A beautiful day in the neighborhood

Though it's all I can do to keep from stepping on my droopy eyelids, I made it to Denver without a hitch! Got up at 3 am, left the house in Bend at 4 am, plane left at 5 am. I know I was a zombie for most of the trip. I can't sleep on planes. And the way they pack you in, OMG, it's like snuggling with strangers. My shoulders still hurt from scrunching.

I flew Alaska Airlines from Redmond, Oregon, to Portland, and the prop plane is so cute! Not as tiny as the puddle jumper United uses, but it has that nostalgic pre-jet feel. The extra noise and jostling about is similar to an amusement park ride and may have contributed to my inability to sleep.

I zombie-walked from one gate to the next to board my flight that would take me from Portland to Denver. Yeah, a lot of flying for not so great a distance, and though there are direct flights from Redmond to Denver, they cost twice as much. Some day I aspire to take one of those much coveted direct flights. *Note to publishers: please buy my books. kthxbye.

The only problem with arriving in Denver so early is that there's nothing much to do until the party tonight. No one else is here yet. I did take a nap, didn't sleep so good, and I'm still groggy. The high altitude may have something to do with it. My roommate won't get here until 6.

While I wait, I'm tweeting (of course) and savoring the second book in Suzanne Collins' YA series, CATCHING FIRE. I started reading it today and I've already suffered the leaky eye syndrome twice. I'm not even at the halfway point, but man, this is powerful stuff. If you haven't read HUNGER GAMES or CATCHING FIRE, you're missing out on something truly phenomenal. No kidding.

I think I'll go read some more, then maybe take another snooze. I'll let you know tomorrow how the party went, depending on how well I'll be able to think through my hangover haze.