I would walk 500 miles...

If it would help me get a job, I would actually walk 500 miles. As it is, I feel as if I've walked 50 so far this week. So far, I've explored downtown, 6th St., S. Lamar, and S. Congress neighborhoods. I have put in applications all over, and turned in some online as well. Hopefully by this time next week, I'll be happily employed. Hell, I'd settle for unhappily employed just to have some money coming in.

There have been some great things about wandering around Austin.

1) Believe it or not, and I know many people will not believe this as I did not believe my own eyes at first, I am getting tan. Well, tan for me. Unfortunately, it's not a sexy beach tan. It's more of a farmer's tan with flip flop lines on my feet. STILL, I'm no longer completely, blindingly white. So YAY for me!

2) There are some really interesting people in Austin. Both interesting in the "I think they're cool and wouldn't mind getting to know them" way and in the "wow. just wow. did anyone else see that? cuz...wow." way. For instance, while wandering around 6th Street, I was walking toward Book People (what can I say, I'm a sucker for a good book store) when a maniac on a bike zoomed past me in the parking lot. The lot was nearly empty, yet he was so close I could've shoved a stick in his wheel spokes as he rode by without stretching to do so. Not that I would ever do something like that. I'm a good person. Really. Also, I didn't have a stick. In any case, I noticed something as he coasted by. He lacked a chain on his bike connecting the pedals to the back tire. I was very confused. The parking lot did have a slight incline, but was nowhere near large enough for him to gain that much speed. I have concluded that he is, in fact, a time traveller and that he comes from a time where bikes can reach that elusive speed of 88 mph without using bike chains. I'm assuming it involves a miniaturized flux capacitor.

3) You can learn a lot while wandering a city. And as many of you know, I love me some useless information. The other day, while walking near my apartment, I learned that in the late 1800s, it sucked to be deaf. Take a look:
Don't get too teary-eyed my friends! Things got better! Now, the Texas School for the Deaf is one of the largest such institutions in the nation. Parents ship their kids here from all over the great state of Texas and the rest of the country too! They have a huge campus with lots of buildings and sports fields and dormitories. It's almost like a miniature college campus. But for grades K-12. The campus stretches nearly a half mile wide and probably at least a mile long. And there's a fence all the way around. And to get in, you have to get past this:
That's right, a big ass gate, complete with gate house. These kids now get to live in a gated community! It's like the American Dream! 150 years ago they suffered under evil headmasters who worked their fingers to the bone while their tears of desperation left streaks in their soot covered faces. Okay, maybe it wasn't that bad, I'm taking a bit of artistic license here. But still, these kids practically live in an Orange County gated community! They're doing pretty well for themselves it seems.

4) Finally, I'll say this: Austin is a beautiful city.

Next time, I'll fill you in on being chased down the street by what appeared to be a very large and very enraged Anthidium florentinum.