Special Events
Earth Day Celebration: Great Hills Hike 2
The first time I hiked this area with my Meetup group, we had a pretty relaxed time although the temperature was much hotter. This time around, some people actually bailed for fear of rain. The forecast was “cloudy,” which I pointed out, but not “rain.” Nonetheless, those of us who still met enjoyed the temporary … Continue reading
Haiku Death Match
As part of the 25th Austin International Poetry Festival, I hosted my first ever haiku death match. In the beginning, I was only supposed to host my own spoken word and poetry show, The Austin Writers Roulette. Then, I accepted the offer to host and perform for as an opener for Bucolics Anonymous. Later, I agreed to … Continue reading
Unbound & Reincarnated Opening reception
When I read the description of this art opening, I had to attend. Every single work of art was, in some shape or form, repurposed from the printed word. These portraits were printed upon book pages. Another artist had placed 256 words atop the head of nails and fixed them with resin, then bound the … Continue reading
Graffiti Park
I met other members of the Art Hikes Meetup at the HOPE (Helping Out People Everywhere) Outdoor Gallery AKA Graffiti Park. I’d seen pictures of this park and even footage of it in a participatory work at the Austin Short Film Festival a few years ago, but I had no idea it was merely a … Continue reading
2017 Austin People’s Gallery Reception
Being a part of the 2017 Austin People’s Gallery became real to me when I drove up to city hall and saw the line out of the building. I arrived 30 minutes late, or “on time,” according to some cultures, but I found two yoga friends already in line. The security check had created the … Continue reading
Stonehenge II
A 2/3 replica of Stonehenge exists a mere two hours outside of Austin. Yet, the first structure to greet our adventurous Meetup group was a Moai. We’d all piled into the organizer’s Honda Fit and rode comfortably to the location. For a group of strangers, we gelled quite well politically, which was good because the car was packed … Continue reading
African American Museum
As we approached the African American museum, I thought of an inverted step pyramid. My sister informed me that the design was inspired by an African headdress. Whichever the case, I loved the stylish modernity of this ancient shape. The first time I’d ever visited the Washington monument as a child, we only celebrated Black … Continue reading
Mid-Week Night Hike
I braved the unknown in the dark to find our meeting place for this mid-week night hike along Lady Bird Lake, starting on the East side. Although the organizer set the rendezvous point at a place that would be closed by the time we got there, in FRONT of that place was an international hostel … Continue reading
Zombie Ball 2016: Morris Day & The Time
Once again, I enticed a friend to go to the Zombie Ball with me. I didn’t realize until we got there, she’d never heard of the headliner although she vaguely remembered the antagonist from the movie “Purple Rain.” As an added bonus, I saw another friend walking by himself in the crowd, grabbed him, so he … Continue reading
Slaughter Creek Trail Loop Hike
As beautiful as the sky was, this picture didn’t capture the 95-degree heat with the 45% humidity in the middle of October. Of all the times not to bring a hat! This was the least amount of foliage on any hike I’ve done so far. Coupled with the lack of foliage, there was also very … Continue reading