Those first three months in Austin were off to a sweet start: I had an awesome place to stay courtesy of University Towers (24th Street and Rio Grande); the weather was great (compared to the Midwest); the job was relatively easy (yet not very challenging); and I took a French refresher through UT’s casual night classes (no credit). The missing element from this new equation were new friends. Doc and I was already friends since Marquette but our situation was evolving into the boss-employee dynamic. There were also signs of things souring between us (it’s OK, this was patched up in a year). Regardless, Doc had his own life in Austin with Eiko and UT classes. My arrival wasn’t an automatic license to monopolize his time so I needed to find other people to share my specific interests.<\/p>\n
If I had gotten my long-term plan figured out when I graduated from Marquette instead of making up my life as I went, I probably would’ve never moved to Austin. Too late though. Over three years had passed and I still had no real direction. There was the brief golden age in Milwaukee with kinko’s but I stupidly threw it all away for GDW. Despite the great friends I made through GDW, it was a disastrous career move I clung to for 15 months with a chaser of 10 weeks on unemployment. Had I been a braver, stronger person, I would’ve bailed as soon as the ink dried on the Mythus-Gygax swindle. Heck, wiser options were in the ashes of my firing from GDW: go to ISU full time (odds favored Grandma footing the bill, she was an alumnus) or pack up my junk, pound the pavement in Milwaukee. I took the cowardly route: temporary work in Pontiac and the full-time dead end in Peoria with DG; meeting Christina and knowing Rad more was the silver lining.<\/p>\n
When Austin came along, I formulated one of the dumbest plans to work toward a more interesting career.<\/p>\n
Only the Underpants Gnomes were more capable of concocting a more flawed scheme<\/span><\/strong><\/a> <\/span><\/strong>because “the job” lacked any description, never mind the lack of money to cover UT.<\/p>\n So\u2026<\/p>\n Having official resident status in Texas was months away yet the mini-class I took with Khier (an amazing Algerian matchmaking polyglot educated at the Sorbonne) whetted my appetite for French. Gambling on their lax investigative skills, I enrolled in French 1 at Austin Community College’s Rio Grande campus. Good thing I got the Texas ID when Doc made me, it was all the proof that its administration wanted.<\/p>\n For the next six weeks of Summer, I had to be in class at 8 AM every weekday until 1030-11 AM. Getting to complete what GDW deprived me of compensated for the lack of sleep I would suffer from. The teacher who taught the class was a prize too! Marc Prevost. An actual French person but he’s a story for another day, especially when I contact him.<\/p>\n I will confess to my other motivation on returning to school. It was a strategy for meeting women. In those pre-Facebook, Match.com, Craigslist days, the same tactics people used for the past few decades were the only decent means. I figured there would be common interests to break the ice. It was a more effective strategy than the overrated party-bar scene and less embarrassing than ballroom dancing.<\/p>\n On the first day of class, I met an attractive lady to my left. Her name was Sonia and we hit it off pretty well because she shared my desire to learn<\/em> the language. Most people are present to achieve the three to five hours with a passing grade. Obviously, I guessed Sonia was Mexican due to her complexion and surname. Wrong! Salvadoran. She was cool with it. Thinking she was Mexican was a common assumption in Texas she heard all her life.<\/p>\n After Mr. Prevost dismissed the class, Sonia and I hitched the bus back North to carry on a conversation we started earlier. I remember how she just lit up while talking to me, especially with the F bomb about her recent past. Any romantic aspirations I had for Sonia evaporated on the trip and I didn’t mind. (Not like I was on the prowl every waking minute.) She made me happy in many ways: I met a person who would take French 1 seriously; she shared my passion for the language; she was closer to my age than the average ACC student, thus some things I mentioned weren’t alien or ancient history; and she proved that making new friends in Austin was easier than the Midwest. Turned out Sonia was relatively new to Austin too; her boyfriend Charles recently convinced her to leave Houston, earn her diploma and live with him.<\/p>\n The Summer of 1994 was off to a great start! We both earned A’s from Mr. Prevost and occasionally hung out at Sixth Street, Les Amis Cafe or the apartment. When Fall came, Sonia and I were classmates again in Mr. Prevost’s French 2 in addition to all our future social gatherings.<\/p>\n Then she got accepted to UT. I envied her, in a good way. The university decided my degree from Marquette was enough so I’ve never bothered again. Matters with Apple went in my favor by mid-1995 anyway. As for Sonia, she carried on and achieved at least one degree in Latin American Studies. Don’t pin me to it! I need to ask her for the specifics. I know she pursued more French so she has at least a minor in it and she became fluent long before she married Philippe, a French guy.<\/p>\n The Austin years went on and I feel we became very good friends. We helped each other out in numerous ways. I think she’s done way more for me though, especially when she had this Quixotic goal to help me get married in five years. Oddly, I don’t recall asking for any further advice beyond landing the first date. Somara is grateful Sonia had no success too. I always appreciated the intention.<\/p>\n To me, Sonia became and is the younger, fashion savvy, wiser sister I wish I had growing up; like Anna Paquin in She’s All That<\/em> or probably what Miranda Cosgrove was typecast in before iCarly<\/em>. Hence, it’s why I call her ma petite soeur<\/em>. From 1994-97, she was more often the voice of reason, optimism and bravery during my first tour in Austin. Good thing she also knew how to drive stick. I almost returned my VW if it weren’t for her refresher course on a Saturday morning in Hyde Park. Sonia was always a face of Austin I made sure my visiting friends met during their stays: Jose, Kami and Cindy said she rocked.<\/p>\n I could go on and on over how I consider Sonia a part of my family. But this entry is pushing well over 1000 words. There’s just no way I can be succinct about her. Sonia is an amazing person and I won the lottery the day I met her 15 years ago in a French class. I hope to continue being her loyal, awkward grand frere<\/em> for another 1500 years.<\/p>\n Sonia does have a home page via Mobile Me (aka .Mac), I’ll see if she gives me permission to have a link to it from the Friends of the Picayune section.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Those first three months in Austin were off to a sweet start: I had an awesome place to stay courtesy of University Towers (24th Street and Rio Grande); the weather was great (compared to the Midwest); the job was relatively … Continue reading