Highs and lows, man. Highs and lows. Lil Miss Austin is to the point where you can almost understand her, even if you don't live with her. Words like "dangerous" are starting to be clear now. She's also decided to start using inclusives like "we" and "us." It's something of a gradual step, because while I still think it's parrot like repetativeness that leads her to these vocal improvements slash cognitive leaps slash quasi adult communication skills, it's starting to become more and more her own thoughts and actions rather than just repeating what she's heard. I came to a realization recently that she's already reading letters, and soon she'll be putting words and sounds together, not even realizing what a huge step that is. She'll be reading cat, not exactly knowing that she's reading a word that she's already known for years. It almost seems backwards to the adult mind, doesn't it? I'm going talk about something I don't know anything about, and then go learn all about it. Well, I guess if you work in marketing that's how it's run.

So we think it's a big deal. She now wants to do things together, or follow us, or "we can do it". It's no longer about her. The I has been replaced with TEAM. It makes it seem like she's finally figuring out that even though she's a left handed shot, she's still better off on right wing; now part of the family, inclusive.

I'm guessing now that because she's been having all these great mental accomplishments, her brain is working overtime. Which would explain why she's NOT SLEEPING! Holy Pot of Coffee Batman, this kid hates going to bed and hates getting up. While she's getting some verbal skills, she still has a long way to go for temporal reasoning. "If you go to bed when we tell you, you won't be crabby the next morning." Yeah, good luck with that until she's 28 and can truly appreciate a good nap. She doesn't sleep at school or at home. She only naps on long car rides and the last couple weeks has been like a horror movie each morning. She cries herself to sleep and cries as soon as her eyes open. It makes for fun car rides to school.

I can't really fault her, I've got shoes that are older than her, so it's not like she's got any idea what's going on. But man I feel bad about her not getting sleep. She has to be at school at 7:30 so I can get to work on time, and then she's there till 5:30 so I can stay at work till 5. Then it's a flury of activity in the evening right before she's shoveled into bed, story, bath, dinner or not. Ugh, poor kid. I'm seriously hoping my company adopts a more European work week so I can knock down some of my hours. Of course, we could always wait for Mrs. Austin to gain financial independence allowing me to quit, draw at home and have LMA in school only partial days until she's 5 or so.

Of course, if it turns out she's a genius, she can stay up as long as she wants. Right?

Denver Trip

The Austin Family goes to Colorado





Wow. I'd like to retract my bitching and whinning about short trips, and that's all I'll say about that.

We packed a lot of stuff into our little 4 day trip to Colorado. What was at first just a weekend packed around an Eddie Izzard concert on Monday turned into a pretty packed couple of days, capped off by a hysterical performance by our favorite Executive Transvestite.

To start, we flew into Denver and headed straight for the Air Force academy to see the Falcons take on the Cowboys of Wyoming. In the past, I was pretty sure that Wyoming would have kicked our butts, (I say "our" because Air Force is the home team) but it turns out AF is pretty good this year. They won, but not terribly convincingly. If you don't know about Falcon football, for the past, I don't know, 20 years, the head coach, Fischer Deberry has had about 5 plays in his playbook and he runs them all in succession. They're all Option plays. Q-B runs, Q-B pitches out, Q-B hands off to running back, or drops back and throws to the only receiver. You'd think with a name like Air Force, they'd pass more. Anyway. We also found out that my dad is now the 3rd highest "ranking" civilian to hold season tickets. Way back in the late 60's, AF built a new stadium and my grandpa got tickets in the family section. These tickets were passed on to my dad and I'm sure one day to either me or my brother. I'm hoping they make a Rollman plaque somewhere on section M13 to commemorate the dynasty of airchair quarterbacks.

So a good time was had by all. I haven't been to a Falcons game in years, and it was such a treat because this represented a piece of my childhood. The memories of fly-bys and parachuters and the cadets marching onto the field and peanuts and cocoa and frigid cold days and sunburning hot days, they all came back to me and it felt like a home away from home. I'm glad I got Mrs. Austin to see the Drum and Bugle Corp, I'm glad Lil Miss Austin got to see the Bird and the "only performing mascot in the NCAA" (which is actually a peregrine falcon, not the guy dressed up, though he does do some fun stuff.) Afterwards we headed back to Casa Rollman and grilled up some burgers and chatted with everyone in what amounted to a family reunion. LMA got to see her great-grandparents, who are pretty great, as well as most of the great aunts and uncles, so it was pretty keen.

That was just Saturday.

Sunday we headed south to Colorado Springs to see my mom and step dad. We grabbed some coffee and headed to Canyon City and the Royal Gorge. The Royal Gorge is an 1100 foot crevace carved out by the Arkansas River. I don't know the distinction between gorge and canyon, but I guess the geologists among you will whisper this tidbit into your needy little ears. The point is, there's a bridge that goes over this chasm and it's pretty spectacular. Along with the shops and kiddie stuff, there's a gondola/tram that goes to each side, an incline railway that goes to the bottom and a Skycoaster that flings out over the abyss. We did all the attractions, and took a lot of pictures.

