Took a vacation day and went to Rockport with B.A. and just bummed around. On the way home, we stopped for dinner at Spud's in Woburn.

Went to Foxwood's Casino for the first time with K.V. and S.B. It looks like something out of Disneyland. Ate dinner there though I was surprised at how expensive it was. I thought that casino's had cheap meals but apparently not. Played the slots for awhile then went to the Barry Manilow concert. I know what you're thinking but he's really very good.

Very tired so I just relaxed all day with my feet up. They were kind of swollen anyway.

Visit to Dr. Carl again to have those braces tightened.

Vacation day. Flew to San Jose airport and found my way to my old roommate's house in Palo Alto. Stayed with Mark and Jane for a few days. Their little baby, Andrew, is adorable. He fell asleep sitting up and was slowly starting to tip, kind of like the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Mark and Jane took me into San Francisco today. Walked around Fisherman's Wharf, stopped for an Irish Coffee near there, then went walking around Chinatown.

Mark and I went over to the Haight-Ashbury section of San Francisco. I bought a pair of boots and then we had lunch at Cha Cha Cha's. We had the best sangria! Afterwards, we went walking over to the Golden Gate Park and ran into a Hare Krishna festival. That was pretty wild! For some reason I always thought there togas (or whatever they are called) were white but most of them were sort of a tangerine color. We moved on from there to the Electric Boogaloo. That was hysterical! It's a section in the park where people rollerskate around to music. You would think these people thought they were on TV. I kind of felt bad for them but they were having a good time so I suppose I shouldn't feel bad. I just hate people looking stupid. We then drove up to an area that I can't remember the name of. It's an area above the Golden Gate Bridge and you can park your car and look down at it. It's really beautiful. Then we headed back to his place since I had to head out to Monterrey before dark.

The drive to Monterrey was somewhat terrifying. It was so dark and I had no real idea where I was going. I finally found it and got to my hotel--the Hyatt Regency. I was even able to go check in for the Usability Professionals Association (UPA) Conference that evening.

This is still considered a vacation day since the conference really doesn't start until tomorrow. Lillian wasn't going to arrive until later so I didn't know if I would know anyone here yet. Since I had the rental car, I walked through Monterrey--down to Cannery Row and their Fisherman's Wharf. Then I did the 17 mile drive. I stopped at Pebble Beach and actually considered golfing it but decided that wasn't the best way to spend my money since it would cost around $400.00 to play and even more to get a golf cart and rent clubs. Later I heard from Lillian that her and her husband played that course and a few others and they weren't that impressed with Pebble Beach. So, I bought the requisite sweatshirts and went on my way.

Went shopping in Carmel for a while and then ran into Carole L. from our Seattle office so we had dinner down at Fisherman's Wharf.

The UPA Tutorial started today.

The actual UPA conference starts today. The keynote speaker this year is Scott Adams, the creator of the Dilbert comics. He's not that funny in person which is kind of sad. His Dilbert comics are the best. Got my picture taken with him and had him sign a few books.

Last day of the conference and then it's time to head home. Took a puddle jumper from Monterey to LAX and then home.

AspenTech company picnic at the Milton Academy.

Dinner at Buff's Pub in Newton Corner with B.A.

Dinner at K.V.'s with Bette, Daqing, and Judy.

Vacation day. Headed back to Michigan for my 20th year class reunion. As soon as I got there I ran out to my favorite hair salon and got my hair cut and highlighted. Later that evening, G.W., C.C., and I went to Stretch's Bar in town and met up with Steve Johnroe, Mike Schmidt, and Karen Krueger, who were also in town for the reunion. Steve and Karen used to date and hadn't run into each other for years so that was kinda cool.

Went up to Alpena to visit my grandparents.

Took my niece, Rachel, to lunch. I always let her pick where we will eat and she chose Ponderosa. Her day care lady used to take the kids there a lot and told the kids that they have dog food at the buffet. I'm not sure which thing is supposed to be the dog food but the kids love the idea of it.

Then it's time for the dreaded class reunion. I love/hate these things but ended up having a good time. It's funny how some things don't change. There was one girl in high school who was always quite large and had this loud, LOUD, unusual laugh. She was known for her laugh--you have NO idea! Anyway, her and her husband were sitting at my table though I hadn't recognized her, and apparently nobody else had either. She looked great. She had her stomach stapled and had lost a lot of weight. Anyway, at some point in the evening, she let out her laugh. Everyone at the place stopped what they were doing when they heard this, stood up and gave a standing ovation with huge smiles on their face--the type of smile you get when you remember something great from a long time ago. That started the evening off to a great start for everyone.

Dinner at Mom and Dad's.

Caught my flight back to Boston. Glad that reunion is over with.

Back to Dr. Carl to have my braces tightened again. I'm getting the hang of this now. Always have soft food the day that I get my braces tightened.

Went to the Backyard in Newton with K.V. Ran into Susan P. on the way in--that was a nice surprise.

We had a lunch at work to celebrate Beta 1.

Today we get a free day off for all the people that worked on Release 10. Yay!

Went shopping at Faneuil Hall, over to downtown crossing, and then to Newton to the Backyard with B.A.