Fri Jul 22, late night addendum - Wow. Dude. Whoa. The Borders that is just "down the street" from me? I timed it. Walking slow, leisurely, no rush—5 minutes, door to door. FIVE MINUTES! I can walk to a Bristol Farms, Baja Fresh, Pick Up Stix, Borders, SavOn 24-hour Drugstore, Hallmark Store, Circuit City—in FIVE minutes! Five minutes!

Gee, and if I really wanted to walk 10 minutes I could be at a Target center, with all its little satellite stores.

I feel like I live on a secret passageway to Narnia. I walk out my apartment door, through an archway, and open a gate. I'm in an alley, I turn a corner, I'm at a local branch library (with Coke machine right out front, so if I'm dying for a diet coke and just want to walk 1 minute to the vending machine....). I walk across the street and I'm in the back parking lot of the Bristol Farms. Cross the front parking for Bristol Farms, cross the parking for Borders, and I'm inside—ordering a soy latté and a sourdough pretzel (heated, with asaigo cheese), sitting down, and reading the opening scenes of the newest Harry Potter (being careful not to crease anything or open the spine too far or leave any marks... I haven't had to buy a hardcover yet for Harry Potter and I would hate to mark this copy and need to buy it).

Closing time, browse, buy a copy of "Wicked" in paperback (old cover art, not the new art from the musical), and wander back still nursing my latté. Walk across two parking lots, one street, turn the corner, and look there's the gate and the archway. Suddenly I'm instantly transported back to my apartment and my laptop and my wireless connection (which still worked, no rebooting, I'm happy to say).

Narnia. I live on the edge of Narnia.