Mr. and Mrs. Austin at the Water Clock.


Mr. and Lil Miss Austin petting some (devil) goats. (I hate goats.)


Dad and Daughter riding the tram. (Scarier to me than the skycoaster, for real.)


Mrs. Austin was taking pictures of this while simultaneously on the phone checking how much life insurance money she could get.

So we spent a goodly amount of time trapsing around the Gorge and its Bridge and headed back. The next day was a pleasant lunch with the other great grandma, great aunt, grandma, Mrs. A, LMA and myself, then a nap, then off to downtown to hang out and see Eddie. We had some plans on going to a candy factory tour, or a movie, or Elitches, but by the time we actually got downtown we had just enough time to do nothing in particular. So we walked down to the Capital building, saw a drug deal, felt kind of threatened and out of place, ate some Subway and did some window shopping. 16th Street in Denver has changed a lot since I was there so it was fun to see what has changed, and what hasn't. Over all it was NOT fun to get lost while driving. Between having a 6 year gap in memory and all the construction going on, my normally keen geo and topographic mind was reduced to a stuttering nimwit full of holes and "I think this is it."

>	But we did make the show, and it was awesome. I remember seeing Seinfeld in Austin and not laughing this hard. Izzard is the funniest comedian today I think. Nods to Mitch Hedberg and Thomas Rhodes, but for my money, give me a British Transvestite talking about Neanderthals. Top notch.

So we made it home without incident. It was a good trip and everyone behaved, for the most part.

Editorial Retraction

Well, it happened. I knew some day I'd upset someone with what I write here. It ideally was a place to document Little Miss Austin's journey through her childhood. We don't do a lot of home movies, we take a crapload of pictures though. So I thought it'd be a good place to write stuff down.

The problem is, folks, that after about 2 years old, the leaps and bounds just aren't as common. Parents will back me up on this. Children are amazing creatures. Their ability to learn and adapt and grow is nothing short of miraculous. But lately, and I'm not FAULTING anyone here, but lately the milestones just aren't happening every four hours and it leaves a journal to wallow in blankness for days upon days. "Oh the idle brain is the Devil's playground, trouble! Folks right here in River City. Trouble with a capital T and that rhymes with P and that stands for Pool!"

Don't know where that came from.

The point is, lately I've had to come up with filler, and I don't have much to talk about other than what's rattling around in my excuse for a brain. I could bore you people with talk of what I'm doing with my drawing or what I plan on doing with some comic book scripts or what happened on West Wing, but that would be pretty dule, wouldn't it? Isn't it then more interesting to delve into the depths of what really drives a person? Understand their motivations? Gleen a little insight into what makes them tick, what makes them get up each day?

No? You say you just want more pictures of LMA doing cute things?

Yeah I do too.

Well, it's not totally current, but it'll have to do.

Jibba Jabba

So we're planning a trip to Denver to see our favorite comedian Eddie Izzard. Actually, I don't know for sure if Mrs. Austin has a favorite comedian, but it's probably Eddie, maybe Ellen. Entertainment-wise, I'm really only sure she likes Sex in the City and West Wing, Willie Nelson and Bob Schneider. Everything outside of that is a guess or an anthropomorphic assumption that she likes what I like, which is pretty impossible to believe because what I like is pretty much crap. [ed. -True. He likes crap. Total crap. He's so not kidding. He tried to let LMA watch a violent anime movie the other day and I almost had to set up the therapy session right then.]

So yeah, we're going to Colorful Colorado and honestly I really wish we weren't. Let me explain before you get your mouse cord completely around your neck. I wish Eddie was coming to Austin, it would just make life easier. We've got just enough time off and just enough funds to make this mad dash 1200 miles north, cram in as much family face time, sight seeing and event doing as we can before whisking back to Austin in time for school. I guess it's a vacation in the strictest sense; we're leaving our home, spending money, taking time off work, going somewhere else. But it doesn't FEEL like a vacation. [ed.- its a vacation. shut up. i'm totally excited about it and all he can do is whine that there aren't going to be free drinks w/ umbrellas and girls in bikinis.] I have this overactive imagination that dictates vacation as a Corona commercial. No stress, sand, surf and alcohol that flows freely while steel drums drip their lovely, haunting melodies in the background. As it is now, here's what I'm thinking off. Early flight, is the airline going to give us crap because LMA is over 2, where are we spending the night, will we have enough money, are both my mom and dad going to be equally appeased by our presence, will either need more time, will we need more time? [ed. Notice how he hasn't mentioned that we are going up there for our anniversary? Anyone want to lay odds that he forgets this important date too?]

The last few months have been just choked with these weekend spurts. Quick drive to the beach, quick drive to the swimming hole, quick drive to Sea World. I think it all started with our Boston trip. Suddenly we're Power Vacationers. There's no lounging around and relaxing, it's all BAM BAM BAM, get your check list marked off and get home. Fly to Chicago, cram in a convention, don't even get out of the hotel for 3 days. Fly to Denver, see mom day one, dad day two, friends day three, go home. [ed. he whines a lot doesn't he? I wonder how many people he is going to piss off with this entry. I wonder if I'm pissing him off by editing this and calling him a whiney-baby. He doesn't mention that half the "power vacations" were his idea. Additionally, I've been trying for a year to get him on a cruise ship but to no avail.]

