Category Archives: Austin

While you were sleeping…

W. A. Mozart (1756-1791) Any place named after a virtuoso like Mozart gets my stamp of approval!

…I was probably drinking coffee.

Therefore, we have the theme for my first official blog of the 2011-2012 school year.

It’s great to be back in this mode too! If you have read my blogs before, I profoundly apologize. If you haven’t, now you get a double shot from me as you read my thoughts about life and the Texas MPA Program.

Favorite Coffee Places
Those that know me know I love my coffee in the morning…and with lunch, in the late afternoon, with dinner, in the early evening, and in the late evening. I have my favorites—I’m not gonna lie. Here they are and why, in no particular order:

Mozart’s—especially after interning, I got into the glorious habit of studying outside. Whether it was on the roof of the SAC, at George’s Patio Café, or at Mozart’s.
Mozart’s is great because it is conducive to both studying and socializing, something I can’t say for all coffee places. Nevertheless, I’m always in favor of being able to soak in the sight of Lake Austin, drink some hot coffee, and either chat or read.

Bennu Coffee Shop—this is definitely in the hipster neighborhood, and they definitely have some hip coffee! In addition to having an entire menu named after literature, this place is open 24/7, which makes it a very convenient place to crash for a loooong time. Try the Raven or the Don Quixote! Oh, and yes, those are power strips coming out of the ceiling for your laptop!

 Epoch—this is the North campus version of Bennu; open 24/7. Come here and do some “epoch” studying! (Bad pun? That’s my  forte…)

Spiderhouse Coffee—this is one of my favorite places, but not for studying. This is undoubtedly the place to chill on old-school metal patio furniture and reminisce with an old friend. The lethargic pace of service makes this perfect for a Sunday afternoon. Continue reading While you were sleeping…

New to UT: III. How Do I Get Football Tickets?

I once heard that the athletic budget at UT was larger than the GDP of a small country. If there is anything bigger than MPA on campus, it is the football team. I remember Vince Young edging into the end zone like it was yesterday, and I still get chills every time I see the replay too. Needless to say at this point, the football team was a big part of why I attended Texas, and if there is any benefit to being a student here, it’s that you get to see a team in the upper echelon of college football royalty play for only a marginal cost.

First though, some thoughts for the week:

Memorial Day

Memorial Day, originally “Decoration Day,” was first celebrated in 1868 to commemorate the Battle of Gettysburg, although the date was intentionally chosen to not coincide with the date of the battle. As time progressed, however, Memorial Day’s scope increased to honor the fallen of all American wars. Congress made the holiday official in 1968 under the Uniform Holidays Bill, which also established Washington’s Birthday and Veterans’ Day as official holidays. As someone who treasures freedom, I could not let this holiday pass without giving a space in my column to those who have died for me to have it, for it takes true courage to put your life on the line for this ideal. (Imagine the lifestyle in which the rights that we consider “unalienable” can be taken away for merely disagreeing with those in authority.) Thus, I leave this paragraph to honor those who gave their lives for my freedom generations later and to support those who answer the call to protect the threat of that freedom when needed. 

The Fifty Best Burgers in Texas

The Stodg, found at The Porch in Dallas, is cooked over hickory wood. It's hard to fathom that this behemoth is only No.6!

In my very first blog post, I mentioned how I have been trying to complete the AFI Top 100 movies. Well, another one of my lists is based on an article published in Texas Monthly nearly two years ago. This article ranks the fifty best burgers in the state. (Seeing as how most public accounting firms have a mandatory retiring age, I figure I’ll have time to open a restaurant once my auditing days are done.) Perhaps not my healthiest endeavor, it is interesting to see how these different establishments set up their businesses and to see the many different ways there are to just cook a burger. Personally, I find that I am partial to those cooked over a wood flame, but that can be compensated for if the quality of the meat is top notch. Thus, I realize that not all of my readers may like the aforementioned classic films, so hopefully curiosity to try a solid burger would be more relatable…and palatable.

Do you really go around trying different kinds of burgers?

Yes, even if it is just for business purposes. As a business student, I like comparing strategies of different companies to see what works, what doesn’t, and why. For example, what qualities distinguish Wal-Mart and Whole Foods even though both fundamentally sell groceries? Similarly, it is interesting to see a chain like Jack-in-the-Box with an incredibly diverse menu that extends to tacos and egg rolls succeed at the same time that the local Mighty Fine thrives on having a menu that nearly consists of only its burgers. Thus, for me it’s not only to taste awesome food, but it’s to see what simplicity can do for metrics such as throughput, quality, training costs, economies of scale, etc. 

