Blues on the Green

Every other Wednesday Austin has Blues on the Green, a night of local bands playing at the 46-acre Zilker Park. With some wine, brie, salami, crackers, and other snacks, we made it a classy relaxing night.

Ha the swarm of people leaving was a sight to see. Controlled chaos ha. There were so many bicyclists they literally took a whole lane and charged down the busy street.

The only bummer was to remember it was Wednesday night--work was awaiting in the morning. It was a Friday like it felt. Not to worry, though. Dinner with my uncle and cousins again this weekend along with the Olympics games! Can't wait. 

Crossed that off

With some good friends and co-workers we experienced numerous things. We explored the farmer's market downtown, roasted on the waters of Lady Bird lake as we Kayaked, watched a marathon of Batman movies to led up to the late night showing of the new Batman movie (Dark Knight Rises). We watched that at the Alamo Drafthouse, a fun, creative, cinema theater that serves food and beer. They have unusual performance and play classic favorites as well, making it a one of a kind theater and experience. :) 


Before all that, we stopped by Highball, a blowing alley/bar/karaoke bar/dance floor (ha could it be anything more?). It had a 70's style, but in a classy, upscale, timeless way. The superhero dance party that night drew the most interesting people with the most interesting costumes. :) It was a sight to see. A real lively place. 


For dinner we went to the famous Hopdoddy--probably the best burger place I've been to. It was an hour long wait but definitely worth it. The line wrapped around the door, but moved quickly. Soon we were inside aside there bar where we could order a drink as we waited patiently to move forward. Everything was made fresh there. Fresh cut vegetables, freshly ground and slapped meat, fresh made buns, and delicious sauces like chipotle ketchup.   


Ha best weekend here! 

the colorful, creative, lively Hopdoddy

Hand slapped hamburger patty
with sauteed mushrooms,
goat chess, egg, and pesto on a whole wheat bun. YUM!  

 

Christening the Slip and slide and
 grabbing some Rudy's BBQ
after Kyaking.

BBQ with chance of rain

(guess it's been a while since I've posted on here)

A look at last week:

Drove out to the country side to Driftwood, the outskirts of Austin, to a vineyard where the famous Saltlick BBQ joint is. It's a scenic area. The place itself is all about the experience. You bring your own beer and relax outside in the bliss of music, conversation and people watching as you wait for a table to clear inside. As you enter the acre large building, you pass the open grill inhaling the savory scent of roasting ribs, brisket, sausage and more. It's hard not to feel hungry. Get a good group to fill the large tables. Then wait patiently till your platters of meat come. Pour their signature spicy sauce on top and enjoy the feast. Rolls of paper towels are provided. 

 On the way back it poured the hardest it had all week. With thunder that shakes the earth, lightening that brightens the night in explosions of blue, white, purple, and pink, and rain that pours, flooding the streets and turning them into swift moving streams. It's similar to my week with here back in May for the Chi convention. The UPTIC crew remember's the night. 

I continued to explore Austin by walking around the Long Horn Football stadium and walking along lady bird lake.

From the extreme (like the thunder)to the simple (like food) these are the experiences of life that make it worth living.

The Work Week:

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, ...in the cube. 

6 feet tall and locked away,

typing away, thinking away, 

emailing...calling... 

it's noon--lunch break

One, back to work.

researching,

a cackled laugh from next door

phone meetings loud and distracting drawing my ear

Focus

two thirty slump, clock watching till three  

finally three o'clock (still hours to go)

tick tick tick

type type type

think think think

breathe

4 o'clock

breathe 

get some tea

tick tick tick

type type type

think think think

report done

data found

more to do 

moment of uncertainty, then clarity

5:55 pm 

one last email, send.

Shut down and head out. 

Breathe... home 

Austin's awesome, but the workplace is a bit of a bore. Ha 

It's a change from San Jose, but it keeps me focused. Lucky for long-term SunPower employees, this location and decor is only temporary. A more open, colorful, naturally lite place has been secured in what is known as The Domain (a sweet name). 

The work is a good challenge. I'm learning a lot about the environment of the workplace, nature of the system, and how to handle new situations. Slightly boring at times, but extremely valuable experience. 

Night on the Town

Austin has such a great night life. The streets were crowd with commotion. People were dressed up, dining out, bar hopping, peddi cabes pedaling, live bands playing, electronic bulls bucking, food carts serving, and so much more. There was so much to see. Co-workers and a friend invited me to Lucky's to hear their friend play. They had so great covers and classics that reminded me of my good old days growing up. Still more to explore and other districts to see, so you'll see more on that to come. 

I spent time with the relatives as well. One uncle works and plays in a band called After 909 (he's kills it on the drums). While I hope to catch a show the next time they play, I was at least able to grab dinner with him and his girlfriend at a place called Trudy's. This tex-mex joint was packed, lively, and delicious! One signature favorite was their stuffed avocado. Smothered in a spicy sour cream sauce, this avocado is packed with pulled chicken, spicy queso, onions, and quickly fried in batter. It's a dieter's nightmare, but worth the indulgence (everything in moderation right?). 

My other uncle was off in San Jose, but I spent time with my nieces and Aunt a few times. Ha we went to the country club for BINGO and it must have seemed rigged. Our table swept the floor and won every single time. (Call it luck or a lack of attention span by all the others; ha regardless it was funny). Today we watched my niece Payton finished her last basketball game of the season. At 5 it's nothing like the NBA, but it's cute to see how they try. :)

Thunder Lightening Everywhere

This week's weather looks extra wonderful. :)

It looks kind of like this: Thunderstorm 

I hope the weather for you is extra ordinary as well. ;)

Spent the week with my cousins and at work. Will spend this week exploring as much of Austin as I can. 

