i am in austin and i have heard that the kareem electronic billboards are up.

this is all very exciting. almost as exciting as being in this beautiful city for the 4th straight year for sxsw, my favorite week of the year.

last night i flew in and was greeted at the airport by my bros dan and ken, and the lovely sk smith. we ate and drank at casino de blahblah out in the back in the cold. it was lovely and delicious.

our waitress was beautiful and had super long hair. she was funny and subtle and kept asking us if we smelled any weed being smoked.

i asked her if she wanted a hit if we could find the alleged culprit but she said it would distract her if she puffed anything. so i couldnt figure out her curiosity. isnt this austin? werent the kids just trying to keep it real weird?

got to the hotel which is right in the heat of things and our first order of business was to try to extend my reservation from ending on Tues to ending next Saturday.
(sadly in a tragic round of miscommunication the LAT travel agent only was able to book me into the Hilton here for a few days and then i was booked out in the outskirts of austin for the remainder of the fest).

the front desk girl’s name was Carisa. i told her that some of my best friends were named that. at first i thought she hated all my jokes, but as i pressed her it was revealed she was secretly loving them. even the teen next to her in the braces was laughing. as was the blonde manager on duty.

“youre a writer”? Carisa asked, apparently judgmentally.

sorta? i hedged.

“thats my dream job.” she said, and granted me the stay here that i wanted, right in the middle of everything, in the best hotel for sxswing, on the coolest floor, with the best view.

i did a little jig, asked the ladies if they ever got guests doing jigs for them, they said no, so i did another one.

your boy’s back, austin!