It’s bright light in LA. Cold and crisp and sunlight so dry that it makes my already-adapted-to-Seattle little naked mole rat eyes squinch up. The light! My eyes!

Meanwhile, this complex trip is turning out to be perfect. A few days with family, now a few days with friends. Then a few more days with family, then a few days just Andreas and me.

We’re staying at Sarah’s house. She has a stash of pictures taken at Burning Man. The photos sort of frighten me (my lack of symmetry! the pudge! my stomach!) but I remember the moments when they were taken (the sun slipping behind the mountains, the sensation of the dusk wind across my thighs, the exhileration) and recalibrate the impression.