I am home. All went well in Chicago this week. This afternoon I realized that the first time I stepped outside all week was when I caught the El to Midway. It is too convenient that my hotel is attached to the office. At night I watched La Femme Nikita episodes and ordered a bowl of chili from room service. In fact, this week I worked really hard on not overeating. I resisted the sweet potato fries and chocolate bars. I ate salads and other healthy foods. I also realized that people who work in Collections are innately evil. On the plane ride home, there was a man who seemed to suffer from an intense fear of flying. He kept breaking out into song during the flight. As the plane leapt from the tarmac, he sang, “I will survive, as long as I know how to *fall*, I know I’ll stay alive!” As we touched down in Philly he sang, “I survived the crash. Survived the burn. Survived the worst, yeah baby, but I learned.” It was strange. Very very strange. Almost as strange as one of the people in my department telling me he lost his ability to swallow.