So this entry is a catch-up entry. I had to travel for work last week and found myself dealing with an interesting set of events.
6/3/2023
Ammon and I flew to Houston. I had work meetings and Ammon had a church camp on the campus of Texas A&M. I packed my son's passport so traveling through TSA would be a breeze. We arrive in Houston (about 10pm) and get to the Avis rental car facility to find I am issued a new Kia Telluride.
I'm excited to drive this because Samantha and I were debating on if we should buy one. So, Ammon and I open the trunk only to be hit with a wall of smell that was a mixture of cigarette and pot. I opened the driver's door to find three (3) scented tree air fresheners hanging from the rear view mirror. I didn't want to get saddled with a $450 smoking fee so I opted to see if there was an alternative vehicle. They had a Kia Sorrento that was new and clean. Ammon and I put our bags in the car and left for the Days Inn in Webster, TX. It was... lacking. The facility is short staffed, no elevator, and our room was on the 2nd floor. We lugged our suitcases up the flight of stairs and got in our room. The room was very tight. Two queen beds, a small bathroom, and a tv. We went to sleep.
6/4/2023
In the morning we headed off to my mom's home. My brother-in-law smoked some BBQ and it was nice having a moment there with them. My other sister stopped by and it was a good visit. She gave me a belated Christmas gift for me, my wife, and my family. My nephew and Ammon left to College Station, TX which is about 2 hours away. It was good catching up with my sisters.
We haven't been together in ages so it was good getting us all together. I left to check into my hotel that I would be staying at for the week. After checking in and getting to my room I set to ironing all my clothing for the week and hanging it in a very cramped closet.
6/5/2023
I awoke and got my morning routine down. I got in my Kia Sorrento and drove downtown in rush hour traffic. I got parked and waited for someone who had access to let me up to come get me. After getting in the office and working through a myriad of daily tasks, I got settled into the groove of work. I have an intern working for me at the moment and have spent some time working with him to get him up to speed with what needs to be accomplished. My boss and I went to lunch and then back to the normalcy of work. Both of us were preparing for the next day's management meetings. The day seemed to end as quickly as it started. I headed back to my sister's home to visit with my family then onto the hotel to get some rest.
6/6/2023
Another set of normal tasks but this first management meeting was held at a manufacturing facility in Houston. Breakfast from Shipley's! Nice!
We covered a myriad of topics and then after lunch the VP of Operations for the Houston facility gave everyone a tour. It was good getting everyone up to speed with what manufacturing is like. After the tour we went back discussed more IT stuff until the break for dinner. Dinner was in a place called the Flight Club in downtown Houston. A coworker rode with me as I drove there. After about 30 min (6 pm) we found ourselves parking in a well lit parking garage connected to this restaurant. We threw our bags into the back of the vehicle where the windows were super dark. We had a number of vehicles all traveling there so additional parking was nice. We all arrived at nearly the same time and went into the restaurant. It was a place filled with dart games and we found ourselves working in teams to beat each other. They had a buffet of food so the games were nonstop. After about 1.5 hours we then moved to the bar section where there was more socializing. I had to present the next day so I excused myself and asked the coworker if he wanted to get his stuff or if he wanted me to drive him to the hotel. He said he would grab his stuff so we walked to the car. After arriving, my coworker was looking at the rear of the vehicle. I walked from the driver's side and unlocked the car. I instructed him to open the rear hatch by lifting in the extreme bottom of the door. It wasn't until I opened it that I realized what he was looking at.
Glass was falling from the window. Our bags were gone. The feeling of being robbed is something that I hope nobody has to live through. It is such a violation. My son's passport, my work laptop, notebooks, etc. all gone. My coworker had his medication, laptop, credit cards, etc. My sister's box of gifts to my family had been left. The car next to ours had a window broken as well.
We looked around and found about 4 cars that had been burglarized. We called the police but after waiting an hour nobody showed. The car next to us that had been broken into said he was told to file a form online. We all voiced our frustrations and then I drove my coworker to his hotel. I then drove to Avis to exchange the car. The exchange process was slow since it was so late at night. Hardly anyone was working. I was put into a Ford Excape. The rear driver tire was low but I figured I would put some air into it in the morning. I just wanted to get back to the hotel. I called Samantha frustrated with the events of the day. I landed at the hotel and went up to my room trying to figure out how I would present anything the next day without a laptop. I used my phone to report the theft using a form from the Houston Police Department.
