More cleaning and sorting of things. More rolling of katamaris. Got to talk to Jules for several hours in the morning, which was lovely. When Will came home from work we went to Rayme/Chad’s place and then went out for curry at the other restaurant above the game shop in the International District. We also browsed through a Japanese bookstore (I got a grey shirt with a Totoro face on it) and a Japanese grocery store where Will got these sticky rice ball dessert thingies. We had bubble tea after that (Peach snow!) and then came back to our apartment for a night of fun. While Will was in his room talking to Hiroko online, I showed Rayme and Chad KD2, which Chad seemed to enjoy. Then, when Will appeared we busted out 1000 Blank White Cards and initiated the guys into the genius that is utter random silliness. Both Chad and Rayme really got into it (and *got* the game pretty quickly) so we were at that until sometime after 3:30 AM (can’t quite remember now.) There were some absolutely brilliant cards that were created that night. I talked to Jules for a bit before bed.

I spent a good chunk of the day organizing my things and removing them from the living room. After lunch I chatted online for awhile and then started playing Minna Daisuki Katamari Damacy (known henceforth as KD2) and I guess I didn’t stop for like 6 hours. o.o I had Will play the flaming katamari level because I was so rubbish at it, and he got it on the first try, which was awesome. I went to bed quite late when all the rolling had finally tired me out.

The worst day I’ve had in a long time. Will left for work, and I was hungry, exhausted, and lonely. I realized partway through the day that I couldn’t find my towel, which meant I couldn’t take a shower. I was *so* sure I’d brought one along, but it was nowhere to be found. :( I burst into tears out of frustration (I also had nothing to wash myself with, as I hadn’t brought shampoo and stuff) and couldn’t stop for over 2 hours, until Will came home. He offered to drive to the store to buy me a towel so I wouldn’t have to leave the house in such a disgusting state, which was one of the kindest things anyone’s ever done for me.

Will wanted to go pick up a video game so after I showered we went grocery shopping, came home to put it away, then left to get Rayme. We had some Japanese food at a restaurant above the game shop (in the International District.) I got to have chicken karaage and a giant Asahi, which made me quite happy. It was nice talking to Rayme during dinner and getting to know a little about him. I had only heard about him by name before I came here so it was really fun learning what he’s like. He’s a very fun and interesting guy, very easy to get along with, so I was pleasantly surprised. :D

After that we went back to Rayme’s apartment and Chad came home from work, so I got to meet him. It’s so cool meeting people in person whom I’ve known for years online. Chad and Will played some of Will’s new game (I tried a few levels and sucked horribly so I handed it back to the gurus) and I got progressively sleepier because it was extremely warm in the apartment, I’d spent so many hours crying, and I’d had a large beer. So we headed home, I inflated my air mattress and fell asleep uncomfortably.

This was the crappiest day of driving. I drove through one HUGE rainstorm going through the mountains, which I had to slow waaay down for, but that wasn’t too bad. Once I got to the mountains it started to really suck. I ate one of the rolls my mom made for me and it upset my digestive system terribly. I had to pull off at a rest stop to try to collect myself, and thankfully Jules called me just after that, which made me feel a lot better. I had lunch at a Chinese place in Miles City and then continued on with the rest of the drive, which ended up being excruciating. When I got close to the end of Montana I stopped at another rest stop and called Will. I was able to rejuvenate myself enough to get back to driving, and that was where things got bad.

Entering Idaho was horrible because of the mountains and all the sharp curves and road construction blocking one of the lanes for most of the way. ;_; People were getting upset at me for driving so slowly but I didn’t want to risk going any faster. Jules called me twice while I was navigating through the mountain passes and I felt so terrible I couldn’t pick up the phone. At Couer d’Alene I decided I’d stop for gas and dinner, but I couldn’t find any fast food places along the main road (and it was parked full!) so I drove almost to the end of the road and stopped at a shitty gas station. Jules called me as I was filling up and I burst into tears because I was tired, hungry, and frustrated. I decided to say “screw dinner” and just drive on as far as I could go in one night. I was in a pretty sour mood. I was tired of driving and the stressful conditions of it, what with all the insane road construction.

When I got to Spokane I called Will again and he agreed to meet up with me at some place halfway between Seattle and Spokane so I wouldn’t have to drive the whole way by myself. I reached the meeting spot (a petrified forest) first so I had to sit and wait for about 45 minutes for Will and Rayme to show up. Jules called during that time but he couldn’t talk for long so I mainly sat there feeling frustrated and lonely. Finally they showed up. Will gave me a big hug and we moved a few of the things out of my passenger seat into his car so I’d have a place to sit. Rayme drove Will’s car back into the city and Will drove mine, so I had a good chance to chat to him about things…I just kept talking and talking as it was such a relief to see someone I know after all that time alone.

We drove over to Rayme’s place (he lives with Chad) and I followed Will home. He showed me the apartment then we unloaded my car, which didn’t take all that long. After that he took me to the closest grocery store so I could buy something for dinner (I ended up with soup and salad, yum) and I got online and talked to a few people while eating (amusingly, Jules left to eat dinner just as I was eating mine.) I passed out on the futon in the living room, using my robe as a pillow.

Still in Fargo, I drove down to Subway and got some breakfast/lunch, refueled, then headed back onto the highway. I made a few more stops on the way, each time I got off the highway for gas I bought a cold Mountain Dew to drink to keep me alert (this also contributed heavily to my inability to fall asleep at night) and walked around a bit. I saw a few interesting things along the way (I have some photos I’ll upload later.) I ended up spending the night in Billings, Montana, which is about in the middle. Billings seems to be a decent-sized town so there were a lot of places to choose from for lodging, but I just drove up to a Marriott, asked if they had wireless and a single room, and parked it there for the night. Again I had trouble getting to sleep (lots of trouble actually) and I started to worry that I wouldn’t be able to get enough sleep to be out on the road at a decent time, which didn’t help at all. Of course I eventually slept some, and was able to be out on the road by 10AM.