I'm a Texan!

I've arrive in Austin! Ok, I really arrived nearly 2 weeks ago, but I've been busy, hence the lack of blogging. I've been settling in, unpacking, and working on making the move legal (car inspection, registration, voter registration check!). And still so many things left to do. I feel like I haven't been getting that much free time with all the other things I need to do.

First off, I can't believe how much stuff I (we) have. This is the first time that Charlie and I have had all our stuff in the same location, and there are so many duplicates. The good-we now have the most awesome kitchen setup! The ok-we'll try to have a garage sale to get rid of it and reclaim a little $ on our former possessions. The ugly-in spite of having so much stuff, there are still several things we can think of that we'd like for the house. Isn't that the way it always is? We are trying to be creative as much as possible though.

Second, I am loving the weather! That may sound funny given that nearly every day the high has been upper 90s-100s, but it's only that warm in the mid afternoon - early evening. Each morning has been 70s-80s with low humidity, meaning it feels much nicer than Ohio. I've been running outside without any problem (that is when I run in the morning). I am digging spending time outside in the mornings, as do the cats, and apparently so do the mosquitos, since they love me. Our backyard has the greatest trees at least part of it is always shaded. Also, it hasn't rained a single day-I know we can use it but I do love the sunny weather.

Third, I love not being in an apartment. True, I still hear the neighbor dogs, but the space, the yard, the being able to put a nail in the wall and not worry about the landlords billing you are all yays.

Fourth, I am digging the lack of distractions. I feel like I've been working more efficiently, perhaps because I've been working less. But at the end of last week thought I had accomplished quite a bit.

Fifth, Austin is great. Of course.

Sixth, living with Charlie is great. Duh.

Update

I feel like I've been super busy and I can't think of anything in particular that I want to spend time writing about. So here is an update of life the past couple weeks...

The last week in July I went to the Animal Behavior Conference in Williamsburg, Virginia. I spent the week prior to that largely getting ready for the conference and going out of town. I had a good time and also got to spend some time at the beach. I finally have the slightest tan so I am not ghost white anymore. I didn't do too much tourist activities in Williamsburg, though I went on this cheesy ghost tour that went through the historic area. I also go to visit my alma matter, the University of Richmond. It is every bit as beautiful as I remember it. Since it was the weekend when I visited it was a little eerie, as the campus was pretty deserted. The whole state of Virginia was pretty gorgeous, which made for a pretty drive through the mountains to the conference.

This week has been pretty crazy. Charlie arrived in Ohio on Monday evening and we have been spending alternate evenings packing the house. We've done pretty well but since there's still about a week left here we can't pack everything yet. I am not a fan of living out of boxes and I anxious to be done with it already. I am pretty sure the cats know something is up. In the meanwhile I am finding it difficult to focus on working during the day but am still managing it. Yesterday we took a break from it all and had a nice biking/rollerblading afternoon along the bike path, then went to a movie. The day overall felt nice and normal, not like we are about to leave. Except I still knew it and didn't want the day to end. Today was back to packing and I also cooked some stuff in an effort to use what we have left.

Also side note, I got the Iphone4. In theory this is exciting but I don't feel like I'm getting much time to play or customize it yet. It's a little annoying that right now I have this new phone that I'm still not great at using and which doesn't have my contacts stored yet or bluetooth connected to or apps or music added to. I am still carrying around my old phone as a phone book. It was also anticlimatic that it took so long to arrive, then when it arrived I had to wait for 1 1/2 hours for it to be activated, then *drum roll,* AT&T accidently inactivated the sim card so I had to go back the next day. Well until I customize it, at least it looks cute! I heart the plaid case I picked...

Goodbye Athens, Ohio

Have you ever noticed the longer you are somewhere, the fewer pictures you take? For being in Athens for four years, I have surprisingly few pictures from here. This was taken at Strouds Run State Park near Athens.At the end of next week I will end my time in Athens OH and head for balmy Austin (though Athens is feeling pretty balmy right now). I am very excited to go to Austin, but I will miss some things in this town. But mostly I think I have a dual personality about Athens.

I will miss being able to drive everywhere in town in 10 minutes and walking/biking many places. I won't miss having to drive 45 minutes to get to a mall or Petsmart, or 1 1/2 hours to get to the airport and other mainstays of modern life.

I will miss the mild long summer days, but cannot imaging missing the cold winters.

I will miss some of the great restaurants, but will not miss that all the great restaurants close by 9 (and are often closed several evenings a week).

I will miss being in a small city, but will not miss the spotty cell phone and wi-fi covewrage.

I will miss how much it rains, but I won't miss how many cloudy days there are (sounds odd but there are many cloudy days that don't involve rain).

I will miss the tall eastern trees and forests. I won't miss how barren the land looks when nothing has leaves for six months of the year.

I will miss the people from my lab, but I will be glad to no longer be in a college town.

I will miss being in a Democratic state, but I am glad to go back to the south.