November 4th, 2017

Well, that confirms it, I did see Hal at the tree. It's all real, everything. The Giants, the Ohvao, the secret society, everything. Oh, and apparently the tree is from the other side of the Ohvao. As it falls, our worlds won't just become accessible to each other, they'll merge. It won't just be people capable of crossing over. Physical objects, like that tree, will appear approximately where they existed on the other side of Ohvao. And the tricky part here is, it's not that they are appearing in our world as much as our world is appearing around them. Kinda both at the same time, because as things are meant to be, it's all one world. Splitting the world didn't just put a barrier up at a physical location as much as it created two separate locations that without Ohvao still exist in the same place.

Just trying to wrap my head around that is giving me a headache. Hal tried to describe it, but he said he wasn't fully understanding it. Because I guess there are physical spaces that were split off without separating and some is over here, while some is over there. So while some things will merge, like the tree showing up in LODO. In other cases, whole spaces of land will show up in the middle of who knows what... or where. So I guess we can expect earthquakes and whole forests showing up in the middle of a building, or something. And then we'll have Giants walking around, and we'll be the ants they're stepping on.

I don't know how this is supposed to work, and Hal admitted that Tim was in a rush and wasn't explaining things. It sounds like his secret society is having a collective aneurysm as they are realizing that the Ohvao is actually coming down. And Hal is having his own little melt down 'cause he still holds himself responsible for it. He said Tim is adamant that he had nothing to do with it, but Hal can't see any other possibility. It doesn't help that Tim isn't offering any possibilities.

So yea, I'm just a little freaked out here. My hand is shaking as I'm writing this, it's too late to call Candace, and I don't have anyone else to talk to. I just don't know what to do.

Deep breaths Rawiya, deep breaths. Let's take this one step at a time, shall we?

Max joined me for lunch at work. Now that Halloween is over, it's nice for things to fall back into a familiar pattern. Though with everything happening, I have to wonder how long this'll last. We talked about revisiting the tree, and I brought up that Candace was wanting to join us. So this coming Thursday, when I'd be visiting Candace anyway, Max is going to come over after class. Hopefully the crowds won't be as busy then anyway. I'm hoping that with Candace there, I can talk to Max about what all's going on finally. I hope she won't be disappointed that I'd told Candace first.

After work, Hal was eager to pick me up. He had a lot to share with me since the last time we'd actually talked, and it showed even as he was walking me out to his car. He didn't even bother with the formalities, or the hesitation. He ordered some appetizers as we were being seated, he even remembered what I usually get to drink. It was kind of impressive compared to his usual demeanor.

And then he got right to it. He was aware of Amy Shaun, the girl that had shown up after being missing for the last five years. We are both in speculated agreement that she managed to cross the Ohvao five years ago. We're both glad she's back, but we're considering this further proof that the Ohvao is coming down.

We talked about what happened at DIA. He's pretty sure there's something extranormal going on, but Tim was adamant that they avoid the airport. Something about too many government agents. Which prompted a question from me. I was trying to remember to ask lots of questions. I asked if all this was real, wouldn't the government have some department looking into it? Or maybe have some involvement in The Illuminati?

Hal said it was possible. If there weren't any entanglement between the government and their order, then avoiding government officials would make sense. But if there were entanglement, he hadn't been told anything about it and it might not be made known to him unless necessary. Such an arrangement would mean though that the Illuminati was already there.

He did say though that he thought that was what had come up on Halloween, and why they had cancelled his training that night. Between that and the tree at least. Which was the next subject.

I didn't even have to ask, Hal flat out stated that Tim had taken him down to see the tree on Wednesday. He even mentioned wanting to take me to see it, saying it was beautiful and relaxing. He said afterward Tim had taken him back to their warehouse and pulled out some books written in languages he didn't know. As a side note, he said some of the schooling they had suggested he look into was other languages, particularly older tongues. Through Tim, the book describes what to look for in identifying true ironwoods, and he suspects that the tree in LODO fits the bill.

I had to question him about that, what it meant and what I understood ironwoods to be. My understanding was that ironwood tended to reference particularly dense hardwood trees. Cottonwood trees weren't generally considered hardwood. Hal agreed that was true, but he said that according to the book (as Tim explained it) any tree can become an ironwood. It requires a dryad choosing the tree as its home. Hal said it was similar to the way a hermit crab will take a new shell. In living in the tree, the dryads magic will infuse the tree, hardening the wood so that even iron tools wouldn't cut it. The references did date back to around the iron age, so we don't know how the tree might react to modern materials and tools.

