last post, then, I present you photos from our recent meeting of the Redneck Yacht Club:

first, our fearless captain EO:














second, team John Deere (what impresses me most is how menacing Amber can look with a squirt gun. you better watch yourself...!)














third: don't we clean up real nice and purty-like?