goodbye katie, hello packing

The second half of the title of this post is more aspirational than factual - I meant to come home and pack today after dropping Katie off at the airport (sad!), but instead I ate a sandwich, took a nap, and talked to my mother. Then, I went to lovely downtown Mountain View and had coffee with Chris and Meggy - the sad thing is that I'd only seen them a couple of times in the past six months, after Chris contacted me following a nearly four-year hiatus since the last time I had seen him. Now I have time to hang out, but I'm moving back to Iowa, which will make socializing v. difficult. It was great to see them, though, and I'm glad we caught up a bit, even if Chris was suggesting something along the lines of 'Arlene Turgid' for a romance novelist penname.

Following coffee, I met up with Lauren (aka Subz) and Terry at Amarin Thai. Usually I really like that place, but we were seated in this weird room that was clearly packed well beyond safe occupancy rates. I was wedged into a corner, and by the end of the meal had lost track of the conversation because I was too busy freaking out about the fire hazards imposed by the insane number of tables and the complete dearth of walkable exit paths. I don't consider myself to be a claustrophobic person, but I ended up asking for the check rather abruptly so that we could get out of there.

We followed up dinner with some leisurely time at the same cafe that I had had coffee at only a few hours previously; two cafes au lait and one thai iced tea in one evening were enough to wire me for awhile, although I was clearly bouncier than Lauren and Terry, who had both worked today. I actually kind of forgot that it had been a work day for them, and then felt rather sorry for them when I realized it, and I don't think that my pity (combined with the relaxation that I'm exuding) really went over so well. Then again, I think they were happy for me when I reported that my thumb and my eyelid have completely stopped twitching, so that's a good thing.

It was great to catch up with them, although it's hard to believe that a week from now I'll be on my way home. It's especially hard to believe given how little packing I've done - I have luckily made arrangements for movers and for a storage facility, but I still have all of my books, clothes, and cookware to pack, as well as a variety of odds and ends. I also need to either move or dispose of the contents of the storage unit I'm currently renting, which will be v. annoying given that it's mostly stuff that I vaguely want but clearly don't use since it's in storage.

It's also sad because after discussing my book with Katie last night, I am really excited to work on it right now, but I should be packing instead. However, that's a foolish thing to say - by not working on the novel so that I can 'pack', I instead procrastinate from packing by reading blogs and catching up on the news. I have a serious disease, and hopefully some time in Iowa will cure me of some of my addiction to technology. The fact that my crackberry will be useless in my twitchy, demanding hands will probably be a good start. Now, though, I should really go to bed - I'm going to the evil city tomorrow morning to see Julie, and then I really do need to get a handle on my packing. Goodnight!