Springing Forward

2/25

This morning I hopped on the bus and rode an hour to the Austin Mennonite Church (AMC), whose tagline is “peacefully, simply, together.” I immediately felt welcomed and appreciate the congregation’s focus on inclusivity. The person who was filling in for the pastor this Sunday is a Messiah grad! Small world! I tried out a pupusa place down the street (pupusas are a typical food from Honduras and El Salvador)—you know it’s good when they just hand you the container of customary slaw and let you serve yourself. Then I took a guided tour of the impressive state capitol building, which Texans will proudly tell you is larger than the US capitol building. To finish the day I checked out the downtown library which has lots of floors (which unfortunately means lots of stairs) and a terrace with a great view of Lady Bird Lake (aka the Colorado River).

2/26

On my 1st day of work on my own nothing crashed and burned, and it hasn’t since then either! (Although I certainly make my fair share of mistakes daily, I’m learning and finding a rhythm). I officially signed up for a YMCA membership.

2/27

Today two Ecuadorian clients came in for a consultation and when they headed out their “hasta lueguito” (a common way to say goodbye in Ecuador) made me nostalgic!

2/28

My first Zumba class was a blast :)

2/29

It was a blustery chilly day, so I had a space heater cranking under my desk. I started to develop a sore throat, so when I got home I tested for covid and was negative, phew.

3/1

To celebrate finishing my first week of work mostly on my own, I decided to eat out. My idea was to try an Austin burger chain called P. Terry’s, but it was a drive through only and the fried chicken place that was my second choice is also just a drive through. Just another example of the US not being walker friendly. But not to worry, I ended up getting a yummy quesadilla from a food truck.

3/2

This morning I headed to an event I learned about on the Meet Up app called Hiking for Tacos. I enjoyed looking at public art on the walk to the meeting spot, and then enjoyed meeting people as we took an easy hike to a breakfast taco place. Later, I got my annual Shamrock Shake.

3/3

On the bus to church, someone gifted me a cup full of flowers and what appeared to be a Christmas ornament; this caught me off guard but was a nice gesture. I stayed for a church potluck and then visited the Bullock Museum of Texas history. I timed it right because the first Sunday of the month there is free admission! It was fascinating to learn about the history of this little piece of the planet starting with indigenous cultures and then Spanish colonization, Mexican independence, Texas independence (and annexation and secession and Reconstruction), and all the way up to the present. It got me thinking about the ways we conceptualize borders today, often without due consideration to historical context.

3/4

I bought cough medicine that my mom and future wooziness would confirm were the wrong meds for the job.

3/5

Today the church where I work was a polling place for the Texas primaries which added some extra excitement to the day. (I had a front row seat to people struggling with the exit doors. It’s amazing how long people will pull on a locked push door while there is a sign at eye level with an arrow telling them to push the door next to it.)

3/6

I bit into my BVS budget further to purchase the correct cough meds. When I got off the bus to the pharmacy, I was looking at my phone to orient myself and someone came up to me and asked, “Are you reading about Green Peace too?” I said “No, I’m just trying to find the CVS.” “Well,” they said, “that’s important too.”  On the bus home, I noticed a sign that said “this seat is reserved for Rosa Parks” . . . at the back of the bus. I’m sure at one point it was hanging up front, but oh the irony.

3/7

Today after unintentionally setting our date stamp to August 81, 2000, I learned how to adjust the date correctly.

3/8

After work I decided I was just going to walk through the drive through at P. Terry’s but when I got there I lost my nerve. So, I ended up getting some shawarma that was so spicy it kept setting off coughing fits and I had to take it home so I could wash it down with chai.

3/9

I love the diversity of the folks who come to Zumba—we all have different levels of fitness and dancing ability but we all have a good time. The instructor, Crystal, is pregnant which makes her energy and moves that much more impressive! After class I strolled along South Congress Avenue. I got my first (but won’t be the last) lavender latte of the season and tried my first kolache, a Czech pastry common in Austin. I tried a savory one that was a glorified pig-in-a-blanket but some other time I’ll give a sweet one a try. I enjoyed popping in and out of quirky stores that attempt to “keep Austin weird,” a city slogan. I learned that cowboy boots are way out of my price range. It was good people watching as the annual music festival SXSW (south by southwest) had started and people were queuing for various events.

3/10

After church, I ate my packed lunch on the University of Texas Austin’s campus before visiting the Blanton art museum with Rachel, who I met at Hiking for Tacos the other week. She studied art history and works in various museums in the city. The Blanton has a nice selection of Latin American and Spanish art (though none from Ecuador) and does a good job of centering women and other marginalized groups’ artistic contributions.

3/11

Today I learned that pilates is significantly more intense than yoga.

3/12

Julie, the receptionist at the church where I work, is the lead singer of a jazz band and they hold rehearsal at the church. Julie is from Lebanon (the country, not the town in Pennsylvania), so she sings in Arabic and French and also English and Spanish. She writes some of her own songs.

3/13

Today there was a SXSW concert that was free and open to the public that I really wanted to go to, but I would have had to get there hours ahead of time and I’m a working woman. I took consolation in the beautiful wildflowers all around! (Primroses and Indian blankets and Blue bonnets, oh my!)

3/16

The kittens have finally arrived! There are five of them, but I have only seen one so far. I can’t wait to watch them grow! After Zumba I found a P. Terry’s with seating! Third time was the charm. Then I walked along 6th Street which is known for its bars with live music. I found it a bit seedy for my taste, even in the middle of the day. Then I wandered through the Texas State Cemetery and pondered who gets to be memorialized, and committed myself to avoid choosing a cliché quote for my headstone.

Something about spring makes me reflective. I’ll leave you with some quotes I like and have been reminded of lately:

“The first bud of spring sings the other seeds into joining her uprising.” -From poet Amanda Gorman’s “Day of the Girl: The Power of Firsts”

“I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don't notice it. People think pleasing God is all God cares about. But any fool living in the world can see it always trying to please us back.” -from author Alice Walker’s book The Color Purple

“Earth's crammed with heaven, / And every common bush afire with God, / But only he who sees takes off his shoes; / The rest sit round and pluck blackberries.” -British poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning