So while I was at my interview in Birmingham on Thursday night, I got a call from Omar who was in Austin. He was in town at dinners/parties on Thursday and Friday. So I got home very late on Friday night and decided to drive to Austin early Saturday morning to say hello to Omar and Ernie.
Traffic getting out of Houston was abysmal. They shut down northbound traffic on the 610 East Loop. So I sat on the frontage road for about an hour. It was awesome. The rest of the drive into Austin was uneventful but pretty along I-10/71. Upon arriving in Austin I was informed that I would be having brunch at the Four Seasons. This apparently is the only 4-star resort in Austin, so I was excited about that. I joined Omar, Ernie, and Ernie's girlfriend already at the table. The eggs benedict was outstanding. It was the usual dish with the added twist of a salsa thing, which was interesting and good. The mimosas were flowing as well, which usually makes for a nice brunch.
After breakfast, I took pictures of the train model in the lobby and of Santa who was visiting. Apparently the nice Austin weather lured him in. We decided we'd visit the Lotus dealership up north of campus which was sorta fun. Then we had to show Ernie Austin's Central Market, which was right across the street. He was, of course, very amazed and pleased with the store. Then I sent the three guests on their way back to El Paso. I plan to fly out there sometime in January to visit and play some golf. I've never been to El Paso, so it should be a fun excursion.
After Central Market, it was time to meet up with Janelle, who I have mentioned several times previously in this here blog. I met her at a little cafe off of West 6th Street for an art gallery opening. The photographer's name is Steve Hopson who is the owner of Art Photography. The e-mail address on his business card is Steve_Hopson AT Hotmail.com. This gentleman's work was very cool. Most of it was taken in Costa Rica with beautiful landscapes. However, his best work was of people's faces. He would take face shots of people posing for him. The expressions are amazing. You can almost understand a person just by looking at his or her face. The photographs were truly remarkable.
Then Janelle announced that I would be running some errands with her. Our first stop was The Grapevine, which sells every liquor and wine on the planet. She needed ingredients for chocolate martinis to give to her mother for Christmas. I called Matt Ellinwood to make him miss being in Texas (which is cruel and unusual), but it was nice to chat with him. I'm sure when he comes back to Texas and I'm somewhere else, he'll call me and make me fell homesick as well. Then it was off to Wallgreens for a few items. I purchased some kick ass scissors. Janelle purchased kitty litter among other things. Finally we went to Sephora, which is a perfume place. My sister used to work at the one in Northpark Mall-Dallas. I jokingly said I needed a facial to which the salespeople threatened to give me one the rest of the visit. Admittedly I was very afraid of that occurring, which fortunately did not transpire. Janelle purchased some pretty eye stuff which had some glitter in it (at my request). This was just a faint trace of glitter mind you, so she didn't look like Britney Spears or something. Plus, Janelle is more attractive than Britney in the first place, so no glitter is required. I thought it would be fun, and ultimately she looked lovely wearing it.
Then back at her place we had lots of wine and cheese. The movie of choice was The Virgin Suicides by Sophia Coppola who also directed Lost in Translation with Bill Murray. Virgin Suicides (with an all-star cast including James Woods, Kathleen Turner, Kirsten Dunst, Josh Hartnett, and a brief look at Danny DeVito) wasn't my favorite movie on the planet, because there was little character development if any. There were several events strung together that sort of made a plot, but Coppola focused on the social interactions rather than the characters' backgrounds. So based on the sociology study, the film was interesting. But the overall movie was mediocre I guess. James Woods was his usual fantastic self though.
Then we got dressed and headed to an Italian restaurant called Carmelo's. I had lobster bisque soup and lobster pasta. I totally forgot what Janelle had, but we had a nice bottle of wine (or two?). The meal was good, and the restaurant was very quaint and comfortable. There were several groups of high school kids which were probably out for a winter formal or something like that. So it was fun. Then it was off to The B-Side which I have spoken of several times previously in this here blog. We drank upstairs and talked. It was the usual bar stuff. Then Janelle decreed we would be going to a club/bar off 6th street (on 7th street). I forget the name, but I think it may have been called The Manhattan Bar or something like that. It was your typical swanky bar which attempted to be upscale with plush sofas lining the periphery with a dance floor in the middle. There were also plasma screens throughout showing weird imagery. It was a nice overall place though. We had yet more drinks (don't worry mom, we took a taxi roundtrip) and then the dancing began. I mention the dancing, because I committed a serious faux-pas. First off, it takes a lot of alcohol to get me on the dance floor in the first place, but it certainly can happen. So the fact that I was out there tells you something. We were listening to the hits of the 90's (lots of Humpty Dumpy, Michael Jackson, Young MC, et cetera) and dancing the night away, when I dropped my drink. This drink was already consumed mind you, but glass and ice went everywhere. One dude looked at me weird, and that was the end of that. It's very embarrassing though, because only idiots do that sort of thing. So count me in.
Then we went home and went to sleep. It was a very satisfying evening I must say.
The next morning greeted me with French-pressed coffee and omelet chez Janelle. It was remarkably good, considering she was "cleaning out her fridge" to make the breakfast. Afterwards we said our goodbyes and I drove back to Houston. It was a pretty sweet twenty-four hours I must admit. And it's always such a joy to see Janelle. Besides Ryan contributing himself to my life, Janelle is probably his second greatest contribution.
