Letter 35: Houston, humidity & finding the sweet spot in hybrid work.
Rogue Humans is a weekly newsletter digging into the challenges of life in the modern world of work and beyond.
Listening to: HIT ME HARD AND SOFT - Billie Eilish. I’ve already listened to a half a dozen times. Each song unravels into something else and it’s so immersive. I also just discovered Myd and I’m pretty into him. French dorky dance music.
Reading: The Likeness by Tana French and What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher. I’ve just started them and they’re both bangers so far.
Houston is an intense place.
Wild heat, wild drivers, wildly MASSIVE churches, wild weather.
Before I left for Houston my dad was so worried about me going. “There are floods and evacuations everywhere! Head for cover!!”
This isn’t true, at least not everywhere, but my dad has a flair for the dramatic.
However, Thursday afternoon after my workshop ended there was a tornado watch issued for exactly where I was staying and surrounding areas.
My phone screamed at me to tell me about it, which jolted me out my bed where I was reading and unwinding after class.
The sky went from blue to black in a matter of moments. I watched the clouds roll in and a sudden shift in wind that made the palm trees outside my window bend in ways they likely never had before. The wind and rain throttled my windows, and I thought, “maybe I should actually get away from the windows.”
I walked down the stairwell and the lights in the hotel were flickering. Water was POURING IN from a side door of the hotel leading outside.
It legit felt like I was on the Titanic.
After the weather calmed down about 20 minutes later I walked across the street to a newer Vietnamese place (that was FABULOUS) and no one really seemed all that phased.
Turns out 900k+ people lost power and at least 4 died. Windows shattered from skyscrapers downtown.
And so, I headed home early since most of my students for my 1-day workshop were still without power as of Friday morning.
Houston is not to be messed with, which should be obvious for all of us.
It IS Beyoncé’s hometown, after all.
This was my first trip of the year and if I’m honest, I needed it.
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