Bound by desire...

I've been posting this on my MySpace blog, but then thought there might be a few people who still read this one :). So here is what's going on in my world lately...

Wednesday, April 16

I managed to get to Pittsburg just fine. Got off the ramp and into real city streets and didn't have far to go...just a quick set of rights and a quick pull into the hotel loop. Right?

Yeah, right.

The first right was closed...road all ripped up as they do construction on...something. I drive around the block, only the blocks aren't square...they're at angles here in Pittsburg and so I stop and ask for directions (I'm not proud). Some very nice women on the street point out the Hilton (which is 2 blocks straight ahead so I wasn't too far off!) and I'm on my way. Pull into the loop...big sign "Valet Parking-- Full". Drat.

I unload and leave all my stuff on the sidewalk beside the bellhop's station, keeping my purse, my laptop and the projector with me. He says, "take a right and another right and the overflow garage is right there."

He was right . The garage was right where he said it would be. And it was full.

This attendant gives me directions for the NEXT garage...I drive over and it's automated and gives me a ticket. I drive up and up and up...finally find a place on the 9th level. Least I think it was a place. If not...I made my own. Parked, grabbed the purse, the laptop and the projector and hiked my way 3 blocks back to the hotel. Where my bags still sat on the sidewalk. No carts available.

So the bellhop tells me to go register and probably by the time I'm done, he'll have found a cart. Now I'm rooming with Jennifer Dunne, who came in yesterday. Only the hotel says she's a no-show. They still have her room available...one with a king sized bed. One bed. Not two. One. I take it, figuring for three nights I can deal with this. Not happily, but I can deal.

I go to my room, breathe. Take a few pics out the window (I'm on the 22nd floor...the better suites and rooms...which I don't mind at all). I grab some of my promo to put down on Promotion Lane and head back down to register for the conference. And who do I find down there? Jennifer Dunne!

Turns out she refused the room with the king-sized bed and made them switch us to a room with two beds. Only the change wasn't ever logged into their computer. So I go BACK to the front desk...tell them I need to change my room. After some confusion, they manage to figure it out.

Only all the bellhops are busy and there aren't any carts. So Jennifer and I lug all my junk from the 22nd floor...to the 6th.

In my roaming around trying to find people, I happened to be waiting on my floor for the elevator (waits can go as long as 20 min!), with a tall, muscular hunk of a model. I thought it might be...wasn't sure...he turned and I saw the tattoo on his shoulder (he wore a muscle shirt)...and I smiled. "You're John Fish," I said with particular brilliance (insert eyeroll here).

He smiled and said he was, so I introduced myself, telling him he's on my book, Winter Studs. We have a fun conversation, the elevator comes and we both ride it down to the ballroom floor and go our separate ways.

Ladies, I can tell you without embellishment, yes...he is as hunky in RL as he is on the cover of that book! He's polite, a true gentleman, and VERY easy on the eyes.

The Ellora's Cave party was fun, as always, although I was pretty tired. By the time I finished this blog post and Jennifer and I finished going over our presentation, it was one in the morning. Thankfully the beds here are comfortable. :)

Today deserves a post unto itself, and I'll write about that in a bit. Play safe!

Diana