Ana arrived last night into Phoenix, and since she didn't have any checked luggage, she got to the hotel rather quickly (despite the laziness of the shuttle driver and his slowness in picking her up). We chatted on the phone while she waited for the shuttle, and then when she got to the hotel we chatted up a storm as usual. The hardest part was knowing that we had to go to bed (since it was midnight in AZ, but really 2 AM to us), and trying to be quiet. :) We just had too much to catch up on.
I've been back at the Sheraton today again for the second part of the business class. It's rather boring today... ugh. Yesterday we had fun discussing all sorts of things since Carol was there, but since she can't be here today, Ann is going over numbers with us. She is great- she has trouble with numbers herself, so everything she has calculated is laid out for us nicely in a Power Point presentation.
Numbers are booooring though, no matter how you present it.
Right now I'm having lunch at Mi Amigo's Mexican Grill by myself. I don't really feel very social at the moment... have a headache and really would like to have a margarita... but I feel that it wouldn't be a very appropriate lunch beverage. Ha.
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It's now evening and I just made it back to the hotel. I REALLY am having a hard time figuring out this city for some reason and the Light Rail is no help. Of course, on my first try I was at the wrong platform for the wrong bus. From now on I should just go to the other one that my instinct tells me to go to. :) I recognized a guy from the class that I was in today and knew he was a local, so I asked him which train was the one I was supposed to ride. He pointed me in teh right direction, to the other platform. Thankfully.
As I was sitting there waiting for the train, a lady was standing near me waiting as well. She looked nice and normal so I finally asked her how on Earth you're supposed to tell which train goes which direction. The Light Rail train tracks are NOT labeled with East/West, North/South directions. Instead they only have labels on them as to the future stops. So if you're not from Phoenix and don't know which way Tempe is or the airport is, it's a little bit tricky to navigate. The light rail is brand new, and I think they may need to re-assess this labeling bit they have going on. Ha. I'm going to send them a letter! Right.
So as this lady was explaining everything to me about how the South Mountains look like one big flat mountain, and to the North is Camelback, this way is California and that way is Tempe... things finally started to make some more sense. When things got quiet, I asked her if she was from California then (since she said it was "that way"), and she replied, "No, I'm from the mid-west." Of course I couldn't keep my mouth shut and asked where, and she told me Council Bluffs. What a small world. So for the rest of our wait and the rest of the ride, we talked about the midwest, the frigid weather, a bit about Omaha and other sorts of things. It was very nice to talk to her and made me feel more at ease about being on the train by myself.
Ana went to Sadona today and took my camera with her. I can't wait to see her photos. In the meantime, there is a cocktail with my name on it waiting for me in the consierge lounge... and yes, I'm a bit down that I'm not at Del Frisco's for Rich's birthday party. :( I'm hoping that Nathan talks my dad into ordering Heartland Stickleback that we liked so much. Just for fun... http://www.klwines.com/detail.asp?sku=1036161
