Monday, July 26, 2010

Birthdays and Visitors




This past week was Nikki's 22nd Birthday so both her parents, Cynthia and Gary, and her boyfriend Ian came out to visit us here in Texas! We did SO much stuff this weekend with our guests.

Wednesday: We went to the famous Blues on the Green over at Zilker Park. Every other Wednesday in Summer Zilker Park hosts a free music concert on the grass. We walked over to the park (a mile away) and spread our makeshift blanket (an old sheet) out to enjoy the music. Hundreds of people were there with picnic dinners, their dogs, and their kids. It was such a great friendly ambiance




Friday: We went boating on Lake Travis! Cynthia and Gary had rented a beautiful house for the weekend. The house even came with a menagerie of animals. Zeus and Hera, the two shepard dogs, a handful of cats, goats, horses, peacocks, and chickens. Boating was tons of fun. It started out a little cloudy (and even began to rain at one point) but as soon as the sun poked its head back out it was blazing hot. We swam and had a delicious lunch (fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, baguette, and fruit). In the afternoon we got a little braver and went tubing and wakeboarding. Tubing is exhilarating-- there is a fine line between fun and frightening. I wasn't able to stand up wakeboarding but Ian was amazing and even pulled off a few jumps and tricks. That evening we were joined by Nikki's Aunt and Uncle (Dana and Rodney) who live in Austin, some random friend Linda that was with them (though we don't know why exactly), and Gary's college roommate Sandy and his girlfriend Becky (who live on Lake Travis as well) for a birthday dinner celebration. Again the food was delicious. Thank you Cynthia!





Saturday: We took the gang down to South Congress which is the street full of second hand clothes/antique/boutique/coolest things to look at. We browsed the Texan items and Nikki even bought herself a pair of second-hand cowboy boots. We went into Allens Boot shop to look at the boots there. They are serious works of art and range from 200-a couple thousand bucks. But if you try them on they are unbelievably comfortable. The smell of cow/alligator/cobra hide was a quite overpowering. That night we let our real Texan selves out and went to the Broken Spoke, a famous honky tonk dance hall. We got there at 8pm to take advantage of the dance lessons. After an hour Nikki, Ian, and I were doing the Texas Two Step like pros. We also learned the Cotton Eyed Joe. I particularly liked this one because you would dance it in groups of three and four so I wasn't dancing with some random Texan.



Sunday: We went kayaking on Town Lake. It was so much fun. We saw tons of turtles and even a water snake (Ian freaked out, but Nikki and I were fascinated). The weather was great but quickly turned that evening into the heaviest rainstorm ever. Of course we had to play in the rain a little. That
evening we went to the Alamo Drafthouse to watch Inception. The Alamo Drafthouse is a famous cinema in Austin where you can order food and drinks while you are watching the movie. We got some beer and popcorn and had our minds blown away by the movie.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Austin, Texas



Temperature 97ยบ. Humidity 58%.
and the place I am calling home for the summer.

My apartment: Located in Downtown Austin a few meters from Town Lake, across the street from the largest Whole Foods you can imagine, and walking distance to just about everything, except maybe my work. Its the largest apartment I have ever lived in and having my own bathroom and bedroom (with a full bed) is unreal. Granite countertops and a stove that has more than one heat setting
Austin, Texas. is also a miracle. But just to make sure I feel back at home in my LA apartment the dishwasher doesn't work so well. And the girls we are subletting from were not much of decorators so everything is rather sparse.

But the complex as a shallow pool and a mini gym (which as boring as it is put to use since its sweltering outside). We live right next to some railroad tracks and trains come barreling cacophonously at every hour of the day.



Town Lake: Not to be mistaken as a 'River' this portion of the Colorado River is the liveliest place in town. People jog, walk their dogs, bike, and socialize all day. I wake up to run here at 7:30am and already it is too hot for me. I don't understand how people can run midday. On the lake itself kayaking, canoeing, and fishing are popular. Barton Springs is a natural swimming hole and a great place to swim. The water is freezing but after the initial shock its a great





The City: Austin is a vivacious city. People are out and about walking, jogging, socializing all day and night. There are no accents nor cowboy hats but Nikki and I plan on checking out a Honky Tonk soon. I explored Zilker Botanical Gardens this afternoon. My bus driver (I ride free with my UT id!) told me that it was in the morning news that 4 Coy fish were stolen from Zilker Botanical Gardens. I thought it was crazy but I was obsessed with the fish too. They were HUGE!!!! Last week I visited the capital and went to the Texas History Museum. Its fascinating to see
their take on events as well as their reverence for the countries of their heritage (Mexico, France, USA, Confederate States etc).





Work: I am working in the Environment and Water Resources Engineering Department at UT Austin. There are two projects I am working on. I am helping Erin, a grad student, conduct her experiments American Clay, a natural clay plaster that seems to
reduce ozone and air pollution levels indoors. We started running tests in the 'Test House' this week. I am also doing an independent project on the effect the Gulf Coast Oil Spill has on indoor air quality. People around the coast have been complaining of gas smell in their houses. The EPA is looking for answers so I am researching air purifiers and how effective they will be at doing the job.




Nightlife: There is always something going on at night. Whether its bats or live music Austin has a LOT to do. 1.5 million bats
live under Congress Bridge and they fly out every night to go feast at dusk. Unfortuantely this year has been very rainy and there are lots of bugs so the bats don't fly out until after 9:30 and by that time it is too dark to see them. Last year, due to drought the bats would swarm out at around 6pm and travel up to 50 miles to get their fill. Another highlight of Austin nightlife is a bar that we found that has the worlds largest Jenga set cut from 2x4s. We played an epic game and had a crowd of bystanders watching after the tower surpassed us in height.



Soccer: And of course we watched the world cup. We decorated tshirts to show our support for Spain. We got to the sports bar over an hour early but inside was already packed so we had to watch in the patio. We stood in the sun for nearly four hours. I drank about 120 ounces of water (thats about 15 glasses) and peed only once. We were so exhausted after the game we slept until Monday morning.