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<Wednesday, August 25th, 2010> [Amy]
Leap and the net will appear
Greetings from beautiful Austin, Texas. This blog post is overdue, but we just got internet access this morning. With no job offer forthcoming in Florida and the start of the school year looming, we found ourselves free agents, able to move anywhere we liked, but only if we did so quickly. We liked Austin, at least in theory. Neither of us had visited since high school. But it's a big college town that's liberal and bike friendly, with mild winters and good schools and affordable housing and a booming tech sector.

So we packed up the moving truck as soon as we got back to Florida and hit the road last Tuesday. V drove the truck and I followed in the car with our dog. The girls took turns riding in the truck. By Wednesday evening we were here unpacking. We've rented a house in NW Austin in the Round Rock school district. The girls started school here yesterday. Nev's already made a friend and had a play date at our neighborhood pool.

We had our first house guests last night--our good friend Beau and his lovely Aussie girlfriend Shayla. I made our first home-cooked meal--flounder a la meuniere, mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli. This morning we took Beau and Shayla to Kerbey Lane Cafe for brunch on the patio, Austin-style, and then down Spicewood Springs Road to REI in search of Merrell shoes for Shayla.

So far we like Austin very much. Our neighbors, all thirty-something couples with kids, have come over to introduce themselves. There are bikes and tattoos in abundance, and IKEA is a 15 minute drive away. We can buy New Belgium ales at the grocery store, and the local college radio station, KUT, is better than anything on my iPod. Despite the searing triple-digit daytime highs, we are pinching ourselves and knocking on wood. As Nev offered in toast the other night, "May we be this happy until the day we move!" .:.

In 1944 I was on the Kelly Field team to the Texas relays track meet. I allmost didn't go because I had not been working out and knew that I wasn't ready to run. My distance was the quarter mile and the guy who was supposed to do the half mile didn't feel up to that so the manager gave him my spot and put me in the half mile slot. We did the distance medley and the two mile relay. In each race I gave the baton to the next runner in better position than I had taken it. Since there were only three teams in each race we got the bronze steer heads. All it required was for our runner to finish the run. The manager was a jerk who had long ago run in a relay and he put himself in last place and we waited while he did the full circut.NJR
--norman (2010.08.25)
I'll have to find some way to visit without letting the Alumni Association find out. That there is enemy territory, y'know.

Love,
--Bill (2010.08.27)

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