June 29, 2006 - Microsoft shipped beta 2 of Live Communication Server 2007 and for the efforts that we put into it (yeah right ! :) ) we were given Friday (June 30) and Monday (July 3) off .. which meant a 5 day weekend as Tuesday - July4th is the Independence day, a national holiday !!! Without thinking twice, I booked the flight tickets to Austin ...
Seattle or should I say Redmond (thats where Microsoft campus is) is a very very boring place for a single guy ... This area is over-filled with couples (who hang out with other couples and so on ..) no single/ available girls and the university is way too far in Seattle downtown and so all the hustle bustle and happening roads are way too far ... so if you are single and if you have a 5 day long weekend and if you dont have much work ( & also of course if you dont want to just sit on your couch and watch 4 movies a day for 5 days)- your best bet is to get out of Redmond as soon as possible ... so Austin was an obvious choice for me .. firstly I really
miss Austin , also my best friend is in Austin and and few other friends' friends were also on their way to Austin ... so we were gonna be a big group of around 10 ppl ... what more can u ask for ? For last 3 months I was waiting for such an opportunity and I was not gonna let this one go by ..
I am going to keep this post a short one & I am not going to talk about what I did in Austin much in this post as it wasnt something new or something great - out of ordinary .. I have stayed in Austin for almost about 2 years and I know Austin roads better than many of my friends there .. so it wasnt a new city for me ... but the moment I landed in Austin, I felt that closeness .. I always knew that I hold Austin very close to my heart but I realized how very close this time .. that smile I missed in Redmond, came back in seconds after landing ... All 4 days were total fun even though it was normal routine of getting up at 12 - 1 in the afternoon and sleeping at 4 - 5 in the morning (if thats what u call normal ;) .. ) and spending the day doing mere timepass ... visiting same old places in and around Austin like San Antonio (I think I have been to San Antonio like 10 times by now :) and the only thing you can do here is
Riverwalk, which reminds you of Venice (Italy) with Restaurants, hotels etc right on the banks of the river, its really good), Austin park etc, playing cricket, golf & other games ... It was very hot in Austin and heat is something I cant bear .. I can live with snow and freezing temperatures but not heat ... but despite the heat and same old places, I enjoyed my trip to the fullest ...
Tuesday evening was my flight back to Seattle and I literally had to drag myself out of there .. back to this dull & dry life .... I wonder, will I ever feel the same way about Redmond ? Will I ever long to go to redmond ? Will redmond ever be a place I would want to stay & own a house at ? I know if Microsoft gives me a offer to relocate to Austin, I will take it with both hands ... but redmond ? Whats the way out ? I think I have to get married ;) !! ... ok ! I have to call up my parents now .. and convey them these thoughts ... ;) ...
Labels: Visits / Trips
