Abriendo Brecha: Activist Scholarship Conference

My life presently consists of working to meet deadlines, event planning, protesting, writing, and laughing with friends. You can't forget to laugh if you want to stay sane amidst chaos. So that's basically my way of explaining my absence around these parts.

On February 17th - February 19th, a group of UT students organized the 8th Annual Abriendo Brecha Activist Scholarship Conference. As the website describes it:

"Abriendo Brecha is an annual conference at the University of Texas at Austin dedicated to activist scholarship; i.e. research and creative intellectual work in alignment with communities, organizations, movements, and networks working for social and economic justice. Abriendo Brecha VIII calls for a renewed discussion on the meanings and practices of activist scholarship, particularly as it relates to solidarity between groups and overcoming power inequalities through alliance. Some themes for this year’s conference include: struggles over land, resource distribution, gentrification, prisons, cross-racial alliance, and immigrant rights."

Not only does this conference focus on bridging the gap between theory and practice, it also highlights the importance of accountability and ethicality when conducting research. It's a way for community members and "academics" alike to continue asking who will benefit from research and how we can make our research accessible and therefore useful to the communities we work with. To that end, the conference is absolutely free and everyone is invited to attend AND submit proposals.

This year I was actually a panelist and next year I hope to present the work I did for my thesis. To open the conference there's usually a party on the evening of the first conference day and this year's party was even better than the last. It was held at the Orun Cultural Center and featured Riders Against the Storm and Las Krudas (pictured above). Good times, good people, and the sharing of many ideas - a great experience over all.

Snow day!!

I've seen and stepped in snow no more than 6 times in my life. Thanks to global warming, it snowed in Austin last year and now this year as well. When it snows in Austin you definitely do not want to miss out on the action! One of my neighbors made a snow person but I forgot to take a picture before its tiny little body melted into nothingness.



In the end, I took the lazy route and let the sun melt the snow on my car rather than scrape it off. Thankfully I didn't have to be anywhere this morning and thus was able to stay in my apartment and off of the icy roads. I wish I had been able to get more work done than I actually did, but I haven't felt that great these past few days. Time to rest and recuperate...

Austin's Free Day of Dance

A week ago I hadn't heard of Austin's Free Day of Dance and now I'm surprised that it's only been around for three years. It's still rather new which would explain why there weren't as many people at Esquina Tango as I had predicted. Or perhaps people decided to take an earlier dance class at one of the other studios offering free dance classes around Austin. I opted for Esquina Tango because I took Samba classes there about a year and a half ago and therefore had some familiarity with the place. The experience was still a little scary, but the familiar surroundings and smallish class size made it more bearable! Thankfully there were a few others there who went alone and so we got to pair up when the time came to dance with partners. The instructors were sensitive to that and tried to show us how to do steps that we could practice alone if we didn't want to dance with a partner.

Esquina Tango offered classes for various styles of dance and I decided to go with "Latin rhythms", salsa and merengue. Just for the record, I find classifying things as "Latin" pretty annoying. With that said, the class was fun and a little scary. The fact that I have two left feet means that I was operating wayyy out of my comfort zone for that hour-long lesson. It didn't help that the instructors were going fast and doing complicated moves that super beginners such as myself can only hope to stumble along to. After the class ended one of the instructors reassured me that they normally don't go as quickly in the Salsa classes that Esquina offers, but they did it for show and to make it fun/interesting for the people there today. I'm thinking about taking some dance classes there since it's close to where I live, a super relaxed environment, and fairly affordable. Who knows, maybe a year from now when the next free day of dance rolls around I'll be able to do some of that fancy footwork too.

http://www.freedayofdance.com/

Emo's!

I wish I could remember the first show I saw at Emo's, but I can't. It must have been in junior high or high school, that's for sure. My first live music show was at the Erwin Center when I was in 7th or 8th grade. My dad worked at the Erwin Center at the time and he got my sister and I free tickets to see the Wallflowers and the Counting Crows. I think these blog entries are turning into walks down memory lane more than anything else! I suppose it's bound to happen since I'm from this city and this city's streets and people and landscapes are etched into my happiest and saddest memories.



