AimlesslyChasingAmy

Once I moved to Austin, I thought it might be hard to leave.  It’s laid back, has a huge university, has a great music scene, and the cost of living is pretty darned cheap when compared to the rest of the country.  And I’ll take heat over snow shoveling most any day.  People do leave, but they always seem to come back.  I’ve met dozens of folks that left for a job or after college that have all found their way back to Austin; its a common theme. 

Even though I was only away for seven weeks, there some things I was missing about Austin; things I wanted to come back for.  Like breakfast tacos.  If you never have, you really should.  I hit the TacoDeli near my house and can never decide.  The Jess special is super - but then sometimes I’m really in the mood for sirloin egg and cheese.  But it’s all good.  And grocery shopping is different here.  For one thing, they always offer to help you to your car.  I never take them up on it, but I like the fact that they ask.  And if you’re elderly or have a passle of kids, it’s nice to have someone negotiate your cart through the parking lot.  When I first moved here I was a little taken aback by the customer service and wondered if it wasn’t some shakedown angle shot.  After all, in NY, the cashier would give you the stink eye if you didn’t bag your own stuff.  And then there’s the neighborhood.  Neighbors actually talk to each other here.  I went out on National Night Out to see what was shaking in the ‘hood.  All the neighbors were out.  Someone had set up a scotch tasting outside their house.  Another had a keg.  By the pool they had hotdogs and watermelons.  It was like a southwestern Stepford, without robotics.

I was not the only one returning to Austin this month.  A stray cat that I tried and failed to adopt three years ago suddenly reappeared.  Blacula was up on my deck waiting by the back door like he had never left.  The one legged hooker is also back.  The well known fixture of downtown was lost a couple years ago, when she decided to move to some backwater Texas town to be closer to family.  But she’s returned; this time strutting it up north, not far from my house.  She wasn’t a young thing when she left,  but she still looks like she has some game left.

So its been nice to be grounded in Austin for awhile.  But I will be leaving again - for (where else) Vegas next week.  I was toying with catching the Beau Rivage’s WPT event at the end of the month.  Since the WPT now has restricted media access, however, I think I’ll have to pass this time around.  I still think poker hasn’t found a good model for media coverage, and like Erin Warner, I don’t think we’re getting any warmer.  Btw Erin, you still owe me a drink.

I know I’ve been bad about keeping up with my links.  Please welcome Garthmeister and Michele Lewis to the blogroll.  Shronk also has a fun new blog, so I’m going to give him a shout out.  Sorry big guy, you don’t get a link-up until you guys add a blogroll to the site.  It’s the blogger’s code, dude.

Next time I promise pics and gambling content….