in the beginning

so here we go again, trying this blogging thing. so i got my official passport and diplomatic visa to nigeria on friday at 1245. which was great because my town car picked me up in front of the condo at 2:30pm so i had plenty of time to spare! right. anyway, i got to the airport, got thru security and got on the plane (window seat, yay) for a fantastik 8hr glide over the ocean. i arrived in amsterdam at about 0730 to a gloomy day. sleepy was a total understatement considering that i didn't sleep at all on the plane (but did watch shrek 3, night at the museum and blades of glory) even with an ambien. so at least i managed to order a large latte at the airport and set up camp with my laptop and dropped about $30 for a few hours of wireless internet. after downloading some new music, sending emails, and looking stuff up on abuja i proceeded to walk. a lot. i felt like crap so i just walked back and forth along the terminals to keep moving. it's not that i was trying to stay awake, just the thought of another long plane ride kept me out of the chairs.

so after a 6hr layover and 1hr delay (in my window seat) we were airborne again. and this flight was georgous! we flew over the alps for like an hour. they're BIG! who knew? but it was pretty because some were covered with snow and others weren't and there were little dots and ribbons of bright blue water. it was just really pretty! expecially compared to spiderman 3, which in my opinion wasn't that good. then we flew over some sea for a while (the med, maybe) before crossing over into africa. that was beautiful too. so i guess maybe we were over algeria for a while which was pretty mountainey and greenish and then the green went away, followed but the mountains. and then all that was left was sand. lots and lots of sand. it has a name too, maybe you've heard of it? the sahara desert? i even got a little choked up at this point; i mean the SAHARA! it's that big sandbox you learn about in like 2nd grade, and i was looking at it! for like 3 hours! dude, it's big. so again, another movie to occupy me, i think wild hogs? ok, not great. but i felt too crappy to read and too uncomfortable to sleep. and then it got dark. boo. but we landed not long after that. so i get to the airport and we wait in line at immigration and i go get my bag. and guess what; there's a big nigerian guy in tribal dress holding a sign with my name on it! how cool is that?! he was some embassy guy or something and he went and found my driver who proceeded to track down our police escort and convoy. yup, police escort. you'd think i was somebody special or something! but i was too tired to chat and even though we all spoke english it was too hard to understand with the accents and the words just poured out too fast for any of us to keep track of what the other was talking about. but the suckey part was no light! i couldn't see a damn thing. and after 45min the driver pulls up to this gate and says we're stopping by the office and to wait in the car (which happens to be a brand new land cruiser, by the way). and then 15min later he hops back in the car and hands me a little nokia and a charger. "here's your phone. charge it in your room. i don't know the number but darrell will call you tomorrow." perfect. no problem. then off to the hilton.

THE HILTON. holy shit! it's freakin huge! and fancy! i check in and the cheap room is like $220/night and the us embassy is footing the bill (thank god). and everyone is nice. staring alot, but very nice. and they keep wanting to do stuff for me; carry my bags, open doors, push the elevator button. c'mon guys, i can manage. and then it's over. i get to my big glorious room

with a view of the pool and unpack immediately (like i do) and hop in the shower for a fabulous steamy 15min in my "magnificent marble bathroom" or at least according to the hilton's website. nice, yes. magnificent? sure, whatever. and then lights out.