So I spent the last weekend in LA visiting my sister. She's been living down there since she attended UCLA, having graduated two years ago.

I kind of don't really like her boyfriend. It's not an active dislike, I just don't favor him at all. And I think I should, that is, my sister should have a boyfriend that I like. I can tell she's not totally content with him (as it should be). Like, yeah, everybody has faults, but I'm not saying he should be perfect, I just don't think they're a match. They've been together for over two years, though, but I think that's mostly due to the fact that they're both such stable people rather than that they're so great together. My sister said to me that if she ended up marrying him she feels as though she'd be settling, and quite frankly, I agree.

On a lighter note, here are some treats from the trip.

Headlines from the inflight magazine on the way there:

• The Phoenix Luv Classic was a Success, Not a Circus
• Medicine: A Wrinkle in Time
• There are easier ways to attract attention.
• Winning the Investment Game

People in the airport as they pass (and what they are holding):

• man in full-length white tights running on crutches
• aging blonde holding purse, water bottle, and photo album
• man strolling, wearing a fedora, his jacket slung over his shoulder, carrying a book entitled Chinese Civilization
• woman in pink pants snapping her gum
• one other man watching people: black clothes, silver watch, arched eyebrows. avoids my gaze.

Self-observations:

• I write more when I am away from home
• I think I'm too good to actually read the onboard magazine
• I like to think myself observant

Headlines from the inflight magazine on the way home:

• Come to your senses. All five of them.
• Yield for Enchantment
• For a day or a lifetime
• The truth has set us apart!
• The Skin Game

Reporting from LA and San Francisco, this is correspondent Delphi L. R. Hale M., signing off.

1:28 a.m. 2003-08-05