I Left From The Station With A Haversack And Some Trepidation
So, I decided to go on a diet a couple of weeks ago - nothing fancy; I call it the "ELDM" diet (Eat Less Do More), basically just being more mindful of what I'm putting down my gullet and making a point of actually getting out and moving around on a more-or-less regular basis.
I'm not experiencing any spectacular "lost 6 inches in two weeks!" sort of phenomenon, but at the same time, I'm not feeling overly compelled to sue somebody either. And it HAS made a difference; the pants are a little less snug than they were a couple of weeks ago, and the joints don't feel quite so creaky after a four or five mile walk. It hasn't required any major lifestyle changes, just a little adjustment here and there, so maybe I can even stick with it for a few months, just to see what happens.
Otherwise, not much else going on. I've been up to my eyeballs at work between catching up on the backlog from being gone for most of a week, to scrambling to get a few new projects booked for members, to starting in with the real nitty-gritty of the new office remodel and impending move. With my boss gone for the past two weeks, I've taken the initiative to pull all the pieces of the move together, of which there seem to be quite a few: scheduling movers, contacting the phone company, engaging a document disposal service, getting bids on signage, starting to contact vendors, coordinating with our national office, etc., etc.. Two months seems like plenty of time to get everything in place, but the way time seems to be flying by lately, it'll be mid-October before I can blink.
Oh, and did I mention I'm planning a fundraiser for The Theatre that - naturally - is happening at exactly the same time as the move? Of course I am.
Got My Glass Of Water Cooling, Got My Shades Over My Eyes
Lack of posting this past week has been due to, well, lack of anything momentous about which to post. Work was quiet, with very little backlog from my absence the previous week and my boss taking a two week post-convention vacation (as I also make note of the fact that Saturday - not an actual work day - was my 4th Anniversary of gainful employment at The Job); the weather ranged from a bit of rain to mostly sunny, but staying in our "ideal summer" uppper 70's/lower 80's; no big events in the offing (with the slight exception of a late-night show opening, and Saturday's flaming tribal dance BBQ spectacular.
Sometimes, it's good to not have a full plate, you know?
They've Burst Your Pretty Balloon And Taken The Moon Away
The 2009 AFTRA National Convention adjourned just after 1:00 a.m. Chicago time. Pre-planning for the 2011 Convention in Seattle began at around 1:15 a.m.
I guess I know what I'm going to be doing about this same time two years hence...
My local's delegation is caucusing right now, so I've got a tiny break before we go back into regular session.
Have seen very little of Chicago, except for the few blocks around the hotel and a brief glimpse of some of the waterfront on our trip to and from Thursday evening's social event. Fortunately, the weather has been mild, uppper 70's with low humidity; even rained most of yesterday. Today, temps are creeping back up and the humidity is also on the rise, as evinced by the mugginess I experienced on the two block walk to the deli for a sandwich a little while ago.
About the only perk so far this trip is that I was given a room (possibly the smallest hotel room I've ever been in - and I've been in some small ones) up on the "Regency Club floor", which apparently is reserved for frequent-stay guests. The Club itself is a rather nicely apportioned lounge where all manner of snacks and goodies can be had - for free - throughout the day. I discovered on Thursday that my room key-card lets me into the lounge, so I've been saving a bit of $$ on meal expenses by breakfasting there instead of going to a restaurant.
Turns out we don't have a session on Sunday morning, so it's possible I might have a slight window of opportunity to get out for a couple of hours to do a bit of exploring before heading to the airport tomorrow afternoon, but it really depends on how late things go tonight. I've heard that sessions can go as late as 2:00 or even 3:00 a.m., although nobody seems to be anticipating going much later than maybe 11:00 p.m. So, if I manage to get a good night's sleep (something that hasn't occurred so far), that might be a possibility; we'll see how things go.
Bet Your Bottom Dollar You'll Lose The Blues In Chicago
In Chicago for the AFTRA Convention, a bit of a challenge getting there though.
Got up at 4:30 a.m. yesterday, caught a bus downtown thinking I'd make use of our brand-spanking new light rail (even though it doesn't go all the way to the airport - yet), but we were kicked off two stops before the end-of-the-line because of a traffic accident on the tracks (no trains were involved, we were told). So, they put us on a bus to the last station, then we got on another bus that dropped us off at the airport. My impression of LINK: the trains are nice and comfortable, but even when the airport station opens later this year, I'm not sure it's going to be a faster trip than taking a regular bus.
Did the normal check-in, walk through security, then down to the departure lounge. My flight was scheduled to leave at 8:30 a.m., so I had just enough time to grab a quick airport breakfast (i.e. expensive and most reconstituted) before boarding.
We pulled away from our slot right on-schedule, but then sat on the taxiway for about 45 minutes before the pilot announced we were having a little mechanical difficulty and would be heading back to the gate. After another 15 minutes we were informed that a valve that feeds compressed air from the starter turbine to the engine turbines, thus starting them was malfunctioning, and that, because there was no spare in Seattle, they'd have to ship up a replacement from San Francisco, and that most likely the flight would not be able to leave until around 1:00 p.m.
Fortunately, they also let us know that, if we were travelling beyond the flight's final destination (St. Louis) we could call the airline and rebook on another flight. I lucked out and managed to get a direct flight to Chicago that left at 11;30 a.m. (by now it was after 10:00 a.m.), and I would actually get in an hour earlier than my original schedule.
Unfortunately, it also meant having to get my checked bag, getting back in the ticketing line to re-check it, then back through the security line, then back to another departure gate - talk about feelings of deja vu.
Long story short, finally made it to Chicago about 5:30 local, grabbed my bags, caught a train into downtown, then a taxi from the stop to the hotel, since I had no idea how far it would be, had just enough time to check-in, register my delegation for today's session, then meet them for dinner. Afterward, I took a brief walk around a few blocks of downtown, then crashed about 11:30 p.m.
The convention proper started this morning with a pre-recorded welcome to Chicago from President Obama (guess it helps when the POTUS is from the town where your holding your convention!), and all the usual housekeeping and committee reports that ensue during these things.
Highlight of the morning: during our mid-morning break I went out to the lobby to refill my coffee and while I was pouring some half-and-half into my cup this very soft, slightly southern drawl behind me asked, "excuse me, may I have a little of that?"
And that's how I ended up pouring cream into Morgan Fairchild's coffee.
The above poorly rendered image of Sonic Youth was taken Saturday evening the 25th at the Capitol Hill Block Party. I have no idea why it took more than a full week for the MMS to send-and-upload to the site.