All my flights in the US thereafter, I took my passport. Just in case.

Well, the running joke with Cincy/Northern Kentucky is that you need a passport to get from one to the other anyway.

Well, I know that Terminal One at O'Hare has a lightshow. This doesn't mean that Detroit doesn't.

Detroit also has a really cool fountain that squirts water arcs. A mini version of a Vegas fountain.

Hear ye, hear ye! beathen and Kalshane, I hope one of you checks this tonight, but in the event that you don't, it's technically okay since we're just going off the contingency plan anyway. Come here at 2 as planned.

Then why did you say anything? Was there an original plan I should be aware of?

Mind the gap.

Umm. Isn't that more for the subway?

they've taken my carryon for the test where they run a piece of gauze over the zipper pulls with a pair of tongs and then run the gauze through some machine. I've been told that this is testing for either explosive or drug residue. (Different people I've asked about this have given me different answers.) I've never had this happen at any other airport, and I've never seen them test anyone else's luggage.

I can't believe that Lee and Sean haven't spoken up to mock me yet.

When we were in San Fran for the Nilly tour and were about to fly from Oakland to LA again, they very patiently waited for me as I:

• got tagged to get my bag hand-searched before being checked
• got the little swabby test
• set off the little swabby test ALARM, which caused them to then unpack my entire bag while I watched (and don't think I wasn't grateful that I didn't do the um...exotic San Fran shopping I'd considered)
• watched as they repacked my bag, badly
• finally got cleared me to go through security
• set off the security alarms and had to be searched
• sheepishly finally cleared security and then ended up boarding my plane before they did, even though their plane was scheduled to leave first

I had issues.

Some lotions can set off the swabby test. Glycerin, I think.

They told me it might be any type of powdery substance. I barely managed to avoid calling the Lush products in my suitcase "bombs".

Hee.

"No, BATH bombs! Not explosives! No, really... they smell really good!"

Hear ye, hear ye! beathen and Kalshane, I hope one of you checks this tonight, but in the event that you don't, it's technically okay since we're just going off the contingency plan anyway. Come here at 2 as planned.

Got it P-C.

Can't really weigh in on the flying thing much, as I've only flown twice in my adult life, both times from O'Hare to New Orleans (though it was to visit a friend living in Baton Rouge so my actual time in NO was minimal) and I didn't have much in the way of the problems. The first time went completely flawlessly. (The only hitch I had was my friend getting stuck in traffic and ending up an hour late picking me up from the airport.) The second was shortly after 9-11 when the new security measures were in place. I got stopped and searched at each of the checkpoints at O'Hare. (It felt very much like "Look at this tall, blond guy we are searching. See how non-discriminitory our new searches are?") and then the plane was delayed 15 minutes because of mechanical trouble, but my flight still landed on time. Of course the new security measures didn't seem very effective considering all you had to do to bypass them was flash some kind of Airline Employee ID badge at a very bored looking guard without even breaking your stride. I watched about 10 people get waived through in this way while waiting at the first checkpoint.

SA, what should I stock my cupboards with for you? I mean, I figure we'll go out for dinner, but what about breakfast/brunch/second breakfast/elevenses and also snacky food? You drink o.j., IIRC. Bagels/muffins/cereal/all of the above? And if so, what kind? Snacky food -- salty snacks/cookies/??? And if so, what kind?

Don't worry too hard about it. If you have some spare corn flakes or cheerios, I'm cool. You know my opinions on donuts. Everything else is cool.

I was going to say, there was a light show at O'Hare, but someone already mentioned it. I don't really like it--I had to walk through it during my Plane Ride From HELL over the summer to Cincinnati, and ever since it's had bad associations with heavy things and severe annoyance.

Well, the running joke with Cincy/Northern Kentucky is that you need a passport to get from one to the other anyway.

HAH! Very fucking true.

Well, I don't know if there's anyone left besides me going to Ann Arbor next weekend, but I will be there. I took Friday off to drive out to my aunt's house. If I leave in a timely manner, I should get there between 4 and 6pm. I'm open to suggestions on when and where to meet, if people aren't all burnt out with the F2F things. I can well understand if P-C and the Miracleborns say, "next time."

I'm not going to let a chance to hang out with SailAweigh go...away. I'm not so much burnt out on F2F things as allowing them to impede my work, so I'll probably want to keep my time to a minimum. But I'll work on planning something.