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I had an adventure.
It started out with limited sleep. I had a toothache last night that woke me up every two hours for more Advil. (I switch dental providers at the end of the year, so I'm trying to wait until next year to get it checked out. It's turning out to be a long wait.) The toothache was a little better around the time my alarm went off, so I shut off the alarm and continued to sleep. As a consequence, I got a really late start.
The plan was to ride buses and sightsee. I almost called it off because of the late start and because I wasn't feeling well, but I told myself that I didn't come to Austin to stay in my hotel room.
The first bus took me to North Austin, past the Austin lab of the company for which I work. (I've seen the outside of the Toronto lab, so I figured that I should see the outside of the Austin lab too-;)) I was really enjoying the ride. I saw lots of houses and apartments with tree-filled lots. Overall, North Austin reminded me a little of the Detroit suburbs in which my mom lives.
I jumped the gun and got off the bus a little early, and started waiting for the next bus at the wrong side of the street. As I was getting squared away, I saw a Wells Fargo ATM, and got some extra cash, which proved to be fortuitous later.
I caught the next bus, which took me back to a main transfer point. The plan was to catch a bus to go to a mall called the Arboretum. It's a bit upscale, but is supposed to be very pretty with lots of trees. I did catch the bus; however, I missed my stop. I wound up at the end of the line in the middle of nowhere. I told the driver what had happened, and he offered to drive me back to the Arboretum even though he was going out of service, but like a fool, I thanked him, but said no. (I really didn't want to take him out of his way.) So I was sitting on a bench in the dark. There were hardly any street lights. I was at the side of a divided road with no stoplights or crosswalks and traffic whizzing by. I was tired, hungry, needed to use the washroom, and wished I never had gotten the idea to explore in the first place.
Then I noticed that the signs for the buses that used that transfer point listed only the northbound buses (the direction in which I came). I needed the southbound bus to get back. So I eventually scrambled across the street looking for the southbound bus stop. I couldn't find it, but saw some buildings that looked like stores in the distance. I walked towards them, and found that the stores were a Kohl's and Home Depot.
At that point, I realized that I was going to have to take a cab back. So I went into Kohl's, used the washroom, explained the situation to a customer service rep, and asked what address I should give the cab. She told me, and I started calling cabs. One had no answer, and one line was busy. So I went over to Home Depot to get a soda, came back, and that time I was successful. The dispatcher didn't flinch at the distance that I needed to go, so I was all set.
The cab driver was very solicitous, apologizing for the wait, asking if the heat or the music was okay, and so forth. We chatted about Austin. (He was yet another person who thought that I lived here.) I made it "home" (and I was thinking of my hotel room as home!) safe and sound.
Later on, I went to Katz's, and got terrific service again. The hostess doing the seating noticed that I had a book, and asked me if I wanted a brightly-lit table. It was a small thing, but it impressed me. Overall, Austin people have seemed to be very present, very in the moment. I think that it would be good for me to live here.
It started out with limited sleep. I had a toothache last night that woke me up every two hours for more Advil. (I switch dental providers at the end of the year, so I'm trying to wait until next year to get it checked out. It's turning out to be a long wait.) The toothache was a little better around the time my alarm went off, so I shut off the alarm and continued to sleep. As a consequence, I got a really late start.
The plan was to ride buses and sightsee. I almost called it off because of the late start and because I wasn't feeling well, but I told myself that I didn't come to Austin to stay in my hotel room.
The first bus took me to North Austin, past the Austin lab of the company for which I work. (I've seen the outside of the Toronto lab, so I figured that I should see the outside of the Austin lab too-;)) I was really enjoying the ride. I saw lots of houses and apartments with tree-filled lots. Overall, North Austin reminded me a little of the Detroit suburbs in which my mom lives.
I jumped the gun and got off the bus a little early, and started waiting for the next bus at the wrong side of the street. As I was getting squared away, I saw a Wells Fargo ATM, and got some extra cash, which proved to be fortuitous later.
I caught the next bus, which took me back to a main transfer point. The plan was to catch a bus to go to a mall called the Arboretum. It's a bit upscale, but is supposed to be very pretty with lots of trees. I did catch the bus; however, I missed my stop. I wound up at the end of the line in the middle of nowhere. I told the driver what had happened, and he offered to drive me back to the Arboretum even though he was going out of service, but like a fool, I thanked him, but said no. (I really didn't want to take him out of his way.) So I was sitting on a bench in the dark. There were hardly any street lights. I was at the side of a divided road with no stoplights or crosswalks and traffic whizzing by. I was tired, hungry, needed to use the washroom, and wished I never had gotten the idea to explore in the first place.
Then I noticed that the signs for the buses that used that transfer point listed only the northbound buses (the direction in which I came). I needed the southbound bus to get back. So I eventually scrambled across the street looking for the southbound bus stop. I couldn't find it, but saw some buildings that looked like stores in the distance. I walked towards them, and found that the stores were a Kohl's and Home Depot.
At that point, I realized that I was going to have to take a cab back. So I went into Kohl's, used the washroom, explained the situation to a customer service rep, and asked what address I should give the cab. She told me, and I started calling cabs. One had no answer, and one line was busy. So I went over to Home Depot to get a soda, came back, and that time I was successful. The dispatcher didn't flinch at the distance that I needed to go, so I was all set.
The cab driver was very solicitous, apologizing for the wait, asking if the heat or the music was okay, and so forth. We chatted about Austin. (He was yet another person who thought that I lived here.) I made it "home" (and I was thinking of my hotel room as home!) safe and sound.
Later on, I went to Katz's, and got terrific service again. The hostess doing the seating noticed that I had a book, and asked me if I wanted a brightly-lit table. It was a small thing, but it impressed me. Overall, Austin people have seemed to be very present, very in the moment. I think that it would be good for me to live here.
