dreamshark

... in a matter of hours (if we're lucky, and the airlines refrain from melting down). Off to visit my mother and sister in Arizona. Back in a week. Our plane leaves at 9:30pm, but I took the day off to pack, which was a great luxury. I managed to fit in a quick skiing expedition on Hiawatha Golf Course. They had finally gotten around to grooming a trail, which was quite lovely. Nobody else was out except a woman with a dog but no skis, and the park building was closed so I didn't have to buy a ski pass. The ski track was just about perfect for waxless skis - firmly packed and very slippery, but not quite ice yet (except for a few very small patches in direct sun). I made it all the way around the groomed track (4km, according to the website) for the first time in years. Usually I decide it's too far and start looking for a shortcut back to the parking lot (which typically involves ski tracks that disappear in the middle as if the skiers had been airlifted out, and probably uses more energy in the long run). But today I stuck with the trail all the way around the perimeter, with no rest stops at all except short pauses to put gloves on and take them back off and so on. It took me 50 minutes. I was just getting tired when I got back to the clubhouse. I think that means I'm in slightly better condition than I was this time last year. Better than the alternative.

Almost time to leave for the airport. I hate that last hour before a trip - I spend it wondering what I'm forgetting, worrying that the zipper on my carry-on will burst wide open on the way to the flight gate (not a completely unrealistic fear), triple-checking that I have my driver's license and chapstick and the boarding passes I printed out, and so on.

The Minnstf voting meeting is at our house this Saturday, hosted by