I'm fondly looking back now on our trip to the Bahamas that was as lazy, food fed, liquored up and sand in the crannies as any trip I've ever taken. There was no rush, no schedule, no need to be anywhere at any time. No juggling over which family members to see when. It was my idea of a vacation. [ed. -again, cruise ship.] Not to down play the fun we've had on our outings within driving distance, or the last minute jaunts. They've produced some seriously memorable photos and keepsakes and, well, memories. It's something fun to do with LMA, and especially being in a large state, there's so much to do and we'll probably never do it all. I just wish I could stretch it out more, make it 10 days instead of 3, a full week instead of 4 hours. Am I being greedy? Probably. And probably a bit slacker...ish..y.

Besides, I don't have much to write lately and not a lot of time to organize pictures. I can't wait to have my own web server so I can post hundreds and hundreds of pictures and film clips and art and what not, depicting our great Texas travels. I have just enough time lately to write this. [ed. - don't thing I didn't notice the blatant attempt here for me to give in to the concept of buying a new computer just so he can post pictures for this website. As if that would lead to more less-whiney entries about the lack of sand in his shorts. Yeah, and I've got a bridge for sale.....]

I've been haggled!

If you're a new parent, take heart. It's only 2 years and some months until you don't have to deal with diapers anymore. I can't tell you the relief we're now feeling that LMA is about 90% potty-trained. She still wears "night panties" to bed (ie pull-ups) but during the day it's just regular underwear and the occassional prancing about with no drawers on, or what I like to call "The Uncle Chipper." It's a true blessing now that no money is spent on disposable clothing anymore. Now we're just working on the regular clothing that we have to buy every 2 months.

Which brings me to a conundrum Mrs. Austin and I have run into. LMA doesn't eat. I mean, she's capable of it, and we see her do it and somewhere in the forgotten worlds of possibility she's finished an entire meal, but for the most part she just drinks milk and water. Now I don't want to panic, I've heard other parents say that toddlers are picky eaters, but LMA is already small as it is. She's still wearing clothing with tags that say 12 mos! I'm a little worried, a little scared. I'm sure nothing is actually wrong with her, but you can never tell right? So every night becomes another bribing routine. "You eat one more beet and you can watch the Muppets." "One more bite of tofu and we'll go play outside." I don't like the fact that I have to bribe my child to get her to do something I think is right or needed. And with that statement, there are scores of grandparents just laughing their asses off. Now that I think about it, a story of me not wanting to eat pot roast comes to mind. I would stuff my face full of meat just to get it off my plate, but I wouldn't actually eat it. So there I sat with chipmunk cheeks just waiting to be excused so I could go spit it all out. Man I didn't like pot roast. Now I'm trying desperately to get this little one to eat her veggies, just praying I don't see pull a Dizzy Gillespe with some broccolli.

Pictures to follow on this. Our latest family outting was in sunny, sandy, surfside Corpus Christi. We decided 10 mins after leaving our house that we were going there. (Planning is not our strong suit, stay tuned from the Eddie Izzard in Denver post.) Both of us are sick with head/chest colds, so what better way to spend a weekend then driving someplace unfamiliar.

Truth be told it was fun. The sudden burst vacations and road trips tend to yield the most enjoyment for us. I'm sure mainly because there's no expectation, no stress from planning and no reason to fight over stuff that may or may not happen. We drove down 35 to San Antonio, stopped a couple times to potty and once in Buda to wait in apparently the only Subway in Texas for 20 mins while Saturday Business Atire Lady decides to haggle over her 27 turkey light sandwiches. We arrive in CC around 4 and just hit the beach running. I'm reminded of another story of me and my younger brother in Florida, seeing the ocean for the first time. Running like gang busters, we pitch into the oncoming surf to be greeting by a mouthful of salt water. Not what I, nor LMA was expecting. Oh the water was warm and delightful. LMA spent her afternoon chasing seaguls, running into then away from the surf and throwing as much sand back into the water as possible. Her 2 year old brain must have thought the water was broken because it was dropping all this dirt along the beach, all she was doing was helping it get it all back.

High point was burying daddy in the sand. We'd buried LMA earlier and that was cute, she giggled. While I was being covered in sand, my upper body already succumbed to the weight of it, I shout that my nose itched, like it always does when you suddenly can't move your hands. Well, Mrs. Austin just laughs and says I'll have to tough it out. Not Lil Miss Austin, she wants to help. Crunch! Face full of sand. Sand in tear ducts, nostrils, molars, ears. I'm sure it didn't occur to her that the hand she wanted to help daddy scratch his nose with was full of sand. A for effort, that's for sure. Lil demon.

Rest of they day was cool. Say a big navy type ship (USS Lexington) from afar, have to wait to go back with my dad cuz he loves that stuff. Ate at Joe's Crab Shack, which I thought was a bit cliche, but we were hungry and not picky and it was my idea so shut up.

