We're in London, and so far so good!
It's great to relax after a very hectic few days, especially with my cuddly surprise gift, Prince Harry, pictured above. Thanks to excellent foresight and planning, we decided to move all of our worldly possessions into storage in the midst of a record heat-wave. [1] Moving TJ's things proved especially interesting as he apparently has an aversion to boxes. [2]
I learned this when lifting his boxes into the U-Haul truck. It turned out the circled numbers on each box - 86, 78, 93, etc - were weight. In pounds. I guess after his first few boxes weighed in in the high 70s and low 80s he just accepted this as the "New Normal" (insert geeky economics joke here). [3]
We spent our last night in Chicago at the Swissotel next door to my apartment, and had drinks and brunch with friends before heading to the airport. The 8-hr flight to Heathrow was uneventful [4] - I got to watch a bad action movie, TJ actually slept [5], and my new fuzzy travel wrap was every bit as warm as snuggly as anticipated.
Walking through airport terminals has been an interesting and bittersweet demonstration of the brain's effort to recognize patterns. I keep thinking I see Boothies, which is interesting because it's the first time I've noticed this subconscious mechanism since discussing pattern recognition and expertise in Jim Schrager's class last quarter, and bittersweet because this particular pattern - so consistent the past two years at Booth - is coming to an end as my classmates disperse to all corners of the earth.
Food note for our favorite foodie, Ms. Aya Ibarra: If you're ever in Heathrow's Terminal 5, we recommend stopping at Gordon Ramsey's Plane Food. The Bloody Mary was hot (curry, maybe?), the onion and apple cider soup was amazing, and the Caesar salad was full of anchovies, pancetta, and parmesan. [6]
We board our final leg, the 10-hr flight to Johannesburg, in 2 hours. From there we'll hop on a train to Sandton, where one of our employers is graciously meeting us.
Wish us luck driving a stick on the "wrong" side of the road!
_____
TJ insisted on footnotes (footnotes!). I am not responsible for what follows:
1. Not sure it it was formally a record, but three straight days of mid-90s and high humidity when this time last year the threat of snowfall had just barely subsided seems worthy of comment.
2. A base canard.
3. In retrospect, this is actually pretty much how it went. After the first two boxes weighted 90 and 80, respectively, everything else seemed light.
4. Jess LOVES to cut it close on arriving at the airport. For her, checking luggage should be a mixture of argument and negotiation worthy of the Grand Bazaar; navigating security checkpoints a game of chicken with security officials and tourists alike; and an attempt to reach the gate in time... well, if it doesn't look like the mad sprint worthy of the London Olympics it's an opportunity wasted. THANKFULLY reason (with myself as agent) gripped her and convinced her of an early taxi ride.*
5. Two whole hours! Freakish!
6. Yum!
*Editor Note: This is a fair assessment, but ask him whose bag was heavier...
It's great to relax after a very hectic few days, especially with my cuddly surprise gift, Prince Harry, pictured above. Thanks to excellent foresight and planning, we decided to move all of our worldly possessions into storage in the midst of a record heat-wave. [1] Moving TJ's things proved especially interesting as he apparently has an aversion to boxes. [2]
I learned this when lifting his boxes into the U-Haul truck. It turned out the circled numbers on each box - 86, 78, 93, etc - were weight. In pounds. I guess after his first few boxes weighed in in the high 70s and low 80s he just accepted this as the "New Normal" (insert geeky economics joke here). [3]
We spent our last night in Chicago at the Swissotel next door to my apartment, and had drinks and brunch with friends before heading to the airport. The 8-hr flight to Heathrow was uneventful [4] - I got to watch a bad action movie, TJ actually slept [5], and my new fuzzy travel wrap was every bit as warm as snuggly as anticipated.
Walking through airport terminals has been an interesting and bittersweet demonstration of the brain's effort to recognize patterns. I keep thinking I see Boothies, which is interesting because it's the first time I've noticed this subconscious mechanism since discussing pattern recognition and expertise in Jim Schrager's class last quarter, and bittersweet because this particular pattern - so consistent the past two years at Booth - is coming to an end as my classmates disperse to all corners of the earth.
Food note for our favorite foodie, Ms. Aya Ibarra: If you're ever in Heathrow's Terminal 5, we recommend stopping at Gordon Ramsey's Plane Food. The Bloody Mary was hot (curry, maybe?), the onion and apple cider soup was amazing, and the Caesar salad was full of anchovies, pancetta, and parmesan. [6]
We board our final leg, the 10-hr flight to Johannesburg, in 2 hours. From there we'll hop on a train to Sandton, where one of our employers is graciously meeting us.
Wish us luck driving a stick on the "wrong" side of the road!
_____
TJ insisted on footnotes (footnotes!). I am not responsible for what follows:
1. Not sure it it was formally a record, but three straight days of mid-90s and high humidity when this time last year the threat of snowfall had just barely subsided seems worthy of comment.
2. A base canard.
3. In retrospect, this is actually pretty much how it went. After the first two boxes weighted 90 and 80, respectively, everything else seemed light.
4. Jess LOVES to cut it close on arriving at the airport. For her, checking luggage should be a mixture of argument and negotiation worthy of the Grand Bazaar; navigating security checkpoints a game of chicken with security officials and tourists alike; and an attempt to reach the gate in time... well, if it doesn't look like the mad sprint worthy of the London Olympics it's an opportunity wasted. THANKFULLY reason (with myself as agent) gripped her and convinced her of an early taxi ride.*
5. Two whole hours! Freakish!
6. Yum!
*Editor Note: This is a fair assessment, but ask him whose bag was heavier...
You both can count on careers as writers as a backup plan to your consulting jobs. Smart and witty...so much fun to read...FYI...aka Aunt Carol
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