Back from Austin

Back from sxsw. Just went for the weekend to socialize and skipped the actual conference. Didn't have the money and/or time this year unfortunately. From the looks of the schedule, I'm missing a lot of cool stuff. I hope everyone there for the rest of the week enjoys it!

I got into Austin on Saturday just in time to catch a couple of games of kickball, put together by Anil. I didn't play, but enjoyed watching everyone get into it. There was a huge turnout. As reported by Alison, there were 73 1/2 people (the half being Michael and Ari's new son). After kickball, I did a little bit of messing around town...Austin is such a neat city.

Saturday night, I got together with Cindy, who I hadn't seen since her Dallas visit on the 4th of July. It was so awesome to spend an evening just catching up on each others lives. Plus I got to see the house she bought last year. Cindy is doing really well and we had the opportunity to connect again. The interestingly coincidental part is she's thinking about going back to school for her MBA. Crazy connections! She didn't know that I was back in school so I got to tell her all about it. Me, a former art teacher turned computer geek, getting my MBA! Cindy's first career was also teaching but she's moved on to finance. I think she would be a perfect candidate and really hope she pursues it. We had dinner at Highland Park Bar and Grill which is now on my list of favorite places to visit in Austin. Why hadn't I been there before now?!

After dinner, I joined Karen in meeting up with a bunch of sxsw people. Of course we ended up in the lobby of the Omni to drink and socialize. You know, as crappy as it is to drink in a hotel bar, I'd have to say that the Omni lobby is just about perfect. It's large enough for a ton of people, not too smoky, not too loud, it's clean, there aren't lines to the bathroom, and it's comfortable. I drank to excess but that was the plan so I just took a cab back to the hotel...at 4am no less. Kevin kept me company over the phone during the cab ride and all the way to my room, which Karen and Leia were gracious enough to share with me.

I was reminded that sharing a room has its drawbacks at 9am when the alarm went off. I was hung over but alive. Karen and Leia left early for the conference where I met up with them later. A huge group of conference go-ers ended up together for lunch. I even met some new people - Camille, Ian, Matthew, and Wes. (What are their sites again?) After lunch, grabbed coffee with Journalism Josh and wound down from the weekend. Then I made the 3 hour drive back home.

I'm now in bed with Tiger and Sophie, who are passed out which is making me want to sleep too. Karen, Sophie misses you...she was sitting next to the kitchen table watching the backdoor for you to come in. Don't worry, we're taking good care of her. The drive was really good, because I got to just sit and think about things. I haven't taken a roadtrip in quite awhile and I had forgotten how much good thinking gets done.

I listened to the Coldplay album probably 2 or 3 times during the drive. Wow. I haven't been moved by music in a really long time so it's refreshing to listen to music that makes me feel. I'm especially in love with the song, "High Speed."

Can anybody fly this thing?
Before my head explodes?
Before my head starts to ...
We've been living life inside a bubble.
We've been living life inside a bubble.
Confidence in you is confidence in me is confidence in high speed.

It makes me think a lot about the US and how we've been living in a bubble economy for the past few years. Clearly, the bubble burst and we're all struggling to figure out what life is going to be like now. It means we have to rewrite in our minds what the future will be like. It occurred to me that we live our lives so fast and furious. We all think we're worth more money and we're going to make a lot of money. It's a race to the top, but the bubble popped and the top is not the same. I need to rethink where I see myself in my career in the next 5 years. I need to remember that I'm lucky to have a job right now. I need to remember that saving is more important than spending (which is something I forget often). I will never be able to keep up with the Jones' but that's ok. I need to strive for quality of life which means slowing down. My life doesn't have to be high speed. The goal is to appreciate the little moments.

During the slight bit of radio listening during the drive, I heard a song by Zwan, Billy Corgan's new band. I had heard it was getting good reviews and after hearing the song I know why. It liked it. I need to go check out that album.

What is up with gas prices? I know we're about to go to war and there's nothing I can do. It's just going to mean we have high gas prices. But I still want to complain. It should not cost 16 dollars to fill up a Civic.

My 26th birthday is on Tuesday. Birthdays are always a good time to reflect upon the last year. Josh reminded me that last year I had just purchased my digital camera before the conference. Wow, I've taken a lot of pictures in the past year. The amazing thing is I still have plenty I haven't put up yet!

A year ago, I was not in school. I didn't even had any thoughts about going back to school (that I remember at least...from the archives, it looks like I made the decision in July).A year ago, I must have been spending a lot of time with friends and on this site. A year ago, I knew so much less about my job than I do now and I'm very pleased with my improvement. A year ago, my family was just as cool as they are now.

One year ago, I had just met Kevin. We started talking on the phone every night only a couple weeks after my birthday. I remember that during sxsw last year he called me on the 11th to wish me a happy birthday. I was very impressed that he remembered and made the effort. It is just one of the many, many times I've been shown over the past year how amazing Kevin is. This time last year, I had no idea what the future would hold. I'm very lucky for the time we have spent with each other...and for the time we will spend with each other.

Speaking of Kevin, I'd better call him before I fall asleep. It'll be an early bedtime for me after a really fun, full weekend.

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