Diggin' Birmingham

Before I arrived in Birmingham to attend the SEI Transmission Conference, I fully expected Birmingham to be a soulless industrial wasteland with oppressive humidity (essentially Houston without the good food, museums and nearby family). Birmingham quickly responded, taking seven hours to prove me wrong and 60 hours to compel me to publish the following list of "Reasons that Austin Native Nate Laughlin has fallen in love with Birmingham, Alabama" in living colour on the World Wide Web...

1) Loblolly pines. Everywhere you go in Birmingham, they buffer the highways, carpet the hills, and shade the places you walk. The combination of rolling hills and greenery reminds me of Austin, except that the hills are higher and the green is greener.

2) Comfort food. In my 60 hours here, I have consumed the following:

Hot Lips (Fried Chicken Nuggets with Habenero Sauce)
A Soul Food Lunch of Brisket, Shredded Pork, and Fried Green Tomatoes
Bison Pot Roast with Mashed Potatoes
Chicken with Steamed Vegetables (healthy so far, oh wait...), 2 hot rolls, a tart and key lime pie
Blackened Swordfish over Grilled Potatoes, finished off with Creme Brulee.
5 Glasses of Wine
3 beers
A waffle.

It isn't helping my Engineer's belly, but I do want to take this opportunity to thank the Lord for the food...

3) The Breakfast Lady at the Comfort Inn. When I came down yesterday morning, I was greeted by the friendliest woman I've ever met. We had the following exchange:

Me: Hey, are you the woman they told me about last night who makes breakfast.
Her: Oh, yeah, bay-beh! We got eggs, we got cereal, we got juice. I'll make you a waffle and get you any-thing you want! I'll take care of you bay-beh...
Me: Cool.

I was in the breakfast room for 15 minutes, and she talked like this the entire time as she served the guests. It's not just her - everyone provides good service and is absurdly friendly. In Austin, you'll be fortunate to get a coffee and three words from a waiter in 15 minutes.

4) Motorsports Museum. One of the other LCRA engineers, Mitch Currah, brought his wife Annette, who has passed the time by befriending half the city and scouting out the hotspots for us. Apparently, there is a museum near the motorsports track that features a large and spectacular collection of motorcycles. I haven't seen it, but I'm giddy enough at the thought of it to include it in this list. I plan to go early Thursday afternoon prior to departing for Tallahassee.

5) The organically manicured landscape. Most of the landscaping I've seen complements the natural beauty of the area seamlessly. They pulled off what the Woodlands tried (and in my view, failed) to accomplish by HOA uber-fascist covenants and restrictions.

(Tangental note: According to Meemaw, one of my many distant relatives in East Texas founded and planned the Woodlands. I'm going there for the Josuessica wedding next weekend, and when I do, I'll set aside my cynicism of it and give the Woodlands another chance. That is, unless they try to kidnap and "reprogram" me...)

That's all I've got. Bedtime.