Saturday, March 25, 2006
Off we go, into the wild blue yonder
Well, for about 40 minutes anyway. We're jumping on a flight to Austin this morning so that we can attend our friend Nisha's wedding. The wedding is actually in San Antonio, but we are meeting up with folks in Austin, getting ready there, and then driving down.
Nisha wanted us to wear Indian clothes if possible, because it's an Indian wedding, so I spent last night ironing a bunch of clothes for the girls to wear. I'm wearing my best saree. I'm glad I finally have another chance to wear it, since it was pretty expensive, and I need to get my money's worth from it!
Oh, that reminds me, I should locate our camera and charge it up...
Well, for about 40 minutes anyway. We're jumping on a flight to Austin this morning so that we can attend our friend Nisha's wedding. The wedding is actually in San Antonio, but we are meeting up with folks in Austin, getting ready there, and then driving down.
Nisha wanted us to wear Indian clothes if possible, because it's an Indian wedding, so I spent last night ironing a bunch of clothes for the girls to wear. I'm wearing my best saree. I'm glad I finally have another chance to wear it, since it was pretty expensive, and I need to get my money's worth from it!
Oh, that reminds me, I should locate our camera and charge it up...
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Singing the Non-Rev Blues
Victor sent along a New York Times article about how airline employee travel is getting harder. It was a pretty interesting read, but none of it was news to me. We have already been thinking about our summer travel plans, and there are quite a few places that are already nearly impossible for us, due to higher than normal ticket sales to Europe. It will be tough getting to Europe this summer, but we may be able to work around it. Trying to fly standby is pretty stressful, though, especially when you think about hotels (booking at the last minute, cancelling if you don't get on the flight, cancellation fees, no rooms left at your destination city, etc.) and work (worrying if you will get stuck and won't make it back to work on time).
The fact of the matter is that Victor could be making thousands more if he wasn't working at an airline. Probably tens of thousands. Airline employees are notoriously underpaid, and the airlines use these travel perks as a compensation for that underpayment. So it sucks when we can't take advantage of the benefit, but it's great that people are buying the tickets, because Victor's company stays in business. It's kind of a double-edged sword.
One thing in the NYT article that I do want to clear up: we don't fly for free. We still pay a fee, although a minimal fee, which is (I think) the amount of the taxes for a full-price ticket. Victor, correct me if I'm wrong. Anyway, while we do get to fly first class to Europe, for example, we still end up paying several hundreds of dollars for those seats. Much, much less than a real first class ticket, but it is definitely a misconception that we travel for free. And we love to travel so much that we end up spending a significant sum of money each year on non-rev charges. Which sucks because Victor doesn't make that much for a financial analyst. Yep, vicious circle!
And I know it would be way cheaper if we didn't try for first class/business class on long flights. But we want to take advantage of premium seats while we can even remotely afford them.
Victor sent along a New York Times article about how airline employee travel is getting harder. It was a pretty interesting read, but none of it was news to me. We have already been thinking about our summer travel plans, and there are quite a few places that are already nearly impossible for us, due to higher than normal ticket sales to Europe. It will be tough getting to Europe this summer, but we may be able to work around it. Trying to fly standby is pretty stressful, though, especially when you think about hotels (booking at the last minute, cancelling if you don't get on the flight, cancellation fees, no rooms left at your destination city, etc.) and work (worrying if you will get stuck and won't make it back to work on time).
The fact of the matter is that Victor could be making thousands more if he wasn't working at an airline. Probably tens of thousands. Airline employees are notoriously underpaid, and the airlines use these travel perks as a compensation for that underpayment. So it sucks when we can't take advantage of the benefit, but it's great that people are buying the tickets, because Victor's company stays in business. It's kind of a double-edged sword.
One thing in the NYT article that I do want to clear up: we don't fly for free. We still pay a fee, although a minimal fee, which is (I think) the amount of the taxes for a full-price ticket. Victor, correct me if I'm wrong. Anyway, while we do get to fly first class to Europe, for example, we still end up paying several hundreds of dollars for those seats. Much, much less than a real first class ticket, but it is definitely a misconception that we travel for free. And we love to travel so much that we end up spending a significant sum of money each year on non-rev charges. Which sucks because Victor doesn't make that much for a financial analyst. Yep, vicious circle!
