So Thursday night I was at work until 1 am getting ready for a massive client presentation. And even though I slept in on Friday and got to work at 11, I was still pretty sleep-deprived loopy, and my entire day was focused on getting home and crawling back into bed.

Profound exhaustion notwithstanding, I can always be talked into dinner with friends. So when Anders invited me to join him and J.P. at Vermilion after work, how could I say no? (Especially when you consider that we were going so J.P. could review the restaurant -- so our meal was free and we got to enjoy it under the helpful glow of his epicurean knowledge.) The food -- an intriguing fusion of Latin and Indian -- was fabulous, and the desserts were even better. So it was worth putting off my much-needed sleep.

But we weren't done yet. After dinner we decided to hit some funky craft co-op store where one of Anders' friends was showing her wares. Then -- with no real destination in mind -- we climbed in a cab and headed in the general direction of the bars we usually frequent. We finally settled on Big Chicks -- where I had planned to end up anyway to meet up with Dan and help him celebrate his last day at the job he's hated so much for so long.

But the exhaustion was winning, so after one drink and many congratulations for Dan (and a prolonged smiling-and-flirting session with a cute little muscleboy in a baseball cap about 10 feet away from our table), I headed home and collapsed.

Now I'm packing and present-wrapping and getting ready to head off to Iowa for a long weekend celebrating my nephew's fifth birthday and the 25th-anniversary Follies reunion -- right after we finish up our final three-hour recording session for the upcoming chorus CD.

Whew. It's a good thing I got caught up on my sleep last night.