Whew...

See that?

That's a clean desk top, complete with a desk blotter that's already had the inked-up, coffee-stained March page torn off. April's page sits there, a tabula rasa, because I won't walk back through those doors until April 6.

Yep. That's my office, the way I left it at 7 pm last night

The last 6 weeks or so have wrecked me. I'm about 15 pounds overweight, the result of too many surveillances, too many schedule changes, too much fast food and too many jibaritos while driving around Chicago looking for the last few pieces of the puzzle that we need to solve our open murder. My skin looks pale and saggy and I'm just getting over a wicked cold. I've only run a couple of lethargic 2 or 3 milers in the last month. The shitty gray weather has suited my mood most of the time.

But things are looking up, now that I'm away from the desk you see pictured above and everything that goes along with it.

I leave for Dallas tonight, shoot a training video tomorrow and then come home Thursday. Hopefully I'll have time to visit the Book Depository and the grassy knoll along the way.

This time next week we'll be eating a big-ass southern breakfast at the Blue & White Restaurant in Tunica, Mississippi, on our way down to New Orleans. I might even have pie after breakfast. When we're back from spring break in New Orleans I head right into my favorite job-related event of the year, the ILEETA conference, where I will shift gears from gorging myself on rich food to gorging myself on law enforcement tactical swag.

Now it's time to get the youngest to school, get a haircut and pack my bags.

See you later, alligators.