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Have missed off on a couple of days of Blips because I have been away at the annual AWP Conference, this year held in Washington, DC.

But I did manage a passable shot today. This one is of the Union Station in DC - its lovely ceilings, its old world charm...

I took my train back from DC and my conference shortly after noon today. The conference was, as usual, overwhelming and overstimulating. By the end of today, some folks were making jokes about what circle of hell Dante might assign to the lower lobby level of the conference at 6 pm.

I only but got to go to two plenary sessions/directors' meetings, then two panels, back to back, in which I was either presenting or being impresario (thank you to all of you lovelies who came out and supported these events). And in between, helping tend our MFA program table at the Book Fair hall.

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Mostly, this conference trip has been memorable for the reunions I had with some dear friends...

On Wednesday night, Jillisa took me to a wonderful little restaurant called Ripple, one stop from our hotel, where we shared stories for three hours. We both had the surprising and delightful warm apple soup; then she had a three course cheese plate, and I had a salad of arugula, pinto beans, and slices of smoked duck sausage. We finished off by sharing a bowl of milk chocolate cremeaux studded with sea salt and a crumbly wafer of roasted cocoa nibs. The neat thing about this restaurant is that all of its ingredients are locally sourced from within 200 kms.

Last night, my old college professor Benjie Abellera (who has made Silver Springs his home for the last nearly thirty years and some) came out after the last class he'd taught for the day, to meet me for dinner at my hotel. The last time I saw him and his wife Vicky was in '92, but only for a very brief hour. Benjie is not only a very dear friend who comes from Baguio, but also the godfather of my two oldest girls. We spent an unforgettable and emotional five hours of catching up...

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My four and a half hour train ride back would have been more pleasant if the a/c had been working, and if there were a tray table (I was in business class???) and a little more leg room. Still, I persisted, and got through reading and making comments on a student's graduate thesis, scheduled for defense very soon.

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Today, too, Dave Bonta of Via Negativa informed me that my "Dim Sun, Dim Sum" poem is my 50th post on The Morning Porch (and my 54th poem). Sweet!