I’m on the ground in Catonsville after an enjoyable 14 hour plane ride (thanks, Etihad! thanks, Ambien!), a two hour wait in DC Beltway traffic, a burger and a beer at Red Robin, and 10 hours of sleep. Hopefully, I won’t be too jet-lagged today, which is why I stayed up yesterday and slept for as long as I could this morning.

Abu Dhabi was an amazing experience, although I really didn’t get to see much of the actual city. The conference was the most elaborate, organized, and expensive event I’ve ever been to, hosted in the most elaborate and expensive hotel I’ve ever set foot in. Had I been a little luckier, I might have been able to stay at the host hotel, which featured several swimming pools, multiple four-star restaurants, and a beach fronting the Persian Gulf. My hotel was a 45 minute drive from the venue, which meant I was beholden to the bus service, eating dinner at my hotel, and rushing to press a shirt before crashing into bed at 11, only to wake up at 4AM unable to go back to sleep.

I’ll write more later, because there’s a soccer game to attend and a house to clean before we host guests for dinner tonight. It’s good to be home.