I went to Emo's pretty often when I was in high school. At the time I worked for an online music magazine and I got to see live shows and interview bands that I was listening to. None of them were really big names, though. I think the biggest band I interviewed was OK Go, who won a Grammy a couple of years ago. They obviously weren't Grammy winners at the time I interviewed them since I scored the interview as a 15- or 16-year-old. But I digress...



Wavves and Best Coast brought me to Emo's on Tuesday night (yes, I'm late posting again). I saw both bands during SXSW last year, also at Emo's. I think I might have also seen Wavves at Emo's during SXSW in 2009, but I'm not sure. All I remember was that I had just lost my job in early March of 2009 and therefore suddenly had Spring Break completely open and was able to overdose on live music, much to my heart's content.



These lovebirds also played at FunFunFun Fest this past November and they put on a pretty good show. It's fun, it's high-energy, some of it is a little poppy, and Best Coast in particular is also fun to sing along to.



Something that I realized as I was squished next to all of those people at this sold out show was that I was about 10 years older than a good number of the kids there. How the hell did that happen?



I think my long history with Emo's and just getting older in general has made it more tolerable in many ways. I used to feel pretty disgusted/put off by all of the people who go there and just try really hard to look and act a certain way. These days I don't notice as much, which makes it a hell of a lot easier to just enjoy the music.


Emo's
603 Red River
Austin, TX 78701
(512) 505 8541

Space 12

I'll fess up right away - technically I went to Space 12 yesterday, but I'm writing about it today anyway. I know I'll return to Space 12 in the near future because it is a community space that's working towards providing more events/services in the East Austin community. Space 12 hosts everything from skillshares to film screenings to poetry slams to yoga classes. One of the things I appreciate about this space is that its wide range of events/services allows for varied types of interactions between people and therefore contributes to the development of a deeper and richer sense of community. There's still a lot of work to be done in attracting native/long-time residents of East Austin, but it appears that the folks behind Space 12 are trying to head in the right direction.

I'm really intrigued by this idea of having a co-working space, such as what Space 12 mentions on its website. Essentially, anyone can go into Space 12 during its hours of operation, use their free wi-fi, and work on whatever it is they need to get done. People can pay as much or as little as they can afford in order to use that space. It seems like the ultimate goal is for the space to serve as a resource to the community. I haven't visited Space 12 in that capacity, but I really want to try that now and just see who else is there and what the experience is like. I'm also just getting tired of the fact that Dominican Joe is packed all the time now that classes are back in session. I love DoJo and spend too much time there, so I also don't want to grow tired of that place. Now back to Space 12...

I saw a documentary at Space 12 last night, Race to Nowhere, that in many ways is the antithesis to Waiting for Superman because of the questions the film raises. Although I appreciate the film's critique of the high-stakes culture plaguing our schools, there are still a lot of points that the film misses because it was told from a white, middle-class perspective that doesn't problematize capitalism and our existing social order. The underlying philosophy of education should be the biggest focus because it guides the expectations that are normalized in schools. There is a discussion on the need to nurture children so that they are happy and healthy human beings, but I don't really believe that's possible in a capitalist society. There was also no mention of the people whose lives and landscapes the U.S. is ruining in order to strive for the happiness and well being of Americans.

One point the film stresses is the fact that many children are over-scheduled by their parents and involved in a million different activities. During the discussion following the film, someone expressed their worry at how under-scheduling of kids is just as big of a problem because it could lead to youth getting into trouble without the existence of structured activities. Something that I didn't think about until after my friend brought it up (and that I very much agree with because it reflects my parents' experiences) is that there are children from working-class backgrounds who have family responsibilities and obligations that don't allow for "structured activities" in the traditional sense. What about kids who have to babysit their siblings, help their parents run the family business, or help run other errands? Those children are just as "over-scheduled" even though they are not involved in activities that will help them become the kind of "well-rounded" individuals that college admissions officials are looking for.

