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ERG Conference and Dallas Pride Day 1
Sep. 12th, 2018 11:59 pmWEDNESDAY
Boarding the Double Tall at Everett Station I noticed a youngish lady with a large assortment of bags strapped to a cart. We sat downstairs in the back so I could stow my luggage. Transferred to the Link train at Westlake Station, just missing one train but the next was less than 10 minutes after. Didn't see Matt (balloonbear) this trip, I think his office has moved. A hot tall ginger otter with a thick beard exited the train at International District-Chinatown station. I noticed the art installation inside the Beacon Hill tunnel switched to signal flags from playing cards.
As we arrived at the airport, an older dude fell on the escalator from the skybridge level up to ticketing, leaving a shoe and a camera bag to ascend without him. He seemed more worried about the possible damage to the camera than his own injuries if any. Seeing there were plenty of folks assisting him, we took the elevator instead. They shut down the escalator and people walked up the stopped escalator like ordinary stairs. I quickly got my bag checked in and left Gary by the end of the incredibly long but fast-moving line for TSA. They changed things up by going tray-less, so everything had to go in your carry-on and we could keep shoes on and electronics stowed.
Once through security, I looked at the food directory and decided to take the train to the North Satellite before grabbing an early lunch. I had the club sandwich with chips, coleslaw, and an apple cider which proclaimed itself "semi-dry, just like the Pacific Northwest." Diagonally opposite me was a hot bear with a thick brown beard and matching ponytail. I could only see the hair of his lady companion and mistakenly guessed her to be significantly older than he, but that was cleared up as they left.
When I got to the gate our plane hadn't arrived yet. A big black bear with a thick goatee in a woolly cap and hi-vis jacket passed the jetbridge driving a baggage cart. We were about 20 minutes late pushing back from the gate. A petite elderly woman in pink with hair dyed to match had to be assisted to the lavatory and back to her seat. I arrived at my window seat within seconds of the cute young otter-pup in the middle seat, which made for a few uncomfortable moments but I managed to settle in and secure my seat belt nonetheless. Maybe an hour into the flight there was a minor medical emergency toward the back of the aircraft, so a call went out for a doctor and the flight attendant grabbed an oxygen tank from an overhead bin near me. As I gathered my belongings I noticed some dude left his boarding pass in the seat pocket in front of me from the previous flight. Thinking I should bring it back home and shred it. There was a bit of a scrum at baggage claim because three flights all had their baggage show up at the same time.
I caught the shuttle van to Terminal A and the DART train downtown. The train was nice and cool. Along the way Facebook sent me a message saying "Welcome to Irving." At Medical District station a lady sat in front of me and asked which station to use to catch the commuter train to Fort Worth; after checking the map we figured it was Victory station. There a young black bear bigger than either of us, with a gnarly pointed goatee, boarded the train wearing a black ball cap, black T-shirt with a skull on it, khaki shorts and a black backpack. He left at the next stop, West End. I left two stops later at St. Paul and walked the two short blocks to the Sheraton.
My room looks out onto a rooftop, like Cincinnati. But it's a big room with two queens. 😊 The entire hotel is under renovation. The lobby bar and restaurant, as well as the front desk, have been relocated to former meeting rooms on the 2nd floor. Since it was late (9:30ish) and I was hungry I checked out the restaurant. They only have a buffet, but it's pretty amazing for a temporary space. Dry rub spareribs, risotto, black beans, brisket, braised pulled chicken and pork carnitas for tacos, cheese rolls with prosciutto, salad, bread and spreads, and tiny desserts. The waiters were a tall black dude and a cub who reminded me of Edric.
I was going to hang out in the bar but I didn't know any of these pretty people in the bar... and that's just the men.😁 They were also showing that UFC reality show on FS1 which caught my attention for a few seconds. I suspect most of the folks in the bar were attending the code.org event in the adjacent ballroom, for which they had the hallway closed down. Instead I returned to my room, watched the news and caught up with Gary by phone. He told me the Seattle Storm won their third WNBA Championship in as many tries, and they would be having a victory parade on Sunday while the Pride parade is going on here. I got to sleep about 12:30.
