I'm at "home", in my sterile corporate flat in Mountain View, having a quiet Friday.

I've got a bottle of red wine. I've got my laptop. I've got speakers set up so I can listen to loud music. I've opened my blinds so I can spy on my neighbors, to see if they decide to repeat last night's noisy fight. I've got most of my clothes in the washing machine, washing them so at least some of my clothes will be clean when I leave the country.

I feel good. I worked hard and was productive at work today, I got the things I needed to get done, done. And after it all I had dinner with coworkers and helped Lucas rescue his little remote controlled airplane from the back of the Space Ship One model in building 43. Then I took a turn flying it, making some Googlers duck and crashing it into walls and pillars and plants. Good fun.

Incidentally, one of my team-mates described our job pretty well the other day. We're one of the teams that changes the tires and repairs the engine of the Google race-car. The tricky bit is, we aren't allowed to ask the driver to slow down, let alone stop...

I leave California next Friday afternoon, arriving around four p.m. on Saturday in Iceland, assuming I don't miss any flights. I'm looking forward to walking down Laugavegur on Þorláksmessa (the evening of the 23rd) with Annie by my side and throngs of Icelanders all around me. I look forward to stopping a dozen times or so to chat with people I haven't seen for months.

I'm planning my weekend, playing Santa, making a list and checking it twice. Tomorrow I take the Caltrain with my bike up to San Francisco to buy Christmas gifts and spend a last weekend in the city.

I'm invited to a birthday party in the city, that evening. Silly ties and masks are in order. I've booked a room in the same hotel downtown as Annie and I stayed in, so I don't have to worry about getting home and so I can continue my shopping the next morning.

I think I'm going to have a nice weekend.

...

For people wondering about how long I'll be in Iceland, I'm afraid I'll only be there for about a week. I won't be working at all though, so I hope to spend most of my time visiting people and touching base. Aside from the holidays, the evening of the 23rd and 27th are booked. If you've got any ideas about how I should spend the rest of my time, e-mail me and I'll selfishly choose whatever maximizes my chances of meeting y'all. ;-)

Annie and I fly to the U.K. on Friday the 30th, to spend the New Years with her peeps in Wales. It was a tough decision, as this means I'm missing a wedding and a few parties... but I'm excited about seeing Wales and Annie needs to spend time with her family over the holidays, not just mine. I'm looking forward to meeting them again and getting to know them a little better.