I love Austin!

I love Austin! It is just a great city. It is very pedestrian friendly and safe. I have come to Austin many times and driven around, but I have never really walked the city. You just get a better feel for a town once you have walked around to scope it out. There aren't many cities that you can do this in, but Austin just happens to be one of those cities.

I had to come for a visit due to work. We are attending the National Hispanic College Fairs here in Austin and San Antonio. We had another counselor that was supposed to come, but it fell through and I was chosen to make the trip. I was totally ok with that because I was ready to get out of dodge for a little bit anyways.

So I got into town around 6:45pm and checked into the Embassy Suites south of Downtown. I always try to stay here when I come to Austin because they have a kick ass breakfast. They have ready to order omelettes and other goodies, and it is a nice property too.

After I dropped off my bag, I went exploring. I walked over to the Whole Foods on the corner of 5th and Lamar. It was about a mile walk and it was a good way to make myself hungry for dinner. As I was getting closer to the Whole Foods, I was encountering these new developments that I saw last time that I was in town. They were just steel structures, so I didn't really know what they were to become. Well, it turns out that they are lofts. And beautiful lofts they are! They are in a part of town called the "Warehouse district" and they really reflected that. They all had balconies and whatnot and I really envy the people who live there. I am sure that they pay a pretty penny for them and that I cannot afford it, but one can hope.

When I walked into Whole Foods, it was great. I have been inside before, so I knew what it looked like, but this time, I had a pedestrian perspective and could see what it was like shopping there as a local from the neighborhood. As I walked over to the cafe, I fit right in as a patron looking around for dinner. I ended up having the London Broil with mashed sweet potatoes and a squash mix. It was very good, and only $10. Not bad.

After the adventures in Whole Foods, I walked across the street to a new shopping center where there was a REI and a bookstore. The bookstore was the only thing open, so I went in and walked around. I purchased a magazine and started to make my way back to Congress Ave. and to the Hotel (or so I thought).

At this point, I was on 6th Street. I remembered the Dizzy Rooster from the Austin season of the Real World, so I went to find that. Many blocks later, I found it around the corner of 6th and Lavaca; only 3 or so blocks away from the Real World House. It was pretty small, but cool looking nonetheless. I wanted to go in for a drink, but I really didn't want to go in solo. It would just be weird.

After peeking into the Dizzy Rooster, I walked back towards Congress Ave. and when I got there, I decided that I would walk up to the Capitol. I was half way there, so I figured why not.

The Capitol is beautiful at night, all lit up. When I got there, I found that the gates were surprisingly still open, so I walked on through. As I walked up to the stairs leading to the door, I noticed a family walking around as well. This was comforting at 9:30pm on a Sunday night.

I made my way around the building and took some pictures and made my way once again back towards Congress Ave.

When I got to 11th and Congress, I noticed that I was near the KTBC (Fox 7) studios, so I went over and snapped a few shots of one of their live trucks and the cover over their front door. Its not everyday that you walk right past a TV station!

And from there I made my way back to the Hotel, about 11 blocks away. I stopped on the Congress Ave. bridge to see if I could see any bats (I did.. they were out looking for food) and then went back to the Hotel.

It was dark for most of my trip and I felt safe the entire 4.2 miles of my trip. Again, you could make a walking trip like this in every city. I enjoy the fact that Austin is a very young city and that UT and the young, working professionals keep this city young. They also care about the environment and are also very laid back. It would be great to live here and grow a family here. Austinites have the right attitude to do so. They are a medium sized city with the big town amenities and the small town charm. These are the perfect elements for a great city!

(Pictures will be uploaded when I get home)

Gustav is making waves

With only 24 hours away from the third anniversary of the Hurricane Katrina disaster, New Orleans is watching the Gulf for another storm; Gustav. As of now, the projected track will take it just to the west of New Orleans near Houma, LA which would not be good for the Crescent City. This potential track will mean that New Orleans will get hit with the "dirty side" of the storm, where the worst winds and rains reside. In addition, the storm surge is bad on this side as well, and with Katrina, we know what a storm surge can do to a city that is at some points 6 to 20 feet below sea level.