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Traffic getting out of Houston was abysmal. They shut down northbound traffic on the 610 East Loop. So I sat on the frontage road for about an hour. It was awesome. The rest of the drive into Austin was uneventful but pretty along I-10/71. Upon arriving in Austin I was informed that I would be having brunch at the Four Seasons. This apparently is the only 4-star resort in Austin, so I was excited about that. I joined Omar, Ernie, and Ernie's girlfriend already at the table. The eggs benedict was outstanding. It was the usual dish with the added twist of a salsa thing, which was interesting and good. The mimosas were flowing as well, which usually makes for a nice brunch.
After breakfast, I took pictures of the train model in the lobby and of Santa who was visiting. Apparently the nice Austin weather lured him in. We decided we'd visit the Lotus dealership up north of campus which was sorta fun. Then we had to show Ernie Austin's Central Market, which was right across the street. He was, of course, very amazed and pleased with the store. Then I sent the three guests on their way back to El Paso. I plan to fly out there sometime in January to visit and play some golf. I've never been to El Paso, so it should be a fun excursion.
After Central Market, it was time to meet up with Janelle, who I have mentioned several times previously in this here blog. I met her at a little cafe off of West 6th Street for an art gallery opening. The photographer's name is Steve Hopson who is the owner of Art Photography. The e-mail address on his business card is Steve_Hopson AT Hotmail.com. This gentleman's work was very cool. Most of it was taken in Costa Rica with beautiful landscapes. However, his best work was of people's faces. He would take face shots of people posing for him. The expressions are amazing. You can almost understand a person just by looking at his or her face. The photographs were truly remarkable.
Then Janelle announced that I would be running some errands with her. Our first stop was The Grapevine, which sells every liquor and wine on the planet. She needed ingredients for chocolate martinis to give to her mother for Christmas. I called Matt Ellinwood to make him miss being in Texas (which is cruel and unusual), but it was nice to chat with him. I'm sure when he comes back to Texas and I'm somewhere else, he'll call me and make me fell homesick as well. Then it was off to Wallgreens for a few items. I purchased some kick ass scissors. Janelle purchased kitty litter among other things. Finally we went to Sephora, which is a perfume place. My sister used to work at the one in Northpark Mall-Dallas. I jokingly said I needed a facial to which the salespeople threatened to give me one the rest of the visit. Admittedly I was very afraid of that occurring, which fortunately did not transpire. Janelle purchased some pretty eye stuff which had some glitter in it (at my request). This was just a faint trace of glitter mind you, so she didn't look like Britney Spears or something. Plus, Janelle is more attractive than Britney in the first place, so no glitter is required. I thought it would be fun, and ultimately she looked lovely wearing it.
Then back at her place we had lots of wine and cheese. The movie of choice was The Virgin Suicides by Sophia Coppola who also directed Lost in Translation with Bill Murray. Virgin Suicides (with an all-star cast including James Woods, Kathleen Turner, Kirsten Dunst, Josh Hartnett, and a brief look at Danny DeVito) wasn't my favorite movie on the planet, because there was little character development if any. There were several events strung together that sort of made a plot, but Coppola focused on the social interactions rather than the characters' backgrounds. So based on the sociology study, the film was interesting. But the overall movie was mediocre I guess. James Woods was his usual fantastic self though.
Then we got dressed and headed to an Italian restaurant called Carmelo's. I had lobster bisque soup and lobster pasta. I totally forgot what Janelle had, but we had a nice bottle of wine (or two?). The meal was good, and the restaurant was very quaint and comfortable. There were several groups of high school kids which were probably out for a winter formal or something like that. So it was fun. Then it was off to The B-Side which I have spoken of several times previously in this here blog. We drank upstairs and talked. It was the usual bar stuff. Then Janelle decreed we would be going to a club/bar off 6th street (on 7th street). I forget the name, but I think it may have been called The Manhattan Bar or something like that. It was your typical swanky bar which attempted to be upscale with plush sofas lining the periphery with a dance floor in the middle. There were also plasma screens throughout showing weird imagery. It was a nice overall place though. We had yet more drinks (don't worry mom, we took a taxi roundtrip) and then the dancing began. I mention the dancing, because I committed a serious faux-pas. First off, it takes a lot of alcohol to get me on the dance floor in the first place, but it certainly can happen. So the fact that I was out there tells you something. We were listening to the hits of the 90's (lots of Humpty Dumpy, Michael Jackson, Young MC, et cetera) and dancing the night away, when I dropped my drink. This drink was already consumed mind you, but glass and ice went everywhere. One dude looked at me weird, and that was the end of that. It's very embarrassing though, because only idiots do that sort of thing. So count me in.
Then we went home and went to sleep. It was a very satisfying evening I must say.
The next morning greeted me with French-pressed coffee and omelet chez Janelle. It was remarkably good, considering she was "cleaning out her fridge" to make the breakfast. Afterwards we said our goodbyes and I drove back to Houston. It was a pretty sweet twenty-four hours I must admit. And it's always such a joy to see Janelle. Besides Ryan contributing himself to my life, Janelle is probably his second greatest contribution.
>>View the PICTURES<<
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