<3  

Bucketlist
The best way to start my weekend was watching The Amazing Spiderman in IMAX 3D. It was an incredible experience. Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield are great actors and totally cute! A must see. :) 

As promised, here the a working bucket list of Texas things to do. Let exploration and festivities begin! :)  

Austin, TX

IMAX—Batman

Alamo theatre

Barton springs pool

Lake Travis

Floating the river

Kayaking, paddle boating

6^th street and rainy street

Visit the Campus, state capital, library

Downtown

Deep Eddy Pool

Museums (Harry Ransom Center, Bob Bullock State history museum, Texas memorial museum, Austin nature and ) http://attractions.uptake.com/texas/austin/716674553.html

Zilker park

Wild Basin Wilderness Preserve

Austin zoo?

Wednesday Blues on the Green (Park)

Farmer’s market

Foreign and Domestic Dinner/dive (http://fndaustin.com/menu/) –for Nathan Oakly

Bandera, TX

7/27/2012—Rodeo! And horseback riding! http://www.bar-mranch.com/horsebackrides.html

                          http://www.thecrosstranch.com/Wild_West_Shows.php (p:210-291-2921)

Round rock

baseball game

                http://www.milb.com/schedule/index.jsp?sid=t102

Waco, Tx

                http://attractions.uptake.com/texas/waco/101581222.html

Houston, Tx

                The Lion King Broadway http://www.lionking.com/ticket/houston-tx

Golf coast?

San Antonio 

Skydiving ?

Zip-lining ?

State Parks? 

FOURTH OF JULY!! 

A fantastic holiday celebration in the fabulous town of Austin Texas. So what did I do?

I enjoyed the summer heat, had a delicious BBQ at a co-worker's place, and watched a big fireworks display over the river.  

Ha the funny part of the day was my attempt to bring wine to the BBQ. Apparently my baby face and out-of-state license is too suspicious. After handing the cashier my license,  she looked at it, looked at me, went off with it, was gone for five minutes, then came back and politely denied me from purchasing wine. [Although I understood her position, I was slightly peeved]. I improvised though. ;) 

From coming here, the biggest difference I'm experience is the temperature. It's a "mild" summer here with highs of 90 to 95. The greatest part is the nights are perfectly warm [although humid]. As dusk approached, I headed to the river for the traditional fireworks display. The park spans miles along the river. It's right at the edge of downtown and is just beautiful. They call it a lake but I'd call it a river. [See the map and photos below]. Everyone was there. With the typical Fourth of July atmosphere--blankets, glow sticks, children, parents, friends, picnics, sparklers, fire crackers, roman candles...the works--And a typical Fourth of July show as well. It was fun to see how everyone spent their 4th. You could tell for some it was tradition, and for other's this was a new venue and experience. Ha everyone was on the hunt for just the right spot. Some settled down, some went for high ground, and others continued to follow the path further along for something better. When the first fireworks went off, there was a mad dash to find a better spot (because many trees blocked the view). I think those with the kayak's had the best seats. On the river, you had a clear view of the entire show. A brilliant idea, and if I'm around next year, I think I'll try that. ;) 

[B] --Lady Bird Lake; [blue line]--Lady Bird Lake Trail and the Lade Bird Lake "River";  [star]--my home

Next to come: Creating my bucket-list for Austin and Texas as a whole :)

A Week Recapped 


It's been so long since I've updated this....Lets start back from a week ago....

Thursday (6/28/12)  

First ever burger at In-N-Out ...I know.

Jie--my adventurous companion.
He introduced me to the Chinese culture,
traditions, and snacks

Friday (6/29/12) 

Zongi--Rice dumpling--tradiational meal on 

Duanwu Festival (端午節)

Pork, mushroom, peanut dumpling with
rice soaked in a delicious sauce

Also common to have this day is
a century egg--(pidan) a fermented
 egg...that pretty much sums it up

It has an opaque portion
 (what would be the whites of the egg) 

It's black in color with crystal-like forms
on it's body. They look like snowflakes

Cut it open and it doesn't look appetizing
The yolk s definitely rotten. The smell...rotten
and the taste...*yuck* I hate my half though
and was done. lol

Saturday (6/23/12)

Saturday was spent in Santa Clara (a high-end strip mall), walk-ed around the Winchester mystery house,  around the and Campbell road, where we got gelato and went shopping.  

 

   


Sunday (6/24/12)
 I drove to San Francisco with Jie and another person we met named Ryan. He had a Camero and asked if I wanted to drive it....uh, YEAH! We drove over the Golden Gate Bridge, down Lombard street, and up to the top of Twin's Peak where I saw all of San Francisco. There I met the Management Club and parted ways with my friends. We spent the next few days representing Oregon State at company's such as Oracle, Salesforce.com, San Francisco Tourism, E&J Gallo Winery, and a start-up company that created Zimride (a ride sharing service--follow the link and check it out).

I was soooo stoked! 

 

The view from Twin's peak 

Artists showing their skill at
Twin's Peak

 

A cute garden in San Fran.

I'll have more photos from San Francisco up soon (either here or on Facebook). The rest of my week was work and then Friday I flew out to Austin, Texas. I got to see my cousins, aunt, and uncle before they flew out. Now I'm housing sitting for a week and watching old Oakley. Soon I'll be at my summer sublet. :) 

To come: More San Fran photos and 4th of July adventures.