Over the course of the semester I have had the opportunity to explore a portion of what the city of Austin has to offer. From going to see a movie, to listening to live music, and to visiting a restaurant that has been open since 1933, I truly believe Austin is an amazing city to explore.
Through spending the time to explore the city I got see a hilarious movie called Masterminds. Masterminds is about a guard at an armored car company that gets tricked into assisting a small group of people with one of the biggest bank robberies in U.S. history. Thanks to Owen Wilson, Zach Galifianakis, and Kristen Wiig this movie, based off of the 1997 Loomis Fargo robbery, transformed a real life crisis into a story so ridiculous I couldn’t help but laugh. In order to get to this movie I had to use the GPS on my phone to find the theater. While watching this movie I laughed nonstop and overall really enjoyed the story and its connection to a real life event. If you are looking for a funny movie I encourage you to check this one out!
I also had the opportunity to explore Austin’s music scene by going to a Parachute and Needtobreathe concert. Parachute is a band that mixes contemporary soul music with rock and funk elements, and Needtobreathe is a band that focuses on a contemporary sound. The concert took place at the Long Center and for those that enjoy chill, laid back music this concert tour is the one for you! I really enjoyed that the venue was kept small and the location had an amazing view of downtown Austin. Since Parachute is one of my favorite bands my phone really helped me a lot at this concert. By using my phone to record some of my favorite songs I am now able to relive the best songs of the night over and over again.
Another interesting place I had the opportunity to visit was Threadgill’s. Threadgill’s is a restaurant on North Lamar that opened its doors for the first time in 1933 and as been holding an important spot in Austin’s community ever since. Last weekend I had the opportunity to meet the owner of the restaurant while enjoying the food and homey atmosphere. It was clear that the owners took a lot of pride in running Threadgill’s and their enthusiasm we mirrored in every employ that I met. Besides looking up the location and the hours that Threadgill’s served brunch, I felt like I didn’t really need my phone to enjoy having brunch with my friends.
Overall, these experiences have revealed that I heavy rely on technology, especially my phone, for basic information about an event and directions. If I didn’t have my phone I would not have been able to go to the concert at Long Center or Threadgill’s because I definitely would have gotten lost. My phone also allowed me to keep a record of my amazing experience at the Parachute concert. By having the ability to record some of the live music and take pictures I know, later on, I will look back at my phone and enjoy reliving that memory. However, I also felt like my phone isolated me at certain events. For example, instead of spending time talking and interacting with my friends at Threadgill’s, I felt obligated to spend my time taking pictures to catalog my experience for this blog.