One year ago today, we officially moved to Austin. My last photo shoot in Birmingham was Thursday and Friday we finished packing, painting, cleaning, and Scott and Lucy and I drove down to Point Clear, while my in-laws kindly drove all night to Houston with the truck. (I'm pretty sure we got the better end of that deal!) Why on earth would we drive to the coast of Alabama? To photograph my friend and photo stylist extrordinaire's wedding the next day. It was actually nice to keep that commitment because it was a good distraction from moving at the same time. I was happy to move back to Texas but of course it's sad to leave friends and my job, but we would be starting a new journey. So Friday- leave, Saturday-wedding, Sunday-drive to Houston.
Monday morning we left Houston early and arrived in Austin around 9 a.m. to find that our apartment wasn't ready. It was a disaster! The counter tops were scratched up, there was no shower head, the cabinet was broken, we couldn't open the dishwasher, the microwave door handle was broken, the patio was covered in chalk or something that had been there two weeks before when we came apartment scouting. It was clear they had not done anything but paint. Another surprise was the $30 a month valet trash fee they tacked on to the lease. Who the heck needs valet trash..and for thirty bucks? I think that is a frivolous waste of money. So that set me off into tears. It was supposed to be an exciting day that came crashing to a halt by the reality of sometimes things don't work out. All day the apartment office did nothing to fix any of it. When the gas man game to turn on the hot water heater he red tagged it for being severely corroded and we did not have hot water all night. Sounds like it was a super fun day doesn't it? At least we ended the day with BBQ from Rudys.
Here is the back of the moving truck-and this is after some stuff had been unloaded. Every nook and cranny of that thing was packed! Glad we got the big truck and not a POD. We don't even have that much stuff, I mean we don't live in clutter or nick-nacs or anything like that but you wouldn't believe it with all of our belongings crammed into one space.
So one year has passed and I really can't believe it has flown by at record speed. Luckily our house sold a few months ago in Birmingham so that was a relief but the market there was hit hard and we ended up losing a lot. It's sad, but it could have been worse. We are still grateful every day that we live in Austin. I think moving away was the best thing I have ever done because I had great opportunities and got a ton of experience. It's true that absence makes the heart grow fonder, we missed Texas, missed the bluebonnets, missed the Mexican and brisket, missed the beauty and everything about it that makes it home, including a much shorter drive to see our families. So here we are, one year later. Work is starting to pick up for me, I've been active with ASMP, I was a guest lecturer at the Art Institute, made some friends here, and I really do like living here...and I say that on a 101 degree day!