Boarding the Double Tall at Everett Station I noticed a youngish lady with a large assortment of bags strapped to a cart. We sat downstairs in the back so I could stow my luggage. Transferred to the Link train at Westlake Station, just missing one train but the next was less than 10 minutes after. Didn't see Matt (balloonbear) this trip, I think his office has moved. A hot tall ginger otter with a thick beard exited the train at International District-Chinatown station. I noticed the art installation inside the Beacon Hill tunnel switched to signal flags from playing cards.
As we arrived at the airport, an older dude fell on the escalator from the skybridge level up to ticketing, leaving a shoe and a camera bag to ascend without him. He seemed more worried about the possible damage to the camera than his own injuries if any. Seeing there were plenty of folks assisting him, we took the elevator instead. They shut down the escalator and people walked up the stopped escalator like ordinary stairs. I quickly got my bag checked in and left Gary by the end of the incredibly long but fast-moving line for TSA. They changed things up by going tray-less, so everything had to go in your carry-on and we could keep shoes on and electronics stowed.
Once through security, I looked at the food directory and decided to take the train to the North Satellite before grabbing an early lunch. I had the club sandwich with chips, coleslaw, and an apple cider which proclaimed itself "semi-dry, just like the Pacific Northwest." Diagonally opposite me was a hot bear with a thick brown beard and matching ponytail. I could only see the hair of his lady companion and mistakenly guessed her to be significantly older than he, but that was cleared up as they left.
When I got to the gate our plane hadn't arrived yet. A big black bear with a thick goatee in a woolly cap and hi-vis jacket passed the jetbridge driving a baggage cart. We were about 20 minutes late pushing back from the gate. A petite elderly woman in pink with hair dyed to match had to be assisted to the lavatory and back to her seat. I arrived at my window seat within seconds of the cute young otter-pup in the middle seat, which made for a few uncomfortable moments but I managed to settle in and secure my seat belt nonetheless. Maybe an hour into the flight there was a minor medical emergency toward the back of the aircraft, so a call went out for a doctor and the flight attendant grabbed an oxygen tank from an overhead bin near me. As I gathered my belongings I noticed some dude left his boarding pass in the seat pocket in front of me from the previous flight. Thinking I should bring it back home and shred it. There was a bit of a scrum at baggage claim because three flights all had their baggage show up at the same time.
I caught the shuttle van to Terminal A and the DART train downtown. The train was nice and cool. Along the way Facebook sent me a message saying "Welcome to Irving." At Medical District station a lady sat in front of me and asked which station to use to catch the commuter train to Fort Worth; after checking the map we figured it was Victory station. There a young black bear bigger than either of us, with a gnarly pointed goatee, boarded the train wearing a black ball cap, black T-shirt with a skull on it, khaki shorts and a black backpack. He left at the next stop, West End. I left two stops later at St. Paul and walked the two short blocks to the Sheraton.
My room looks out onto a rooftop, like Cincinnati. But it's a big room with two queens. 😊 The entire hotel is under renovation. The lobby bar and restaurant, as well as the front desk, have been relocated to former meeting rooms on the 2nd floor. Since it was late (9:30ish) and I was hungry I checked out the restaurant. They only have a buffet, but it's pretty amazing for a temporary space. Dry rub spareribs, risotto, black beans, brisket, braised pulled chicken and pork carnitas for tacos, cheese rolls with prosciutto, salad, bread and spreads, and tiny desserts. The waiters were a tall black dude and a cub who reminded me of Edric.
I was going to hang out in the bar but I didn't know any of these pretty people in the bar... and that's just the men.😁 They were also showing that UFC reality show on FS1 which caught my attention for a few seconds. I suspect most of the folks in the bar were attending the code.org event in the adjacent ballroom, for which they had the hallway closed down. Instead I returned to my room, watched the news and caught up with Gary by phone. He told me the Seattle Storm won their third WNBA Championship in as many tries, and they would be having a victory parade on Sunday while the Pride parade is going on here. I got to sleep about 12:30.