I spent today in a cloud.

Literally. (Sort of like in this photo from flickr, posted above.)

Up on the 17th floor, the fog didn't burn off until about 2:30 p.m. Crazy. Then, I went to the parking garage where it looked like everything had been sprayed with a fire hose. Having barely touched the doors or handrails in the stairwells (as they were covered with clammy dew), I reached my car, which was completely fogged up. That made backing up in the TIGHT spots of the parking deck an adventure!

And there's a big story on the news that PLANES HAVE BEEN DELAYED!!! Travelers are STRANDED!! People are ANGRY!!!! How DARE the airlines do this????

Um, take a memo:
If there's zero visibility at the 17th floor (WAY lower than you want your plane to be flying), how in the world do you expect pilots to take off? Seriously. I'd much rather park my little self in a pleather airport chair than experience the joy of hearing a pilot say something like, "well, ladies & gentlemen, I can't actually see the runway, but we're going to give this a shot & see what happens!"

Sheesh. It's like the people that get mad that they stop serving drinks during turbulence. Oh, please, let's endanger the flight attendants so that I can have the privilege of your $8 cocktail dumping all over my lap when we hit an air pocket.

I understand that I have flown a lot, and that there are many people who do not fly often. However, this is all common sense. It's not even a businessman's travel secret like walking up the escalators, or in Atlanta, going to the farthest car on the little train.

Thank you for your patience. It is appreciated. As was the rain.

In other news, I get to meet Owen, my coworker's new son, tomorrow!

In other, other news, I am definitely in for the Carter Center's talk about the Gulag! Andy Young is supposed to be there, along with President Carter. I'm quite sure I'll be basically strip searched at the door. Entirely worth it, though, to hear what they have to say. It'll be one of those times that I want to hog-tie certain ungrateful students from my past, so they can understand what suffering is, and why they should be grateful for the MANY blessings they receive each day as citizens of this country, and recipients of free public education.

Finally this evening (whew), everyone must go see Dan in Real Life. It is amazing. LINDSEY EVEN LIKED IT, and I don't think that's happened ever for a movie we've seen in a theater. Fans of Little Miss Sunshine will appreciate that our favorite Proust scholar can actually play a variety of roles. There are just sort of an insane variety of very funny & very touching bits all wrapped up in a PLOT. An actual PLOT.

Further, it will make you want to obtain a beach house in Rhode Island. And for that, real estate agents all over the tiniest state in the Union are saying a big DANKE.

The decorations are 75% complete. The tree (ALUMINUM FOR REAL, YO) is up, but the ornaments aren't yet on it, so you can't have pictures. Soon, though, very soon.

Happy week, folks.