weekend getaway: austin

i took to the texas highway this weekend to visit my friend whitney in austin where she's just begun law school.

i wish i could describe just how much i love the city of austin. it's different from all others in texas: the terrain, the politics, the concentration of light.

the city is just a little bit weird. and when i say a little bit, i mean quite a bit, and in the best possible way.

it was good to be surrounded by weird. to have a good girlfriend to talk to. to eat far too much tex-mex. (even) to take in a football game {and not to worry i was outfitted in the right color}.

and of course ice cream. always, always ice cream.

when the words won't flow.

i was going to write about my experience in utah.

about the lovely people i met.

and the million things i learned.

and the two-month-period i felt like i had fallen in a sink-hole.

but i've been so busy watching the spaniards dominate the u.s. open and marveling at the high-winds that no words have come.

only a strong desire for autumn.

for cool weather and knee-high boots.

and berets.

oh, for a good beret!

so no wordy post. just this:

i almost ran over a peacock today.

i was driving home from the coffee shop today (okay, starbucks {but doesn't it sound more glamorous if i say the coffee shop}) and there on one of the backstreets of my neighborhood was a gorgeous male peacock. feathers all ablaze and aglow.

i cursed myself for not having my camera in my purse just about the same time i slammed on the brakes (okay, okay, i didn't slam, i'm a pretty good {read: careful} driver so i saw it far enough in advance, but the story is better if slamming occurs).

i'd not ever seen a peacock in the neighborhood before.

yes, when i was in fourth grade there were those two that lived several neighborhoods over and we used to drive in search of them after school. and then there was that one school in dallas that seemed to have several that would mill about campus. but none before had been spotted in mine OWN neighborhood.

this must be a very good sign.

god it's good to be home.

{this post brought to you with much love by what now appears to be a brain made of something akin to mush.}

and now i go home.

home i go now.

headed toward the promise of vegetarian chili.

and lots of hours of watching the u.s. open.

thank you utah, it has been lovely.

really, really lovely.

one last performance.

it is my last day here in utah.

i am busy cleaning and packing and washing and post office-ing and the like.

i have had such a lovely time. have loved getting to meet so many of you. and have learned more than i ever imagined--in fact i imagine i'll be sifting through what i learned here for many, many months to come.

but words cannot express how grateful i am to return to texas tomorrow. to spend ten glorious days sleeping in my four-posted bed. to cook meals with my mother and sit with both my parents on the living room floor as we watch the u.s. open.

and then back to new york. to a life i have worked very hard to build. to a life i am breathlessly grateful for. to subways and roommates and early mornings and the hudson just out the window.

but before i go. there is one last performance tonight. one last chance for me to feel like i've sunk into this tremendous character of juliet (i don't feel like i've gotten it yet--close, but not quite). it's in memorial park (just off of center street in provo) at 7 and i'd so love for you to come. there is nothing like seeing your beautiful faces in the audience. nothing like meeting you after. so bring a blanket, bring some food, and know that we really do begin right at 7 (we're surprisingly prompt in this regard!).

and give me a chance to say thank you and good bye.