Northern Rain

I'm in Chicago, of course. My father picked me up from the airport, we had lunch, we killed time, I went into the yarn store by my lawyer's office (Malabrigo makes laceweight now! In Velvet Grapes! And many other fine colors that do not happen to be my favorite color of Malabrigo. I almost squealed out loud right there in the shop. I'm sure they would've understood. Alas, though, I left empty-handed. Because they did not have the bag handles for which I sought, nor did I have an actual need for laceweight Malabrigo. Because truth be told, I don't have a lot of patience for knitting lace these days). I lost my cellphone, and also found it (it was at the Starbucks. Where else? It's possible that I didn't actually lose it there, I think, it just instinctively found the nearest Starbucks and waited for me). And in the midst of all this it started snowing. And I (very sarcastically) said to my father, "What's with all this falling white stuff? What is that, again?" And he said, "That's Northern rain."

He he.

So begins, as my best friend has suggested calling it, the whirlwind of Kate's Litigation Tour, 2008. I flew in today. I have court (which is not actually court, but mandatory arbitration, which is in the "arbitration center" and not actually a court. Darn it, because I like courts) tomorrow. Then I'm meeting said best friend (the lawyer, although not my lawyer, at least not for this. I do have her on retainer, though, in case I ever need her services. I gave her a dollar right after she passed the bar) and we're then going to drop my parents off at the train station and high-tail it (read: sit in Chicago traffic for a couple hours) to the western 'burbs, where I get to see my nephew Basil and the now-very-pregnant Original Robin and the rest of my high school crew. Then I have family plans on Saturday, and fly back Sunday to go home, pick up the dog, and straighten out the paperwork that Medical Records is about to suspend me over, despite the fact that the "delinquent" notes all seem to have been signed and done with weeks ago.

I'm also getting a manicure and a haircut before not-court tomorrow. Because I may not have to wear a suit (and in point of fact, I'm going to show up in my day-to-day work clothes - the stuff I wear on the wards, not in scrubs - right down to my Danskos), but I still don't want to look like a schmuck.

Alright, I'm going to bed, because I was up late last night (one of these days, I will tell y'all about my call) and it's been a long day. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Oh, and in the spirit of Love Thursday, here's five things I love today:

5. Undercrowded flights. Although I have to say I think Southwest's new number system is way more complicated than it needs to be. But I definitely enjoyed having the whole back of the plane to myself.
4. The smell when I got off the plane at Midway. It was some combination of deep dish pizza and hot pretzels and Kosher dogs. But mostly Chicago style (read: real) pizza.
3. My dad for picking me up from the airport and then putting up with me for several hours (he gets bonus points for taking me to the yarn store, even if he didn't go in) before ferrying me to the lawyer's office. And then my mom for being home from work when we got back and feeding me really good home cooked food and also chocolate.
2. My aunt in NC for letting me call her at 10:30 pm last night when I got out of the hospital to tell her that I needed to leave for the airport at 8am, and then she brought me cookies and a muffin for the trip.
1. That THE BLOGGER SPELLCHECK LIVES!!!!!!!!