When did I get so...old?

This exact question crossed my mind last summer.  I had attended a concert the night before, a week night, that ended at - get this - midnight.  (It was a Father John Misty show, for any music nerd out there who's curious).  And as awesome as the show was, I was exhausted.  I mean, midnight?!  Why can't concerts start at a reasonable hour, like 7, and finish at 9:30 or 10?  Much more appropriate for a Tuesday, if you ask me.

This wasn't the first time that kind of thought crossed my mind, and a similar one came over my radar a few weeks ago.  I was talking to Caitlin, my roommate, about weekend plans, and I literally said, "It's fine if we don't stay out late.  I like getting up early on the weekends."  Then I draped an afghan over my shoulders, turned the thermostat up to 85, and shuffled to bed so I could rest my weary hips.

Ok, so maybe I'm not quite there.  Yet.  But I've definitely noticed a switch, something that's shifted in my brain sometime in the last few years - say, maybe around the time I turned 25.  A quarter of a century, as my grandfather lovingly told my sister when she turned 25 (a much appreciated observance, I'm sure).  Friday nights now more often than not are spent on the couch, watching Netflix and eating pizza.  Bars until 2 a.m.?!  Hardly.  What do you think I am - 21?  Geez, I haven't done that since gauchos tried to make a comeback (dark days, my friends.  Dark days).  Now, 2 glasses of wine and I'm down for the count, with the promise of a headache the next morning.

Now any 24 year-old reading this, don't panic - I don't think turning 25 means you're on the precipice of the death of your social life (ah, is that the sun setting?  Time for me to turn in, children).  The thing is, I don't think this is really about turning 25 or 26, although I can't deny that getting older probably plays a part.

It's weird because I can't pinpoint the exact moment when this change started to occur.  I do know that when I first moved to Austin, my mentality was very "go, go, go."  I felt like I had to take it all in, to see everything, as if it were all going to evaporate or fade into the sidewalk.  Nothing felt permanent; it all felt temporary, and I didn't want to miss a beat.

But somewhere along the way, I started to realize that maybe this whole Austin ride is going to last longer than I thought.  I can't believe it's already been two and a half years.  And here I am, ready to sign my lease for another year.

In the past, everything has been so transient.  My life has always been on a specified timeline:  high school for 4 years, college for 4 years,  a semester in Washington, DC that lasted 4 months (lotta 4's here...).  Each new experience has had some kind of finite ending; now that I don't have that, I don't really know how to handle it.  And my body starts to get restless and feels like it's time to go, to move on to the next thing.  Even if it's not.  Even if I don't want to.

And that's the point:  I don't have to.  There is no specified ending to this chapter.  I'm just kind of writing it as I go along, and seeing where it takes me.

So maybe I don't have to suffocate myself with this city.  I don't have to breathe it in 24/7.  I mean, I definitely want to make the most out of this experience.  And I want to see as much of Austin as I can.  But it's ok to sit back and just be for a little while.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go catch the latest episode of 60 Minutes.  I would just record it, but those darn VHS tapes are so hard to find these days...

Disclosure: This is NOT a New Year's Resolution

Well, like any good blogger, I’ve waited about a year and a half between posts.  Because that’s how these things work, right – post once every few years, and you’ve got a successful blog.  Right.

I’m always impressed with those people who update their blogs on the daily – I wish my life were so interesting that I could come up with stuff to write about all the time, but clearly, I’m not so good at that.

I’d like to make it known that the resurgence of this blog is not a New Year’s resolution, although the timing of it does seem a little coincidental.  I’m not really big into making resolutions, truth be told.  Now hold on just a second, all you resie- makers:  I’m not against resolutions as a whole, I just don’t make them myself.  I think there’s something in my brain that automatically freaks out at the word, and a neon sign reading “ABORT.  CERTAIN FAILURE AHEAD” starts flashing.

But I do think the idea behind resolutions is a good one – you know, assessing where you are in your life and deciding what to focus on next.  So I often set goals, I guess, of what I want to accomplish in the months to come.  And one of my goals this year is to get back to some of my creative outlets, writing included.

And all of that sounds kind of – exactly – like a resolution.  Let's just not label it.

Thrilling stuff, I know.  You’re so glad you embarked on this endeavor with me, aren’t you?  Thanks for staying.  Exits are located at the back of the room if you feel the need to go.

ANYWAY, here we are, a year and a half since we last chatted.  So what’s changed?  I hate to make this post a list of highlights from 2013, but how else do you come back from such a hiatus?  I won’t bore you with all the particulars (we’d be here for hours, talking about nothing), but I did get a promotion at work, so that’s a good thing, right?  I’m not a file clerk anymore – I’m a legal assistant, which basically means I work with two lawyers at my firm to make sure what needs to get done, gets done.  So there’s that.

I took a trip to San Francisco with my former roommate, Joanna, back in September.  That place is beautiful, guys - go if you haven't been.  It's seriously one of the most picturesque places I've ever been.

The Japanese Tea Gardens in San Francisco

And that would be the Golden Gate Bridge

I also did a ton of housesitting this year – I’m telling you guys, 2013 was a red-letter year. Aren’t you happy I’m sharing all of these exciting updates?  “So glad she started this blog up again…well worth it.”  Marilyn, if you happen to be reading this, please don’t take my sarcasm here for a lack of interest in housesitting.  I will totally, totally still hang out with Shadow and Oliver – or, you know, hang out with Shadow while Oliver avoids me like the plague in protest of being “left alone” (life is so hard for a housecat…).

I joined Instagram, too, or the Gram, as I like to call it (pretty certain no one else has ever called it that).  My last post was in November; I am the bomb dot com at social media, y’all – and current slang, as this entire statement indicates.

Aaaannnnddd, I think I had a celebrity sighting at the end of November.  I had just finished helping navigate a Chinese dragon in a children’s parade (bet you weren’t expecting that), and I was walking across the Congress bridge, when I’m fairly certain I spotted Chris Messina (that’s Dr. Danny Castellano to all you Mindy Project fans).  Pre-tty exciting, ladies.

So there you have it, friends.  Best of luck trying to top my 2013.

Here’s the thing:  if you had told me three years ago I’d be living in Austin, working as a legal assistant, I wouldn’t have believed you.  Because if felt impossible?  Not really.  Because my life is some grand, glamorous party that makes all the kids jealous (I mean, I do work at a law firm…)?  Hardly.  It’s nothing like that – I just wouldn’t have guessed this is where I’d be at this moment.  But here I am.  And it’s good.

Hey, I’m 26, unattached, and I live in Austin.  Life can’t be too bad, right?

A bar in San Francisco where Jack Kerouac used to
hang out.  I am a big nerd, guys.

And just, you know, DESTROYING a turkey leg at
Free Press Summer Fest in June.  I'm not gonna lie - it's impressive.

Austin City Limits Festival, 2013