looking in my suitcase for a friend

It was dark when I left Seattle this morning, and dark when I made it to Madison. I've lost an entire day to the sky.

I wouldn't mind so much if my day hadn't stared at 4:30 a.m. – THANK YOU ORBITZ, FOR THAT 4:30 A.M. WAKE UP CALL INFORMING ME THAT MY 8:30 FLIGHT WAS PREDICTED TO BE ON TIME. Kindly go die in a fire.

Some of us experience great difficulty getting back to sleep, especially when we've been having seasonal issues courtesy of an allergy to (the freshly resurgent) leaf mold. Helloooo fall in a very wet place – where legions of autumn leaves festoon the neighborhood, and cheerfully rot in the rain.

At any rate, I am really just crushingly exhausted right now. Until I ate a Nutrigrain bar (I always pack them for times like this) I was literally shaking from low blood sugar and a desperate desire to find a stationary pillow. Now, I am revived enough to type this post – which is good, because I really wanted to log on and declare myself ARRIVED.

In fact, I am arrived at a clean, cozy hotel which has thus far proven to be populated with helpful, friendly people. All omens are good thus far, and I'm looking forward to the weekend.

But I hope you lovely locals understand if I make this a very quiet, very early evening in. There's a (very slight) chance I might wander downstairs for food, but in addition to my way-too-early morning today, I have a signing at Barnes and Noble tomorrow morning at 10:30; and I need to meet my liaison at a quarter 'till ten. Which is a quarter 'till eight, when one factors in my body being on West Coast time.

Hardly the crack of dawn, I know. But after a long day of travel and sniffles, the prospect of a long, Benedryl-ensured night of total wipe-out is the only thing keeping me upright even this long. So. Peace-out, you guys. It is to be hoped that I'll see some of you tomorrow.

[Crossposted from my website. If you'd like to comment, you can do so either here or there.]