vacation all i ever wanted

Trips trips trips! I've got a couple fun things planned from now til February that I want to share.

Dallas- TX/OU followed by ACL

Not so much a "trip" as a 24 hour stay in town. For those who do not exist in the Longhorn/Texas Ex/Austin, Texas bubble...we have been faced with a terrible decision. For the first time, The Powers That Be have scheduled ACL Music Festival on the same weekend as the Red River Shootout (the Texas v. Oklahoma football game). This is blasphemy! THIS IS MADNESS! I have only missed ACL once since I started going in 2006, and I regretted it all that year. I've never missed a TX/OU weekend in Dallas since I started attending UT. So torn. So, some of us have decided to do both. Saturday, Dallas for the game. Sunday, ACL. Monday, work. Ugh. Kind of the best of both worlds, though...I'll drink a thousand beers and eat my weight in fried guacamole at the fair, and walk/dance it off Sunday at ACL.

New Orleans- Mardi Gras Baybee!

Can I just say HOW EXCITED I AM FOR THIS? I've been to New Orleans three times now, and it just keeps getting better. If I didn't have the distinct pleasure of living in Austin, I would move to New Orleans in a heartbeat. I've never been for Mardi Gras, though. We've got a hotel booked that appears to be clean and orderly, and is located in the French Quarter. Yah, it's a Best Western. But it's a Landmark Best Western. Only the best for my honey booboos. Also, it would appear that everyone has an actual bed to sleep in, which is a step up for my krewe. <-- see what I did there?

So, I need your help. Please pass along any Mardi Gras survival tips. How does one not get lost? Do you just become okay with the fact that you'll probably get lost, and embrace NOLA strangers as friends? (I can feel my mom's heart quickening as she reads this. Just kidding, Mama. I won't talk to strangers.) Should I bring an extra suitcase for all the beads I'm going to bring back? But what will I WEAR?

Los Angeles- Argo Premiere

This. Is a real thing. That is really happening. But every time I talk about it, it seems more and more far-fetched. In a nutshell: my uncle, Tony Mendez, was in the CIA during the Iran hostage crisis. He was a disguise and exfiltration expert enlisted in recovering six American diplomats who had evaded capture but were stranded in Iran. After his mission was declassified, he wrote about it in his book The Master of Disguise. No relation to the Dana Carvey movie... (turtle! turtle!) Anyway, somewhere along the way George Clooney bought the rights to his story and decided to produce the movie, and Ben Affleck signed on to star and direct. NO BIG DEAL.The movie is called Argo and the LA premiere is next week.

This has been a long time in the making, and the family has been squealing and excited the whole way through. Now the stars have aligned and we have been invited to attend the premiere of the movie in LA. I've never been to California, but I'm told this is the right way to do it. I'm certainly fine with it. So, if you need me next Thursday, I'll be poolside at the Beverly Hills Hotel hanging out with Ben Affleck, John Goodman, Bryan Cranston, Kyle Chandler (!! TEXAS FOREVEROMG BLEEPBLOPBLOOP), and who the hell knows who else. And my family! Thank God. I'll need them if I'm going to attempt to stay grounded/conscious.

I'll also get to see one of my very best girlfriends from high school- she works for WB and will be acting as the family's handler that night. Such a great, small world we live in. Needless to say, I am thrilled and terrified all at once. Check out the trailer below. The critics love it, and it's looking like an Oscar front-runner.



I'll attempt to take a few pictures while I'm there, if I'm not too starstruck. And of course will update my loyal subjects (the ~3 people that read this.) Wish me luck!