6/7/2023
I went to my car to find my rear driver's tire flat. It had about 10 lbs of pressure which was enough to drive a couple of blocks to a service station to put air in the tire.
The passenger rear tire was low as well. I filled both rear tires and then drove downtown. I got a loaner laptop to present on and then a replacement laptop later in the day. I am so fortunate that we had some spares available. I got an email stating that the police form I filled out was rejected and that I needed to come into the station. I was so frustrated. After the day's events we had a happy hour reception at a bar in the same building as our meetings. After socializing with everyone, I left to retire for the day. I got to my car to find my tires had lost about 10 lbs. of pressure. I drove to the hotel and then called Avis. They could change one of the tires but said I could only drive 50 miles on the spare so I told them I would go to Avis, again, and see if there was an alternate vehicle. I went to sleep frustrated.
6/8/2023
I aired up the tires again and found a local Avis car rental in Pearland, TX where I was staying. They didn't have any vehicles and suggested I go to one of the airports in Houston. I left for the closest airport (Hobby) and then pulled in to exchange the vehicle. After parking, they directed me to go in the main building to exchange the vehicle. They put me in a Dodge Ram pickup.
I got my phone synced in the pickup and headed North to downtown. After squeezing into a parking spot I realized I had the other keys from the Ford still in my pocket. At this point I just wanted to scream. I got my phone and cable and headed up to the office. After talking with Avis I asked if I could bring my key after work. They said that was fine. I had multiple meetings and a solid day of productivity. COVID has altered work and many people are remote on Friday so I planned to not drive in the next day. As I was leaving work there was a torrential downpour. I set my map to Avis (again) and headed south. The rain was extremely strong and I was left wondering if I could even get to Avis. You see, Hobby Airport in Houston is at a low point. I have flooded out a car before with water over 4 feet deep so I reluctantly decided to just drive to my sister's home instead. By the time I got there the rain had just stopped. Limbs from trees were in the street. You could tell it was a hard hard hard storm. I was inside my sister's home only a few minutes before her neighbor called her and asked if she could help move her trampoline which was now leaning outside her property on the neighbor's fence and house. I walked over there and found a very large trampoline bent in half. It was extremely heavy. The only way to move it was to disassemble it. We got some tools and did that. By the time that was done it was dinner time. After dinner my sister volunteered to take the keys back to Avis for me. I was so appreciative. I took her up on the offer. I headed back to the hotel. I had every intention of going by the police station... but I just didn't make it.
6/9/2023
I had meeting after meeting in the morning. I checked out of the hotel by 11 and drove to the nearest Houston Police Department in Clear Lake, Tx. I was meeting with people via my phone during my travels there but alas - I arrived. I walked in and gave them my report. By the time that was finished I was mentally spent. I drove to Subway, got a sandwich, and headed to my sister's. After lunch and catching up on emails from work, I left to drive to College Station, TX. Once there I took my nephew out for dinner and visited for a while before retiring for the night.
6/10/2023
My day started early. I had to pick up Ammon at 7:00 am but the instructions were vague. I was able to accomplish this and then onto IHOP for breakfast. We stopped by Shipley's Do-Nuts for a TX treat and then onto Bush International Airport. It was fun hearing about all of Ammon's experiences at this camp. After filling the tank we dropped of the pickup and found ourselves at the Delta terminal to check in our bags. I was able to get an earlier flight and the next thing we knew we were in SLC. We took a Lyft to the house. It was so very nice being home. I went to bed early.
6/11/2023
I awoke at 3am. I couldn't sleep. I looked at my phone and then forced myself to go back to sleep. It was probably 4:30 before I went to sleep. I awoke again at 7:30. The day started and ended without incident. Our family dinner was so nice. Alex, Emma (Jean), Madilyn, Ammon, Claire, and I did Karaoke. We all laughed. It was so good. After Claire went to bed we watched some Studio C and then all headed to bed. It was a short weekend for me. Work starts up early tomorrow.
Until later -
