The sheer number of flights back east seems to have dropped since the events of September 2001. I find that if my meeting ends after 2:30 p.m. or so, it can be a challenge to get back to the Dallas area at a reasonable hour. Sometimes I have to break my return into two pieces, and sometimes I have to fly to a more distant regional airport, rent a car, and drive home.
This year is the third year since I've opened my own business with a friend. I am glad to have the freedom of being a "name partner" rather than an employee or lesser partner. But when I face up to long night flights home, I remember that I pay some costs for the life I lead. It's hard to complain, though--it's good to have a job that I enjoy doing.
I also get a lot of reading done on the plane. I finished Franzen's "The Corrections" last night. Although "MFA" novels typically don't do much for me, this one proved entirely readable in the long run. There was one bit of extended bathroom humour that nearly lost me altogether. I am not much into bathroom humour.
But the final plot twists, though quite predictable, worked out nicely. Family dysfunction seems to replace the "coming of age" story as the new "right" thing to write about these days.
Now for a croissant, a meeting and then the plane.
