This post will be partially about the SXSW EDU conference which I attended from March 2-7, 2025. Since I’m trying to get my blogging mojo back, I’m still not good at getting my thoughts down right away to properly talk about conferences/events I attend. I’m also trying to get my conference mojo back as well.
Also, this post will feature lots of media and links to media. I hope it serves as a smorgasbord of sensory delights for you, the dear reader of my blog.
The last conference I attended was in June of 2023, the Reclaim Open conference at the University of Mary Washington, sponsored by my colleagues at Reclaim Hosting. I’ve blogged and posted to the socials about those great folks (and friends).
That conference was attended by pre-diabetic Andy, or rather, Andy-didn’t-know-he-was-headed-for-type-2 diabetes-Andy. For that event, I traveled, by car, to Fredericksburg, VA. It was an exciting drive (broken into two days) because of the anticipation of seeing old friends. As I got closer to Fredericksburg, I started getting quite emotional – from anticipation, yes, but also driving the roads I once cycled on prodigiously. Freddy was not a bad place to be, and the memories were flooding in, including the reason I was driving the back roads I biked on in the first place – the horrific traffic on I95 as you get close to town.
As I started this post, I began to look for the “record” of this trip. I wasn’t tweeting much, though I did tweet about InfoComm (broadcast/AV trade show) which I would attend later in the month and drool over the hardware at the Blackmagic Design booth. I was using, my new found friend, Mastodon more often. I took some photos as well. After traveling, I always feel like I should’ve taken more. There I go again, “shoulding” myself. I remember thinking “take more photos” during my visit to Fredericksburg as an opportunity to record more. The other part of the equation is to publish said record, which I didn’t really do other than the few Mastodon posts. The photos did remind me that this event coincided with the Canadian wildfires that were happening and affecting a good portion of the east coast.
I posted about arriving in Virginia. Was virtually greeted by Jim Groom when I arrived at the hotel. Posted about a flood of feelings and bed vibrators. A week later I posted the 360 image I took during my presentation. I took a few photos during the conference and around Fredericksburg that I really should publish somewhere. If only I had such a place 😉
So, fast forward to March 2, 2025. Up at 3:30am (my alarm was set to 3:45) to get a 4:30 Uber to the Jacksonville airport, for a 7:00am flight to Houston. My first record of the trip was to snap a photo (and post to Mastodon) literally right in front of me of the screen on the seat-back – a satisfying picture of a map with the body of water between Florida and Texas labeled as “The Gulf of Mexico”.
I took other photos from the plane window of the Florida coast and the city of New Orleans. I still feel somewhat self-conscious taking photos on the plane out the window since I feel like I’m being judged as an inexperienced flyer. I need to get over that because I never stop marveling that I’m thousands of feet up in the air in a magnificent flying machine. I never tire of satellite imagery and aerial video/photography.
However, my next photo wasn’t until after checking into the hotel and walking to the Austin Convention Center to pick up my badge. Why? Well, I was getting the feelings that I often get when flying through turbulence (a slight bit of air sickness as we got close to Austin), and then taking the bus (motion sickness from sitting sideways). I wasn’t interested in taking photos. I was anxious to move under my own power again to my destination. Finally, after my bus stopped (I got off a stop too soon), I walked the several blocks to the hotel with my backpack and suitcase. Despite it being well before 3:00pm, I was able to check in right away. My body was then clamoring to get out and walk (the Metro Bikes would wait for another day).
When I arrived at the convention center I was surprised by the long line, just to pick up my badge, but the line moved quickly and I was soon badged.
My colleagues arrived several hours after I did, so I got a head start on exploring Austin. I took a walk to a nearby Target and Whole Foods and got dinner.
Right, so I’m going to pause now with a brief interlude in what I know will be an “epically” long post. Part of what will make it long(ish) is that there was an overarching anxiety underlaying this whole trip/travel/conference – it was the first time I traveled longer than an overnight trip with my diabetes. The excitement of the trip beat back what could have been debilitating fear of going anywhere without my “special” foods and it helped tremendously to have supportive colleagues along for the trip.
I’ve never had to worry about anything like this. I’ve always been able to eat anything without consequences, and I wasn’t taking any medications either. I was riding my bike, and that’s all that mattered. It was all I had to do to keep anything bad health-wise from happening to me. Though, I was feeling something wasn’t quite right way back in 2023 at Reclaim Open and soon after I would begin gathering the courage to visit the doctor, though that didn’t happen until well into 2024, almost too late – but not too too late.
So, Austin, Texas. 1,000 miles from home. No turning back for 5 days. What happened next would mark the next obvious change in my dealing with my new disease.
Whole Foods, that icon of “healthy” living, was my first stop for the evening. I wanted to get a survey of what they had to offer as far as low carbohydrate foods and high protein and fiber (Keto) diet. And from what I could see they didn’t do well, just like all of the other health food groceries stores that I’ve visited in Jacksonville like Fresh Market and Sprouts. There is surprisingly little offerings for the diabetic diet and what they do offer is over priced. Now having said that, the rotisserie chicken smelled so good, so I stuck a mental pin in that. Now off to Target. I discovered that they offered much more in the types of foods that were right for me. The numbers (carbs/protein/fiber) for offerings like bread, yogurt, nuts, and peanut butter were better at Target AND cheaper. Just like at home. Though again, the chicken was still calling (clucking at) me.
