Denver, again

And here I am in Denver again, after two weeks at home. It's yet another week of database testing, though we've switched to the other water-use database. And because this one is part of the 'family' of USGS water databases, this week has teams testing the other three components, too. Which means about 55 testers and programmers are here this week.

The trip was uneventful, once I made it to the plane. Check-in was complicated by the AirTran curbside check-in guy checking me in as MyLastName, NotMyFirstName, a gentleman who apparently was also taking Flight 301 to Denver. I didn't discover this until I was getting in the security line and took a more thorough look at my boarding pass. Presuming that the TSA person checking ID would do better than the curbside guy, I had to get out of line and find an AirTran supervisor (lucked out there and didn't have to wait in line for that) who was able to get my boarding pass for me. My bag, however, was committed under NotMyFirstName.

Oh, there was one more kefluffle with the trip, when AirTran's baggage handling in Denver had some breakdown before all the bags from my flight were up. They passed them up by hand for a while, then finally got the conveyor system moving again. For a while I wondered if my bag was lost, and then wondered how long it would take to explain why I needed to put in a claim for a bag checked by NotMyFirstName. But after 45 minutes, my suitcase did appear.

Packing the utility room

Packing the utility room is much harder than packing the kitchen. Lots more stuff ended up in the trash. Lots of stuff couldn't effectively be boxed and needed to find space in the cabinets lining the garage wall (which used to live in the utility room, but were moved out some months ago in anticipation of the renovation). I didn't finish, but I think there's little enough left that it can be done next weekend when I'm back from Denver, before the construction start date of the 10th. Which doesn't mean a crew will actually show up on the 10th, but I'm determined to have the place ready to go in case.

Still have to decide what to do with the 3 or 4 boxes/bags of books that were intended to be sold, but I never got around to deciding if I would try Amazon listings or something else. The closest used bookstore gives such unfavorable trade-ins I won't use them, and one further away concentrates heavily on romance (which might be half of what I want to get rid of) but is very careful of what she takes, and so will probably reject 1/4 to 1/3 of any lot I take to her. Will probably either pile them in a corner (but I'm running out of corners) or donate the lot, minus a few collectible types, to the library sale or something.

The cats have been finding the kitchen packing somewhat disturbing--their environment is changing and that's upsetting. (Suitcase packing, of course, is much more disturbing.) There are new opportunities, however. Agatha has identified the emptied kitchen cabinet that is lacking a magnetic latch and will go up to it a couple of times a day, reach out with one paw, and flip the door open. She then goes at least halfway inside to check it out before walking away. Fish will then go explore more thoroughly. I haven't seen Fish open the cabinet for himself, though.