already full gilbert gone

Hoot Photo Library copy of "Western Horned Toad on my left thumb in Gilbert AZ".

Had a nice flight back to Minneapolis last Friday night. Grabbed the First Class upgrade at the gate. Only a few bumps climbing through the monsoon that dropped heavy showers on parts of the Phoenix metro area. There was some scattered turbulence on the way in to the Humphrey Terminal where I lost five bucks on a bet with a guy in a Twins cap wagering on 'whose checked bag will come down the baggage claim ramp first'. I've still got a lot of work to do on calculating those odds for future reference including check-in time, booked passengers, location on the baggage train to and from plane side and baggage handler preferences. It's a complex set of interacting factors and I will have to fly more often to have any hope of developing a crude probability algorithm.

Flying back and forth as a commute is weird. I lose my sense of direction and sometimes don't regain for the entire trip. It makes driving fun - what did people do before Mapquest and Google maps? Handwritten directions as passed on by someone who does or does not know, I think. Of course, I spend time in airports, hotels, restaurants and friends' homes and load up on hygiene products (I'm not from France). I drink in airport bars and meet and talk to people I otherwise wouldn't. I buy magazines I wouldn't read anywhere/anytime except in an airport or on an airplane. Everyone I talk to is a stranger. I tell a lot of people that I'm in latex sales for VanDelay Industries based in Secaucus, NJ. Most miss the joke and resume talking about themselves while I plot my escape. Unfortunately, there's only one bar in Terminal 3.

After several trips, I know the airport both here and there and pass through without even thinking, usually daydreaming my way from station to station, bookstore to coffee shop or bar depending on whether I'm coming or going. I joke with the Travel Security Administration officers. I take my laptop out and put it in a tray of it's own. I remove and put my shoes back on which requires I be sure my socks are matched and clean, not something I would normally give specific attention. And, since the recent threat, shoes have to be placed soles down now - another rule to be absorbed and accepted. Then, I wait to board, and later, I wait to deplane. At both instances, I'm already on the phone with work. Still on the phone while taking the shuttle to the rental and the rental to work.

This week I go back. I've rented a small set of rooms from a friend in the countryside with a peach tree grove, chickens and horses. It is an acre of green in the middle of the desert. I'm driving an SUV full of technologies, PCs, peripherals and clothes on Wednesday this week. I'll drop into Iowa, hit I-80 through Nebraska to Denver to drop in on a friend then head straight south skirting the Rockies until I cross at Santa Fe and shoot west to Arizona. All reports indicate the road is paved for the entire distance and I won't have to open/close any cattle gates (which should save time).

I'll periodically update Hootenanny readers on the location change and it's consequences. I am looking forward to the move and the new job that is taking me there. Keep reading Hootenanny!