Text 2713, 80 rader
Skriven 2013-07-22 09:15:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
Ärende: Bye Williamsport 915
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We went back to Mike and Jill's for a nightcap. I asked for
the same thing he was having, which turned out to be a
double Drambuie on the rocks. I don't really care for
Drambuie, and that sticky sweetness after a rich meal just
did me in. We stayed for just the one drink (Annie had her
usual Yuengling) and then we went home and to bed. I slept
fitfully, having discovered that the sound has cut out
again on this computer, so no alarm. I set the watch alarm
(it hasn't been working, either) and the room alarm (ditto)
and woke up at 3; debated staying up but ended up sleeping
until the watch went off at 4, surprisingly, and then the
room alarm at 4:05, ditto. I felt terrible, with Drambuie
still on my breath, so had a couple Tums and part of a
Benadryl to ensure my not urping on the flight to come.

So I presented myself at the airport at oh dark hundred.

It's slightly unsettling when the TSA guy knows you; he
greeted me like an old friend. 

The plane ride wasn't as stomach-churny as I feared, thanks
in part to the Benadryl, plus it was a quiet morning. I had
two hours plus to wait for the DCA connection, so I asked
at the club if I could get on an earlier flight. She tapped
away and then announced it was full; whether it really was
or she didn't want to take the trouble to offload me from
one to put me on the other I don't know. So I had two hours
plus to waste at the club, where I encountered Activia
blueberry, a flavor new to me. After the initial hit of
sweetness caused by a mixture of inulin, sucralose, and
Ace-K, the taste was kind of dead, with just a bit of berry,
too little to liven it up. Though this witch's brew of
artificial sweeteners didn't really sweeten up the yogurt,
it interfered with the taste of a cup of hot chocolate I
had later.

The second flight boarded up at almost the scheduled time
and took off at almost the scheduled time. I woke up as we
were on the river approach, almost at the scheduled time,
heading northward. It's prettier going the other way (you
get the Great Falls parks and then if you're on the left
side of the plane, good views of downtown), but the wind
currents dictate which direction they use; there's a third,
eastward over Rosslyn, which can be amusing as the buildings
look really close. There's no approach over DC proper that I
know of, because that would take us over the monuments and
various government structures such as the White House.

I hung out a bit at the airport, as I was certain (and was
right) that Jonathan would not have the wi-fi on for me.
So I did several hours' worth of buying more plane tickets,
surfing, e-mail, and FIDO before braving the Metro and its
crush. This was worse than usual because of several
single-track operations including through Metro Center. I'd
have done better taking the multibus route (cheaper) from
Rosslyn, but I thought this would be faster. Not. Ah, well,
I wasn't eager to get there, but it wasn't fun riding in
a crowded subway car whose air conditioning was inadequate
for its load. Made me want to rethink when I come back into
town early next month and am supposed to take the Metro and
the bus up to meet Gail and Dale and Nancy.

At the house - there has been much fuss about the house
across the way. Apparently there are drug-and-alcohol-fueled
parties by the teenage residents there, with brawls and noise
bad enough that the police have been called on occasion. The
guy next to that house is obviously concerned and has
e-mailed the other neighborhoods. Jonathan complains that
his input has been ignored. I have not asked what that input
may have been, but I shudder. Also the appliances have been
dying slow deaths. He's expecting me to cut a check for the
repairs, which cost approximately as much as buying new
washers and dryers, but to be fair to him he didn't know that
until he got the report from the repair service (at $100 for
just showing up, more if any work is really done). Ah, well,
I'll cut the check.

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