And I know it would be way cheaper if we didn't try for first class/business class on long flights. But we want to take advantage of premium seats while we can even remotely afford them.
Monday, March 20, 2006
How high's the water, mama?
There was a flood in my neighborhood yesterday. It rained pretty hard all weekend, and Sunday afternoon I had the windows opened a crack while I cleaned the house. I started cleaning the bathroom and heard a lot of commotion on the street outside. A bunch of cars were trying to back up and turn around. I figured someone had a wreck until I peeked around the corner (we live on the corner of a side street and a major street). The major street was completely flooded! I mean, there was a full on river flowing in front of our house. We tried to get some pictures, but I don't think they turned out very well. It was pouring, and our camera kept reflecting on the water drops. The Dallas Morning News has some pretty good pictures. Most of them are in our neighborhood.
The water was 2-3 feet deep and flowing fast. I saw several dumbasses get stuck trying to drive through it. I also saw a metal "free, take one" newsstand float by and also a huge picnic table. The fire department shut the street down and parked a fire truck sideways so that people would stop trying to drive on it. We didn't really leave the house yesterday because of the water. It has all receded now.
Before the floods came on Sunday, we had a pretty good weekend. Friday night we got Thai food and watched Walk the Line on DVD. I really liked it. I grew up listening to Johnny Cash as a little girl, and I even had two stuffed animals named Johnny and June Carter. It was interesting learning more about his life. Victor and I listened to a couple of his albums later in the weekend while playing Dr. Mario, and I once again made my case for the theory that "Walk the Line" is the best Johnny Cash song by far.
Saturday we went shopping and then went to see V for Vendetta. I really enjoyed it. There was a bit too much of hit-you-over-the-head politics, but other than that, I thought it was great fun. I have a long history of falling for fictional masked men, and this movie proved to be no different. I was totally rooting for V (the character, not my husband), and I thought Hugo Weaving did a terrific job of making him sympathetic and so, so sexy. Anyway, I've read numerous reports of how the author of the graphic novel is incredibly unimpressed (read: pissed off) with the movie adaptation, so I want to read the graphic novel now to see what the differences are.
One more news item of note: Tonight I start Spanish classes. I am terrified that I will get so mixed up, because I speak French (un peu), and they are so similar yet different. But I'm going to give it a valiant effort.
There was a flood in my neighborhood yesterday. It rained pretty hard all weekend, and Sunday afternoon I had the windows opened a crack while I cleaned the house. I started cleaning the bathroom and heard a lot of commotion on the street outside. A bunch of cars were trying to back up and turn around. I figured someone had a wreck until I peeked around the corner (we live on the corner of a side street and a major street). The major street was completely flooded! I mean, there was a full on river flowing in front of our house. We tried to get some pictures, but I don't think they turned out very well. It was pouring, and our camera kept reflecting on the water drops. The Dallas Morning News has some pretty good pictures. Most of them are in our neighborhood.
The water was 2-3 feet deep and flowing fast. I saw several dumbasses get stuck trying to drive through it. I also saw a metal "free, take one" newsstand float by and also a huge picnic table. The fire department shut the street down and parked a fire truck sideways so that people would stop trying to drive on it. We didn't really leave the house yesterday because of the water. It has all receded now.
Before the floods came on Sunday, we had a pretty good weekend. Friday night we got Thai food and watched Walk the Line on DVD. I really liked it. I grew up listening to Johnny Cash as a little girl, and I even had two stuffed animals named Johnny and June Carter. It was interesting learning more about his life. Victor and I listened to a couple of his albums later in the weekend while playing Dr. Mario, and I once again made my case for the theory that "Walk the Line" is the best Johnny Cash song by far.
Saturday we went shopping and then went to see V for Vendetta. I really enjoyed it. There was a bit too much of hit-you-over-the-head politics, but other than that, I thought it was great fun. I have a long history of falling for fictional masked men, and this movie proved to be no different. I was totally rooting for V (the character, not my husband), and I thought Hugo Weaving did a terrific job of making him sympathetic and so, so sexy. Anyway, I've read numerous reports of how the author of the graphic novel is incredibly unimpressed (read: pissed off) with the movie adaptation, so I want to read the graphic novel now to see what the differences are.
