I had an amazing time in New York. I am jetlagged and tired out of my skull, but very happy. I got to see The Gates! I didn't think they'd still be up--they were supposed to come down on 2/28--but there they were, in all their orange glory, vibrant against the new fallen snow. Central Park was a fluffy white wonderland. I wandered around in a hallucinatory daze--I had flown all night without sleeping and my hotel room wasn't ready, so that tinged everything with a very surreal glow. I walked for hours--through the park, through the Met, around Broadway. My legs are so sore today, but it felt so good to walk. And the banquet was amazing. Barbara Kingsolver is amazing. It's all amazing. I'll try to share more details when I'm more coherent. I apologize to my New York friends who I didn't touch base with--I was either busy or in a weird sleep deprived state, so I was not as sociable as I could have been. I hope to see you next time I'm in town!

One more thing before I collapse--JetBlue had Sideways as its feature movie. I love Sideways, and was very happy to see it again. But the film had to be altered a bit to make it suitable for airplane viewing--desexed, delanguaged. All of the swear words were changed, and some of the results were hilarious. "Asshole" was changed to "Ashcroft," so people would say things like "Don't be such an Ashcroft" and "What an Ashcroft." A little bit of political humor! I much preferred the original version, but this particular change cracked me up to no end.