One-Day-Leather: ACL 2009

                          One-Day-Leather: Austin Muddy Limits

Oct. 5th-7th, 2009


Armed with an open mind and a little too much energy than what I would probably be needing, that alone seems to suffice today. For the past three months I had waited for this specific date to arrive, since the very first time I held my ticket in hand (otherwise known as Print Pass.) And for the last week of those three long months I spent my days off searching for what would be needed today. The A.C.L. list consisted on the following:

*A small, second-hand, flimsy/comfortable backpack.
*Two factory sealed water bottles containing one liter each.
*Comfortable/careless clothing & shoes (weather appropriate, preferably.)
*Sleep little the previous night, wake up early and have a Red Bull.


My one-week hunt ran smoothly. I visited a nearby thrift store for footwear and found a perfect fit; a pair of "ugly looking" black Earth Spirit-leather uppers which, according to my siblings, are just like Julia Gulia's. As for the backpack, I had to settle in one 'fair enough' for the job, since I could not find those cheap rag-like JanSport's bags. Oh well.

The morning has a clear sky, it probably won't last until tonight and I'm looking forward to that. On my back two water bottles, a page from the Chronicle (local newspaper) containing a map of the location… not the location itself but where and how will things be organized inside the park for the festival, very much helpful. I also carry my trustee notebook with its respectable pen and markers, a plastic pancho (the weather it's too volatile here; one day in Texas, the other Washington and the next California) on which I drew Mr. "Stickman" while those sleepless hours last night. Borrowed cellular phone, as I still refuse to own one myself, some money and a few utensils for the monthly female usage… not that you cared to know but, there they were.

The street leading to the Promised Land (Zilker Park) entrance is closed for automobile usage, all I see are a few fellow 'one-day-leathers'. I consider on admitting the excitement already growing… maybe later.

Admitting onto the idea of 'feeling lost' comes to me very much instantly. I cannot recall how long it's been since I last visit the park, and I'm sure as hell that if I did, I wouldn't have come through this entrance. So, I decide to simply follow those carrying backpacks and collapsible chairs, it seems logical… and easy. I walk and drink from the can of Red Bull I carry with me, the only digestible thing I brought along, since according to the list given by the event's website (a wake-up call from the Nintendo Generation) food & drinks are not allowed from the outside of the garden walls. Understandable. I now begin to doubt I will get to eat anything today, besides that small portion of Special K I had a few minutes ago at home.

I finally reach the entrance and feet far above my head, a large red sign, a welcoming to the festival. What a gesture. I'm somewhat let down by the amount of people I see sitting on the grass already; a young couple placing a large plastic bag on the ground to sit on (the ground's still humid from last night's rain), a woman, probably in her late forties, having a bite and two collapsible chairs without owners at the very front of where the lines are meant to open… whenever the doormen arrive, of course.


...CLIFF HANGER? No, I'm Just A Lazy Typer.