I didn't, but that's probably fine. We're looking at getting in Thursday night and flying out Monday morning. I'm hoping we'll be able to visit the kiddo Friday during the day, but who knows? Saturday and Sunday should be free and I expect we're flexible.
Meet-ups: hooray!
I think me and kraab are free either day.
4: And you're invested in this discussion exactly how?
OK, I'm leaning closer to a trip. Possibility will depend on whether a deadline gets pushed, which I should know about by the end of this week. Either Saturday or Sunday afternoons (or evenings) would work for me -- if I'm there.
Allow me to be the first to suggest Fresh Salt.
Alternatively, you might consider the historic Algonquin Hotel.
The boys go to Mars to get more candy bars.
The girls go to Jupiter to get more stupider.
Don't go to Jupiter, guys. It is overrated.
13 gets it exactly wrong.
Not positive what my schedule is yet, but I'm willing to bet that Saturday is out for me.
16: Doesn't look very fresh to me. Two stars. Would not link again.
17: It also says it's weather-resistant. How can it resist weather but not animal tongues? Dubious.
Spiderhouse is always good for hanging out, drinking coffee/beer, and petting other people's dogs.
Thorn and Halford, what part of town will you be in?
13: Everyone always falls for the hype about the red spot.
I'm waiting to hear from my friends who are organizing the get-together on hotels, but supposedly "downtown." If we're going to be visiting social workers and a foster home and so on, we'll go ahead and rent a car. Although it might be nice to take public transport and then have no drink restrictions at the meetup....
Although it might be nice to take public transport and then have no drink restrictions at the meetup....
Ha. But one of us can probably give you a ride. (Do the social workers know that you plan to spend a afternoon getting drunk?)
hb, should we assume HP will be there?
His social worker said something about how the two of us should go have some beers to celebrate. I don't actually need to get drunk, though!
I don't actually need to get drunk, though!
Isn't saying, "I need to get drunk" kind of a red flag thing among the social work set?
23: Clearly just a shill for Big Cheap Beer. (It's 4 bucks here. Suck it, New Yorkerz!)
I don't actually need to get drunk, though!
Famous last words.
But don't worry, we won't tell anyone (except the Unfoggedetariat, of course; liveblogging meet-ups is a venerable and august tradition).
I don't actually need to get drunk, though
"I'm always already drunk!"
We ran into the social worker who wrote our (terrible) homestudy at a bar after she and her three friends had already had two pitchers of margaritas; she was mad we wouldn't do shots with her. This kid's social worker told us to go have some beers to celebrate and live it up for the next little while before we have a child in the home. We plan, of course, to model healthy and appropriate moderate drinking!
I believe I'd be staying "near downtown." I feel that we should go to a honky tonk because that would be good for knife fighting I'm happy to go to anyplace the Austin crowd recommends.
I can drive everyone's drunk asses home afterward.
As to whether Hawaiian Punch would be there: not sure. I was going to see what kind of plans emerged, and then decide if it made sense or not.
Some possibilities that aren't far from downtown:
The Liberty
The Good Knight
East Side Showroom
29: Sorry, not a lot of honky tonks around here. We'll have the next meetup out in West Texas just for you.
For honky tonks, of course there's the Broken Spoke, although that's pretty far south. Downtown, there's the Rainbow Cattle Company. I'm sure there are other possibilities in that vein, but those are the two that spring most readily to mind.
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Has no one yet noted that masturbating to Dan Rostenkowski is now deprecated?
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12: The girls go to Jupiter to get more stupider.
The men go to Jupiter to see the Boy Who Actually Saw A Woman's Breast.
Hon, I'm not sure our guests are ready for the real Austin:
We support the local artist community with live music, theatre, dance, puppetry, poetry, and interdisciplinary performance.
(Correct link to the East Side Showroom.)
36 refers to 31.last, though it's always possible that Rainbow Cattle has added puppets.
I was just kidding about the honky tonk. Not that I'd mind going there, or anyplace else, but I'm really totally happy to go anyplace you guys like. As long as they serve beer, that is.
34: I doubt anyone's taking the moratorium all too seriously. If you get caught, you just end up getting a presidential pardon.
The Spoke is closed Sundays, which thus far looks like the day of choice.
Spiderhouse: Beer, booze, coffee, decent food with good BBQ (and vegetarian food) next door, great outdoor seating. But indoor seating not great if the weather's not good, a little further from downtown.
Liberty: Beer & booze, excellent (fried beets = teh yum!) but pretty limited food, decent indoor and outdoor seating, closer to downtown.
