It's Probably The City That Never Sleeps Because Everyone Has Jetlag

Quick, think of the most annoying thing you could ever possibly hope not to find in an airport departure lounge. You thought of a xylophone, right? I mean, obviously.

Okay, maybe you didn't think of a xylophone, but you should have. A xylophone, it turns out---especially a xylophone played tunelessly at the hands of a bored five-year-old---is probably the most irritating sound in the world, and it's not just irritating but it literally makes you anxious, all that high-pitched plinking and plonking about. Do you want to be anxious before a flight? More anxious, I mean? No. No, you do not. You probably also don't want to have charges of homicide brought against you (so inconvenient), but whoever decided to install two xylophones at gate 54 in the brand new Terminal 2 at San Francisco International Airport didn't think of that, did they?

Look, I even took a video to show you how annoying it was. Please use this as my defense if I am ever convicted. Alternatively, use it to torture any hostages you might have. I think you'll find you can get them to talk.

The rest of the terminal is gorgeous, by the way. I know we're not all airport nerds like me---What? No, I wasn't stalking Virgin America's Facebook page for pictures before it opened! You must be looking at someone else's browser history!---but it is, xylophones aside, one of the most pleasant airport experiences you're likely to have. The policemen ride bicycles inside! There's a Pinkberry and a store that sells Cowgirl Creamery cheese! One of the TSA agents bought me dinner first before she groped me at the security checkpoint! Okay, that last one's not true. But she did smile apologetically. It's a start.

So I'm in New York all week for work, which is very exciting for me because I love New York. Also, I get to work my way through this list of eats again, systematically, until none of the pairs of pants I have brought with me fit in a comfortable manner. My dad, coincidentally, is also in New York for a few days this week---he retired, if you remember, but he now does a bit of ad-hoc consulting---and so we met this evening at my hotel, which has a very pleasant complimentary wine reception, and had a drink like two important businesspeople. Then we walked to Shake Shack and had cheeseburgers like two ravenous tourists. 

There is something about seeing your family in a situation where you're not entirely expecting to see your family that is immensely comforting. All day long, I'd been holding it together like a responsible professional---meeting partners, making decisions, giving out business cards, being "on"---and then there was my dad, familiar as ever, walking through the hotel lobby to give me a hug. Man, what crazy things the world throws at us sometimes, huh? What a coincidence. What a gift.