Hi! I'm in Utah! Thank you for all your well wishes. Also, I am cold! Being in Utah and being cold: these things may be related.

It turned out to be a 13-hour drive, and while it sometimes felt endless, it was something approaching fun, because I drove with my E., and we are pretty good at having a good time when we are together. It is a talent we have. We arrived in Utah at dark o'clock because we left a little late, and found that my apartment is not yet ready because my landlord is all-the-way around crazy, so he is downstairs laying weird tile and I am squatting upstairs in an a studio he has not rented yet. I had just wanted to arrive, to move in, to be home and safe and ready to start, and instead I'm still stuck in this transition stage, where everything I own is in boxes, and I do not belong anywhere.

It is not all bad—E.'s roommates, strong and crazy-wonderful and tough like bulls, every one of them—moved all those boxes from the truck into my still-unfinished apartment in under an hour. I took them out for thank-you pizza, and we watched a movie and I was not physically repulsed by Russell Crowe but instead found him terribly charming. E. took me for essentials (how does one live without peanut butter toast and toilet paper, possibly in that order?), and now I am in my temporary home, my stuff downstairs and me upstairs, curled up on my mattress in the middle of the room, snuggling with my little freaked-out cat, sleepy as hell, and also desperately stressed out and just wanting this all to be over, please, I'd like to get on with the rest of my life, you know? I have stuff to do? I can't spend the rest of my life, like, moving? I need solid ground and a sense of security, you know?

I am hopeful—I'm supposed to move in Tuesday. I have got an Internet connection, here in my squatter's den. Comcast is coming tomorrow, and won't that be nice? I've got a cabinet full of food, a whole day to work on freelance stuff, to cuddle with my cat, to do some writing, even, and then a boy coming over to say hi, and to tell me I am pretty and that every little thing is going to be alright. I will probably even believe him at that point. Right now, though, I just need to sleep. Hi, I'm in Utah!