"be intamit with marge"

Things to do in Portland before we go:

1. Barbecue ribs on Laura's deck, thereby convincing Devin that our ribs are the best. Ever.

2. Disassemble Rachel's lamp and toast the accomplishment of said disassembly with bubbly on her deck, savoring her amazing view.

3. Think about if we missed out, having just a balcony instead of a true deck. (Hmmm...)

4. Pick at least one of our favorite restaurants and get there again. (555 perhaps?)

5. Buy a case of Citra Montepulciano magnums to take with us, since the price is rather ridiculous. (Note: Already done!)

6. Decide unilaterally to postpone a cheese-tasting for the District in an effort to force dear friends to come visit. Also because we already have the wine.

7. Go to the beach. (I have a feeling this one is gonna bite the bullet, since we clearly gave priority to number 5...Oh well.)

8. Find a way to pack up all my SAT materials without too much effort. Well, and by "all" I mean "all the ones that aren't tests or grids that I can shred, because, come on." I'm keeping the teacher's editions, even though there's every chance I {sniff} won't be using them again {sniff sniff}.
Yeah, I know I bitch and moan about SAT prep, but this last class was wicked awesome, as proven by the fact that they let me take their picture. I really enjoyed teaching them, and it's rather bittersweet to go out on a high note.

9. Try extra-hard not to think about the rest of it. Not to think about the friends we've made here who have almost become family (me to Laura: "I'm like the big sister you never wanted!"). Not to think about how we all say we'll visit even as we know life is going to pull us in directions we can't anticipate (key words: Yaddo; Milton; AUP) and that, while we'll still make it happen, it won't be with the frequency and ease that we'd like. And, most importantly, not to think about how damnedly horrible it's going to be to pack up all these books again. Yargh.