Oakland

I expected a reprieve from the smell of urine that permeated my clothes and respiratory system while at the VA hospital, but a business trip to Oakland has kept the dream alive. Now don't get too bent out of shape, I'm sure Oakland generally smells like roses but the hint of urine in the air turned into a literal stream when I rounded a corner and practically ran into someone relieving himself on the street. Going along with the rough-around-the-edges impression, I was awakened in the middle of the night by some booming bass. I finally called the front desk to complain and their response was "oh yes, we've already called the police." I made sure that the chain lock was on the door before going back to bed.

I'm here for a couple of days of meetings and things are going swimmingly. I was upgraded to first class going and coming. I did a little shopping in Berkeley. Had a nice dinner at a French restaurant. Ran into an old coworker while in line to sign out of the lab (random!). And head home tomorrow.