I dig my family. I'm glad that even though we have a kid, some times we can pick up and just run off someplace. As much as I love, and could really use a 2 week vacation in Greece, these little weekend adventures are pretty cool.

As soon as I figure out the web site situation, there will be pictures. Oh yes, there will be. Don't try and stop me. I'm a blogger on the edge!!

Lil Miss Austin gets a lot of comparisons to the Olsen twins. Not so much lately but from about 18 months to 25-26 months old, we got a lot of people approaching us with this little tidbit. I could see it for a while; big eyes, sandy blonde hair, puffy cheeks. She was, and still is, a little sprite. Plus being so precocious it's hard to not see a little bit of star power behind her cherub face.

Knowing she was a camera hog (says "cheese" when a camera is in the room) we did actually send a picture to the Gap when they had a "talent" search, realize as we did so it went against the beliefs that we held about not turning our child into a little starlet, the ramifications of such a life not one we'd wish on anyone. But we were swept up in the glow that is our little girl and probably a desire to let the world know just how adorable she is. Parental bias aside, she's just damn cute.

With this in mind, I'd like to set the record straight on the cute factor.



My money is on the girl dialing her agent asking for more press and less nap time.

Just a quick word, polariscomics.com is down and that's actually the host that stores all the photos for this page, so you fine viewers are going to be pictureless for a few days till it's sorted out.

Not much to report otherwise. Couple days of rain, working on the house more, Mrs. Austin started school and then proceeded to get very sick, but she's ok now. Rowan's moved up to the older kids class, not the oldest but one up from where she was. Very exciting.

I had a bunch of pics to show you but it'll have to wait, without them talking about them really doesn't make much sense.

Meow

Meow!

Austin wouldn't be the same without adopting a couple of stray cats.

back to it

Patio Roof is not our friend from Ireland

Now that you've all had a chance to read and probably hear about certain marital issues, I'm going to move back to some regular stuff. Exciting to us, maybe not to others, but just the same it gets its place here.

First off, a quick recap of Chicago for those that don't have our phone number and who we've talked to since last week. Chicago was really great. I can't come up with any other metaphors than that, although I'll do my best to keep you readers entertained. (It was good. That's great dude, click back to Google.) It started out a little odd, the flight to Rosemont was pushed back an hour while we sat on the plane and waited for our flight crew that was delayed in LA. But I had my mp3 player and a book so I was fine. Got into Chicago later than I wanted, had to hang around for a shuttle (Chicago's a big ass airport come to find out) all the while dragging a very heavy portfolio case and a box with all my books in it. Get to the hotel, check in, meet some PJers at the hotel bar where we were gauged on prices for beer and Midwestern tasting quesadias (sorry guys, you have to come to Texas to get good Tex Mex) and then hit the hay, a little drunk, ready to start the convention. Friday was kind of a bust. Other than meeting all the PJers who came and hanging out with Jeremy and his wife and brother in law, the day drug on like a three toed sloth eating peanut butter in the heat of August. Broken up by quite a few smoke breaks and a few trips to the "Expoteria," it was a really long day. Jeremy and I didn't have much to say to each other and ended up staring into space just dying for some foot traffic, conversation or spark of inspiration. That night was spent meeting new people in the bar.

Saturday was awesome. Friday a couple from a cable access channel some distance north of Chicago asked us if we'd do an interview. They were wanting to talk with small press creators, try to get a grass roots look at the big business, such as it is. We said we'd do a short interview, didn't cost us anything and they went off. The next day a camera and a few people show up at our table and really made us look probably more impressive than we deserved. Jeremy was all business and very articulate, I was talking through a haze of cotton mouth and blood-in-the-ear idiodicy. I don't expect to ever see the interview so it doesn't matter. We could have requested a copy, but I think that would have required a "donation." The rest of the day was just as exciting. Jeremy and I decided to actually work together and draw something, so he'd sketch random characters and I'd color them. These mo's sold like hotcakes. That and we offloaded about 20 books, I sold some pieces of finished art and Jeremy's wife got a lot of sketches and photos. It was a good day.

Sunday was more of the same, little less traffic, but still very cool. We got to wander the exhibit floor a bit and see some freaks and cool things. The amount of money put into this event is just staggering when you consider some insiders' views that the industry is dead or that comics are just for kids. Screw them. This place was bigger than most car shows I've been to, and I've been to a few. Made it home safe and sound, a little heavier in the art portfolio as I bought a case and Jeremy donated some boards.

You can see some con pictures here.

I came home and was treated to a good ol' Texas style freak storm. I can't really explain it any better. It wasn't just a thunderstorm, nor was it a tornado, it was somewhere in between. Right on our neighborhood, all the cold air over Texas decided it was going to drop through thousands of feet it what's called a downburst. It has tornado style impact on property because it's moving at up to 70mph. I'll get some damage pics up later, but let's just say it's enough to fell trees, fences and roofing. We sustained some moderate hail damage to car and house and our patio umbrella was shredded. We lost power for about 15 mins, but everyone was ok. So to commemorate the passing of the umbrella, Mrs. Austin and I decide now would be a great time to build that patio cover we'd been threatening to for the past year.

