This week I’d been telling myself that this weekend would be different. I would stay in, relax at the house, cook for myself, and not spend much money…
That lasted all of a couple hours into Saturday.
I am finding there is still too much to do here, and sitting alone in the house on a sunny summer day I get very antsy very quickly and feel compelled to go do something. Saturday, after going for a morning walk, I went to get an oil change. The place I visited must have had 50 patrons there at once, and 100 employees. After the oil change, they drive your car through a car wash and then park it in the lot where an eager employee details the car inside and out. I sat and waited for over an hour, but I have never ever seen the Grand Prix cleaner. This Hispanic fellow, wearing jeans and a sweatshirt in the 108-degree heat, was on his hands and knees scrubbing every last crevice of the Grand Prix for over 30 minutes. All that for $31!
Okay, so getting an oil change isn’t exactly thrilling, but it was an unusual experience. From there, I drove to the southeast part of town to see some real TV filming sites. My first stop was Ray’s BBQ from Friday Night Lights, but it was closed. After that I drove by Coach Taylor’s house and the Initech building from Office Space before landing at Top Notch Burger for lunch, which was featured prominently in Dazed and Confused, still my favorite movie of all-time. I had the best $2.95 burger I’ve ever eaten!
I then shopped at Target and came back to the house, where I intended to stay for the rest of the day. But, after learning of a great karaoke bar 2 miles from the house, I decided I couldn’t possibly just sit around. At 8:30, I drove over to the Canary Hut Pub where I was shocked to see that I was one of just three or four people in the bar. Surely they wouldn’t go through with karaoke with such a small crowd! Well, I struck up a conversation with the karaoke host who turned out being from Nebraska, and the two of us alternated songs for a half hour or so until others signed up. I was putting on quite a show, receiving applause and shaking hands and having drinks purchased for me. An Asian woman even asked me to do a duet with her because her husband couldn’t sing.
Amongst the weird individuals I met that Austin is so famous for…
- Gary, a chubby, very very gay man with the voice of Aretha Franklin.
- Chip, a borderline homeless, toothless man who downed five shots of Crown and proceeded to tell me about how his wife likes to tie him up and whip him.
- Margaret, a free-spirited Annie Hall look-a-like who danced seductively to every song.
- Rosa, a pregnant woman who incorporated her pregnant belly into actions in the songs.
- Charlie, a quiet, seemingly ordinary middle-aged man who resembled Richard Dean Anderson who suddenly burst out onto the dance floor during a performance of “Heat Wave” by Linda Ronstadt.
Anyway, the night came to an end with my rendition of the German version of “Rock Me Amadeus,” at least my tenth song of the night, and I left the bar for the house, but determined I was in no shape to drive. On the walk home, I encountered a crippled animal on the road with use of only its front two legs, dragging its back side. Just then a cop pulled up and I approached him. He told me to get away from him, that I wasn’t in trouble and that he was just slowing down to make a turn… well then why pull over and stop in the middle of nowhere just as I walk by? At some point during my walk home I determined I had been going the wrong way, and was a mile from the car now. By the time I made it back to the parking lot at 3:40am, my breathalyzer indicated I was no longer over the limit and I drove home and went to bed.
Bottom line: if you ever come to visit me and Lauren in Austin, I am taking you to the Canary Hut Pub. Karaoke every night of the week!!
Certainly a day for the books.
Now, with my Sunday, I really do intend to stay in and not spend any money… just as soon as I get back from the grocery store where I plan to buy ingredients to start cooking some different meals for a change.
And just to see if I can ever remember… here are the songs I recall singing last night. Definitely were more than these…
- “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It,” Darius Rucker
- “Some Girls Do,” Sawyer Brown
- “If I Didn’t Have You,” Randy Travis
- “I Need You Now,” Lady Antebellum (duet with that random woman)
- “All Revved Up With No Place to Go,” Meat Loaf
- “Misery and Gin,” Merle Haggard
- “Wild Wild West,” Escape Club
- “Rock Me Amadeus,” Falco
Ryan Glanzer Blog 
You are a mad man!
The patrons at that bar sound quite similar to the ones at the bar in Huron where we went. What kind of an animal was wounded? Please tell me it wasn’t a dog or cat.