Safe and Sound

Well who'd a thunk it: My flight in from LA actually got in a half hour EARLY tonight, so I got home in time to put both Isaac AND Bella to bed. Bella was on me like a passport wallet on a European vacation, and it was wonderful to be showered with affection.

On little gripe on the Kindle (GASP) - as it is "electronic", the airlines want it off during takeoff and landing, which is a good 10-20 minutes each way of reading time... so I DO need some sort of deadtree media as I travel. Fortunately the swedish textbook fits the bill. On the Kindle I was rotating through three books and the Times this trip:

- Crucial Conversations - a good book about better communication skills during difficult situations: Very eye opening, and I've already learned a lot.
- Cryptonomicon: Another BIG Neal Stephenson book which I'm appreciating a lot more without the weight. I think that subconsciously I have a tendency to assess a book by how many pages I've gone through and how many remain, and in Kindleland, your sense of pages is completely off - it's easier to focus on the story.
- Colloquial Japanese: A japanese text to help me with writing and reading and the rules of grammar - taking it up from my simple verbal skills.

At the hotel this AM, I was sure to get up really early so I could pretend to be on Central time. I did exercise, and then rewarded myself with an omelet made by a Kyrgistani woman named Olga. Bolshaya Spaceba! Then a few hours of work writing up my results of the trip and sending followup messages to our clients... and off to the airport.

On the flight, I took advantage of the new iTunes Rentals and watched the Simpsons movie on the iPhone. It was just wonderful, and helped the time pass. I also worked on my japanese writing, and some swedish exercises as well... I really want these flights to be productive time for me.

Back at home, Isaac was thrilled to see me, and kept growling "Daaaaa Daaaaaa!" as he cuddled up. The love was only briefly upset by a burp gone horribly wrong soaking us both with some larger percentage of the 16 ounces of bottle he had greedily gulped down. Ah, kidpuke. It's good to be home.

Tomorrow I need to make my appearance with the Docs at the old client and try to figure out what my strategy will be next week when we meet with the "vendor who let us down". We shall see. But after those meetings, I'm calling it a week, and hopefully hitting the weekend a bit early! Huzzah!