New Online Friends

You can meet real people online. A woman that just moved her family here from Michigan has been corresponding with me since February 2010. We met on the Austin forum of http://www.city-data.com/, which is a great resource for people facing a move to a new city. Cecilia moved here this summer with her husband and 3 daughters (all close to Dani's age). They were actually planning a move to the Lakeway community (where we live), but they ended up in Steiner Ranch. It's close but a different school district.




As you can see, the girls really hit it off and enjoyed an afternoon in the pool. It was interesting to hear Cecilia's perspectives on Austin. Since it's not truly a new city to me, quirks like the way streets are arranged (& how the names change so often) don't really bug me. The fact that I-35 is unusable (except as a parking lot) is just something I accepted a long time ago. These things bug her. I also didn't hear a lot of gushing about the "weird" Austin, most-cool city thing from her. And that's in spite of the fact that she's already enjoyed the easy availability of live local music. Maybe all that really doesn't matter to newcomers that aren't in their 20's.

It's funny how things turn out differently than you planned. We are truly enjoying the pool, much more than expected. We have my family over every other Sunday and basically have a big party. It's a nice draw to invite kids over to meet Dani and Nile. And I am finding I can actually get some exercise out of it and use it to relax in the evening. We looked at a lot of houses that didn't have pools & it wasn't high on our list. Now I would list it as a "must have". I figured I would not be able to tolerate working at a hospital that wasn't in South Austin, but I've found the commute up to 32nd street not bad at all. Saturday was especially sweet, only 25 minutes. And this is corny, but I love driving through downtown between the high rises and then skirting along the edge of UT. I love being back in the city.

The kids start school tomorrow, so soon everything will change drastically. I have most of the week off so that I can help ease the transition. The painters come on Tuesday to paint much of the interior of our house. I start orientation for my second job the next week. Ken's been invited to play a big poker game in Houston one weekend in September. Dani & I are planning a Thanksgiving trip to NYC to visit Holly. I was concerned Nile would never replace his beloved Clinton TaeKwonDo studio, but in some ways I think he found an even-better school (smaller, more of a family).

Life is good and I'm living in Austin, where I always wanted to come back to. It's great.

Employment

I am now employed in the fine state state of Texas. In fact, I have two jobs, which is the way I like it. Both are per diem, so I only work when they need me & I want to. One is at a private psychiatric hospital that is actually two floors within a larger acute-care hospital. I completed my orientation week there yesterday. I was quite worried about the commute - I actually drive through downtown - but it was not bad, and that was for arriving at 8:30. It took me 35 minutes from our house in Bee Cave, and (again), it's a pleasant scenic drive along Bee Cave road. And I actually like driving through downtown -- a part of me loves being back in a city. Should be less than 30 minutes when I am arriving at 6:45 am for regular work. Look, I even have a badge.

I see good signs that I will like this job. The employees seem capable and friendly and the patient population is more interesting to me -- these are people with acute psychiatric needs and with insurance. I am hopeful that with many of them, I will feel like I'm actually making a difference in their lives -- helping them through a crisis and getting them back on their feet. Hagedorn was a different situation, one that I grew to appreciate, but very few patients did I ever feel like I was making a difference in their outcome.

I also signed all the papers yesterday for my other job - it's as a woundcare nurse at a wound clinic in south Austin. This is very cool, can you believe I was able to find jobs in my two specialty areas? And dayshift? Woo hoo! This employer is part of a large system, there are 6 hospitals in the metro area with a total of 1088 beds. It's big. I also see signs that it's a good place to work. I start that orientation on the 30th of August.

The kids went to their "round ups" at school, got their schedules and books. Dani met two girls that just moved here and I am hopeful friendships will develop. Nile is fitting right in at Tae Kwon Do. The school bus stops only a block away at 8:00. Ken has a good apartment in Houston during the week and finds his new job interesting. He says it's much less stress than Clinton, so hey - that's really all I care about. It's all good. Summer is winding down, one week left for playtime. But the nice hot weather & the enjoyment of the pool continues. I'm getting in the habit of getting in there every evening. It is so relaxing and pleasant, especially if I spent the day working indoors. I have figured out that I can swim laps if I do the breast stroke and that's not too annoying. Trying to do freestyle is just too much turning, too fast. Here's another pool pic -- can't take enough of these I guess. I can't believe we even looked at houses without pools. What was I thinking?

TX to Philly

I went to Philly last week for my annual pilgrimage to my workout goddess's shrine in Glassboro, New Jersey. That's Cathe Friedrich's gym and filming studio. This was my fourth trip and I enjoyed it just as much as the first time in 2005. I'm getting so I know the routine so well, I don't even bother to bring the agenda with me. I took a total of 6 classes from Friday evening to Sunday morning. That's me with Cathe in the pic. Yes, she really sat at our table to eat. Not your typical idol.

