I'm sitting in another hotel room in Hotlanta.

The computer is in front of me, mass quantities of chinese food are piled around me, I'm catching up on all the blogs I haven't had time to read lately. It's great. Sometimes work requires time to catch up, even when that's not its intention.

It's intention is to get me to yet another conference in Atlanta, but after flying in airplanes or sitting in airports all day and then sitting in a shuttle waiting (praying) for the clock to strike 8:00 so we can leave ground transportation and i can actually be transported somewhere, after all that, it has allowed me the opportunity for peace and reflection.

But of course I'm starving after I get to my hotel at 8pm. So peace comes at a price. The kind lady at the front desk hands me several menus of local restaurants who deliver since I obviously don't have a car.

Italian place. . . pizza joint . . . pizza joint . . . i'm noticing a theme . . . chinese. Okay chinese, but only because they have crab rangoon or "Crab Angle" as they call it at Dragon Palace. I peruse my friends' blogs, check email and hear a knock on the door. My food has arrived, and I'm slightly amused that the delivery boy borrows a pen from me to scratch my credit card number onto a receipt kind of like we used to do with crayons on gravestones. But food is now in hand and I open it up. There's two fortune cookies on top which probably indicates that I ordered enough food for two people and I'm not the only one who thinks so. But the crab is good and so are the egg rolls. After two bites of the cashew chicken though, I begin plucking out all the chicken because I get paranoid I'm eating cat, and because as much as I always talk myself into ordering it, I really don't like meat. But rice mixed with cashews and veggies is yummie and is now sitting as leftovers beside my computer, probably stinking up my room which I won't notice until I come back to the hotel tomorrow and discover my room reeks of chinese food.

I digress. Or digest.

Both.

So I should be writing a learning report for my supervisors at CBF that was due April 15th. Oops. Instead I'm reading my brilliant friends who write about God and beauty and Paris, cursing my lazy friends who are neglecting their blogs and of course me, and debating whether or not to go to my ex-boyfriend's wedding.

Just the norms of life people. Nothing ever changes here.

My fortune cookie reads, "Be willing to apologize and the world will become smaller."

Thanks a lot. Mostly I've been apologizing to myself lately. Myself and the cats who have borne the brunt of my travels.

Maybe the second one is better. I'm weary of opening it though because then I will be forced to eat it for the sheer fact that it's a fortune cookie and I can't resist it, even if the first one kind of tasted like an orange peel.

Let's just do it. Who wants to write a learning report anyway?...

Holy shit. It contains two fortunes. What does that mean? Do I read them both? Is only the one on top really meant for me? Do I really believe this crap anyway?

1. "A four-wheeled adventure will soon bring you happiness."

Hmm. No road trips planned. Plenty of plane trips though. There's been no rain in Texas so mudding's out even though I've never been mudding and have no intention of ever going. Maybe it's a metaphor.

2. "Listen these next few days to your friends to get the answers you seek."

Interesting. Very interesting...

Several observations may be made. One - I'm at a conference with 9 other residents to discuss our jobs, goals, etc. etc. etc. We will hear from our bosses, we will hear from each other. We will go away resolute and renewed. Two - I've been asked to speak for about 10 minutes Friday about either my ordination or something that I've learned recently and then receive 5 minutes of feedback from fellow residents. Three - I just had a dream in which I was trying to get home but was unable. Along the way I met several friends who, try as they did, could not help me find home. My interpretation of the dream? Only I can get me to where I need to be emotionally and relationally. This third thought lies in direct contrast to the cookie's advice however. So maybe the cookie is just foretelling observations one and two.

Maybe I'm overanalyzing this.

Maybe I've spent too much time by myself since I arrived in Hotlanta.

Maybe I'm too hot.

Maybe I should write my learning report.