Hal said Tim was hoping the city would try to cut it down, and when they did we'd find out if it was a true ironwood. If it was, that'd be definite proof that the Ohvao had come down, no dryads should be on this side. The other thing Tim seemed interested in though was the woman who was leading the protests, Melia Floros. Hal was under the impression that Tim felt there was something more going on than just her connection with the Botanic Gardens. I asked what, but Hal didn't know.

But since Hal had brought up the dryads, I asked what else we could expect to cross. He had only told me about the Fomori, and now he was mentioning a dryad as a magical creature. So I asked him if there were more magical creatures. Hal said there were, according to the books and artifacts held by the Illuminati. He said human mythology was a catalog of what we can expect to cross. The stories aren't all true, per say, but they held a modicum of truth. Most of the names and stories are human inventions to explain and express their experiences. So there was no way to be sure what we'd see, but it was possible we could see anything found in mythology.

That was when Hal started explaining about how the worlds will merge, which was referenced to him through yet more books Tim had on hand in their warehouse. Which was an other thing I asked him about. Hal said they still aren't trusting him with the location, so they have a tendency to black bag him and put headphones over his ears. He's pretty sure they also take different routes every time so he can't memorize the turns, not that he could to begin with. I guess he has to prove himself before they'll trust him with that knowledge.

But, on the subject of books, he did say that there was a book store here in Denver that is known for being able to procure some pretty rare items. And Hal did emphasize "items", not just books. So he was wondering if I'd like to join him on a shopping trip. I agreed, I do always like going to book stores. But our schedules are both pretty packed though, so finding time we could go together would be difficult. Friday seems to work best for the both of us, but as it's Veteran's day there's some worry as to how late we'll get off. According to the website, Hal said the store doesn't close for the holiday, and it's hours seem to run late. So we shouldn't have any problem.

We'll see how that goes. I'll have to look up Westhouse Books, I hadn't heard of it before. Hal is hoping he might find some information about the ironwood, or dryads, that isn't contained by the Illuminati's warehouse of secrets. Something that he could read himself. At the very least we might have some fun just seeing what this place has to sell.

After finishing our meal Hal brought out another news article. This time from a newspaper out of Austin, TX. It seems there was a disturbance at the University of Texas, a break in at their library. It seemed out of place to me, no one was missing, or found, or returned. This was about a break in, and nothing was reported as missing. At my question though, Hal reminded me that Nephmesu had spent some time at the University last week.

I mentioned that it could be a coincidence, and he agreed. But then he produced another article out of Phoenix, AZ from just a couple of days ago. There was another break it at the University of Arizona's College of Pharmacy. Again, nothing was reported missing. And this was about a block away from the Arizona Science Center, who are currently showing Nephmesu.

Hal admitted, two doesn't make a pattern, but it was a pretty impressive coincidence. But if there was a pattern, we should watch the news between Phoenix and Las Vegas over the next week. I asked if he'd brought this to Tim, and he said that between the tree and DIA, Tim wasn't paying him any more attention than he was required.

So I guess we've got another mystery going on. The questions start with who or what is following the Nephmesu exhibit, and why? Why are they breaking into places and not taking anything? And what's going to happen when Nephmesu comes to Denver?

By that point though, it was getting late, and I needed to get home at least. So we left off in agreement to pay attention to things, and he asked again if I'd like to visit the tree. I didn't give him an answer. I mentioned wanting to, but being concerned what'd happen if and when they try to cut the tree down. He agreed it'd probably be safe if I didn't, but he'd let me know ahead of time, if he could, the next time he was going if I wanted to join him.

Now that I'm home though, I'm wondering about that tree. If it is an ironwood, does that mean there's a dryad living in it? And what happens to the dryad if we cut the tree down?

November 3rd, 2017

With as much has happened this weekend, I kinda feel like it's been forever since the last time I was at work. But not like it was a vacation, that would be restful and nice. This last weekend of mine was rough, though Halloween was fun. It was nice to get back to work and have things be normal.

As normal as things for me can be that is. I woke up this morning to a dizzy spell, quarter to nine is what I wrote down. Looking at the calendar, that's six days since my last one. In fact, the last two were also six days since the one before. Pattern? We'll see, though I doubt it. It's been nice not having to worry about them so much, though it did make for a crappy start to the day.

Hal stopped by for lunch. He tried to play it cool, but it was pretty apparent that he has something important to share with me. So dinner tomorrow, Italian pasta this time.