One more news item of note: Tonight I start Spanish classes. I am terrified that I will get so mixed up, because I speak French (un peu), and they are so similar yet different. But I'm going to give it a valiant effort.
Sunday, March 19, 2006
As seen in my work's parking lot
Yes, the window does read 24" Bitch. Thanks to Shane for taking the picture... my camera phone picture didn't turn out so well.
Yes, the window does read 24" Bitch. Thanks to Shane for taking the picture... my camera phone picture didn't turn out so well.
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Child stars!
Last night we continued our own DFW music festival by seeing the Magic Numbers and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah at the Ridglea Theater in Fort Worth. We met up with our friend Dominick at Zeke's Fish and Chips beforehand. Man alive, the fish was tasty - super light batter and cod that melted in your mouth. After much conversation about travel, soccer, and baseball, we decided to head over to the theater to see the show.
There was an opening band that none of us had ever heard called Dr. Dog. I am not usually impressed by unknown opening bands, but these guys were well-rehearsed and great performers. It wasn't really my style of music, but I did really enjoy one song, and they were fun to watch. There was one crazy (read: drunk) guy that seemed to be really into them. We had a good laugh watching him dance, because he had absolutely no rhythm.
Various members of Clap Your Hands and the Magic Numbers were in the audience watching Dr. Dog. Michele from the Magic Numbers stood right in front of us for most of their set. Alec Ounsworth from CYHSY walked in front of us several times. I managed to control myself and not geek out too much. I tend to try to talk to rock stars (if indeed you can call these folks rock stars) and end up embarrassing myself to no end, so thank God I didn't try any of that last night. By the way, the folks from the Magic Numbers are tiny with lots of hair. Like hobbits!
The Magic Numbers were tons of fun. We bought their album last year, and I had listened to it a few times and then kind of laid it aside because we bought so much more music. I had to get it back out this morning, because I enjoyed their show so much last night. There were a couple of technical problems with one of the microphones, but they worked around those and kept going. Their harmonies were fantastic, and both of the girls have great voices. I think they enjoyed themselves too.
Clap Your Hands were fantastic. Lots of energy. The crowd danced a lot. Some drunk guys stood between me and Victor for a while, swaying into us, but luckily they went away before the show was over. Dominick said CYHSY were much better this time than their show last October. I certainly enjoyed them last night. Alec Ounsworth's voice just gets crazier when you see them live. When he's not singing, he does some sort of weird crouching dance with his guitar and mouths/sings words that we can't hear. I'm not really sure what that's all about... it kind of reminded me of a chicken. In fact, I told Victor that if Dana Carvey and a talking chicken had a baby, it would be Alec. Behold:
I'm telling you, it's true.
One more thing: one of the guys from Dr. Dog looked quite a bit like Mark, and one of the CYHSY guys looked quite a bit like Dylan. On the last song, Dr. Dog joined CYHSY on stage, and the Dylan-guy and the Mark-guy were singing at the same mic. It was like seeing our friends on stage, and it warmed the cockles of my heart a bit.
Last night we continued our own DFW music festival by seeing the Magic Numbers and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah at the Ridglea Theater in Fort Worth. We met up with our friend Dominick at Zeke's Fish and Chips beforehand. Man alive, the fish was tasty - super light batter and cod that melted in your mouth. After much conversation about travel, soccer, and baseball, we decided to head over to the theater to see the show.
There was an opening band that none of us had ever heard called Dr. Dog. I am not usually impressed by unknown opening bands, but these guys were well-rehearsed and great performers. It wasn't really my style of music, but I did really enjoy one song, and they were fun to watch. There was one crazy (read: drunk) guy that seemed to be really into them. We had a good laugh watching him dance, because he had absolutely no rhythm.
