The Millionaire saga, Day 1

Tuesday, September 14:

Most of this day was spent flying to New York LaGuardia, by way of Kansas City. Having obtained tickets through Priceline, I was flying on SkyHigh Airlines, so you can probably imagine the adventure... tiny seats, surly flight attendants, no complimentary anything, etc., etc. We stopped in KC for just enough time to enjoy a bathroom break in an actual restroom, and to purchase some walk-away food. I picked up an overpriced chicken Caesar salad, but it tasted like sweet manna from heaven considering it was the first real food I'd had all day. The one nice thing about the second leg of the trip was that the flight was pretty sparsely filled, enough so that several passengers stretched out across the empty seats and took a nap. Some dizzy turbulence served as a wake-up call just before we got into LaGuardia. The flight path took us right over the city, its lights twinkling and sparkling in the darkness.

Sadly, I experienced a casualty on the flight -- my pen. That's what happens when you try to take notes with a Uni-Ball Vision at cruising altitude. There was ink scattered across my travel diary, on the tray table and all over my fingers. At least fingers are washable. The other items didn't fare so well. Next time I'll do the smart thing and travel with a ballpoint or a mechanical pencil.

Julie picked me up at LaGuardia, having rented a Zipcar for this purpose, and we drove to a neighborhood near Columbia. There I had a very late dinner in a little French bistro -- mmm, cassoulet. Although delicious, this choice left me full of beans, which tends to create a bit of a social problem several hours later.

From there we caught the subway back to Julie's stop, took the elevator up to her apartment and I had a very long, very therapeutic shower. I then proceeded to steal Julie's guest bedroom for the night, kicking her to the couch. No, I am not very nice at all, but you wouldn't be either if you'd just endured a full day of SkyHigh Airlines.

Behold the Tower of Power! This is the mighty floor-to-ceiling stack of stuff which belongs to Julie and her roomies, and which makes its home in the guest bedroom. Nudge it at your own risk.

But I had no time for nudging. Shortly after taking this picture, I was busy catching Zs.