I know this is the chance for me to be able to confirm things through him, but my mind is drawing a blank on coming up with questions. Of course if what he says has anything to do with him visiting the tree on say, Wednesday afternoon, with his mentor Tim... My questions won't need to be asked.

Here's hoping for not having to ask anything.

November 2nd, 2017

Candace is right, I need to talk to Hal. I've been sitting here trying to think of what to do and how to do it. I guess I should just start writing, and maybe I can work it out as I do.

Sam picked me up around two. He was running late trying to get things done for a client and wasn't able to pick me up. Which gave me the chance to watch some news with Dad while I waited. There was something on about the incident at DIA and everything surrounding that. They covered resultant delays and reconstruction efforts. There was an interview with Arlene Dryver, and attempted interviews with paramedics and other rescue workers. Everyone seems to just be moving on, which is all fine and good, but I find it suspicious that the cause isn't being further investigated. Planes just don't move on their own, how is this being forgotten? Maybe I missed something before I joined Dad.

Anyway, while the program was about DIA, there were teasers for other news items that'll be shown later. A young woman who had gone missing years ago suddenly turned up knocking on the door of the house she had been living in when she'd gone missing. I wanted to hear more about that so I'd made a mental note to turn the TV on at Candace's. But there was also mention of the tree in LODO and the protests to cutting it down, which also caught my attention.

So when Sam picked me up, I wasn't able to finish the DIA story. He was in a bit of a rush, understandably, and apologized for being late. He did make sure to thank me for getting Candace and him out on Halloween. Candace doesn't get out much and he did enjoy himself. It was nice to hear, especially after his objections, and I hope he's more accepting in the future. Since he was in a hurry though, he dropped me off in front of Candace's house and was already driving away before I'd made the door.

I helped Candace clean up. After everything we'd done at her place getting our costumes together, the place was a bit of a mess. Which was fine, I was able to turn the news on while we worked and we were able to talk. Candace had a lot of fun at the Halloween party, and even had a couple of guys ask for her number. I had to laugh when she admitted she wasn't sure what they meant, which is probably just as well. She did apologize for her reaction at the first haunted house we'd visited, saying she wasn't sure what had come over her. She said it was like an instinct, she didn't even realize what she'd done until we had stepped in. It kinda scared her, which was good to hear 'cause it had scared us as well.

When the story came on the news about the tree, we sat down and watched it. It made for a nice lead into what I had to tell her about what I had seen yesterday. I told her about Max and I going down there, and all the people around. Candace admitted that she would like to also see the tree, so I offered to talk to Max. Knowing Max wants to go back, maybe she can bring Candace and I.

Candace must have noticed my concern though 'cause she asked what was wrong. So I told her about seeing Hal there. Having met him at the party she now knew who I was talking about. So I reminded her that he was who I had been talking conspiracies with. And then I explained that I'm pretty sure I saw him standing there with his new mentor, Tim. We discussed how this made everything Hal and I had talked about real, but in the end Candace brought up a very important point.

We don't know what form my hallucinations will take. So what if I hallucinated seeing either or both of them?

I should have asked Max if she'd seen them. I need to talk to her about this, just as I have Candace, and I need to be able to ask her about what I'm seeing. I'll see her on Saturday, which is when I'll be talking to her about bringing Candace to see the tree. Whenever it happens, we need to have a sit down.

But the other thing is that I'll be having diner with Hal Saturday evening. So I need to come up with a list of questions that I can ask him about being there that won't give away that I'd seen him. I think just asking him about the tree would be a good way to start and hopefully it leads into an explanation on his behalf of being there. Or not, as the case may be. But I should be prepared.

Which is what I need to work out. How to approach this and what to ask. He's been open with me about what's happening with this society of his, but that doesn't mean he's telling me everything. So if he doesn't want to talk to me about the tree, for whatever reason, he might avoid telling me he was there and I won't be able to confirm what I'd seen. Hallucination or not. Unfortunately, because I'd reacted by hiding, I didn't get to see what they were doing to give me anything to confirm against.

Candace and I talked about it for a little while, she had a lot of really good advice. She said the easiest thing I can do is to play ignorant and ask a lot of questions. But I need to avoid pointedly following any one line of questioning, which is the difficult part. That might give up what I'm after. So lots of questions, about any number of things, and I need to be able to improvise on the spot, coming up with new questions as I go.

How did I get myself into something so clandestine?

