Arrival

The trip was off to a surprisingly good start as there was a no line to check in and I managed to smile my way through the weighing of the bags and get away with paying nothing for my 2 body bags which def weighed north of 60 lbs each. Success. Then for the first time EVER I got upgraded. Woot! What bliss, getting free food on the plane, and even REAL silverware (major double standard: Delta is putting a metal knife in my lap and I still can't carry on a pair of tweezers?). We even landed 20 minutes early. Which is where the luck stopped as we had to sit on the runway for an hour, and then I had a temporary yet panic-ridden episode of thinking that they had lost my bag. Eww. Finally arrived about 10 hours after leaving SF at The Chelsea, the lovely corporate apts where I'll be spending the next month.

Great welcome/new year din with the Stanny Pi Phi/SAE gang at Otto, a cozy italian joint, hearing everyone's NYE and Holiday tales. Highlight was Berto complaining about the waitresses unwillingness to serve us more than 1 of his requested wine selection as they were "runnning low" and consequently getting into a heated argument at the table followed by with the manager, followed by him apologizing so profusely that we ended up with a complimentary bottle of champagne, and she ended up with his number. Classic. Clearly we decided this should be a weekly Sunday "Family Dinner" event. Is it Sunday yet?