Friday Five

(Trying a slightly new format here. We'll see if it sticks.)

The week:

I'm sitting in the Austin airport at the moment. I'm in a bar while a couple is playing bad country-folk music. One wonders how bad things must have gotten that the only gig you can get is an airport bar. Needless to say, I'm listening to Zune on my laptop right now. (Chains of Love by Erasure right now <insert jab at jersey here>)

In any event, I'm very glad to be getting out of Austin right now. I'm done with hot/humid weather now. It only dropped below 100 for 2 of the 6 days I was here, and that's only because the hurricane came through. (Oh, and for my Jewish Mother, the hurricane was nowhere near me, and I'm sorry for not calling.)

I'm generally not too much of a tourist when I travel. I try at times, but there are times when you just want food and a bed and little else. I keep meaning to see a baseball game wherever I am, but the last couple trips have been to places with minor league teams that have outdoor stadiums where it's 90+ in the shade. Not really interested in broiling for a team I really don't care about. (We're the Replacements by They Might Be Giants now)

All of that being said, I did make it down to The Salt Lick, which is a BBQ joint in a small (and I mean small) town outside of Austin called Driftwood. If you blinked you missed it. Great Texas BBQ - which is more beef centered than pork. Huge cabin style building with nothing but picnic tables - really the perfect setting. They don't have a liquor license being in a "dry" county, but they allow people to BYOB (which I saw more than a couple of groups taking advantage of by bringing their own coolers). (Stories I Tell by Toad the Wet Sprocket now)

The travel note:

The past two weeks I was stuck in a Suzuki Forenza. I'm pretty sure Suzuki uses the same engines for their motorcycles as they do their cars - you hit the gas and the engine says, "Yeah, I'll get back to you on that one." What's really annoying about the car is that you can't lock the doors if a door is open. You have to get out and lock the car. Last week the car had a key fob, and when you locked the car it made the most annoying little chirp. This week - no key fob, just the key. So I had to manually lock the door with the key every time. Hey Suzuki - did you actually let someone other than the idiot who designed it offer advice for the car? And while we're at it - having a horn that's two little buttons rather than the entire center of the steering wheel sucks (especially for an East Coaster).

Oh, and the icing on the cake was the horn itself makes an "Ummm, excuse me" noise rather than an actual honk.

The Five:

(Kiss From a Rose by Seal (acoustic))

(Please bear with me while I try to figure out a Five. Have I mentioned that I'd love ideas?)

(Making Plans for Nigel by Nouvelle Vague)

Ok - so it's questions again this week from www.friday5.org, and I figured it fits me - Annoyances:

1. What’s something people do in public that really annoys you, even though it’s probably not a big deal?
   People not showing a little respect when the National Anthem is being sung. Just stop talking for 3 minutes - that's it. (And as far as I'm concerned it is a big deal.)
2. How readily do you ask strangers to stop their annoying behavior?
   Not real often, unless it's someone kicking the back of my seat. I did ask a lady the other week to close her window blind on the plane as it was blinding me - she decided she wanted to argue with me. Pleasant.
   (Goodbye Girl by Squeeze)
3. What’s something you do in public that probably annoys others?
   Talking to myself. I can't help it. I did hear on NPR a while ago that people who talk to themselves out loud have better cognitive skills.
4. What’s your theory about why it’s so easy to get annoyed when one is behind the wheel of a vehicle?
   Because every other driver out there is an idiot.
5. What regular, minor annoyance have you learned to tolerate?
   I don't know that I can think of one. Maybe that's something I need to work on.

(In Bloom by Nirvana)