In what I call the Katrina affect, the local news stations are already providing some major coverage of Gustav's possible tracks. Starting yesterday, the Meteorologists have been hosting 3 daily live chats online by video giving viewers the opportunity to ask questions about the storm and its possible impact. I think that if the Democratic National Convention was not going on right now, this would be a big national story. It may become one as the days go on. The storm is projected to hit the Gulf Coast sometime on Tuesday or Wednesday next week. Governor Jindal of Louisiana has already declared a State of Emergency and WWL-TV has reported that Gov. Jindal may start contra-flow evacuations Saturday if the storm keeps its current track towards the Louisiana coastline.

It will be interesting to see what sort of hype will follow this storm as it gets closer to the United States. As of now, the system has been pretty fickle, so there is no telling what will happen. There is another storm in the Atlantic, Tropical Storm Hannah and two other storms, one off of the coast of Africa and another one behind Hannah that have some favor of developing into storms.

It seems that this season will be a little busier than last season. We will hope for the best and pray that we will not have another disaster like Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, or Wilma of 2005.

Denton Public Works Office, you SUCK!

The you have been working on Maple street in front of Kerr Hall for almost 2 months now, since the end of Spring 2008. It is now the 2nd day of classes and you are still working on the road and closing it down with no notice.

WHY IS IT THAT YOU COULD NOT HURRY TO FINISH THIS BEFORE CLASSES? DO YOU NOT REALIZE THAT IT MAKES IT HARD TO NAVIGATE CAMPUS WHEN ROADS HAVE 5 INCH POTHOLES AND ROADS ARE CLOSED RANDOMLY?

Please, please finish this soon and do better planning next time.

Thank you, your friends at UNT.

Quick Note to Big Brother's Dan

Dan,

This week, you have had my stomach in knots. I cannot watch various parts of the episodes this week because of the craziness of your Head of Household. With that said though, you have been able to weasel your way out of difficult situations, and for that, I have to tip my hat to you. You have played a great game this season. I cannot think of anybody else in recent seasons that has performed as well as you. I hope that your game play does not come back to bite you Thursday night, because, you may be caught up in the surprise double eviction night tomorrow. I hope that your side of the house keeps the HOH and you send either Jerry or Ollie packing (really Ollie because he is the next one that needs to go after Michelle, Jerry will be easy to get rid of next week).

You are a true Renegade.

Good luck and God Speed,

Dustin

Want to know what is going on, see the recaps here : http://www.cbs.com/primetime/big_brother/recaps/1019/?season=10

and

http://www.cbs.com/primetime/big_brother/recaps/1020/?season=10

What's the Haps?

So nothing is really going on at work. We are in the second day of class and this starts the slow period before the recruiting season begins. I am enjoying this slowness, but I hate it at the same time because it gives me time to worry about things, and that is never good. I am scheduled to take the GRE on September 13th, so I am preparing for it and worrying about not making the score that I need to get into my program.

I don't know if I have posted this or not, but I have decided to pursue a Masters of Higher Education. It seems like I will be at UNT for a while, so I figured that I might as well settle in for the long haul. As a part of that, I need to earn a Masters degree in something, so I figured why not learn more about the field that I am in. A couple of my co-workers have been talking to me about the program and I have finally been recruited. I am hoping to being in Spring 2009, but I have to get a few things in order, such as GRE scores and letters of recommendation.

For the letters of recommendation, I have to get a recommendation from a professor. It would figure that the one professor that I actually met with more than once and somewhat established a relationship has moved on to another college. I emailed her almost 2 weeks ago to see if she would do it and she has not responded. Now, I think that I am going to ask my professor that I had this summer at Collin County. I am a little nervous about that because I never met her in person (as the course was a WebCT class) so I don't know if she has enough to go on to feel like she can give me a recommendation. Also, some of the writing that I gave her during the semester wasn't my absolute best, and she does not know that I already have a Bachelors degree, so I hope that will not count against me. (For those keeping count, I took Introduction to Mass Communications this summer because I was bored and didn't have anything else better to do. Also it is because I am a nerd and I am intrigued by the TV industry right now.) So we will see how that goes..

Travel season this year begins on September 15th with Dallas I. My travel schedule is as follows:

Sept 15 - 19: Dallas I

Sept 22 - 26: Dallas II

Sept 29 - Oct 3: Gulf Coast

Oct 6 - 10: Houston I

Oct 27 - 31: San Antonio

Nov 3-6: Professional Conference in Corpus Christi

Nov 10 - 13: Panhandle

Nov 17 - 21: Fort Worth

Dec 1 - 5: Austin

I am excited to get out of the office right now. Traveling is fun, draining, but fun. We will see what crazy things I can encounter this year..

