things that i will miss about austin

"Nostalgia will destroy me" should be written on my tombstone. Only 9 more days until I enDorothy meself and ride a United tornado to Oz, yet I am already letting thoughts de lo que me hecha a menos run rampant in the grey matter. Of course, I am returning to Austin after mon sejour australien (well, can anyone ever really leave Austin?), yet in the interim, there are things that I will miss (a non-comprehensive list):

* 78751
* music, uninterrupted
* refined slacking
* abysmal creativity
* the weekly crinkle of turning pages of the Austin Chronicle
* many skin colors holding hands, exchanging rings, carrying babies
* Sunday night mass of people at 5PM at Casa Cuarenta
* Tuesday night trivia at Mother Egan's Irish Pub
* Thursday nights at the Draught Hou/rse
* Draught Hou/rse Ruun asking me when am I going to do my moustache Emiliano Zapata-style
* taking spontaneous tours of Austin courtesy of Capital Metro and fiddy cents
* camaraderie
* community
* old hippies
* young hippies
* looking at the Capitol every time that I walk across Congress Ave.
* how E-vite lacks appropriate designs for all the theme parties to which I am invited
* how there are so many theme parties
* how so many people play along at the theme parties
* hell, who needs a theme party? every day is "dress-up"/costume day in Austin!
* C.K.1's laugh
* Jill's "Whoops, I said something frank" smile after she says something frank
* Dirty's red soulpatch below a schlock of spiky, dark brown hair
* saying "prima"
* the uniquely-concocted, magically-realistic, thoughts that hop out of JenFox's throat - unexpected froggies of bright fun, those
* WINETRAILS coordinated with my wino-in-crime Ryan
* Stephanie's "Don't bullshit me" laser beam from her blue-eyed raygun
* Joey's pointed goatee coupled with an invincible smile
* Shauna's powerplant energy
* Tami's giggle
* Lee's battlecry
* Ian's sideways look paired with an "uh, huh"
* Trevor the Elder's headbobble, like that Bobble Head Royal Canadian Mountie that JenFox & I saw in a souvenir shop in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, North America, Earth
* Trevor the Younger's wry, sardonic wit
* Max's glee when he sees me
* C-Mo, G-No, C-Rho, J-Fo, T-Ro, J-Bo, JD-Go, P-Go, P-delaPo --> U-Kno who you are
* The J-Krewe: Jesse, Joy, Jeannette, Jill, Jen, Jeremy, Jen, Jitka, Joey, Jared, Jose, Jason
* PUGDOG!! (AKA "Winston Amadeus Worthington Barlow, Esq.")
* Festivals - SXSW, the Armadillo Christmas Bazaar, Halloween on 6th Street, AMODA, Flicker, el 16 de septiembre, St. Patrick's Day at Bull McCabe's, Zilker Park Christmas Tree, First Thursday on South Congress, Pecan Street Festivals, Austin Museum Day, FronteraFest, Carnaval Brasileiro, Austin City Limits Music Festival, Hispanic Heritage Month, Black History Month, Mardi Gras, Armenian Mardi Gras, Vietnamese Tet, Persian New Year, Chinese New Year, Wurstfest in New Braunfels, Kolachefest in Calwell, Bocktoberfest in Shiner, las luminarias on the Riverwalk in San Antonio, Chuy's Green Chile Festival, Chuy's Red Chile Festival
* Bars - Room 710, Red Eyed-Fly, Ego's, Emo's, Casino El Camino, Barfly, Mugshots, CDV, C. Hunt's, Posse East, the Crown, Draught House/Horse, Hanover's, Ginny's Little Longhorn, The Poodle Dog, B.B. Rovers, Hickory Street's $2 everything, Carousel Lounge, Baby A's, Victory Grill, Hole in the Wall, Texture, Malaga, B-Side, rooftop at the Speakeasy, back patio at Star Bar, back patio at The Gingerman, Mother Egan's Irish Pub, Opal Divine's, [Celis Brewery], [Waterloo Brewing Company]
* Restos - Sam Paio's, Trudy's, Chango's, Taqueria Arandina's, Night Hawk/Frisco, Marimont cafeteria, G&S Steakhouse, The Hoffbrau, Katz's, Little City, Flightpath, The Parlor, BurgerTex, Marakesh, Ararat, Thai Passion, Kerby Lane Cafe, World Beat Cafe, CoCo's Cafe, Mars, Sunflower, Starlight, TexAnwiches, Texadelphia, Casey's New Orleans Snowballs, Tamale House, Amy's Ice Cream, Kim Phong, Sarovar, Taj Palace, Gyro Palace, Buffet Palace, Sandy's, La Mexicana panaderia, Seoul, Wok 'n Roll, The Omlettetry, Austin Diner, Phoenicia Deli, Upper Crust Bakery, Dan's, Fran's, Frank & Angie's, Wally's, La Fonda San Miguel, Azul Tequila, Lucky Dog, Triumph Coffee House, Alborz, The Clay Pit, Swad, Casa de Luz, Hoover's, Mr. Natural, Ruta Maya, Dolce Vita, Salt Lick, Rudy's BBQ, Mongolian BBQ, sweet tea at Donn's BBQ, Bitter End, Super China, Ken's Donuts, Tom's Tabooli, European Bistro, [that gelateria on 4th Street], [Girasole]
* Shops - Toy Joy, Forbidden Fruit, Adult Megaplexxx, Asahi, Hogwild, Downtown Austin Farmers Market, Wheatsville Co-Op, Central Market, Whole Foods, Thrift(y) Town, Goodwill, BookPeople, Half Price Books on Guadalupe, Oat Willie's, Eclectic Eyewear, Grapevine Market
* Alamo Drafthouse
* Republic Square
* Lamar bike/ped bridge
* downtown Red River
* spontaneous block parties on MoFoNoLo
* saying "I live in the shoebox numbered 100F in the Ho Don't Tell Motel on MoFoNoLo."
* seeing my name in lights --- OK, OK, in scripty, pink neon on the side of a hair salon at 34th/Lamar, but What, Me Worry?
* canoing on Town Lake
* Texas State Cemetery
* Lammes Candy
* attending Rob Nash shows
* attending Naughty Austin shows
* attending Pink Swords concerts
* attending Kamran Hooshmand and His 1001 Nights Orchestra concerts
* volunteering for just about everything
* Austin-specific exhibits in the Austin airport
* roadtrips
* Texas this, Texas that
* wildflowers
* people laughing at me because I say "dag" too much. Dag.
* Leslie

Keep Austin Weird, y'all