Anyway, the story about the missing woman came on and drew our attention. I was thinking that it was odd how this story got so much attention while the other stories of people showing up out of nowhere weren't. But as I thought about it, I realized that this story is old. They had run stories about her going missing years ago when she had. So to have a follow up on her return is going to make big news. The guy that showed up out of Sand Creek Park didn't have a lead up, he wasn't ever reported missing. Or if he was, it never made the news coverage that this young lady had.

But if Hal's conspiracy is real, which I'm back to questioning though I feel very strongly that it is. If his conspiracy is real, the people showing up who had grown up on the other side of the Ohvau aren't going to have a background missing story. The people going missing won't necessarily be found. It'll be the people like this young lady who are able to return. And while Hal himself had gone missing, it was only for a few days. Not years.

The story was sadly lacking any interview with the girl herself, but the report is that she had found a community she was able to live with until she was able to get back. But there were a lot of questions surrounding that story, and the reporter seemed frustrated in not being able to answer them. They played it off being early in her return, and that hopefully they'd be able to answer the questions later. Mostly they just focused on her return.

I keep saying "the young woman." Amy Shaun had gone missing five years ago, she was eleven at the time. Thanks to the story, I am reminded that she had gone missing while visiting Dinosaur National Monument. They recovered a lot of what the family had gone through trying to find their daughter, search and rescue, all that stuff. Heartbreaking really. In the years since they had moved to Grand Junction to be closer to find her, but eventually moved back to Denver having had to move on with their lives and jobs. Yesterday, Amy shows up knocking on the door of the house she remembers living in. The family there now were good enough to take her in and they were quickly able to find Amy's family and reunite them. A representative for the family has issued statements of how happy they are to have her back and how thankful they are to everyone that had helped them in their search. They were especially thankful to the family who were now living in their old home. For the time being they'd just like to reconnect with their daughter.

So I don't have anything to connect her with Hal's conspiracy. Only that it's a possibility that fits. They might not be talking because of the stories she has to tell, or maybe they just aren't ready to talk yet and there's nothing fantastic about it. I mean, her going missing and returning five years later is pretty fantastic, but if there's nothing Ohvau about it, ya know?

All in all, I'm glad she's back, and I do hope their family the best. But with everything Hal has had to say and all the news articles I've gone through, I have to wonder.

Anyway, I'm home now. Will be going back to work tomorrow, so I need to get to sleep.

November 1st, 2017

I got around late today, Mom kindly let me sleep in, and set about doing chores as I would normally. Max texted me asking if I wanted to see the tree, which at first I didn't put two and two together. She finally got it across by reminding me of the cottonwood that showed up in LODO. She didn't have to twist my arm after that.

So we headed down and found a parking spot in a garage on 18th, it was quite the walk getting to Confluence Park from there. With how many people had gathered though, I was surprised we found something that close. And there were a lot of people there, it seems some people have some very strong opinions about whether to leave the tree or to cut it down and reopen the intersection.

When we got there, there were construction crews all around who were mad that the tree was in the way of them getting to and from their jobs. The protesters were there as expected. They were surrounding the tree and taking abuse from pretty much everyone else and preventing a city crew from cutting down the tree and removing it. Surrounding it all were people from all walks of life. Some watched the drama as it unfolded, others seemed to be trying to feed the fire, most were like Max and I, just there to see the tree.

The tree was magnificent. It had a quality about it that felt as though it had seen the coming and going of many ages. A solidness that said ours was but another age and that it too would pass and the tree would remain to see more. The gnarled visage of overcoming any and all opposition. The kind of tree that invites kids to climb it. I think many of us there, even those who wanted to see it cut down, felt that desire to climb its boughs. Despite the shouting, the protests, and the anger, there was a peace above us all in the canopy of that tree.

While we were there, I spotted Hal. He was shadowing some well dressed white guy who was standing so straight he had to have had rebar shoved up his backside. I could tell instantly that he was the arrogant mentoring Hal's new career, Tim. All my newfound confidence from the other day melted away seeing him. Hal hasn't just been trying to get me to dinner, he was telling the truth, and everything he's been saying was just made real in a way that the news articles couldn't have done alone.

I made sure to put the crowd between us. Max didn't seem to notice, though she did look back the way I was watching. If she saw Hal, she didn't say anything.

We didn't stay long after that, I was all too happy to go. But Max said she wanted to come back another time. She was hopeful that she'd be able to approach the tree, wanting to see how it poked through the asphalt of the street. On the way back, she asked me what I had seen. I wasn't sure how to answer her, knowing she'd be thrilled that there was a conspiracy afoot, and disappointed that I hadn't already told her. I told her that I wasn't sure, but that something had bothered me and I didn't feel safe staying there. She seemed to accept that.

