Finally in Long Island with my MJ.
I was woken up in Baltimore, city of crabs, by Mad Dog. I'd been asleep for ten hours. Nice to talk to Bob, and made me feel like I wasn't so far from home. Had been dreaming about my Grandmother for the third time this week. Perhaps she is trying to tell me something. Went downstairs to the bar/breakfast room with 56 (I asked) televisions in it. I was the only guest there to begin with and it was quite surreal having all these giant screens tuned to three different stations.
After my "all American" breakfast, worked in my room getting my ducks in a row, and struggling with housekeeping to get my complimentary tea and coffee for the room. Very odd woman in the hotel giftshop -- astonishingly rude, and trembling with rage when I asked her if they did the pink crab t-shirt in children's sizes.
It was clean but otherwise a fairly badly run hotel, but it was almost opposite the meeting place. Met the Creative Director from California who was chatty and affable. More crab-based snacks: a scoop or two of cheesy crab dip, and a small cup of crab soup then off to present.
Very friendly Catholic charity. Meeting lasted a little over two hours. Good presentation and I didn't embarrass myself, and managed to work in a quotation from Rilke which pleased me if nobody else. One of the half a dozen people I presented to looked like an old friend, which somehow helps. Only one of them was black, despite the fact that most people I met outside were black.
Back to the hotel to collect my bags then a short and taciturn taxi ride through town to Baltimore Penn station. Central Baltimore quite attractive in parts but frankly I was on a mission to get outta Baltimore like I stole somethin'. Just missed the NYC train but there was another in an hour that took us up through Philadelphia and New Jersey to Newark Airport, Newark Penn, and finally to New York Penn in two and a half hours. Why are half their train stations called Penn?
Then the LIRR. The last leg? But no...Standing in the dark in biting cold with my broken cases waiting for a train to go in MJ's general direction at the aptly named Hicksville took me dangerously close to a massive sense of humour failure. I was unable to reach anyone by phone. Being very tired and in transit for 36 hours can do that. Next train terminated at Huntingon which is only a few stops away and I caught a cab from there through streets full of gardens twinkling with Christmas lights and illuminated inflatables.
Taxi driver had no idea where MJ lived, however he did know the Hokey Pokey diner... and I directed him from there. Home at last and almost too tired to speak. Lovely to see MJ and the bairns. MJ also very tired after a gruelling day, having to go to court again this morning.
It was Kate's birthday today, which had been celebrated over the weekend, and I gave her the huge semicircle of art pens Mum and Mase had bought her, which made her very happy.
From what Kate was saying looks like I'll have to reprise duvet monster again tomorrow with her, little Genny and Matthew.
I was woken up in Baltimore, city of crabs, by Mad Dog. I'd been asleep for ten hours. Nice to talk to Bob, and made me feel like I wasn't so far from home. Had been dreaming about my Grandmother for the third time this week. Perhaps she is trying to tell me something. Went downstairs to the bar/breakfast room with 56 (I asked) televisions in it. I was the only guest there to begin with and it was quite surreal having all these giant screens tuned to three different stations.
After my "all American" breakfast, worked in my room getting my ducks in a row, and struggling with housekeeping to get my complimentary tea and coffee for the room. Very odd woman in the hotel giftshop -- astonishingly rude, and trembling with rage when I asked her if they did the pink crab t-shirt in children's sizes.
It was clean but otherwise a fairly badly run hotel, but it was almost opposite the meeting place. Met the Creative Director from California who was chatty and affable. More crab-based snacks: a scoop or two of cheesy crab dip, and a small cup of crab soup then off to present.
Very friendly Catholic charity. Meeting lasted a little over two hours. Good presentation and I didn't embarrass myself, and managed to work in a quotation from Rilke which pleased me if nobody else. One of the half a dozen people I presented to looked like an old friend, which somehow helps. Only one of them was black, despite the fact that most people I met outside were black.
Back to the hotel to collect my bags then a short and taciturn taxi ride through town to Baltimore Penn station. Central Baltimore quite attractive in parts but frankly I was on a mission to get outta Baltimore like I stole somethin'. Just missed the NYC train but there was another in an hour that took us up through Philadelphia and New Jersey to Newark Airport, Newark Penn, and finally to New York Penn in two and a half hours. Why are half their train stations called Penn?
Then the LIRR. The last leg? But no...Standing in the dark in biting cold with my broken cases waiting for a train to go in MJ's general direction at the aptly named Hicksville took me dangerously close to a massive sense of humour failure. I was unable to reach anyone by phone. Being very tired and in transit for 36 hours can do that. Next train terminated at Huntingon which is only a few stops away and I caught a cab from there through streets full of gardens twinkling with Christmas lights and illuminated inflatables.
Taxi driver had no idea where MJ lived, however he did know the Hokey Pokey diner... and I directed him from there. Home at last and almost too tired to speak. Lovely to see MJ and the bairns. MJ also very tired after a gruelling day, having to go to court again this morning.
It was Kate's birthday today, which had been celebrated over the weekend, and I gave her the huge semicircle of art pens Mum and Mase had bought her, which made her very happy.
From what Kate was saying looks like I'll have to reprise duvet monster again tomorrow with her, little Genny and Matthew.
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