27 March 2000

I have the greatest husband in the world, and I can prove it: Yesterday, while I was lounging around the house variously reading, watching videos, and napping, Matt emptied the dishwasher, re-loaded it, collected my dirty dishes and took them to the kitchen, and did most of the laundry.

Needless to say, I had a very relaxing weekend. But I think I might need to get him something a little nicer for an anniversary present.

Relaxing weekend and nap aside, I'm quite tired today. Matt was watching the Oscars last night, which I don't really care about at all, so I was sitting in the computer room reading comics and sporadically checking my e-mail when Braz popped on Instant Messenger.

We chatted a bit, and eventually got around to talking about the Hall, and Marten and Zoya, and ran through a few lines in character before I suggested that IRC would be a better place for in-character discussion. So that's what we did, until 12:30.

And, of course, since we wrapped up our impromptu session and went to bed right away, I didn't get a chance to wind down afterwards, so I tossed and turned until almost 2am. I'm so sleepy this morning that I'm awake. No, that doesn't make any sense, but it's true.

But it was damn fun. Today I'll clean up the transcript so we can post it, letting the rest of the gang in on the action.

I think Braz has gotten just as caught up in the possibilities of the situation as I have. Maybe more; it's his character who's at the center of the plot, after all. He posted a new question to the forum about romance and role-playing - go, read, answer!

Word of the Day: touchstone - a test or criterion for determining the worth or genuineness of something; a fundamental quality or feature.

The touchstone of life is love. Not necessarily romantic love, but the capacity for some deep and abiding feeling. Without loving, without being loved, you are not truly alive - you merely exist. It is possible to do without love, but why bother?

But is there a touchstone for love? How do you know if it's the real thing? The willingness to sacrifice oneself for the loved one? The desire to put the other's needs ahead of your own? Determining the presence or depth of love has always been a tricky question, and I'm not going to answer it. It may not be possible to answer the question for anyone but yourself.

But like many hard questions, it's worth taking the time to consider.