Various members of Clap Your Hands and the Magic Numbers were in the audience watching Dr. Dog. Michele from the Magic Numbers stood right in front of us for most of their set. Alec Ounsworth from CYHSY walked in front of us several times. I managed to control myself and not geek out too much. I tend to try to talk to rock stars (if indeed you can call these folks rock stars) and end up embarrassing myself to no end, so thank God I didn't try any of that last night. By the way, the folks from the Magic Numbers are tiny with lots of hair. Like hobbits!
The Magic Numbers were tons of fun. We bought their album last year, and I had listened to it a few times and then kind of laid it aside because we bought so much more music. I had to get it back out this morning, because I enjoyed their show so much last night. There were a couple of technical problems with one of the microphones, but they worked around those and kept going. Their harmonies were fantastic, and both of the girls have great voices. I think they enjoyed themselves too.
Clap Your Hands were fantastic. Lots of energy. The crowd danced a lot. Some drunk guys stood between me and Victor for a while, swaying into us, but luckily they went away before the show was over. Dominick said CYHSY were much better this time than their show last October. I certainly enjoyed them last night. Alec Ounsworth's voice just gets crazier when you see them live. When he's not singing, he does some sort of weird crouching dance with his guitar and mouths/sings words that we can't hear. I'm not really sure what that's all about... it kind of reminded me of a chicken. In fact, I told Victor that if Dana Carvey and a talking chicken had a baby, it would be Alec. Behold:
I'm telling you, it's true.
One more thing: one of the guys from Dr. Dog looked quite a bit like Mark, and one of the CYHSY guys looked quite a bit like Dylan. On the last song, Dr. Dog joined CYHSY on stage, and the Dylan-guy and the Mark-guy were singing at the same mic. It was like seeing our friends on stage, and it warmed the cockles of my heart a bit.
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Don’t be sore if I cheer the other team
Well, the show last night was great. We carpooled with our friend Michelle and managed to get a pretty good spot to watch (it was general admission). The New Pornographers played for about an hour. They played all of my favorites and most of Victor’s too. Neko Case and Dan Bejar weren’t there, but Carl Newman’s niece Kathryn, who is the newest member of the band, took over Neko’s singing parts. The band sounded great.
Belle and Sebastian were fantastic as usual. It was their first Dallas show, and Stuart mentioned several times how glad he was to be in Dallas and in the south (he even gave a shout out to all of the southern belles in the audience, and then called his band the northern Belles – ha ha ha!). He ventured into the audience to sing at one point. During "Electronic Renaissance" he danced nonstop, and Stevie pretended to be a robot. It was pretty funny. The two of them have such great banter onstage.
My feet kept tingling and falling asleep because I was wearing the wrong shoes (tall wedges make it easier to see, for sure, but they kill your back, legs, and knees!). Lesson learned. I’m wearing Pumas for the Clap Your Hands show tonight.
Well, the show last night was great. We carpooled with our friend Michelle and managed to get a pretty good spot to watch (it was general admission). The New Pornographers played for about an hour. They played all of my favorites and most of Victor’s too. Neko Case and Dan Bejar weren’t there, but Carl Newman’s niece Kathryn, who is the newest member of the band, took over Neko’s singing parts. The band sounded great.
Belle and Sebastian were fantastic as usual. It was their first Dallas show, and Stuart mentioned several times how glad he was to be in Dallas and in the south (he even gave a shout out to all of the southern belles in the audience, and then called his band the northern Belles – ha ha ha!). He ventured into the audience to sing at one point. During "Electronic Renaissance" he danced nonstop, and Stevie pretended to be a robot. It was pretty funny. The two of them have such great banter onstage.
My feet kept tingling and falling asleep because I was wearing the wrong shoes (tall wedges make it easier to see, for sure, but they kill your back, legs, and knees!). Lesson learned. I’m wearing Pumas for the Clap Your Hands show tonight.
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
If I could have a second skin, I'd probably dress up in you
Tonight, Victor and I are going to see Belle and Sebastian for the third time. They have had quite an impact on our relationship, so much so that it warrants a little story here. I'm hoping that I get all of the dates and the sequence of events right. If not, I'm sure Victor will correct me.
