Downtown!

Heading to downtown Chicago today! I can't wait! Brenda and I are going to meet up after she is done with work, and we will see what trouble we can get into. I have several places I want to check out.

I wonder if the Lisle Starbucks folks will miss me? I've spent hours (and dollars) working there this week. It's nice to get out for a change of scenery sometimes. The writing life can get lonely when it's just you and the computer. The dogs always tend to lay around napping and aren't much for entertainment.
Yes, those are two BIG dogs snuggling -- Hooch the French mastiff and Sugar the pit bull.

Today's coffee goal is to find one of my beloved CARIBOU coffee shops. A standby in the midwest, they are nowhere to be found in the south.

I have two big articles in progress for the September issue of Connection magazine. One is almost done and the other is getting there. Once again, these are light on quotes -- but I am learning to embrace that as my trademark. Instead of letting quotes do the work (aka write the story for me), I let my writing shine. At least, that's what I tell myself. My editor and readers don't seem to mind.

I'm looking into some software I ran across yesterday that is basically speech-recognition software. For $99, I am not sure how reliable it would be, but it may be worth a look-see. It would sure take some major stress off my shoulders when it comes to interviewing people!