Archive for 'austin' Category

2006.01.30

Down and Out in Austin, TX

New Boots?For those not in the know, which is pretty much everyone, I’ve been in Austin, Texas hanging out with Ann and visiting my stomping grounds of almost 30 years ago. I’ve written a couple posts of All Things Austin from my perspective.

Heather, you were born in a pretty cool place. I can’t speak for the bulk of Texas, but Austin is exceeding expectation!

2006.01.30

Two Front Doors

Can someone please explain to me why many (most?) older houses in Austin have two front doors? Were they designed as escape hatches? Was the idea that you might have a business in one half of the house and live in the other?

Speaking of which, it was pointed out to me that a ton of businesses are actually located in existing houses and this is true. Is it simply cheaper to renovate an existing house and bring it up to code (do they even have a City Code here?) than to build a new building? Probably.

Anyways, if anyone knows why these houses have two (and I’ve seen three) front doors please leave a comment!

2006.01.30

Cunningham Elementary School

I grew up in the military and so one of the realities of my childhood was moving around every couple years. It never occurred to me that I might have the opportunity to visit a place I’d lived once I’d left. The exception was Seoul, and only because my parents moved back there.

Until now. I knew I was going to be in Austin visiting Ann, so I made a point of getting the address of our old house from Dad. I had already found my old elementary school on a map but couldn’t remember exactly where we lived.

Read the rest of this entry…

2005.11.19

Sopapillas

I remember eating Sopapillas for dessert with my family when we’d go out to eat in Austin. Second, third and fourth grades. Funny how memory works. I still think about these things even though I haven’t had one since then.