Victor and I met on April 18, 2002. My friends and I always hung out at the Draught House in Austin on Thursdays. Victor and his friend Enrique happened to arrive there that night too. They knew my friend Steph, so they joined our little group. I thought they were pretty nice, especially since Victor had a bowl of peanuts (I was hungry). I made some sort of inappropriate priest joke that warmed Victor's Catholic heart. Anyway, I guess Victor thought I was cute, and according to Mark and Ryan I said something like "he's cute but probably gay." Hey, that had been my life experience with nice guys who seemed to be interested in me!
Anyway, Steph had a party two days later. Victor and I both showed up and spent some time talking to each other. By "some time," I really mean "five hours." Somewhere in the beginning of the conversation, we started talking about music. I mentioned I had Belle and Sebastian tickets for April 30. Victor had them too! Any guy that likes B&S is a winner in my book. Finding out that he also had Super Furry Animals tickets sealed the deal. I hadn't met too many other SFA fans by that point. So anyway, his musical taste definitely heightened my interest in him.
We met up a couple of other times that next week, but Victor kept forgetting to get my number (I was much too insecure to ask for his). When he finally did get it, and we hung out at my house, he was too shy to put the moves on. So finally, on Friday April 26, I invited him over to watch Belle and Sebastian perform on Conan. Mark and Ryan (and maybe Travis?) were there too. He stayed later than they did, and I managed to kiss him before he left.
The next Tuesday was the Belle and Sebastian concert. We emailed back and forth about what we would wear to the show. I wore a blue shirt, a jean skirt, and mary janes, which was kind of my uniform back then. I may have worn pigtails. I can't remember what Victor wore, but it may have been his B&S ampersand t-shirt. It was fun watching him sing along. He knew the words just as well as I did, and that's saying something. After the show was over, I made him steal Stuart Murdoch's sweaty towel. I don't know where that is now... probably lost in one of our many moves. Anyway, that concert put aside any doubts about whether Victor was perfect for me.
We share a lot of the same musical taste, and maybe only our mutual love for Morrissey means as much to our relationship as our love for B&S. And yes, we did drive 10 hours through the Texas desert to see Morrissey once. (And yes, we did pass up his concert in Oklahoma City last night, but only because we are going to two shows already this week... and I guess we're not the rock stars we once were). But we have spent countless hours enjoying Belle and Sebastian together. He puts up with my undying crush on Stuart Murdoch, and I refrain from divorcing him for his Isobel Campbell fixation. She's not even a part of the band anymore, so I can't hate her too much. We saw B&S again in 2004, and now we're seeing them tonight.
It kind of made me sad that neither Belle and Sebastian nor Morrissey write traditional love songs, so we couldn't dance our cheesy first dance at the wedding to either of them. It would have been a fitting tribute.
Tonight, Victor and I are going to see Belle and Sebastian for the third time. They have had quite an impact on our relationship, so much so that it warrants a little story here. I'm hoping that I get all of the dates and the sequence of events right. If not, I'm sure Victor will correct me.
Victor and I met on April 18, 2002. My friends and I always hung out at the Draught House in Austin on Thursdays. Victor and his friend Enrique happened to arrive there that night too. They knew my friend Steph, so they joined our little group. I thought they were pretty nice, especially since Victor had a bowl of peanuts (I was hungry). I made some sort of inappropriate priest joke that warmed Victor's Catholic heart. Anyway, I guess Victor thought I was cute, and according to Mark and Ryan I said something like "he's cute but probably gay." Hey, that had been my life experience with nice guys who seemed to be interested in me!
Anyway, Steph had a party two days later. Victor and I both showed up and spent some time talking to each other. By "some time," I really mean "five hours." Somewhere in the beginning of the conversation, we started talking about music. I mentioned I had Belle and Sebastian tickets for April 30. Victor had them too! Any guy that likes B&S is a winner in my book. Finding out that he also had Super Furry Animals tickets sealed the deal. I hadn't met too many other SFA fans by that point. So anyway, his musical taste definitely heightened my interest in him.
We met up a couple of other times that next week, but Victor kept forgetting to get my number (I was much too insecure to ask for his). When he finally did get it, and we hung out at my house, he was too shy to put the moves on. So finally, on Friday April 26, I invited him over to watch Belle and Sebastian perform on Conan. Mark and Ryan (and maybe Travis?) were there too. He stayed later than they did, and I managed to kiss him before he left.
