Plane Crashes

are scary. Plane crashes being reported a year in advance are even scarier:

Russian Plane Crashes, Another DisappearsA Tupolev 154 comes in for a landing at Moscow's Vnukovo airport in this August 29, 1996 photo. A similar Tupolev 154 flying from Moscow, Tuesday, Aug.24,2005 with 46 people aboard went missing three minutes later near Rostov-on-Don, about 965 kilometers (600 miles) south of Moscow but authorities had not found any wreckage, There was no word on survivors. (AP Photo/Misha Japaridze, File)

To think of all I'm ignoring while here in paradise. Did I mention that I did something on this trip that I've never done before? I actually unpacked my bags in a hotel. Crazy. Just in case any of you were concerned, the most stressful thing to happen to me today was when the poolside waitress dumped the remains of my Mahi Mahi sandwich on me, perhaps irreparably staining my swim trunks (I typed "bathing suit" first, but had an irrational thought that that necessarily implied female swimwear - weird). Looking forward to another solo dinner at the sushi bar tonight, since room service was horrid last night. When I did the sushi bar Sunday night, I met another nice couple, here on vacation from Santa Barbara. they had just been to NY for the first time last month, and were trying to get me to explain the neighborhoods of Manhattan. Not an easy thing to do when your audience displays a fundamental lack of understanding:

Nancy: Yeah, I couldn't get him [husband Dave] out of Times Square. Now, what do you call Times Square - is that like "upstate New York," or "the Village?"

LiAps: Uh, Times Square is pretty much its own area. You call it Times Square.

There were several similar exchanges, which I'll spare the readers. Nice people. I'll tell you, as little as I want to be away alone for much longer, I'm not all that excited to get back to real work. Hopefully I'll have most of the long Labor Day weekend to recoup, post pictures, and readjust.