"Keep with that thought. It won't be very long."

In Ireland. SO tired. Here's a run-down of the last 34 hours.

March 1st:

• Got to the airport at 6:00 am, boarded around 7:30, and left Omaha at 8:00 am.

  • When I said I'd wait to sleep on the long flight, I lied. I took a lovely nap on the first flight and I got to sit in the window seat.

• Arrived in Chicago at around a quarter to 10. Moved about two gates and then got ready to board our next flight. Took off towards Newark at 10:30.

  • I sat in the middle seat on this flight, but I'm not complaining. My two pals Maggie and Chizzy were on either side of me, and they are lovely travel companions.

• Upon our 2:00 pm arrival in Newark, we gathered our senses and prepared for our 5-hour layover.

  • We searched for Shake Shack, only to realize it was in a different terminal than our own.

  • To satisfy our Shake Shack cravings, we settled for Custom Burger. Not awful, not Michelin.

  • I worked on transcribing a song I've written, and also watched a bit of "The Secret of Roan Inish."

• Boarded our international flight at 7:00 pm, and took off about half an hour later.

  • The flight wasn't horrible, just tedious. I sat on the aisle, with Chizzy to my right and a window to hers.

  • I phased in and out of sleep, waking up because the flight attendants turned the cabin lights on or came by with dinner.

  • Dinner was a halal chicken that I nibbled on a little. Airplane food—nothing special.

  • With an hour left of the flight, breakfast was served: a breakfast sandwich. I don't like eggs nor ham, so I tried taking those off to see if the bagel was any good plain. It was not.

March 2nd:

• We landed on the Emerald Isle around 7:00 am, which was 1:00 am as far as our circadian rythms were concerned.

• Getting through customs was easy, especially after changing clothes and brushing teeth.

• We found our driver, John, as soon as we walked out of the terminal. He's a lovely Dubliner with the exact welcoming smile we needed to see to know that our journery would be worthwhile.

• We stopped at a rest stop just before reaching Belfast to grab breakfast snacks and drinks. I had a chocolate muffin and a delicious peach-lemon tea.

• When we arrived in Belfast, we met our tour guide, Lowell. With wits almost as sharp a his wife's, and vast knowledge of Ireland's political, social, and historical timelines, we'd want no one else to show us the island.

• We took a tour of Belfast via bus, and fought to stay awake through most of it. There were a couple of minutes where I was Lowell's sole audience member, but I fell victim to the sleepy lull of the bus too.

• A stop for scones!

• A nice 3 hour break to decompress.

• 36 minute mass at St. Malachy's Church.

• A rejection from the Chubby Cherub and an acceptance from Tony Macaroni for a much needed dinner.

• Now, back at the hotel showered, exhausted, and ready for the week.