So here it is. It only took about 4 hours to put up, including shopping time for supplies. We had no plan, barely any measurements and just enough moxy to get this thing in place. We didn't even fight. Then we took on the arduous task of trimming back our mesquite tree. Folks, let me tell you, mesquite is the devil's tree. Both MA and I received some thorns in our feet because of this tree so we were more than happy to cut it's damned branches off. I'm pretty close to cutting the whole thing down, but it offers some shade so it stays...for now.

Things to do When Your Husband Forgets Your Birthday

Things to do When Your Husband Forgets Your Birthday


10. Pick a fight at 11:30 p.m.

9. Break all his pencils.

8. Let your child loose on his artwork with a bottle of glue and permanent markers.

7. Consider getting cozy with that divorce lawyer you used to work with.

6. Buy yourself expensive jewlery.

5. Use photoshop to black out his face in every family picture.

4. Subscribe him to that service that calls you to remind you of important dates.

3. Call his mom and tell on him.

2. Cry.

1. Use it as emotional blackmail for the rest of his life.

- Mrs. Austin

Happy Birthday To Me!

Twenty eight years ago Cliff and Sharon had a beautiful baby girl. They reached down and took her tiny hand in theirs and said hello for the very first time. She hasn't let go since.

I love you guys. Thanks for giving me a great start.

-Mrs. Austin

What would Jesus Castillo do?

Texas is not without it's share of stupid shit. Man I love Austin, but we got some uber-winners when it comes to the governing body of this state.

I'm sure most of you across the nation have by now heard about the Dems that have left the state to protest/avoid/delay the special session called by Gov. Perry to work on redistricting. That's national, that's debated, that's up to each person to decide what's right and wrong.

What you probably haven't heard is a little known case dealing with one Jesus Castillo, a comic book retailer in Texas. Castillo was convicted for selling an adult comic to an adult from a store that handles its adult material very carefully. However, the stores proximity to a school and in one counsel's remarks, comics being for kids, the jury ignored expert testimony and followed the trial with a guilty verdict based on an emotional closing argument.

For those with little kids, please cover their ears.

WHAT THE FUCK!!

Here's an excerpt from the close.

"And, again, why are we here? ... This medium, the medium that this obscenity is placed in is done so in an appealing manner to children. Comic books, and I don't care what type of evidence or what type of testimony is out there, use your rationality, use your common sense. Comic books, traditionally what we think of, are for kids. This is in a store directly across from an elementary school and it is put in a medium, in a forum, to directly appeal to kids. That is why we are here, ladies and gentlemen. I want to re-emphasize that the fact that all this smut is out there, does not mean it's acceptable and is decent by our community. We're here to get this off the shelf."

I'd like you to look at two things. First, comics are traditionally for kids. Yes, traditionally, in the 1950's! The average comic book subscriber is now late 20's early 30's, works a steady job and is more often then not married or has kids of their own. Getting a conviction on the opinion that comics are for kids isn't any better than getting a conviction for a Wal-Mart employee found selling an adult video game, rated R movie or firearm to an adult. Where does it stop?

Secondly, the phrase "and I don't care what type of evidence or what type of testimony is out there...use your common sense." What? WHAT? You don't CARE what kind of evidence is out there? This asshat needs to be careful what he says, he's going to end up setting Rules of Evidence cases back 30 years with this bullshit. And as a juror, would you listen to a lawyer that said that? I don't care what kind of evidence is out there. I don't care about this airtight alibi, or the eyewitnesses, or the lack of forensic evidence, or the fact that the defendant wasn't in the country, doesn't your common sense just tell you that he's guilty? Look at him? Jack McCoy would be having a FIELD DAY with this case.

On the heels of just printing up my own, PG-13 comic book (no sex, mild violence) I'm really worried about this case. If a retailer can't sell it, what does the creator do? Why aren't these guys attacking the adult video stores? Why is sex even a problem in this country? The Italians are just laughing at us. Now that we have Reverend George Bush in the White House, this kind of emotional legal crap is going to slide down that slippery slope like Peekaboo Street coated in KY. This absolutely infuriates me. What's worse is both the Texas Court of appeals AND the Unites States Supreme Court have refused this case. So this poor schlep just trying to make a dime by selling comic books gets to spend a year under supervised probation, and pay $4000.

Now before you get up on your rebuttal soap box and say, "But Mr. Austin, don't YOU have a child? Would you want her exposed to this kind of filth?" Let me say this. First, the material in question was clearly marked, away from general viewing and required a photo ID to purchase. If you're under 18, you wouldn't have been able to even see it on the shelf. Second, I know what is bad and what is good. I know what's best for my child. I know how to watch out for her. I know what I'll tell her when she's older so she can appreciate adult material for what it is, adult material. I can't stop her, but I can educate her. It's the parent's job to teach and protect their children. I'm insulted that the legal system feels it's their job to not only obliterate my 1st Amendment rights, but to assume that my child may be in danger from a threat no worse than the Playboys in 7-11. This case is an abomination and shouldn't have gone as far as an appeal to the USSC, it should have died in the grand jury. The judge should have taken one look at this case and said, "You're kidding right?" But on the heals of the Minor Protection/Put Your Child In A Government Funded Bubble actions being taken in Arkansas right now, I fear the life of the comic book industry is slowly coming to an end. Meanwhile, prostitutes and crack heads are free to walk the streets. Yeah, I don't see the distinction either.

