(transcribed from hand-written journal entry; continued from yesterday’s entry)

Which brings me to now (Monday, September 18th). I’ve checked out of the hotel, and have a shuttle to the airport scheduled for 2:20 p.m. I have a few hours to kill, so I had brunch at Houlihan’s (chicken and broccoli quiche with fresh fruit and coffee for lunch, and the skinny mini mousse and espresso martini for dessert, pictured above. mmmm. dark chocolate!), mailed the postcards I actually remembered to buy and write (AND bring addresses for!), then walked along the river in the opposite direction as yesterday. It’s another beautiful day – sunshine, blue sky. The buildings around here are amazing! I guess Chicago IS known for its architecture. I can see why now. (Most of the building pictures are located here. Enjoy!)

There are a lot of things I wish I’d done this weekend. (The list is here, if you’re curious.) But, oh, well. I did what I could and I had a great time. Chicago is awesome; definitely a place I would happily visit again. But, better planning next time is a must!!

(later that night …)

We landed safe and sound in SF and I found a sports bar where I could have some dinner, a drink, and watch the last quarter of Monday Night Football. I ended up upgrading to Economy Plus, which basically just gives you a little more leg room. It was nice – I was able to stretch my legs out a bit, which really helped my knees. Unfortunetly, it also meant I didn’t get a window seat, so no sunset-out-the-window pictures this time around. Sorry.

Anyway, I’m sitting in the Anchor San Fransisco restaurant sipping Chardonnay, munching on a crabmelt sandwhich and fries, and watching the Steelers get their asses handed to them by the Jaguars. So annoying. (The game, that is, not the meal, which is quite tasty.) Don’t ask me why I’m eating again; I ate on the plane. I bought the “Right Bite” snack box which contained a small jar of hummis, a bag of pita chips, a mini can of lemon pepper tuna and bag of crackers, a slice of (very dry and not at all very good) gouda cheese, a box of raisins and a mini Toblerone bar.

It was quite yummy and really quite filling, which is why I have no idea why I’m eating again right now.

Gah! So full. And the game sucks more now.

I’m so glad I decided to take tomorrow off. While I’m anxious to get home and sleep in my own bed, I”m not stressing about anything. They can throw whatever they want at might – flight delays, gate changes, lost luggage. Bring it. I don’t care. I’m sleeping in tomorrow, getting a mani-pedi (I really wish I’d bought that dark blue nail polish at M.A.C.; it was so cool!), hopefully unpack (if my bags make it home with me), download all my pictures and at least start working on my reca …

(Begin football interlude. Son of a bitch on ICE! The Jags just intercepted the ball. Dammit! Why? Why do I always chose losing teams lead by colourblide quarterbacks? I’ts like Ben and Brett just WANT to throw the damn ball to the opposite team! Gah! End football interlude.)

Anyway, where was I? Oh, yes, doing my JournalNon recaps. At least I wrote a lot of stuff down this time, so I won’t have to rely on memory too much. I have some regets, as I often do after a quite weekend trip like this, but all in all it was a great weekend. It’ll be a long six months or so before I can do that again (if we decide to do WeetaCon). I’m completely out of vacation time, now, but it’s not so bad with Columbus Day, Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years coming up.

(end of hand-written journal entry. final update: i made it home okay, and even got both my bags! a first! i managed to get to work wednesday, but by the afternoon i felt horrible, and wound up staying home thursday and friday with a wicked head cold, from which i’m just now recovering. it’s sunday, in case your wondering. i’ve finally finshed all my recaps, dealt with all my photos, and can now relax! cheers!)