Given the choice of opening the door or opening mail, I would gladly choose the latter. I'm a carpe diem kinda girl, which is why I have a nasty habit of ripping open envelopes on my doorstep, keys in hand. Today was no exception.

It has been less than a week since I received the package from ticca and less than a month since Sarf's Valentine's Christmas card. January 2004 has been a good month, post-wise. It was about to become Excellent.

So there I stood, inches from my door, legs rendered immobile by excitement. I knew the sender, but what was inside? Sara had been cryptic.

A small, blue envelope. A piece of A3 paper folded in half, in a plastic pocket.

The cardinal rule of exterior letter opening - never take anything out. I peered in: Scraggly handwriting in biro, which should have been strange to me, but given the circumstances, very familiar indeed. "Your Man," it said. Of course, I thought. Of course. I let out a high-pitched squeal.

Eventually, I let myself in. I bounced. I jumped. I pulled my left calf muscle. In an act of great self-control, I opened the letter first. It made no sense as didn't know what the A3 sheet of mystery contained. I did really, deep inside, but I wanted to be surprised.

Ah. (OHMIGOD!) Um. (EEEEEEEEEEE!!!) Yes. (YESYESYESYESYESSSSS!!!)

As Chess likes to say, you see what you want to see - I had misread.

I called ticca. We spoke for three hours, during which I sniffed the poster periodically. As Chess likes to say, you smell what you want to smell. I wanted it to smell nice. Perhaps it was Sara's scent. Or maybe it was the walls of the dressing room. The dressing room in which the Brothers Hales stayed. Did they get dressed there? Did this image of Matt watch over�

�see you in Austin?

Barely a wish but commanding enough. I'll get there, come rain or tornado (or lack of transport). And what exactly did he mean by Yeah Man? I suppose his types speak like this. (Like Orlando Bloom.) I read it as one would read scripture. Understandably. Can you believe that He touched it?

Sara Sara Sara! (Thank you.)

<< Squee indeed. >>

th since 5th october 2001