Everything is bigger in Texas..
Or so the saying goes. Sadly brains arent, mostly the things that were bigger than everywhere else narrowed down to a short few things; Hair, Freeways and waistlines. I've had to spend three days this week in Houston, Texas doing a video shoot for Microsoft. Yes at least within the Microsoft community I'm going to be famous. the video shoot was awful, they scrimped on the budget a bit so that we had one take and one take only, they were nervous at my absence of script or preparation. Simple reason being that I dont work well with that kind of stuff, if I cant wing it and adlib I obviously dont know my subject matter very well and I get all nervous and choke! Problem with only one take is that you do still stumble and you do always need to ask them to roll again. Luckily the film crew and camera teams were nice, and they agreed to do a bit of editing before it gets to post-production. So myself and the other guy in the video got to just pause after mistakes and start again.
Being in Houston for work sucks, I really do hate the place, but I've not actually seen much of it.. and luckily it was only two days. Also, Wednesday, the day of actually getting there was a total nightmarish series of disasters. Started off in the morning with my conference bridge yet again not working, followed by me gashing my finger open on the edge of the desk so I was leaking blood everywhere, got to Seattle airport eventually, late, so couldnt change to a better seat. There was a problem with the billing for my hire car so I had to phone my bank making me even later.. flight was overbooked so got moved to an even worse seat than I started with, jammed between a big sweaty fat bloke who for some reason smelled of cabbage, and on the other side of me a short guy who snored and was *almost* drooling on my shoulder. For four hours.
On arriving in Houston first of all I have the humidity to deal with in a badly air-conditioned airport. Not to mention being gawked out by mad texans. Baggage was last off the plane, but at least it turned up.. if that'd been a tuesday my luggage would have gone to Minsk, or somewhere equally remote and obscure. Got to a taxi, gave directions to the roache motel the company had booked me into, and at this point the taxi driver begins mumbling loudly (I know that sounds odd but thats what he was doing. I dont think he could be bothered to move his lips much but he had the volume okay) at me for directions and more address details, to which my reply was "you're the bloody taxi driver, surely you know where hotels are... it's where people go from airports!". So he gets lost, and im being driven passed damaged cars, strip clubs and places claiming "adult entertainment" or "girlz girlz girlz". Now i know for a fact that the company isnt insane enough to start booking it's employees into hotels that bad.. or at least I thought so. Sure enough wedged between a strip joint called Centerfolds, a massage place called Dreams and opposite "Eat at Joe's" (which can only be described as 'rustic') there was the Comfort Suites. Claiming to be near the Galleria anyway.. the Galleria was actually 2 miles away, and last time I checked unless you're talking about states and general greater distances 2 miles wasnt really near anything!
Then I stubbed my toe on a desk, which made me quickly grab the wall, gashing my finger back open again.
Houston too hot, the experience of getting there was awful, most of the experience of being there was awful as well. Although I did have a nice dinner with colleagues at an italian restaurant which was very nice.
Coming back was incredibly surreal. Was in the line to board between a particularly attractive tanned blonde girl with a backpack containing swimming gear, which was huge.. she looked like she was struggling and I was raised properly to be the decent gentlemanly type so I helped her get the baggage up into the overhead locker. Getting off the plane helped her down with it and we chatted on the way out back to the terminal once we'd landed in Seattle. Turned out by utter utter fluke that she works at an art gallery I was supposed to be going to a party at later that evening, she knew some of my friends here and wasnt sure if she was going or not. Tiny tiny world! That evening was pretty good fun, catching up with people.. one of my friends is back in town just for a few days for a wedding before she starts travelling again so was good to see her!
This weekend I'm having a complete non-work session, I've vowed not to open my email, I've been to see V For Vendetta (very good!), and now i'm popping over to bainbridge island to sit on the beach with a cup of coffee and glare moodily at the lake for a bit.. contemplating the human wreckage which is my life so far, and thinking about some very big decisions I have to make over the coming few weeks about career, location and general well being!
End of rant.
Oh here's a sign from Houston.. see, Leeland is a place. Better not be in Houston though im not that much of a masochist!
oh and by the way, you may now comment.
Being in Houston for work sucks, I really do hate the place, but I've not actually seen much of it.. and luckily it was only two days. Also, Wednesday, the day of actually getting there was a total nightmarish series of disasters. Started off in the morning with my conference bridge yet again not working, followed by me gashing my finger open on the edge of the desk so I was leaking blood everywhere, got to Seattle airport eventually, late, so couldnt change to a better seat. There was a problem with the billing for my hire car so I had to phone my bank making me even later.. flight was overbooked so got moved to an even worse seat than I started with, jammed between a big sweaty fat bloke who for some reason smelled of cabbage, and on the other side of me a short guy who snored and was *almost* drooling on my shoulder. For four hours.
On arriving in Houston first of all I have the humidity to deal with in a badly air-conditioned airport. Not to mention being gawked out by mad texans. Baggage was last off the plane, but at least it turned up.. if that'd been a tuesday my luggage would have gone to Minsk, or somewhere equally remote and obscure. Got to a taxi, gave directions to the roache motel the company had booked me into, and at this point the taxi driver begins mumbling loudly (I know that sounds odd but thats what he was doing. I dont think he could be bothered to move his lips much but he had the volume okay) at me for directions and more address details, to which my reply was "you're the bloody taxi driver, surely you know where hotels are... it's where people go from airports!". So he gets lost, and im being driven passed damaged cars, strip clubs and places claiming "adult entertainment" or "girlz girlz girlz". Now i know for a fact that the company isnt insane enough to start booking it's employees into hotels that bad.. or at least I thought so. Sure enough wedged between a strip joint called Centerfolds, a massage place called Dreams and opposite "Eat at Joe's" (which can only be described as 'rustic') there was the Comfort Suites. Claiming to be near the Galleria anyway.. the Galleria was actually 2 miles away, and last time I checked unless you're talking about states and general greater distances 2 miles wasnt really near anything!
Then I stubbed my toe on a desk, which made me quickly grab the wall, gashing my finger back open again.
Houston too hot, the experience of getting there was awful, most of the experience of being there was awful as well. Although I did have a nice dinner with colleagues at an italian restaurant which was very nice.
Coming back was incredibly surreal. Was in the line to board between a particularly attractive tanned blonde girl with a backpack containing swimming gear, which was huge.. she looked like she was struggling and I was raised properly to be the decent gentlemanly type so I helped her get the baggage up into the overhead locker. Getting off the plane helped her down with it and we chatted on the way out back to the terminal once we'd landed in Seattle. Turned out by utter utter fluke that she works at an art gallery I was supposed to be going to a party at later that evening, she knew some of my friends here and wasnt sure if she was going or not. Tiny tiny world! That evening was pretty good fun, catching up with people.. one of my friends is back in town just for a few days for a wedding before she starts travelling again so was good to see her!
This weekend I'm having a complete non-work session, I've vowed not to open my email, I've been to see V For Vendetta (very good!), and now i'm popping over to bainbridge island to sit on the beach with a cup of coffee and glare moodily at the lake for a bit.. contemplating the human wreckage which is my life so far, and thinking about some very big decisions I have to make over the coming few weeks about career, location and general well being!
End of rant.
Oh here's a sign from Houston.. see, Leeland is a place. Better not be in Houston though im not that much of a masochist!oh and by the way, you may now comment.
posted by Nix at
12:00 PM
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