2004-01-26 - 7:28 p.m.

La and I made up this weekend. I knew my new rejuvinated complimentary attitude would do the trick. Having peace in the house feels mighty good. I think it also helps us to get along when we stop to consider that

*These are our LA Days*

This is likely the last time in our lives we'll live in a big girl house all four of us and get to do girl things together, and soon enough we'll all move on out of this city, or at least I will, but right now, we are in the middle of Los Angeles and we are in the prime of our youth and these are the days we will remember all our lives, even better than our Atlanta days because we're not so crazy and drug-addicted.

And as much as I bitch (always silently in my head, never aloud) about La on a day-to-day basis, she always comes through when the going is tough - When your ox is in a ditch or a barn needs raising - *she is there* *she is down* and *she gets it done*. Period. And that's what counts.

Speaking of which, yesterday we helped Shannon move into her apartment, and none of Shannon's friends showed up to help her, except me and my girls! Of course we did. Because we're from the South. And we know the protocol.

It's like a barn-raising. When someone is moving, you help them move. You volunteer. You get it done. You don't think twice - you just help. Because they're moving, of course.

All of Shannon's Californians abandoned her, but we came through and moved her boxes and furniture without even one man. and it felt GOOD.

And Shannon fed us when we were done. Because feeding your movers is part of the protocol too. I really like being around my girls sometimes because nothing has to be talked about or explained - we all help each other and we all know what to do and we do it.

There are 3 moments in life when I feel the most vital, the most alive, the most purposeful - and one of them is moving day. I always feel on moving day like I'm doing what needs to be done, my mind is clear of any other purpose, and at the end of the day the sense of accomplishment is satisfying, and the comradarie between friends is at its peak, and no meal can compare to one eaten after the sheer exhaustion of day like that. I love how I feel on moving day, how important and vital and purposeful and totally human.

The other two times I feel like that are 1)In the last minutes of finisheing and after I've just completed a short story or piece of writing, when I'm excited and exhausted at the same time, and everything has come to pass I feel great about my work and myself, and I'm just totally in the moment, mission accomplished, ready for a cocktail. And 2) those moments of exhilaration and intimacy after sex, when your body feels exhuberant and perfect and you have nothing on your mind but love for the person you're with and you feel totally connected and totally thrilled and totally relaxed (I guess this wouldn't be true for all sexual encounters, but it's how I feel with Dean)