A Rant

I have been too shattered from the travel to do anything like quilting (or exercising, or reading, or doing anything other than working and sleeping) so I have no real progress to report on that front.

I have come to a decision from this last trip: I am going to make it a goal in my life to never go to Houston again.  I don't make such decisions lightly, but I think this one is required.

My reasons:

- missing the quilt show.  I know that this is technically my fault, but I have decided to blame Houston instead.

- I tried to go running at 4:30 in the morning (I was still on British time).  It was 80ºF / 24ºC that early.  The dew point was 79.5ºF.  ick.

- One of the lunches served at the company that I was visiting was Southern Fried Steak (ie. breaded & deep-fried steak-like product).  The vegetable sides were pasta and rice.

- The course I was teaching didn't go as well as I had hoped.

- My flight out was delayed due to a problem with the plane.  This meant that I missed my connection, and they lost my luggage.  I got to the hotel in Cleveland around midnight, and I had to go to my meeting the next day in my clothes from the day before, without my notes.  I blame Houston.

- My co-worker got stuck in Hurricane Gustav last year.

- Some of the biggest news while I was there was about Barbie's cankles.  I know this was a US-wide problem, but really now...

I always thought that I would like Houston.  After all, I grew up in Calgary, and at least one kid in my class every year would get transferred there (or at least their parents would be).  Most of those kids (that I have tracked down on Facebook) stayed, so there must be some advantages!

I'm sorry to anyone from Houston, or anyone who likes Houston. 

Kirsten

Another 11,150 miles

Cambridge - Belfast - Cambridge (28 hours back home), then Houston - Cleveland - Cambridge. 

I got home yesterday, and have been catching up on sleep ever since.  Maybe I'll have something more interesting to say once I have caught up a bit.  That is, if I have caught up before I take off for the States again next week...

Travel...

Back from Belfast last night.

Off to Houston tomorrow morning.

So tired I want to cry.

week 1 of insane travel schedule done.

K

And the travel begins...

Tomorrow evening I'm off for Belfast, and then Saturday I'm flying out to Houston.  Hopefully I'll get some piecing done, but probably not much blogging...

The status of Shattered Dishes:

Two more blocks to piece, and then putting the whole thing together.  I'm really happy with how it is coming out!

Only 2 more blocks on my FQM project (had to get courses ready this weekend rather than quilting, like I really wanted to...)

And my sad, sad news...  You may have noticed that I am going to Houston next week.  You may have also noticed that the International Quilt Festival is in Houston next week.  It is not a coincidence, but it is a poorly planned one...  I did convince our customers that they should do their training that week with the plan to stay on a couple of days afterwards to peruse the show.  I was very, very excited about it. 

But I didn't look closely at the dates.  I had seen some dates around the 10th and 11th, as well as some around the 15th and 16th.  I thought that a show that big would be a week or two long.  I was asked to visit some clients in Cleveland on the 15th and 16th, and I thought it would be fine.

And then I looked up the details...  The 10-12th are a trade show, closed to the public.  The show itself starts on the 15th.  When I'm in Cleveland.  I'm so sad...

(and a little bit relieved - I find the following exhausting:

- running training courses

- flying back and forth over the Atlantic (two trips across in 3 weeks...)

- quilt shows

- life in general

so maybe this will save a bit of sanity...)