Yesterday, I took Amanda's camera and snapped pictures on the way to work. Then I took a few at work, mostly of people before they had their coffee, so I had to delete most of those. Then I snapped pictures all the way home while driving with the top down. Then I loaded them up to this blog site after editing them and adding captions. I finished about midnight. It's what driving in Austin is like if you take the neighborhood streets instead of the highways. It's about a 20 mile drive through people's backyards. This is one way of seeing what Austin really looks like at the end of March in 2005.

i'm about to get in the car and go to work

mi casa.

i live on sendero. see the fog?

foggy traffic

the fog is rare. the traffic jam is not. aren't you glad lynchburg has only 4 cars?

crossing townlake on mopac headed north. see the fog along the bank

train. i'll outrun it

you'll see these trains chase me around all day. this is on mopac somewhere

my first wreck of the day that i have to drive around

there are many pawn shops near my office. it's a cheapass neighborhood.

i'm arriving at work. people are always standing around out there waiting for the bus and trying to get run over. the fog is lifting

randy was the preacher at my wedding. we have very blue walls. this is what he looks like in the morning. later he looks grumpier

it's early in the day. steve trains our customers. he wishes i wouldn't photograph him. his ancestors were spaniards here in texas long before it was texas

this is bryan. he helps sales. he's very smart. this is his happy look. soon i'll get in the car with my gps and take you on a wild ride to my house

the view out of my office window. this parking lot is misdesigned and often gums up so bad that
numerous car crashes almost occur and noone can leave the premises. it's a source of endless amusement for us all

across the street from my office is a 3rd world country called the mexican grocery store. i think i took dad to eat there. it's amazing. the food is good but my lack of spanish and the strange process you have to go thru to buy something there makes the cafe part really confusing. sometimes they serve me random things that i don't think i ordered.

people put animal parts on top of their cars here. yup

they sell random dead stuffed animals, deer, bobcats, cow skulls. you name it

i'm guessing this is a chinese place? or is it a music place? chinese humor i think

get it! get it! whooo! that's funny.

the omelettry. lots of newspapers. see?. also lots of random postings for random services and stuff on the wall on the right. yoga instruction, piercings, tutoring. whatever. the food is good. it's a little bit dirty and scarey inside. they have riddles on the menu.

this is where i get my kitchen knives sharpenned. they have a knight. they have fantasy knives (whatever that means). the guy that works here has very few teeth. i like to point that out to the kids and then mention the toothbrush that they've been ignoreing.

this is where i found the lady who knew how to massage lauren's bird that i got her a couple of years ago. the lady that worked here could crack the birds neck. and the bird would roll its eyes back in its head like it was having an orgasm. it was one of the weirdest things i've ever seen, no lie. amanda's bridesmaid cindy has a dog named nikko. nikko ate the bird.

praise the lard

does this seem ironic to anyone else?

i'm guessing they can't read the sign

i just like this shot, about lamar & 42nd

a man after my own heart

i'm not the only convertible lover

i should go to this festival

they used to never wear helmets

good day for it

there seems to be alot of independent burger joints still

dork

virginia-esque house ( i think)

that's a happy dog rite there

contemporary

nice yard

feathery flowery things in the yard their

nice place in central austin

virginians notice the house. austinites notice the tree

mexican or central american yard worker guys. without mexicans the austin economy would crumble in about nine minutes. i know you don't think i'm gonna mow the grass do you?

we're coming up on a castle. yup.

see the historic landmark marker thing?

ramparts & turrets

a ritzy area. plastic easter eggs tied to a bush. whatever

trees are worshipped here. they're treated like weeds in lynchburg. protection from the brutal sun, the raging wind, the baking heat. they grow very slow and die easily

a viney wall

traffic traffic everywhere

that looks like a fast bike. i should get one. except i wouldn't wear a helmut. helmets are for wimps