How to Fly Across the Country for the Weekend and Not Stay Overnight

Friday
9-10:00 am perform office work with Nala in tow
10:00 – 11:15 teleconference with AAJ committee. Anne takes Nala for a walk and brings her back.
11:15 – 12:30 Meeting with co-counsel and new client who is in full rigid body brace. Nala tries to tip her over.
12:30 – 1:15 Put Nala in car. Head to court but first stop off at Whole Foods Interbay as frig is bare. Pick up fruit.
1:15 – 2:00 Drive. Park. Walk into courthouse. Early. Chit Chat. Go inside courtroom and watch Judge Shaffer make a ruling on another case.
2:00 – 3:00 Status conference with Judge Shaffer and a dozen or so other attorneys on “the case which shall not be named.” Though it can actually be named because Judge Shaffer takes a moment to remind the defense that freedom of speech is okay.
3:00 – 3:30 Debrief with Andrew. Smile with pleasure. Walk back up hill to car. Drive Nala home.
3:30 – 4:00 Alysha has arrived. Put fruit in frig. Run upstairs. Take off lawyer clothes. Put on sweats.
4:00 – 5:30 Drive with Alysha to No Bonz Tiki Bar in Ballard and have favorite vegan meal of eggplant sticks and Caesar salads with blackened tempeh while watching continuous loop of movie Blue Crush.
5:30 – 5:40 Drive home.
5:40 – 6:00 Sit down do a bit more email and let stomach get some rest. Pull on running gear.
6:00 – 7:15 Cruise with Nala through Queen Anne.
7:15 – 8:30 Come back. Shower. Change. Lulu lemon tights. Sleeveless tunic. Short sweater. Northface coat. All black. It’s going to be colder there than here. Pack smallest duffle bag with computer and earphones. No extra clothes. Kiss Alysha goodbye. Nala watches me go.
8:30 – 9:00 Drive to airport
9:00 – 10:30 Do everything to get to airplane and get seated. Take a Nyquil as have had cold since Tuesday. Hoping it will knock me out. It doesn’t. My legs are twitching. Cannot get comfortable.
10:30 pm – 3:15 am which is now 6:15 am Arrive at Dulles airport WA DC.

Saturday
6:15 – 6:30 Go to restroom which is empty. Brush teeth. Put contacts into red eyes. Add a little mascara and give up on anything else.
6:30 – 7:15 am Take cab to Ritz Carlton for AAJ spring board meeting that starts at 9. Do not check into hotel. Do not go tidy up. Do not change outfit. Locate meeting room. No one is there.
7:15 – 8:15 am Since no one is there yet walk to Whole Foods. Buy and eat package of raspberries, old fashioned donut and drink some water. One of the two other men who are also eating appears to be finished. He is bent over. His face on top of the magazine that is lying on the table. Snoring.
8:15 – 8:30 am Walk back to hotel. Look at Chihully display on wall. Find another bathroom and brush teeth again.
8:30 – 12:40 am Say hi to AAJ staff. Sign in. Sit down. Read agenda. Watch meeting. Semi doze through part of it. Try my best not to. Pretty sure have caught most of the highlights.
12:40 – 1:00 pm Meet with Maria – co-board member from Washington state.
1:00 – 2:00 pm Make way back to airport. Arrive 3 hours early.
2:00 – 3:00 pm Walk up and down the B wing several times. Buy eye cream at Clinique counter (how handy). Consume delicious French fries from Five Guys. Buy a salad (to counteract French fries) for trip home.
3:00 – 4:30 pm Wait. Internet connection is poor. My devices won’t let me use the airport wifi because apparently it isn’t good enough. Call Noelle who is lying on a towel in her backyard sweating in 80 degree weather.
4:45 pm Board p lane. Ticket is rejected. Go to counter. Alaska my love has bumped me to first class.
5:30 – 6:30 pm Plane takes off. Guy next to me is already asleep. Since already napped during the meeting am now wide awake.
6:30 pm – 7:30 pm. Diligent maître d presents meal of gnocchi , salad and roll. The gnocchi looks and tastes like a Styrofoam peanut. Cover it in red sauce.  That doesn’t help. The salad could have been good except the suppliers forgot to stock salad dressing. The roll can’t be justified due to too many potatoes. They take away meal. Pull out salad from Potbelly and eat the top of it. Very nice.
7:30 pm which is really 4:30 pm.  Realize there are four more hours to go.

Why don't I stay at least one night in DC.  Because Sunday is Mother's Day.

Photo: Red eye flight to DC.