I've just said goodbye to my dear friend, Laura Slade Chiera, who was visiting from San Francisco. I've been a bit nutty this week, with the non-smoking, coming down/back from Toronto, and facing the fact that I really do have to write this dissertation. My visit with LBC, however, proved to be the most inspiring thing I could be doing. Just by hanging out with her she reminded me that I really do enjoy my work, that I have something to say, that it's alright to struggle through it, that I shouldn't be too hard on myself, but that I SHOULD (and can) get this shit done. Some time's elapsed since we've spent good-QT together, so I'd almost forgotten how much larger-than-life she is, with her sage wisdom and adept approach to the world (not to mention the fact that she's funny as hell).