Thursday, April 21, 2011

Saying Goodbye to Texas. Not Really That Hard Afterall....

So, I spent the last week in Houston taking an analyzer training class. I know, I know...a thrill a minute - but I won't bore you with the seedy details of exactly how the chemiluminescence works. Instead I will recap some of my observations during said trip. (And, as a disclaimer, I understand that the blonde shows through sometimes...)

  1. Geography 101. News to me! Houston is on the water!! After taking off from Seattle and discovering I was sitting next to a Houstonite, I began pumping her for information. One such conversation involved her telling me, "Oh, just go down over the ship channel..blah...blah..blah." "Ship what?" "Houston's near the ocean?" "Uh, yeah."  Then she whipped out the "Where Alaska Airlines Flies" magazine and made me look like an idiot. Note to self: Self, check where you're going before you get on the short bus. Seriously. "Hey, Rikki, try this purple Kool-Aid. It's really good."
  2. Highways. You can always tell when you're near a highway in Texas. Because next to a perfectly good highway, they build another highway. Then, they call that highway a "frontage road." Whatever. Call it was it is: a three lane highway built RIGHT next to a perfectly good four lane one. And, don't even think about calling them "free"ways. That brings me to point #3.
  3. Toll Roads. Aren't taxes supposed to pay for that? What's up with charging people to drive on a road that should have already been budgeted for? That's like me charging Todd $2 for dinner when I've already used his money to buy the groceries. And the EZ Pass? Nothing too easy about that.
  4. The gyms. Everything's bigger in Texas. Swear: four acres of cardio equipment in this gym. Along with a pool, sauna, steam room, dance studio, rock wall, health food cafe, on-staff massage therapists and physical trainers wandering around giving you tips. I was pondering the need for a gym this size when it struck me: No one in their RIGHT MIND would work out outside. The heat, the humidity, the bugs....it explains it all. Even early April was hot and muggy.
  5. The weather. My 3.5 hour flight turned into a 5 hour flight due to tornado/wild weather threats. Not cool. Not at all.
So, all in all, Texas was fun to visit, but boy am I glad to be home!!