On a separate note, but relating a little to first part of this entry, Mrs. Austin and I met Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Travis County) last night at our local National Night Out event. Mrs. Austin had some question for him about his stance on the Dems breaking quorum and he said he was totally for it and in fact they're having a rally this Saturday to protest Gov. Perry's 2nd special session in the house. Mrs. Austin knows her stance, knows it's wrong to waste money on these sessions while the budgets are being cut. I'm not so sure. I want to cheer the Dems on, but I have no reference for it. I don't know enough about it to make a stance. The last couple months I've had tunnel vision and haven't paid much attention. So Mrs. Austin will be at the rally while I'm in Chicago. Please, if you're in Austin, come by the south steps of the capital at 11:30am on August 9th and make yourself heard.

If you're not, well then go find something in your state to fight for.

THE HORROR!!

As you know Mrs. Austin and I try to take time on the weekends to do all things Austin, or at least all things Central Texas. We have a guide book from Austin Monthly Magazine that comes out in May of each year chronicling the cool things to do. Well it's gone. Our oracle of knowledge about the 103 best things to do in our fair city is missing. Whatever shall we do? We'll be relegated to movies and bowling and never again experience the rapture that is swimming in a secluded spring or enjoying fine German cuisine.

It's not all that bad, but we're a little disheartened. Mainly because we turned our house upside down looking for them. (There are two, one from last year as well.) There was no stone left unturned, which leads us to one sad conclusion. The books were taken.

Now I'm not one to point fingers, so I won't. They're just magazines and we can back order more. But if turns out someone did abscond with them at some point in the past 2 weeks, how low. How low to remove a magazine from someone's house. We wracked our brains trying to think if we'd lent them to somebody at work or family, but just couldn't make any connections. They were on the table, now they're gone.

Yeah, not a lot going on at our house lately. Can you tell?

Well it's done. After 3 months of staying up late, getting pissed that some pages weren't as nice as I wanted and finally getting a great deal on printing, my comic book is finally finished. Next to being a dad, this trip to Chicago is probably the most importan thing I've done or probably will do and it wasn't an easy road. The family's made a lot of sacrifices, financially and emotionally to help make this happen and I owe them big time, especially Mrs. Austin who almost had to put off going back to school to get this going. We've had to put off a few fun things this summer and I've had to postpone my brother's birthday present as well. (I'm getting that to you by the way.)

I've learned a lot doing this, mostly in the art department. I've learned I CAN draw fast if I need to and that if I didn't need to I could do a really good job. I've learned a lot about lighting and mass and points of view. Most importantly I've learned the value of having friends and family. Between them I've been given time to work, gracious bits of work and inspiration and constant coaching and critiques that have helped make this the best it could be in the time given. I'm DEFINITELY looking forward to starting the book as a series now, making it my life's work as well as my hobby. I don't plan on quitting my job, but it's nice to have something other than a rat-race 9-5 to come home to. By this time next year I may even have a full 26 page color book. Wouldn't THAT be something.

So now I've got a box full of 100 copies of Project: Gemini sitting on my kitchen table. Some are going to a party tonight so I can bask in the limelight a little, the bulk are going to Chicago with other bits of artwork and whatever's left is going to the local comic shops. (Yeah, a book on the shelves even, how exciting!)

I'm also glad it's done, I've been slacking on chores and time with the family. Life In Austin has lately turned into Life of Mr. Austin so I hope that will change too. As much as I like drawing comics, I can't let it rule my life...yet. When it pays well enough to take care of my family, then it can do what it wants to me.

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.

The Flip

My brother in law and I were talking about the differences between being single and married, or single and dating. We came up with a good point.

If you're single, and you know a girl who drinks a lot and is real friendly when she drinks, you do whatever you can to put yourself into a situation that involves this girl and a quart of gin.

If you're married, you try to avoid this girl or make sure you've left the bar before you're the only one left to give her a ride home.

If you're single and a girl is flirting with you at the bar, when you know it's just to get free drinks you think, "Hey, out of all the guys here, she's at least picking me to get free drinks out of."

If you're married you think, "This skank has all these other guys to work on, why's she trying to get a free drink outta me?"

Even if the girl is hot, when you're married, friendly hammered chicks are kind of annoying. When you're single they are a jackpot, and the stuff of legend.

Not that either of us have a lot of experience with this. We're both married and I'm pretty sure have it quite good. I'll just leave it at that before our wives read more into this.

Wait, wait. I've got a coupon.

