Hell has frozen over ...

I, the pink control freak, actually managed to go four days without turning on my laptop. I had it on during the flight to L.A. on Wednesday, and then didn't turn it on again until Sunday morning. But seriously, I was having too much fun, which I needed even more than I realized.

I don't think it hit me just how badly I needed a vacation until I got on the plane -- and started crying. I think it was a combination of fatigue, stress, nerves, guilt about going on vacation without Chris, and, oh yeah, Celine Dion. Virgin America was awesome, and they have MP3s on their in-flight entertainment system, so I got to blare "Alone" during takeoff, and then I switched over to "A New Day Has Come," which, of course, had me in tears.

I spent most of the flight reading Vanity Fair and drinking vodka/cranberry juice. I normally don't drink before noon, but the TV feed wasn't working on my seat, so they offered me a cocktail. It definitely took the edge off. Hee. It was entirely too amazing to get off the plane in L.A. and see Sue, Lara and Steph sitting there.

It was not so amazing to get stuck in rush-hour traffic on three different freeways trying to get from LAX to Burbank. I cannot even put into words my newfound appreciation for good old I-5 in Seattle. Wednesday night, we went to the Burbank Bar & Grille, and then sang karaoke (go figure) and hung out. I think there may have been drinks, but I can't remember, and that is only from fatigue, not from having been drunk (unlike Friday, and that is all I am saying).

Thursday, we went on the Warner Bros. tour, which was just awesome. I don't watch any shows currently taped there, but it was a ton of fun to see where "Friends" taped -- including the Central Perk set -- and even more so to see some of the buildings used on "Lois and Clark." It's been 11 years since the show went off the air, but seeing the streets where Teri and Dean walked, and the buildings that once housed The Daily Planet and Metropolis City Hall, and the theater where the Kerths was held, and the scandalous Chateau Roberge, totally brought out my inner pink geek.

That night, we went to a ramen place that was about 25 minutes away, and spent another 90 waiting, but seriously, it was worth it. Ramen is my ultimate bad food, and this was like a thousand times better. As in $137 worth of ramen for 11 people. (OK, there was sake and potstickers and oolong tea, too, but still, you could buy like a million 10-cent packages for that much money.) When we got back to the hotel, we read a very interesting fic out loud, and I can honestly say that when body parts start shooting off, it's no longer sexy.

Friday was entirely too awesome. We got up early and headed to The Grove in Beverly Hills. Steph, Anna, Sue and Lara went off to see "The Dark Knight," and I went shopping with Lauren, Kate and Laurie, who was kind enough to come meet us. I bought shoes at Nordstrom, and had lunch at an awesome organic restaurant, and also shopped at Victoria's Secret and Sur La Table.

And then we went to Rodeo Drive. I finally rewarded myself for my 51 hours of hell in Editorial with a gorgeous silver necklace from Tiffany & Co. We also went to Sprinkles for cupcakes that, as I described, would be like "baking an orgasm and selling it for $3.25." It was very celeb-ish, considering everyone from the Desperate Housewives to the Girls Next Door go there.

We finished off the evening with a trip to The Cheesecake Factory, where we ate pasta and laughed ourselves sick before traveling back to Burbank via a little, uh, detour through Studio City that took us past Chez Hatcher and Chez Clooney (and Chez Trebek, but who cares about him? The answer: No one, for $100).

Saturday, we went to Hollywood, where we saw famous handprints and built bears. Yeah, bet y'all didn't think I'd be the Build-a-Bear type, eh? I was going to do a Hawaiian bear, but I, uh, kind of made a Clark bear instead. He's in a suit, just like a fancy reporter (and totally unlike the reporters at my paper). We also took a tour of the famous Grauman’s Theater, which was really interesting. I didn't know that some celebs, including Julia Roberts, have turned down the chance to put their handprints in cement (in her case, three times). It kind of has me thinking there should be a Walk of Fame for journalists. ;-)

I was dead tired by the time I dragged myself onto the plane to come home -- after three hours of sleep, which was well worth it to stay up and talk with my friends -- and while I am glad to be home, I had so much fun with my friends that I am already counting down the days until next fall when we go to Vegas. Like I tearily told them early Sunday morning, this vacation was exactly what I needed.

For four days, I didn't have to think about fertility, or cyber stalkers, or headline contests and Newsline, or any other stresses. For four days, I just had an awesome time. I feel refreshed and ready to write -- both L&C and G&L -- and I realized that having some "me time" was, for lack of a better word, absolutely brilliant.