I've finished my chores now, which have gone later than I normally would like. But that's the way it goes I guess. I'll be visiting Candace tomorrow, I need to tell her what I saw today, that Hal's conspiracy is real.

October 31st, 2017

Today was a long day, but so much fun. And I'm still a bit wired, so I'm going to try and write this down while I can before the excitement wears off.

Not much to say about work, though the staff had fun dressing in costumes and greeting visitors. We had candy for the kids and got to see a lot of cute costumes. Though as usual it wasn't particularly busy. We don't get many guests, but we do get the ones with younger kids who know we'll be doing something special for Halloween.

Max picked me up after work and drove me to Candace's. Thanks to our preparation yesterday we were able to throw our costumes on in short order. Sam had brought the finished rapiers, and they were perfect with the sword belts that we had received from his friends. We looked spectacular!

Sadly, since we had been working on our costume as late as we were, I had forgotten that the Creepy Walk was on the weekends leading up to Halloween. So we missed that. But we did hit up a couple of haunted houses. We went with a younger themed one to start, since Candace didn't quite seem to get the spirit of the holiday. That was simultaneously a good and bad thing. Good because the scares weren't so bad, bad because she way overreacted. We had had to leave our real rapiers in the SUV for the walk, and were carrying the fake swords we had picked up at the costume shop. The first guy to jump out at us got Candace, and like lightning she had her toy sword in hand and was stabbing at the guy.

He had a good laugh at our expense, and didn't seem to get seriously hurt. But I think we all realized how bad that could have been with the real rapier.

After that though, we had Sam hold her back for a bit so she could see Max and I get jumped. And we did, to everyone's amusement. Candace seemed to get it after that, though we avoided pulling out the swords for the rest of the night. Sam mentioned something about peace banding hers, just in case.

Anyway, having hit up the two haunted houses, Max knew of a college party that she wanted to go to. Sam looked like he wanted to object, but I think he accepted that with him being there we, well Candace, would be safe. So we went and had fun. It was a great night. I actually bumped into Hal there, he was dressed in one of those blow up raptor/T-Rex costumes. I didn't recognize him at first, obviously, so when he approached and said hi, I figured he was just another guy hitting on me. I grabbed Sam's arm and said "not interested." Hal had to open his costume so he could peek his head out. He looked ridiculous with half a dino costume on, his curly hair fairly exploding in release. I laughed and greeted him, and then was able to introduce him around.

We talked for a while, he said things had come up with the secret society. Actually, he said something had come up with The Illuminati. I poked at him about that, and he sheepishly admitted that that was how Tim regularly referred to their organization. He hadn't meant to say such, but now that he'd spilled the beans I mentioned him using Tim's name. I'm not sure he's going to be cut out for this secret society thing, and I think he's stressing about that now too.

Anyway, they had something come up, and so Tim gave him the night off. He'd finished his school work to make his appointments with The Illuminati, so with a little free time on his hands he grabbed up the dinosaur costume and came out with his school buddies. Hal even introduced me to a few of them as they were available. He didn't seem to have a lot of friends. I would have loved the chance to introduce him to Max, but she spent most of the night trying to dance with Sam.

Sam was quiet most of the night. It was almost an about face from how he'd interacted with people at the memorial. There he was the center of attention, and being as big as he was he did stand out. Here, he was still big, but he didn't have everyone's attention. He kept to himself mostly, off to the side where he could watch all of us. Max eventually gave up and went off dancing with some other guys.

Candace took to the party like a fish in water. She had so much fun, and she made sure the people around her were having fun as well. It was a different element than that of the memorial, but she handled it in much the same way. Guys would want to dance with her, and inevitably some other girls would get jealous. Candace actually grabbed the girls up and danced with them afterward. I don't know how she pulled it off, but she had everyone enjoying themselves.

I was my typical wall flower. Or I would have been if it weren't for Hal. Like I said, he was introducing me around, not to many, but to those I met we talked for a while. Or at least, they talked, I listened. School projects, study groups, grades, teachers, nothing I could contribute to. But it was interesting to listen to.

That was most of our night there, and it was a lot of fun. Reading over those last two paragraphs it makes it sound like I didn't have much fun. I did though, I enjoyed watching everyone and seeing the costumes. Most were toga quality, throw a sheet on and call it good. But there were a few that were really well done. I heard later that they were part of the theater group, which explains it. It did look like they were having fun, and Max knew a couple of them and was able to introduce me. They won the costume contest, but we came in second. There wasn't a lot of competition with all bedsheets used.

