UA 171 BOS SFO 0600 0931 752 2D Ch9

Woke up with horrid red patches in my throat and mouth
and a tongue that was thick as a beef. Contemplated
cancelling this run, but there were friends to visit.

I forget under what circumstances I showed up at the
airport, just that I rolled in through security and then
pretty much straight onto the plane.

Ch9 announced as on; had the creepy music instead. Asked the
male FA about it, and he said that they were doing something
up front, and it would fade in and out (this a paraphrase;
the words he actually used seemed incomprehensible and off
topic to the point I don't recall what they were). After we
reached cruise, I asked a female FA about it, and she said
she'd get back to me; she didn't.

I felt rotten and passed up the canonic fruit plate or
cheese omelet in favor of sleep. Courvoisier stung my throat
like aqua regia; I knew something was dreadfully wrong. I
slept hard through most of the flight. FT in the Club, and
then off to Soluna, a hippish lunch place (iDine, too) to
see what my poor ravaged upper GI could tolerate. Service
was solicitous and pleasant.

A cup of chicken vegetable was impressive: it tasted pretty
much like what I'd make at home, and, especially given my
current condition, was welcome welcome. I ordered a crab
cake sandwich senza bread "with a few leafy greens" (bread
would have been far too abrasive) and they gave me a crab
cake, sort of salty and mediocre, with a mountain of baby
lettuce, mizuna, and beet greens. Pretty nice, and I could
gum it all down with minimal pain. I thought the sorbet trio
would provide some relief, but though the sorbets were well
done, they were too acid for me. Cassis, some kind of
citrus, and pear. I enjoyed the pear because it was so mild.

A glass of Tamas Pinot Grigio, normally the most inoffensive
of wines, burned my throat.

After the fascinating Bhutan exhibit at the Asian Art Museum
(half a block from the restaurant) I went to Plumpjack for a
consultation - I needed the fattest, lowest acid Chardonnay
available. After considering the Rombauer and its second
label (forget the name, Farmer Brown or something), I
decided on the Talbott Chardonnay Sleepy Hollow 06. I'm
rather fond of the long-lived Talbott whites. That set me
back between 30 and 40. And then the crowded Muni bus back
to Alamo Sq Seafood Grille, where squeakr had kindly made a
reservation ... and then, with Bob, pulled out on account of
illness. The FTers pulled out one by one - W2F had family
obligations; magic had jetlag or something; there was a work
crisis for Vinnie. And it was down to goalie and me. I
drowned my sorrows in a giant Krusovice [sp?] Schwarzbier
and a crab cake appetizer, which was fine, though the crab
(not unlike the earlier one) was not, shall we say, in its
first youth. The Talbott was fat and almost soothing.

At last, another FTer! Palal and his friend Alex showed up
to share wine and have a few snacks, so FT was vindicated;
in spades, as it turned out, as 8 assorted friends summoned
by these two, pleased the restaurant by making us up to our
original reservation of 12.

For dinner I had bouillabaisse, whose fish was somewhat
overdone. This would not have been a major problem but for
my issues, so I could just as well have been choking down
razor blades. Oh, also, the aioli was pre-stirred into the
soup, so I was presented with a curdled mess. I was still
happy to get some warm liquid and sustenance.

goalie, thank you, got me to the airport plenty early.

I won't go into how or by whom I was disserviced, but here
are the contents of the UA amenity kit at SFO: cheap comb,
cheap toothbrush, .85 oz Colgate (made in Canada), razor
with H20+ cream, H20+ Bath Aquatics body balm, shampoo,
conditioner, shower/bath gel, and deodorant. All in a
niftyish black zipper bag.

UA 158 SFO ORD 2315 0512 777 2F Ch9^

I don't know how I got a middle section seat. Probably in
my delirium I thought it was a 757 or something. Surprise:
I slept fine in this seat, and the legroom was slightly
better than on the edges. There was a deli plate offered
- I refused it. We landed a hair early, and I went to the
Incomparable club, where trying to make a fake mimosa I
took my orange juice and tried to top up with diet Sprite:
surprise! the thing had been booby-trapped, and there was
fizzy water all over the place. At least it was sugar-free.

UA 524 ORD BOS 0641 0959 319 2D Ch9^

The flight was fine, senior FAs working well together. A
few bumpies, nothing serious. My favorite GA greeted me on
arrival. I got meinca123 into the RCC and then hightailed it
to Mass. General, where they looked at me with some alarm
and then prescribed me high dose Cleocin for ten days with
the admonition to take better care of me in future.

And so I made it to my competition, where I was in favor of
awarding three 3rd prizes, but I was overruled by the
bleeding hearts who gave the normal 1st, 2nd, and 3rd.
In the reverse order from my preference of course, but then
I should be thankful that the ones I didn't want to get
awards didn't get them.