I went to school in Iowa.

This is, usually, not all that significant to me. I went to school, made lots of friends, slept with a whole bunch of people, and then left once i'd gotten the piece of paper I'd been working on for four years.

However, this year Laura asked me if I wanted to go to ICON, the science fiction convention that I used to go to when I lived there. I thought about it and decided it would be a good idea to go see old friends. (Plus, the alcohol is free all weekend with your con membership. This is by no means a bad thing.)

So last Thursday, early in the morning, we all piled into Solcita's car and went to the airport. She dropped us off, we checked our bags at the curb, and we were off.

The plane ride was uneventful--took off on time, landed on time in Chicago, and there were breakfast burritos in between. We got our bags, picked up the minivan we'd reserved, and started driving towards Cedar Rapids.

We got the minivan in case we needed to caravan somewhere. It turned out that we probably could have gotten away with a full-sized car, but the van was good for stretching out in. Bryan drove from Chicago to CR, as I wasn't comfortable with the idea of driving a huge unfamiliar vehicle in Chicago traffic. I navigated and supplied money for tolls. We stopped briefly at a mall to pick up cell phone chargers and glowstick jewelry for me. We got into the hotel about 8:30, went and got dinner (stuffed pork chops, because we were in Iowa) and then crashed out.

In the store, I saw a small pile of decorations by the counter. "Oooooh!" I crowed. "A severed head!" For some reason, that completely busted Laura up. Maybe because I was using the same voice I usually reserve for kittens and puppies.

Friday, Bryan and Laura slept in and I got up and worked, as my taking a vacation was contingent upon me working a few hours a day. I had issues getting a good connection to the net, went downstairs to see if I could use their net connection and was told that their boardroom was reserved for the use of a group at the hotel that I wasn't a part of.

I flounced back up to our room, slightly miffed. I then managed to get a reasonably stable connection and worked until my roommates got up and took showers and stuff.

We failed to find anyone we knew downstairs, where the setup for the convention was happening, so we went out for lunch and headed down to Iowa City, about 15 minutes away. I drove, so I could get comfortable with the vehicle. We did a little tour of places that we used to live, like Laura's old apartment in Coralville (complete with pretty trees and South African men taking pictures. We hit Grandview Court, a little complex where both Laura and I used to live, and I took pictures of the gardens that we used to grow stuff in, as well as a couple of pictures of my old building. And the merry-go-round that we used to have Storm spin us on until we were sick.

We then wandered around downtown Iowa City for a while, walking over to the north pedestrian bridge near Hancher, and then down to the IMU where I got some pretty pictures of the physics building. I even took a picture of my reflection in the shiny metal of the building.

The dome on the Old Capitol burned down last year, and they're rebuilding it. And by the Old Capitol was the usual nice view, as well as a surprising number of flowers for October in Iowa. (And not to mention the black squirrels!)

We walked by a bunch of guys playing basketball by Burge Hall, and after we'd passed Bryan said "There were three Rileys playing basketball over there!" (The Buffy character Riley is supposedly from Iowa. I guess they got the casting spot-on.)

After a quick stop by the ducks, who ran at us hoping for treats, and a quick snapshot of the underside of the bridge I've always thought was cool, and we walked back to the car and drove back north to the hotel.

We went upstairs, dropped off some things, and then came back downstairs. I walked into the lobby of the hotel, heard a shrieking from behind me, and found myself with my arms full of blonde. I lifted her up and spun her around, and when I put her down there were another two women ready to tackle me--Ragged Robin and Angela, an ex-girlfriend and a former roommate respectively. The blonde was Laura (a different Laura than the one I was with--the Laura I had come with is the redheaded Laura). It was so good to see all of them!

We managed to find Derek and Heather, and went to go get dinner. There was a truly lovely sunset, and afterwards I was introduced to the game Witch Hunt.

Witch Hunt is an amazingly fun game of trying to determine which of your friends and compatriots is lying. And, oddly enough, I seem to be pretty damned good at it--my intuitions are about as good as other people's certainties. We sat in a big circle and played, and it felt oddly familiar to be with this large, ever-changing group of people. Like coming home, but different--this wasn't home any more, but a place that used to be home. The same personalities, writ large because we were all going to be in each other's company for about the next 36 hours. We've all gotten older, some of us have gotten softer, some of the guys have hair that is starting to wander away. (Except Randy. I am convinced that when the rest of us are old and grey and wrinkly, Randy will still look about 24.) But they were the same faces, the same personalities.

I hung out with Ragged Robin, and it was incredibly good to see her again. We sat by the pool, and she smoked and I drank. During the next game of Witch Hunt, she gave me the cup of Secret Death Punch that she'd been given, claiming it was too strong for her. It turned out to be nearly too strong for me, but I drank it and thereafter everything acquired a fuzzy pink glow.

I can't remember why I decided to go hot tubbing. I think Laura may have suggested it, and since everything sounded like a good idea by that point, I ran upstairs to grab my swimsuit. I can't remember how I ended up in the lobby again, swaying against Ed (another old friend, who I'd run into upstairs at a room party that I'd stopped at briefly).

