31 July 2003 - 21:29

In less than eight hours, Wheel and I set off on a ten hour trip.

At the end of said trip, we will be in an airport in Seattle and Platypus and Vruba will be there to meet us and whisk us away.

Just thinking about the trip makes me tired. Have I mentioned, I hate riding in planes?

Platypus and I have been close friends for six years. The kind of friends who are there when you wake up from a bad dream at three in the morning. Who listen patiently when you're suffering through unrequited love. The kinds of friends who not only tell each other their secrets, but make up new secrets just so they can tell each other those as well. Who make big plans and do silly things. Who can lose touch for stretches of time and then pick right back up, or conversely, can spend hours and hours a day together for weeks and months on end and never run out of things to talk about. Who surprise each other with charming creations for no particular reason at all. Who hang out together for hours doing nothing in particular and yet end up treasuring the resultant memories. You know, get Hallmark on the phone, Platonic Love Lives Yet, these two aren't gonna quit.

During the time we've known each other, we've spent roughly four weeks in each other's physical proximity. Half of that was at Not Back to School Camp, which is full of distractions. Another five days of that was around my wedding (two months ago), also a somewhat busy period.

How is this possible? Well, Platypus and I grok computers. Beyond that, we grok networked communications. These collected digital media in combination are powerful ... personal ... beloved tools for self expression. We use them pretty darn well. Thus, we can be really cozily close 3,000 miles apart, if there're fiber optic cables bridging the distance.

So that provides the means. Of course, our relationship isn't about us liking computers per se ... most fundamentally, Platypus and I grok each other.

So yeah, y'all should know that Wheel and I are going up to the Pacific Northwest. And we're going kayaking and horseback riding and ballroom dancing and yeah, we'll drink coffee in Seattle and visit the numerous friends we have in the area. We'll go to parks, watch movies. But that's not really the story here.

This trip is going to double the amount of 'real' time one of my dearest friends and I have spent together. It's a strange thought. Right now I'm nervous and excited and happy and distracted. Be patient with me. Give me space. I love these characters and pixels and spools of code, but I would never argue that there isn't a lot that these connected computers can never convey. The next two weeks are for allowing something special to grow.

This is important. Thanks for understanding.