First things first

Passport arrived! Jay called me while I was at the airport in Detroit (on my way to Denver for a wedding) to let me know that the FedEx guys pulled into the driveway at the same time Jay got home. Yay!

As another note of praise for Bernie Sanders's staff, Kelly called me to confirm that she had been tracking the package and that it looked like it had been delivered safely. I am in awe.

I have free wireless in the hotel here, but last night it was EXTREMELY slow, so I'm just now getting around to the tag Sue stuck me with. Gosh. So, seven random facts or habits about me...

1. I hate the telephone. When I was cell phone only for five years, it was not uncommon for me to use twenty minutes TOTAL for an entire month. I think it's because I'm not an auditory learner by any means, and that if I need to really listen and retain information, I either have to write everything down or else it will be pretty much gone five minutes after I disconnect, except for the general ideas. No wonder I prefer email.

2. I've always had really long fingernails. Not intentionally, but just because they grow really fast and are pretty strong. I can't stand for them to be uneven though, so from the time I was about 9 years old, I've always carried a nail clipper with me.

3. I don't know if I actually dream in color, or whether I just remember certain things as having particular colors. Last night I dreamed that someone braided extensions into my hair with long red ribbons. (Clearly, I've been watching too much America's Next Top Model.) I also remember a dream in which my then-boyfriend (not Jay) was sitting at the end of a driveway juggling a basket of blue oranges. (I'll leave the interpretation to you on that one...)

4. When I was in seventh grade, my best friend's mother (a professional artist) offered to give me private lessons for free after seeing my sketch book. How stupid was I to turn that one down. D'oh.

5. I've always been pretty shy, but sometimes I can fake an outgoing chatty personality really really well, and with no alcohol involved. It works best when the people around me are either also shy, or don't know each other either. (In other words, weddings are prime.) Other times I morph back into the little girl hiding behind mom's skirt. But I can put it on when needed. Good to know, I think.

6. The trip starting Tuesday will be my ninth trip to Europe, but will be the second time in England. However, on previous trips I only left London twice - once to visit a friend in Edinburgh, and another to visit a friend in Oxford. Both of those trips were in October, so I've never actually been to England when it wasn't raining...

7. I like cats. Jay says I am part cat. Cats like me. Unfortunately, ever since my childhood cat died in 1998, I have had a brutal allergic reaction to cat dander. First the skin that came in contact with cat starts to itch, then turns red, and if not promptly washed, will break out into ginormous hives that will spread across my body until I kick them out with a nice 5-9 day course of steroids. So when people ask if I like cats, I say, "Yes, but the steroids are a killer."