I finally achieved swimsuit status, and ran down to the hot tub area again, where I slid into the rub overfilled with people. I ended up with my head propped on someone's legs while someone named Travis(?) rubbed my feet. Bliss. Bliss bliss bliss.

After a bit, i started sensing that my blood alcohol level and the heat of the water were about to do Bad Things to me, so I retired, went upstairs, and called it a night. I think Laura and Bryan were there and awake when I got there, but again, things are fuzzy.

I was sitting during the second or third game of Witch Hunt with my eyes closed during the witch and prophet rounds (where everyone but the witches and the prophet is "asleep" and keeps their eyes closed) and there were suddenly nails being drawn along the back of my neck. Then there was someone nibbling on my neck. I stifled my squeaks until we opened our eyes, whereupon the blonde Laura slid into my lap and kissed me.

She's certainly gotten friendlier since I saw her last... was about my only coherent thought.

Ah, flirtatious, supposedly straight girls. Love them to pieces.

And during another witch round, there were familiar hands on my shoulders, rubbing them. When I opened my eyes, I found it was Jeff. It's a very good thing I recognized the touch--I've gotten jumpy about people I don't know touching me in the past few years.

Saturday started out late, with me logging in briefly to check my work email and then wandering out for lunch once more. That afternoon, Bryan and Laura went to visit a cousin, and I took the time to take a nap and then play the GameBoy Bryan had bought. I needed the alone time to recharge for that evening, and I was in much better shape afterwards than I was before. After a while, I wandered up to the consuite and got a few fingers' worth of peach brandy for myself, as well as finding Ragged Robin and heading down to the pool area with her.

I drank, she smoked, and we caught up with each other while I waited for the music at the dance to get better. Eventually, Ed joined us, and once the music got better I headed in to dance.

I danced, drifting from group to group, stopping when there was a song I didn't recognize on and talking to people. I was wearing my little glowsticks, which I loved seeing in the dark, all pretty and glowy as I danced. The necklace was the exact right length to illuminate my cleavage, as well. And I ran into Ryan (who I very briefly mentioned here; she's the "girl" I'm referring to). I spent a while catching up with her, since I hadn't heard from her in a few years.

And after dancing, there was the chocolate ceremony at midnight, and a little more dancing, and then there were more games of Witch Hunt. Ryan sat next to me, and I'm happy to say that she doesn't hate me like I thought she might. (She and I lost contact when Shannon and I broke up, and I'd kind of feared it was because of that; but it turns out that she still likes me.) At 4:30 in the morning, I found myself dizzy with fatigue (and not with tipsiness, since the peach brandy was all I'd drunk all evening, other than water) and so went upstairs to bed.

Sunday, we all picked up the art we'd bought, and went out for brunch. I got pictures of Angela and her husband (my former roommate at Bonsai Oaks, who helped keep me sane through some very tough times) and of Lisa, another old friend. I also saw, but failed to get a good picture of, Alex, who directed a West Side Players play that I was in once upon a time.

And then, I was off to Des Moines, for a dinner with Muk. The two hours in the car there was relaxing, for the most part; I never got truly comfortable with the van, but that was okay because the traffic wasn't bad. I found her workplace with a minimum of fuss, and I pulled up and...there she was!

We drove up to Ames, to go to Great Plains Sauce and Dough, which I'd heard wonderful things about but never got the chance to go to. After dinner, we found a coffeeshop a couple of blocks down to continue the conversations we'd started. (The coffeeshop wouldn't have been out of place in Seattle, which I thought was pretty cool. Couches, cool eclectic decor, the works.)

We talked for hours, getting to know each other, just happy to be in each other's presence. Muk is beautiful, and charming, and passionate. I was seized with an urge to smuggle her home in my suitcase. She drank cafe au lait, and I drank hot chocolate; I watched her hands and her eyes and simply couldn't believe my luck in being in the same room as this amazing woman.

At once point, she said, "Whenever I want to remember what real life is like, I come read your journal." That is possibly the best compliment anyone has ever given me.

I want to say more, but most of the rest is vague excited handwaving. I think we both became abruptly very real to each other over the course of the evening; and the chemistry that was electric in its potential online became reality in person.

And the rest....I am keeping to myself. I wish we'd had more time; but there is the possibility that eventually she will come here, at least to visit for a while.

And I drove home, bouncing and fluttery all the way back to the hotel, the whole two hours. Laura and Bryan and Derek and Heather were all there, so I laid on one of the beds, drank cheap wine, and eventually fell asleep.

Monday was all business; we drove from Cedar Rapids back to Chicago, waited in the airport for a while, and then flew home. Laura had a bit too much caffeine on the way and was all bouncy and fidgety in the plane; we talked (quite possibly squicking out the people in front and behind us) and played the card game Gother Than Thou to pass the time.

Then Storm and Jen picked us up and returned us to Bryan and Laura's house, where we ate dinner and I went home. The cats were overjoyed to see me, and Juniper slept on my head all night.

It was a good weekend, and I'm very glad to be home.

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