…southern home of urban sprawl, long commutes, and much Christmas shopping. The drive out here was a bit shorter than I thought it would be, which was a pleasant surprise. I'd have come out here more often in the past if I'd have known that it wasn't so terrible of a drive.

Today's musical obsessions: "dark and long" by Underworld, and "Satellite" by BT.

I'm mostly packed at this point. I should be sleeping right now, but I'm a wee bit excited and I'm also talking to Brad. I've got everything packed except my toiletries, which I'll throw in tomorrow morning before we leave.

I got my car back this morning. I doubt that many people would rejoice over the return of a six-year-old underpowered purple Sundance…but it's my car, and I've actually rather missed having her around. I always thought people were joking when they said that their cars developed character as they aged; now that I own an aging car, I understand.

Oh, man, this just burns me up. I'm researching what all I need to purchase before flying out to D.C. in October—turns out my flight's going to cost about what it did last year. The problem is the rental car. I only need it for two full days—days when Andy's going to be at work and I want to get myself to the nearest Metro station.