A list for today

Monday I will be off to Philadelphia. I've never been so this should be fun. Well, fun when I'm not sitting in conference rooms listening to people talk about how they plan to preserve audio and video. Since, I won't be home for a week I need to clean up all the stuff off my desk and get all my travel things in order. The weekend will be devoted to packing and cooking. If I don't make things for my family to eat they tend to go out. Costing me a ton more money.

Here are a few thoughts that are rattling around in my head.

1.I've got the coolest cell phone app. It tracks my exercise then awards me stuff at the end of the workout. Saturday's epic run earned me an avocado. Just one. Seems like I was getting shafted by my phone. Expending 493 calories should have grabbed me at least a Milky Way bar. And, not one of those "fun" size ones but a full-size clog-your-arteries bounce-off-the-wall candy bars. Sunday I burned off 423 calories (Hey, I was tired from the day before). What did the cell phone give me? 4 pears. My first thought; I wonder if they mean 4 pears poached in brandy and served in a puddle of creme anglaise with a drizzle of chocolate sauce.That seemed like a great reward.

2. Chatting it up with Keely  the other day about attending Blissdom we hit on an terrific idea. I've never been able to justify going to a conference that I have to pay for so coming up with the money for this was just not sitting right. It wasn't the $120 in plane tickets or even the cost of splitting the room. (Becky: Keely invited me to share yours. Hope you don't mind) I'd do that just for the opportunity to meet up with these two wonderful women. It's the $360.00 in conference fees that are getting to me. It is a little hard to come up with that kind of money for a non-work related event. Then Keely and I hit on a fabulous idea:

Have some vegetarian related organization sponsor me.

So what do you all think? Vegetarian Times? Meatless Monday? Vegetarian Resource Group? I could do whole posts about traveling as a vegetarian. Or maybe, representing the truly meatless without being scary. Anyone else I should pitch this to? Got a concept or idea these groups would be looking for?

3. Got contacted by the U.S. State Department again about one of the collections on the digital library. If I was a conspiracy theorist I would be getting concerned by all these phone calls and emails. Oh, they start out innocent enough. "Ms. Reilly could we make an appointment to talk about India Illustrated?", I'm beginning to think that is code for "what is your personal opinion about the political and social history of the British Raj.  Good thing I don't have a passport. I may be put on some sort of watch list or something. It is bad enough that I'm one of those "radical militant librarians". (The FBI term for librarians that opposed the use of secret warrants authorized under Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act and in my case the whole PATRIOT Act. Which was and still is a POS).

4. The Meatless Monday people have gone all promotional on me.

I think the cow looks angry.

5. I'm collecting all suggestions about what to do in Philadelphia. I did go get a Frommer's travel guide. Not a new addition, of course. I got mine from Half Priced Books. It's a 2005 or 6. The historical stuff can't have changed too much in the last 100 years so I think I'm good on that but if you have places that I just have to see. Like giant fruit or chickens or something please send me the deets.



I may not post on Monday since I have to be on a plane at 6am. Who thought that that is ever a good time to leave? I hope the crew have had their coffee. Maybe I won't chance it and buy them one. Can't hurt.

Love,
M