Dallas Day 1
Diary:
Dallas, Day 1
I hate flying. In center seat in back of plan, so lots of waiting and 3 & 1/2 hours with my arms at my sides. My knees start to hurt, and I'm not even a tall person.
My iPod is now a necessity when flying. I download This American Life episodes and zone away.
AirTran has XM Radio which is sometimes even better except whenever the pilot or attendants have something to say it gets broadcast through the same headphone jacks and is unpleasantly loud.
Cab driver friendly. I remember getting ripped off by a cabbie in San Antonio ten years ago and now hold a grudge against all taxi drivers in Texas. But I should give that up.
Hotel Magnolia very nice, not what I was expecting to see here.
Room small but tastefully decorated. I have my netbook, an Eee pc that I got for $300 (10.5 hour battery, 2.5 lbs or so, very tiny).
It's much easier to travel with than my old laptop, my HP workhorse that only had one problem in three years until I dropped it recently and now it has a variety of ailments.
I wanted to plug the netbook into the ginormous TV in the room so as to have a bigger screen - I even brought a VGA cable.
But I can't get the TV to acknowledge any input other than the cable.
I flip channels. I don't like the new digital TV. With regular tv you just hit the up button until you see something you like.
Now you have to wait about 2 seconds for each channel to get digested. Channel surfing is now like riding a bicycle through deep gravel.
Went to a restaurant around the corner, Iron Cactus. Good margaritas, although very sweet and quite expensive.
I should have gotten some of the relatively authentic Tex-Mex food that I can't get up north, but I get a steak withe broccoli and mashed potatoes - good but not special. The winner was the tortilla soup I had first. The broth was thick, more like jambalaya than chicken soup.
The complimentary salsa was better than just about anything I've had from a jar in New York.
Our waiter looks familiar and I can't figure it out until the end: he looks and acts just like the actor Elijah Wood (Frodo in Lord of the Rings) except about a foot and a half taller and with red hair - so nothing like Elijah Wood, except the face was nearly identical.
Everyone is remarkably polite and friendly. It makes me feel like a jerk.
I feel almost like the character Dexter from the show of the same name. He is supposed to be a well-meaning sociopath who has a completely flat emotional affect, but has learned to mimic the emotional reactions of his fellow humans.
A TV show is being shot across the street - lots of spotlights and guys carrying racks of things back and forth.
It's a pilot for ABC called "The Deep End". It's supposed to be set in L.A. but they're shooting it in Dallas for some reason.
It's supposed to snow tomorrow and the irony is not lost on anyone.