in houston

I like flying, especially since I started working. It's quite nice getting to travel somewhere without having to do the actual work. Since the field aspect of my job involves quite a bit of driving, driving becomes a rather tedious chore, especially on longer drives. Like driving to Albuquerque which is what I would have done if I had to actually pay for today's flight. Despite the cost of the gas, airport parking and the time it takes, it's still cheaper to drive to ABQ and fly from there than it is to fly from Farmington. But since the company was footing the bill for this trip, I had the chance to fly from Farmington to Albuquerque for the first time. Like any flight from Farmington, it was on the usual 19 passenger Beechcraft from Raytheon.

Of course, Albuquerque to Houston was on a pretty standard jet. I can't remember which one of these Embraer jets it was, but I believe it was a ERJ 145 and Continental's own site does say they use the 145, but also the 135. It was one or the other. Anyway, I have a problem with whatever plane it was. The damn aisle armrests don't move. Even the armrests on the Beechcraft move for crying out loud. Flipping the armrest up is the fastest and easiest way to get into and out of the seat which, by the way, is a skill many people could use some practice on. This is like my pet peeve about people in self-serve food lines. If you're in a plane, sit down first and then fuss with getting settled. That way you're out of the aisle and others can get by.

On the ride from Houston Intercontinental to the hotel, I went right past Minute Maid Park. Very nice looking, right next to downtown Houston, and the roof looks like a very impressive creation and probably a very necessary one in the summer if it's still going to be in the 90s in October. I also went right past Lakewood Church, which used to be the home of the Houston Rockets. It's also the home of this man whose upbeat optimism prompted the USA Today of magazines to make a cover story out of it.