Haven't been to the Good Knight or the East Side House of Puppetry.
38: I hope you were serious about the knife fight, though. I've already started honing my blades, IYKWIM.
40: Fried beets? We're going to Liberty!! Actually I'm fine with anything that's been suggested. My partner likes when her meals include meat; Halford's probably the one with the most dietary restrictions. I trust others to make good decisions.
As far as I know, puppetry does not actually make up a significant part of the goings on at the East Side Showroom.
An acquaintance's klezmer/gypsy band, Mazeltov Cocktail, plays there frequently, and I've heard good things about it from numerous people. I haven't heard about puppets specifically, but my guess would be that any such doings would be more in the cabaret vein than in the DFH vein.
Lovejoy's is another possibility.
Clicking on the Rainbow Cattle Company link just as one of the senior partners walked into my office was not a very good idea.
If this were a made-for-TV movie, he would have come out to you.
(If it were on cable, he would have come on to you.)
If you weren't wearing a suit, he'd have been too distracted to look at your monitor.
This sounds like a good opportunity to meet the fellow Unf-Austinites (and carpetbaggers), but I don't know what my work schedule will be like yet.
The only special thing on Sundays that I can think of off hand is an all-night happy hour at Peche, but absinthe cocktails are probably not a good idea for a meet up.
absinthe cocktails are probably not a good idea for a meet up
Disagree.
Isn't saying, "I need to get drunk" kind of a red flag thing among the social work set?
It'd depend on context, but then I'm Not That Kind of Social Worker (i.e. not the kind that decides if people get to keep the kid.) I think around that kind I'd err on the side of caution.
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I suppose this is the appropriate thread to mention: apparently, I'll be in Pittsburgh this weekend. I made some tentative plans with Stormcrow for Saturday. Given the last-minute nature of it all, I'd say e-mail one of us if you'd like to join in on the no-doubt raucously good time we'll be having.
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More joking. I cannot figure how to e-mail either you or Stormcrow. Mine is moby dot hick at the g mail. I should be free in the evening.
I just added that salt block to my Amazon wish list.
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I posted in the guest-post thread about this, but my Charlottesville dates are confirmed for Aug. 20-24, and a meetup would be most excellent.
Also, was anybody watching the Phils tonight? Woo-hoo comeback victories! Four runs in the eighth, four in the ninth, and we win 10-9.
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54: I'd forgotten you were in Austin. And about Péché. Must be all the absinthe.
But anyway, for the meeter-uppers, let's get some clarity: are we just meeting for drinks? Or for a meal? Or for drinks with the option of a meal later? What's everyone's preference?
What about knife fights? Don't forget the knife fights.
Never bring clarity to a knife-fight.
If you suffer from allergies, however, it might be wise to bring Claritin™ to a knife fight. Itchy eyes can interfere with your aim.
It sounds like my other group of friends have canceled their trip to Austin, so we'll be on our own and having meals and probably a few drinks every day we're there. It doesn't matter to me which way the meetup fits in there.
Stanley, when the hell are you going to get off your keister and decide where the Austin meet-up will take place?
The Austin meet-up will take place in M/tch's pants.
Well, if apo says so, then I guess that's what has to happen.
75: Just let us know where your pants will be Sunday afternoon, please.
Also, we still haven't made any hotel decisions and I'm open to suggestions. Cheap and walkable is ideal, but I realize "cheap" is relative and I don't want bedbugs or anything.
I don't want bedbugs
You know how they say everything's bigger in Texas? Yeah. They actually have bed cattle. Easier to spot; harder to move.
Cheap is sort of at odds with walkable, unfortunately. But maybe Sir Kraab and M/tch have clever ideas that escape me.
Even just a recommended part of town would be good. But I'll find something; I haven't really started looking into this seriously.
Austin is long and skinny, and the downtown/South Congress area is the heart of the city, but it's way down at one southern end.
If you're prioritizing walkable over affordable, I'd say either go in the South Congress area or the more central Capitol/University area.
If you're prioritizing affordable over walkable, then the East Side of Austin has a bunch of one-off streets where you could probably find a perfectly charming B&B near a coffee shop and vintage shop, but you'd need a car to check out the city and get anywhere else.
Or, obviously, I-35 has a boatload of regular old hotels which are drivable to everything. Not necessarily a very long drive; I-35 goes right through town. That's probably the cheapest.
I will confer with S. Kraab and get back to y'all.
Austin is long and skinny
I'M NOT SKINNY, I'M JUST SMALL-BONED!!1!
