A new view...

Stuffed from dinner at Carmine's tonight, which is an Italian restaurant downtown near mom and dad's hotel. And in the Italian tradition, they make sure to give you more food than a human being should be allowed to eat. (But as my grandmother used to say, "It's a party! You don't have to eat it all..." And it was ALWAYS a party to grandma -- grandma was awesome. :))

Before we left, I stopped into the ladies' room, where, at first, I thought there were two people waiting in line. But then I realized that it was a bathroom attendant and (I'm assuming) her daughter, who were sitting against the wall across from the sinks, where an assortment of gum/mints/mouthwash/tissues/soap/etc. were gathered on a tray. Now, even ignoring the fact that I have an issue with people loitering outside a bathroom stall while I'm attempting to use it (please go away... I'd rather you NOT engage in conversation three feet away from me...), I was slightly distressed by the fact that I had no money, and I know it's proper etiquette to TIP attendants. So after spending all of ten seconds in the bathroom stall (I REALLY do not like people standing right outside...), I washed my hands and, feeling a slight sense of guilt, took the towels the attendant offered me. And of course at this point, all conversation stopped, and the bathroom was dead silent. I'm sure the attendant and her daughter were both staring at me expectantly, waiting for the generous tip I was about to drop onto the tray, but all I could do was offer a "thank you" and make a hasty exit. (Note to self: next time, use the bathroom at home before heading to Carmine's. Or bring dollar bills...)

The last time I can remember seeing a bathroom attendant was at Yankee Stadium when I was a teenager. We used to go to so many games that the woman who worked there actually remembered my mom and I every time we came back. But by the time I'd moved away from New Jersey and Yankee games were few and far between, the bathroom attendants were a thing of the past. And truthfully, I prefer to find my own soap and towels in the bathroom, anyway...

And, since I probably shouldn't spend this whole post talking about bathrooms, here's what I did when I got home:

I was trying out some different settings on my camera to see what they looked like. This one resulted in a very bright cityscape...

This one made the lights look more white/blue...

Whereas this one made them look more yellow/red...

But this one is probably my favorite tonight...

And I know, I know -- enough with all the skyline shots, Lisa!! I'm just taking as many as I can right now, because our view will soon be much different:

Not horrible -- I mean, it's a great view of the Hancock building... (although actually, when you're not close to the window, it's really more like this:)

And we will have a good view of Michigan Avenue, which might be kind of cool at Christmastime when they have the parade:

Well, I'm off to read for a little while before I head to bed...