It’s just before midnight, Pacific Standard Time, and I’m in Somewhere, California. It took me a solid fourteen hours of driving to get here from Albuquerque, including one hour stuck in traffic due to construction. I’m absolutely ready for bed. So much so that it doesn’t matter that I’m in a cheap motel and completely disgusted by the bad decor and awful lighting. Granted, I AM wondering how many people have been murdered in my room, but I don’t think that will keep me from getting a decent night’s sleep.

Don’t worry, Mom. I’m exaggerating about the motel. Although I DID have to walk to a gas station to get my own shampoo because all they gave me was a quarter-sized bar of soap. (I could have driven to get it, but I’m SICK of driving.)

The long haul out here went well. I listened to three lectures by Joseph Campbell, two marketing podcasts by Seth Godin, two origin-of-dirty-words podcasts, and a lot of Madonna and friends. The scenery in Arizona was stunning, despite the thin air at 7,000 feet altitude. (I didn’t take any pictures.) The desert heat got up to 118 degrees, at least according to the outside thermometer on Tom Collins (my car). Thank God for air conditioning. Parts of California smell like the Arkansas/Oklahoma State Fair–like barnyard animals or wet socks. But where I am now is–decent.

When I got stuck in traffic, Google Maps told me that I was in an eight-minute slow down. Then it bumped it up to nine minutes, then ten. But it lasted a freaking hour. (Come on Google, get your act together.) Thankfully, no one was in a crash–it’s just that they were doing repairs to the two-lane highway, so it temporarily had to become a one-lane highway. Still, it was bumper-to-bumper, and the whole situation made me so nervous that–as my dad says–you couldn’t have driven a spike up my butt with a sledgehammer. The silver lining for me, however, was that I got to watch the sun go slowly down over the desert. Gorgeous.

After the sunset, I noticed myself getting nervous. Maybe hyper-aware is a better phrase. At home I love the dark, but California is foreign territory for me. I haven’t been here since I was a child, and I’ve NEVER driven these roads. You know–what if something happened? (Don’t worry, Mom, I’m okay.) Plus, I’m alone. Not that I can’t take care of myself–I DID buy my own shampoo!–but it’s always easier when you’re with another person. But again, other than the terrible lighting in this tawdry motel, things are dandy. I’ve eaten, locked the door, brushed my teeth, and am ready for the la-la land. I’m excited about the dance event this weekend. With any luck, I’ll have an easy morning, a few more hours on the road, and I’ll be THERE.

I’ll let you know how it goes.

Good night.