Depending on what part of the country you're from, you have a local drug store. Eckerd’s, Walgreen’s, I think it's GDC on the East Coast. These stores have a weird collection of items ranging from the not-so-useful to the purely eccentric. I like to think of them as an Impulse Shoppers Paradise. Really, the only reason you should go to these places is to get your Rx filled or before a road trip to see if there's anything really novel you're forgetting, like an Alabama CD or one of 10 novels they may have. Walgreen’s, especially, is notorious for having very little in stock, nothing in bulk, and no high end items. They don't have a lot of groceries, cool Sharper Image type things or the full range of office supplies one might need. It's also a place where they could run out.

That's right, in our day and age of consumer gluttony where we're only happy with our purchasing experience when we can log roll 22 gallons of mayonnaise out to our car, having to hear the words "out of stock" seem like their coming from another planet. And they art, sort of. These midsize drug stores harken back to the days when they were the Wal-Marts and Super Targets. They were the big kid on the block. But they've kept their ideals and their size and their product selection....and their clientele.

Oh Lordy what do I gotta do to shop at this place without having to stand behind the AARP'er trying to pay for make up, deodorant (moth ball scent), batteries and cranberry juice with twice as many coupons as she has items. I've worried that I've overspent before, like at a Best Buy when I feel guilty about paying $50 for a video game, but this is nearly haggling, another lost art. "Well, I think 3 chickens is a fair price, but I think you can do better. How about 2 chickens and a duck for this basket of Maybelline?"

Not to mention that they have to pay in exact change, change they don't have ready, change they can't find, change they don't even know they may or may not have. So after 10 mins of bickering over whether the weekly special on flash bulbs and Ambesol actually registered on the register, then digging through a purse the size of a waterbed bladder looking for 96¢, it's time for me to move up.

And the whole reason I go, is because cigarettes are cheaper there. We're not just talking a few cents. If a local kiosk selling gum, muffins and smokes charges $4.50, and the gas station is charging $3.50, Walgreen’s is charging $2.50. It's weird. I guess in the end, they're keeping a lot of things from the past, including the price of smokes.

Sinead O'conner I'm not.

There's nothing like shaving your own head. I've done it once before, but it was along with my brother. We grew long hair together, we shaved heads together. Sort of a bonding experience. Back in the day, I would shave down to nigh the scalp coming ever so close to needing to Shick it to get any less hair. Well I've gone and done it again. In a desperate act of hair dresser avoidance, I clamped the #3 guard onto the clippers and let fly with about 3 months of mop.

I tell you what. Something very cathartic about shaving your own head, even better if it's on a whim. I had planned to get my hair cut, and threatened to "trim it up" myself, but never to just go at it with some clippers. So as I stood staring at myself in the mirror, stripped down to my shorts, looking at my Johnny Storm hairdo, something profound came over me. Not a sadness, but an acceptance. Like a drunk finally making the first step in recognizing his problem. So the clippers came to life and I began hacking away like a weed whacker to that unruly patch of grass underneath the gas meter. The clippers sang out like a heavy metal guitar as lock after lock was dumped into the sink. I start slowly, and around the back and sides, so if I changed my mind I could still wear a hat for a day or two while seeking professional intervention. Then with one fatal swoop, I went for the widow's peak.





Widow's peak is a euphemism. I'm 30 now and the hair is receding so it's not so much a peak as it is a remnant. It military terms, as most balding men tend to use in these situations, it's scrimmage line for an ordered retreat. But there's frightfully few of them boys left. It almost looks like I'd just missed a spot. It's thin and scattered and hopeless. It's mere presence is a reminder that, while I feel young again by taking drastic stylist steps on my own, I am moving steadily on toward the end of my life rather than moving away from the beginning. It's humbling and ridden with anxiety.

Ameriquest woes

Another fun aspect of owning a home, fun in the classic Greek sense where there's a guy wearing a mask with a big nose, is the refinancing of your mortgage loan. To say I have a good grasp of how mortgage-lending works would be to insult brokers everywhere in the world. I have no more sense about such things than the average May Fly. Mrs. Austin was either solicited or started the process on her own to refinance our 6.25 loan with Ameriquest. They said they could help AND get us cash back as a home equity loan. We said go for it.

Now, if Mr. Brighton or Mrs. Colorado Springs are reading this, let me preface by saying we haven't signed anything and don't plan to.

So some time has gone by since our first dealings with Ameriquest. Mrs. Austin has brought me up to speed and I've done what I can in my capacity as an idiot to help with the proceedings. After we'd sent many an article of payment and bank history to these folks, we're still no closer to a) Understanding what's going on and b) Getting what was promised to us than we were 2 months ago.

The original deal goes like this. Contact is made. Our credit isn't very good, it's not bad, but it's not sterling. We had good enough scores to actually obtain the house, but to get a lower rate requires a credit report that hasn't had any activity since 1960 at which point the 30 years of prior spotless payment history was closed out, sealed in the hall of records and buried under the remains of the Statue of Liberty, to be excavated by Simian descendants of man wearing leather tunics and riding horses. With this in mind, the strategy changed from "lower rate and home loan" to "higher rate for a year, home loan, next year lower rate." Ok, we agreed. To get a lower rate is worth the sacrifice of one year at a higher rate while we repair our oxygen deprived credit scores. On top of it all, we get a few G's in a loan to help with the bills. Keep the "bills" bit in mind, it'll come into play later.

