Adventures in Austin

Finally went out to Buda/Driftwood area to the Salt Lick. Apparently this is some kind of rite of passage in Austin. You tell people you've never been and they're all: "YOU'VE NEVER BEEN TO SALT LICK!? OMG!" And when you get back into town and tell people you finally went, they're all, "County Line is better."

They. What do they know.

They talk a lot. -Pulp Fiction.

So friend Amanda and I head out there; BYOB and BBQ in the country, how could this get any better? How could it get any worse?

Texas State Graduation. That's how. One hundred thousand people later, we found a parking spot and made our way through the sea of Bearcats to the hostess stand where the poor girl tells us that we're probably going to be in line for the rest of our lives.

To Go BBQ it is! Waiting in line to place our order, we meet some nice bikers from the city and share some of our beers with them. Slowly the graduates began to disperse, preceded by family and tons of gifts; one guy Amanda spots is carrying a huge plasma screen monitor for his MacBook. "Wow," she says, "that's a pretty good haul for graduation!" Then sees another graduate, carrying a pop-up version of Dr. Seuss' Oh The Places You'll Go!

Amanda, "Wow, she didn't come out as well."

The ambiance was magnificent: beautiful evening outside, the meal was terrific (biker friend: "these girls aren't vegetarians"), and peacocks singing in the background. I don't know if any of you have actually heard a peacock "sing," but I wouldn't call it singing so much as yelling. So, strike that, peacocks were yelling in the background. Altogether made for a really nice night. So nice that I decided to break out the camera and snap a few memorable shots.

My camera has been in some form of Mandarin (or Wingdings for all I know) ever since some jackass got ahold of it at some bar and decided to make my photographic life a misery. Back to me, a year later, and it has some strange (foreign) message on the display (due to some other drunken jackass, no doubt). A message that as much as I try to know Mandarin, can NOT decipher. "That's it," I tell Amanda. "I'm going to put this thing back into English."

Now: BYOB, BBQ, and determination. Which apparently is a recipe for success. But only after I manage to turn camera into black and white, which actually made for some really great photos.

Amanda and me. Post face-stuffing.

Some of the graduates had a little too much fun.

Back in Austin, we meet up with some friends for Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Alamo Drafthouse. If you've never seen RHPS (which I have not) or ever been to the Alamo's reenactment/singalong, you have to get a big red lipsticked "V" for Virgin on your forehead. Have to, you don't have to do anything. In fact, I opted "no V for me," despite my friend's upheavals. Screw that, I know how hard lipstick is to get off.

I really had no idea of what to expect. I had heard this was THE Cult Classic and I knew it was a musical, thats it. I did NOT know that it was going to be a gay pride parade of insanity. One of the more eye-opening experiences of my life. Talk about a following, too. These actors are dedicated, to say the least. I think there was only one point throughout the movie that I was uncomfortable, and thats indebted to my conservative upbringing. While I missed out on a lot of the film due to super-fans yelling out the tag lines and ad-libbing, what I did catch was hilarious and I can't wait to watch it again, maybe this time in the comfort of my own home and where water can't be thrown on me.

Clinton and Cory, who were brave enough to admit their first timedness, had to get up in front and pledge their virginity with one hand on nethers.

Clinton, getting camera shy?

Participating in some gay activities. Pretty good stuff.

How's this for irony? Clinton and I just recently broke up (yes, he's "Dumbass") and were asked to participate in the wedding scene. I am right at home. Thanks, One Act Play.

Thanks, Austin.