just got off the phone with sleepless and everything's all set for my return to seattle next week for icls. you know who will be out of the country so i think at least mentally that will make it easier on me. and speaking of that...we finally talked about the "return of the stuff" the other day. you know, that conversation where you have to discuss the logistics of getting your stuff back from the other person. what was so interesting about the conversation was how it was really just about "the stuff" and nothing else. and that always amazes me...how you can be so close to someone, how you can be at a place in your life where you think "wow, this is it, this is the one" and then all that's left to say, or at least all that can be said, is cold and businesslike...as if you never knew the person at all. and i guess that there's a lot of truth to that. i'm not quite certain that i ever knew him at all.