Salt Lake was getting…

Salt Lake was getting even weirder the day I left. When I ran downtown, I saw all sorts of bemused strangers wandering around, being greeted by everyone they passed. Everyone. Really. It may have had something to do with the Olympic jackets the strangers were wearing. The athletes had come to town. I admit to succumbing to the coolness myself, though I refrained from pestering the poor people. Typical conversation overheard on bus:

"So, you're here for the Olympics?"
"Yes." [as we might have guessed from the big Olympic badge and the Italia jacket he's wearing]
"Welcome!" [SLC denizen clearly restraining impulse to tell them all about their religion]
"Thank you."

[uncomfortable silence ensues, punctuated by big smiles from all the Salt Lake folks, followed by Olympic people getting off bus at next stop]


But I did manage to get the vast majority of my stuff done (and what didn't get done, got packed), and even washed dishes before the cab arrived. That's always an accomplishment. It'll be nice not to come back to rotting food in the sink. Arrived two hours early to a nearly empty airport, got through check-in in about fifteen minutes (though my tall boots set off the metal detector again -- next time I'm just going to take 'em off *before* I go through and put 'em on the rollers...), got a decaf latte and some lemon poppyseed bread at Starbucks and had a nice long read. Lovely. There are these small civilized pleasures in life that just make life so much better. The sort of thing that makes me glad I'm an adult and can just *do* them when I feel like it, rather than asking someone else if I can please have some coffee...pretty please? Yay, adulthood.

And then there was a smooth flight with more reading, and then, of course, was lovely Jed waiting for me, and then there was a huge bunch of flowers, which even now is bringing a smile to my face (and he's sitting typing next to me, and doesn't know why I'm smiling yet, although he will when he reads this, although who knows what I'll be doing by then), and then there was ravioli, mmm.... And much snuggling. I haven't seen him in too long; I feel like a whole level of tension I didn't know was there has just evaporated. Very nice.

This morning I finished reading the last of the Firebird books, then had lunch, then wrote the review and just now sent it off to Chris. We'll see if he wants revisions. Until he responds, I plan to just goof off, I think. Jed loaned me a Tiptree collection, Her Smoke Rose Up Forever, which is very good, if a bit grim. I particularly liked the story about the humans getting obsessed with aliens for sex. Weird and almost plausible. More now -- perhaps chat again later.

Gods, I love California.

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