Live! (more or less)... from the hub of the universe (Pagosa Springs)...

Yesterday was an interesting day... and a long one.

I left Pearland at about 2:30 am local time, and as you might expect, traffic through Houston was pretty light. I filled up at the Racetrack station on Highway 35 and tooled on up the road, having decided to take the "northern" route, through Ft. Worth, Wichita Falls, Amarillo, etc. based on a look at the NOAA web site, which showed some color to the west on the "hazardous forecast" map, but a clear shot up through the DFW area.

That did not stop the rain from falling, from shortly after leaving Houston to roughly Wichita Falls. The weather didn't really clear up until Amarillo.

As I passed the mall in Amarillo, I toyed with the idea of stopping there to stretch my legs, but decided to press on westward on I-40. About three seconds later, a rock the size of a golf ball hits my windshield, leaving a star as a memento.

I took this to be A Sign™, and got off at the next exit and doubled-back to the mall. It was a nice stretch of the legs, but my fate was not changed materially by the stop, except for me muttering under my breath about how every car I've owned since moving to Colorado has suffered windshield damage. On the way through the parking lot back to my car, I took an informal survey of Amarillo car windshields. It turns out the environment there is not conducive to long-term windshield health (about 4 out of 10 had readily apparent damage, and this was a reasonably upscale parking lot).

The toughest segment of the trip was between Amarillo and Tucumcari. I kept wanting to sleep and actually roused myself a couple of times with a kind of soul-jarring shudder, shouting obscenities at myself.

In the end, I drove up the driveway here in Pagosa shortly after 9 pm. Feeling supremely unsociable, I made a perfunctory call to Galina in Pearland and fell into bed.

I am not eager to repeat yesterday's trek, as it was quite stressful. On the other hand, it's as if I've gained a day (which is A Good Thing™, as I have a couple of translations due tomorrow, along with some other long-overdue tasks).

To work!

Cheers...

Breakpoint... and thoughts on my recent trip...

I've finished the translations due tomorrow (usual caveat about review, etc., goes here), so it would appear I have some time to do other things.

Drew came over earlier to drop off some stuff. Then he, Shannon, Huntur, and Huntur's cousin Owen shot off to Durango to do some shopping.

While I'm thinking about it, the Civic did very well, all things considered (usual hedge language goes here). The good news is that mileage is close to 40 mpg; the bad news is that the engine leaks oil (there was some on the floor of the garage this morning, and I had been adding about a quart per tankful along the road).

Just prior to my first fuel stop in Wichita Falls, I noticed something that had never quite made it to the level of explicit consciousness: Music tends to make me drowsy (even Rolling Stones oldies, go figure). I had been feeling a little tired just short of Wichita Falls, decided to switch radio stations, and ended up listening to a dramatization of a Bible story. This did a remarkable job of keeping me alert.

As I poured oil into the engine, I was reminded of an episode from the early 80s when I drove from Jacksonville, Florida to Washington, D.C. to pick up my mother-in-law and drive her back to Florida. During the long drive back, the social interaction with my mother-in-law (practicing Russian, talking about life, etc.) kept me marvelously awake.

On a whim (and helped by an advertising poster in the window), I returned inside the gas station and bought a book-on-tape, something by Lawrence Sanders about a practitioner of "discreet inquiries" named Archie McNally. Besides enjoying the story, the act of listening forestalled fatigue for as long as it lasted (3 CDs, which is to say almost to Amarillo, which is approximately where I got tired again). I played the CDs again during the last couple hours of driving, and didn't feel tired at all.

I don't know how far something like this can be pushed, but the next time I do long-distance driving, I plan to stock up on CDs of people talking and not singing.

To make this break complete, I think I will spend a little time away from the keyboard and screen.

Cheers...