I had a good time in Chicago, hanging out with Greg and all the cool writer kids. It would have been perfect if Greg had won the Nebula, but I'm still proud of him and happy that the story got the attention it deserved.

This was my third visit to Chicago, and I always enjoy my time there. It lived up to its designation as the Windy City. Cold, too, but that didn't stop us from taking a few lovely long walks through downtown.

For those who are wondering, my eardrums survived both flights. In fact, my ears behaved remarkably well considering all of the warnings from ear specialists over the years. Hardly any pain at all. Greg's poor hand that I clutched frantically throughout the flights probably suffered a lot more than my ears did. Let's just say that, although I wasn't in pain, my fear of flying didn't go away.

Going that fast was cool, though.