I have been doing a lot of traveling lately, starting July 31:

• July 31: 15-hour flight from Hong Kong (HKG) to Newark (EWR).  A 6-hour layover turned into an 8-hour layover.  Afterwards, 4-hour flight from EWR to Houston (IAH).
• August 2: Drove to Austin, TX for NIWeek.
• August 6: Drove back to Houston, TX to prepare my move to Marietta, GA.
• August 9: Began drive to Marietta, GA.  Stopped at Meridian, Mississippi.
• August 10: Finished drive to Marietta, GA.

That easily adds up to over 10,000 miles of traveling over the course of not more than two weeks!  It was great to see the solar car again.  It was even nicer to have it get front and center in the exhibition floor!

I arrived in Marietta, GA tired, but still had enough strength left to sign the leasing papers and unload my stuff from my car.  It was only after I stepped into my apartment for the first time that I realized how big 892 sq. ft. is.  My new apartment is easily twice as big as my apartment in Austin, and it costs me only $ 599/mo.  As if I did not do enough for the day, I got some great Internet service from Clear.  I was originally getting Comcast, but I had to wait a couple days because the previous tenants did not disconnect their service (which is bad for them because they probably paid for service they didn’t get).

Clear is a WiMax service available only in a few select areas.  I received information about them in my welcome packet from my landlord.  The sales agent answered most of my questions to my satisfaction, and I had her come to my place to give me a demo.  I started with a speed benchmark on a demo unit rated for 3 Mbps down / 500 Kbps up.  Astonishingly, it provided the as advertised speeds.  SOLD — I got the 6 Mbps down / 500 Kbps up plan for $ 40/mo.  To save myself grief in case I need to move and need to disconnect my service, I chose a month-to-month plan and swallowed all the up-front costs.  As soon as she left, I was able to plug in and immediately start surfing.

What did I do in my two days here?  I spent most of my time putting stuff up, buying essentials, and exploring the city in general.  I start work next Monday.  Please wish me luck.