the b*tch is back

Yup, back in town and raring to go. I posted all of my pics (a paltry bunch, I must say) to flickr, but I've included my favorite in this post. Yes, ladies and gents, that is me standing next to one of my cinematic heroes, John Waters. I must say he's a gracious man, letting us snap away and making sure we had enough space to get right up next to him. I heard he even signed one li-berrian's boob. Now, according to what he told us during his luncheon keynote talk, that is fairly tame in John Waters territory. The saddest thing about my trip is that I came away feeling like I hadn't gotten to see Baltimore at all. What I saw was the sanitized area right around the harbor, called Inner Harbor, and a bit north of there called Mt. Vernon, which is where the original Washington Memorial stands. Places I ate? Touristy. Places I visited? Touristy. People I saw? Baltimore folk who work in that area and tourists. The one thing that made me feel slightly better was being stopped for directions not once but twice.

I had a great roommate in my soon-to-be sis-in-law, aka the GF. I had the fun of dragging her into Filene's Basement and the joy of having her bring me chocolates while I was trying to recover between sessions and mandatory social activities. I can see why my sister was keen on keeping her around! Seriously, though, I highly recommend rooming with friends or family over folks who are simply work colleagues. It's much easier to tell them that you need some quiet or not feel too bad about creating a big stink in the bathroom!

Anyhoo, I'm so glad to be back. I found a gorgeous bouquet of flowers awaiting me at home and a very happy kitty, so I felt loved and missed.