This talk of over-scheduling and anxiety couldn't have come at a better time because the same is still true when you're in college and when you're an adult within this society. Case in point: my anxiety attack a few days ago. Granted, it was also a result of my coping mechanisms (or a lack thereof) when it comes to stress, but we live in a world in which people compete to see who can be the most stressed out, the busiest, the most accomplished. When I was talking to a friend about how stressed I was, she said that she had resigned herself to accepting that she was just going to be stressed out and would find a way to cope. I don't want to cope with being stressed out every day, I want to have the ability to breathe and enjoy my time on this planet and the company of others who also aren't stressed out. Shortly after my conversation with said friend I talked to my advisor and fiddled around with my schedule precisely so that I can take care of myself. If you don't have your health, what's the point in all of this? How healthy you are (physically, emotionally, psychologically, spiritually) determines how much of yourself you are able to give and your ability to engage with others. It's taken me a long time to learn this and put it into practice and I'm still a work in progress. And for me, something that brings me happiness is music - you can expect to see more of that here. I'm also just going to make more time for the people in my life. My friends, family, and loved ones make everything that I do meaningful.


Space 12
3121 E 12th Street
Austin, TX 78702

Tuesday to Fridays
10:00 am to 5:00 pm
Phone: 512-524-7128

Koriente

It's about that time in my degree program in which the end is so near that it is exciting and anxiety-inducing. Which reminds me, I don't recommend thinking about your to-do list while you're working out on an elliptical, or any machine for that matter. Instead of focusing on my workout or the magazine in front of me, I started thinking about everything I have going on. My heart beat was already elevated and thinking about deadlines and graduation (and the possibility of not graduating on time) made my heart beat a lot faster and my stress went through the roof. Within five seconds or so I had to slow down and take a break because I was literally gasping for air. Not a good sign!

For now I'm reminding myself to take it one day at a time and keep taking care of myself. If I let myself get easily stressed out, it'll only make things worse. Thankfully I have friends I can meet up with at terrific restaurants like Koriente to get my mind in a better place.



Koriente is practically right down the street from me, although it's almost easy to pass by and miss due to all of the construction going on along E. 7th St. I had heard great things about this place and I wasn't disappointed on my first visit. It's a very small restaurant but they do have outside seating that's perfect on days with beautiful weather. They have a framed picture up on the wall of one of the Rolling Stone covers John Lennon and Yoko Ono did that I really like. There's just something about that embrace! And apparently Annie Liebovitz took that picture the day he was killed, which makes it really tragic.



I was tempted to try the Japchei (sweet potato noodes!!) but I decided on the Koriente Curry (A) with brown rice and tofu. It was sooo good and incredibly spicy in the best possible way. The portions are large which means you essentially get another day's meal with the leftovers. The next time I visit Koriente I'll have to try one of their teas, either a bubble tea or an eternal love tea. And I will be back. For the Japchei.


Koriente
621 E 7th St
Phone: 512-275-0852

Greenling

Greenling is a home delivery service of organic and sustainably produced local food. They're still relatively new, but it looks like they're doing well and expanding their customer base. Greenling first got on my radar thanks to those FB ads that appear on one of the sidebars. After seeing their name listed for so long, I decided to check and see what they were all about. I guess that FB advertising works after all...



The major reason why I finally decided to go for it was that they were offering a 40% discount during the holidays. I knew I would kick myself later for not taking advantage of such a great deal! As you can see from the picture, I ordered the local box (which included butternut squash, carrots, green onion, tangerines, apples, beets, green bell peppers, lettuce, and parsley that week), the chocolate lover's box, and a couple of bottles of wine.

When I opened that bright green container I was greeted by the lovely sight of colorful produce and delicious chocolate and wine nestled in shredded newspaper. I appreciated that Greenling includes a couple of recipes that incorporate the produce in the box, which is helpful if you've never cooked with a particular vegetable before. It makes the process of experimenting with new foods a little less daunting and more approachable. If you've signed up for the Greenling newsletter, you'll also have access to other recipes as well as the contents of the local box every week.