The next Tuesday was the Belle and Sebastian concert. We emailed back and forth about what we would wear to the show. I wore a blue shirt, a jean skirt, and mary janes, which was kind of my uniform back then. I may have worn pigtails. I can't remember what Victor wore, but it may have been his B&S ampersand t-shirt. It was fun watching him sing along. He knew the words just as well as I did, and that's saying something. After the show was over, I made him steal Stuart Murdoch's sweaty towel. I don't know where that is now... probably lost in one of our many moves. Anyway, that concert put aside any doubts about whether Victor was perfect for me.
We share a lot of the same musical taste, and maybe only our mutual love for Morrissey means as much to our relationship as our love for B&S. And yes, we did drive 10 hours through the Texas desert to see Morrissey once. (And yes, we did pass up his concert in Oklahoma City last night, but only because we are going to two shows already this week... and I guess we're not the rock stars we once were). But we have spent countless hours enjoying Belle and Sebastian together. He puts up with my undying crush on Stuart Murdoch, and I refrain from divorcing him for his Isobel Campbell fixation. She's not even a part of the band anymore, so I can't hate her too much. We saw B&S again in 2004, and now we're seeing them tonight.
It kind of made me sad that neither Belle and Sebastian nor Morrissey write traditional love songs, so we couldn't dance our cheesy first dance at the wedding to either of them. It would have been a fitting tribute.
Friday, March 10, 2006
It's time for a change.
I'm getting a little tired of this:
Yes, I'm on the first page of google's listing for tooth1ess hi11bi11ies. So many people come to my site looking for that, or tooth1ess hi11bi11y pictures, or even just hi11bi11y pictures or photos. Just check out my query stats. So I've gone back through my blog, found the three or four posts that are prompting the search results, and changed them. Everything now has a number 1 instead of a letter l or something like that, so I'm sorry if things look ugly.
But I'm tired of people thinking this is a good place to come looking for that sort of thing. Like I've said in the past, I may be from Arkansas, but...
I'm getting a little tired of this:
Yes, I'm on the first page of google's listing for tooth1ess hi11bi11ies. So many people come to my site looking for that, or tooth1ess hi11bi11y pictures, or even just hi11bi11y pictures or photos. Just check out my query stats. So I've gone back through my blog, found the three or four posts that are prompting the search results, and changed them. Everything now has a number 1 instead of a letter l or something like that, so I'm sorry if things look ugly.
But I'm tired of people thinking this is a good place to come looking for that sort of thing. Like I've said in the past, I may be from Arkansas, but...
Thursday, March 09, 2006
It's Good Music Thursday, courtesy of your national government (sorta)!
I know some of you out there are NPR junkies like me, so you may already know this, but All Songs Considered has some fantastic shows from D.C.'s 9:30 club posted online. Go here for shows by Belle and Sebastian, The New Pornographers, and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Coincidentally, Victor and I are seeing all three of those bands next week!
Also, did you catch Stuart Murdoch on Fresh Air earlier this week? The show is archived here. A little Scottish accent will brighten your day any day. Also, how cute is he? Honestly.
More goodies from NPR (most, if not all, streamable):
The Decemberists live in 2005
Sufjan Stevens sings about "The Lord God Bird" on All Things Considered, 2005
Bloc Party live in 2005
Interpol live in 2005
Sigur Ros live from 2005
All Songs Considered Archive - tons more stuff in here
I know some of you out there are NPR junkies like me, so you may already know this, but All Songs Considered has some fantastic shows from D.C.'s 9:30 club posted online. Go here for shows by Belle and Sebastian, The New Pornographers, and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Coincidentally, Victor and I are seeing all three of those bands next week!
Also, did you catch Stuart Murdoch on Fresh Air earlier this week? The show is archived here. A little Scottish accent will brighten your day any day. Also, how cute is he? Honestly.
