I have almost fallen asleep in three classes at this point, but it's been completely worth it for the extended weekend I had.

Day Zero
Get up, pack, go to class, go get a haircut, go have tea with friend K, pick up backpack, get on the Dinky and ride to Newark where my plane is on time but where it takes the passengers an hour and a half to board. Seriously, Continental. I love you and all but when you start charging for checked bags you cannot:
a) let people with more than one suitcase on the plane
b) let anyone board in any order besides back-to-front. (Because Elite Access? Is the opposite of helpful.)
Then we were finally in the air and I read Moby Dick (why has no one told me how not-painful this book can be?) and tried to keep my legs from cramping up (overstuffed backpack dutifully stowed beneath the seat in front of me, thankyouverymuch) while drinking copious water and bouncing up and down in my seat from excitement. My destination, you see, was Los Angeles, where Mom had an eight-years-in-the-making exhibit opening.

[to be continued]