My bag showed up three days before we came home.

Somehow, I caught another bug while over there and have spent the last three days shivering, sweating and barely sleeping under numerous blankets.

I'm exhausted, pushed to the damn limits and all I want right now is to heal.

I'll post photos and stories from the trip shortly.

In London this evening, Ian and I were hanging out with Tony Lee and friends at the Fitzrovia Pub for the Hope Falls wrap party. At one point someone answers a text message on his cell and exclaims "Arthur C. Clarke just died!" As most of those present were writers and artists the news had an unexpectably profound impact, as if a cold little hole suddenly appeared in the world.

Thinking about it now I'm reminded of images of Great Blue Whales caught on film, so rare and palpably present, their passing leaves you shuddering in awe as that impossible mass fades into the depths, never to be seen by human eyes again.

A giant has passed. We raised our glasses in salute.

There's more to report from the trip of course (including a possible luggage sighting!), very sleepy.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank British Airways for completely fucking up our trip.

After our signing yesterday we had a bit of time to go out to the strip mall across this big honking field to buy some more clothes to get us through the weekend. With the walking at the show, slogging through aisle after aisle in store after store, stressing over what size was what, trying to communicate what should be simple things to staff, and then dragging ourselves back across the field to the hotel only to learn we had to go back to get my phone left behind at the Nokia store after buying a charger, there was no energy left for the after-show party. I was in a lot of pain, hip, back and feet, and just drained of strength.

And today I get to hear how wonderful that party was, taking place in the catacombs of a centuries old castle. Apparently there was a brilliant buffet, great music, some well known Japanese artists with many lovely stories. Which ones? I have no idea BECAUSE I WASN'T THERE!

I was in our hotel, lying in pain, eating Pringles.

Fuck you British Airways. Fuck you for not returning e-mails, fuck you for calling after 5 days of nothing just to tell us my bag wasn't at Franfurt.

Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you.

It's Thursday, we just finished signing on the first day of the Leipzig Book Fair.

Still no luggage. No response yet to e-mails on British Airway's site. My cell is about to die since the charger is in the missing bag. Same with the camera's battery.

Hannover went nicely, the weather was crazy cold and blustery but the fans were warm and friendly. We headed out early this morning and got in to Leipzig with just enough time to buy another pullover and a warm hoodie before the signing.

I think there's something weird about the water or the soap or something because the hair colour I had done before the the trip is now turning a bit orange. Guh.

There's a music video on television right now featuring a CGI bunny singing to his carrot. It's called Kusschelsong.

The book fair is HUGE. We've only seen one hall so far, more tomorrow.

Germany is wonderful.

Yesterday went really well. After breakfast I did a lightning shopping trip and found a decent wardrobe thanks to more stores carrying plus sizes than they do back home. I usually hate buying clothes because there are only 3 places in Vancouver to find stuff in my size, but here... wow, I am woman, hear me whip out the credit card! I've become a stereotype! Love it. Found some great jeans, nice t-shirt, socks (had to get the ones with Snoopy on them, no idea why, undies and hair stuff. Still need a hoodie or something to warm up, but the cold is not that bad at all. The rains were prety light though the pressure changes in the air have been doing a number on my back. That'll get better with more sleep and some tylenol I think.

After the shopping we met up with Joe and Steffen and toured about the neighbourhood a bit. Found this stunning chocolate shop where Ian loaded up. Then we checked out an amazing church (I think it was St. Bartholomew's). They were tuning the pipe organ at the time, very eerie because of the sustained notes filling the enormous space. We wondered why it was so strange and then it was obvious, it sounded exactly like old Doctor Who episodes with the incidental music. I took some video, will try to post it soon.

After a brief break at the hotel we were off to the signing where we met many fans, signed many books, and drew many sketches. It was a lot of fun. And everyone speaks fantastic english so there was much yapping about comics.

We crashed early after a sweet meal of Indian food.

And Ian's bag turned up! Finger's crossed for mine making an appearance soon.

Today, we're in Hanover. I'm not sure about the Stuttgart situation, whether there was a change or not, but more as I learn it.

Bunche just wrote to me with news of the Passing of Dave Stevens. Awful beyond words. He was an incredible artist.

