BITS AND BYTES

An informative day at the Bob Bullock Museum started with a most convoluted routing of the car's GPS system. What would have been a simple 30-minute drive from 183 to I35 ended up taking me 45 minutes from 2222 over the 360 bridge and through winding roads in Westlake. Relief washed over me as I emerged from the maze and viewed the downtown skyscrapers.

Talks about food photography and blogging were topics of the day. Many bits of useful information and most importantly the networking - meeting new people and hearing their stories.

Stories I love. Everyone has one. You might think your story is not interesting...but it is. Some are a bit more straightforward and black and white. Or at least it might seem so to you.

Other stories have more colour, but are no more interesting than the seemingly straightforward ones. Whilst conversing with a lady at my table, I discovered a new way to write down those ideas that come to you in the most unusual of places - the shower. She talked about jotting down notes on Aqua Notes (a waterproof notepad for the shower). I thought that was quite intriguing.  

Take a personal challenge: keep a daily blog for a month. Nothing too intense or time consuming. Nothing too personal. Take one photo each day and put some words to it. One or two sentences. Perhaps something someone said - your friend, child, spouse. Or something that stood out during the day - a thought, an epiphany.

Look back after 30 days and see what you remember. Chances are you've forgotten the little things. The everyday, seemingly mundane life you think you lead. You might start to see life differently and appreciate those little things even more.

 The day ended at the Salty Sow. A beautiful place with great food and atmosphere.

I sat outside and admired the above café lights and the white lights wrapped around the tree. In all these years living in Austin, I've never ventured too far from the comfort of home...until now.