First Impressions

Today marks the first workweek of me being in Austin. I've done the nine-to-five gig for this week, and I guess in the interest of having a decent journal here, I'll give you an update.

I guess the first status update for me, I'm okay so far. Some of the bills have been paid, it's only the sixth of the month, and next week the (minimal) paychecks will start coming in. I am just worried that it will not be enough to sustain myself, but once again that is something that I entirely control. I bought groceries, they are still substantial and I came in at just over budget for those, but I had some initial purchases to cover. I might have a lead on a second job, a friend offered to try and get me a job as a door man for a nice bar downtown. Weekend work, 9pm-3am shifts, the same pay I make here but the hours work well enough for me to work both, and the way I see it, it will keep me out of trouble those days, as well as get me the social drinking that I would like to have.

And speaking of, I went to meet a friend on Wednesday. She is another Dallas transplant who works at the aforementioned bar downtown. She's nice if not a little crazy, she is with man, but that really isn't the point. I mean I wouldn't kick her out of bed, but our relationship as acquaintances more or less nullifies any possibility, which I like. It just alleviates the tension. Point in case I met her at her bar, and had some beers and a few smokes. It was a good time, and the people watching was interesting. This place caters to an older crowd, but an older crowd of more laid back socialites. Sure these people are someone's parents, teachers, bosses, but they're out to have a good time in the city. It was interesting to see, it was a far cry from the drunken-college-student scene in Denton. Admittedly they have that same scene here in droves, dwarfing my previous locale. The sixth street area we all know as the alcoholic's tourist attraction is still a nightly workshop in liver destruction, with a guest appearance from anonymous sexual encounters. But I digress, the point is the Wednesday night. This Irish pub has a local constituency of Irish regulars, with accents and drinking problems in tow. For whatever reason this particular night a supposed internationally popular Irish singer/songwriter was in town, drinking at this bar, guitar in hand. We all sat/stood around, drank our beers and listened to him and the locals play music. It was entertaining. Obviously I am no stranger to bands at bars, even the lowliest of cities has a music scene, but it was different, and I enjoyed it.

Then there was last night. My boss had some friends in town from California who were playing at a bar downtown. Myself and a couple co-workers (Which by the way, the video game industry, unsurprisingly, is full of people who really don't know how to go out to bars. Their social skills are lacking, but still they are good people) go to the place and get liquored up. The girl singer who warmed up for them http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=97374705 was nice, and went to school at Texas Women's, so not only was she a lesbian but from Denton. Needless to say I felt comfortable, and her taste in music to cover was nice. After her having done a good job of warming the crowd up, my friend's band, Sweetness http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=2146932 played a great set, had a good stage presence and it helps that the music was very enjoyable. I might have spent more than I wanted to, but it was within budget and I had a good time.

So tonight I write this on the brink of going home to get ready to, you guessed it, go out. My plan is to go out and minimize expenditure while maximizing the good times. In drunk talk this means I will be drinking before I leave and feeling happily replete until last call.

I guess my job is something worth mentioning. I feel that after my first full week I am gaining the knowledge and respect to start being productive. This is the first step towards my hopefully budding career, and I think my past experience with proffessional work environments will help me out more than I imagined it would. Unfortunately, that positive comes with a few expected realizations. An office is an office, is an office. Bullshit politics, looking down upon contract workers, long hours and tough nights will be a part of the job. The realization is that it will always be a part of the job. There is no job without hard work, but so far I feel like this is something I enjoy. Of course time will tell, but I feel good about this.

So that's it, that's first impressions. I like Austin, I like my job, and I hope I can keep my wilder side in check enough to manage. Bills will be tough but with the prospect of another job and overtime I think I can do this. So wish me luck, I'll be back shortly