they call me...el diablo loco

feeling a bit loco myself after this madcap journey to minneapolis. i can count the number of times i've been able to sleep on an airplane on one hand, and the return trip to chicago was one of them. of course, i'd gone to bed at 6 a.m. and gotten up two hours later to head to the airport, so i was in dire need of rest. didn't even feel us take off, that's how out of it i was, and when we landed, my only indication that i was to wake up was my torso lunging forward in the seat when we bounced onto the runway. YangBoss and i were shuffling through o'hare like a pair of zombies and hit the end of the c concourse without even realizing we'd passed the baggage claim a good 10 gates prior. we literally stood there looking around blankly at the gates in front of us prohibiting any further walking before we could make ourselves turn around to find how we'd gotten off track. we continued in our sorry state down to the carousels and stood for about 15 minutes staring in vain at baggage coming out from another flight before spying one of our banner cannisters sitting off to the side. more zombie stares ensued until YangBoss said, "Agent99, look over there." and lo and behold, here comes our two suitcases on a totally different carousel, the only bags remaining from our flight since we took so long to to drag ass down there. we was some seriously sleepy peeps.

the convention was successful for us. our showcasing artist grabbed 40+ forms and i got my hooks into a few schools i'd never booked with before, which is always a good thing. the new booth made its debut to oohs and ahhs, so that 10 grand seems to be well spent. it was a hell of a lot easier to deal with in the airport than its predessor, for sure. a few highlights of the week:

* random handshake with jesse ventura as he left the podium after his address to the convention attendees. upon seeing him cross paths with mr. belding, YangBoss proclaimed, "now that's a good 'chocolate in my peanut butter' moment."

* getting my first taste of absinthe in the company of a magician, juggler, contortionist, a dope dealer lecturer and their ladies. according to the regular drinkers there, the evening's mixologist wasn't giving the potion its full power, so i wasn't lucky enough to have any fun hallucinations. hated the licoricey taste anyway, so i don't think i could have stomached enough to get me drunk anyway. back in the day, i would have sucked that stuff down with a quickness, but not so much now. they were delightful company, though, so it was kind of them to share.

* being accosted by "el diablo loco" and his crackheaded cousin in the skyway. a kiss on my hand gave way to a hasty trip to the bathroom to disinfect.

* made some new pals from the PurplePlanet's comedy improv team. there's nothing like being selected the winner of a smokeout for two, especially with such a hilarious guy. after indulging, i traipsed back into this bizarro party for geeky advisors and witnessed some kind of kumbaya singalong in the dark. escorted in with the command to, "go on! just join in!", i feared we were inadvertantly joining a cult meeting, but saw that it was nothing more than some overbearing woman forcing her bad singing on the group. when "you are my sunshine" was deemed the appropriate encore, i knew it was time for me to jet. i guess this is somewhat similar the type of stuff we did during "hair" parties (and that's a stretch, really), but these folks are here on a professional basis which therefore makes kumbaya time a little much in my book.

readying myself to continue on the meet 'n greet path with a visit to this greek life conference. worry not, i'm not getting back into that life, this is strictly for biz purposes. indeed, i dusted off the gamma phi and order of omega badges to look the part today. thankfully this will only entail a couple hours' worth of schmooze before i can hightail it into rush hour traffic. certain to have some moments of previous life recognition as i chat with these people. i don't regret ever joining the house back in cape girawho, but the Agent99 that stands before you today is so very different and it's just funny to come face to face with reminders of my past. back in 1995, i was a flannel-shirted wonder with about 40 extra lbs clinging to my frame and no clue about the streak of independent thinking that was going to take over six years later. now, 10 years after my days as a sorority pledge, i'm in a completely new place in my life, free of many emotional shackles and making my way in the world, slowly but surely.