a few things

It's a mellow Friday night. Conrad got home about an hour and a half ago, we've had dinner (salmon), we're sipping wine and dealing with a few things related to finances and our upcoming Hawaiian vacation (YES!!!!). Some music playing. A good weekend ahead, according to our plans.

So let me get caught up.

I shan't worry about where I last left off and try to figure out everything I've done since. Instead, a few highlights:

A visit to TK.

And Michael, who doesn't care to be photographed. And Coney and Buster, my two favourite dogs in the world.

Go ahead, ask me how much dog hair I brought home on my clothes. Those dogs got some love from me! A quick weekend in Baltimore, but for a chance to see my best friend (and really, I can never say enough good things about Todd) and enjoy conversations while strolling around the lake? So worth it. Add in those banana desserts

at the Taste of the Town fundraiser event, and, well, we've got a memorable visit indeed.

Vancouver. An even shorter weekend there, but enough time to get in a good run around Stanley Park followed by breakfast and coffee at Safari Cafe.

Ah, Safari, we have missed you. Never close, Adam, please. Time spent with friends,

birthday cake,

and some new furniture.

Oh, and have I mentioned how freaking gorgeous that city is in the spring sunshine?

A return to Girl and the Goat. Eric was in town,

so we caught up over some small plates and (for me) drinks at the bar. I'm a fan, though I've only been there a few times. The shishito peppers once again were a star.

Breakfast with a library bigwig. Well, he might not think so, but Jeff lit up the library blogosphere last year. It was a real pleasure to sit down with him for a leisurely meal and discuss matters related to our profession and otherwise. And may I say that the man has some fine suits and shoes!

Small plates and cocktails at Erwin.

It's not that far south of Yoshi's, and yet it's mostly off our radar, sad to say. Conrad was out of town, but Michael

happily came along while I used up a Groupon. French fries, properly salty.

Yum!

So that's the world of Peter lately, and much food involved, of course. I will need to do some trimming down for a conference in Anaheim next month, but for now, I am content. And oh so happy to have Conrad home!

so... that was Dallas...

I've been to Texas a handful of times before. San Antonio for Midwinter years back, Austin (and area) a few times more recently with Conrad (he's a UT alum). I liked San Antonio. I LOVED Austin. This time around it was Dallas. Not a vacation, however. No, this was conference travel, ALA Midwinter 2012.

I don't comment on work on this blog. I just won't do it. I will say before anything else, however, that no matter what I feel about my workplace (good or ill), I absolutely love my involvement with the American Library Association. I mean, seriously, there are so many good and interesting people I've met and continue to get to know. I find conferences rewarding on so many levels: content, networking, committee work, friends, dining, sightseeing. So let me point you to the report I posted in an official capacity and move on from there.

I would normally start off this post with talk of TK, my best friend. Assuredly, he will appear. But Midwinter in Dallas marked a milestone: ten years of knowing Martin. We met at the GLBTRT all-committees meeting in New Orleans in 2002 and started rooming together the next year in Philadelphia. Over the years we've become good friends. I cannot tell you enough how very much I like and respect this man (and do please vote for him as ALA Councilor-at-Large!). He puts up with all my high maintenance drama in the hotel room, and he has gotten me into some really terrific receptions and other social events. And we've killed many hours late at night talking about the Association and many other assorted bits of gossip. Dallas was the latest chance we had to spend time together, and I'm grateful for that. Did I mention that you should vote for him?

Added to that mix: TK. Yes, yes, I just saw him a handful of days before the conference when Conrad and I were in Baltimore. I don't care. I will happily take any opportunity to spend time with TK, and if it means that we can add in the library gossip to boot, then great! Plus, as lovely as it is to have our husbands added to the mix with us, the conference rooming together means that he and I can rattle off names and concepts without worrying about leaving them out of the conversation. TK had a very prestigious awards committee appointment that culminated in Monday's Youth Media Awards, and it was genuinely thrilling to see how bubbly he was over the whole thing. I couldn't wait to hear about it all after the award was announced and he could finally talk about it. I'm so very proud of the work he did.