As much as I love what they have to offer, I likely won't order from Greenling again. It is a bit expensive for me and I think I'd much rather enjoy the experience of going to one of the many farmer's markets here in Austin. It's definitely a convenient service for those who have the money and want to support locally grown food and don't necessarily have the time to make it to the farmer's markets.

Get involved in community forums

Being an active participant in your community should be encouraged and should happen globally, but if you're breathing and awake you know this is not the case. Select members of the population are recognized as political subjects and valid participants in "democracy." Some people are able to speak louder than others and their voices easily reach the ears of those who have a certain kind of power that is used to dominate and subjugate. Authentic community involvement in which community members are both the leading visionaries and decision-makers is grossly discouraged. Case in point: AISD's Facilities Master Plan Task Force.

With that in mind, I attended a "community meeting" tonight in which members of our local school district's Facilities Master Plan Task Force congregated to receive community input regarding their recent suggestions to close at least nine AISD schools (eight elementary schools, one middle school) for the sake of "efficiency." These measures would allegedly maximize efficiency in that they would shuffle students to different schools and re-draw school boundaries in order to decrease the number of empty seats in a school. The task force's plans also call for the construction of three new elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school in the suburbs in order to meet the needs of the growing population in those areas and the forecasts for a decrease in the population in the centrally-located schools.

Although this is just the beginning, the arguments that I feared would be heavily used were in fact popular. Some community members rejected the closures of all of the schools while most spoke about a specific school and argued against that particular school's closure. What is especially frustrating to these parents is that there is talk that their school may be closed despite its being "exemplary."

(1) How is exemplary defined in AISD? Every school district uses different metrics in order to avoid incurring the wrath of NCLB/high-stakes-testing-related penalties.
(2) If a school is NOT "exemplary," does that justify its being put on the chopping block?

By arguing over which school is more or less worthy of getting the axe, the real culprits are not placed under the microscope and criticized for their failure to educate all children. In any case, all of these happenings are new to me and I'll do my best to play catch-up before classes start next week. I plan on attending tomorrow night's community forum as well and hearing what other folks have to say. My connection to this issue is personal in that I'm an Austinite, I went to one of the elementary schools that might be closed, and the junior high I attended is also under scrutiny. I'm interested in better understanding what accounts for the apparent drop in student enrollment in centrally-located schools and the growth in suburban-area schools.

Waterloo Records Listening Party

Waterloo Records is an Austin gem. I love this independent record store and it's one of those spots in Austin that I return to again and again. I think I first started going to Waterloo when I was in high school and I've been a customer/supporter since then. Speaking of record stores, I wish Sound Exchange were still around, but I digress. My trip to Waterloo today was motivated by a listening party, a used CD, and a ticket to an upcoming show.

Waterloo is great about consistently scheduling events at the store and making it a very customer-friendly space. Where else can you listen to an entire album before buying it in order to decide whether or not you really want to take it home? The store also regularly has listening parties on New Release Tuesdays (i.e. today), which include free pizza! Although some of the listening parties have featured questionable albums in the past (think tween pop stars...), in general they feature pretty neat albums. Today's visit to Waterloo was new to me in the sense that I actually hadn't been to a listening party before despite being aware of which albums are being featured.

Throughout the year, the store also hosts musicians who are touring and stopping in Austin. This is a great opportunity to catch FREE, brief, and sometimes acoustic, sets by artists that you love. During SXSW the store gets packed but there's something about the environment that still makes it feel like an intimate performance. They've recently started to move the larger shows outside to accommodate for a larger audience, which makes it less cozy, but allows for more folks to get in on the free action.

I'll never be able to say enough great things about Waterloo. I love this place.


