In a few short hours, I'll once again be on a plane and headed back to Hell Houston for another three weeks of "fun in the sun". This trip promises to be a good deal less stressful and emotionally taxing than my first trip. When I rolled into town, three days after Hurricane Ike, Hell Houston was a (&^%$#@ mess. Nothing worked, nothing was open, and I somehow had to navigate that nightmare to do what I was expected to do. Thankfully, each passing day brought a bit more improvement, though I gotta say that Hell Houston drivers are still world-class dickweeds. I am NOT looking forward to having to deal with that again, but I'll just do what I did last time- lay low and let the dicks be dicks, knowing that eventually I get to go home to Portland and they'll be stuck in Hell. Besides, I can't do my job from a hospital bed, and I'm not about to change the habits of four million dickheads, so I'll just deal with it as best I can...by hoping they all die from the crippling effects of bad karma.
The good news is that I know eventually I'll be coming home- on Election Day, if all goes according to plan. Since I've already cast my absentee ballot, and since Texas will go for Obama at about the same time I'm elected Queen of England, I figure I've done my part. If things work out the way they did on my last trip, I should be able to get an early flight out of town and be home in plenty of time to catch the election returns- and hopefully celebrate an Obama landslide.
From a purely personal standpoint, this trip also holds, if not the promise, at least the hope of redemption and a second chance. I have an opportunity to try to effect a comeback from a world-class, EPIC personal f--k-up, and while I'm not about to go into detail, there's a lot more at stake for me this time around than just work. Wish me luck; I may just need it...that and a few bushels of forgiveness directed my way.
Three weeks in Hell Houston. Imagine my delight.... ;-)