I didn't dine out especially well in Dallas, I have to admit. In part it was because I had a working dinner one night, catered in to the hotel room of the ALA President-Elect. Another night I had three receptions all on different floors of the Dallas Public Library,

so that took care of dinner there. Lunches were usually pretty casual as well - assuming I even had lunch. I did manage pizza one day with my friend Peter, though. Other than that? Some mixed experiences.

A Thursday dinner with TK at Wild Salsa.


Reportedly, the librarians almost drank the whole place out of tequila on Saturday. I'm unsure why we're supposed to be so proud of ourselves for consuming booze. Big deal. Ah well. We had tasty food there, and it was a very good price. A belated celebration planned for TK's birthday. There was a Saturday dinner with TK, Martin, and CG at Dream Cafe. That took a hotel shuttle to get to, and it was a curiously quiet restaurant. Nonetheless, we had a good meal, again not too pricey. Enjoyable! On the Monday night, TK, Martin, and I headed to Samar.
I liked a few of the shared small plates, but the table we had near the bar was awful, there were a few not-so-great dishes (the whipped walnut oil on one was kind of disgusting), and by the time we left, I was in a foul mood.

Happily, there was a little place near our hotel that had just opened very late last year. More of a bar than anything, but they had a small and decent menu. It's called The Chesterfield, and if you want to have fun with cocktails, then check it out some time. In two days I managed to get there four times. ;-)



I didn't see much else of the city. It was hotel ---> conference centre ---> hotel. Repeat. I got to swim once with Liz over at an amazing fitness centre at the Baylor Medical Campus, but that was the farthest afield I got. On the other hand, the conference centre did have good coffee at the Starbucks, and it was convenient for meeting friends (like David). And as the days went on, I found myself busy at Council and happily engaged.

I don't know that I'm keen to get back to Dallas, but that's quite unfair given how little of the city I saw. It would be good to see Liz and Peter again, and get back to Chesterfield. And maybe dine at some new and better places. Ah well. The conference was fine, however, and now I just await Conrad's return from his own work travel.

More photos in the Flickr set, and do check out the photos others posted from the conference.

birthday surprise

No, not my birthday - that's months off, and given my advancing age, let's keep it there, thank you. No, it was a surprise for TK that took us to Baltimore last weekend.

Backing up a moment, I should assign credit. If I remember correctly (and never assume that I will), it started back in December when TK's partner, Michael, called to say that Mark and Maureen
were coming for the weekend in January. Did we want to come too? Mark and Maureen, by the way, are Todd's brother and sister-in-law, and their visit was to be a surprise, too. So it was that I spent about 5 weeks hiding the truth from the man whom, other than Conrad, I consider my best friend. It ultimately devolved into outright lies about me taking a trip downstate for work last Friday just so he wouldn't wonder why I wasn't showing up online at all through much of the day.

Oh, TK, I am so sorry.

Judging, however, by his reaction when he got to Roy's, I think I'm forgiven.

He was stunned, quite simply. Oh, in a good way. He was happy to see us. But it was a real surprise for him. Curiously, for all that I hate surprises done to me, I loved this one. Again, sorry TK.

It was a terrific weekend. Michael had done a great job of selecting some restaurants. Dinner at Roy's on the Friday night.
Brunch at Wit and Wisdom the next day (few photos from that, but the food was quite tasty). A party at Phillip's on Saturday night with much to nosh on.


A generous brunch at Langermann's on Sunday.


Oh, and gelato in Fell's Point on Saturday afternoon! Conrad and I left Baltimore with full bellies, I tell you.

But best of all was just getting this unexpected opportunity to see TK, see Michael, see Mark and Maureen. Get some quality time with two of my favourite dogs, Coney and Buster.
Belly rubs!!! I got a bit of a lakeside walk with TK just so we could talk a little together, enjoy that quiet and easy friendship. After the cheerful hubbub of the party the night before, it was a real pleasure to find a sunny, peaceful moment together on Sunday.

I very much hope it was a good birthday for TK, a fitting celebration for his landmark. Tomorrow night will be one more celebration, a dinner we'd planned for in Dallas well before this surprise weekend was thought up. No surprises this time, though. TK, I promise.