Texas Blue Lime Productions

We love to “adventure” together. Any time we have to go somewhere new, we make a game of it. Thanks to Emil, we have always taken the odd routes. Thanks to VZ Navigator (a GPS navigation system built into our Verizon phones), we can wander off any beaten path and still find our way. We both have a good sense of direction, but it’s nice to have technology when we want to be somewhere specific at a certain time. Thanks to technology, we frequently take the odd routes. On our last trip in separate vehicles from Austin to Bryan, we found a castle. Yes, a castle. It’s in Pflugerville. I’m sure we couldn’t find it again.

Since we’ve been in ATX, we’ve tried to take all the strange roads. You might remember we got lost on West Cow, but we have also found several short cuts to our home.

• One Saturday morning, I was supposed to meet Beth at Dream Dinners. I’ve been wanting to do the assemble-your-own meal thing for years! I even had people lined up to go with me (to Village Table in Houston) two different times, but things fell through—for good reason—both times.
• I tried Super Suppers in College Station, but they quit doing the assemble-it-yourself system in favor of their it’s-made-for-you version. While the food was good enough, it was difficult to get in and didn’t let me omit the things Emil won’t eat. It was too much hassle.
• I considered Mom’s Meals, but they were all too carby.
• I ordered “mixes” from another company in Hearne, and again, they were all pasta/rice based and meant to be made with ground beef. I can get Hamburger Helper at HEB, thankyouverymuch. [yes, their versions were much tastier than anything store bought, they just weren't healthy.]

So, when Beth told me about Dream Dinners, and then shared a meal with me at their home, I was dying to sign up. I made plans to go with her to her appointment on Saturday.

In learning to get there, I found a fun route down a winding road, so I awakened Emil-the-adventurer to join me. For a couple of reasons, we got lost on the way, and I joined Beth a little late. I still had a fabulous time assembling stuff and learning how the whole thing works. I signed up for July on the spot! At least some of our cooking will be both easy and healthy.

{Trust me, this part sounds boring, but there is a punch line.}

• Emil & I ended up all the way back at the Arboretum for “breakfast” at almost noon.
• When we emerged, the battery on the car was dead.
• Luckily, we found a nice guy (who was wearing a Thai Coca-Cola tshirt like the one Stephanie gave Emil when she came back from an entomology trip in 2006) to give us a jump.

While we kept the car running, we used VZ Navigator to help us find a battery store and went to a National Tire and Battery. Guess what they didn’t have? Batteries. Why? Because they are getting a new product line and some dolt ensured that their “bad/old” batteries were removed, first, to make room for the new ones they were yet to receive. They didn’t cover up the words “and Battery” in the name… Why would they take out all the batteries and then leave these poor stores with nothing? I Tweeted the product change #FAIL while Emil found AutoZone. We bought a battery with the car running, (broke the apartment rules and) installed the battery (quickly) in our parking lot. $90 later and we are ready to start the car!

After half of a day of some serious adventure, we felt it was in our destiny for the weekend and followed a route to some new homes in ATX. We can’t buy until our house in Bryan sells. wink-wink-nudge-nudge. The homes called Agave are 10 architects’ 50 designs that are funky/odd. Normally, this would be right up our alley, but these are lame.

• The first floors are “polished” concrete, so they didn’t spend the money on flooring.
• The stairs and upstairs are bamboo, but the “kick” part of the stairs is painted white wood, which is already nasty just from viewers.
• The homes all face west, so the A/C bills are going to be a nightmare.
• Most of them don’t have garages. The ones with carports are single-car.
• The HOA amenities include an unused community garden and some single-lot-sized parks.
• The purposely-not-mentioned “amenities” include views of a trailer park, a train track along the neighborhood, and close proximity to the water-treatment plant.
• They expect $220-350K for a home that is way east of I-35 with few interior features just for a view of a very distant downtown.
• Oh, and you have to drive through some shady stuff to get to downtown.
• What a joke!
• We were reminded of how happy we are to have a Realtor. Thanks, @bennrosales!!!

Our next adventure consisted of finding cushions to support us on the futon in the living room and to serve as a headboard in our room. Regardless of the kind of home, it seems that setting it up is a very long process. After moving from a 3+1/2/2.5/2 home to a 2-2 apartment, who’d have thought we’d need anything??!?

