Glamorous Travel

I realize I've been lousy at this. So sorry.

So there have been three trips since I last checked in-

Providence, RI
I had to attend the Jobs With Justice conference for work and jb was able to accompany me. I was still pretty busy with work commitments, but it was great to be able to share meals, the hotel room and even tabling with jb. We participated in the march to the state house (in the rain!) on Friday, I facilitated a workshop and spent some time at our table on Saturday and we headed out on Sunday. jb and I were able to sneak in a walk along the rivers and a great meal at Local 121 - a restaurant that uses all local ingredients in their dishes.

Delaware
This was a whirlwind trip if ever there was one. We went to Delaware to attend Jared's (one of the Burgan boys) senior recital. We all drove out in the morning - got there just in time, stayed for the recital and a brief reception afterwards - and then got back in the car and arrived back in Pittsburgh around 2 am. Some might say we're crazy - but it was totally worth it.

Rochester, NY
Now I'm in Rochester for a chapter visit. I just arrived at my hotel after an awful day. My first flight was delayed causing me to miss my connection. I was supposed to arrive in time to attend a chapter meeting this evening, but there was no way to make it. I felt awful and called the chapter leaders and offered to join the meeting by phone - something I hadn't completely thought through. It is nearly impossible to find a quiet place in an airport. Ticketing and the gates have constant flight announcements, baggage has carousel announcements, the hallways connecting the airport to the metro have an infuriating loop of "Caution! The moving walkway is ending.", and the bathrooms are blaring music. I ended up sitting on the floor in the elevator lobby in the parking garage - and still could barely hear. Well, after almost 12 hours at the airport I'm finally at my hotel (which is under 5 hours away from Pittsburgh driving) and about to turn in.

Sugar
So I made it a full month without sugar, although I was tested in the final days when we were in Providence where there is a Dunkin Donuts on every corner. In fact, when my break the fast day came, jb took me out to dinner where I had every intention of ordering a brownie fudge sundae for dessert and when it came time to order dessert - I didn't really want it. That was largely due to the fact that I had just had a full dinner, but still, I didn't want to break the sugar fast if I wasn't going to enjoy it to its fullest, so I waited until the urge struck. Now I'm limiting indulging to once a week and I've already noticed how much worse I feel on the days I eat sugar. Of course, I think it is partly because I haven't been choosing the best indulgences, so I'm going to limit my weekly sugar indulgences to sweets with natural ingredients (like ice cream or homemade baked goods) to continue to avoid transfats and high fructose corn syrup. Hopefully that will cure the hangover feeling while still letting me get in a little sugar.

CA
Also notable since I last checked in is that the California Supreme Court struck down the state's ban on same-sex marriage. So great.