Everyone keeps asking, what’s it all about?
I used to be so certain and I can’t figure out
What is this attraction?
[duncan sheik]

Welcome back. Life returns, the friends go home, the cats relax, and my fingers start tapping almost of their own accord. They make it clear that whether I want to or not, it's time to start writing again—not because I should but because I must.

"And I could stand here waiting
A fool for another day
But I don’t suppose it’s worth the price, worth the price
The price that I would pay"
[d.s.]

Put the music on. Don't turn on the light. Listen to the cats in the next room, industriously tussling each other in brotherly fashion. Despite the fact that no one is here but me, I attempt to physically hide the fact that I am writing—because, of course, if no one knows I'm writing, no one will know to ask me whether or not I was able to finish what I started.

I have survived geekfest.

My house still isn't so sure it agrees with me. :)

Either way, the geekfest pictures are up.

On what I have left to do for geekfest 2.0, which begins tomorrow:

Recipient (Divide By Zero):
>Probably. After dinner tonight I'll scrub down the kitchen, and then mop the
>floor. Then I've gotta clean the bathroom. Tomorrow morning I'll put fresh
>sheets on the guest bed (for Brad) and on the sofa bed (for Brian and Suzan)
>and then I'll be good to go.

*** Message (#7) from Divide By Zero at 18:40 ***
>you're a beastie. You know that, right?

Recipient (Divide By Zero):
>?

*** Message (#9) from Divide By Zero at 18:41 ***
>a holy terror of domesticity. a primal force of hostessing. a grizzled
>combat veteran of the war of playing house.

So much to do.
But Dan's right. I do love this. Given the choice between this life and what I had before—living in a town where I knew no one and had no friends—I will take this. No questions asked.

Here is why you are my valentine.

Now, let me turn that on its head.

I've been listening to a lot of classic Motown lately. I have no explanation for why that's what I've wanted to hear lately.

But one of the albums I've been digging through lately is Stevie Wonder's Songs in the Key of Life. I love the title, and I loved his explanation for it—look it up sometime.I think most everyone probably likes the most well-known track, "Isn't She Lovely." But I have a particular affection for the song "As"—its gospel-influenced give and take, its cheerful hyperbole.

It's a good song when you're thinking about your spouse on the day before Valentine's Day…

"Did you know that true love asks for nothing
Her acceptance is the way we pay
Did you know that life has given love a guarantee
To last through forever and another day

Just as time knew to move on since the beginning
And the seasons know exactly when to change
Just as kindness knows no shame

A day of mixed emotions: thoughts both happy and mundane. Ranging from "I should cook something nice tomorrow since it's Valentine's Day" to "I should remember to set out the recyclables for pickup today."

I haven't written much lately, and I know it's concerned some people who are close to me. You're right to be concerned—silence, on my part, is an indication that something isn't wholly right with me. You're correct to assume that if I stop writing—something I care as much about as I do that particular activity—that there's something going on in my mind equally important.The overwhelming majority of my life has been uneventful, but punctured with moments worthy of remembrance, both pleasant and unpleasant. I fear I am verging on remembrance.