Still here...

...but busy. And recovering.

I spent a week at Library Sleep-Away Camp in New England. It's crazy. It's bootcamp. It's intense. You go from 8:00 am until 10:00 pm. You sleep, if you are lucky, four hours a night. You work. Hard. You drink. You spend four days in one room with the same thirty people. And then you drink some more. You drink coffee all day to keep you going and you drink alcohol at night to de-stress and socialize. Oh, and there was crying. Basically, it's college crammed into 4.5 days. And on the last half day, when you keep thinking, "Oh my god, it's over," you realize you are leaving the people you have bonded with over the 4.5 days. There are lots of hugs. And then despite being pushed (professionally) harder than you have ever been pushed, you think, "I would totally do that again."

Surrounding that, there was lots of traveling which means observations and stories.

So, here we go:

I upgraded to first class on the way there. I decided it was worth it because I was flying the red-eye so it would be more comfortable. I would have access to the first class lounge and since I had a four-hour early morning layover in O'Hare, the lounge access would be really nice. So that along with the cost of checking my bag, it seemed worth the extra money. Until I got to the airport and found out that on United, only international first class has access to the lounge. That's not what I got from their website, but that's their rule. Their stupid, stupid rule. Suck it, United.

On first class, a "snack" is a full blown meal. Most of it I couldn't eat. So instead I drank almost an entire bottle of wine. The flight attendent told me the wine was about one step above Three Buck Chuck. and I replied, "So it's one step above what I normally drink."

In O'Hare I spent close to fifteen minutes in line at a Starbucks kiosk for coffee. The guy in front of me went off in a huff. The guy behind me was all, "Whatever, dude. I'm invested in this line. I'm getting my damn coffee." I felt the same way. And once again, the phrase "no room" when talking drip coffee carries no meaning outside of the Pacific Northwest, because there was an inch of room left at the top.

I ended up in the same bus-terminal-like gate area I was when I spent ten hours in O'Hare a few years ago. It was still crowded and gross. Then my gate was moved. Thankfully.

I found a lovely vegan cupcake during Library Sleep-Away Camp when several of us wandered off during a break to get coffee that was stronger than warm colored water. The people hosting this thing had no clue how much coffee librarians drink. The first morning we emptied every vat they had in less than 20 minutes. There was almost a librarian riot. The next morning they had the normal amount plus two sets of backups. But the cupcake? It was the envy of all, even though it was vegan.

At Library Sleep-Away Camp, they feed you all day. Breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner. All food, all the time. But the caterers didn't seem to get that we wanted--and needed--coffee in the afternoon. Eventually, they started brewing more coffee for our afternoon snack.

Seriously, y'all, if we had mats for a mid-afternoon nap, it would be like all-day kindergarten.

At one point we were bused to a local establishment for, you guessed it, food. And liquor. They had hard cider on tap. Holy shit it was good. And I remembered why I stopped drinking it while I was in library school: Because it is liquid crack. I had hard cider (on tap) sweetened with local blueberries. *drooooool*  (And they were prepared for vegans with spinach risotto, salad and all kind of good stuff.)

After the Library-Sleep Away camp ended and I wasted time before my flight left, I had a lovely vegan reuben with this amazing apple and some-other-fruit cobbler. Seriously, it was awesome.

I flew Jet Blue on the way home. I was excited since I had never flown Jet Blue. Let me say this: Jet Blue has got it going on. TVs in the seats with live TV and seats with adequate butt and leg room. The Jet Blue terminal in JFK? Full-blown shopping experience with a CIBO Express every ten feet (CIBO carries vegan food from Chicago's Soul Gourmet). Most gates have a counter with food and a full bar. (There are also several CIBOs in O'Hare that I always seek out when I am there. On both my departure and return trip, I had a vegan Jerusalem beef sandwich, and holy shit, it was so amazingly good.)

Also, in the Jet Blue terminal I stumbled on the MUJI store. I wanted to buy every single item. They said they were opening a store on the West coast. I asked, hopefully, if it would be in Seattle. Nope. San Francisco. Damn.

But my flight? It was fine as flights go, but I was sitting next to five young men who were either current Georgetown business students or former Georgetown business students. There was a sixth, but she was in a different row. She asked if I would trade my window seat for her middle seat so she could sit with her friends. I said no. Thank god for live TV and noise-canceling headphones so I could ignore them for 6.5 hours.

After I got home I slept for two days. I'm not joking. I got up the next day, bailed on a wedding reception because after buying groceries and doing laundry, every time I stood up, my entire world began to spin. I can't remember the last time I was that physically exhausted. So, yes, I slept. I spent last week at work trying to clean up some damage from the week I was gone. Hopefully, all is good.

And this weekend? More sleeping.