10.09.2006

Me Likey Austin

I'm sitting in the hotel lobby with our crew. Earlier, I spent about 2 hours cruising around the greater Austin area with an old friend who recently began a new ministry role here. This trip has served as a reminder that those of us who grew up in Southern California are a bit arrogant/elitist in our opinions. You see, there is no way any other place in the United States can be as nice, as fun, as beautiful, as trendy, as....well ANYTHING as So. Cal. As we headed to Austin, we knew without a doubt that there would be nothing about it that equaled our home sweet home.

Now four days later, I must admit that although there isn't a whole lot about Austin I like better than Southern Cal there is a VERY cool flavor to the city. It's eclectic, diverse, full of great local restaurants, friendly, and feels like a place that, should I be forced to leave California, I could enjoy.

Okay, now for my thoughts on Bats, Faux hawks, and Deep-Fried Green Beans.

BATS: There is a bridge over the lake just below our hotel. It's been named 'bat bridge' because just after dusk every night of the year, close to 1,000,000 bats fly out from under it into the night sky. We watched it one night and it was a pretty amazing sight. The whole phenomenon raised a ton of questions in my mind, two of which are:
1) Why THIS bridge? There is another, identical, bridge about two hundred yards up the lake, but no bats hang out there (ha! 'hang out there'....).
2) Which bat is in charge and when does he/she decide it's time to fly into the night. They didn't slowly trickle out over a couple of hours....the night went from totally calm to being flooded with bats in the blink of an eye.

Faux Hawks (shortish hair pushed to middle on top and gelled to resemble a short, temporary style that resembles a mo hawk): While they may not be as popular amongst the youth worker profession as the mullet was in the 80's or the goatee/soul patch of recent years, they are definitely the preferred hair style of the coolest of cool youth workers. However, unlike the mullet or facial hair trends, the faux hawk is one that only the younger youth workers can pull off. A 40 year old with a soul patch is somewhat acceptable...put a faux hawk on the same guy and it screams 'insecure, older youth worker trying hard to hold onto his youth'

Deep-Fried Green Beans: A new appetizer at TGI Fridays. We were told that Austin leads the way when it comes to fashion (we dispute that claim), but we weren't told that they lead the way in new appetizer offerings at TGI Fridays. I had never heard of Deep-Fried Green Beans, which are served with a spicy ranch dipping sauce, but we ordered some the other night and they were quite tasty.

I miss my family.....can't wait to get home.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Another reason faux hawk's can't be pulled off by age-challenged youth workers: most of us don't enough hair up there to make it work.

Anonymous said...

a. i had a faux hawk at 41. thanks for calling me an 'insecure, older youth worker trying hard to hold onto his youth'

b. i can't believe i never saw you once in austin

Anonymous said...

faux hawk is the national hair-cut of Australian males... a ritual at age 18... part of the reason I had to leave the country. "The Kurt" looks way better on me (#1 every 3 weeks).

Anonymous said...

Another great Texas appetizer not found at the "chain" restaurants is deep fried dill pickles served with the same spicy ranch sauce. I have family and friends in Texas, hope God never sends me there for longterm ministry, but I love the deep fried pickles.

Anonymous said...

hey leigh - as an australian male i too have "the kurt" but rather than a number 1 every 3 weeks currently it's a number 3 every 12 weeks!!

Anonymous said...

Texan food can be weird. Once, on a crosscountry trip when I was a kid, my brother ordered a plain hot dog somewhere in the Panhandle. The hot dog arrived -- covered with mustard and onions.

Anonymous said...

TGIFridays here has been running a commercial touting the green beans for weeks! Maybe it's not national?

Glad Austin was a great experience!

Anonymous said...

Marko,
a)Dude you've had so many hair cuts that you defy the rules. I don't even remember your faux hawk...must have been short-lived.

b)I snooped around for you a couple of times but had no luck.

Anonymous said...

The TV ad for deep-fried green beans is running out here in California, too, so it's probably a national rollout of a bunch of new appetizers from TGIF.

Anonymous said...

Rob...I am in CA...San Jose! Guess I should have said that! :) The fried mac n cheese is a heart attack waiting to happen!

Anonymous said...

We had the fried Mac and Cheese along with the deep-fried green beans. They were amazing!

Anonymous said...

*shudder* Tempting...but *shudder.* :)

Anonymous said...

I meant to ask...did the title of this post come from "Family Guy" when Lois is saying "Me likey bouncy" and "Me likey breadsticks?"