This is my first spring here in Texas. If you forget about all of the bullshit politics and the religious insanity, it's a pretty cool place, Texas. I already look like a friggin' black motherfucker and it's only the first week of May. My SO and I went down to Austin this past weekend. The first day we got there, it was 95 degrees. We went swimming in this place called Barton Springs. It was kick-ass! Austin is one of the coolest places in this here US of A, I gotta say. When we were at the springs, this one chica was goin' topless. She had some nice units! It reminded me of my folks' place on the North Sea in Holland. On those beaches, a lotta people were nekkid, some that you would never wanna see that way, but bein' Europeans, they didn't give a fuck and God bless 'em. On Saturday in Austin, there's this festival that they have every year down there to celebrate Eore's birthday. That's Eore of Winnie the Pooh fame. We all decided to eat a button of peyote for the fest. Holy Fucking Shit! dear reader, your humble narrator had entered another dimension. Usually, I do not like hippie shit, but the drum circles and freaks in costume were all good on that day. Anyway, Texas ain't too bad if you make it that way. The bikin' is first rate. I met this guy who owns this little bike shop and he takes a person back to the days of when customer service really meant something. He ain't there to rape your ass when you need something done. And he showed me how to adjust my derailer, whilst fixin' it, for nothing. And all the while he's pouring Shiners down my throat. Dallas is a cool place, you just gotta know where to find the good stuff. Maybe that makes it better than other parts of the country, I dunno, but here I am for a while at least. I still miss Chitown though.