Apple Training: The 10.5 Upgrade Process in Austin

Hello all! This week I have been Austin Texas, and will be for the coming week. Why? Because I am getting a sneak peak at the new Leopard Training. It's been fun going through the Beta materials, much of which was written before the OS was officially released, and some of which is no longer valid. ^_^

But, my tale of woe must come first. I don't fly much, I prefer to drive. That way if I ever get stuck somewhere, I have a way to travel about. Well, because Austin is quite a ways from West Valley, I flew in. The first flight was fine, and I got a lot of reading in (I've been reading a reference book on learning theories). This flight took me from Salt Lake City to Dallas/Ft. Worth.

I don't think I have ever been in such a large airport before, sans JFK and Paris (which I try to block from my mind, it was such a bad experience). Dallas itself is huge! It looks like a collection of small towns knitted together with some roads around ponds and lakes. The airport is no exception to the "Bigger in Texas" concept. They have a sky tram that takes you to the various terminals. I quickly got on the tram and made it to the right terminal (despite being told the wrong terminal by the air crew on my first flight). I then took off for Austin.

The flight to Austin was a little different. I have never gotten air sick, but something about this flight got me a little woozy. Either it was the bumpy reentry, or the sound of the landing gear coming down (as though it had never been oiled), I don't know. But for whatever reason, I was thrilled when I could finally get off the plane.

The airport in Austin is small, and very well designed! Unlike San Jose, getting into the terminal will not be a problem. It didn't even look that busy (we will see how it is in the afternoon next Friday). I found the baggage claim, and got my one bag. Now it was off to the rental car company for my car.

I chose Enterprise because the University has an account, and they have a fairly decent reputation. They also apparently are very popular, as they were the only rental car company with a line. I made it to the counter only to discover that the per diem I had transferred to my PayPal account to use on my card was not there yet (curse you PayPal!). So, I had to take a taxi to my Hotel.

I'm staying at the SpringHills by Marriott. It's not the most expensive hotel, but in true Marriott style, it's a wonderful stay. It has a small kitchenette with a fridge (that isn't locked like the Cupertino Inn), a sink, and a microwave. The service is great, and they promptly let me know a truism here in Austin: Nothing is in walking distance. There was a fast food joint next to the hotel, along with a bar and grill, so I wasn't going to starve.

But, I needed to get to the Apple Campus. Well, I went to bed early, and got up just as early. I then took the 1.5 hour walk to the Apple campus. Yep, nothing is walkable in Austin. Most of that walk was done on the edge of a road, with no sidewalk.

After the second day, I was cursing PayPal. Then, yesterday, to my relief, my money finally showed up. Thrilled at the prospect of never having to walk that long journey again, I managed to get my car. I am now quite happily taking time in the morning to blog, knowing full well that I will be able to drive to the campus and make it on time. ^_^

Tomorrow, my impressions of the new training!