But you really want to hear about how to get football tickets…  Continue reading New to UT: III. How Do I Get Football Tickets?

New to UT: II. Do I Need a Car?

This matter is obviously one of preference. It is a question I receive often though, especially from incoming freshmen, so I decided to address it here. There are some pros and cons to having a car as a UT Austin student that I will cover, and even though I believe that it is not necessary to have a car, at least my reasoning will be transparent enough.

First, some highlights from the past week…

Congratulations for Graduating!

Congratulations to all the UT students who graduated this past weekend. I’d like to give a special shoutout to my roommate of four years, who probably deserves a medal for tolerating me for eight semesters. Congratulations on graduation and on your full-time offer!

The Rapture…

…either didn’t happen, or we all got left behind. I hope for the former. In case you didn’t hear, Harold Camping, an 89-year-old retired civil engineer in California, predicted Judgment Day would occur on Saturday, May 21; the prediction did not manifest. Nevertheless, the most famous end-of-days prediction in U.S. history occurred in 1844 when William Miller predicted the second coming would occur on October 22, 1844. Many followers gathered in anticipation (some even quit their jobs) of this prediction and waited all day only to discover that nothing happened; as such, this event was known as “The Great Disappointment. 

Bee Week

May 29-June 4 is Bee Week in Washington DC, and it is probably one of my favorite events of the year after the NCAA Basketball Tournament.

In what I would now describe as a hyper-recruiting-event-like party, contestants and their coaches and families (usually the same people) stay in the Grand Hyatt for a week. While there, contestants engage in meet-and-greets, game nights, several tours throughout the nation’s capital, a barbecue, and a final banquet. Wednesday and Thursday are set aside for competition, however, as students (none past the 8th grade are allowed) try to spell their way to a $30,000 cash grand prize (and about an extra $10,000 in other prizes). To gauge the types of words these spellers face, Scripps Howard offers this sample test

And back to the main topic…

Do I Need a Car? Continue reading New to UT: II. Do I Need a Car?

New to UT: I. Where Do I Live?

After taking some time to destroy my finals (and vice-versa), I sit back at my computer, relaxed and ready to make some noise on the web (and the Millennium Lab) again. Summer shines its face upon Austin again, whether you’re driving along Mopac watching the green leaves of the trees waving at you as a smooth summer breeze floats by or watching the sun smile upon the lake as you stroll along the Congress Avenue Bridge.  As such, my next several entries will be shorter so that I can go outside.

This next series, as promised, will address some questions I sometimes hear from incoming students. Because a mixed audience may be reading this (1st years, 3rd years, and 5th years), I will try to avoid over-generalizing and be more specific on my thoughts on each of my outlooks.

First, though, a couple of tidbits from the past couple of weeks:

Dallas Mavericks

I admit: I was a doubter of the Mavs and have been for the past five years or so, especially after that debacle against Miami in the finals. After praising the Lakers since the off-season—the 1980 off-season—Mavs fans have my full attention. Please don’t ask me to root against Kevin Durant though…

Kutcher to Replace Sheen

Warner Brothers announced that Ashton Kutcher will replace the estranged Charlie Sheen on the CBS sitcom “Two and a Half Men.” Kutcher is best known for his parts in “That 70s Show” and “Punk’d.” Kutcher will have to undergo a blood test before he is officially signed on as part of a new policy initiated by the Warner Brothers legal counsel to check for abnormally high levels of tiger blood. (#kidding)

Vocabulary Boost?

Merriam Webster published a list of words to add pizzazz to your everyday vocab. These words are supposed to add an extra kick of sophistication and spice to your conversation skills.

Anyway, on to topic…

Where do I live?

I get this question from incoming Longhorns pretty frequently. Honestly, it’s a matter of taste. Some people like quiet, some people like proximity, some people like partying, some people like price. Here are my thoughts on the subject… Continue reading New to UT: I. Where Do I Live?

Internship Series: III. Location, Location, Location

This may or may not be a factor for everyone. There is not an abundance of job opportunities in El Paso though, so location is a blank slate for me. The first time I was faced with the issue of location was about five years ago when deciding where to attain my degree. There are hundreds of colleges and universities in the United States, and it would not be accurate if I told you that the city of Austin was not a factor in my decision to attend the University of Texas. (I cannot even begin to tell you how many times I was homesick for Austin.) Being adults now and having the freedom of choosing the first place we want to be after graduation, this issue seems to be relevant all over again.

As my usual tradition though, here are the tidbits for the week: Continue reading Internship Series: III. Location, Location, Location