July 5, 2001

• WELCOME TO AUSTIN!
  

  
  

  Xanga Gia's Weblog 7/3/2001 details why she hates Austin.  I've lived in this town for 11 years, and I'm afraid I'm going to have to post a rebuttal.  But first, some background.

  
  

  I was born just outside of Detroit.  I've lived in the suburbs all over Detroit, in northern Michigan (nearly Canada), in Kentucky, in Missouri, in Houston and here in Austin.  I hope to never leave Austin.

  
  

  When I lived in Houston, my boyfriend and I visited Austin for a friend's wedding.  We drove up and down, all around, and said "Why do we live in Houston?"  We couldn't remember, so in 1990 we packed up and moved to Austin with $1000 and a U-Haul.  Best move I've ever made.

  
  

  Now, about Gia:

  
  

   "1. First you must learn to pronounce the city name.  It is AWS-TUN and it does not matter how people pronounce it in other places.

  I'm going to have to call "bullshit" on this. In my 11 years here, I don't think I've ever heard anyone pronounce it in a hickish manner.
  

   2. Forget the traffic rules you learned elsewhere.  Austin has its own traffic rules. There's no book about them.  You've just got to get in your car and hope you survive long enough to learn them.

  Yes, erveryone thinks their town has the WORST traffic. Ho hum. Ever been in a really big city, like Houston or New York?
  

   3. All directions start with, "Go down Mopac...cause you don't want to get on 35."

  How interesting. Part of my business involves a delivery driver cruising all over town. I travel I-35 daily. It's not that bad. Don't drive during rush hour, and you're fine. Again, check out a really big town, and you'll laugh at whiners here.
  

   4. Burnet Rd., Braker Ln., and Lamar Blvd. have no beginning and no end.

  This is a problem how? #5, 6, 7, 9 and 11 all deal with traffic rants. Ho hum. You have a problem with a highway having a name and a number? Houston has 59, which is the Southwest Freeway. It has 610, which is the Loop. It has 45, which is Southwest Freeway. This is not an Austin phenomenon.
  

  8. If you like being an individual, don't even think of working for Dell. You'll be branded like cattle and made to walk all over town with your "Dell tag" around your neck or clipped on your belt loop. 98% of the people within a 200-mile radius work for Dell. When someone says, "Michael Dell", Dell employees are trained to face Round Rock (the main Dell location), hit their knees, put their face to the ground, weep, and rock back and forth.
  

  Finally, a valid rant. Why move to a hippie, individualistic town and work for this company? Just say no.
  

  12. Keep in mind that the sloppily dressed "hippie" in sandals and earrings is probably the latest IPO millionaire around here.
  

  I would think you'd see this as a GOOD thing. Unless, of course, you think everyone should be like cattle and wear the button-up shirt and tie thing... but wait, you dissed Dell for that attitude. I'm confused.
  

  13. Stay away from the Congress Bridge at sundown if you do not like the thought of being in an Alfred Hitchcock movie.
  

  HAHAHA! The bats are fabulous. At sundown, gazillions of bats fly out from underneath the Congress Avenue bridge. It's a wondrous site, a beauty of nature. We've named our minor league hockey team after the bats, and constructed a statue downtown. We LIKE them.
  

  14. And, yes, we all know that's a man in a teddy and tiara on a bike downtown. It's Leslie and he probably makes more money than you do. My brother and his friends were once completely embarassed by this man. We were driving down a residential area in prolly mid-December, and Leslie here was wearing a mid-calf fur coat, pantyhose and spiked heels. They wolf whistled out the window and commented how hot she was.
  

  Anyone that's embarrassed by essentrics should not, under any circumstances, live in Austin. We're mostly a town of hippies, politicians, students, musicians and computer geeks. These groups defy the usual cookie cutter molds, which most people enjoy. It gives our lives FLAVOR. If you want mayonaisse, move to Houston or Dallas. If you like a little spice in life, welcome to Austin.
  

  You left out what a fabulous music town this is. On any given night, you can find over 100 live bands playing around Austin. You left sooo much out... it's a wonderful place, with hills and trees and air and water. We love it.

  The Austin Chronicle is a great resourse for discovering Austin. Check it out.

  • 6:06 pm
  • 4 Comments