Austin is long and skinny where it counts.
heebie's right that the not-very-picturesque I-35 hotels are going to be the cheapest, though the iconic Austin Motel and the San Jose are actually less than I would have thought given their walkable location on S. Congress (about $100/night before tax).
There is actually a reasonable public bus system here that'll get you around on a leisurely vacation schedule.
I was about to suggest the place the university put me up the one time I've visited Austin, the Star of Texas Inn, but it seems to be more expensive than is probably justified.
84 to the image on the Austin Motel's website?
On the off chance anyone who's interested sees this... turns out I have obligations late Sunday afternoon. Maybe we can do brunch?
Josh you could bring them with you.
That is, bring the commenters to your other obligation.
Brunch is fine with us, as far as I know.
We're okay with brunch. heebie? Halford? Bulgar? Lurkers?
Thanks to (what else) work, it's looking pretty unlikely that I'll be in Austin for Labor Day. Imagine a sad face emoticon here. I'm not giving up completely yet, and would be fine with brunch, but grrr.
What if we write you a note for your boss?
I could probably make brunch. South Congress Cafe has good brunch, as well as cocktails.
95:
Dear Robert Halford's Boss:
Have you noticed low productivity from your employee? Well, we're the reason. Also, he'll be avoiding a crucial assignment in order to come to Austin for brunch.
Love,
The Mineshaft
You know, if you didn't wear suits to work, these kinds of problems wouldn't even come up.
Brunch sounds great, and we'd probably bring HP. In which case the earlier the better; she gets very cranky near noon/naptime.
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Who is the ultra-ripped guy you encounter when you GSI "unfogged" by mistake?
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102: I was so confused about why you put that in this thread until I noitced our meetup had made the top of the page. Hurrah!
At any rate, apparently he's a Marine pinup, though now that I look at that link it may not work as well as I hope it will.
Yup, that was a stupid link. this is the right one. And now I'm off to read the comments.
Meanwhile, on the theme of meetups, I had my 30th birthday! And it turns out that the plan to invite people I particularly cared about, rather than the Internet at large, selected people who weren't going to turn up! (Although this decision was a success.)
I had my 30th birthday!
Wait, what? For some reason I had it in my head that you were substantially older than that. Happy birthday, at any rate.
96: I checked out the brunch menu at S. Congress Cafe and must admit it didn't appeal to me, especially if we're going on the early side for little HP's sake -- much more lunch than breakfast food.
Other suggestions: Trudy's has a good and relatively inexpensive brunch (but I've only been to the newish north location which is probably least convenient for everyone else); Romeo's has a surprisingly good brunch; or Texas French Bread, my go-to spot for everything breakfast-related (no alcohol, though) -- I don't remember what time they start serving lunch-related foodstuffs on the weekends.
I'm pretty much all about French toast and scrambled eggs, so YMMV at any of these places.
Trudy's North would actually be super-convenient for me, and while I've never had their brunch I've liked every meal I've ever had there.
I think I mentioned La Condesa the last time I was in town; brunch there is outstanding (although there's no French toast). (And there's only one strictly vegetarian breakfast option, but a bunch of the other dishes would be easy enough to get meatless.)
I live about five minutes from Trudy's North, so that would be super-convenient for me, too.
How early is the planned brunch? I've got to tutor near UT in the morning (9 to 11 AM), but am free afterward (I can also always join brunch-in-progress).
Ah, just saw the heebie-geebie comment about earlier being better. I would say go ahead and plan with that in mind.
I can try to shift around my tutoring appointments.
What about 10, and CB could join us mid-merriment?
La Condesa doesn't open till 11 on Sundays, so sadly that's out. Texas Fresh Salt French Bread?
I wonder if Pantene reads Unfogged anymore. He came to one meet-up a long time ago and we think he should come to more.
Trudy's would be fine too. The central location is near the UT campus (about a block and a half away from TX FB).
North or central? I want to encourage the random lurker to attend, but I also want to encourage Criminally Bulgar to attend. And Pantene, but he didn't tie his appearance to a location.
I pushed the tutoring back, so I can make it. North location is fine.
120: Don't inconvenience anyone on my account; I can go wherever.
I'd vote for Central location then. Nicer environs. Afterwards we can adjourn across the street to Spider House, for example, if there's any additional hanging out to be done. Or numerous other choices. The North location is in a strip mall.
Also, maybe bump this post back up top?
We're in our first airport and on our way, but I have no useful input on where we should meet 'n' eat.
