Drinks

Last night I found happiness inside the walls of a martini glass.  I’m making an effort to expand my cocktail drinking/mixing knowledge.  And to that end, with Austin being such a hotspot for trendy mixologists at cool spots right now, I’m going to try to sample a new fancy drink and establishment once a week.  Last night after work, I ended up at Eastside Showroom, on E. 6th Street.  Very cool place.  Dimly lit, sweet decor, with a huge rack of bottles dominating the space over the bar.  The two guys behind the bar were shaking, juicing, measuring, sampling, and serving passionately made drinks all night.  Really fun to watch.  I had their Medina Martini, which was simple and amazing.  Lots of great flavors bouncing around the tongue at once.

I’m feeling a very, very strong pull to find a new job again.  Unfortunately I’m also experiencing an equally strong feeling of not knowing what on earth I want to do.  It’s such a strange contradiction.  So right now, I’m just looking at everything I can, seeing if something special jumps out at me.  I guess all I really want is meaningful employment, something I can be proud of at the end of the day.

I’ve been riding again.  There’s a lovely new saddle on my road bike, and I really have nothing else getting in the way.  It’s been good to feel the wind on my face again.  This afternoon I squeezed in a solid three hours, and I hope I can get in another good ride early tomorrow morning with C.  I mistimed my grocery shopping today though, and came home to an empty kitchen.  A quick trip to HEB, and a huge plate full of breakfast taco goodness later, my balance was restored.  I was feeling a lot of restlessness before, but riding calms my mind and body like nothing else.

And I’m still climbing, just not as much as I should be…  C and I try to make it out together at least once a week, but work and travel schedules make it difficult.  We were at Reimer’s Ranch this past Sunday, and had a fantastic time with some new friends of ours.  With Rami and Ryan both too busy and/or incapacitated, my climbing partners have become a bit more dynamic, but I like it regardless.

Maybe it was the bike ride, or maybe it’s just me right now, but I’m feeling a little low.  Almost like the things I want most are just out of my reach, and there’s not anything I can do to bring them towards me.  I know that if I let go though, and found something else to chase after, I’d be leaving something almost perfect.  It’s almost that’s killing me right now, because I feel like perfect is so, so close.