Swine Flu/ Dorky Glasses/ Neverending Story/ Go away

1. It's been 30 hours since I've heard an update on the swine flu. Don't know if we've had any in Yuma, Arizona, yet. I was about to research but, weirdly, I've lost all interest. (I'm still using a lot of hand sanitizer though.)

2. I got new glasses yesterday. I think they look great and so do my kids and Melissa, but I came to work today and nobody mentioned them. Except one guy who said I looked studious and another guy who asked what was up with the new glasses? I said, "Yeah . . I bought them." After an awkward pause he said, "See you around Bryan."

So I wondered if I was wrong about the glasses, but at a store today I caught my reflection in another car window and I looked really rad.

But maybe I'm one of those dorks who thinks he look awesome. For instance there was an issue of Library Today (name of magazine changed to protect the subject) where they talked about amazing teen librarians and one of them was a twenty-something with a nice smile who had on a tie and a vest but no shirt. My thought was, "What a dork, but I bet he thinks he looks cool. Will he be embarrassed by this picture some day?"

Am I like that guy only with new dorky glasses? Probably.

3. Watched the opening credits of Neverending Story earlier today. When I was a kid, my siblings and I would grab our dog's ears and flap them while singing the theme song. No doubt, if I ever get a dog, I'll do the same thing. (I'll watch the whole movie tomorrow. I wonder if it holds up.)

4. Every morning when I get out of the car, Deborah, age 3, shouts, "Go away, wicked wolf," and then laughs and laughs.

update (plus another update)

Swine flu has been confirmed in Arizona in Maricopa County which borders the east side of Yuma County. I'm surrounded. Pray for me.

Update: May 3rd. when I wrote this I was trying to sound more worried than I am. My real feeling about the swine flu is that like 99.9% of everything, it will never be as bad as we think it will be so it is not worth worrying about.

My motto is "Always err on the side of not worrying enough."

Barry White/ New York/ Imperial County/ hand sanitizer

1. I came into the office today with a low, sexy Barry White voice. Lydia and Jerry, my office mates said it sounded like I had the swine flu and requested I go home. I don't get it. Is Barry White's voice not sexy anymore?

2. In less than a month I'll be in New York City. I've wanted to visit there since I was 13. In about three weeks I'll be in San Diego. I love San Diego.

3. Last I heard, the swine flu hasn't made it to Arizona yet, but it has made it to Imperial County, Ca. I live three miles from the Imperial County border. So I'm avoiding all residents of Imperial County who talk like Barry White.

4. The library hand sanitizer smells really good. Like cinnamon. But I can only smell it if my hands are over my nose. How do they expect us to get any work done?

Glucose Test/ Stephen Tyler/ T-Rex clap/ Deadly Pandemics

1. "If you're ever shot or stabbed you won't have to worry about bleeding to death," a nurse said to me after milking my finger in order to get a drop of blood for my glucose test. They had to prick three of my fingers.

2. At the Book Expo of America opening gala, Stephen Tyler from Aerosmith and some guy from the E-Street band will be interviewed by one of my favorite authors, Chuck Klosterman. I would be very excited except that I won't land in New York until a half hour after the opening gala is over.

3. If you are ever a Den Chief for a cub scout pack and you have to do one of those corny claps, I came up with a good one for our dinosaur themed pack meeting. A T-Rex clap. Have the audience put their hands up like a T-rex, close to their chest and try to clap. The hands can't connect. It got a good laugh.

4. 5 deadliest pandemics in history.
http://www.neatorama.com/2009/04/27/5-deadliest-pandemics-in-history/ (I thought of doing a Swine-Flu Clap at the pack meeting last night but didn't. Bad taste.)

Sleeping in Airports part 2

I'm no expert at Sleeping in Airports but I fancy myself an informed amateur. So if you plan on sleeping in an airport, here is my advice.

1. Don't sleep in an airport if you can help it. You will not sleep well and you will start (or end) your trip very tired. Don't get me wrong, sleeping in airports is fun. But it's the miserable kind of fun that only feels satisfying because you are saving so much money.

It took me half a day to get to London and I was only traveling because Melissa was nice enough to let me visit places for the weekend. (I'd leave Friday afternoon and get back Sunday night.) So I would leave as late as I could the night before my plane left, usually 5:30 pm, getting into London at 10-12 pm. It was too expensive to get a hotel and too late to stay with relatives.

2. If you must sleep in an airport, bring a book. Don't bring Finnegan's Wake. Bring Nelson Demille. You will be awake more than you are asleep. You want the kind of book that would keep you awake in normal circumstances. Some people bring movies, but I don't know, if I'm tired, I can't concentrate on a movie. And I'm scared I'm going to lose or break the laptop. With a book, as soon as I'm done, I leave it on a bench for the next traveler.

3. Look for a crowd to sleep with. I feel much more secure when I'm sleeping with a bunch of other travelers. When I sleep alone, I'm afraid of cut throats and purse snatchers. Finding a crowd at the London Stansted is easy, since the place is teeming with sleeping people. The problem will be finding a bare spot of tile.

Gatwick was tougher. I moved from two different sleeping spots before I found a crowd sleeping outside of the shops. Then I slept like a baby.

I never did find a crowd at Heathrow. And I slept horribly.

4. Bring fruit and nuts. Airport stores close early and you will be hungry.

5. If you are in the Wolverhampton railway station at 2 in the morning and the next train to Aberstwyth doesn't leave till 6:35 am and it is bitterly cold, the best place to sleep is in one of the the elevators. They are outside the locked building and even though they aren't heated, you won't feel the wind. I read all of Louis Theroux's The Call of the Weird in that elevator. I didn't sleep till I got on the train the next morning. It was a pleasant night.

Sick/ Sleeping in Airports

1. I got a horrible cold last night. I'll only be working half the day. My co-worker is just getting over it. She's had it for a week.

2. This is my new favorite website. http://www.sleepinginairports.net/ . It is a review and guide for sleeping in airports. I've slept in the Los Angeles, London - Heathrow, London- Gatwick and London - Stansted airports. My favorite is Stansted since there were so many other people sleeping. It had a real camping-out feel. All the chairs were taken so I had to sleep on the floor with my backpack as a pillow.

Gatwick was nice also, they kept the lights low. I wasn't crazy about Heathrow since I couldn't find chairs without armrests, I only got about 2 1/2 hours of sleep, but I had a great Nelson Demille book, Wild Fire to read.

I wish I'd known about this website so I could find the comfortable areas. I might be spending the night in Chicago O'hare airport later this year and you bet I'll study up.

La Jolla beach, New York Book Expo

1. I've been neglecting the blog recently. That will end tonight. Till I get tired of blogging, I'll be blogging 5 times a week.

2. We went to the beach for the first time in a long time. Eli was nervous but he got over that quickly. Deborah was nervous the whole time. Robin was not nervous except briefly when a surprise 2 inch wave, knocked her on her back and submerged her. But Robin is pretty good natured and I picked her up awful fast and she shook it off like a champ.

We found an excellent Mexican restaurant right next to the San Diego Temple. I had a Carne Asada and Shrimp burrito.

3. I'll be in New York City for the Book Expo of America. While there I'll get an advanced copy of the sequel to Hunger Games, Richard Russo's new book and AJ Jacobs new book about being a guinee pig.

If I see any plays, I'll probably see 39 Steps and Our Town.