Yesterday, after feeding me cookies and Pepsi for breakfast (a girl after my own heart), Beth and I went back to The Fox and Goose, the fake English pub that was too full to have breakfast at the day before, in order to meet Jan!

Two on-line journalists in one week was not enough for me, not when there was a third in the nabe, so we all had lunch together, after finding each other. It was one of those things where she got there and we weren't there, and then we were there and she wasn't there, so we sat down and watched for her, but since we were seated in a less than central position, we couldn't see her, so, since Beth was fainting with hunger and was desperate to order, I went out into the parking lot, and there she was!

It sure would have been embarrassing if we were in the same restaurant and managed to miss each other entirely! I only do that in New York with Andrea and Sean!

Anyway, the food was very good, though I was all fired up for bangers and mash, which Beth said was the dish of the day, but was not, since Beth is apparently unable to tell the difference between Monday and Tuesday.

She ended up happy, since Monday's special was fish and chips, which she ate with gusto. I tried not to hugely resent her happiness, and almost succeeded...I had a hamburger instead, which was very good.

Okay, I forgave her.

Jan was really nice, and really shy. Whenever I'm around someone shyer than myself, I always think "Why is she so shy? There's no reason to be shy!" forgetting, of course, that usually someone's thinking it of me!

She gave me a Wodehouse book and Beth a cactus, and we went back to Beth's house because I had forgotten my watch (I have this terrible habit of taking it off wherever I happen to be sitting and not having the vaguest idea that I am doing so) and to sit and visit for awhile longer before I had to get to the plane.

I, having turned into the rudest person alive, took the opportunity to check my e-mail again. I'm an addict! I admit it!

Anyway, after bidding Jan farewell, we went to the airport, Beth and I, where we were surrounded by tense people from flights that had not left from before, and tense people whose flights were currently being delayed and really tense people who wanted to be in Oakland, but they had been diverted due to fog.

Beth ended up not waiting the whole time with me, because she saw the fog roll in like fiberglass insulation, and, having this weird thing where she likes to see when driving, split.

A plane pulled into my gate that should have been my plane, but they decided to let the 2.30p flight have it, and since it was 4.45p, I had no strong objections. My personal flight ended up leaving only 40 minutes late, which I think is just swell compared to the problem that every single other flight was having.

So let's see, I came into San Jose one day before the airport shut tight like a clam, and left Sacramento on the least delayed flight all day! How did I get such luck? Must have been my travel agent.

Southwest planes, trying to appear more like trains than busses, have some seats backwards, and I ended up in one, which I thought might be kind of fun, but instead it means that, during takeoff you are just hanging by your seatbelt!

In fact, I dangled all the way until we reached cruising altitude. Which was most of the flight.

The great thing about Burbank airport is that you get to walk across the tarmac, like you're in Casablanca, but that also means that you can bolt from the plane almost as soon as you touch down, because you don't have to wait for them to maneuver that tube between the building and the plane.

So I went out to baggage claim, since Mom wasn't at the gate, and she wasn't there and she wasn't driving around, and I really hoped that she wouldn't be an hour late, but what with our only living ten minutes from this airport, I thought it was unlikely.

Okay. I'm wondering about this. You know that announcement that says "The white zone is for the immediate loading and unloading of passengers only. No parking"?

Who are these people who park in the white zone anyway? I'm particularly wondering who the woman was who parked right in front of me, but about six feet from the curb. Meaning in the middle of the lane, meaning she was blocking the whole lane of traffic.

And she got out of the car! She parked in the middle of the street and wandered away like a baby duck! Was it that she thought "Well, I'm not at the curb, I'm not at the white zone, I'm six feet away from it! I am entirely legal!" as cars piled up behind her from there to Warner Brothers.

At that point, Mom showed up, so I can only hope that she was actually towed. 'Cause I'm just spiteful that way.

So that was my trip!

I really liked Sacramento, and meeting everyone, of course. We were walking around, and Beth said that Sacramento was a great place to live but you wouldn't want to visit, meaning that there wasn't tons of stuff to do, but we passed the Sacramento Pharmaceutical Museum on the way to the airport, so clearly she was mistaken.

It's just the cutest little town, though. It reminded me of Albany, in that all of the houses had porches, so I have come to the conclusion that all state capitols look alike. We were driving though one neighbourhood, and Beth said "This is a bad neighbourhood," and I said "How can it be? Look at those adorable houses?" and she said "Trust me, it's a bad neighbourhood."

So, even the slums are picturesque!

Today's horoscope:
Your creative imagination proves valuable today. Being able to envision "what if?" brings new possibilities into your life.

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