When you thought that it could not get any worse

They do it. VH1 that is. They have created a new show. A show that questions their judgement. They have added to the American re-make of a British show.. The I Love the (decade here) series. However, they have gone out and made a "I Love the New Millennium". I'm sorry, but is this decade over yet? I thought that we had a year and a half more to go before the next decade, but I guess that I am mistaken. It started on Monday and the series goes through the year 2007. IT JUST HAPPENED! I watched years 2001-2003 last night and it was interesting. I knew exactly everything that they talked about oddly enough.

I love these shows, it is a great resource for people who like to study culture. It is also great to look back and see what was going on during those days and how style and thought has change from there to here. However, this is absurd. I guess that I am not helping my argument because I am watching the episodes, but still. What are they going to do for 2008 and 2009? Wait until the year is over and make a new episode to accompany this series? I think that in order to do a "best of (x) decade" show, that the WHOLE decade be completed for a few years. This would have been more appropriate to appear in say 2014 or so. It is just way too soon.

But I will still watch and reminisce. Ohh the 2000's!

Photo Credits : VH1.com

Yay for holidays!

So there have been some talks around campus that we may not get the usual week surrounding Christmas and New Years off. I looked on the Human Resource calendar today and I found out that he do get the week off! I would have been really mad if I could not have the week off for Christmas. We are an educational institution and there is no reason for us to be on campus. Yes, technically, we do get backed up during the holidays in processing files, but we need a break sometime. Plus, how is one expected to visit family members on a few days?

In other news, not much is going on. At work, we have begun a calling campaign to help remind students to sign up for orientation. After work last night, I hung out with Jessica, Jennifer, and Jaqueline and I could barely talk. It was not pleasant. I was still glad to hang out with the girls because I have not seen them in a long time, especially Jax and Jessica.

Pretty soon, I will know my recruiting schedule, so I can start making travel plans for the fall. I am excited. I know that I have only been in the office for a handful of weeks now, but I am ready to get back out on the road and get away from the telephone. I do not like to talk on the phone, especially when it is the same question over and over and over and over again. It just starts to get annoying after a while. Today I get to escape for the afternoon because there is a program at the Fort Worth Convention Center. I just hope that the rain holds off until after the event. I don't want to carry viewbooks through the rain. That will be no bueno. We shall see how it goes though..

Homework

Last night, I did my first section of homework since I left school in May 2007. I have to say it has been quite a while. My keyboard at home is much different than my keyboard at work, so needless to say, I made quite a bit of spelling errors that I had to go back and correct. Maybe my computer is trying to say that I need a natural keyboard at home... For fun, I am taking a course at the local community college about the Media. It is COMM 1307, Introduction to Mass Communications. It is a 10 week course and my first assignment is due next Tuesday.

Last night I studied all there is to know about advertising. We had to read a chapter in the book and then answer some questions that went along with the book and also involved me checking out some ad agencies and choosing one that I would prefer to use to advertise my imaginary product. One company that I looked at was Fallon. I chose them to do my ad. They have produced many of the ads that we have seen on TV, specifically the Citi card commercials where you have the victim of credit card theft and there is a voice over of the criminal talking about what they are going to buy with the credit card. It is one of my favorites.

I also learned that advertising is a billion dollar industry. I read that and was shocked. I guess that we just don't think about how much money it is to purchase time on the air waves.

So far I am enjoying the class. It is what I have been reading about in my spare time, so it is worth it. How I am going to use this credit, I am not sure, but it can just support my habit for off the wall knowledge.

Before I started homework, I finished up a series that I borrowed from the UNT Media Library. It is a BBC show called "The Robinsons". It stars Martin Freeman (Tim from BBC's The Office). It is about the youngest son (Freeman) in a family of 3 who is struggling to find out what his purpose in life is. His family is highly dysfunctional and it is a really good show. It only lasted for 6 episodes, so there is not much to it, but by British standards, it had a full run. Lately, I have been watching all that Martin Freeman has performed in. On Sunday, I watched "The Good Night" where Martin Freeman played someone similar to his character in "The Robinsons". For some reason, these roles are really intriguing to me right now.

On tap for tonight, Public Relations!

P.S. I feel about how he looks right now.... :)