Shift into Spring

ViaMoi/Flickr

“First day of spring–
I keep thinking about
the end of autumn.”

-Matsuo Basho

Growing up in Austin, there always came a time during the spring semester of school, when I knew the season had officially arrived.  The weather shifted just so, between hot and cool, and mild breezes over fresh cut grass and blooming flowers, delivered a understated yet distinct smell to my nose.

A comparable sense would be the way pavement smells right before it’s amount to rain.  After a few times you’re keyed into that smell and your brain makes the connection between it, and the coming rains.

After 19 years here I feel attuned to shift into spring.  And with this shift came changes.  In the world and within myself, boy-to-teen-to-man.  And beyond all those things, there was something else: possibility.

Possibility of what?  I didn’t know.  But it was that uncertainty that I looked forward to.  An awakening into the new year (though the new year had started officially anywhere from two to three months prior to my ‘sensing’ spring).

So I feel spring in Austin yet again.  And just like when I was 8, 13, or 18, I feel that sweet, uncertain, possibility.

//A.J.

East Side Day Drifting

[I meant to post this on Friday, whoops!]

3:30pm, Wednesday

I picked an off hour to get my haircut.  At least that was the hope.  I hated waiting, even though, generally,  the free-flowing back and forth barbershop talks made time fly by.  It was a matter of engagement.  Find a thread and tune in.

Someone would talk about Obama and so-so Republican this, and that.  Someone else would be talking about the latest sporting event, currently the Texas Relays, and how their teams were doing.  And another dude would discuss what Houston rapper (Z-Ro) was, in fact, the most under-rated rapper in the industry.

As planned (and prayed for at my office desk), there was only one body between me and the fresh feeling low cut on a 75 degree day with light wind.  Perfect.  Cool, but not too cool, and clear skies with just the right amount of sunny heat.

I really just needed a line-up, a straight blade razor to frame my face inside the boarders of my hairline.  But my barber, on the days when I could catch him with a reservation or waiting line, convinced me to take a bit off all around.

I told him, low but not too low.  I didn’t want to see my scalp.  Lately I had been worried that cutting it too low might make catching signs of baldness all but impossible.

So off my barber went, buzzing and clipping away.  It was really a great day.  The shop’s front and exit doors were open, taking in the assorted sounds around 12th and Chicon.  I was in the East side of Austin, formerly what would be considered by some the “other side of the tracks.”

Since I’d lived in Austin, my only substantive memories of the East side were for haircuts, church, and occasionally chopped BBQ sandwiches.  The kind when even though wrapped tightly, the grease still showed on the brown paper bag.  The kind that, within 30 minutes of eating, guaranteed, you caught a case of the Itis (i.e. DEEP food coma).

So I should add smells to what I was taking in as my head was being worked over.  Because across the street and down a ways, less than a minute, there was a BBQ shop doing brisk business.  The sweet smokey smells of southern tradition drifted out of the building and radiated in every direction.

I found myself lost in the din of conversations around me, with the cacophony of hip-pop blaring from the shop’s surround sound system, and the whizzing of the clippers next to my ear.  I gave in and this world enveloped me like a unborn baby in the womb.

“This,” I thought,”is a moment worth capturing.”  The BBQ smells from across the street were mixing with the smells of the shop, the Kools on a few patrons breathe and clothes, the Church’s chicken someone had brought in, and various sprays needed to give black hair that fresh-cut sheen and smell.

My senses were fulfilled, and I wanted nothing more at that moment.

//A.J.

Twitterpated?

Yes. Nearly everybody gets twitterpated in the springtime. For example: You’re walking along, minding your own business. You’re looking neither to the left, nor to the right, when all of a sudden you run smack into a pretty face. Woo-woo! You begin to get weak in the knees. Your head’s in a whirl. And then you feel light as a feather, and before you know it, you’re walking on air. And then you know what? You’re knocked for a loop, and you completely lose your head!- Friend Owl, Bambi

I love this word!

//A.J.

SXSW: Done and Done.

“Suddenly the Fedora population in Austin decreased by 62%”

SXSW came and went, and for me, this year was my first really getting into the festivities.  I went to two movie premieres, one day party (including assorted bands playing), caught the tail end of another party following Wake Forest’s win over Texas (Go Deacs!), and survived a hipster stampede flea market rush.

I know, that wasn’t a whole lot for most folks, especially when other areas of my life are in a lull.  That SHOULD have been the time when I to picked up the pace: went hard, went long, got home late, and didn’t wake up until noon.  But I’m not that person (I know better, anyways).

When life gives you space, embrace it.  Don’t attempt to fill it.  That will take care of itself.  So I did my time.  I enjoyed myself when presented with those opportunities, which overall were very rewarding.  New faces and experiences added to my life mix.

Next year I’m promising myself (You are my witness) that I WILL attend double what I did this year.  That should put me in good stead with the hipster gods.

Here’s a few pics from the past week:

Holler.

//A.J.

Interview Series: Zach Nelligan

DCM Photography

Pursuing your passion and turning it into a career is the American dream.  In this interview, Zach Nellian, tattoo artist and businessman, shares his life and what drives him.

Could you fill readers in on your background?

My name is Zach Nelligan.  I’m 26 years old and a life-long resident of Austin, TX.  I’m a tattooer and I work at Triple Crown Tattoo Parlour.  I have a BFA in Studio Art from the University of Texas at Austin.  Note of interest for people that might care:  AJ and I have been friends since the 3rd grade, and he’s always been a top notch dude.  Thank you so much for taking me into consideration for this.

When did you realize you wanted to be an artist as a profession?

Dolphins?
Bring ‘em on!  I’m also here to get paid, haha.

Weirdest?
I do a lot of weird tattoos.  It’s a niche I’ve broken into.  See the answer above, and I also did a skull eating a @#$%&# in this dude’s armpit.  That was an interesting challenge.