Yesterday, I cut the grass, yes it was October 24 and I cut the lawn at our house. I think I may have to do it again before full on winter sets in. Or at least winter in Houston.
So as I am cutting the grass I noticed that the bag was starting to fill up faster. I also noticed that more leaves were being dumped out into the plastic bag. I thought to myself, “I haven’t experienced this before. I have lived here for more than a year so I thought I had experienced everything.” I cut the grass last year although I don’t remember doing it this late in the season.
So I found myself wondering what was the difference between this year and last. Then I remembered. Hurricane Ike. The leaves were all blown away during the storm. I recall picking bits of leaves off the side of the house. There was no raking or bagging. Hmmm… That would be nice this year without the storm.
Oh well such is life.

ExxonMobil Building

If everything goes according to plan I should find a new home away from home on the 10th floor starting next Monday. This should be interesting…

Building Name: ExxonMobil Building
Structure Height:606
Number of Stories:44
Year Built: 1963
Architect/Design Firm: Welton Becket & Associates
Style: International Style
Use: Office Building
Publicly accessible areas:Outside plaza.
Hours: Monday-Friday, 6am-6pm
Cost: None.
Address:
800 Bell
Houston, Texas

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Some history: Admittedly, like Marina City in Chicago, many consider this one of the ugliest buildings in Houston. But the beauty is in the engineering – everything about the building is functional. It’s hard to believe that an energy company in 1963 would be worried about saving energy, but the building was specifically designed for the harsh sun of Houston’s notoriously horrid summers. Windows are set back, to avoid direct sunlight, and the effects of the sun were further mitigated by horizontal bands of aluminum fins encircling the building.

The top two floors, without protection from the sun’s rays, don’t hold office space; this is home to the Petroleum Club – where the wheelers and dealers (think JR Ewing) of the energy industry meet, making and breaking good ole’ boy deals that ultimately dictate how much you’re paying at the pump. For two years, the building was the tallest west of the Mississippi, and was outfitted with the pre-requisite observation deck on top. The deck was closed in 1971 with the erection of the still-taller One Shell Plaza.
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I had lunch on the top floor once. It was awesome.

Ahhhh!!!
What happened to our nice mild winter? Today was crazy. I don’t think the temp ever got over 40 and the wind was fierce. A steady rain just added to the misery.
When it came time to go home the rain had turned into frozen rain. Then about half way home it turned into snow. All I could think was, “This is too crazy. This is still Texas, the place where we had a hurricane not even 3 months ago.”

Houston Temple

When looking for a new place to live in Houston we decided there were a few things we did want in a new house. First was live close to a church building. Second was to live close to the temple. Third was to find a house we could afford. I think we did a good job. The church is .5 miles away. The temple is 15-20 minutes away. I get looks of shock from coworkers when I them how little we pay for a house.

I took this photo early one Saturday morning.

Experiencing the hurricane season first hand is not what I want to be doing at 12:20AM. I just arrived back from Idaho. The first flight was overbooked so I was asked to delay my departure and take a direct flight. I accepted, especially since I was going to arrive an hour earlier. Well you know what they say about the best laid plans…
The flight was delayed 1 hour. Then it took longer to board because there was a weight restriction…?
My bag went somewhere. Probably on the first flight which was not the final airline. So I find myself standing in line at a Wal-mart one the eve of a tropical storm making land fall near here. So close in fact that I am not supposed to go into work tomorrow. I get to extend my vacation by one day for free. If I had known and if I a guarantee that I could arrive tomorrow without any problems then I would have stayed the night in slc. They were offering $400 vouchers, dinner and a hotel.

The store is crazy. It looks like a Saturday afternoon. The water and bread are gone. The milk was almost gone. Many carts had diapers. The water dispenser in the back had a line to fill your own jugs. People are buying things just to buy things.
I just wanted some milk for my cereal.