genesis

In August of 2021, I pulled my car onto 6th street in Austin TX around noon after driving from visiting my parents house in New York. It was supposed to be stop one on a multi-city tour to find a place to live. I was going to spend at least a month here checking out the scene, and possibly pursue a farfetched dream of becoming a PI. Misfortune struck immediately, when I realized the apartment I had rented for the month was a craigslist scam. Given that I'd driven all this way, I figured I'd check into the East Austin Hotel (highly recommend) for a bit to find something more permanent (Which turned out to be a months long debacle worthy of it's own post). 

It was a Friday, so I figured I'd check out the crazy 6th street scene that night both for fun and to ask around if there were any doorman gigs.  At the time I was making good money in the gig economy as a handyman, but I wanted a part time gig somewhere in a more social environment. I stopped into a few places (instantly fell in love with Lone Star beer), enjoyed some open-mic comedy, and felt a connection to the vibe of the city. On the edges of the bar scene was a steakhouse, with two sharply dressed fella's working the door. Thinking to myself 'that's my kind of doorman gig', I started talking to the guys.  It wasn't long before I realized I was talking to the Austin branch manager of one of Texas's larger private investigation providers. He liked the cut of my jib, and soon the casual conversation became a casual job interview. 

It didn't take long before I was out in the field doing real spy work, and I was hooked instantly. First operation was a simple 'Activity at Address' investigation, just park down the street and record what happens at a house. The first 2 hours were pretty boring, and part of me questioned if I'd actually enjoy this. Then some people came home, and I was able to get some solid photographs. The feeling of accomplishment (and pure adrenaline) I had when I took the money shot was %110 worth the boring time before and the uneventful 2 hours after.

The feeling has persisted throughout all the operations I've gone out on, even those where I don't get much or anything. The jobs I've felt the best about are those where I've helped expose inexcusable behavior of bad parents.  Next blog post will be the story of one such parent, whom I've dubbed 'Drunk Cowboy'.