Changes…again
So last time I wrote a blog entry, I had just moved to an awesome new place with my awesome new cat. I was getting settled in, and all was well.
And then the Fire Nation attacked…
Actually, no, what happened was that I got a job offer that I really, really wanted to take. Said job was in Austin. Yes, the one in Texas.
So I said goodbye to my awesomely quirky apartment on the shores of Puget Sound and, at the beginning of one of the worst series of winter storms Seattle’s seen in years, moved myself and the cat to Texas.
Here in Austin, I have a pretty cool apartment with ridiculously high ceilings fairly close to my new job, and I have my cat (who is happy anywhere as long as she gets her cuddles) so all is good on that front.
What’s a decided adjustment is the weather. I lived in the Pacific Northwest because of the weather–grey skies, cool temperatures, and misty days are paradise to me. Central Texas is….basically the opposite. I’m so confused by the fact that everyone is so blasé about the fact that the weather here basically completely prohibits outdoor activities for two-thirds of the year. Apparently people are just…good with never going outside?
Considering outside contains a vast variety of venomous wildlife, though, maybe they have a point. I ventured outside in early May to visit a sculpture garden and gathered four mosquito bites and a bite from something on my ankle that’s only now starting to heal, six weeks later. The ticks give you Lyme disease or make you allergic to meat. The armadillos carry leprosy. There are a bunch of venomous snakes.
There are nice things, too: the grapefruit and avocados here are excellent. The tacos are also excellent. There are many dogs, and most of them are friendly. The traffic’s actually not that bad, but I’m coming from Seattle, so there’s that. And the air conditioning is universally aggressive.
All in all, I miss home, but Austin’s not a terrible place to live. I’m not able to enjoy a lot of the things that make the place special–I hate both loud noises and crowds so live music isn’t my thing–but I can tell that for people who are equipped to enjoy those things, it would be pretty awesome. I haven’t found my people yet, but I am assured that there are both nerds and writers here, so eventually I will locate some.
I’m working on getting back into writing and submitting again. More to come on that.
