California on my Mind

Tomorrow, Wednesday, I am heading to San Francisco, California to visit my friend Corissa. I am looking forward to exploring a new city and to seeing Corissa - it's been almost 2 years - and to drinking wine and going to a baseball game at 3Com Field. I am not particularly looking forward to traveling. It will be the first time since I was a junior in high school that I have flown somewhere alone, and that time was just to DC. I will be solely responsible for getting myself to the airport, onto the plane, onto the next plan (gotta love layovers) and then home again. I am probably the biggest dork on the planet, but this trip is making me feel both like a 12 year old and a grown-up at the same time. I don't wanna go alone, but I feel empowered that I am completely able to do so. Anyway, it will be grand to be away from work for a week and to see big trees and a hillier city than Boston.

I am nursing a few books along right now, but will probably go to the public library tonight to get one or two for my trip. I have read good reviews of Kate Ross's latest book The Devil in Music which is her fourth book with her main character Julian Kestrel investigating. Ross's books are usually set in London, but this book is set in Milan in the early 19th century within the world of opera, one of my favorite indulgences. More to come about that.

Bush gave a speech last night at the US Army War College in PA - the first of six speeches. Basically he said that the US will hand over power of governance to the Iraqi people, but that troops will stay there as long as they are needed. In fact, when asked what he would do if commanders need more troops, Bush said, "I will send them." Great. He explained that it was going to get tough both before and after we hand off power. What has it been for the past 14 months and could he be any vaguer?? I am a good American and proud to be a part of a country that really does strive to celebrate freedom and difference, but our leader is a grade-A, first class moron. Maybe he can pray the trouble away. Moron.