Hooray for Friday and the three-day weekend that lies ahead. (Thank you for the day off, Christopher Columbus.) It’s been a weird week, for reasons I don’t fully understand and can’t explain. I feel just OFF somehow, both physically and mentally.
I’m chalking up the physical to random allergies. I never had allergies growing up, but in recent years I do notice that I sneeze more often and my eyes itch. Ever since the weather cooled off two weeks ago, I’ve been sneezing like crazy and my eyes have been itching. Last week, I thought I was coming down with a cold because my nose was stuffed and my throat was sore, but nothing materialized. The cold-like symptoms continue. My eyes were bothering me so much last night that I had to switch to my glasses for the evening. Coworkers tell me it’s ragweed. Joy.
It’s been a busy week. On Tuesday, Jose and I went downtown to hear Richard Dawkins give a talk at the Wortham Center. He’s a famous evolutionary biologist and has written many books about evolution and natural selection. (Although these days he may be better known for being an outspoken atheist. Because of that, he’s a bit controversial especially in a state like Texas.) Our tickets included a pre-talk reception where we got to talk to Mr. Dawkins briefly. Everyone got a signed copy of his latest book, “The Greatest Show on Earth,” but Jose brought along his favorite one, “The Blind Watchmaker,” which he also got signed. The talk itself was good, and the question and answer session that followed was even better. It was a fun night.
On Wednesday, we took advantage of the continued fantastic weather and went flying after work. Jose wanted to do a few landings and I was just along for the ride. We flew around the pattern once, then headed south towards Angleton for a while. A T-38 passed us heading in the opposite direction, towards Ellington, I assume. I’m usually a pretty good “pilot’s assistant” — a job that involves listening to radio traffic and keeping my eyes open for other planes in the area — but on Wednesday I spent the whole time watching the ground pass below us. It’s always interesting to me to see what kind of patterns are down there. Roads wind in strange directions, giant houses sit on big open lots in the countryside, container ships leave long wakes in the gulf, rivers and bayous and marshes reflect the sunlight. It was very peaceful to be up there as the sun started to set. Despite the abundance of pilots in my group of friends, I still don’t have any real interest in learning how to fly myself…but I do LOVE being a passenger.