Waterloo Records & Video
600A. North Lamar Blvd.
Austin, Texas 78703
phone: (512) 474-2500

Epoch Coffee

In staying true to my love of coffee, today's place is another coffeehouse. What can I say? I'm an addict and a grad student who's trying to finish her thesis and needs places where she can get her work done. That's where Epoch comes into play! I originally went to another coffeehouse, but when I arrived all of their tables were full. This coffeehouse, which will go unnamed for now, should really consider using smaller tables so that all of their big tables aren't occupied by only one person which consequently prevents other people from having somewhere to sit. Just sayin.



Today marks only the second time I've ever been to Epoch, so it's still a new hangout spot for me. They have plenty of small and group-sized tables that make it easier to find a place to sit and settle down to get work done. I also appreciate that they have power strips that hang down from the ceiling so that everyone can plug in. If it weren't thirty degrees outside, I'd also likely enjoy sitting outside at their picnic-style tables. Epoch also has what looks like a pretty nice selection of board games that I might just have to raid in the future. Did I mention that they're open 24 hours?


Epoch Coffee
221 W North Loop Blvd.
Austin, TX 78751
512.454.3762

KaRu Salon

Thanks to the great deals that Living Social offers I had the opportunity to check out KaRu Salon. I had never stepped foot inside of the salon, let alone heard of it. On a side note, I'd recommend checking out Living Social because the site will really help you save money as you try new things. Case in point: I spent $25 for a haircut that normally costs $55. My grad school, penny-pincher budget loves this.

The salon space itself is very inviting and I love the design. I was going to try and take a picture of the inside, but decided that might be a little too weird especially for the clients at the salon who would just so happen to end up in the picture. Suffice it to say that the inside is gorgeous. Upon arrival I had a brief consultation with the hairstylist to talk about what I wanted to do with my hair. They also offered me something to drink, which is a nice touch. Afterwards I changed into a robe and had my hair washed, cut, and styled. The hairstylist did an amazing job and was wonderful to talk to; she also did a great job of explaining what products she was using and how I could style my hair to change things up. Females with medium-to-long hair will get this and appreciate it because sometimes you just don't know what else to do other than put your hair up in a ponytail. I love my new haircut and plan on returning to KaRu in the future.

Although it may not seem like an "Austin" thing to do, the people behind the salon are guided by a love of this city, travel, and music. If you're looking for a new salon to try out, I would highly recommend KaRu for both men and women.

KaRu Salon
3500 Jefferson St. Suite 101
Austin, TX 78731
512.243.8208

Black Star Co-op

Black Star is a brand new, cooperatively owned brewpub in Austin that opened during the summer (I think in August or September). According to Black Star's website, it's the first brewpub in the world that is cooperatively owned, which makes it kind of amazing. Apparently the folks in Austin also think Black Star is amazing because the place was packed tonight. Granted, it was a Friday night, but it seems as though things don't slow down regardless of the day of the week.



I do have to say that I felt a little conspicuous when I was there because I was only one of a handful of POC who was there. I hardly recognized the area in which Black Star is located because so much construction/"development" has occurred over the past couple of years. This city changes in the blink of an eye.

Normally I'm not much of a drinker, whether it's beer or wine. In general I do prefer wine and I think that's because I have a sweet tooth and therefore appreciate the sweetness of the wine whereas beer tastes somewhat sour to me. Tonight I tried one of their "rational beers", the Double Dee. After looking at the beer's description on their website, I think I made a good choice and now realize why it didn't taste as sour - it has kettle sugar and the flavor has "a hint of raisins". Next time I think I'll try the Recalcitrant Dockhand, which has "notes of molasses, vanilla, and roasted coffee." Perfect! I also stole some of my friend's fries...they were ridiculously good. And by good I mean salty and greasy.

Black Star Co-op Pub & Brewery
7020 Easy Wind Drive, Suite 100
Austin, TX 78752
Phone: 512.452.BEER (512.452.2337)

Día de Los Reyes

Although Día de Los Reyes isn't an Austin-specific holiday that people celebrate, the fact that there are a good number of Chican@s/Latin@s/Mexican@s in Austin means that there will be quite a few celebrations going on! Some of my friends had a party at their house with tamales, black beans, rice, chocolate, and a Rosca de Reyes.



