We Got Away

March 21, 2015

Davis works in math heaven.  We visited his work space when we first got to Berkeley.

He didn't actually believe me when I explained he would be just as well off in our living room in Bryan, since I also owned a set of Zomes and other math-oriented toys (including polydrons that were not available at the MSRI) that I would set out on a coffee table for his building pleasure.  I think it has something to do with the inspiring view:

Plus turkeys.

The whole week wasn't wine and hikes.  More like wine, hikes, and views.

And time with Davis.

Teddy suffered mightily in our absence.

What Could Be Worse?

March 2, 2015

You may have read my post from yesterday and wondered "what could be worse" than being stuck for a day in a hotel room in a strange city with a stack of grading accompanied by vomiting and diarrhea. 

Well, of course, there are an infinite number of things that might be worse, including receiving a cancer diagnosis for your precious child and burying that child.

But if you want to keep the conversation within the same order of magnitude of misery and awfulness, here's what could be worse:

Finally boarding the plane home (wearing the clothes you slept in and sporting a hairdo that had not made contact with a hairbrush in longer than the average Jerry Lewis MDA telethon) flying to College Station and making the requisite 45 minute flight, only to hear the pilot's frustrated voice announcing that the visibility was too bad to land and the instruments to assist a blind landing were inoperable. . . and that we were flying back to Dallas.

Insert naughty words here: _______________________________.

The good news is that I made it home by 11:00 last night.

The bad news is that my suitcase didn't.  Which would be okay, but I'm scheduled to leave again in less than 48 hours.   This means that I will be chatting with baggage claims and bag status regularly until it turns up.  Luckily, I have the airline 800 number memorized.

Good News, Bad News

March 1, 2015

The good news is that I received an incoming phone call from an 800 number at 2:03 this morning canceling my 10:15 a.m. re-booked flight from my canceled flight home yesterday.  

And if you can get your head around the idea that a second canceled flight in twelve hours was good news, then I don't really have to explain why I my spending the first part of my day drying my undies with a blow dryer, wasn't as bad as it would seem, because at least I had a salvageable pair of underwear.

Why do people travel in the winter?  And even more importantly, why do people eat shrimp potstickers from an airport hotel bistro this far from the coast (Grapevine). And if I had eaten the cheesecake first, would it have coated my stomach and protected me from the aftermath of the shrimp?

The only really bad news is that Davis is in the state for the weekend, but my delayed arrival home and weakened constitution mean that we will have to wait a little while longer to see him.