On Saturday, Cathe did her one minute of fame with us, where small groups got to workout on the set with Cathe and take pictures for a minute. My cool camera even does video, so I got a video of it and it's posted on Facebook. For a minute, I could pretend I was one of Cathe's cast working on a video with her. And yes, the lights are really hot. I am amazed that they all aren't dripping with sweat on the videos. Must really have the hair and makeup shellacked on.

I love to go to these Road Trips because it really gives me a shot of inspiration and enthusiasm to get up at dark-thirty every morning I'm working and sweat for an hour and a half. It can be lonely to workout at home and it's also weird. I spend that time with Cathe every day & start to feel like I know her -- she releases a new set of workouts about once a year & I've been collecting them since 1999, so if anyone knows her little jokes and how she thinks, it's her loyal fans like me. But when you meet her in person, you realize how one-sided the relationship is, although she is very warm and real. No diva.

And New Jersey/Philly was lovely. The weather really cooperated and was so much cooler than it has been in Austin. Not that I saw much of it starting Friday night, but the days before were nice.

I got to see Jackie and Christy and many of my 3 West pals, which was nice. I worked out at my old gym in Clinton and took a terrific Zumba class - better than the Zumba here in Austin, in fact. I miss New Jersey, especially now that the temps here are over 100 degrees every day (& I really feel it)!

The bad luck of this house continues though....when I returned home I discovered that my Mom had backed into the neighbor's mailbox with her car while she was babysitting my kids during my trip. She leveled it, and it was one of those big brick things. Oh well, it's fixed now. I just have to laugh.

The View

As of Friday, we've been here a month. One of the things we notice here is the view. It's gorgeous. Dani & I went to eat sushi today at a restaurant here in Lakeway that is perched on the side of a cliff. And we took pictures so you can see how much we liked it (the food was good too).

We are living on the edge of the Texas hill country and it sure is pretty. We drive into town along Bee Cave Road and it's quite a scenic drive. Check out the rock formations along the side of the road.

I always equated Austin with the weather in Baton Rouge, but it's actually quite a bit less humid, which makes it more tolerable. Of course, next month it will start getting over 100 degrees, and it almost never does that in Baton Rouge. I may eat my words. But along with those words I'll be having a frozen Margarita or frosty Corona, so hey...it's not all bad.

We've gotten into more of a routine and that's great. I am still job hunting. I am going to force Dani to write an email inviting over the two 11th grade girls that we know of in the neighborhood. General nebulous invitations thru the realtor have failed so far, so it's time for mean momma to step in. She met a cute, nice 10th grade boy (!) during her first volunteer session at the library but we need more than that. Nile is making friends at Taekwondo.

Wednesday I leave for Philly for my annual Cathe Friedrich convention. Yes, I am paying money to work out 3 times a day with my idol. But I'm not the only one - there are 110 of us from all over the country & the Road Trip (as it's called) sold out in about 10 minutes so there is a widespread craziness when it comes to Cathe. I can hardly wait!

Sunday we ate brunch at another old Austin haunt - the Omelettry. First time I ever went there was in 1982 after a really special night...and that's all I'm going to say. Same deja vu experience at Waterloo Records and Amy's Ice Cream. It's weird to be revisiting all these places that I was so intimately familiar with more than 20 years ago. Austin has changed, it's gigantic now, but it's kept some of its character in these places. It's great to be part of it again.

Crazy and New

Little bit crazy, little bit new. We had a mini-crisis Friday when we discovered that a) we had no hot water and b) our garbage can was gone. Little detective work by Dr. House (that's my husband, for those not in the know. They are twins, separated at birth, or so it seems to me and his minions at work) revealed that the pool guy probably turned off the gas when he did some work (after experiencing the pandemonium on Monday when the gas line was cut by the yard guys) and then turned it back on, not realizing that the pilot lights needed to be re-lit. As far as the garbage can, I do not know. It was full of trash and it was gone at 3:30 when I returned home. Quizzing the neighbors revealed nothing. But the garbage company is happy to bring us another one, so I guess it'll be OK. Might want to lock up the can, somehow when I put it out next time, although not sure exactly how. (Who wants a smelly can full of garbage? and we live in a gated neighborhood. It's just screwy.)

Then Monday, Dani and I went to pick up our new breakfast-nook dining set at Pier One. It took 3 trips in my little CR-V and it took all 3 of us (me, Dani, Nile) to carry in the table's box, but we did it! And it looks great, check it out.

Today we are getting new carpet in the bedrooms and the study. You'd think that would be a relatively minor thing, but it's major. The former owners apparently had big dogs that they allowed to swim in the pool and then lay in the master bedroom, wet and smelly. The carpet absolutely reeks in that room. I bent down with my nose near the floor shortly after move-in and gagged. When the pool guy first came, he cheerfully asked, "Do you have some big dogs?" (notice, he said dogs, plural). Why no, we don't. "Well, the filter's completely clogged with dog hair and that's partially why your pool is green." The new carpet looks great, and I know some folks complain about new carpet smell, but I'm not.

