As If Austin Wasn't Weird Enough

3.5 miles.

That is the distance that I walked tonight from the Austin American Statesman parking lot (where the bats fly out) on the south end of the Congress Avenue Bridge, to the Spiderhouse coffee shop north of the UT campus.

Why did I do this?

Well, it's hard to explain except I needed to do a lot of thinking, reflecting and observing. I feel that I often limit myself and my experences to a comfortable routine. I often do not take enough time to just observe life happening around me. I learn so much from listening, watching and reading...I mostly did the latter two tonight.

I used a gift card from Christmas to purchase a portable cd player. I've been wanting one for a while mainly so I can walk around Austin (or San Marcos) with a soundtrack to accent my experences. My latest mix cd served as the perfect soundtrack for sure. So with The Shins, Slowreader, Pedro the Lion, Elliott Smith, Modest Mouse, The New Amsterdams, Neutral Milk Hotel and other good stuff going though my headphones I took off from my car and walked purposefully across the Congress Avenue Bridge and into the electic, colorful and beautiful environment that is Downtown Austin.

I was struck at first with the sheer dynamic beauty of the city scape. The music only helped to focus me on what I was seeing. Memories flew though my mind like leaves on a winter day, memories that I associate with any given block downtown. I saw people, in and out of cars, in a new way. I couldn't hear them, only the music, but I could hear them in a different way. It's hard to explain I guess. After 15 minutes I reached the State Capitol Grounds. A group of international tourists asked me to take a picture of them in front of the rotunda so of course I agreed and for a few second the sound of "New Slang" by The Shins was faint as it wafted up to be from my hanging headphones. I said goodbye to the tourists and kept walking, the Shins back to full volume, around the capitol and decided to continue. All along I knew that I wanted to walk at least as far as the drag and by this point it seemed not only possible but easy. I made it to the drag and contenued to walk silently. After what seemed only a few minutes after I left the car (but was really 45 minutes) I reached Spiderhouse, ordered the IBC Root Beer that I had been craving, and sat down for a couple of minutes staring at the hanging rainbow of Christmas lights, until I was seized by the strong grip of restlessness and walked though the back gate, into an alley, and back out to the street.

It was almost 11 at this point, I knew the buses were still running and seized on the oppurtunity to catch the #1 back to downtown. I had meant to learn to use the bus system by now but it wasn't until tonight that I actually boarded one. My apartment is on the #1 route but I decided that leaving the Jeep downtown was not a good idea so I got off the bus at 6th and Congress. I took a walk down 6th to Emo's and back...another interesting experence of people, lights, and colors, with the familiar noise of 6th street battling my headphones for access to my eardrums.

I will post more on what I thought about during my urban journey tomorrow. Until then take it easy.

- Jordan