In Mexico, Día de Los Reyes is the big gift-giving holiday and the time when kids ask for toys and other presents. When the rosca is prepared, a miniature plastic baby doll is baked into the rosca. Whomever ends up getting the doll in their piece of the rosca has to throw a party on February 2nd. Unfortunately, I didn't get a shot of the rosca. Fortunately, I did not get the piece of the rosca with the doll so I don't have to throw the party!

We had good times all around with a lot of laughs, a viewing of La Bamba, and plans to start a karaoke group.

Town Lake (still can't call it Lady Bird Lake)

Despite the change of name, I can't quite bring myself to call it Lady Bird Lake; for me it'll always be Town Lake.



Regardless of the name, the beauty of this space is the same. Walking along the trails is relaxing, healing, and invigorating, especially when I go during a cool, windy, and sunny winter morning. My love of 60-degree weather in January is one of the big reasons why I find it difficult to envision myself living anywhere else.



There are certain spots along the trail where the sun's rays bounce off of the water and sparkle like diamonds. It may sound corny, but it's so true. The experience is beautiful and the serenity it brings is indescribable. Whenever I get to those spots I usually stop to take it all in and soak up that sunshine.



On days like today I can't help but smile as I walk because I'm enjoying myself that much. I also love people watching and being on the trail is a great opportunity to do that. You get to see couples walking or running together, parents with toddlers who are waddling along as they learn to walk, young kids learning to ride bicycles with their parents, tourists posing with the Stevie Ray Vaughan statue, dogs running around all over the place, etc.



You can usually find people hanging out on the pedestrian bridge, which offers a great view of the city and the lake. Somehow there are some people who are able to reach those tricky spaces directly across the bridge and spray paint them.







The pedestrian bridge is also a great spot to stop for a while because the breeze feels particularly nice there. On multiple occasions I've spent a good amount of time just leaning against the railings as I look over the water and listen to music. I've also sat down to read and write here, which I often see other folks doing.



Being next to the water and being in nature is simply restorative.

Volunteer at MWB

Today was a long and frustrating day that was made even more dreary by the rain. Fortunately I got to see some familiar and friendly faces at my favorite bookstore (yay alliteration): MonkeyWrench Books. MWB is a collectively owned and operated bookstore that I am very happy to be a part of. Our collective members consistently organize great events, such as lectures, film screenings, community group meetings, and book clubs.

I happen to be on the book ordering committee and I also help out with the events committee every now and then. I work with really amazing people who I am also fortunate enough to call friends. We are always in search of volunteers who are interested in the store's mission and being part of a space that makes a positive contribution to Austin. The bookstore may be small, but there's a wealth of information inside and multiple opportunities to get involved.


MonkeyWrench Books
110 E. North Loop
Austin, Texas 78751
Phone: (512) 407-6925

Lake Park / Mueller Central

I must admit that figuring out what to do for this little project is a little challenging. I want to strike a balance between things that are free/inexpensive and things that I have to pay for. I am a broke college student after all. I'm also trying to find a balance between things that I've already done in Austin and LOVE and those experiences and places that are new to me. Although I would like to remain optimistic about continuing to post on here once classes start again, I know that my entries will die down. I will try to do at least one entry each week once that happens, though. I'm holding myself to that.



Mueller Central is a fairly recent development here in Austin. It used to be an airport and it closed about ten years ago. The area sat empty for a while until the city announced that they were going to start building stores and housing in that area. I don't recall if they announced the construction of the hospital before revealing other details, but they eventually indicated that they would build a children's medical center in the Mueller development.



There are still large sections of the area that look very desolate and need "una manita de gato" in order to look more aesthetically pleasing. However, there are houses there now as well as apartments, retail/commercial spaces, and parks. I had driven through portions of the development but I had never stopped to walk around and check out some of the parks they constructed. I was always curious as to what the area looked like especially after seeing families walking around and pushing strollers through portions of the area.



