31.7.03

Week's worth of stuff.

What a week. So much to talk about. So much going on.

It started last weekend with Lance Armstrong, an Austinite, winning is 5th straight Tour de France. He ties Miguel Indurain of Spain for the most consecutive victories in Tour history, and since he's from Austin, that's big news for our town.

Next comes the Democrats in the Legislature breaking quorum again on a Republican called special session. This is the 2nd time this summer the Dems have exercised their option to leave the state (this time to New Mexico) and it's sparked a lot of debate. The last time a group of state senators broke quorum was 1979, the Killer B's. Before that was something like 1875. It's a huge deal in the city and state right now. For a good recap and point of view, check this out.

To cap the weekend off, Mrs. Austin and I cruised to Carlos and Charlie's on the lake. If you don't know Austin, it's basically a boat bar. Decent enough restaurant, you can rent boats and jet-skiis and they also put on concerts. Well that later bit was new to us and two of our favorite live bands, Los Lonely Boys and Bob Schneider were playing. So we went basically long enough to see them, then we headed back. I got a lot done on my (now finished) first comic and over all it was a good weekend.

The refinance woes are now a memory. After telling these people we didn't want to pay escrow at the end of the year, I guess they decided we're too savvy and would have probably dumped them sooner than later. That's the last we heard from them. Good riddance. (And that's all I'll say about finances.)

Lil Miss Austin is just developing by leaps and bounds. She's enrolled in a little dance class now that comes to her school and teaches them...well...dance, as well as some basic gymnastics. For a 2 year old, basic gymnastics include jumping and summersaults. If I see her doing any vaults in the next few weeks I'm calling Bella right now! She's still precocious and charming, lately a little whiney, like she's always hurting or tired or something. She's also just damn cute. I've noticed she still doesn't grasp the Why question, but you can be guaranteed that it will hit soon. She knows how to count and what colors are what, what's hot and cold, what hurts, what's dark and scary, what tastes good, what her name is....it's just amazing what little sponges they are.

A friend and his wife recently had their 2nd, and while I haven't seen the little one yet, I know it's going to make me and Mrs. Austin take a close look at our family planning. We like having just one child, our lives feel full enough. We always get the question, "So are you going to have another?" Well, we might? Why? Are we in a race? Did a starter's gun go off when I was in the bathroom? I know it's socially acceptable and probably a benefit for the child to have a sibling, but that's no reason to prod parents with that stupid question. If we have another, we have another one. It may be by accident or after months or years of trying. If we never have another, are we disqualified from the Earth? I'm guessing the question is more often then not just a polite conversation starter and in no way meant to pick apart the private lives of parents, but let's find some other way to break the ice, shall we? I don't want to feel that this magical little creature we dote over is somehow less than perfect because she is a single. I don't want to feel lacking because I chose quantity over quality. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to own a hockey team, but I wouldn't want to father one.




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