Business trip to guess where?

Answer: Austin, Texas.

This is the first house I rented when I started working in Austin after law school . . . it was painted yellow then:



I chose it because it was close to downtown in an area with lots of trees, and had a small fenced yard, in case I wanted to get a dog. On this visit, the gray cat you see in this photo quickly aproached so I could pet her.

This house, which is next door, belonged to the old lady who owned my house:




She was really nice and quite lively for her age. Once, when I locked myself out of my house, she opened the garage for me (the other side of it was hers) so I could obtain a window-breaking tool, then helped me knock out the kitchen window with a golf club wrapped in a golf towel. I was sad to hear a few years later that she died after having a heart attack or blackout while driving.

After my brief trip to the past, I drove to Barton Springs road and settled in at Fliptronics, a funky Austin-style coffee bar, for an afternoon of work, fresh air and free wi-fi:



The patio was quite comfortable:



Upon seeing this guy, I felt a bit old and conservative, an extremely rare feeling for me:



This dog (Scout) loved the attention while her owner sat and typed at a free table across the patio:



A few hours of productivity later, I headed for the Shady Grove, an old favorite restaurant where I was meeting a college friend for dinner:



She is really excited about the potential candidacy of Mark Warner of Virginia for President in 2008:



The weather was gorgeous:



Ah, Barton Springs, how I miss you!



Nighttime at the Shady Grove is no less wonderful than daytime:

Work day in Orlando

I arrived pretty late Monday night and was slightly saddened to find this in my room:



Nothing against being accommodating, but the handles creeped me out a bit, so I requested something different. The people at the lovely Portofino Bay Hotel were happy to help, and installed me in this room instead:







The next morning, a work day for me, dawned a bit overcast:



But before long, the sun emerged:



I couldn't bear to be inside and decided to work on my Powerpoint slides near the gorgeous pool:







This became my "office" for an hour or so:



Isn't it lovely?



I took a few more pictures to reward myself for my hard work:





Then I headed back inside to prepare for my meeting that night:



I'm not in the mood to write more just now . . . maybe later.

A springlike February weekend in Houston

My highly uncooperative Volvo, Sven, decided the road trip I planned to take to Houston on Saturday was not meant to be. Just as I commanded him to drive to Houston, he flicked on his engine light and made the most terrible of engine noises. Luckily, I was able to grab a not-terribly-expensive flight to Houston, which got me there only a bit later than I had planned. So instead of this:



I experienced this:



and this:



Whenever I visit Houston, my happy memories and warm feelings for the city come rushing back and I realize how much I miss that town and how passionately I hate Dallas. At such times, I feel as if I have experienced nothing but bad karma and painful events since moving to Dallas. Occasionally, I even wonder how my life would have been different had I elected to stay in Houston rather than taking a transfer to Dallas with my former employer. But then I remember the wonderful friends I have here, people whom I would never have met if not for that move, and I'm okay with it. But still, I want little more in life right now than to live somewhere else.

Anyway, immediately after retrieving my ever-so-inexpensive but fancy rental car ($17 a day--I challenge you to find a better rental car deal!), I raced to Chuy's. There my law school roommate and I caught up over margaritas in a chat session that was wonderful and long overdue:



It is amazing to me to think of what great friends we became, given that we barely knew each other when we decided to room together. I don't think we knew of anything we had in common at the time, except being law students and loving dogs. I'm happy that we reconnected and plan to do better at keeping in touch!

Next, I dashed to my hotel, which was surprisingly hip and comfortable:



It is the Hotel Alden, and was also surprisingly affordable, if you are ever in Houston and in need of a hotel. The staff there were unfailingly friendly and helpful.

After relaxing for a little while, I headed out for a gathering in honor of my most honorable and talented mentor of my career. He is a man who managed to make being an excellent lawyer not mutually exclusive with living life as a truly fine human being. Unfortunately, he is now retiring, and the world of the law and those who practice it significantly poorer for his departure. The gathering for him was very nice and he seemed to enjoy himself, though a bittersweet note hung heavily in the air, as he is not yet ready to let go.

On Sunday morning, after admiring the view of the old courthouse from my hotel room window,



I met a friend and her dog for coffee:



Honeybear The Dog did an excellent job of attracting cute men to come talk to us! I almost felt as if we should be paying her a "finder's fee."

Not having had enough time spent chatting with cute men, my friend and I met other friends at a new (to me) brunch place called "Dharma," which comes complete with its own bike with basket:





Dharma is a great hole-in-the-wall with a tasty and reasonably priced brunch buffet (10 am-2 pm for those of you who live in or will visit Houston) and I am happy to have found it, with the help of my buddies. Another cool thing about Dharma is the neighborhood in which it resides, just on the fringes of downtown Houston. Here are a few of its neighbors:











The day held one last surprise before my depature for the airport:



As the picture reflects, I was so surprised I didn't snap the picture until the horse was halfway around the corner! I regret that I do not have time to write more, but it was a great 24-hour trip to Houston. I cannot wait to return!