SXSW, Sickness, etc.

So, it's been long enough that it's quite possible that this blog no longer has any readers.

Life has gone on for the Lazlo and Baby family for the last eight weeks and four days in the usual ways -- some ups, some downs. For whatever reason (Gypsy curse), it seems to have been mostly downers lately. Since we last spoke, Baby has had to get her wisdom teeth removed in an emergency surgery (without dental insurance) on the same day that Jane had to go to the hospital for dehydration caused by excessive vomiting due to a bladder infection (who knew UTIs made some babies puke?). That was not a fun weekend. There have been other bummer things (stomach flu, a job that sucks, car repairs, tickets), but overall we still feel pretty blessed.

Our wonderful friends from BODIES OF WATER came to town for SXSW, along with a small, but also quite wonderful entourage, including the inimitable MR RUPERT, and the incomparable MRS C. GLADDEN, whose name has yet to be mentioned on this weblog, but whose presence makes everything a bit better. These people all stayed with us, in addition to the indefatigable NOAH, who played the SXSW gigs with BOW, and RYAN P., who was the only person actually there to just watch SXSW shows (and whose sunglasses are still in our living room -- sorry Ryan!). All told, there were twelve people staying in our 890 square foot apartment or in an RV outside that week, and it was actually really great. Definitely the highlight of 2008 so far, even if BOW did manage to somehow sound like a mix of "half commercial jingle, half Spaceballs". We're really glad they stayed with us, especially since they were so busy that we'd barely have been able to see them.

SXSW exemplified the joys and sorrows of our move to Austin; we were reminded of how much there is to like about Austin and our neighborhood -- the nearby coffee shop, breakfast tacos, lots of "drinking cheap beer in a casual restaurant environment," an adequate but very inexpensive bus system -- but also how much we miss our friends from LA, and how much fun they really are. Dave's extended stay was an added treat, as was finally getting to see ANDY and family for the first time in forever. We have a lot to look forward to, namely the WEDDING OF THE CENTURY in June, and the much-anticipated triumphal entry of ARKAY into Austin with the accompanying hosannas and heyzannas sometime next week. Right now, I'm trying to focus on getting settled -- getting into a regular pattern of going to church and hanging out with new friends and stuff, finding a small group and a way to keep my theological knowledge from getting lost (not to mention my Greek and Hebrew). Complicating this effort is the fact that I'm hoping to leaving my job and get a new job at UT. I've had three interviews already for two jobs, and I have another one coming up this week, and it looks promising, but things move slowly at UT.

Other things that happened:



- We went to Beaumont. It was fun.

- Wren turned three! Hooray! We had a birthday party at Zilker Park and Dave was there. Everybody rode the train.

- We got a baby turtle.

- We released our baby turtle into the wild.

- Wren and Jane's Nana visited from Beaumont. I am jealous because she got to go to Wren's dance class, which I have yet to do.

- PAPERHAT / the KING OF WIMPKILLER BBS and I saw Buddy Guy for his birthday. BG was great as long as he was playing his own music, but unfortunately he didn't play much of his own music.