So after I battled the flu for about the first 4 days of Spring break, my friend Dave flew in from Nashville and the fun could begin. We drove to Austin Thursday and stayed until Saturday experiencing all the carnage that is SXSW. It was fun, but I have to say, I decided a couple of things on this trip.
First of all, I think that just might be my last hoorah with SXSW. I've been the past 4 years in a row, and while I'm still trying to decipher whether it's age appropriate for me to concert-hop on spring break in a college town, I think the real reason to retire is that I am simply burned out. Which leads me to my next decision.
I believe God has somehow closed the door on my desire to move to Austin. I find difficulty in pinpointing an exact reason, or even boiling it down to one...but the last two times I have been to Austin, I look around and think to myself, "Why do I want to move here so bad? What does Austin have to offer that can't be found in visitation?" Sure it has the river, good food, and good music...but those are not things I would take part in on a daily basis, or possibly even a weekly basis. This factual idea comes from knowing myself too well. In a dream world I see myself living in a lovely loft downtown, riding my beach cruiser home from Whole Foods with a basket full of organic things to cook just after I take a little dip in the river with my personal kayak. This is a beautiful idea, but I know myself. I know I am too cheap and I willl more than likely live in a little shady dump, and by the time I got done with work I would just look forward to my frozen pizza and Tuesday TV night. Dallas has 3 full-sized lakes I can think of off the top of my head, several bike trails, and more 5k's than you can shake a stick at. If I really want to be outdoorsy on a regular basis, I just need to make more of an effort. Don't get me wrong though, if I ever HAD to move to Austin for any reason, I wouldn't hate it.
I have been so blessed with the friends I have in Austin to host me with weekends full of fun, but I have simply decided...I am fully okay with that town remaining as nothing more than a quick weekend getaway. Similar, in a different way, to Winnsboro.
I'm also becoming more okay with the idea of staying at my job for at least one more year, even as a coach. If I can get my GRE together in time, I might be able to start grad school in the fall and tell my principal that coaching will just have to make itself work around my grad school schedule. She cannot fault me or deny my right to further my education can she? I still daydream plenty about living in L.A. or using search associates to teach abroad for a couple of years...but I think with time and prayer, those doors will either open or close in the same way that Austin has. I can barely describe to you how much turmoil I've put my mind through trying to decide about moving to Austin, so you can imagine how freeing it is to simply, and all of a sudden, just have a PEACE about this closed door.
In other exciting news, I FINALLY ordered my Canon Rebel. Hoping to have some version of a photography business up and running in the next two years. Aaaaaaand, guess what color it is??? Did you guess??....it's....it's brown. I think it's so cute. It's a sleek chocolate color, but also fits pretty well with my surname.
That's all for now.
By the way, those of you that use twitter and like the Rangers...what the hell C.J. Wilson? Happy you are gone.
