Albuquerque, NM

After my third straight day of being on the road at dawn, we've arrived in ABQ. It was a pleasant enough trip-- flat, flat, flat through the rest of Oklahoma and the first stretch of Texas, then buttes started to appear. Then mesas. Finally, the Sandia mountains. I finished Palimpsest about two hours before we arrived.

Our house is right in the center of the city, which still manages to look like a suburb by Baltimore/DC standards. The house is unbelievable. It is occasionally rented as a bed and breakfast, and it shows. We're calling it 'the compound' because it is sprawling and well-guarded. Several porches and gardens, a garage, a pool, a hammock, a patio, a hot tub (with outdoor fridge). Sunlight and bright colors everywhere. A game room, a sun room, a den, a kitchen, laundry, three bathrooms, four bedrooms. One has two double beds and a fireplace. The next, a nautical theme, a full futon, and an additional entertainment center. A third-- moody dark blues and a queen bed. And then there is my room that I'm sharing with J-- a big, pristine white king bed, lots of closet space, and a bathroom decorated in southwest silver and bright mustardy yellows. No TV, but Jason aims to change that. It gets fantastic natural light and has a sliding door that leads directly to the pool. It will be a pleasant place to work, though really I have my pick of those, as a big as this place is. I'll take pictures tomorrow.

Still, no pool tonight. It's still quite chilly, and we're expected to possibly get some sleet tonight. I've had lunch at the Mexican joint around the corner (fast, cheap, and good), and we unpacked the moving van. The room is filled with boxes that need opening and airing.

I'm using stolen wireless at the moment, so I have to be quick. Sean is going to run wireless for the house hopefully tonight, but we'll see. I have to unpack clothes, but mostly I'd like a nap.