Leaving Austin :(

Erin and I are leaving Austin.  Actually, by now we’ve left.  We are sad :(.

She is in a three year program at the California College of Ayurveda, and while the first two years of coursework can be done anywhere (like Austin, for instance), the third has to be completed on campus in Grass Valley, CA.  I planned on having an awesome job in Austin, and figured that Erin and I could just deal with the distance for a year, after which Erin would move back to Austin.  Unfortunately, after much thrashing about trying to land a gig in the alternative energy industry in Austin, I am throwing in the towel.  I failed.

While Austin may be in our future, it’s not in our best interests at present.  I don’t have a job, neither does Erin, and she’ll be in school full-time.  While free pizza, cheap rent ($695 right on south congress, email me for details if you’re interested), random little jobs and my fun little gig as a mystery shopper at Kerbey Lane have combined to keep us afloat in the most awesome city ever, there didn’t seem to be enough compelling reasons to strain the first year of our marriage by being 2,000 miles apart.

So with a heavy heart, I announce our departure and therefore my resignation of my crown as current HOES champion. 🙁 🙁 🙁

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After my aunt’s death delayed our departure, we finally planned on leaving last Wednesday morning.  We’d been packing, selling crap on Craigslist and running down last errandy stuff, and it came time for our last dinner at Home Slice Monday night (they’re closed Tuesdays).  We were exhausted, and as we began the walk over, we decided to push back our departure.  It seemed such a shame to rush out of Austin in such a hectic way, so we postponed the inevitable.  This allowed us to enjoy our pizza without the sadness we could expect two nights later.

I forgot my camera (packing/moving is jarring for me), so you’ll just have to trust me that we went.  Our pizza was simple: margherita style, no sauce, with fried eggplant, green olives and half anchovies.  That’s simple for us.

We ate our pizza, said our sad goodbyes to Shauna and left.  We relished the leftovers more than usual, as all of our cooking stuff was packed away.  Luckily cold Home Slice Pizza is still pretty good.  It helped get us through the move, as it has helped us get through so much.

Cost: $30.50
Total this year: $1,201.50