I'm on Amy/Max/Goose/"Maximy's" computer this morning. The few people left at the house post-party -- me, my cousin, her girlfriend, and the roommate -- are at different stages of almost-awake. I've walked outside with two of the house's pets; doesn't look like any of them have needed to go to the bathroom yet. The cold outside is manageable; I went out first in my nightwear (sweats and a T-shirt), then with a large blanket hanging, wrapped awkwardly and out of proportion, around me. But it kept me warm.
The party was a blast. We celebrated both Maximy's birthday and the birthday of her friend Angie, in a house kept very warm and with a kettle perpetually boiling to keep things more humid and summerlike. Max and Angie REALLY like being warm. They'd decided against renting a hot tub, as not enough people had confirmed they could come for the expense to be coverable. But there was plenty of entertainment: a friend DJ'd, we all did lots of talking, I sang all of the lyrics to "Baby Got Back"...
Getting here was a challenge. I woke up yesterday, unwillingly, around 3:30 a.m., and could not reach sleep again. I felt better once I got showered and dressed. First stop in my car was a side trip to my parents in Dundee; that was the best time for me to visit them, which I'd wanted to do since Grandma died. We talked for about half an hour -- Grandma things, work things -- then I hit the road, stopping at Music Millennium for some music I'd meant to get and at Burgerville for a quick lunch. I'd planned to stop at a family house in Olympia, Wash., which was good: I could feel my brain start to misfire from being tired. I needed a rest stop. Uncle Mike and Aunt Nancy (Maximy's parents) provided one. I chatted with them, had lunch (a spicy baked-potato-and-sausage soup), and then took about 30 minutes of shut-eye. That revived me enough for the last leg, from Olympia to Seattle. I wound up getting two more naps yesterday, before the party and at its tail end, or I'd've crashed bodily onto the floor and started snoring droolingly. Not a lovely sight (though I'm sure it would've looked amusing).
Now, it's a relaxing morning. I've pulled from Max's shelves the novel Wicked, and am a few pages into it (stopping, of course, to write this entry: I'm not THAT good a multitasker!)