Mueller's park system consists of four parks and I decided to see what one of the parks, Lake Park, was all about. I wish I had picked a different day/time to go because today was cloudy and a little chilly. I don't mind sunny and chilly, but cloudy and chilly messes with my mood.



Lake Park has a man-made lake with ducks and geese that remind me of Town Lake. It was nice to see kids and couples and families by the water, walking their pets, riding bicycles, and skating. There's a nice walkway surrounding the lake which I appreciated because I wasn't exactly wearing shoes that are meant for hiking or walking on a trail. It felt very peaceful to listen to music as I walked the loop, which didn't take long because I stayed in the inner circle and didn't wander off. It took maybe ten minutes to walk around at a slow/medium pace.



I can see myself returning on a sunnier day to just read and hang out by the lake. There are also picnic areas that are great for grilling, but they don't seem as though they'd be very inviting during the summer. The picnic areas are uncovered and the summer heat gets fairly intense; it would be nice to have some shade.



There was something about this van that made it impossible for me to NOT take a picture of it. I love the idea of selling elotes and raspas instead of the traditional popsicles/ice cream.

What's also great about this area is that there are a lot of stores conveniently nearby. After my walk I stopped for coffee (of course I would), got some great clothes on sale, and bought a curtain rod that I need for a home improvement project. I'm glad I explored the area and know of another open, green space to take advantage of. Spending time outdoors is relaxing and soothing and I must continue to do more of it before the spring semester begins.

Leslie and Halcyon

It looks like today will be another twofer and this was completely by accident. I wish I had a picture to share, but alas, it all happened so fast that I was unable to get a shot. As I walked down 6th street on my way to Halcyon with friends, a stranger looked at us and wished us a happy new year. We all said happy new year to him and it took me about two seconds to realize that the person who greeted us was none other than Leslie. Yes, Leslie, the cross-dressing Austin icon whom all people hear about but few randomly bump into. I last saw him at a festival in 2009 when he was posing for a picture with a couple of guys on the Congress Avenue bridge. After Leslie walked away, one of the guys laughed and said, "I think I'm gonna need a drink after this."



So yes, Halcyon - it's a self-described coffeehouse, bar, and lounge on the corner of 4th and Lavaca. Given the name of my blog, it should come as no surprise that I frequent places that serve coffee, meaning that you can expect to see a lot more coffee on here. The cappuccinos here are so good that I had two tonight. There's nothing like that delicious, foamy goodness on a chilly winter evening. Between the four of us, my friends and I ordered cappuccinos, mexican hot chocolate, peanut butter hot chocolate, a bananas foster crêpe, and a panini (I think it was the chicken parmesan?). I tasted the peanut butter hot chocolate and it was amazing: as my friend described it, a liquid Reese's peanut butter cup. The bananas foster crêpe was also delicious and had a hint of rum.



Halcyon as a physical space is inviting and I imagine that the atmosphere is rather different during the day. They do offer free wi-fi and there's plenty of seating on the outside for folks who just want to sit there with their laptops, with a book, and/or with friends. The wall art is...interesting. Some of it is appealing but there are a lot of half-naked women on the walls for my liking. I prefer one of the pieces that has a red background and a line of birds perched on a tree limb with the moon shining in the background. Regardless of the art, I would like to come back and try something else on the menu.


Halcyon
218 West 4th Street
Austin, TX 78701
(512) 472-9637

So maybe I went to Mozart's anyway...

As you can see, I ended up going to Mozart's this evening. Now you know of two Austin things that you can do in one day alone. I felt compelled to go because I hoped that I would still be able to catch their Christmas light show, and I did! Mozart's website indicates that the last time they normally put on the light show is at midnight on 12/31 to ring in the new year. Fortunately for me, it looks as though they actually do the light show during New Year's Day as well. I hadn't seen the light show before, so this is indeed a first for me.



