13-X-2002.
Taking off to Houston. Don't want to dig through emails, so off the top, it went more or less like this: Leanne contacted me, probably by email. They have a programmer in house now, some Hindu guy, who did most of the stuff already, as an internal web app, it's the enrollment in Hossy and EONS import that he didn't have the time for yet. So if I could come and help them push the season through.
Since Berix and I are practically gunslingers, mercenaries, and trying to avoid the complications of a tezga, which could easily roll into a real triper, we agreed that Leevor should simply order the work from her, I'd do it during my office hours, she'd invoice them, I'd get paid through my regular salary, and we'd be done. The work for eHosp slowed down to a trickle, anyway, so at least this is some work lined up.
Of course, Leevor pays hotel and air fare. The latter is, however, paid in advance, and I didn't have as much, so Berix sent me some 1200$ to PayPal, where I opened an account just for this. I don't understand why did it happen only yesterday, an air ticket is usually bought two weeks in advance. Perhaps I did have enough, but nothing much beyond that, so this was to have something in my pockets and at home.
So that morning I drove the corolla to the little airport by A-burg, parked it there, checked in and went out for the last smoke before takeoff. Under the same eave another guy found shelter for a cigarette, some youngster, all tuxedo and a necktie. Turns out he's from Brazil, and it's pronounced with an -iu in the end, same -u as in polish ł, slovenian -il (popil sounds like popiu), or as the english dubya - „uy am from braziw“. Look at that.
In Houston it was just cloudy. I couldn't find which shuttle would take me to the hotel, I guess none, so I took a cab - tab's on Leevor, fuck the 50$. Though, it was at least a half an hour drive. Dang, how the guy made out the dashboard with all possible gadgets, there must be airplanes which have fewer buttons and displays. Now that I look at the photo, it doesn't seem like much, but back then it looked overstuffed.
The hotel is an outpost of Holliday Inn, I'd say a kilometer and a half south of the hospital, in the area where high rises surrender to eased out, low buildings on huge lots. The rooms are in houses with upstairs, same plank and clapboard like everything else, and it doesn't matter that it's all strewn with rugs, walpapered and cozy, has armchairs, couch, color TV, hearth, bathroom, kitchen... you still have the feeling you're in someone's weekend cottage and not in a house. I hooked up the laptop, and I guess I had some internet from it. Picked the email from home telling me to use her new yahoo address that Go set up for her.
Then I got hungry... and noticed a Kroger on the next lot. Went there and bought something dry-meat, and probably some instant coffee. I guess I also had a microwave, but still didn't reheat anything, and the coffee I made with the hot water from the coffee maker, though the hot water from tap would also do the job.
In the morning, typical hotel breakfast - bagle, cream cheese, butter, coffee, cereals in milk, the works. Nothing to slit wrists for, but not bad either, keeps the barrel full. Ate that and went out to wait for the shuttle to Mariott, which is just across from Leevor, and there's a passarella on the third floor connecting them. I did see people crossing the street on the pavement as well.
I made this shot while leaving after breakfast. Each of these plank boxes holds four rooms. Maybe six or eight, it they had smaller ones, but I don't think so, this is Holiday Inn, they are proud that they have everything big.
Leanne and Cathryn (a chubby, merry girl, hair of course mostly straightened, but when her daughter came, I had the privilege to watch how those braids are made with that curly hair - they don't flatten the hair before puberty) welcomed me nicely, with a wide smile and a long to-do list. To differ from the last time, 16-XI-1999., when the only sourc of coffee was at megdonalds, this time that watering hole was right out her door, in the hall. I only had to distance my cigarettes to maybe once every two-three hours, because it's cheaper to ride the elevator for five floors than to have one room per floor with ventillation separate from the rest of the building. This other solution would be politically costly, as it could be seen as a concession to smokers, not humiliating enough.
So I spent my smoke breaks in this make believe yard between Leevor and the Methodist hospital, unless they are the same or divisions of the same, never bothered to find out. Never had too many people there, but wasn't sparse either. Some patient has a visit, they come down for a smoke. Elevators ran all day.
The white thing on the wall, to the left of the guy, is a notice that it's forbidden to feed the birds in the smoking zone, because that attracts pests, such as rats, raccoons, pigeons and possibly other, more dangerous ones.
I kept working all day, have no idea what I ate - they did order a pizza once, rather late in the day. In the evening Leanne would drive me to the hotel. She'd leave her car on the roof of a parking garage nearby. I never imagined these would have usable roofs, but then why not, it seems quite logical to do so.
She's really a strange character - wide face, wide shoulders, wide hips, wide smile and... cowboy boots. Only in Texas.
I stitched this shot eleven years later.
Second morning, after breakfast, waiting for the shuttle, I decide I have time for a smoke. But some lady brought her breakfast and munched on it, some for meters from me. And started pretending to cough. Well fuck you, did you get two or three molecules of smoke, the breeze is blowing sideways. Well okay, shove it, I moved two more steps away, almost on the curb. Okay now. Sure, just as long as you had your power climax, enjoy the feeling.
Leanne brought me a nail clipper, as that's the one thing I forgot to do. The nails on my middle fingers grow wide and the outer corner then digs into the skin, which is a result of almost twenty years at the keyboard, and now hurts when I type. Fixed that in two minutes and it felt better right away.
I have a inversely proportional theory of neatness - people with neat computers tend to have cluttered desks, and vice versa. Leanne is definitely in the latter camp (see 03-V-1990.). On her desktop there are at least two hundred icons, no room left, and I can't even imagine how she finds anything on it. This is my laptop, from Berix, and the famous blue cable is plugged into it. That cable cost something in single digits, a longer one wouldn't go over 20$, and it cost us at least 200$ in working hours, just repairing the damage she caused with it. This time, though it's too late already, I explained that each time she yanks that cable from the machine while it runs Hossy, there's an excllent chance that she'll fuck up the tables. She did it a number of times, we kept fixing them, and we never managed to explain it to her. Better late than never.
I see I was running TotalCmd, back then still caled Windows Commander.
Third day I already knew the way, and got up a bit earlier, so I decided to walk to work. Wonderful morning, moderately fresh, and it isn't all that far. Made dozen shots and saw things along the way. Now I really saw the lot sizes. What held a single house here would host a whole kindergarten back home. The low morning sun throws funny reflections between the glass buildings. Geese are wading in the canal, the water amazingly clear.
This third day I could actually cool it off a bit, having ran an import and letting them check the results. Used the time (... 32 words...).
Monday morning I still had time for a coffee or two with them, then went across to the Mariott to catch a shuttle to the airport. The waiting room is incredible, exactly on the border of rich and kitch. Actually, straddled the line and dug deep on both sides of it.
I had a layover somewhere, probably in Atlanta. Could have been Charlotte, though, it's also a possibility. Got home by 16:00.
Mentions: 03-V-1990., 16-XI-1999., Annenburg (A-burg), Cecilia Roxbury (Berix), eHosp, EONS, Gorana Sredljević (Go), Hossy, Leanne Harper, Leevor, tezga, TotalCmd, triper kombinacija, in serbian