Some good stuff happened: We got Dani registered at school and she is taking a lot of challenging classes, including 2 AP, but I think it will be fine. We found a Taekwondo school for Nile after a little trial and error. It's a smaller school than the Clinton one, but I was impressed with the quality of teaching. The twice-a-week teen class will help him make friends. Dani starts volunteering at the teeny-tiny Lakeway Library tomorrow too, and I think she'll meet other teens there. It's a popular place for them to get their service hours.

And we love the pool. Have I mentioned that enough? The water is so warm, it's like bath water. I could spend every evening out there.

DMV Hell

It's been a jam-packed couple of weeks. It is a lot of work to move somewhere. And let me tell you, I've been spending way too much time just on the issue of driver's licenses. Texas has this fun thing that requires you to make visits at 4 different places to get all that done. First, you see your insurance agent, then get your car inspected (at a mechanic shop, not at a state facility as in NJ), then go to the tax assessor to get your title, then (finally) you go to the DMV and get the license. I am having a hell of a time getting Dani's driver's permit or "GDL" as they call it now (graduated driver's license). Now I know Texas is a big state with a big ego, and I heard that the governor even mentioned secession recently, but last I checked it's still part of the United States of America. Not so when it comes to this GDL business. Texas flat-out doesn't recognize anything Dani has done in NJ -- she has to repeat her expensive driver training (cost me $365) and she has to start the clock all over again for the 6 months that I have to be in the car beside her. The wonderful DMV employee that explained this to me added with a flourish (when we said "but we already did all this in NJ!"), "Guess you should have stayed in New Jersey." As we say in Jersey, no he didn't. But sadly, yes, he really did. And here's the kicker folks: we still don't have it. The DMV wants a piece of paper from her new school saying she's enrolled and today they told us that they won't give it to her until the first day of class.

A few days later, I arrive home right behind the fire truck. Now, that's a scary feeling. When I drive up, the truck is pulling to a stop and I'm watching the firemen (and one firewoman) get out of the truck. My heart is pounding.....are they going to my house? They are. Turns out the yard guys cut a gas line while doing a massive clean-up effort on our neglected yard. It all got fixed that same day, it was actually not a big deal. Just my near-heart attack was a big deal. Here's a pic of Dani that shows off the yard.

So I have my driver's license (too bad Dani), the yard looks great, the pool's been cleaned, and one more good thing...I love my new gym. It's bigger and it has many more toys for me. I did legs today and there are so many machines that I didn't even get to them all because I only had an hour for weights! I'm in heaven. Guess it's not all bad.

I Ate Chicken Feet

Mmmmm.....chicken feet.

We've been here a week. The moving van left, many boxes have been unpacked (not all), and we've starting doing some of the necessary things that residents do. The paper arrives each morning. I applied for my nursing license. We've gotten together with family 3 times so far, and it's been fun. It's a lot of people, even when a few don't show up. Two of my siblings and their significant others didn't come to Dim Sum this morning and we still had 12 people. It's so different.

So the van was here 3 days unloading us. The guys did a great job, not a single thing was broken. I am missing a knob to the buffet in my dining room, but I can deal with that.

I know I already mentioned the plane trip here in my last entry, but I just have to show a picture of what Gary, our cat, had to stay in for a total of 12 hours on this trip. It's a pretty small box, but it had to be according to airline regs. This is at the Philly airport.

Hurricane Alex made it rain for 4 straight days, but the sun came out today and yes, a trip to the grocery store results in significant sweating. But it's all good. You just surrender to it & smile. It's good for the skin!

I have to mention the one item of weirdness. The people that we bought the house from are going through a very nasty divorce. So bad that that they refused to be in the same room together for the closing. The wife had actually been living in the house (with the 3 kids) and turned over the keys to us, which included an electronic device to open the neighborhood gate (like a garage door opener). Well, it didn't work. (got a separate device from the husband & worked fine.) Ken opened it to find that the dip switches had all been flipped to render it inoperable. Hmmmm. Then when we started moving furniture into the dining room, we discovered that the curtains had been soaked in animal urine. At first, we assumed Gary did it, but the volume of urine was just too much for his little kitty bladder. Also, the curtains had a uniform line of the urine, not in a spray pattern. The other thing was that we shut Gary up in the house the day before we actually started moving in, but when we returned to the house the next day we couldn't find him. Finally found him in a drawer, closed, in one of the closets. Hmmmm. Somebody obviously did this, it was intentional, and we think they shut away our cat while it happened. We got the locks changed that night. Here's a pic of the curtains. Draw your own conclusions.

I ate the chicken feet at Dim Sum. Yes, real chicken feet. Probably won't do that again but I'm enjoying the huge variety of restaurants so close to us. We didn't have that in Hunterdon county.