Allow me to be the first to suggest that we meet at Central Trudy's on Sunday? How does 10am sound?
Excellent. Whoever gets there first should ask for a table for 9 plus a highchair (I think I've got the count right) or stand sheepishly around the lobby keeping an eye out for people who look like they want to sex Mutombo.
SRAL, if you want, e-mail me at mypseud at gee mail and I'll give you my cell number in case of any wacky mishaps.
want to sex MutomboStanley
Mutombo is a night kind of guy.
The though of you all sitting around eating breakfast burritos, sipping mimosas, and talking of sexing me? Why, it just warms the heart.
breakfast burritos
We're in Texas, not California, Stanley.
Northern California, M/tch. The non-lame part of the State is taco country. Though, we don't have breakfast tacos like they do in Texas.
And this is as good a time as any to announce that I am a giant loser and will not be going to Austin for vacation, and, thus, will not be going to the meetup. Grrr.
135: If it will make you feel any better, we'll think about sexing you too.
135: Sorry work didn't accept the note. So far, Auston has been full of incredibly friendly people.
Austin, that is. Morning sex is better than morning reading/typing while my sleeping partner is taking up most of my space, that's for sure.
while my sleeping partner is taking up most of my space
So use Facebook then.
135: Argh. Lawyering sucks. I had a really lousy day yesterday -- all sorts of deadlines that shouldn't have been an issue suddenly coincided and bit me. It's all straightened out now, but I'm still cranky and tense from the adrenaline.
140: Sounds like you need some R&R. Come to Austin this weekend!
LB must be busy booking tickets.
I'm not saying I'm the worst driver ever, but my tickets have tickets.
143: You're History's Greatest Monster, at least behind the wheel.
144: Hah! I just now finished an online course on aggressive driving (required at my workplace) and a couple of people in the video were way worse than me. (Although I did manage to pick up a speeding ticket in Rowlesburg, WV this weekend--population 613, "Call the town hall to find out how much you owe before noon because it's closed after that.")
Not that anyone's reading this, but Trudy's may be a little crowded; turns out there was a game yesterday. Parking may take a bit longer than usual. (I would certainly not want anyone to take up those precious spaces in the never-full lot at the CVS.)
We'll be heading out in plenty of time to find parking, I think. See you there!
There is also the free lot that is across Wheatsvillle.
And . . . I can't make it. (Emoticon here)
Why not? You need to do some 'splaining.
Also there's a decent amount of street parking up and down those streets that run toward (29th?)/Spiderhouse. I can imagine we might have a wait, but parking should be okay.
Anyway, we're about to head out.
Lee and I win at reserving the table. It's hot outside, so we decided to sit rather than keep walking around. That may be the extent of my live-commenting on this event.
I'm with Sifu. Report drunken hijinks or disperse.
The real challenge here will be finding a follow-up karaoke bar that's open in the early afternoon.
The meet-up was great! Everyone brunched. The above lurker was there, along with Thorn and Lee, Josh, M/tch and Sir Kraab, and me, Jammies, and Hawaiian Punch. The lurker now has a pseudonym and is expected to comment all the time, but the pseudonym was determined after we left to put the munchkin down for her munchkin nap.
They're waiting for after the morning sex so they can give a full report.
To clarify, we don't have morning sex with our daughter.
Oh, google tells me sral stands for Suomen Radioamatööriliitto. Who knew?
A bunch of Finnish amateur radio enthusiasts, that's who.
I take it you didn't enable Polish language searching for your pseud?
Apparently you do have a pseud, though I don't think we actually chose one for you. It was great to meet you and everyone. We just got home after all sorts of ridiculous hangups and 2.5 hours spent sitting on a plane and hoping for takeoff, followed by 1.5 hours standing in line so the one woman working could resschedule our flights. I look forward to going back to Austin, but probably not via Houston.
163: Just be thankful you weren't sequestered or subpoenaed along the way.
I find the Houston airport to be one of the most egregious don't-name-shit-after-living-people violations.
Pretty sure Sam Houston is dead, JP.
The meet-up WAS great. Thorn and Lee were lovely. Suomen Radioamatööriliitto gamely put up with our sticking him in the middle against the wall so he was completely boxed in by us strangers (that's what one gets for arriving last). Also, he has a voice somewhat reminiscent of nosflow. Josh and heebie and jammies and hp were their usual charming selves. Oh, and Sir Kraab was awesome.
Sir Kraab was is always already awesome.
Otherwise, 168 seconded.
