Urban Bingo: booze on the bus

Girl I know it. Riding the bus is not fun all the time, and sometimes you need a little boost. What's unusual is to see an empty airplane bottle just sitting there across from you! I mean really, we're in Austin and that bottle could TOTALLY be recycled!

-- Posted live on location

Out and About, Maru edition

I've been sick for almost a whole week, and it sucked. I mean, of course it sucked... I don't think anyone is ever "yes, body aches! this fever fuckin' rocks!" (except of course for people who think that being sick is sexy. Seriously, I read about that fetish somewhere. Not judging!). yeah, so it sucked. I finally went back to work after 4 days of laying on the couch and had to take it easy still... I would walk around while teaching as I usually do, and have to sit down every now and then because talking and walking left me feeling winded. Wow, that's weird.

Friday was good though, after I was done teaching my friend Roberta came by the center to pick me up and we went to one of our favorite places for lunch, Maru. It's a little hole in the wall sushi place on Burnet road a little north of 45th street that I discovered a few years back with some of the girls from the yoga center and it's been my favorite ever since. Because I'm a creature of habit, I usually tend to order the same thing...

The roll that you see is a philadelphia roll... and one thing that I love is that the salmon is a pretty generous portion. it was so good that we had to order another one. Now the thing that really is amazing is the J-bomb...

Oh, J-bomb. You are truly magnificent. Your mix of textures actually works! Normally I would hate something that was crunchy-squishy-saucey, but in this case I'm all "NOM NOM NOM" instead. It's a jalapeno that is stuffed with salmon, crab meat, and a little cream cheese, then covered with rice flour and deep fried... not enough to cook the salmon (digression: cooked salmon is the worst fish ever, I can't even stand the smell... but raw salmon?? Best ever, hands down), but it just makes it light and crispy. Man, those things are great.

If I could arrange the best sushi meal ever, it would involve: almond milk tea with pearls from Coco's Cafe, J-bombs from Maru, and the Japanese bagel roll from Kenichi... that is THEE best roll in town in my opinion. Salmon, cucumber, cream cheese, avocado (I could be wrong on this point), and topped with a thinly sliced strawberry and some honey miso glaze. I just died from writing that.

The decor of the place is nothing special, and the parking lot is a nightmare, but I really love that place. I've always had good service there too. Best of all, the food is great. It was made better by having a friend with me, someone who doesn't look at me like I'm crazy for going all yampy over a fried jalapeno crab thing...

Urban Bingo*

This morning I spotted her, the urban equivalent of the spotted owl. Once a proud figure in American life and pop culture, this Urban Bingo personality embodies the hard work that we go through in the name of capital B Beauty. I present to you the rare and magnificent... Lady With Old School Curlers In Her Hair In Public.



If she were in a bathrobe, I'd have lit a candle and prayed to her for eternal glamor. And it would have worked!

-posted on location

*urban bingo is a game I play, or really just a way for me to comemmorate the particularly cool things I see while out and about.

passports

A passport is important, right? I keep meaning to apply for mine... it's going to be hard to get on a plane to Europe without one. Okay, I'll put that at the top of the list of things to do for the trip. Saving money is going well, but is getting a little tricky because I was recently told by my part time gig that there is a little budget cutting going on, and the for the current quarter they're going to put me on hold. That means I'm losing almost one thousand dollars a month in revenue. Argh. With all of my current bills, I will maybe be able to save 700 bucks a month. I think that another part time job is in order, so I think that I might start doing massage again. I still have my massage table (and a chair too), so I can do that out of my home a few days a week to make a little extra. I would prefer something else though because I like being more public.

the other side of bus riding

This morning I did my usual morning routine, including yoga and running and then I hopped on the trusty #5 bus to take me to the Westgate shopping center. I normally love riding the bus in rainy weather because I can get where I'm going, do some reading or knitting, and as a bonus I don't have to actually drive while everyone around me has suddenly forgotten how to drive. I can listen to music and think about what I'm going to teach when I get where I'm going... but today it was just not happening. No, not at all.

the first thing I noticed on the bus was a smell, one that reminded me of the three years I spent working in a retirement center. It smelled like pee. And it was all over the floor and a pair of seats, and it was potent. I covered my nose and headed to the furthest corner away from it, only to find a leak in the roof of the bus right over the seat I had taken. So, I moved, and I listened to music, and I tried to read something (thanks John Updike, for intellectualizing a blowjob so much that it actually made me feel queasy and dirty). I did get where I was going, and I didn' t have to drive there, so I guess it's good, but I was pretty cranky when I got there.

Silver lining: the yoga center I teach at is right next to Central Market, so I had lunch and bought a pumpkin cream cheese pie to take home. oh yes, it's amazing.

hairstyles, your mind, seasons

These all have something in common: they change. Texas doesn't really have season though, so what I'm talking about is that the temperatures have dropped to the 70s and the skies seem really crisp and clear, with occasional rainy days here and there (actually, a lot more here than there lately). It's pretty awesome.

Today would be a great day to play softball with my team, but I'm going to be in an advanced training workshop instead. That doesn't change the fact that I want to be outside today. Next week i'll be playing...

