November 7, 2025

Conference: Day 3

By Joe

Today is the final day of my conference, and I am more than ready to go home. Wednesday night, I got a touch of food poisoning—at least I think that’s what it was—from the sushi place where we had dinner. Yesterday was a rough one. I went to one session and managed to get lunch with some friends, but that feeling of “better” quickly disappeared. I ended up back in my room for the rest of the afternoon and skipped dinner entirely.

This morning, I’ll repack my bags, get dressed, and head down for breakfast. I’m a little aggravated that this hotel doesn’t start serving breakfast until 7 a.m. I like to eat shortly after I get up, and it’s not like their breakfast is anything to write home about anyway.

I’ve got several sessions to attend today and a closing lunch before we head home. Last year, my coworker decided to skip the closing lunch and drive back early. I’m hoping we do the same today.

Isabella will no doubt have plenty to say when I walk in the door. She’s always very vocal when I’ve been away and disrupted her routine. Some cats pout or act mad when you come home, but not Isabella—she’s just happy to see me. And honestly, I’ll be just as happy to see her.

I haven’t posted one in a while, so here’s an Isabella Pic of the Week:

About Joe

Unknown's avatar
I began my life in the South and for five years lived as a closeted teacher, but am now making a new life for myself as an oral historian in New England. I think my life will work out the way it was always meant to be. That doesn't mean there won't be ups and downs; that's all part of life. It means I just have to be patient. I feel like October 7, 2015 is my new birthday. It's a beginning filled with great hope. It's a second chance to live my life…not anyone else's. My profile picture is "David and Me," 2001 painting by artist Steve Walker. It happens to be one of my favorite modern gay art pieces. View all posts by Joe
This entry was posted on Friday, November 7th, 2025 at 6:00 am and posted in Miscellaneous. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

3 responses to “Conference: Day 3”

  • Rob T's avatar Rob T
    November 7th, 2025 at 9:06 am

    Beautiful pic of Isabella. I hope you feel better today and your ride back is a peaceful one.

    Reply
  • Anonymous's avatar Anonymous
    November 7th, 2025 at 6:03 pm

    When I returned after two days away my late cat, Louise, would not acknowledge my presence until the lights went out for the night. My other late cat would wait for me to sit on the sofa after a couple of days away. He would put his paw on the top of my hand and look me in the eyes in a way that said, “I was worried about you.” So sad to read about the food issue. Hope that your return home goes well.

    Reply

Thank you for commenting. I always want to know what you have to say. However, I have a few rules: 1. Always be kind and considerate to others. 2. Do not degrade other people's way of thinking. 3. I have the right to refuse or remove any comment I deem inappropriate. 4. If you comment on a post that was published over 14 days ago, it will not post immediately. Those comments are set for moderation. If it doesn't break the above rules, it will post.