6/30/09 - Yearbook

I ordered this Hanks High School yearbook from a book seller in Arizona via ebay. It was from my same high school, just a decade prior to my attending.

I guess I bought it out of curiousity, if nothing more. I actually knew a handful of people in it (not to mention, several teachers) and found it interesting to see them with younger faces. In addition to slightly yellowing pages, autographs and even a graduation invitation still stuck in it's pages, there were student name cards scattered throughout the senior section (I'm surprised, if not shocked, that they remained in there after 24 years and not coming from the original owner!).

I never felt as if the book was mine, even though I "paid" for it. I feel that I bought the right to look through it, nothing more. After perusing the pages and reading all of the autographed comments, I decided to locate the book's original owner and tracked him down in Houston, TX. I located him in less than 10 minutes and sent him an email explaining the situation and offered the book back to him.

He responded back within an hour, grateful that I had made the offer (and had been thoughtful enough to do so), but also to inform me that he wasn't even remotely interested in having it back. He said that "that part of his life was over" (and I understand that, completely--just didn't think others thought that way, too), and for me to "enjoy it."

We corresponded a couple of more times. He told me he actually moved away from El Paso after his sophomore year, and had no clue how his Freshman edition yearbook wound up in Arizona. I bid him farewell, but not before once again letting him know that I still consider the yearbook to be his, if he changes his mind...

6/29/09 - Garbage Pail Kids

So... I won an ebay auction last week. Actually, it wasn't an auction, but a "Buy It Now" listing. It was 8 packs of 3rd Series Garbage Pail Kids for 5 bucks. I couldn't resist. Anyway, they came in the mail today, and I decided to do something I hadn't done since 1986--opened a pack. And no, I didn't eat the gum.

6/29/09 - The Lowlife...

A few days ago, I was dining at a Chinese restaurant in south Austin called China Harbor. On the way in, I could tell the hostess and cashier were flustered as it was apparent a patron was trying to skip out on his tab.

Two managers approached the lowlife outside, where I snapped these two pictures. Afterward, the manager was delighted to find out I had taken these pics, even though they don't show much detail.

The cops showed up, took a statement and I had my Chinese as planned. I don't know if they ever caught the guy (who am I kidding? The cops have better things to deal with...), but I told the manager he'll probably be back in about 4 months wearing a baseball hat and thinking it's all been forgotten.

Man, what a fucking lowlife--just to avoid paying a $12 tab...

6/28/09 - The Dog...

Every weekend (usually on Saturday), I have an early lunch at a place in Austin called China Star. I've been eating there since I first moved to Austin several years ago; and while it's not exactly the classiest place I've dined in (I'll certainly be the first to admit it), I really dig their food even though others might not.

Moving right along...

On my way to get my carb fix for today, we came across a stray dog wandering around the neighborhood dangerously close to the freeway access road. We noticed he didn't have a collar on (why are people so cheap?), so we decided to try to approach the dog with a bottle of water I had in my car.

He didn't run, but he obviously wasn't in the mood to have a drink, either. Without hesitating, the poor fellow (what seems to be a Boxer/Bulldog mix) climbed right into my car--most likely for the air conditioning going full blast.

I drove him home and put him in the backyard, noticing some gashes around his face and top of his head (which I can assume came from escaping from under a fence, or something of the like). I set him up on the porch in the shade with a bowl of water and a couple of dog biscuits which he didn't seem really interested in.

I treated his gashes with some anti-bacterial lotion and cleaned the slobber from around his mouth. He never once showed aggression, and certainly had no problems making eye-contact with me during the whole process.

We knocked on a few doors in the area and some people seemed to think he came from a particular house. We left a detailed note on their door and made our way up to China Star and ran our errands before coming back to check on the dog. I've been calling him "Butkus" all afternoon, because, well, he looks like a "Butkus" to me.

I took a few pictures of the dog and made flyers which I posted around the neighborhood. We went back to the house where we suspected he came from, but the owners still aren't in. I took a box fan out on the back porch with a mountain of ice cubes I set up behind it and set it on full blast. I fed him about a half pound of turkey which he immediately scarfed.

In case you're wondering, I have two dogs of my own, so bringing Butkus in right now is out of the question. I noticed he had fleas on him, so I gave him an application of Advantix across his neck and spine, before giving him an adult dog vitamin pill--he looked like he could use it.

So, Butkus is my "random picture" of the day. If I didn't already have two dogs and such a full plate, I'd give him a wonderful home...

6/27/09 - Bennigan's

I hadn't lived in an area that had a Bennigan's for quite some time, so upon my return to Austin a couple of months ago, you can imagine my horror when I learned that all of the corporate owned Bennigan's have folded up.

Pictured, is me standing in front of my favorite Austin Bennigans on I-35 @ 183. It's being completely gutted out--what will become of the structure, only time will tell. This was taken early this morning and is my random pic for the day.

There's still some franchise-owned restaurants open in San Antonio, so that gives me some comfort. I know Bennigan's closing is old news to most people in Austin, but man, it really sucks...