In which mama is deployed to foggy California

So this is Day Two of all Daddy, all the time at home while Mom whiles away her time at the meetings of the North American Paul Tillich Society. A few oddball things so far: did you know they make binder clips in an even teenier version than the standard teeny version? So cute. Also, the Pinkerton Detective Agency is still doing well enough to post warning signs on doorposts in California - I should get a picture of their very nicely designed logo. And, these NAPTS folks are so nice and welcoming and funny and they drink with great gusto. I've made notes to ask specific presenters for copies of their papers (they get published in the newsletter but I'd like them early) for my research and picked up a nice description of the sort of fine comparision I'm doing in my project, which happily I wrote down because I've forgotten already. Then Bunny and I went to dinner and it was a great meal and very good company. You might not think a dinner of academics devoted to the work of Paul Tillich would be funny as well as interesting (although gossip, you take for granted), but you'd be wrong. And the sessions at the conference have been very good so far. The whole think proper starts up today.

Because I'm still nominially on Chicago time, I woke up at four and went to the fitness center of the hotel (which, btw, is the nicest place I've ever stayed, and has unusually lush towels and a well-designed modern-but-not-cold overall decor and has two separate places to eat and get coffee within steps of the front door). I discovered that I can run two miles without stopping on the treadmill, a feat which I have not (to put it mildly) achieved under Actual Use Conditions, like being outside. I think maybe the controlled incline is a factor. Because (quite sensibly) the TV attached to each treadmill can only be used with headphones, which I don't have, I watched a silent-movie version of "When Harry Met Sally" and frankly it still holds up pretty well. Now I'm in the business center checking my email (a vanity project if ever there was one!) and I'm about to go wrangle some coffee.