I’m working in Texas City, Texas this week. I came down here and hooked up with another project manager from Detroit and some consultants from California to do a design workshop for a new software application. What fun!! It’s sheer lunacy, but somehow we have to configure something that will serve the needs of seven refineries. You’ve heard the cliché – it’s like herding cats – well, it is.
The trip down here was just as expected. I made reservations late because I really expected my supervisor to declare it a waste of time and say no. Surprisingly, he called it a waste of time and said YES. Really, we had no other choice but to postpone the project six more months or jump on the bandwagon. The good news, the only seat left on the first hop of the journey down here was First Class. Hot damn! I’ve never flown first class so was eager to experience it. It was a 45 minute flight on a little prop plane, full up, with 18 passengers. Absolutely no difference in seating other than I was second row back from the front of the plane. Disappointment!! The flight was bumpy as heck, but I kind of prefer small planes because they seem easier to take off and land. Maybe a pilot would think otherwise….ignorance is bliss sometimes.
The second hop on the way down was full too, and of course, I had a center seat. Smashed in, and then the asshole in front of me reclined into my lap. So for two and a half hours, I could hardly move. The guy beside me who had the window seat wore an oversized ball cap which obscured my view out the window, then he closed the shade and went to sleep. Inconsiderate jerk. I played games on my phone and took a nap…what a waste! At least the flights were on time and uneventful, so I won’t be complaining any more about that.
Driving in Houston traffic is NUTS! It wasn’t even rush hour, but people don’t cooperate on the freeways and they drive so aggressively. Merging traffic? The hell you say! I’m not moving or changing my speed for anybody! (That’s the way they all are down here). I’m already dreading the drive back to the airport, and in fact, have changed my plans. Instead of driving back early Friday morning, I’m driving up Thursday night, returning the car, and shuttling to a nearby motel. Next morning, I’ll sleep later and let the hotel shuttle take me back to the airport. I sure as heck don’t want to miss my flight home.
The people I’m working with are friendly, but not a social bunch. The two California consultants hang together at night and see other clients in the area. My Detroit counterpart is a loner – he declined my invitation to meet for dinner tonight. He’s very heavy so maybe he’s self-conscious about eating in front of people. I wouldn’t care about that because who am I to judge…but if he’d rather be alone, then so it goes. He’s not married and really is a nice guy. The locals have their own lives after work. So it’s just me in a little town with not much to do…so here I am blogging. Maybe tomorrow if we get done before too late, I'll go explore Galveston.
The motel has a decent exercise room so I did a good workout which is a change of pace for me. It felt good to work up a sweat. It’s way too much sitting all day long lately. I should make an effort to start doing more (so says I after every workout)!
The trip down here was just as expected. I made reservations late because I really expected my supervisor to declare it a waste of time and say no. Surprisingly, he called it a waste of time and said YES. Really, we had no other choice but to postpone the project six more months or jump on the bandwagon. The good news, the only seat left on the first hop of the journey down here was First Class. Hot damn! I’ve never flown first class so was eager to experience it. It was a 45 minute flight on a little prop plane, full up, with 18 passengers. Absolutely no difference in seating other than I was second row back from the front of the plane. Disappointment!! The flight was bumpy as heck, but I kind of prefer small planes because they seem easier to take off and land. Maybe a pilot would think otherwise….ignorance is bliss sometimes.
The second hop on the way down was full too, and of course, I had a center seat. Smashed in, and then the asshole in front of me reclined into my lap. So for two and a half hours, I could hardly move. The guy beside me who had the window seat wore an oversized ball cap which obscured my view out the window, then he closed the shade and went to sleep. Inconsiderate jerk. I played games on my phone and took a nap…what a waste! At least the flights were on time and uneventful, so I won’t be complaining any more about that.
Driving in Houston traffic is NUTS! It wasn’t even rush hour, but people don’t cooperate on the freeways and they drive so aggressively. Merging traffic? The hell you say! I’m not moving or changing my speed for anybody! (That’s the way they all are down here). I’m already dreading the drive back to the airport, and in fact, have changed my plans. Instead of driving back early Friday morning, I’m driving up Thursday night, returning the car, and shuttling to a nearby motel. Next morning, I’ll sleep later and let the hotel shuttle take me back to the airport. I sure as heck don’t want to miss my flight home.
The people I’m working with are friendly, but not a social bunch. The two California consultants hang together at night and see other clients in the area. My Detroit counterpart is a loner – he declined my invitation to meet for dinner tonight. He’s very heavy so maybe he’s self-conscious about eating in front of people. I wouldn’t care about that because who am I to judge…but if he’d rather be alone, then so it goes. He’s not married and really is a nice guy. The locals have their own lives after work. So it’s just me in a little town with not much to do…so here I am blogging. Maybe tomorrow if we get done before too late, I'll go explore Galveston.
The motel has a decent exercise room so I did a good workout which is a change of pace for me. It felt good to work up a sweat. It’s way too much sitting all day long lately. I should make an effort to start doing more (so says I after every workout)!
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