the beginning of the end is near....

i'm sitting in the driskill hotel in downtown austin, texas. i'm down here on business with the same company i was on business with last year when i stayed at this hotel, although this time i requested to be in the "historic" wing, a.k.a. the more haunted wing (according to wikipedia, this is one of the most haunted hotels in the country). i love this place. i was booked here because the agency people were booked here, then they changed because someone at the office told them "it's where your grandpa would stay." and yes, if your grandpa is classy and wealthy, he probably would stay here. and i guess i'm getting old, because i'm loving the high-ceilinged rooms, the granite-floored lobby with marble pillars, and, well, the whole place pretty much looks like the venetian at vegas but without cutting all the corners. and i love that i'm here until friday.

last week was near-perfect. and since there's a good chance i'm not going to write it in my journal, the quick sketch goes like this:

• monday: the barnes and noble criterion sale starts. i've been saving all year for this. it's literally Christmas in july for me... plus come home from f.h.e. at the nickelcade and sit on the front steps to watch near-perfect summer's evening turn from twilight to starlight.
• tuesday: sushi with kristin where we discuss summer travels (belgium/new york city) and excitement over respective photos. discuss ploxiness afterwards. watch "the battle of algiers" at movie night. it's awesome. most people seem to concur.
• wednesday: go hike squaw peak with jaime and friends. i'm expecting a 45-minute hike a la hiking-the-Y-ish. it is a full-blown trek, reminiscent of the time i tried to hike to the top of the Y mountain and spent the rest of the day on the couch soreness. we make it to the top, i call my sister and take pictures. on the way down my sincere prayer is tenderly and mercifully answered and my knee does not hurt.
• thursday: meeting and camera prep for austin trip. spend the afternoon with my sister and nephews at ikea. caleb is well-behaved and courteous at ikea (and determined to eat my chocolate cake). the trip throws off his nap time. he is a terror for the remainder of the afternoon. i leave him with brady and go off to see "metropolis" at the tower theater for a second time. it's so incredible i can hardly stand it.
• friday: i'm offered to work at 9:00 a.m. the midnight before. we do a half day of product shots; i like doing that. that evening i'm lethargic and watch bunuel's "the exterminating angel." i've tried and tried and i just don't get bunuell.
• saturday: all day at lagoon, riding just about everything until the sun has gone down and the moon has come up. couldn't have been better. crestfallen than makbule the puma was nowhere to be found but glad i invited shaun. got stuck in a ride for a while but had a good view of the park lit up at night from up there.
  
• sunday: up packing until two in the morning, slept for five hours. mrs. utah started a conversation with me in the security line at the airport (she was wearing her sash and on her way to competition in las vegas). flew to austin (no layovers, no international hassles, a two and a half hour flight, lovely), checked all the camera gear and we're good to go. delta lost my lights, the arrived at the hotel later this evening. i've unpacked my bags, puts my clothes in the dresser and hung my shirts in the closet.
  

and that's kind of been the groove for much of my summer. it's been wonderful. we shoot in austin through wednesday. everyone else flies out that day and i'm staying to look at apartments in college station. that's going to mark the beginning of the end, but at least i'm going out on a high note.