• We took the beagle out for a long hike through a nearby trail last night near our apartment. We’ve gone on a few hikes around Austin but this was the best we’ve seen. I am very surprised there are such dense forests with paths several miles long right in the city like this one. We had fun, and Baxter discovered standing water for the first time, a real rarity here in central Texas. I even managed to get a brief video of him splashing around for those of you who are interested in seeing the beagle in action.
  • The Callaway softball team debuted Tuesday night with a very late start of 9:45pm. With 14 players on the team, I was penciled in to the 10-spot in the order as the EH: extra hitter. Eventually I moved to the field and played first base. I was told the team in recent years hadn’t been very competitive, but we proved everyone wrong by losing by less than 30 in a 29-8 defeat. We play in an “absolutely no home runs” league. If you hit a ball over the fence, the inning is over. One guy on the other team did just that on the first pitch of the third, sending his team right back onto the field. That’s about the only good thing that happened. I was 1-for-2 with a 2-run double, which was really nothing more than a misplayed bouncer down the third base line, and also managed to pop into a double play when the baserunners took off with no outs.
  • I have been out to the driving range quite a few times recently over break with various co-workers in preparation for Sunday’s annual company best ball tournament, with iPads and iPods on the line. I have had the VP take a couple videos of my swing so I could get some pointers. Here are two clips: the first from two weeks ago, the second from Wednesday. The second one was being hit off a mat and I felt a little boxed in and uncomfortable, so I don’t think the improvements are very visible in that one.

  • The apartment is feeling more like home with the additions yesterday of our washer and dryer. For some reason the place didn’t come with a microwave so we have to go buy a new one.
  • I was pleased to see the Yankees go down in defeat last night, setting up an ALCS match-up between Delmon Young and the Tigers vs. our local Texas Rangers. I don’t care too much who wins–both teams have had World Series appearances in recent years. I’ll be excited for tonight’s two NLDS deciding games. I’ll be rooting for the Brewers and Cardinals.
  • Lauren and I celebrated our second wedding anniversary a little early this year, going out to Fogo de Chao downtown on Wednesday with our new friends, the Megos. It was Restaurant Week in Austin, which saved us a little money on the otherwise very expensive restaurant. For those unfamiliar, it is Brazilian-style all-you-can-eat meat served at your table by gauchos. There are 12 different meats available along with an impressive salad bar. Just flip your card over to green when you want more meat, and back over to red when you’re full. I didn’t come anywhere close to my March intake when we went with the Rosoks in Minneapolis, but it was still mind-numbingly delicious and filling.
  • I am very concerned as we have yet to receive mail at our new address despite filling out USPS change-of-address forms. I had cashed in my previous 401k from Microboards in order to roll it over to my new 401k plan, and the check should have been here several days ago. It is the largest sum of money I have ever had in my possession and it’s floating around somewhere in the mail system. If it doesn’t arrive today I can at least call Fidelity and have them issue a stop payment on the check and have them send a new one, but the overall lack of mail is still bewildering.