Tonight we attended the UT vs. Texas A&M-Commerce basketball game thanks to our friends Kate and Jason who shared their UT basketball season tickets. It was the first time we had attended an event at the Moody Center, UT's new basketball arena, and we had a blast!
Despite the fact that the students were all on holiday break, the atmosphere was great! Save for the man three rows ahead of us who periodically stood up for minutes at a time and obstructed our views, it was a great night. I asked the woman and her husband sitting in front of us if that guy always stood during the game. She said that he did not usually sit right in front of them. Then, she proceeded to ask him politely to sit down. Despite the fact that he had at least two beers on board at that point, he obliged! We enjoyed the remainder of the game with unobstructed views!
It has been strange being back in Texas and seeing all the changes to the city and the university. UT now has a medical school and a cancer center - neither of which existed 10 years ago. The population has exploded, and there are headquarters or outposts for every tech company imaginable, including Apple, Facebook, Google, Tesla, and Samsung. One can now get any type of food under the sun in Austin, and the city is now connected to a variety of global destinations due to the massive economic and population growth.
All of this has me feeling bittersweet because Austin is clearly not the same place I grew up in. That said, moving back here never seemed likely before because of the lack of professional opportunities in academic medicine and because the place felt too provincial. All of that has changed, so I'll keep an open mind. Maybe one can go home again?
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