There's so many things to be

I'd fallen asleep the moment my head hit the pillow; I usually need some time to get to it. I figured to wake up around 9:30, giving me a half-hour to ready and then eat a leisurely if prefabricated breakfast at the hotel's mini-dining room, and then pack, check out, and go into town for the afternoon. In fact, I woke about 10:15, the Internet was still not working, and although I showered and packed and moved stuff to the car I found that breakfast had ended at 10:00. The woman cleaning up, though, asked if there were anything I wanted and was happy to bring out for me the scrambled eggs (no omelettes left), bagels, and a banana which she was just cleaning up. I know the alternative was probably that the food would be thrown out, but still, I appreciated her kindness.

Also while double-checking that I had not left anything behind in my hotel room I had a very confused conversation with the room service guy who was concerned that there was something missing or askew or awry in the room that I was being too shy to ask about. I think I eventually convinced him that the room was just fine and I was simply making sure I hadn't overlooked anything. Still, as interactions go I was keeping to about 50-50 with the hotel staff.

It was a little slower getting checked out, although there wasn't fresh confusion about who if anyone was paying for my hotel room. The school had it covered. I tucked everything but my messenger bag, reading material, and books into my car and got on the free shuttle to the metro station.

Trivia: The first written record of Basque laws, the Fuero General, was written in 1155, in Spanish. Source: The Basque History of the World, Mark Kurlansky.

Currently Reading: SF 12, Editor Judith Merril.