My next dilemma was that I didn’t want to purchase food at Whole Foods and carry it around Target while picking up groceries. So, I got the rotisserie chicken and a salad from the salad bar, and brought that dinner back to the hotel. Now I can usually just about finish a whole chicken (from my hometown grocer, Publix), and I was certainly walking up an appetite, so I dove into the chicken and immediately discovered a dry, almost tasteless ex-bird (sorry to any vegans out there!). I am eating more vegetables, so my salad with spinach, tomatoes, peppers, blueberries, cheese, and some vinaigrette dressing hit the spot, but the only way to finish the chicken was to add pieces to the salad and let the berries and dressing wash it down, along with a fine sugar-free Powerade.
Now I realize the details are rather unnecessary, but for me this was a formative learning experience. I’m learning to eat again as I sort out and battle with myself what I should eat and what I can stand. Lots of protein is good for me so meat is, for good or bad, a staple. More about meat and the wonders of Texas BBQ later.
After dinner, I walked back to Target for the groceries, so for the day, between walking to gates at airports, walking from the bus stop to the hotel, and the two trips for food, I had put in several miles of walking – also good for me! My desert was a couple small handfuls of sea salt and pepper pistachios. Again, a high protein, high fiber, low carb food. First night’s dinner, moderately successful. One night down, four nights to go.
Dear reader, I will not go into such details for the rest of my meals, except for basic recommendations. You’re welcome. The point being, I was learning to step out of my comfort zone of the limited foods that I was eating at home that had become predictable as far a affecting my blood sugar, and I was extrapolating out what was available in the incredibly fraught world of dining out with “special dietary needs”.
So I’ll just summarize what I ate for the rest of the week. A delicious “L.A. Burger” at Casino el Camino, Chipotle…twice…realizing I could substitute a bed of lettuce for a bed of white rice, and some delicious pork barbecue at Stubbs a block from the hotel. Besides the burger, which I and my colleague Niam would continue to rave about for the duration of the conference, there was a memorable lunch at a place called Chi’Lantro. A quick and delicious Korean BBQ food offering delicious chicken wings. Breakfast every morning was hotels omelets, bacon or sausage, and my “special” Too Good yogurt with blueberries. Holiday Inn Express had some pretty good coffee too (with cream and Splenda).
You probably noticed at this point (if you’ve reached this point), that I haven’t talked much about the SXSW EDU conference. Well, that’s because food and survival (OK, too dramatic a word, I know) were front and center in my mind. I did have some genuine worry that I might have a health issue if I wasn’t careful, and I was certainly out of my health network 🙂 But each day I was getting more and more comfortable, and the conference was, on the whole, worthwhile. Excellent keynote speakers. Some excellent film and TV screenings and discussions (see The Class). Mainly it was a realization that education is still behind the curve and education reform is still a distant dream. Though I’m happy to report that there was a healthy defense put up for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility. By the way, I will be spelling that out every time I reference it and adding accessibility to make it crystal clear what we are advocating for!
I miss Austin, and because of my current anxieties, I missed Austin. However, I can visit again. Maybe for SXSW proper in the future. The trip certainly cured my reticence to travel and find good food dining out. Now to save up money for my future trips, and to creating more, and better, records.
My trip to Austin taught me to look for the oases in the middle of the chaos, in this case, the big city. What really solidified my now special relationship with Austin was a bike ride I took on the final evening to explore a park that my colleague Kayla had told us about – Waterloo Park. This was a delightful little spot, spanning a few city blocks, very near the state capitol. This was what could be best described as a zen garden for all kinds of activities, with concrete paths for runners and cyclists, but also footpaths for walking amongst the flora. I encourage you to read more about this oasis if you’re planning a visit, and read about the park’s history and future.
I will leave this extraordinarily long post with the music that I was on my mind as I took the photo at the park, which I’ve named Waterloo Sunset, and is used as this post’s featured image.
Waterloo Sunset with the Kinks, Waterloo Sunset with Damon Albarn and Ray Davies, and finally David Bowie, Bob Geldof, Paul Weller, Elvis Costello, and Ray Davies reflect on the importance of the song – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0qnHaWfQXg
Epilogue: I got everything published about this post and forgot that I had missed telling one final story about Waterloo Park. Two encounters with folks, one with a park worker, and one with a UT student who was getting a MetroBike just like me. The park worker I came across looked like his was finishing his day’s duties, but I stopped to tell him what a beautiful space this was. He said, “and I get to work here!” He had the faintest, almost southern California accent, and I anticipated hearing the word “dude” several times. A nice, but brief interaction. The second person was struggling with getting a bike, just like me, but he noticed my shirt – “Get Federated”. He said, “I like your shirt.” I said, “you know what it means?” “Yeah, it’s like Mastodon and that stuff right?” Amazing! He was the only person on my Austin visit to comment on my shirt(s), and it wasn’t at the conference, and it was my last night there, but I had a strong sense of hope for the future after those interactions. So I powered back to the hotel on my MetroBike with extra energy in my legs.
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