HDNet Party at SXSW & Quilmes

Some of you my know that Sarah and I are big fans of the show Three Sheets hosted by comedian Zane Lamprey.  Well this weekend, Sarah stumbled upon an online contest to win tickets to see Zane perform at a private show/party in Austin.  Lucky for me, she won tickets for me and a guest (since it was too short notice for her to make it down).  My friend Squirrel from basic training agreed to drive us down to Austin for the shindig.  Upon arrival, we quickly found out that this show was more of a private party hosted by Mark Cuban for his HDNet tv channel investors and personnel.  Well Mark Cuban is a pretty gregarious and generous guy and it was awesome to see Zane perform in person.

Prior to the show, we went to a fancy hotdog shop next door where I had the pleasure to try an Argentine Beer "Quilmes."  It was pretty good; richer in body than a American pilsners, but still light enough to be refreshing on that hot afternoon and complimentary to my hot dog.

This weekend I will be flying back to Pennsylvania to visit for the last time prior to my deployment.  I expect it to be another whirlwind weekend visiting family mostly and getting things arranged for being married and then overseas for next year.  The visit will be cut a little short by the fact that Sarah and I will be driving back to Texas so that I will have a car here and can move into a cheaper motel off-post.  A car is really invaluable here, where everything on-base is so spread out and command may have you running about to several locations in a day.  The motel I'm currently in is on-post, but a 2-mile walk from my company.  That's manageable for block-leave, but not so when we will actually be doing work and preparing for deployment in the coming weeks.  Special thanks to Geoff Haviland for the car arrangement; he's been a lifesaver since I don't have the resources to go car shopping around here (where dealships prey on servicemen with crazy interest rates).