Returning to random...

Back in sunny (but much cooler than when we left it) Chicago. It was funny -- the mornings in Austin started out much cooler than the mornings here in Chicago, but by afternoon, it was always in the 80s. When we left, Chicago was in the 80s every day, too... but now it would appear that Chicago has remembered that it's only March, and perhaps 40 or 50 or 60 would be more appropriate. I may have to turn the heat on for a little while...

Random stuff:

Today is Rick's first official day at his new job. Since he's working from home, this means that his commute consisted of walking across the hardwood floor to his study. Such an inconvenience on a chilly day like today -- that hardwood gets really cold. :) (He'll actually be traveling a lot, so his "commute" is about to get a lot more complicated...) His new work laptop arrived while we were in Austin -- it's hard not to laugh at the fact that it's a Dell...

It was nice to see Austin looking so green when we were there -- last time we visited, they were still in the middle of a drought, and everything looked rather dead. In fact, as we were flying in, I looked out the window of the plane and attempted to guess our location. I was thinking, "it's too green to be Texas... maybe we're over Arkansas..." And then the pilot announced that we were beginning our descent into Austin. Well... I was WAY off... The grass is green again, the trees are green, the bluebonnets are blooming -- it's nice that they have something to show for all the rain they've been getting lately...

We weren't lucky enough to be upgraded to first class again on our flight home. Oh well. :) We DID, however, score a couple exit row seats... exit rows are good for the extra leg room, but the downside is that they're right over the wing, and the droning engine noise can be annoying. I actually had to pull out some earplugs last night -- I always carry them when I fly, but I hardly ever use them. But I was already fighting off a headache, and the constant engine roar was starting to make my head feel perilously close to implosion. But stretching my legs out whenever I wanted was definitely a plus...

Hey, I just noticed there's a tree across the street covered in green... spring has definitely arrived in Chicago earlier than last year, when the trees were bare until after we returned home from our California trip at the end of April. We're a good month ahead of schedule. Or maybe last year we were behind schedule... I haven't lived here long enough to know for sure...

Well, this morning's oatmeal breakfast is failing to stave off my hunger any longer, so I'm off to find lunch. Hope everyone had a good weekend...