That's Nae Ordinary Rabbit

I forgot to mention that, in addition to its own little playa lake, the facility we were inspecting in Amarillo had lots and lots of bunnies: happy little brown ones, roaming the grounds, enjoying the shade of the shrubs, and generally just being wiggly-nosed and cute. They're wild bunnies, but the supervisor there feeds them carrots in the mornings. They aren't particularly afraid of people.

A striking feature of that facility is a normally dry arroyo, attractively lined with decomposed granite and multicolored river rock. During a rainstorm it carries runoff. Footbridges cross it from the parking lot to the building entrances. The bunnies hop up and down the rock banks of the dry arroyo and sometimes spread themselves out in the sun - "they look like they're dead," remarked the supervisor, pointing out an unusually flat specimen of lagomorphy baking on the gravel. She told us that once an outraged visitor approached her, demanding to know if she had imprisoned the bunnies down in the arroyo.

"You do feed them," I pointed out, and she was forced to agree that her behavior is essentially enabling. It's elementary psychology that the best way to ensnare someone is to give them everything they want, right? Elementary human psychology, anyway. I assume it also works on rabbits. In so many cases, there's very little distinction.

Meanwhile, back at the office, a coworker found that news travels fast. Several of the other facilities we supervise called in yesterday to request backup files and paperwork - oh, no reason! - and, in one case, to mention oh-so-casually that they had some minor damage they'd been unable to repair due to budget cuts. None of them seemed surprised to be told that my boss and I weren't in. The internal communications issues the agency is so plagued with aren't really a problem in my division.

I have to revise, slightly, my positive review of the Ambassador. The hotel was certainly comfortable enough, and the wireless signal was nice and strong - and free! But unless you're on the concierge level, breakfast is typically hotel-overpriced and limited; and I think they have some serious issues with their plumbing. Yesterday morning I stepped out of the shower into a full inch of water on the bathroom floor. I saw the ceiling next to the top of the shower stall wet and sagging, and large droplets of water inside the adjacent light fixture - a pipe leading to the showerhead appears to have a major leak. I described it to the clerk as I was checking out, and she smiled and nodded and thanked me for letting her know, but didn't write it down, and went on with the next client as I was leaving.

And I'm sorry to report that, due to extreme exhaustion, my boss and I ate dinner Wednesday at the featureless chain restaurant off the hotel lobby. I got a steak, but it was very salty. The next morning we had breakfast at Roasters, a coffeehouse which would like to be like Dominican Joe, but needs to make its coffee a lot stronger. Also the staff there doesn't know how to pronounce the word "scone" (it rhymes with "gone," people).

Lunch yesterday, though, was at Outlaws Supper Club, a somewhat ironically-named little dive with vinyl tablecloths and a dirt parking lot next to the railroad tracks. They are elegant enough to have wine - three kinds, in fact! They have white, red, and pink. The burgers are big and greasy and served on Texas Toast instead of a bun, and the onion rings are actually very good.

Isn't traveling fun? That's about all I have to tell you about Amarillo, since I didn't get to see much. I have two more trips coming up this month, but where I'm going is a secret.

I'd tell you, but then I'd have to sic the bunnies on you.