Personalities

I’m standing in line at Strange Brew in South Austin last week, reading the board and trying to choose a sandwich to go with my latte. I’m looking forward to settling down for a few hours of research and catching up on paperwork. Before I’m ready, the barista calls me, never standing still as he flits between the register and the myriad other jobs he’s doing behind the counter. Immediately caught up in the speed of his energy, I panic a little bit, totally forget the sandwich, order my latte and...

Born on the east-coast, transplanted to west-coast and now a “native” (hey, over 15 years, it counts!) Austinite, I had an interesting experience outside a subway station in Washington DC, several years ago. Loving the public transit option, I was caught off guard as I saw a mass of people heading towards me as they exited the Metro. My first thought was, “Now, how am I going to say ‘Hello’ to all those people?” My second thought, was, “You’re not in Texas, Em.” And the need to engage strangers ...