I stayed in Austin, writing and wandering around for much of the day. On 6th street I ran into this old hotel.

I went to the Whole Foods store again to get some food and ran into Sy. Sy was born in India, but has lived in Texas for years working as an engineer and a teacher. He is a very friendly guy. We chatted for awhile and then he asked me if he could show me his special talent. I said sure. He told me he needed something to write on and I gave him my notebook. He pulled out several colored markers and worked for a few minutes, and then gave me this:

Now my notebook is much fancier. I plan to make a stamp out of this and use it to sign things dramatically. Maybe I'll put it on the front cover of the books I write. Anyway, it was a surprising moment.

At the waterfront the sun set along the river and I got a couple good photos.

I ran into another buddy from school who happened to be in town - Brian. He attends medical school at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, TX. He is in Austin doing clinical work and was planning to go out with some friends that evening. He invited me to tag along to get some sushi. I met him at his friend Catherine's house. Brian's medical school buddies Forrest, Katherine, Rod, Casey, and Catherine's brother Wayne were already there. They were all cool and we got along fine. We headed to a fancy sushi place and I wore my first collared shirt in probably a month. On the way from the car to the restaurant a bird crapped on my shoulder and I had to take my shirt off. I think it was a sign...

Dinner was fun and tasty and afterwards we went to the Ginger Man, which had an entire wall of beers on tap. I would say around 75. Maybe more. We hung out for quite awhile and then tried a few other places. 6th street is the epicenter of the downtown nightlife in Austin. The entire area goes crazy every single night. The streets are blocked off and there is live music flowing out of every respectable venue. Tons of food vendor stands fill the air with all sorts of delicious smells. We couldn't resist and stopped at a hot dog place - 'The Best Wurst.' Clever.

We stayed out late and had a blast.