More goodies from NPR (most, if not all, streamable):
The Decemberists live in 2005
Sufjan Stevens sings about "The Lord God Bird" on All Things Considered, 2005
Bloc Party live in 2005
Interpol live in 2005
Sigur Ros live from 2005
All Songs Considered Archive - tons more stuff in here
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Making a Wright/Right play on words is too easy
When Victor and I went to Austin last weekend, we took advantage of the new service to Austin that American is offering out of Love Field. Due to increased pressure from Southwest on lawmakers to repeal the Wright Amendment, American has begun daily flights to Austin, San Antonio, St. Louis, and Kansas City from Love. For those of you who aren't familiar with the Wright Amendment, it's a law that controls the destinations available for flights from Love Field. It was basically put into place when DFW Airport was built, because Southwest refused to move to DFW. American is offering these new flights from Love in order to remain competitive with Southwest.
I had only been to Love Field on one other trip, not counting the time we dropped Mark off there. Spring Break 1999, or possibly 1997, I flew down to visit Ryan in Dallas on Southwest. I really don’t remember much about the flying part of the trip, and I really didn’t have any memory of the airport. So I was pretty shocked to see how old Love Field looked. The architecture reminded me of airports in India – low ceilings, long corridors. Love was much, much cleaner than Indian airports, but it had some of the same run-down atmosphere.
The American gates are one end of the airport, but there is only one security checkpoint, so you end up walking a long time before you enter the American section. Once you’re through security, the only place you have to eat is a tiny sandwich stand (unless you wander to the Southwest side of the airport; I’m sure there are plenty of food options there). Luckily they serve beer there, and you can kind of just walk around the terminal with your beer. Out of necessity, I even took my Shiner into the bathroom.
Love is much closer to home, and the Parking Spot is right by the terminal, so there are some definite advantages to flying from there. However, I love DFW Airport. The fact that there are so many security checkpoints, so many exits and entrances to each terminal, and such a huge number of shops and services there is fantastic. Don’t even get me started on the new international terminal, which is probably my favorite airport terminal in the world. DFW looks newer, cleaner, and sparklier (that’s not even a word) than Love, and somehow that really means a lot to me.
Southwest has been lobbying to have the Wright Amendment repealed for a couple of years now, complete with an aggressive media campaign and catchy slogans. Now Southwest is pushing for a decision on the Wright Amendment by April 10. That doesn’t give lawmakers much time to decide on this issue, so I hope that the anti-repeal folks are ready with good arguments. I really hope they don’t repeal the Wright amendment. Love isn’t set up to be a big airport, and I'm not really excited about hearing a bunch more planes over my house. If Southwest wants to fly more long-haul flights out of Dallas, let them give DFW a try. It’s a much better airport.
For more information on why the Wright Amendment is a good thing, check out Keep DFW Strong.
When Victor and I went to Austin last weekend, we took advantage of the new service to Austin that American is offering out of Love Field. Due to increased pressure from Southwest on lawmakers to repeal the Wright Amendment, American has begun daily flights to Austin, San Antonio, St. Louis, and Kansas City from Love. For those of you who aren't familiar with the Wright Amendment, it's a law that controls the destinations available for flights from Love Field. It was basically put into place when DFW Airport was built, because Southwest refused to move to DFW. American is offering these new flights from Love in order to remain competitive with Southwest.
I had only been to Love Field on one other trip, not counting the time we dropped Mark off there. Spring Break 1999, or possibly 1997, I flew down to visit Ryan in Dallas on Southwest. I really don’t remember much about the flying part of the trip, and I really didn’t have any memory of the airport. So I was pretty shocked to see how old Love Field looked. The architecture reminded me of airports in India – low ceilings, long corridors. Love was much, much cleaner than Indian airports, but it had some of the same run-down atmosphere.
The American gates are one end of the airport, but there is only one security checkpoint, so you end up walking a long time before you enter the American section. Once you’re through security, the only place you have to eat is a tiny sandwich stand (unless you wander to the Southwest side of the airport; I’m sure there are plenty of food options there). Luckily they serve beer there, and you can kind of just walk around the terminal with your beer. Out of necessity, I even took my Shiner into the bathroom.