9 hours to London, slept maybe an hour on the plane, arrive to learn our connecting flight was cancelled due to weather. 6 hour layover in a depatures lounge with no place to lie down. Arrive in Franfurt at around 1am. British Airways lost our luggage. Still trying to track them down, we have no fresh clothes, no 'folio (with scripts to work on), no personal items, no HAIR PRODUCTS for hair the guy at Suki's INSISTS now requires styling until it grows out some more.

And icing on the cake, the ultimate irony, woke up this morning to the perfect, and I mean perfect, bed head. My hair couldn't have looked more amazing with the putty and gel and stuff put in on Sunday . And then I had to wash it all out.

Well fuck.

Signing at a comic shop this afternoon at 4pm.

Gotta find something to wear.

Okay, I've tried gel, gel spray, moulding putty, something called "surf hair" and it's still not working out. I like the top but the neck is a mess. I have an appointment with a different stylist tomorrow, hopefully he'll have some good suggestions.

So much to do yet and the hair thing is sucking up all my time.

You ever have those moments after a lengthy struggle with brush and gel and water where not only can you not get your hair to style like it was out of the salon the day before but you can't even get it to sit normal instead of the weird Frankenstein's monster meets Hilary Clinton thing it wants to do, and then, seeing the straggly rat tails, fuzzy crooked bits and weird chunks hanging off your ears have you ever stood there in front of the mirror, brush and gel in wet, sticky hands, and just CRIED?

Not since getting the Peggy Flemming cut from aunt Hillu when I was 6 years old have I felt this miserable.

I'll try again tomorrow before deciding on some kind of solution.

On the very upside, found a copy of Bryan Talbot's Heart of the Empire at the comic shop tonight. I actually gasped out loud upon seeing it. I think the Universe is being nice to me, or maybe it just wanted to pass along a "nice try" for the hair thing.

Sunday we're off to Frankfurt. I don't yet have locations for the signings both Ian and I will be doing there and in Stutgart, but if you're in that neck of the woods try asking around, someone must know. From the 12th to the 15th (?) we're in Leipzig for the book festival so I hope to see you there.

And as a special treat you get to see me completely butcher the German language, but not for lack of trying, I've been working very hard with a Berlitz book to remember as much of my high school Beginner's German as possible. So far, I can give good directions, ask for a pen, and request that Herr Schmidt send off many letters by fax machine. I'm sure it will come in handy somewhere.

My hair is so short.

I need to get used to it before taking photos.

I don't usually watch late night talk shows but I'm getting so hooked on Craig Ferguson's monologues. I know!

Nearly four years ago I announced to friends and family (okay, Ian and Vic) that I was going to grow out my hair in order to donate it to Locks of Love, a charity that provides wigs to kids who need them. Tomorrow (okay, later today) I get the big chop. Weird thinking that soon I will no longer have this long hank getting caught in car doors, tangled in collars, tugging my head into painful angles while I slept or taking forever to dry.

Photos forthcoming.

Two pages done on CBT. Five more nearly there. I've also been working on the first page of Doctor Who. Makes me giggle just thinking about it.

Getting psyched for Sunday's flight out.

And in keeping with the weekend's theme, while at the Comedy Death Ray show tonight at the Commodore we were besieged by the cacaphonous chatterings of yet another gaggle of spoiled idiots. What the fuck is wrong with these people?! They get all their friends together for some birthday party or secretaries' night out or some shit, gather at their table (near the bar of course) with their cell phones out and just YAMMER ON AND ON all through the headliner's set!

Do they wait for the show to end before getting out the cameras to pose for their farewell hugs? NO! RIGHT FUCKING THERE, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ACT THEY FIRE AWAY THEIR FLASH CAMERAS! We're ACROSS THE ROOM from these fuckers and we can hear all their banal twitters and squeals. There's even a security guard STANDING RIGHT THERE, but does he do anything? Hell no!

How fucking much do you have to pay for a ticket to make you sit and shut the fuck up and just listen to the fucking show?! Where the hell does this inflated sense of entitlement come from that you can go to a live event and act as if you're still in your living room having a slumber party?!

For fuck's sake! This isn't your local sports bar with Seinfeld playing in the background while you rehash your day at perfume counter! It's something we all paid money to attend because we want to hear what these performers have to say! We're not interested in your car troubles and gossip girl crap you boring pieces of shit! Grow the fuck up!

Fuck.