UA 308 SFO IAD 2300 0654 789 16C

Another upgrade failure. The seat was pretty okay, though, with my
legs extending into business class. I didn't bother with food but
had another glass of rough red in preparation for sleep, which
was satisfactory enough that when I woke an hour before landing
my shirtfront was covered in drool. There was a documentary film
on called Being George Clooney, which was amusing - it's about
the voice actors who dub into other languages.

UA6202 IAD PVD 0815 0943 CR7 2D

They wouldn't let me downgrade, so I ended up having my certificate
used for a 370-mile flight on a Canadair, not a good use. I'll try
to have that rectified. [P.S. It was.]

One glass of red wine that might have been from a bad bottle of the
Camelot Pinot Noir, and Byrd's of Savannah maple thins (not bad,
though the maple flavor was unconvincing), and a Nature's Bakery
whole wheat fig bar, which even though it touted natural flavors
tasted pretty weird, as if laden with artifical berries. And that
was breakfast.

If we'd landed early, I could have gotten an early train to
Boston (this whole charade took place to save $200 on my inflated
fare), but that didn't happen, so I had to wait until 1-something.
Luckily, the free 45-minute Boingo session is renewable, and the
wi-fi is faster than in most places.

So one of my chairs asked me to deliver the committee report at
the annual meeting, so I had to go to it. He sent me the script,
which made me realize that that was not the greatest idea, as I
couldn't actually read it and so had to memorize it. But during
40 minutes of dozing through numerous other submissions, I kind
of forgot my piece and had to kind of wing it in the end. I think
I covered all the points, and the incoming president later assured
me that I'd done so (he got a printed copy beforehand from Scott).
Several people at dinner commented on my "dry wit" - whether it
was mine, dry, or wit, I can't tell.

They have a new caterer since I last had to do anything at the
annual meeting. Morin's, who had for many years provided reliable
okay food for dirt cheap, has gotten too busy for our small potatoes,
and we have found a new one whose name I've forgotten but will have
to inquire about. I'd had misgivings, but the meal turned out to be
quite good, and even though the meeting had gone half an hour over,
the food didn't suffer from the wait.

First: a Bourgogne Pinot Noir from some decent house, Bouchard
perhaps, that I didn't try, confining my attentions to the
Macon-Villages 16 from Joseph Drouhin, classic minerally lemony
satisfying wine that I had three glasses of.

Statler chicken breast in savory fruity (apricot?) sauce was
quite decent, not overcooked, not overbrined. I got four wing
drummers and avoided the slices - this meant that I got plenty of
skin and something to gnaw on besides.

People told me I should try the slow-cooked salmon with asparagus,
so I did. It was likewise done pretty much the way I like (just
jiggly in the middle) but had more and longer worms than I've ever
seen before. I believe the worms were dead (not moving, opaque), but
still it was kind of weird. I had a second piece anyway. I'll tell
you if I die.

Sides included tomato-basil salad, some kind of roasted pepper dish,
and what smelled like Uncle Ben's. I didn't bother with any of these.
Also breads, which I didn't even look at.

Some of the older members were casting about for dessert, but I had
to break it to them that sweets were the reward for sitting through
the concert, which was a substantial program - Shai Wosner playing
three Schubert sonatas - any musicians here would realize this is not
only an endurance test for the performer but also for the audience.

It was two hours of butt-in-seat, and though I hadn't been too eager
at first and there only because of the promise of yummies afterward,
I admit that this guy played exceedingly well, with feeling and a
beautiful touch and an amazing expressivity and dynamic range. One of
the best piano performances I have ever heard ... though I and many
others groaned out loud when he came back with an encore. Insofar as
we were there for the duration, I frowardly hoped that it would be the Wanderer Fantasy (another half-hour of "divine length"), but it turned
out to be a cute little 4-minute Hungarian song.

Dessert was little phyllo cups filled with a heaped tablespoon of
filling and topped with half berries. There were lemon curd with
strawberry, chocolate with strawberry, and whipped cream with blackberry
and raspberry. They all were decent - I had five chocolate ones and one
of each of the others. A sparkling rose accomanied and surprisingly
stood up well to even the lemon curd. Not, all in all, worth the wait.
--- Platinum Xpress/Win/WINServer v3.0pr5
* Origin: Fido Since 1991 | QWK by Web | BBS.FIDOSYSOP.ORG (1:123/140)