a discovery

Came back up to my room from breakfast to find that the cleaning lady had opened one of my windows. I did not know that the windows at the Serena opened. Good news.

In other news, the trip over was unremarkable apart from me putting my benadryl in my checked bag and therefore having more trouble sleeping on the IAD-IST leg than I should have, and the most insistently loud baby I've ever been near on a flight squawking and crying and burbling for four and a half hours on the IST-DYU flight. Thank goodness for ear plugs.

In Istanbul I hung out with Mark and Mike in the Turkish Airlines lounge after a prolonged search for some wi-fi in the main part of the terminal. It was available only in the food court...for $15. Yeesh. Luckily Mark was on Skype and I asked him to let me in as a guest to the business lounge. Free food, free wine, free wifi. And quiet.

Now it's off the office for round one of meetings. Not sure I've ever had less idea what to expect from a trip.

the aleph

Borges's imagination was just on another level - not many people can pull off obvious allegories and metaphors, overtly surrealist imagery, with such gripping stories. The translation I read is very good; someday I'd like to try the original Spanish but a few of the stories would be indecipherable at anything below real fluency.

stoner

Finished John Williams's book Stoner last night. It's a mercilessly sad book, beautifully written. Not feeling coherent enough right now to write more, but it definitely made an impression.