Itchy...

Lee did some impromptu rescheduling yesterday and went down to Seabrook with the truck and friends to remove the couch and an entertainment center from our tenant's house. She then returned up to her apartment, for the "final push" this morning in getting all of her and Dwayne's stuff out of the apartment. I was not involved at all.

During a brief conversation, though, she told me that she'd actually "committed" to doing the housesitting job for Dwayne's parents, which tells me that she really, really didn't want to go up to Colorado with me. I have no idea what she'll do after the one-week job; I sure hope she does.

So, on that basis, I'm blowing off the visit to Katy and packing the car with the stuff I need/want to take with me. I'll be calling my client in a few minutes, and if it turns out today's lunch cannot occur, I will take off for Colorado as soon as possible. If lunch is still on, I will take off after lunch.

I am partial to taking the "northern route," which takes me past Dallas-Ft.Worth on some combination of interstates, up to Amarillo on 287, over to Clines Corners on I-40, after which I'll be in the home stretch up past Santa Fe, Espanola, Chama, and Chromo.

Daylight's burning!

Cheers...

Getting the sword clear of the scabbard...

Events appear to be conspiring to keep me here in Houston, at least past the time when it would make sense to set off for home (I mean, it wouldn't make sense to overnight in College Station, would it?). It's almost 10 am, and I'm feeling a bit like Horatio at the bridge, fending off the bad guys (except that there better not be anyone back there trying to bring that bridge down!).

No big deal, I suppose. This way, at least, I'll likely not forget things that Must Not Be Forgotten for the trip home, or at least the list of things forgotten will be short(er). The lunch date is on, and frankly, it'll be a lot more enjoyable if I don't have that little voice inside repeating "You've got to leave soon!" over and over again. Come to think of it, if I get out at a reasonable hour, I might even risk driving all the way to Katy afterward to make a brief appearance to introduce myself.

I plan to leave for Clear Lake in an hour. In that hour, I'd like to finish cleaning the kitchen, finish sorting the laundry, take a shower, etc.

While in Clear Lake, I must not forget to: buy 1000 feet of Cat-5 cable and network connectors for it, buy a mission patch for our UPS driver, and deposit money in my checking account.

Off again!

Cheers...

Nibbles...

Lunch with Elena S. and Natalie P. went very well, even though we were all a little cold despite our proximity to the Villa Capri's gas-fired fireplace. It is cold in Houston today, and the wind just makes it feel colder.

I managed to get the oil changed in the van before leaving for the JSC area, and did all of the things I needed to get done during my visit to Clear Lake, too. I even managed a few minutes with my old boss, catching up.

On the way home, I got a call from an east-coast client asking about my availability. Reasonably good starting Friday, I responded. The job was described as some sort of security specification for the "threat reduction" that the DoD has been working on for the past few years.

Then I got word that a west-coast outfit is looking for some Russian-to-English talent to do some nuclear stuff. I've left a message, giving them my cell phone number here in Houston.

Lee called earlier, about the time I pulled into the driveway here in Pearland after my visit to Clear Lake. She sort of backpedaled on not going to Colorado, only to say that if she went, she'd have to be back in time to do the housesitting job, which basically means she'd have to be back in about a week, which won't fly.

I countered with a suggestion that she buy a ticket on Southwest Airlines to Albuquerque, one way, after she completes her gig and then visit with us for several weeks, coming back with me at the end of April for my next NASA job. SWA has some sort of special deal going on where if you buy a ticket by Thursday night and it's at least a 7-day advance purchase, the prices are pretty low (after which, you get to factor in various take-off and landing fees, airport fees, and something described as a "September 11th airport security" fee - if I heard the announcer properly - which itself happens to be $5.00).

Pretty soon, airline ticket prices will start to resemble rent-a-car prices in the sense that what is advertised is far below what you'll actually pay once you factor in all the little "extras" that various agencies insist get tacked on. (The last time I rented a car, the $149 weekly price was subject to sales tax, a special use tax, a couple of other fees, and so on, so that 4 weeks of rental ran just about $1000. Do the arithmetic.) The extras on any possible ticket Lee would buy won't run over $20, I would imagine... but then again, the ticket price itself might not be much over $50, if I heard the ad correctly.

I was hoping that Lee and Dwayne would get here by 5 pm or so, which would have allowed us to get on the horn with the people who supply Dwayne with DSL and have them transfer it to the number at the Pearland house. As it is, I plan to get on the road early tomorrow morning, with the intent of putting in an 18-hour driving day that will get me home somewhere at a "reasonable" hour tomorrow night. (Then again, I may go decide to stop somewhere along the way... I've been changing my plans so often over the past few days, I'm almost not sure which way is up.)

The van is more-or-less packed. I need to put in a couple more boxes, but pretty much everything I'm going to take is either staged in the living room or in the van. I plan to have a good meal tonight... in a few minutes, in fact... after which I think I will turn in early.

Cheers...