Last night I closed another chapter in my life. If this really were a book, it would be a small event -- one more deserving of a scene change, honestly -- but it feels significant.

Colin's parents can't afford to pay his rent any more, so at the end of March he has to move out of his apartment. Our apartment. He might be moving into their house, or he might move into my old room at my parents' house, but either way, I'm not going to see the apartment in Montrose again. He'll pack everything up next week, and when I come home in May, I'll come back to my parents' place (where I am right now). Then I'll go to basic training, he'll stay here through June, and when I leave Ft. Leonard Wood it'll be for our condo.

We went to the movies with Kean last night, then came home to pack. Ostensibly to pack. We ended up standing in the living room for about half an hour, holding each other and reminiscing. So many memories are indistinct, but there are some that stand out. We preserved them in whispers, and added another.

Then we went to bed and made quiet love until we couldn't stay awake any longer, just like those first few nights I stayed over. It was the right way to go out: the way I came in.

My keyring gets one key lighter tomorrow morning, because he has to return two sets of keys. I doubt I'll even notice its absence in my pocket, or when I unlock other things -- it's on the ring for "keys I don't use very often" -- but giving it back will still feel weird. I associate giving back keys with ending relationships, and while the only thing ending is my relationship with a crowded 700-square-foot apartment which badly needs new carpet, I don't have to like it. And I'm not going to.

But putting this down will make it go away faster, thus.

I was planning on spending some time this morning saying goodbye to the apartment, but I forgot to. Maybe I'm getting less maudlin as I get older, but I think I was just tired.

Colin blew off work today and we went to AggieCon with my sister. She has a couple of papers to do (supposedly; she dropped us off here and went to go drop her friend off an hour ago, and since said friend lives about 15 minutes away, I'm not sure how serious she really is), so we had to take off around five PM. I didn't actually get to meet Neil Gaiman in person, but I'm sure that'll happen someday. More importantly, it was Meet Up With Old Friends Day! Well worth the $15 admission and the gas.

I first ran into Keith Nielsen, one of the Houston MIBs and a former gaming buddy. He said that Jeff and Andy (two other MIBs) were in the dealers' room, so I went off to say hi. While talking with Andy, who should walk by but Don Hitt! I met Don back during my freshman year of college at ... NovaCon 1994, I want to say, where we had a hell of a good time gaming together. We've been in and out of touch over the last eight years; I think the last time I heard from him was shortly after I moved into my own place on the north side of Houston. Don rescued my distraught ass on 16 January 2000, the day I walked out of Leo's apartment and drove down to Corpus Christi with the sole goal of being somewhere else. He's rapidly climbing the ranks at MCI, and is about to move out to Colorado Springs to work for them and have lots of skiing accidents. Later I saw Brad, another person I used to game with at Rice, and Heath Clark, of all people! He's got a girlfriend and is working at UPN ("trying to survive the merger with Fox," as he put it), and looks decidedly happy. God, it's nice to know there are people I consider formative influences who haven't wasted their lives.

I also found the issue of Locus which has Tim Pratt's review of The Children of Cthulhu. It actually mentions me and my story by name! That's the first time that's happened. Damn, it feels good.

By the way, Kim, if you're reading this, thank you for your email yesterday. You always know how to make me grin when I'm being all bummed and mopey. :)

It's 8:00 and my dad has bought pizza. I'm going to go eat, and cuddle my boy, and then I'm going to go to bed early.

See you all in Iowa.