The Visible Woman...July 14, 2003

I had set the alarm and asked for a wake-up call at 3:30 and asked for a shuttle ride at 4:30. We were up before the wake-ups but they did come. We got showers, battoned down our bags and packed our carry-ons with emergency food and books to read and cell phones. With all the other electronics in mine. We were early going to the lobby and turning in our keys. The shuttle arrived and we were off to the airport.

There was a line but it went quickly and we had boarding cards. There was the hassle of the laptop having to come out of its bag, the shoes off, etc. for security. But they had a shorter line for Advantage Gold and we survived it all with all our possessions intact. We were early for our flight and it was an uneventful leg to LA. In LA we had plenty of time to eat an overpriced breakfast at Chili's, Too. That's the name of it: "Chili's, Too."

The flight to Austin changed gates but it was still nearby Chili's if not right next door as we'd expected. The bottled water at W.H. Smith was room temperature but that's a small quibble. On the flight to Austin, which went right on time, I read some, stared down at the desolate landscape some, and slept a lot. I didn't bother balancing a drink on the table but rather drank my room temp bottle of water, ate the offered bar notwithstanding the big breakfast and dozed, dozed, dozed on decongestant. Ah, the jetsetter life!

When we arrived in Austin, we got our bags no problem and stepped to the curb in the ninety-degree plus heat and were met within thirty seconds by Fast Park and whisked to our car where the luggage was popped in our trunk. We pulled through the pay line, using an Internet coupon, and were given chilled bottles of water for the drive home.

It couldn't have gone better. I was tired but I got my bags unpacked and stuff organized and the laundry done.

Tiring, boring and at times frustrating. But still it went well and I got home without spoiling the mood of vacation.

Monday, July 14, 2003

A Journal from Austin, Texas. A Project of LBFFP Stealth Publishing.
food	reading	writing	time	exercise	health and mood

Mao on offer in Chinatown, San Francisco	flawless It might be tiring and boring but it goes well. I had set the alarm and asked for a wake-up call at 3:30 and asked for a shuttle ride at 4:30. We were up before the wake-ups but they did come. We got showers, battoned down our bags and packed our carry-ons with emergency food and books to read and cell phones. With all the other electronics in mine. We were early going to the lobby and turning in our keys. The shuttle arrived and we were off to the airport. There was a line but it went quickly and we had boarding cards. There was the hassle of the laptop having to come out of its bag, the shoes off, etc. for security. But they had a shorter line for Advantage Gold and we survived it all with all our possessions intact. We were early for our flight and it was an uneventful leg to LA. In LA we had plenty of time to eat an overpriced breakfast at Chili's, Too. That's the name of it: "Chili's, Too." The flight to Austin changed gates but it was still nearby Chili's if not right next door as we'd expected. The bottled water at W.H. Smith was room temperature but that's a small quibble. On the flight to Austin, which went right on time, I read some, stared down at the desolate landscape some, and slept a lot. I didn't bother balancing a drink on the table but rather drank my room temp bottle of water, ate the offered bar notwithstanding the big breakfast and dozed, dozed, dozed on decongestant. Ah, the jetsetter life! When we arrived in Austin, we got our bags no problem and stepped to the curb in the ninety-degree plus heat and were met within thirty seconds by Fast Park and whisked to our car where the luggage was popped in our trunk. We pulled through the pay line, using an Internet coupon, and were given chilled bottles of water for the drive home. It couldn't have gone better. I was tired but I got my bags unpacked and stuff organized and the laundry done. Tiring, boring and at times frustrating. But still it went well and I got home without spoiling the mood of vacation.
JUST TYPING It's a miracle really. A shuttle, a line, another. A plane, a revolving belt with luggage. A bus. A car. And you are home.
		Food Diary. Bites of food bar. Some scrambled eggs, a few potatoes, four pieces of bacon, two pieces of wheat toast with butter and jelly. A breakfast bar offered by the airline. Some grapes. A salad of spinach, a few grapefruit sections, carrots, bleu cheese dressing (Marie's viniagrette variety), mozarella cheese. Some nachos. Some more chips and cheese. A bit of onion and jalapeno with that, of course. [Well...at least I had no alcohol.]
		Time flies.... Is it really twelve hours from getting up in SF to arriving home in Austin?

		Reading. A French Affair: The Paris Beat, 1965-1998 by Mary Blume. Picked this one up on the remainder table at Stacy's, an independent SF bookstore. Very amusing and very easy read. Ms. Blume wrote for the International Herald Tribune.
		I'm no writer, let's face it. Not even a scribbler.
		Exercise Nothing.
	.	There is something about air travel, packing and unpacking and cleaning up after a trip that won't put you in that good a mood. Still, physically I felt good and, with the help of two doses of decongestant, I managed to keep my ears pretty clear. Was pretty sleepy and tired, though.