Next, we finally found the adventure we’d set out for on Saturday morning. We followed the long/winding road to both some exquisite and some adorable neighborhoods. We also took some routes through nearby neighborhoods. We passed the very park where Beth and Marc took us (and their dogs) for an afternoon romp.

All in all, it was a great weekend of adventure…and one of many we hope to have in our new city!

[and, as this post is being posted quite late, I'll say that we are still struggling to find/make time in our new town to do the things it offers.]

Well, today is Emil’s first day of work. I made us a sausage and eggs breakfast so he could eat well for his first day. It was cool this morning, so we had a lovely breakfast on the balcony.

He planned for 45 minutes of driving, but it only took ~20. (yay @bennrosales and @laniar for helping us find the right place to living and for knowing how long it would take. We planned extra time for insurance.) So, he can tweak his leave time by a few minutes once this week for the school year and again next week after Austin ISD schools are through for the year.

I did quite a few things around the house and spent a large chunk of time changing more addresses. With owning a small business, changing the mailing address is almost as time-consuming as changing my name when we got married! When I needed a creative outlet from that monotony, I worked on As You Wish’s new logo. It’s not finished, of course, but I have GOT to order Austin business cards, so I brought it to a stopping point. It meets most of my criteria: (simple/elegant/edgy, color yet easily convertable to b/w, and watermarkable) and misses some elements (a “picture/icon/image” and the website). Feedback is welcome.

I took care of some errands and hit the gym (I think I might have mentioned the 11,000 sq ft gym at our complex…? It’s the largest private gym in all of Austin.) and had a healthy lunch and a nice afternoon break…..at which I met not only an employee of Apple, but also a recruiter. Austin’s Apple campus is closer to our apartment than front office. The recruiter I met is not only interested in seeing my resume for potential moonlighting work while I expand As You Wish into the Austin branch, but also about to get engaged!

I haven’t had such a productive day in a long time. Well, that’s not true, moving day is productive, but it’s not fun-productive, even with the help of @roybragg and Sandra and two of their kids.

So, I’m leaving, now to meet @emil285 for a quick/light dinner and then to a Board Game Tweetup with @bennrosales, @laniar, @conniereece and several other Austinites who Tweet.

Of course, we think Austin is paradise. It’s why we chose to move there.

Thanks to Brock for his cheesburger research and his friend Sandy who keeps it online.

Thanks, too, to the guys on the radio this morning for talking about it. Since we are back in Bryan for a couple of days, I don’t know how I heard it, but I’m glad I did….and more glad Brock is Googleable.

Well, we’re here. We are officially residents of Austin, Texas!

Friday

After a very early client meeting, we went to get the truck. We took our time during the day to load what we’d need and what we could fit into the new place. We had to leave Lori’s dad’s desk behind (it’s HUGE!), but were able to bring the table that his parents refinished.

Saturday

We packed a few last minute things, like Turtleor, and got on the road by 9am. Thanks to the VZ Navigator on our phones, we found a new, more direct route to our village. Just as we started to unload, Sandra & Roy arrived with Monica & Kelly in tow. The extra sets of hands made for fast work. We started after 12noon and were totally loaded in by 2:30!!!

We treated the Braggs to burgers at the neighborhood bar & grill. Roy commented that if he lived here, he’d never leave. In the same strip with the grill is an Asian restaurant, a dry cleaner, a liquor store, a small grocery, and a nail salon. The only thing missing, he pointed out, is a small hardware store.

After we saw the Braggs back to New Braunfels, we began to unpack. We stuck to traditional gender roles: Lori, kitchen; Emil, networking the tvs/stereos/computers. We also got Turtleor set up with a clean tank and fresh water. Our plan was to unpack for a while and then hit the hot tub (our village has one of the three on property!), but the rain kept us away from the pool. The weather also kept us from returning the rental truck since we had until Monday to get it back.

This Place!

Lori has promised a couple of you that we’d blog about the place we are living. It’s utterly amazing. In talking to people who live here and those who are moving out, everyone says the same thing, “You will love living here. It’s the best apartments in all of Austin.”

