As I said last night...I'm in Hawaii, bitches! And it's pretty magical, but I definitely have a killer cold, which is dampening the magic somewhat. However, I bought Sudafed for this cold (and am probably on some watchlist as a result - I haven't bought Sudafed since it was restricted because of the methheads, but now I realize that it's a wonder drug because it's the only thing that got me through the flight). And I drank a lot of tea and water and juice today, and only had one mai tai (theoretically one should probably have zero mai tais while sick, but where's the fun in that?). So I'm hoping that if I get a lot of sleep tonight, I'll make some vague attempt at recovery.
However, that vague attempt at recovery didn't go so well today, mostly because it involved a lot of travel and hanging out. I got up at six, was out the door before seven, and got to the airport in time to have a delicious breakfast at Andale and get some tea for my thermos. I strolled up to the gate just as they were starting to board, and so I cut into line with Barbara and Kristen (Barbara is my writer friend; Kristen is her daughter, who happens to work at one of the online book retailers who shall remain nameless, and so is attending this conference in her own right). I knew they were flying first class, so I had used miles to upgrade myself because I figured I would be super sad and jealous if I had to sit in economy while they were in first - yes, I'm spoiled. What was bizarre was that I ended up sitting next to a former doctor of mine, which made for some strange and interesting conversation since she knows somewhat intimate details about my life and I know absolutely nothing about her. So that was super awkward for about ten minutes, and then it was kind of fun (although we didn't talk all that much).
So, I took a couple of brief naps on the plane, but for the most part I spent it working - and by working I mean prepping for my meetings here, and stalking the LinkedIn profiles of people I'm meeting with, and taking notes on things I want to discuss. I'm not done with that, but I should have some time this weekend, and the meetings don't start in earnest until Tuesday/Wednesday.
When we landed, Barbara, Kristen, and I shared a cab to the hotel, checked in, and then immediately ate a late lunch at one of the hotel restaurants. The hotel we're staying at is ridiculous - not that it's super nice or posh (again, I'm a princess, and have been spoiled forevermore for tropical vacations between my stays at the Fairmont in Maui last Thanksgiving + the Four Seasons Bora Bora + Lauren's dad's house in Puerto Vallarta....), but the 'hotel' is really more of a giant resort. There are five towers of rooms, twenty restaurants (everything from smoothies to Benihana to bars to Round Table Pizza to some fancier local-type things), multiple pools, and immediate access to Waikiki Beach.
But I was too sick/tired to make use of the pools, and it was overcast this afternoon anyway. So after we had lunch, I came back to my room, unpacked and hung my stuff up (I'm here for nine nights, I might as well settle in), and took a brief nap. Then I ran a ridiculous errand - I bought some pants yesterday and had no time to get them hemmed, so I brought them with me in hopes that the hotel could alter them. They couldn't, but they directed me to a dry cleaner in the nearby mall - and that mall is gigantic, so it took me ten minutes to walk to the mall and another ten minutes to cross it and find the dry cleaner. But they took the pants, and I'll get them back Monday, which means I'll have them for Pearl Harbor + other sightseeing + flying home, which is all good.
When I got back to the hotel, I grabbed some more tea and then met up with Barbara, Kristen, and our friend Christie, who arrived a couple of hours after us. We had snacks and drinks at one of the bars (including some 'shrimp tots' that were basically fried shrimp, and were so fucking good), and engaged in some desultory gossip (as writers do), and saw the tiniest bit of the hotel's Friday night fireworks show. And we made plans for tomorrow - Barbara is renting a car and we're going to explore the North Shore, which should be fun, provided I don't die of a sinus explosion.
So, that was my day - it's only 9:45pm here, but it's 11:45pm back home and I am exhausted, so I'm going to call it a night and maybe try to write before we go north. Goodnight!
However, that vague attempt at recovery didn't go so well today, mostly because it involved a lot of travel and hanging out. I got up at six, was out the door before seven, and got to the airport in time to have a delicious breakfast at Andale and get some tea for my thermos. I strolled up to the gate just as they were starting to board, and so I cut into line with Barbara and Kristen (Barbara is my writer friend; Kristen is her daughter, who happens to work at one of the online book retailers who shall remain nameless, and so is attending this conference in her own right). I knew they were flying first class, so I had used miles to upgrade myself because I figured I would be super sad and jealous if I had to sit in economy while they were in first - yes, I'm spoiled. What was bizarre was that I ended up sitting next to a former doctor of mine, which made for some strange and interesting conversation since she knows somewhat intimate details about my life and I know absolutely nothing about her. So that was super awkward for about ten minutes, and then it was kind of fun (although we didn't talk all that much).
So, I took a couple of brief naps on the plane, but for the most part I spent it working - and by working I mean prepping for my meetings here, and stalking the LinkedIn profiles of people I'm meeting with, and taking notes on things I want to discuss. I'm not done with that, but I should have some time this weekend, and the meetings don't start in earnest until Tuesday/Wednesday.
When we landed, Barbara, Kristen, and I shared a cab to the hotel, checked in, and then immediately ate a late lunch at one of the hotel restaurants. The hotel we're staying at is ridiculous - not that it's super nice or posh (again, I'm a princess, and have been spoiled forevermore for tropical vacations between my stays at the Fairmont in Maui last Thanksgiving + the Four Seasons Bora Bora + Lauren's dad's house in Puerto Vallarta....), but the 'hotel' is really more of a giant resort. There are five towers of rooms, twenty restaurants (everything from smoothies to Benihana to bars to Round Table Pizza to some fancier local-type things), multiple pools, and immediate access to Waikiki Beach.
But I was too sick/tired to make use of the pools, and it was overcast this afternoon anyway. So after we had lunch, I came back to my room, unpacked and hung my stuff up (I'm here for nine nights, I might as well settle in), and took a brief nap. Then I ran a ridiculous errand - I bought some pants yesterday and had no time to get them hemmed, so I brought them with me in hopes that the hotel could alter them. They couldn't, but they directed me to a dry cleaner in the nearby mall - and that mall is gigantic, so it took me ten minutes to walk to the mall and another ten minutes to cross it and find the dry cleaner. But they took the pants, and I'll get them back Monday, which means I'll have them for Pearl Harbor + other sightseeing + flying home, which is all good.
When I got back to the hotel, I grabbed some more tea and then met up with Barbara, Kristen, and our friend Christie, who arrived a couple of hours after us. We had snacks and drinks at one of the bars (including some 'shrimp tots' that were basically fried shrimp, and were so fucking good), and engaged in some desultory gossip (as writers do), and saw the tiniest bit of the hotel's Friday night fireworks show. And we made plans for tomorrow - Barbara is renting a car and we're going to explore the North Shore, which should be fun, provided I don't die of a sinus explosion.
So, that was my day - it's only 9:45pm here, but it's 11:45pm back home and I am exhausted, so I'm going to call it a night and maybe try to write before we go north. Goodnight!
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