Moving, Bats, and Gratitude

On By Teri PolenIn Monday Share

Last week we were in Austin, TX for several days helping the youngest son relocate to his new city and apartment. Austin is a hip, artsy place that has a lot to offer. But I didn’t stop sweating from the time we landed until the time we left – I’m a super warm-blooded person. I was looking forward to cooler temps in KY, but it was 96 degrees here. Anyhoo, our son and his two roommates have a wonderful apartment – loads of storage and space – and it’s in a great location. He starts a new job today so I’m anxious to hear how his first day goes.

One thing I wanted to do while we were in Austin was watch the bats emerge from beneath the Congress Avenue Bridge and fly over Lady Bird Lake. Loads of people gather nightly, and our hotel was only a block away. We were among the crowd who lined the bridge waiting for them on a beautiful Friday evening anticipating a glorious show from these winged mammals. And they stood us up. Not one bat showed. The crowd began to disperse, so we walked back to the hotel feeling totally rejected I’ll be visiting Austin again, and I’m expecting an exquisite display from them to make up for it. If you’re interested in learning more about them click HERE.

While I was in Austin, I published a post from the WP app not once, but twice, and I still think something’s wonky with it judging by the number of views and comments. I reviewed Buried by Sue Rovens who I met through Bad Moon Rising. I think she’s participated nearly every year. If you get a chance click HERE to read the review. I’m sure Sue would appreciate some shares!

Speaking of sharing, thanks to all of you who helped spread the work about my Bookbub promotion last Monday! I reached #2 and #3 in my categories, and I consider it a good day when my book is ahead of The Hunger Games series in rankings – definitely a dream come true no matter how fleeting the moment. After all the moving hubbub, I’ve got tons to get caught up on. Here’s to a productive week!

52 thoughts on “Moving, Bats, and Gratitude”

  1. Sorry about the bats and the app. (You know me and my WP woes, though I don’t use the app. I don’t even have it.) Congratulations on the BookBub results. Fingers crossed on your son’s first day. I hope it’s wonderful, and the first of many.

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    1. So far the app has been great for answering comments, but I won’t be posting from it anymore. I hope your woes have cleared up, but I’m thinking that’s a negative. He won’t be getting rich off this first job, but it’s in one of his majors and will be great experience. Have a great week, Staci!

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  2. Victoria Zigler

    Sounds like the actual move for your son went well. Hope the new job and relocation works out for him.

    Sorry about the bats. Maybe they were social distancing, so wanted to avoid the crowd?

    Awesome about the book ranking… Definitely a good day when you can say you were ahead of The Hunger Games for a while.

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    1. The move went very smoothly, Tori. That’s the longest one we’ve done, so we have no complaints. Good point about the bats and social distancing. You’d think they’d have already gotten vaccinated since they have a show to do every evening, but maybe not, lol. My claim to fame will be beating the Hunger Games in the rankings for a few hours! Hope you have a great week!

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    1. There’s a window of about two hours or so when they could emerge depending on the time of year. They say it can take a couple hours for all of them to take flight – or maybe some prefer to sleep in longer, lol.

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  5. Mischenko

    How strange that the bats didn’t show up. What a bummer! I hope you get to see them next time. We have bats in our woods, but you don’t typically see more than one or two at a time. It’s wicked to watch them fly though.

    Glad the move went well. Like you, I can’t handle that much heat! Congrats on Bookbub too.

    Take care, Teri, and have a wonderful week. 😀

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      1. Mischenko

        🤣 You and me both. I’m pretty sure since we are neighbor states, we likely have a similar climate. I imagine your winters are more mild though. My mom comes home from Texas every spring and goes back in the fall. By April, she’s ready to clear out of there.

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  6. Wow, Terri — that’s awesome about the book. You soared even without those ingrate bats. 😀
    They have the bat swarm down at Carlsbad Caverns too. Less humidity, and you can be in the cool of the caves — except when watching the bats emerge. I’ve never been, but some day…

    Hugs on the wing!

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    1. I’m determined to see them eventually, Jill. But if I was a bat, I’d move someplace cooler, like Carlsbad Caverns in Teagan’s video above, lol. He’s supposed to text me after he finishes today – keeping my fingers crossed!

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  8. How exciting for your son, a new place and a new job!! Those bats were just being shy I guess. I see a story there. The Day the Bats Didn’t Show Up. Congrats on the wonderful results of BookBub!

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    1. Maybe Amanda could work something like that into her adventures, Darlene! We’re really excited for him, but sad he’s not just 15 minutes away anymore. Just another place we get to visit and explore some more.

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  9. Congrats on the successful move, Teri, and too bad about the bats. That would have been cool. And congrats on the Bookbub promo too. It’s a thrill to watch the rankings rise. Yay! Will so give it a go with the Gemini Connection??

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    1. The only casualty during the move was a broken handle on his panini press, so pretty successful overall considering the distance. You gotta love those BB promos – so exciting to see your book move up in the rankings. I’d love for TGC to get more exposure, but it’s never been chosen for a promo. I may consider a BB ad sometime soon.

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  10. How disappointing that you didn’t get to see the bats. I’ve seen them twice over the past couple of years and it’s an amazing sight! I hope all goes well for your son! And yes, welcome to Texas heat!

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    1. I’d been warned about the heat and thought I was prepared – but I wasn’t. If I lived there my hair would be in a ponytail constantly, lol. I’m determined to see those bats the next time. I’ll camp out (with a portable fan) for a couple hours if I need to.

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    1. Art was everywhere – even some amazing displays in the airport. We got a couple of pics downtown I should have added to the post. If you can handle the weather, it would probably be perfect for you, Robbie!

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  13. I’ve been to Austin many times but have never seen the bats. Shame on them for standing you up. We’ve had a rather cool spring in Texas but the summer heat has hit. Best of luck to your son on his new job.

    WordPress has been acting crazy lately.

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  14. I must have missed your last post completely – it couldn’t have come through my feed in Reader because I noticed I hadn’t even “liked” it, and I like every post in my feed. How strange.
    So glad the move went well and so sorry to hear the bats stood you up. You can never count of bats to take a date seriously you know. Lol. But, in all sincerity, I wonder how consistent they are with the flight or if they have a few different haunts that they go between. 🤷🏻‍♀️
    Have a great week!

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    1. Someone else mentioned my posts hadn’t been showing up in her reader, so guess it’s another WP glitch. Who knows if it will be fixed. You’re right about those bats not taking dates seriously. You’d think they’d be more dependable with all those folks waiting for them. The show doesn’t always go on in their case, I guess.

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  19. suerovens

    Sorry about missing the bats! That would have been amazing, but I’m sure you’ll get another chance. Thank you for the “shout out”! 🙂 And congratulations on the Book Bub rating! That’s wonderful. See if a bat could do that – you showed them! (LOL)

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  20. Thank you for sharing the info about the bats in Austin, Teri. Something to look forward to seeing if we head out that way. Good to know your son settles in an apartment, and a new job. Hope he had a great first day of work. Congratulations on your BookBub promotion and the stat on Amazon. I understand what you meant by the fleeting moment. I made sure to do a print screen also when it happened.

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    1. Yep – I definitely got some screen shots, Miriam! And he had a wonderful first day. Called last night and told us all about it. Couldn’t have gone better, so I was thrilled for him.

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