163: 2.5 hours spent sitting on a plane and hoping for takeoff
Oh, this sounds like hell. My sympathies!
Suomen Radioamatööriliitto
I like how Finnish words always seem to kind of scream "look at me! I am Finnish!" That's about the extent of the information I can extract from them.
168: M/tch was awesome, also probably already and always awesome. There were no knife fights, but that's probably because Hawaiian Punch would have won. She can already drop crayons with great precision.
I decided to be decadent and take today off work so I can sleep in and use a heating pad and my muscle stim machine on my sore back, though I should really be writing emails to social workers rather than commenting here. I guess I have time for both!
always seem to kind of scream "look at me! I am Finnish!"
I haven't met that many Finns in my life, but of the dozen or so I have, for about half the above is a very accurate description of their behavior.
so I can sleep in and use a heating pad and my muscle stim machine on my sore back
Yeah, the meet-up was quite a workout.
In fact the first Finn I ever met was in the habit of loudly shouting "F#*K YOU, I'M FROM FINLAND!" at strangers.
Granted, it was in the context of random Chinese passers-by exclaiming "HELLO!" to him in the manner that one might say "MOO!" to a cow one passes. Said practice is annoying in itself, plus the assumption that just because he was a whitey he must be an English speaker offended his Finnish pride.
It was his way of reminding people gently.
My stereotype of Finns as supernaturally taciturn was reinforced by an anecdote from a Finnish-American friend who went back to visit family in the old country. He was hanging out and drinking with a bunch of uncles and cousins, and he's a gregarious guy, so he was doing a lot of talking; one of his uncles finally asked, "Look, are you going to talk, or are you going to drink?"
177. A Finnish girl told me that variants of that joke are universal in Finland. They really don't talk much.
Another memorable Finn used to walk around campus in Shanghai holding a teddy bear like it was a child and talking to it, showing it things, etc. I never actually met her, but a friend of mine knew her and even got asked to take care of the bear (i.e. feed it and play with it) while Finn woman was out of town.
179: That's why they export so many phones. They have no need for them in Finland.
Also, despite the stereotypes propagated by their Scandinavian neighbors, none of the Finns I met wore furs or kept large hunting knives on their belts.
Personally, I could never really cultivate an interest in Architecture in Helsinki, despite trying.
Where the heck is everybody? I'm running out of stories about Finns.
How many Finns does it take to change a light bulb?
Five. One to hold the bulb and four to drink enough alcohol until the room starts spinning.
I met a Finnish commenter when I went to Helsinki. We didn't talk much. I assume it was my fault.
Also there was a Finnish guy on alt.religion.kibology, dag right-square-bracket-gren, who seemed reasonably voluble (in that medium).
I thought we were just being taciturn.
Where the heck is everybody?
I'm holed up in the Admirals Club at the airport, being subjected to CNN. It's sapped my will to live (and comment).
Always good to see y'all, and nice to meet the new folks. Now we just need to find a way to get Lee to comment...
I'm running out of stories about Finns.
When you've told the final story, please indicate thusly:
Finn
Eggplant, you're Finnish? Have you seen Hamlet liikemaailmassa?
Eggplant, you're Finnish?
Nope, just drunk!
Stanley likes emboldened Finns.
MY SUPERBALTIC FELLATIO POWER WILL FINNISH YOU ALL!
Probably been drinkin' with Eggplant.
F&*K YOU! I'M FROM FINLAND!
I had intercourse with a F/nn. It was different!
I had intercourse with a F/nn. It was different!
We know that intercourse with Finns is different, because they're so taciturn.
If conversation were different, well. That would be interesting.
In 201, the second word is best translated as "gets busy".
Ah. Google Translate says I'm in the business world now.
I didn't intend to imply this was a professional interaction.
204: Yeah there was a lot of fumbling, miscues, and the like. Strictly amateur hour.
Now we just need to find a way to get Lee to comment...
I think if we start trash talking her that might do the trick.
trash talking her
I hear she . . . doesn't recycle plastic sometimes! Ooh, trash. Wicked burn.
Probably around the holidays she . . . does something nice for the waste-management workers in her neighborhood! (Oh, smack. I brought my A game.)
Josh, I don't think even Midnight Commenting would be enough of an enticement for her. At least now she understands while I laugh while reading here.
We should probably trash talk Criminally Bulgar. Maybe Rob Halford too.
I hear Criminally Bulgar recently had the Bulgarity conviction overturned on appeal and yet continues to operate under the now-misleading pseud. Booyah.
Isn't misspelling his name trash talk enough?
