cali

i head out to cali next week for a round of meetings. it is fall, time for the stuff to hit the fan, to be serious about all things warm and fluffy. it is exciting. and now that the colder temps are here on the right side, it feels like it is indeed time for fall to be upon us.

the best part of the meetings? catching up with folks i haven't seen in more than a year.

the worst? being trapped in conference rooms in the middle of squaw valley. the mountains look down at us eating our lunches and laugh. it is very hard to be in the mountains and not play in them. then again, i won't be able to breathe, so maybe this will become easier to stomach.

it is mildly disturbing that this will be my most substantial (based on time away and distance traveled) trip since snowbird, last january, nine months ago. i say mildly, of course, because as incredible as it is that i haven't been somewhere more exciting or foreign, maybe in a way i have. cancer land was a pretty wild vacation. i got to learn a new language, visit big buildings, try some really fun drugs, and make some new friends.

i love to travel and see new places and after a year in which the calendar was riddled with more hospital visits than i ever imagined possible, i feel an urge to spend a year filling the calendar with booked flights and time away. i feel like i've done a good job since june of making this happen, short trips here and there to places i love with people that make me happy. now a little break in the action for some work. i can hang in there. before i know it, the car will be packed for the hampster and skiing will be what's in season. so much to look forward to, it is ridiculous.