Burned out? Do I smell smoke?

October 17, 2:00 p.m. (although it feels like midnight)

Checked into the Bayview on the Park Hotel, Melbourne, Australia. Frank, Steve and I are on our MacBooks listening to Stevie Wonder clips on YouTube. Would love to go sight seeing, but am delirious from the lack of sleep and jet lag. Everything is a little hazy, and that not due to any roadie indulgences. And this is only the first day. Plane was packed and sleep was difficult.

Jeff and Brian are rooming together. They immediately get to their rooms and plug in their portable fans, . . . it helps them sleep. I give them a power adapter that I purchased in the states. (A good roadie should think of everything.) Unfortunately, Australia has little inconspicuous switches on all wall outlets that are in the off position, so the fan is still not working. Also, unfortunate, is the fact that Brian mistakenly believes that my power conditioner is preventing the fan from working. So he pulls it off. By the time I get to the room, they are both perplexed and trying plug combinations and flipping the fan switches. Being in New Zealand a couple of years ago, I see that the wall outlet switch is off. So, I flip on the switch. Yeah, the fan works . . . for 5 seconds. Hmm, do I smell smoke. (Travel tip from Jeff: Never plug your 110 volt electrical products directly into a 240 volt Aussie outlet. Fan spins really, really fast . . . for about 5 seconds. Then the motor burns out.) Robbie is immediately called to go find some more fans and more power conditioners. (Roadie tip: be at the ready for anything the band may want.)

Will try to stay up until 6:00 p.m. so that I can get adjusted to the time change. Although that’s a bit pointless since we will be changing time zones throughout the next 30 days.

Frank is great to hang out with. We’re cracking up over a 60’s live clip of Stevie Wonder playing a drum solo. We also set up a three way iChat with Steve, even though we are sitting at the same table at the hotel bar. Just testing out the new MacBooks. I’m gonna take a walk down the block to try to stay awake. Will sleep around 7:00 pm.