The light show starts at the top of the hour, every hour, beginning at 6 pm and it lasts for approximately 5-6 minutes each time. The lights are in sync with the music that plays and it is a pretty neat thing to watch. The only downside to going in the evening is that I'm unable to enjoy the feeling of the sunshine bouncing off of the water and onto my face. Mozart's overlooks Lake Austin and on most days during the year, you'll be able to spot people enjoying spending some time on the lake during the day.

In sticking with the theme of pushing myself out of my comfort zone, I went to Mozart's and did my best to cope with the discomfort of sitting at a table by myself when everyone around me was either accompanied by at least one person. I ordered a soothing and warming cappuccino and eyed their tempting array of desserts before settling down at a table with my coffee, a book, and my laptop. Mozart's is usually very busy, which made me feel lucky to have even gotten a table inside. The lights looked nice outside but I simply wasn't in the mood to sit in the cold!



If at some point in the near future I need a place to visit that has great coffee and desserts, I know this is the place that I will think of first (unless I find something even better soon?!). Hopefully I'll return with someone else and enjoy a sweet treat, caffeine, and good conversation. Judging by the packed parking lot I am not the only one who thinks this way. There was a group of girls who were knitting at a table when I arrived, a couple who started playing Chinese Checkers as I made my way back to my car, and hoards of people just talking and laughing. Sticking true to its Austin spirit, someone set up their sound system and instruments and began playing the guitar shortly before I left as well. I'm glad I went and survived the discomfort of being by myself, although I did make it a point to bring something to occupy myself with. Maybe at some point I can just be without needing to have something with me.

Mozart's Coffee Roasters
3825 Lake Austin Blvd
Austin, TX 78703

MO-THU: 7 AM - 12 AM
FRI: 7 AM - 1 AM
SAT: 8 AM - 1 AM
SUN: 8 AM - 12 AM

Tel: (512) 477-2900

My own version of 365 Things to Do in Austin

To start off the new year my tarot card was the Hermit Reversed. Although I am a skeptic about these things, a part of me continues to entertain the degree of truth behind a tarot card reading...even if it was generated by Facebook. According to Facebook:

Not the right time to be alone. Seek out others and be social. More interaction with world and loved ones is needed. Fill your social calendar. Need to get out and have fun. Good time to seek out relationships. Reconnection with others possible now. Find the light inside and share it with the world. Bring your talents into focus and allow others to see them. Stop being so serious and live a little.

I know I've made significant improvements in my life since 2009 and I feel increasingly better and more confident about the direction in which my life is going. This means that I know in my heart that 2011 will be another great year that will surpass the previous years. It'll be a year of tremendous change because I'm set to finish my Master's in May, although that may be delayed if I apply for and get that foreign language fellowship.

In the spirit of the Hermit Reversed card, I randomly decided to do my own version of 365 Things to Do in Austin in an effort to push myself out of my comfort zone(s) and continue exploring so that I have a greater appreciation of my own life. Even though I was born and raised in Austin, there are a lot of things about this city that I haven't done and seen (or that are still fairly new to me). I will try to follow the list as closely as possible, but I will likely do things out of order and/or substitute events/places in order to add my own twist to it.

The original blogger started off 2010 with a visit to Mozart's, but I'm starting mine off with a visit to BookPeople and enjoying the benefits of Customer Appreciation Day.



BookPeople is a pretty amazing independent bookstore in Austin and they usually have interesting events to attend and book clubs you can be a part of. On the first day of the new year, the store celebrates its customers by offering a 20% discount on most items in the store. Given my love of books and reading and cute, decorative homewares, BookPeople was calling my name loudly today. Amusingly enough, I left the store with bracelets, a pair of earrings, a 2011 calendar, wall art, and no reading material. One of the benefits of already working in a bookstore (that's not BookPeople) is that I already get a discount and access to new releases - maybe that's why I decided not to get any new books. But I recommend that you do, especially if you don't work at a bookstore and love books!

BookPeople
603 N. Lamar, Austin TX 78703
Open daily, 11am to 11pm
(512) 472-5050