June 15, 2022 – Keith Robertson

“We Still Miss Austin a Lot”

I made a trip to see the hand surgeon on Monday. He confirmed that the nodule on my hand is another incidence of dupuytrens disease – so we’ll have to get another surgery planned to extract it before it starts to hurt too much.

I stopped into the immigration office on my drive to Austin on Tuesday. They had sent me an interview date and time that I thought was to do the usual green card biometrics, required every ten years. After standing in line for a while, and then having picture and fingerprints taken, I assumed I was all finished. But, the lady told me to head upstairs for another interview. My name was called and off I went to an interview room with a pleasant lady. After we chatted for a while, she asked, “So, are you ready for the test?” I asked what kind of test is associated with a regular green card renewal. Hadn’t experienced one in 30 plus years. “Oh no, this is your citizenship interview.” Missed that on the letter that was sent – no mention of studying for the test or anything even close to that. I figured there was nothing to lose – so off we went with the test.

“How many members are in the house of representatives?”

“How many in the senate?”

“What are the first ten amendments to the constitution known as?”

The rest of the questions were straightforward. I was able to get them correct and avoided any wasted time “studying” for the test. If you haven’t brushed up on civics class lately, the answers are 435, 100, and “The Bill of Rights.”

The bad news is I am now working on a list of all international flights between 2016 and 2021 – going to be an interesting journey through the archives (including historical blog posts) to paste that together. This is the final information necessary to complete my citizenship application.

After all that excitement, the drive down to Austin was smooth and easy. I spent some time in the office and then picked up Diana at the airport – she was delayed by about an hour as they had to “reboot” one of the airplane engines prior to leaving Phoenix. That gave me an opportunity to experience the “cell phone waiting lot” at Austin airport. Quite fancy with a Whataburger and a flight arrival information screen.

One of the nice features of the Carpenter Hotel (other than it’s hip vibe and proximity to the office and fun restaurants) is that there is a Thom’s market right next door. One can easily pick up some breakfast tacos on the way to work in the morning. I spent Wednesday at the office, while Diana and Lisa relaxed by the Carpenter pool. Thankfully some very tall trees provide good shade, as temperatures were 100 degrees plus all of this week.

I hosted a Happy Hour at The Tavern for all IT folks in the Austin area, and a few folks who were visiting. This was a lovely evening with good food, drinks and company – all at a reasonable price. Diana had a chance to do a detailed interview of Pepe, my new leader for Latin American IT – she was very impressed. The only downer was when one attendee discovered that her car had been broken into, and her laptop stolen. Never leave bags visible in the back seat!

I was entertained by the scooter and one-wheel gang that drove by The Tavern – Will is on the waiting list for a new one-wheel. Don’t think I’ll ever have the balance for one of those.

I picked up Diana at the hotel for Thursday lunch with Pepe and me at Salt Traders. We had a very nice seafood lunch – Diana enjoying some tuna tartare. After lunch, Diana took Pepe over to Walmart so that he could pick up some things that are much less expensive in the U.S. Diana and I both agree that Pepe is a great addition to my team.

Dinner on Thursday was at one of our very favourite Austin establishments – Suerte, on the east side of town. Everything was just as good as anticipated. We sat at our “regular” table and enjoyed a couple of their creative cocktails.

Our first course was a pulpo (octopus) tostada – creative and yummy. We followed that with the must have suadero tacos – still my favourite ever.

Suerte is always such a highlight of an Austin trip. Great food and excellent service in a casual atmosphere.

Speaking of yummy food – I noticed that our office vending machine now carries the highly addictive Zappos Voodoo chips from New Orleans. I was proud of myself for being able to resist the temptation.

One last Austin favourite restaurant before our drive back to McKinney. We enjoyed Friday lunch at June’s All Day. Diana couldn’t pass up her favourite steak tartare and frites, while I enjoyed a perfect boursin omelet.

The drive home wasn’t too bad – just the usual Waco and South Dallas snarl up spots. We were home before 5pm.

Can you believe these temperatures forecast for the weekend? One needs to get out early in the morning for any physical activity.

Santos came over on Saturday to trim up the trees – particularly the one in our neighbor’s yard that had the broken branch. We finally got rid of all the branches hanging over our pool. He also trimmed back the massive oak tree in the front significantly – no trees touching the house now. It was interesting to watch the technique used to make the branches fall into the gap between the magnolias, and then control their descent.

Campbell sent pictures from a Saturday baseball game in San Diego. He did not catch a foul ball, and Molly was getting irritated with him raising up his glove. “It’s for your own protection,” he explained. Things were fine after that.

I enjoyed my book this week much better than the one from last week. “The Guide”, by Peter Heller was a quick and exciting read. The fly fishing descriptions were wonderful, and the plot fast paced and engaging. I did find the conclusion a bit gruesome and disturbing – but not beyond the imagination.

Here’s the Amazon summary:

“Kingfisher Lodge, nestled in a canyon on a mile and a half of the most pristine river water on the planet, is known by locals as “Billionaire’s Mile” and is locked behind a heavy gate. Sandwiched between barbed wire and a meadow with a sign that reads “Don’t Get Shot!” the resort boasts boutique fishing at its finest. Safe from viruses that have plagued America for years, Kingfisher offers a respite for wealthy clients. Now it also promises a second chance for Jack, a return to normalcy after a young life filled with loss. When he is assigned to guide a well-known singer, his only job is to rig her line, carry her gear, and steer her to the best trout he can find.

But then a human scream pierces the night, and Jack soon realizes that this idyllic fishing lodge may be merely a cover for a far more sinister operation. A novel as gripping as it is lyrical, as frightening as it is moving, The Guide is another masterpiece from Peter Heller.”

I enjoyed the way the main character and background were linked to Heller’s last book, “The River”, which I enjoyed a few years ago – recommended by Issac’s Austin based “Manly Book Club.”

Here’s a paragraph that captures the joy of fishing:

“He was almost under the bridge when he raised the rod high and brought the exhausted trout in the last few feet and unshucked the net from his belt and slid it under this beauty and cradled her in the mesh. She was a species of gold that no jeweler had every encountered – deeper, darker, rich with tones that had depth like water. He talked to her the whole time, You’re all right, you’re all right, thank you, you beauty, almost as he had talked to himself at the shack, and he wet his left hand and cupped her belly gently and slipped the barbless hook from her lip and withdrew the net.”