Jet Lag

I've spent the day (well, the part of it that happened after we got home from church) napping, watching football, and watching the Emmy's, in that order. Seems I am a little worn out from my recent trip to Cincinnati. Woke up this morning with a headache that won't give me a break. Wouldn't even step aside during my solo this morning. Ah, well, pain reminds us that we are alive. I sang well despite it, and interpreted (dynamics, etc) on the fly. I guess I was inspired.

The trip was really good. I would post pictures if I had any. I am quite possibly the only Asian person in the world that can't remember to take a camera when I leave the house. Will have to ask my traveling companions to share theirs.

The part of Cincinnati I saw was quite pretty. Neat old buildings and lots of reason to be outdoors. In the midst of the downtown area is Fountain Square. It is a big square with - you guessed it - a huge fountain in the center of it. But the kicker was the giant screen hanging above the Macy's that aired sporting events. I sat out there one night watching West Virginia play Maryland. Not because I really care about either of those teams in particular, but because 1) I enjoy college ball and 2) I wanted to be able to say I had watched college ball on a giant screen TV next to a huge fountain in a big square. I was only approached by one panhandler.

I could see the Ohio river and two ball fields from my room on the 22nd floor. There are lots of cool bridges over the river, and one of my traveling companions walked to Kentucky. Granted, it was only a few blocks and across a bridge, but it is still cool. Cool happens to be the word of the trip. The weather was beautiful, and it was downright chilly at times for this Southern gal. I froze my patooties off most of the trip. And then I walked out of the DFW airport into the sweltering shock of a lingering Texas summer.

We ate in large groups. It is always a little tough for a large group to agree on a place to dine. I am probably the easiest person to please when it comes to food. But I put my foot down when someone suggested Mexican food. I simply do not eat Mexican food north of the Red River. Call it TexMex snobbery.

I listened to a blue grass band called Catch and Release that was pretty good. I thought to myself, "I'm really close to Kentucky. I should take in a little culture and hear a blue grass band." Joke was on me. They were from Washington state. But they did a lovely little instrumental version of Isle of Inisfree that felt as if it was meant just for me. At one point I looked around and realized that my companions had abandoned me, and I was sitting there listening alone. Intimate.

I attended a few really good workshops at the conference. Learned a lot about how to deal with clients who were in crisis, and had my reservations regarding current trauma intervention validated by knowledgeable people. I love it when I find myself in agreement with knowledgeable people.

The Hilton treated us very nicely. My room was huge, and the bed was very comfortable. There was this great smelling lotion in the elegant-yet-totally-impractical bathroom. The mirror was too far away for me to see well enough to put on eye liner. And the shower head was one of those that had settings, if only you were tall enough to reach it. But, hey, it beats the heck out of the kind of places I can usually afford to stay.

It is great to be home with Mikel and the girls. They met me at the airport with a dozen red roses and smiles and dimples and flashing eyes and tales of their activities. They all seemed to get along just fine without me, and that makes me feel confident in their self-sufficiency. Seems I haven't done such a poor job raising them after all.