P.S. - This is Austin.

I'm heading back to the land of cacti and horses and cattle and dust in two weeks. As you all know, that's what Texas is like. We tie our horses up outside of the general store, and we wear cowboy hats. All of us - no matter what part of the state and/or what city (or lack thereof) you reside in. Yep, that's how it goes.

Riiiight.

I'm heading to Austin for a long weekend. Austin does not have dust. I'm sure there are a few random cattle somewhere within the city limits, and even cityfolk like to keep the occasional horse. The cacti I'm not so sure about - since I am actually capable of killing them (a story for another time), they may have died out at this point.

This is Austin:


















We have things like the largest urban bat colony in the US:


















Jeremiah, the frog that launched a protest and eventually cost the owner of this Baja Fresh franchise (which has since shut down) a rumored $20K in order to preserve His Frogginess:

















Tex-Mex restaurants with a sense of humor (taken the day that Hillary opened her Austin office):


















A long stretch of bars (I used to work on this street - my liver is still paying):


















And this guy (?), who is homeless (by choice) and routinely runs for mayor and makes more money under the table on an annual basis than I will accumulate in the next ten years combined:


































I'm slowly compiling a list of things that I would like to do/drink/eat/buy while I am back in the fair, blue, A-TX. Given my formal ADHD diagnosis (I actually read through the test results for the first time today and realized that I was labeled ADHD - hyperactive component included - not ADD, as I'd thought for the past year) and propensity for damaging brain cells, it's probably best that I begin writing these items down.

The list thus far:

1. Purchase a (large) bottle of Tito's Vodka. Bring said bottle back to New York. Continue to look for the friendly, familiar label in every bar in the city. Continue to be disappointed.

2. Eat my weight in creamy jalapeno. Allergy be damned.

3. Drink a bloody mary at 5PM at my bar with nary a sideways glance.

4. Wear these all fucking weekend long.

5. Run here.

6. Eat this, this, and this.

7. Drink here, here, and here.

8. Listen to jazz here.

More to come.