"Is That a Boy or a Girl?"

Barton Springs... CHECK! Not only did I check off going to Barton Springs and laying out beside the spring-fed pool... I checked off jumping in to it's 65 degree water. Just like Aerosmith, I'm livin' on the edge. Maybe not to the same degree as Steven Tyler, but in my own fashion. I have a running bucket list of things that I want to do and see in Texas, and I'm trying to make a more conscious effort to start fulfilling these wishes. When Nicole, Deirdre, and Tara were in town, we came across this painted wall with all sorts of quotes, ideas, and suggestions for everyday life. One read, "Do one thing a day that scares you." Sunday, it was jumping into hypothermic waters. Yesterday, it was this really awkward exercise that Firas encourages me to do at the gym in front of a bunch of buff, sweaty, macho bodybuilders. Today, it was driving to work. I had to be there at 7 am this morning, which already makes for a somewhat cranky Jaclyn.... and what doesn't help is when I'm too busy/too lazy to fill up my gas tank the night before, and am so below empty that I don't think I'll make it to work. So I pull in to the closest 7-11 this morning and get out of my car to fill 'er up. By fill 'er up, I mean put $15 into her... big spender. Within three seconds of me unscrewing the gas cap, the somewhat spastic man at the tank diagonal from mine walks to the car in front of me and says, "Excuse me ma'am? If this lady comes out and starts acting crazy, call 911, okay?" Um, okay. "She's my friend's Mom, got some issues and is in AA. I'm in a band. Do you know where the home is around here for people with disabilities?" (As he's having a one-sided heart to heart with me, I am meanwhile scanning the parking lot and inside the store for this "crazy" woman.) What the *&#?! One, I never saw her. Two, I thought that maybe he was filling her tank up with gas as a favor for his "friend", but after telling me about this lunatic woman, he quickly drove away without looking back. Three, I don't care if you're Lady Gaga's drummer.... let's focus on this crazy woman that I'm going to turn in to the police. Needless to say, I gave Elsie Tease her quarter tank of gas and hightailed it out of there. So yes, I did one thing today that scared me. Back to the hypothermic waters...Firas and I made our way to Barton Springs on Sunday afternoon to enjoy the last few hours of sun that the weekend had to offer. We paid our $3 admission fee and found a nice place on the grassy hill to lay out and soak up some rays. With sunscreen, of course. Sunscreen that seemed to attract every single bee in the state of Texas. I literally had six bees swarming around me right after I applied my sunscreen, and you would have thought I was six years old again. Firas couldn't help but laugh as I jumped up and started whining like a little girl. ONE bee is manageable, but six!? Firas suggested we jump in the pool, and at this point I was desperate. I dipped my foot into the water and told him that there was NO way I was jumping in. He took the plunge and kept telling me to just do it! He's seen too many Nike commercials. So without further hesitation, I jumped! Right into the 65 degree water. And it was freaking freezing. Bone-chilling cold. I could tell that my body was starting to acclimate to the arctic temperature of the water, but when I saw Firas's lips turning purple, I knew it was time to climb on out. Five minutes in the water still counts... and next time, I'm definitely doing a cannonball.

We laid out for another hour or so.... enjoying the sun, live music coming from the boy on his guitar behind us, and topless girls. I mean, what?! Rewind. That's right. Apparently it is appropriate/legal for girls to go topless at Barton Springs. Had I known, I wouldn't have bothered to put on a bathing suit! Sike. That would send the whole crowd running faster than my cannonball. I've had to wear my eyeglasses for a few days now, so I was completely blind with my sunglasses on when Firas nudged me and said, "Hey, check it out, she doesn't have a top on." I quickly tore off my sunglasses, threw on my eyeglasses, and scoped out the scene. Hence the title... "Is that a boy or a girl?" It was a girl. A confident one at that. Ten minutes later, Firas turned his head on the towel and BOOM! another tata. How unfortunate for him, right? This one very clearly belonged to a girl. We spotted a couple more, and I was just blown away. Not in a "Wow, this is cool" way, but in a "Wow, I don't know what to say" way. Forget the beaches of France when I have my own topless pool in town. As the saying goes, keep Austin weird.