Two colums, Two categories – Order issue

Hi,

I am trying to divide my content into two columns, one category to the left, one to the right. However, it is not as simple as looping each in their own div and floating them. Each category posts acts like a pair, with a wrapper div around them like so:

———————
cat 1 ——– cat 2
———————
cat 1 ——– cat 2
———————

I’ve tried using <?php query_posts('cat=8,9'); ?>

and using if ( in_category(8) ) { within the loop to divide the content, however cat 2 displays first.

Any ideas how to get them always to display cat 1 first, then cat 2?

Thanks!