The Warehouse

Chances are, unless a friend has told you about the Warehouse, you probably haven't heard of it, even though it's been around for the last few years.

The Warehouse's creator and co-owner Lisa Biley Cedillo says that while it's been slow to catch on, residents seem to really enjoy the atmosphere and menu.

Set in the old T&P Warehouse on the corner of Pine and N. 1st, everything about The Warehouse is different from other Abilene hot spots. On Thursday you can catch a local DJ and on Friday nights there is usually live music, but those are the only two nights of the week that you can visit The Warehouse, because it's closed the rest of the week to accommodate private parties.

It's been dubbed "The Martini Bar" because of it's extensive martini menu (over 50 original creations, and a feature martini every weekend) but if you prefer something a little stronger they have a fully stocked bar and nearly 20 different types of beer to chose from.

So if you're looking for something different to do in town this weekend, for those 21 and up, The Warehouse is your chance to get away, without leaving the city limits.

Till next time-Courtnee

KRBC's Job Connection

Most people think the best part of a reporters job is being on television, but in reality that is a very small part of my day. Most of my time is spent running around finding stories, calling sources, checking facts, shooting video, writing the story, editing the video and so on. It's a never ending process!

Anyone who spends any amount of time reporting is bound to make enemies and have people upset with them when the do a story and it doesn't turn out how they wanted it too or you tell a story that needed to be told, but the person the story was about didn't want you to do it. Those days are hard, even if you turn out a great story, it's hard knowing that someone is upset or that their life might be a little more difficult. Those are the worst days, those and covering a tragedy.

But the absolute best days are when I do a story and afterwards someone tells me that I made a difference in their life somehow. I love helping people and knowing that I can truly change some one's life is fantastic!

So when my boss told me that I was going to be doing a series where I would meet with people who had recently lost their job and hopefully help them get a job I was both excited and nervous.

Excited because how can you help someone during a recession better than by helping them make connections and secure a job? And nervous about all the people I would be talking too about such a difficult situation.

Every time someone e-mails me about having lost their job, about how they have a car payment, or children in school, it makes the recession that much more real to me.

So far I've interviewed two different gentlemen, with completely different circumstances. Larry, held the same job for nearly 30 years before the plant closed down, and Troy, a welder in the oil field, has 6 children, each of whom depends on him to buy dinner every night.

So far, Larry has been offered one job, but was unable to accept it. But I'm confident that both of these men and the people who I feature later in the series will all be able to get jobs.

That's the great thing about Abilenians, they genuinely care about each other and want to help each other out.

Till next time-Courtnee

p.s. If you think you might have a job for Larry or Troy or anyone featured on KRBC's Job Connection go to KRBC News and click on Job Connection, there I have everyone's resumes posted.

And if you want to be on Job Connection go to the same spot and sign up, you never know who I'll feature next or who will see it!

Too Sore to Lift My Arms

I'm always looking for different ways to get in shape. I get really bored really easily and have a hard time staying on track when it comes to my workouts, so recently I've started mixing it up and really having fun. 

One of the other reporters loves to go rollerblading, so she and I have been getting together (weather allowing- 50 MPH winds and 97 degree temperatures often slow us down). Now I am no rollerblader, in fact I often fall when I'm wearing tennis shoes, so while Brittany does circles around me (literally) I'm slowly making my way around Redbud Park with my arms outstretched (just incase my clumsiness decides to make an appearance). 

But because of the Texas weather often getting in Brittany's and my way I've also started working out with several other co-workers. You might have seen Kyna's story on Fit Camp a couple of weeks ago, well she's still going and today she was joined by 3 other KRBCers.  To go we had to meet at Dyess at 4am, which meant that I had to get up at 3:30am!!! 

30 minutes into it and we were still running and doing lunges and I caught myself thinking "when does the work out start?" And then I realized that the running was the work out! Not that I thought any of it was easy (I hate running and am horrible at it) but I've always thought of a work out as involving weights. But despite not having any weights (besides the weight of my own body fighting against me while I attempted to do push-ups) I have never been so sore or tired!

But this blog is titled Abilene Buzz, so you might be asking yourself what in the world does all this have to do with Abilene. Well, the latest statistics show that one in four preschoolers in Texas is overweight. That is not the preschools fault, it's the fault of parents and society. If we don't start working out and living a healthier lifestyle, than those statistics will only grow. Here in Abilene we are lucky to have tons of ways to work out; we've got great bike trails, several different types of gyms, horseback riding, rollerblading (if you can handle the weather and hills- it seems like I'm always going up!); about the only thing we don't have is snow skiing!

Till next time-Courtnee

Buffalo Gap Wine and Food Summit

One of my favorite things about the Big Country is our endless supply of great restaurants. Some of my favorites are chains, but the best seem to be locally run. Besides, who knows TexMex, Bar-b-que or steak better than Texas?

One of the best known local restaurants, Perini Ranch Steakhouse, is hoping to educate the public not only great food, but the art of pairing that food with the perfect glass of wine.

At the 5th Annual Buffalo Gap Wine and Food Summit top chefs from all over Texas are coming in to prepare some of their specialties and vineyard owners from Texas and California will be there educating the "testers" on how to pick a great wine and why it really is important to swirl, then sniff the wine.

The event goes from Friday till Sunday and you can choose to attend just one event or make a weekend of it and go to everyone. There's "Gourmet on the Range", "The Who, What, Where & Whys of Wine Tasting", "Cooking with Chef Pyles and Friends" SPOILER ALERT (A special chef will be joining Chef Pyles for this session, it's our own first lady of Texas Anita Perry), "Winemakers with Abilene Roots", "Cowboys, Cuisine & Cabernet" and "Bid-Adieu Brunch" (the last is only available to those that attend the other events).

To find out more or to get tickets you can log onto www.periniranch.com/summit or call 1-800-367-1721, whether you're already a consumer of fine wines or you just want to learn it's sure to be a weekend full of great food and lots of fun.