So, here goes:

• 9 pools
• 3 hot tubs
• 109 barbecue grills with underground propane
• 11,000 sq ft athletic club with weights, cardio, free classes, and locker rooms. Massages and tanning are also available at amazing rates.
• tennis
• basketball
• sand volleyball with tournaments and intramurals
• racquetball with tournaments and intramurals
• car care centers with free water and vacuums
• laundry centers even though we have hookups in the apartments
• dog parks that are fenced in
• 3 mile walk/jog/hike/bike trail
• lake
• fire pit
• bocce court and wine bar (how French is THAT?)
• business center with computers, copier, fax, work center, conference room, and WiFi
• party room to rent
• party pavillion to rent
• …and the partrige in the pear tree?A full-time event coordinator on staff; two events weekly some of which have 400 attendees. Networking, galore!

Sunday

We cooked our first breakfast in the new place and stayed at the apartment (Lori unpacked all the china, crystal, and barware) until the cable installation was complete. Emil was terribly disappointed in the boxes from Time Warner Cable. They do not have a serial port in the back, so TiVo has to use infrared to change the channel on the box when it needs to record a program. In our experience, the infrared does not work very well (when it can’t change the channel, it just records whatever randomness is on some other channel), so we are going to have to research other potential options.

Lori spent the rest of the day with a migraine headache, so we were careful about how active we were. We ventured a little further for lunch at Bone Daddy’s BBQ. We didn’t know the…ahem…”atmosphere” we’d find. Wow! Hooter’s ain’t got nuthin’ on this place. So, if you Bryanites want Hooters to finally build and open, show the uuber conservatives how “bad” it could be: take them to Bone Daddy’s. Our food was amazing! The flavor was rich and the order was accurate. The portions were huge, so it’s easily two meals (which is good ’cause it’s a little on the pricey side for BBQ and burgers).

On the way back, Emil got us lost and we ended up on West Cow street. During this time, Lori was calling numbers for desks we found for sale. As soon as we got back, we met the first guy and bought his desk for $25. He’s also a Mac user and a film maker. He does wedding videography! How perfect! After that, we returned the rental truck and ran an errand. We still hadn’t stocked the freezer and refrigerator, so for supper, we found another nearby Asian place: Thai Cuisine. Our food was fabulous, there, too. We are thrilled to have so many options at our disposal.

We already figured out that one arrangement wasn’t going to work, so we moved that around and prepped all the things we needed to take back to Bryan.

Monday

Our big task on Monday was a purchase a sofa. Ikea was running a Memorial Day sale and had one for only $149. It was even easy to assemble!

We celebrated the day at Lucky Dog, a Chicago-style hot dog restaurant. We packed up the truck, took a cooling off break at the pool and then headed back to Bryan for Emil’s last two days of work and Lori’s May wedding.

Thanks to Lani for sending this via Twitter. wow. She’s right. It’s just STAGGERING.

OMG have you seen this animated job gain/ job loss map?
STAGGERING: http://bit.ly/fSjmE

Our time with her was short. We rescued Valvet from the water cutoff valve at Easter this year. She was so dehydrated that she could not open her eyes. In just a few minutes, she looked better and was then eating and functioning quite well….we thought.

Last Sunday, she started to look lethargic. When I picked her up, the underside of her shell was soft to the touch. Some online research said it was probably a severe calcium deficiency and that most don’t recover. We know she was eating, so we can only assume that she was already deficient when we got her. Monday morning, we learned that she did not make it through the night. I buried her in a little spot behind our garage. Turtleor genuinely seems confused. She’s much more animated than usual and seems to be looking for her baby sister.

We’ll miss you, little Valvet.

We are excited to share some great news with all of you!

After quite a few months of research, house projects, listing our house for sale, job hunting/interviewing, and narrowing down what we do/don’t like, we are finally moving to Austin!

Emil has accepted a job with the Travis County Clerk’s Office and starts work there on June 1st.

Lori has been promoting her photography in the Austin area and plans to expand As You Wish to that part of our fine state.

Tonight, on my drive from Bryan to Flower Mound for Texas Photography School (starts at 9am in the morning), I buzzed through a Jack in the Box for supper. I felt like I was thrown back into the—ahem, town—that is Paris, Texas when I pulled up behind this beautiful car.

Classy Ghetto - plates number erased to protect the guilty! Click for a larger view.

I really think they missed the mark a bit and could have gone all out, here. I mean, “Classsiee Ghhhetttoooh!” would have been so much better…but then they’d need a wider car.

Apologies for the bad image. As you can tell, it was raining and my camera phone is pretty crappy. In hind sight, I kinda wish I’d had pulled out my big “wedding” camera so I could have done this car the justice it deserves.

Legend:

sarcasm