In a minute I'll have to get up and get moving; I'm hoping to have brunch at Enoteca this morning before going to this workshop. If you want a really amazing vegetarian eggs benedict, then you should visit them (and ask to sit in Erika's section, she's the awesomest). The roasted tomato is just outta this world. The seating is a little tight, and the tables are just tiny, but only indoors- the outdoors is perfect, and this weather makes it even more so. Okay, time to get ready!

just the essentials

A few nights ago I couldn't sleep because I was freaking myself out thinking about what I would need to pack for my trip. Not the clothes, but the toiletries. I was laying in bed thinking about all of the various creams and things that I use on a daily basis. Remember, I'm not just a yoga teacher, but I also work for a skincare company... I have a really complex daily routine that I'm pretty heavily invested in. I've decided that what I need to do is try to pare down my routine to the very basics, and see if I can get my hands on samples or travel sized minis to get me through this trip. My worst fear is to pack it all up and then lose it or break it. Although I suppose it would easy enough for me to head to the nearest Sephora or equivalent. Vanity is spoken all around the world.

A love letter to Austin, TX

Dear Austin,

I love you. I honestly love you. I moved here in 1995 with my best friend Kristin and together we moved in with another close friend Laura. We didn't live together for long, but we'd actually made plans to move to Austin back in 1990? 1991? We were kids, and also a bit angsty yet quirky. We would have been goth, except that makeup melts off of your face in south Texas. Anyway, we of course did that whole "ugh, when we get out of school we have to move to Austin to be free, man..." thing, and we actually did it.

The first day that we were here, I unpacked my car, and then went to Notorious Ed's underground piercing where I got my tongue pierced by Scott Ellis (Scott now owns Triple Crown Tattoo). After that, we drove around to see our new hometown....

Kristin and I had talked about stuff... which is what you do with someone you've known since before puberty. Yeah, we met in junior high, but I didn't actually hit puberty until I was 15 (and I started going grey when I was 20, how twisted). We had talked about how we'd move to New Orleans if Austin didn't work out, but I knew that weekend that I had found home. Something just clicked, and I knew it.

Over the past few years, I've only come close to moving twice. Once after a bad breakup I almost moved back home, but fortunately my friend Tami found me packing up and said "I refuse to let you turn around and go home, you hated it there. You're moving in with me and that's that." I owe that woman something big. Another time was about 6 years ago, with my partner Rich. We decided to stay in Austin so we could buy a house (the housing market in San Diego was INSANE). So yeah... Austin has a big spot in my heart.

There are so many things that I love about this city. I love that it can feel like a big city to me at times... SXSW is one of those times, as well as the Austin City Limits festival (which is going on as I type). I love the awesomely vibrant and diverse yoga community. I love how crafty and craft friendly this city is. One of things I love most about traveling is coming home. When I see the downtown skyline, I know I'm home. Thanks Austin for being here for me. I've met the most amazing people and been transformed by them. All the while, you were there giving them what they need too. You rule.

I've been thinking about this city a lot this month. I've given up on driving, even my scooter. I've been riding my bike and taking the bus everywhere, and while it might take a bit longer to get where I'm going, I do get there. I'm seeing things that I have missed over the past 14 years, and sometimes I'm seeing things I forgot and it's like seeing an old friend. I suppose I could have these observations anywhere, but the truth is that I love this city like no other place I've lived or visited.

I'm getting ready for a vacation in the spring. A whole month in Europe. It's weird, but I know that I'm going to miss my little house, and my job (I haven't gone more than 5 days without teaching a yoga class since 2002), and my pets, and my softball team, and the crazy bus folks too. But they'll all be here waiting when I get back, and I know it will feel so comforting to land. That's going to be awesome.

It takes time, and other things too, I'm sure...

I'm happy to say that I'm going to take a vacation in a few months. The last few vacations I've been on have been to San Diego or Los Angeles to visit friends; and they've always been in conjunction with my partner Rich's work conferences. They've been fun, but they haven't truly been a vacation. So when our friend Tyler told us that he wanted to go to Europe for his 40th birthday and wanted us to come along, we said yeah, why not?

That was over a year ago that he mentioned it, and we're not leaving for another 7 months, but it wasn't until last week that it really became real for us. We actually bought our tickets. We're flying out of Austin on May 1st and landing in Chicago where we will meet up with Tyler. From Chicago we are flying to Brussels and staying there for just a day. After that we begin our tour of Europe... we'll be all over the place. For a month.

So yeah... I've never been to Europe before and I don't even really know how to plan a vacation of this magnitude. I'm kinda making a list, and it so far looks like this: save money. get passport. save more money. think about lodging. save a little more money. pack some clothes. save money. find a house sitter. do something with money or something...

This is pretty much how I like to handle things though... I want to make sure that I have things in place when we leave to take care of the house, I want to be sure we have safe places to stay on our trip, and I want to be sure that I have enough money saved up to be able to pay bills when we get back as well as enjoy ourselves a whole lot during this trip. I'm pretty sure I can make it happen... this is going to be a learning experience.