temperature: minus ten degrees outside, but I’ve got my thermostat up to a balmy 73.

I think what sucks about being on the road is going back to your hotel room. You have a nice, spirited dinner, chug down 44 ounces of beer, smoke a cigarette with your boss, and then…. QUIET. and SOLITUDE. Like when everybody passes out at the end of a sleepover, and you’re just left there, wide awake, waiting for someone to start snoring, hoping that in the meantime nobody farts.

I never really know what to do with myself without Katsumi around. When at home I’d usually drink myself into a stupor and stay up way too late watching Six Feet Under or Grey’s Anatomy… but in this hotel room I have one bottle of Aquafina, some Sour Patch Kids, and a beef stick I got with an overpriced “snack box” on the first leg of our trip. So no boozing. Plus, we’re meeting for breakfast at 8:30, so staying up late is probably unwise.

The upside: I have a king size bed all to myself, wireless internet, and a distinct absence of offensive cat odors.

Hm.

All told, I’d rather be home with my husband and Jake and a bottle of Malbec.

Certainly, this situation is something I’ll have to get used to, it’s something people do all the time. It’s not an insurmountable challenge. But night one in ND? Less than awesome, slightly better than suck.