(First night)

Arrived in Austin around 9:00 in the evening, we left Houston around 5:00. Houston traffic is not for the weak! Decided to keep it low key this night. So we went to hang with the UT crowd. It was your typical Friday night chillin in the dorm room kind of thing: power hours, louder than normal conversations, guitar hero marathons, a cool ass guy named Han, and popsicles put into plastic cups:

1/27/07

(Day two/morning)

Trying to find a place to crash was a hassle last night on campus. Was kind of baffled by the whole curfew thing. What's the problem with college kids wanting to hang out in other people's dorm rooms at various hours throughout the night? We had to rough it and crash in the car, because of this curfew. 

This is Henry telling you how many hours of sleep he had before I woke him up:

(morning 10AM)

We had a most excellent breakfast of migas (eggs scrambled with corn tortillas, cheese, and the meat of your choice) mmmmmmmm...... good:

After breakfast, we decide to go around and see this awesome city, known as the Live Music Capital of the World. 

Austin has long been considered the cultural oasis of Texas. It is both the intellectual (University of Texas) and political center of the state (capital of Texas). Legendary locals include Roky Erickson, Willie Nelson, and Stevie Ray Vaughn.

It also home to seminal punk bands: Scratch Acid, the Big Boys, and of course, the Butthole Surfers!!

One of the crown jewels of Austin is the Barton Springs pool. Three acres in size, the pool is fed from under ground springs and is on average 68 degrees year round. Wanted to take a dip in it, but thought it was a little bit too cold for me to do it this day. Must come back here in spring/summer when it will most definitely be the ideal time to do so.

I hear there is no other feeling like it:

Headed back to Guadalupe (pronounced Gwad-ah-LOOP) Street, when we came along a mural done by Daniel Johnston. Daniel is an aging songwriter/artist who gained notoriety in the last twenty years as an outsider, indie music genius, beginning with his fledgling self-promotion on the streets of Austin in the early eighties. Daniel produced hundreds of songs and art pieces, expressing a frank, painful, and heart-rending account of love, life, and loss.

Look for this famous one when walking on The Drag:

On August 1, 1966 a man by the name of Charles Whitman entered the University of Texas Tower. He carried with him a 35 caliber Remington rifle, a 6mm Remington rifle with a scope, a 357 Magnum Smith & Wesson revolver, a 9mm Luger pistol, Galesi-Brescia pistol, a 30 caliber M-1 carbine and a 12-gauge sawed off shotgun. It was from the observation deck that he proceeded to go on a shooting spree. Charlie killed 14 people and injured dozens more in a little over ninety minutes.

He was eventually gunned down by police inside the tower:

All that sightseeing has made us hungry. Time to get some grub on before the rock extravaganza. If you want burgers than Hut's Hamburgers is the way to go. Everything from the décor, old and new photographs lining the walls, and the best burgers in town makes this an atypical eatery.

Recommended burger: the Fats Domino.

After the fine dining experience, off we were to 6^th Street. This is the street where all the clubs and venues reside. Here is where you will find something for any kind of taste you may have. It was also here that Without a Face would rock the faithful. Led by the charismatic Henry Dillard, everyone in attendance was hit by the lightning bolt of rock that permeated from the stage.

Keep an eye on these guys:

After this, we eventually made our way to some skater house party that we had a hard time finding. No pictures of this cause my battery died. But there were tons of people, kegs, beer pong tournament, a fist fight between a girl and a guy, the Austin police department, and a cool ass guy named Han.

All in all, a good weekend……

COOL SHOPS:

Best all-around record store

(All genres represented):

Best place for cool flicks

(Might see some of my collection here)

Best place to get a good read

(Largest bookstore in TX):

When in town....

Always, remember the Alamo,

& don't forget to:

KEEP AUSTIN WEIRD!!!

brought to you by: me (not the penguin)

So many times we all get caught up in the ugliness of life. We worry about what tomorrow will bring, we ask ourselves when is our current situation going to turn around, and we focus on all the bad things that happened to us in the past. When we dwell on these things, we don't see why we should be happy now. You might say there is nothing to be happy about, that is the furthest thing from the truth.

For one thing, your alive! And if your reading this, your obviously not out on the street with no place to call home. There are alot of people out there who have it far worse than you and I. Think about all those people who live in third world countries who are starving to death and seeking shelter because there is a constant war going on around them. Think about that homeless person that you passed on the street pushing a shopping cart and eating out of a garbage can!    

Don't want to get preachy on everybody, but I've learned to be thankful for what I have now. If you are not satisfied with what you have now, your most likely never going to be satisfied. Even when you get whatever it is that you want to get, you will always want something else. That is a fact. You will never be happy, because your always looking for the next thing to bring you your happiness. It is an endless cycle.

Do yourself a favor, be happy with what you have now. Happiness is a choice, not something that is coming down the road. It is there if you want it. Just count your blessings no matter how big or small they may be. Once you do that, you will see all the reasons why you should be happy now. Think about it.

So this is Christmas
And what have you done
Another year over
And a new one just begun
And so this is Christmas
I hope you have fun
The near and the dear one
The old and the young

A very merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear