Well, I had written some stuff while in the O’Hare airport, and then while I was on the plane to San Jose, but I forgot to save it. I’m afraid that you’ll have to deal with my memory as it stands.

TUESDAY

I got there before the United people did. E-tickets are good, but I still couldn’t check my luggage until the United peoples showed up. Got that all taken care of after meeting a single-serving friend (clever!) from Flint who works for Delphi (used to be AC). Talked about the old plant that used to work at, and the general state of the city. Went through security, which was surprisingly quick and easy. No fluids for me, electronics in their own bin, and through. I guess I looked at it as a way to let my feet breathe while they were bombarding my shoes with radiation. Heh. I’d guess that security at Detroit Metro would be much more of a hassle than it was at Lansing, just due to the difference in size. There wasn’t room (or time) to bring out the laptop in the flight between Lansing and O’Hare. We had about 10 minutes after we reached cruising altitude before we began our descent. I just sipped my coffee and enjoyed being on a plane.

I had 50 minutes at O’Hare, which was surprisingly little time. The flight boarded twenty minutes before its departure time, and with terminal-to-terminal walking, I had about fifteen minutes to grab some food. I opted for a Chicago-style dog, which I devoured happily. Forgot to ask for no hot peppers, but they were easy to take off.

I was lucky enough to get a window seat for the trip from O’Hare to San Jose. I was slated for a middle seat, but the window person never showed, so I had a window -and- elbow room. I only cracked my laptop open for the tail end of the trip, because the noise of the engines was enough to read by. The flight was smooth and uneventful. Very nice.

I got a wee bit confused when I got to San Jose. I had forgotten to print out the 511.org directions about using public transit to get to the hotel. I’d also spent most of my cash, and the ATM was out of service, so a taxi ride was out of the question. I talked to the guy at the service desk, who asked which hotel I had booked with. He called them up, and they had a shuttle service that would pick me up and take me to the hotel for free. Score! Once at the hotel, I took my hungry belly over to the hotel restaurant, and had some amazing seafood linguine in a light cream sauce. Just delicious. Fresh seafood really does taste different, by the way.

Shortly thereafter, picked me up and we headed to the BART station. The transfer station between BART and CalTrain had an enormous parking garage for commuters to use. Smart! We parked there, and took the BART into the city. We hit our stop, called up and decided to meet at the Castro Theatre. So we went a level up and caught the MUNI subway to the theatre, and walked around the block (up and down as opposed to any sidewalk here, which is more horizontal). We saw Metropolis, a silent sci fi movie, and it was awesome. Culture, on a Tuesday night! We followed that up with a trip to a burrito place (that is famous and I can’t remember its name) and then to Zeitgeist, the bar. Due to a glass-stacking/table-pounding incident, I did come away bleeding, but only a little. :) Good bar, but crowded. Crashed hard at the hotel, after signing up for two wake-up calls and a shuttle ride to the interview.

WEDNESDAY

Got up in plenty of time for the interview. I even had time to fuss downstairs in the lobby before the shuttle was scheduled to go. I didn’t get too nervous, and Yahoo! was kind enough to both caffienate and feed me. I thought I tripped up a few times, but I apparently made a good impression. After the interview, with my internal clock messed up and the lack of sleep piling up, I crashed for a two-hour nap. I got up in time for to pick me up for a little trip to downtown Sunnyvale for some foods. We’d both heard good things about the Indian restaurant down there, and as Arun from LiquidWeb will tell you, I can’t shut up about Indian food. Fast to naan! Anyway, the place seemed a bit dressy for our casual getups, so we chose a Thai place across the street. We had a great variety appetizer and I had some delicious chicken in yellow curry sauce. Good conversation was had, and I once again stayed out too late. She dropped me off at the hotel, and I arranged a wake-up call for 3:30 and a taxi for 4:45, so that I would be ready for my flight at 6:20. Yes, those times are AM.

THURSDAY

I got packed up and checked out on time. The dude behind the counter pulled some BS about giving my cash deposit back, and said it would have to be mailed in a check. I’ve got to call the accountant back and verify my address, but she won’t be in until tomorrow, so *SHRUG*. It was a low enough value that he could have just handed me the cash, and that would have been fine. Oh, and the cab ride was highway robbery. $40 to the airport. The ride home from the Lansing airport, which took longer, was $15. And the Lansing cabbie was nicer. Anyway, the flights back were bumpier than the ones there, as weather around the midwest was stirring up a bit. Nothing frightening or uncomfortable, just a bit bumpy. I didn’t have time for food at O’Hare this time, as I had less time between flights. I landed safe and sound in Lansing, and took a cab home. I would have preferred to take the bus, but it wasn’t going to show up for another two hours, and I was hungry. So, taxi it was.

Buddy is still sniffing anything that went along with me on the trip. Little does he know… ;)