More time goes by. We don't hear from Ameriquest for weeks and we're starting to worry. One of the initial points was we don't pay on our current loan for 2 months during the process. Naive as I am, I don't ask why, I just assume it has to do with paperwork changing hands. Again, total moron. So while we're waiting for our closing now, our bank note is falling behind, and no one from Ameriquest has contacted our lender to tell them we're refinancing. On top of that, the original appraisal of our house has suddenly dropped below the level that will ensure us a home equity loan. The deal is slowly going south. I feel like Lando trying to keep Bespin while Darth Vader is hunting down rebels. "This deal is getting worse all the time."

Today was the back-breaker for me. Having very little to do with the dealings up until now, my only call to Ameriquest didn't sit well with my gut. My guts have seen me through quite a few spells and I just didn't see this deal as being on the up and up. First off, I'm referring to it as a "deal." Where's Monty to let me pick door number 2? As the rep explained it to us, we would be basically getting the cash back in the form of savings over the next year from not paying on our current loan for 2 months now and 2 more months in one year's time. Then we would be getting our escrow account refunded to us. Problem is, we'd still have to pay taxes on the property at the end of the year. Meanwhile our payments on the principle and interest were going up on a monthly basis, more than what a slight interest rate increase would yield. Something sounded wrong.

Something indeed. Like fish left in the back seat of a Datsun in Baton Rouge in August, the smell of this started to stick to my clothes. As soon as we fought back, just a little, to say that it'd be better for us that we pay the Tax along with the Principle and Interest and Insurance, suddenly their computers went down and they'd have to call us back. Call it Sad, Call it Funny, but it's better than even money that it's a stall tactic that this company is trying to use to string us along until we're so desperate for the funds we'll sign on to anything. Right after the call I checked epinions.com and put Ameriquest into the search field. 2 reviews, both bad. Both basically summing up what has been said here. One with an unresolved outcome, one with a decent outcome that required calls to the Better Business Bureau.

Speaking of the BBB, you should look up Ameriquest on their site. I'd say the report was scathing, but I don't know business. I'm pretty sure that when terms like "fails" "unsatisfactory" "unresolved" and "consumer complaints" are used, that's not going to win you many beauty contests.

So now we're in limbo. Yes, it's good we haven't made any commitments. Yes, I'm glad we found out about it. Yes I'm upset we didn't get the offer that was promised. The thing that upsets me most is we're now behind in regular monthly accounting practices because of the delays. It's really unfortunate that in an effort to straighten up and fly right, get ahead on bills, get a better rate on our home, we're going to end up even further behind. Now things like school and Chicago trips are threatened. Thoughts of selling household items to pay the bills is starting to creep into my mind. Hmm, blood goes for $25 a pop. I can get 10 bucks for those X-Men cards I have. Is that fair? Is that right? Is that the American Dream? No, but it's apparently the American Quest.

(Will update this story as more information becomes available.)

You invited WHO to the picnic?

So we were going to head out to Hamilton pool Sunday for a nice little picnic and swimming. Mrs. Austin loves the place, can't seem to get enough of it. I, on the other hand, find it gorgeous and serene, but I'm not a big swimmer, so I take my art or a book and a pack of smokes and enjoy the view. Lil Miss Austin loves swimming as well. She's so cute with her little inflatable life vest and swim suit. She can dog paddle now but occassionaly tips onto her back like a turtle and starts sucking down water so we have to remain close. It's not like we can just let her do laps, she's only 2.

Anyway, we head to Hamilton Sunday morning without calling first. Bad news. Mrs. Austin is always sure to call ahead, but this time it was spaced out and I never think to call. The reason you would call ahead is because it's a natural run off swimming hole. It's not a spring, so they have to check the bacteria levels and animal fecal levels and a battery of tests that I'd just as soon not know about or I'd never go swimming there again. It's a little creek that's carved it's way into an underground cave, and over time the cave wore away and a nice little swimming hole with a beautiful water fall was born.

Well we didn't get in Sunday. We've been once this year, and 3 times last year so the only thing wasted was the expectation and the drive. So we thought, we'll let's head to Krausse Springs. Krausse is a spring that turns into a little stream that ran through an old German's land. He damned it and directed it in certain areas and the result is a breathtaking little water fall and swimming hole. Mrs. Austin found it by sheer determination and a mind like an iron trap. We'd been once before, but if you paid me to find it I'd take you to Dallas, I had no idea. So we found it, and we found it crowded. The last time we visited we were but the third car to arrive. We spent a good amount of time by the little manicured pool then headed down to the falls. This time, it was like White Trash Day. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, it is called a swimmin' hole after all. Not that I'd want this place all to myself, but I was just amazed how many people were there. It's apparently the number one thing to do in Austin according to Austin Monthly Magazine's 103 things to do in 2003.

Well we had a good time. I dropped LMA as I slipped on some rocks, got sunburned and bitten by ants. However, I got some good pictures and some drawing done, Mrs. Austin got to swim and relax, and LMA got to play with rocks and water. It was a good time. I suggest visiting if you're in the area.