yotogi.net

i have managed to find a semi-comforable way to hold my laptop on this flight. my wrists are not as contorted as they were when i attempted to use the "tray table". my eyes are not strained in an attempt to make out the screen. i am far from comfortable, but i have reached something close to functional. my headphones provide some good noise to cover up the snoring from the guy in the seat behind me. the flight has perhaps been one of the least pleasant i have been on in some time. the severe gentleman (just a guess, he hasn't said a word since i asked to slide into the window seat) has been going back and forth either reading his book or catching a quick nap. i read for a while and looked at some code for a while. neither of which were capable of holding my interest in the least. on the way here i didn't really want a cigarette until i had arrived in austin. there is no doubt in my mind that i will have to get one while in atlanta.

my trip this week has left me with a lot to think about. for a long time i have been comfortable with my own mortalitly and with the idea that i may die young (not wishing for death, just being comfortable with death). my grandfather was diagnosed with parkenson's desease this week, which has given me cause to think about aging and mortality again. this time i cannot really do so from the comforts of youth. it is one thing to contemplate mortality in the comforts of youth, quite another to face them in someone who is doing his best not to loose anything from the quality of his life, despite his body's best efforts to fall apart.

tiburon has an office in austin. it is up in the hill country just a few minutes from the city of austin proper. i noticed on this trip to austin how much the hill country reminds me of seattle. in fact the pace of austin is incredibly reminicent of seattle in general. the people, the air, the hills and the winter. i could just as easily live there as i could in the pacific northwest.

the smokers lounge is an interesting place. so much more effective than the truth ads if you are trying to convince your impressionable child that smoking is not a glamorous or desireable practice. atlanta has a room with a wall of windows looking out onto the main walkway of the terminal. the glass of those windows looks to be the only thing that they clean, so as to make sure that anyone who wants to make a point to their children can point out the people. they can expain that those people's insides look just like the yellowed walls and ceiling visible through the perfectly clean glass.

and there is something about time off that brings about the clearity of mind to focus on work. i am looking forward to work after my time away. so much good stuff to do, so many things to learn. my brain itches to grow after just a bit of downtime. i wish that i was better about starting and following through on my personal projects since they would provide me an outlet for this kind of focus no matter what i am currently doing. i guess that for now, until i get started on a project, i will have to be content with my books and my music.