Midwest

So here I am in Chicago, a city that I always enjoy, even when the temperature goes up into the 90s, which is where it has been the last few days. I came here to go to a publishers' conference and also to visit a dear friend and her husband who are celebrating their birthdays and their anniversary this weekend. It's been a bit of a whirlwind, staying in a few different places and feeling generally emotional about things. The conference I went to was one I used to go to regularly before my job situation changed. I went there to resume some professional ties and try to make new ones. I think I had some success in both ventures, and overall I had a great time, but it was also a somewhat bittersweet experience, because so much has changed.

Now I have moved on to the part of the week that is about visiting my friend and looking forward to the party she and her husband are throwing over the weekend. They have a lot of people coming from out of town, so tonight I am staying not with them but with a nearby friend of theirs. Today my friend and I and one of the other out-of-town guests, a college roommate of my friend, went to the salon to get manicures and pedicures in preparation for the festivities. That was fun and relaxing. More momentously, we later went shopping and I bought a new computer to replace the little netbook that had shockingly expired a few days before I left, taking with it a lot of data that I really would have preferred not to lose. Egged on by my friends, inveterate Mac users, I finally took the plunge and am now the proud owner of a petite MacBook. I am figuring out how to use it as we speak. There are things happening that I do not understand. Like once in a while as I am typing, this big white arrow appears on the screen, along with a funny noise. It seems to have something to do with the shift key.

If you have any pointers, do let me know. I'm headed for sleep.

More when I can.