I'm sure you're dying to know what happened over the trip to Houston. It was a pretty exciting time, so I'll just start at the beginning.

Thursday morning, I arrived at the office and started my pre-flight check-in and printing my boarding pass. Shortly after that, we all headed outside to load the limo (yep, a real limo) and head for the airport.

We got to the airport at Indy with plenty of time to work through security and grab something to eat or drink before we left. After that, it was all aboard the CRJ200 (link) for the 2 hour, 45 minute flight to Houston International. This was my first time in the air ever, and I have to say that even though it was entertaining, it was rather dull. The plane was a little cramped, just by design, so I was ready to land and stretch my legs.

We got to Houston International right on schedule. It was rather windy when we got there, so the landing was a little rough, but still wasn't bad. From there we climbed into the limo for a ride to the H1 datacenter (the one that had the explosion and fire last week), just to see the fury of workers trying to return normal service. They had several emergency generators running outside, but aside from that we could see no damage or other signs thereof.

Next, it was off to the H2 datacenter just a few miles away, where we met with Doug Irwin, the company CEO. He took us on a tour of the H2 datacenter, which was pretty much the same as what you would see on The Planet's website at this link . After that was over, we were off to our Hotel to relax a little before dinner.

We stayed at the Magnolia Hotel, right in downtown Houston (link). It was a rather clean and nice hotel, but we didn't really spend much time there. After we checked in and sat for a little bit, we headed out for Dinner at El Tiempo (link). Doug took care of ordering for us, as we didn't know what was worth ordering. He ordered some sort of appetizer he called "Heart attack rolls", which I had 1 of, chips and salsa, and a mixed grill as our entree. The grill had a little bit of everything on it: Lobster tail (rather large), Shrimp (again, rather large), Quail, Chicken, and various other things. I only had enough room for a fajita constructed from the chicken and grilled vegetables, but I was able to eat one of the enormous shrimp. By the time they brought dessert around, I had no room for anything, not even a glass of water.

We spent the remainder of the night sitting on the patio of the pub across the street, the Velvet Melvin, chatting with various staff from The Planet. I was able to meet up with Ted, one of my online contacts who has worked at The Planet for the last several years. It was a nice group of people and we had fun. The only downside to this time was that we were there so late that the limo drivers were called off and we ended up taking a taxi ride back to the hotel. That wasn't all that bad though.

The next morning we headed to the headquarters, just 4 blocks from the hotel, for breakfast and all sorts of tours and presentations. Unfortunately though, after our first presentation and tour, the H1 datacenter ran into more problems with the power situation, so our itinerary for the day had virtually been demolished. We spent the next few hours in the recreation area, playing video games, ping pong, and pool. After a couple of hours of this, we went to sit with the emergency response team in "the tank" - one of the core conference rooms, equipped with teleconference equipment - watching and listening to how they handled the outage. They were still able to discuss the company with us, various new services they will be offering once we move down there, and ask us questions about what we do.

During this time, Dave and Todd came to take us individually to meet with Doug to discuss our relocation offers. When I went to meet with Doug, he was quite adamant about the necessity for me to move to Houston. The offer I was extended appears to be well worth it, but Doug said he needs to know my decision by next week.

The offer I was extend was well worthwhile, including a reasonable amount of relocation assistance and the title of "Systems Engineer".

Doug said that initially I will be split between Lafayette and Houston, which I interpreted as the need for me to travel frequently. Now that I've been initiated into the club of individuals who fly, I don't see that as much of an issue. However, I am a bit nervous about driving once I get down there, but I'm sure I'll figure it out quickly.

I'll be strongly thinking about this move over the next couple of days, and I would really like to know what everyone thinks about it. Please let me know what your thoughts are, if you feel at all uncomfortable about any of the offers that I have been given. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

I will be making my decision before Thursday, so get your word in before then.