Things started winding down though, and I finally got a look at my clock. That was about two hours ago, and we needed to go. Max had class in the morning, and while I don't have work, I also don't like staying up that late. With the excitement wearing off, I'm starting to crash.

Sam was a gentleman though, he got us all home, offered to give me a ride since Max had to go the other direction. It worked out, and I think Candace really enjoyed herself. She was humming something to herself all the way home. Probably some music she had overheard, I couldn't place it. It was a cheerful tune though.

Yea, I'm starting to crash.

October 30th, 2017

Well, shit. Sometime last night, and no one seems to be able to pinpoint the time, a giant cottonwood appeared in the middle of the intersection of 15th and Little Raven. While it was reported early, and police were managing traffic around the tree, it became a problem when construction crews started arriving to go to work. News stations have been having a hard time deciding whether to cover the investigation into yesterdays incident at DIA, or covering the appearance of this tree.

I can't blame them, it turns out there was no one purposely moving the airplane that wrecked into the concourse. Not the plane itself nor the tug (as I've learned those tow trucks are called) that would have been otherwise used. The plane just seems to start rolling and crashed into the building.

The tree though, it's an old cottonwood. It's not like it's a sprout that found a crack in the concrete, no this is a mature old tree and it looks like it'd been there forever. Except, it wasn't there yesterday. Traffic cams are generally set to be triggered by vehicles acting outside of acceptable behavior, running red lights or going too fast. And since the appearance of the tree has caused traffic to largely come to a standstill, there's no point on record in which the tree shows up.

So there's an investigation into how it got there, and another line of inquiry into what to do about it. The immediate consensus was to cut it down, dig out the roots, and pave right over it. But this would cost money and they want to know who to hold responsible for it. On the other hand, there's a growing number of people who want the tree to be left alone. This group seems to be lead by a woman named Melia Floros who works at the Botanic Gardens. They showed a picture earlier, and with as many times as I've visited the gardens, I think I've seen her around.

She's getting a lot of flack for sticking her neck out. But she's holding strong and has attracted a like-minded group of people that are even now protesting at the intersection, carrying signs and everything.

Work was slow today, understandably, so they sent a few people home including me. So I called Max up, who also was out of class, and we went over to Candace's to work on our costumes. I did call ahead first to clear it with her. It's the first time Candace used her phone, and she was apprehensive when she answered. She said later though that she liked it, and hoped I'd call her more often.

Once we got there, Max and I both insisted on turning on the news to see what we could about the tree. We actually considered going down there, but decided with the protesters and everyone else, it probably wasn't the best idea. Candace hadn't heard about it, and like us she was fascinated by what was going on.

We spent the rest of the evening at Candace's, and it was great. Sam stopped by later to check on Candace and found us there. He didn't seem pleased, but he kept he mouth shut. Though he did mention having not brought enough food for everyone, so we ended up ordering pizza.

It was a fun night, and Sam reported that he had all our swords finished. He hadn't brought them, not expecting us, but he assured us all he had left was a bit on his own and it should be finished tomorrow morning.

So we ate and talked and generally had a good evening. Until I realized I still have work in the morning and had to make Max bring me home. I'm not too late, but I do want to make sure I've got plenty of rest before tomorrow. It'll be fun, but it'll make for a long day. Fortunately it'll be my Friday, so I'll have the following two days off.

October 29th, 2017

What a day. It was busy at work right up until whatever happened at the airport. The rate visitors were coming in started declining, and at first we didn't notice, but when Steve came back from lunch he brought us the news. I'm still not clear exactly what happened, though it seems investigators are still trying to figure out what happened themselves. All I know is that security video that every news station has on repeat, some paramedic rescuing Arlene Dryver by tackling her out of the way of a falling support beam.

There were a lot of wild accusations at work, including claims of an earthquake and terrorists. After getting home though, Dad said one of the planes crashed into the concourse. But so far there's been no explanation of how that happened. No pilots, no tow truck driver (whatever those vehicles are called), not even someone who failed to chock the tires.

So far it seems to be just some senseless accident. Arlene's rescuer is getting a lot of attention though, and I'm sure a lot of it is that noone's stepping forward to identify him.

Just such a sad day, and as much attention is being given to Arlene's rescue, I'm not hearing how many were injured or if anyone died. I sure hope not, but given what we've seen someone had to have been hurt.

The worst part is that this is only a few months since the plane crash. DIA is not having a good time right not.