On the road again: Austin, day 4

Though I'm very happy for Austin that this week supplied it with a great deal of much-needed rain, I can't say I enjoyed driving in that rain.  Today's trip from the hotel to the airport proved to be particularly harrowing, because no one seemed inclined to slow in the slightest.  Giant trucks going 90 miles an hour in an 80-mile-per-hour speed zone are scary enough normally, but when you're in a POS Nissan Versa that could hit 80 only when going downhill, those trucks are terrifying.

Still, I made the trip safely, got soaked again walking into the terminal, and found no joy at check-in:  no chance of upgrades today.

I did, though, enjoy a delicious lunch of brisket and sausage.  I love the Austin airport.

My first flight ran about 40 minutes late, so our plane didn't even touch down in DFW until after my flight to Raleigh was due to start boarding.  I can't complain too much, though, because I boarded the RDU-bound plane three minutes before they closed the door.

My row mate was a complete jerk who elbowed me in the side, looked at me, and said, "You'll have to lean into the aisle, because I have to type, and I need my arms wide to type."

An unpleasant discussion ensued.  I, also, needed to work.

We compromised a bit, but I spent the entire flight with his right elbow in my left side.

As my notebook was booting, the guy in front of me completely reclined his seat.  I then had to recline mine to have enough space to open my notebook.  Even with my seat reclined, my space was so limited that I spent the entire flight propping open my notebook on its spine and typing down into it.  The bruise on my forearm is still fading.

Because I reclined, the woman in the seat behind me hit my seat repeatedly.  I apologized to her but explained that I really did have to work.  She didn't care, and so for the rest of the flight she smacked the back of my seat every few minutes.

I am very happy to be home.