Love is much closer to home, and the Parking Spot is right by the terminal, so there are some definite advantages to flying from there. However, I love DFW Airport. The fact that there are so many security checkpoints, so many exits and entrances to each terminal, and such a huge number of shops and services there is fantastic. Don’t even get me started on the new international terminal, which is probably my favorite airport terminal in the world. DFW looks newer, cleaner, and sparklier (that’s not even a word) than Love, and somehow that really means a lot to me.
Southwest has been lobbying to have the Wright Amendment repealed for a couple of years now, complete with an aggressive media campaign and catchy slogans. Now Southwest is pushing for a decision on the Wright Amendment by April 10. That doesn’t give lawmakers much time to decide on this issue, so I hope that the anti-repeal folks are ready with good arguments. I really hope they don’t repeal the Wright amendment. Love isn’t set up to be a big airport, and I'm not really excited about hearing a bunch more planes over my house. If Southwest wants to fly more long-haul flights out of Dallas, let them give DFW a try. It’s a much better airport.
For more information on why the Wright Amendment is a good thing, check out Keep DFW Strong.
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
I'm sorry mama!
Tons of family hospital drama (and I don't mean General Hospital) and work drama means that I neglected my loyal reader(s) last week. For this, I apologize.
I meant to write about the Sigur Rós show, which was fantastic. Erin had asked earlier whether this was our first time to the Bass Performance Hall, and it was. What a nice building! The sound was fantastic. Sigur Rós played most of my favorite songs, including "Viðrar Vel Til Loftárása." That song happens to be my answer to the age-old question "If you knew you were going deaf/about to die, what is the last song you would want to hear?" So I was very excited when I heard the opening bits of it.
The rest of the workweek was blah/stressful/whatever, so I'll skip that part. Victor's 30th birthday was last Wednesday, and I suppose I'm a terrible wife for not posting about that. Ew, wife!! Anyway, we headed down to Austin Friday afternoon for his karaoke birthday party at The Common Interest. It was packed, so we didn't get a chance to sing too much. I did a terrible rendition of "Country Roads Take Me Home" (as usual), Debbie shocked us all with her vitriolic version of Eminem's "Cleanin Out My Closet," and Victor overcame his shyness to perform Pulp's "Common People."
On Saturday, I went to Nisha's bridal shower and bachelorette party. Enrique did a big grilled dinner for Victor and me. We watched a movie with Mark on both Saturday (Dave Chapelle's Block Party - thumbs up) and Sunday (Aquamarine - one up one down). Then I came home and caught the last bit of the Oscars, while Victor stayed for the annual Oscar party at Kurt and Meredith's.
More later. Work beckons, and I am not allowed to ignore it.
Tons of family hospital drama (and I don't mean General Hospital) and work drama means that I neglected my loyal reader(s) last week. For this, I apologize.
I meant to write about the Sigur Rós show, which was fantastic. Erin had asked earlier whether this was our first time to the Bass Performance Hall, and it was. What a nice building! The sound was fantastic. Sigur Rós played most of my favorite songs, including "Viðrar Vel Til Loftárása." That song happens to be my answer to the age-old question "If you knew you were going deaf/about to die, what is the last song you would want to hear?" So I was very excited when I heard the opening bits of it.
The rest of the workweek was blah/stressful/whatever, so I'll skip that part. Victor's 30th birthday was last Wednesday, and I suppose I'm a terrible wife for not posting about that. Ew, wife!! Anyway, we headed down to Austin Friday afternoon for his karaoke birthday party at The Common Interest. It was packed, so we didn't get a chance to sing too much. I did a terrible rendition of "Country Roads Take Me Home" (as usual), Debbie shocked us all with her vitriolic version of Eminem's "Cleanin Out My Closet," and Victor overcame his shyness to perform Pulp's "Common People."
On Saturday, I went to Nisha's bridal shower and bachelorette party. Enrique did a big grilled dinner for Victor and me. We watched a movie with Mark on both Saturday (Dave Chapelle's Block Party - thumbs up) and Sunday (Aquamarine - one up one down). Then I came home and caught the last bit of the Oscars, while Victor stayed for the annual Oscar party at Kurt and Meredith's.
More later. Work beckons, and I am not allowed to ignore it.
