Overview of My New Haven Trip

Well, besides the problems in the quiet car (see entry below) my trip was a pretty good one. But I am completely exhausted today. I had some pretty eventful cab rides. Here's an overview of the past couple of days:

Tuesday - I left work at 11 not knowing whether there was any traffic to deal with, or security at the train station (ha!) to catch my train at 1. In the cab on the way over--and luckily I'd taken a cab and not taken the metro so I could discover this--I realized that I didn't have my wallet with me. I'd changed bags the night before and forgot to put everything back in my work bag. So I had to go all the way home before heading to the train station. Luckily I live in Arlington so going home wasn't all that far and I was still able to make my train. My cab driver was a hoot--he was 72 years old and telling me about his kids, and how he doesn't want them coming to his house to tell him about their problems. That night I met a work colleague and his wife for dinner. We went to this great restaurant, Union League Cafe right near Yale, and they treated.

Wednesday I had to give a presentation in front of 30 grumpy old men. I was not looking forward to it cause I hate public speaking. But I thought I had a good presentation put together, and a powerpoint display to lean on, so I was feeling more confident than usual. Although I did still wake up at the crack of dawn with knots in my stomach. The meeting started with a lunch, where they served the absolute worst sandwich I've ever had and I couldn't even tell you what was wrong with it. I just knew I couldn't eat it. Afterwards, I got a short driving tour of New Haven, and my colleague drove past the Skull and Bones Society that Bush was member of just so I could say that I saw it.

I caught the 5:18 train home and again had a crazy cab driver who sounded like Sayid on Lost. I shared a cab with some crazy old professor from Lehigh University and the cab driver almost took him to the wrong hotel. The driver was speedily weaving the streets of Crystal City, actually making fun of himself, saying if he took the professor to the wrong hotel the professor could always blame the "damn foreign cab driver who didn't speak any English." It was pretty entertaining.

So total reading material for the trip: I finished reading Marley and Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog, which if you're a dog lover is definitely a great read. Absolutely hysterical at times yet definitely a tear-jerker. It was particularly funny for me, since I have my own bad dog and could relate to some of the stories. I also started and finished another smaller book and two magazines.