Oh dear....

I took Zara to the vet on Wednesday. The vet tech took her in the back room to draw her blood. I heard much protesting from Zara (who usually is silent), and then the vet came back and asked if she could anesthetize Zara because they couldn't get her to calm down enough to draw her blood. Oh dear. That means that I have two cats who really, really, really don't like going to the vet. Zara checked out as healthy though. She was still groggy when I took her home, and she was lying uncharacteristically still. She bounced back though.

We're in Chicago now for Christmas. The warm weather has been terrific, except that it just turned cold and windy. I'm going to dinner with my dad tonight. Tomorrow and Sunday we're going to my aunt and uncle's house for Christmas festivities.

We are going to Orlando next week. We get home Monday night, I work Tuesday from 9 - 6--and we fly out at 6AM the next morning. Hectic probably won't do it justice, but I'm looking forward to the trip.

Washington DC Trip: Day 1

I spent the latter half of the week before last in the Washington DC area. The Maryland Library Association was having a conference last Friday with topics that really interested me, and I found a cheap airfare to the Baltimore airport, so I decided to fly out on Wednesday, spend Thursday sightseeing, go to the conference on Friday, spend Saturday sightseeing, and fly back on Sunday.

When I went through security at the airport, a TSA person asked me several questions about my trip, which has never happened before. Where was I from, where was I going, what was the name of the conference to which I was going, who was I representing (I just told them I was a student to make things simpler), and where did I go to school? I think part of the reason for it was because I gave them my passport as ID (I renewed my driver's license late), I was traveling alone, and it was a short trip.

The flight out was agony, but that was mostly my fault. I desperately needed to use the bathroom (note to self: don't buy large Diet Cokes before a flight!), but there was substantial turbulence (the pilot even told the flight attendants to sit down a couple of times), so the Fasten Seat Belt sign was on for the entire flight. The turbulence was scary enough that I decided not to risk a run to the bathroom anyway. So I stayed in my seat, wincing each time that the plane shook.

I planned to take a bus from the Baltimore airport to the Metro (subway) station in the town that I was going to stay in (Greenbelt, MD). The hotel would then pick me up at the Metro station. However, the signage in the airport left a lot to be desired, and I wound up wandering around a lot looking for the bus stop. After I found the bus stop, the bus was a half-hour late.

After I arrived at the Metro station, I called the hotel, and they told me where to wait to be picked up. The problem was that it was pouring rain. Between my coat and the umbrella, I kept mostly dry, but I was worried about the electronics in my purse and messenger bag. (My suitcase was drenched, but I didn't care). It was great to get out of the rain after they picked me up. The room at the hotel looked magnificent; it was similar to rooms at the Hilton Garden Inn that we stay in when we go to Chicago. The hotel also had a restaurant, so I went there for dinner. It was kind of pricey, but the food was good--crab cakes! Yum!

Like an idiot, I stayed up late reading, instead of catching up on my sleep.

Washington DC trip: Day 2

The following morning, I overslept. I wasn't surprised, but part of the problem was that the electrical outlet in which I plugged my alarm clock stopped working. FAIL. After throwing myself together and eating an early lunch, I went to take the Metro into Washington DC proper.

The Metro reminds me a lot of BART. It's very clean, and the signs in the stations are very clear for tourists. The station announcements were unintelligible, but I think that's true of all subways.

I got off at the stop nearest to the Capitol and walked in a direction that I hoped was north. Suddenly I saw signs for the Library of Congress (my destination). And across the street was the Capitol building. I'm no fan of Congress, but it's a trip seeing the building in person.

Security was very, very tight. On several streets, drivers cannot drive through unless they have a badge or have their trunk searched by security guards. At the Library of Congress, I had to put my purse and coat through an x-ray, and walk through a metal detector. For that matter, I had to do the same thing when I ate dinner in a mall.

I went to the old Library of Congress building (the Thomas Jefferson building), which is an old building that was built to house the Library of Congress after it was moved from the Capitol. It was built in the grand style (and that's an understatement). Mosaic floors, elaborately painted ceilings, quotations on walls, statues holding lamps, and artwork everywhere. Here are some pictures. At the beginning of the tour, they played a video in which several librarians talked about the fabulous collection, and then several people, mostly kids, talked about how this was "MY library". I'm a sentimental slob; my eyes misted over. I left the tour a little early because I wanted to go to the gift shop and buy postcards before it closed.

I had originally planned to go to the Air and Space Museum, but by the time that I left the Library of Congress, it was 4:30, and the Museum closed at 5:30. I decided to walk down the National Mall and at least find the Museum, and get an idea of the distances involved.

The National Mall is huge. Distances that seem close on the map are actually a decent-length walk. I got to the Air and Space Museum at 5, but decided not to go in for just a half-hour. Earlier, I had looked up restaurants near the National Mall on my cell phone. There weren't many, but it suggested a food court in a mall in an old Post Office building. So I went in search of that. I got tired of wandering around looking for it in the dark, and almost gave up, but then I found it. I had some mediocre food, and then took the Metro back.

The previous night, I found out to my dismay that there were no machines with Diet Coke at my hotel. (It just had machines with healthy stuff like apple juice and orange juice--the nerve!) So after I got back, I walked over to a strip mall with CVS and Safeway about a half-mile from the hotel, and laid in provisions.

Washington DC Trip Day 3

Friday was the day of the conference. I did manage to wake up on time and get to the bus stop on time. The bus was a little late, which made me nervous, but it arrived, and brought me across the street from the venue for the conference (the public library). The library opened right after I got there.

The presentations were as interesting as I hoped that they would be. I was pleased that I knew as much as one of the presenters on a particular topic. We didn't get a chance to network because there were presentations during the entire day, including lunch. (So much for my new business cards!)

There was a bus stop at the strip mall near the hotel, which saved me some time. I ate a totally junky meal at Wendy's, picked up a few more things, and went back to the hotel.

I can't remember what I did after I got back to the hotel. Nothing important.