Secret is, I've been planning to move back to Austin for about 2 years. I kinda put it out there as a 'this is happening with or without you' ultimatum about a year or so ago. And in the meantime, decided 'without you' was what I really needed for me. There's not many years in ones life where you can be selfish to the most extreme degree... and I've decided to take full advantage of those years. So here I am. Sitting in a coffeeshop (and by coffeeshop I mean Mozart's patio overlooking Lake Austin and houses on hills that I can only dream of living in...) I'm the happiest I've felt in years. Probably since the last entries of this blog actually, when I was on my own traveling in Oz.
So 2 weeks ago, I began my trip to Austin with a car full of my possessions. Too many books, kitchenware, and clothes (not enough shoes). I drove out of Toledo with the sun rising in my rear view mirror at 5 am. And while I'd been sad to leave those close to me, a smile crept onto my face as I traveled as the lone car down Route 24 (the route my dad told me NOT to go on, of course). That smile stayed on my face for my 2 day road trip, just me and Kira. My cheeks literally burned and my jaw was sore because I hadn't smiled so much in ages. Imagine what onlookers saw: a bright blue Honda CRV with a 20 year old car-top carrier, a bike duct taped into it's rack on the back, a wriggley dog with a too-big mouth and too-long tongue drooling out the window, and a tired-looking blondey with a goofy ass smile plastered onto her face, swerving around the road and driving to fast while trying to capture the moment by taking pictures on her phone every 3 minutes. Well, we made it. When we drove into downtown, I turned around to find Kira half-way out the window and half-way to Town Lake, which she'd obviously remembered (the running trail we frequented when we lived here, and once again, visit daily).
So here I am! I felt home the moment I crossed the Red River. Never thought Texas would be the place for me, but I can be almost sure I'll never leave this city (except for excessive travel to the corners of the earth which I'll be sure to obnoxiously document). I wish I didn't feel the need to shout out the wonders and secrets of this city - I wish I felt the the need to keep it to myself and keep it the wonderful and perfect place it is, but I can't help but climb up a mountain and scream out how fucking fabulous Austin is and how fucking ridiculously happy it makes me. So while Toledo enjoys it's few last weeks of summer and enters Autumn (i'll miss the leaves changing) I will enjoy a few more months of boat-weather; daily 5 mile runs in 75 degree weather at 9 am (no humidity!); live-music anywhere I go; fit and fashionable people surrounding me encouraging me to over-workout, develop an unhealthy obsession with yoga, granola, and spelt-bread, and over-spend on skinny jeans, American Apparel tees, costume jewelery, and Toms shoes; and continue to promote all things Big (diamond, hair, Mr., tits...). I will happily and selfishly lather myself in it all. Come and visit me, or just read my blog to hear me disgustingly gloat in how happy I am, and how miserable you should be for not being here with me in Austin.
Until the next time.
Where I'm sitting right now at Mozart's Coffee Shop.
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