Sorry for the long silence the past few weeks. I’ve been busy blowing my nose.
Yes, the whole time.
Bar none, the worst summer I’ve had for this stuff that I can remember.
Unexused Absence
Like the picture?
It’s like my life at the moment: cool, but complicated.
I didn’t mean to be ignoring you, internet, and as a matter of fact, I really haven’t been — there have been a number of emails to large (and not so large) groups of people going out, and lots of posts to various forums, and even a couple posts to my gaming-related blog.
I just … ahh … forgot to post anything HERE. Right, then, moving on?
Work (in which I am currently building an interactive online course for basic Outlook use… which is a lot cooler and MUCH harder than it sounds) is going swimmingly, though it is jamming up quite a lot of my FM dial, so to speak.
We, the newlyweds are good — we’ve got almost everything unpacked that needs unpacking, and next week my parents are in town and we’re going to replace almost all the carpet on the first floor with laminate flooring, because there’s nothing I like better than coyotes on iceskates excited dogs on a hardwood floor.
Kaylee begins preschool next month. She is very excited. We are very excited. I think it’s going to herald a true sea-change for her in terms of development. And diapers. Did I mention the excited?
Anything else? A lot of geeky gamer type stuff, but nothing worth noting at the moment.
Oh, just as a historical note: Obama’s going to be our Democratic nominee, and I’m voting for him. Also, someone in the House filed papers of Impeachment for George W. Bush. Now if Cheney would only resign for medical reasons, it’d be a pretty good month.
It’s going to be very interesting around here, come the election time — mine might be the only Obama sticker in the parking lot at work… perhaps in the whole neighborhood. At least they’re all relatively cordial about it.
It’s not so much a sunburn as it is a slow baking
We got back from Cabo late last afternoon, mostly no worse for wear; Kate had a run in with a jellyfish (as did I to a much smaller degree) that left her less than a hundred percent, and I think we’re both running a little low-energy, but otherwise, everything is good. The trip was a lot of fun, though it was more of, say, a “resort vacation” than a “Mexico vacation.” In either case, it was a wonderful chunk of quality together time, interrupted at scheduled times with parasailing, snorkeling, and sunset sailing excursions.
While driving up the Pacific coastline in a rental car on Sunday, Kate and I discussed the different kinds of a vacation options a person really has. Those options we boiled down into a kind of grid on which “Things to Do” was one axis and “Things to See” was the other. Our Prague trip was very strongly on the “Things to See” end of things, which Cabo was definitely full of “Things to Do” (even when those things are “sit around the pool and read while people bring you margaritas”).
Some vacations or vacation locations are more successful at blending the two basic types. Likewise, certain people might enjoy a mix, or at least can do one and then the other and enjoy both (we are two such people).
Trouble arises, however, when you try (for instance) to fill a day with Things to See in a locale that’s entirely (and unapologetically) geared for Things to Do (or vice versa). Ironically, we were actually en route to make EXACTLY THAT MISTAKE on Sunday, while we were having this conversation. Lesson learned — something to file away for the next grand adventure.
Right. We’re home again, the little girl is wonderful, the dogs are exuberant, and Other Things are going on…
* The author of one of the games I’m editing is wilting in the face of unenthusiastic playtest reviews. I’m trying to shore up his resolve and enjoyment for the game he himself invented, but I don’t know if I had much impact. It may be as he says — that I am one of the game’s biggest fans and truest member of its target audience. We’ll see. For now, I’ll work on other things.
* The little writing project I mentioned last week is ch-ch-chugging along. One person (of course) was told what it was, and was visibly nonplussed, but I’ll keep at it at least for a little while, because I’m enjoying it, and I like it when I can entertain myself.
* Gregory Frost, best known and recognized for solid short story work, has turned that knack into a full length novel through the charming and engaging trick of making a storyteller his main character. That novel is Shadowbridge, the first in a two-part fantasy that I want to recommend. You’ll find I don’t recommend books nearly as much as I do movies or television, so take from that what you will. It’s good. It’s entertaining, and it often interrupted other good vacation activities (drinking, napping, sleeping) so that I could read a bit more. For those who don’t like starting unfinished series, rest assured that the sequel is already out.
* My sister seems to think Kate and I should run a half-marathon. In the middle of summer. In South Dakota. She’s absolutely, wall-bouncingly mad, but I love her. Family, you know…
A few thoughts from Cabo San Lucas
In no particular order…
- Terry Pratchett is a funny, funny man. And wise; his commentary on change and how people react to it is worth a post all its own, at some point in the future when I’m not blogging via a ridiculously overpriced hotel connection.
- Ninjas — successful ones, at any rate — would never wear flip flops.
- I have a good book you should read, that I guarantee you’ve never read. More later.
- All sand is not created equal. The sand of Los Cabos, for example, reminds you rather constantly of its origin as pulverized, sharp rock; and that the pulverizing process itself was not particularly thorough.
- Respect riptides.
And finally, this bit of wisdom, as we walked along the fairly ironic Lover’s Beach:
“They said they filmed part of Planet of the Apes here.”
“Who did?”
“The people I was eavesdropping on.”
“Huh. The first one, or the new one?”
“I don’t know. There’s only so much information you can get from eavesdropping.”
See you all in a few days. In the meantime, expect radio silence — my indulgences are reserved for somewhat more important things like local crafts, local food, and local beer.
What a grand and majestic mess
Okay, that was just an inexcusable lack of posting.
I hardly know where to start, so this is going to be a real hodgepodge of information.
I got married! You can check out pictures over here. They aren’t sorted yet or anything of that nature, and they don’t include the professionally done ones either, but there are still some really wonderful ones, uploaded directly to flickr by whoever brought a camera to the party.
The Wedding was, essentially, perfect. I teared up as she came up the aisle, and we basically had a fantastic day. Great friends, great food, great music, great dancing, and just an all around fantastic day.
Kaylee was so solemn and serious and proud as she walked down the aisle with her little ball of flowers while everyone watched. I wonder if she’ll remember it when she’s older. I remember a few high-emotion things from when I was two or three — I hope she does. She was pretty wiped out by the time the wedding came around (thanks to late rehearsal dinners and a long day sight-seeing with my family in the city), but she was great.
I got to get my family out to New York and show them the city I’ve come to love as a second home. That was really special. Seeing Virg and T was most excellent as well — I just don’t see people enough.
I met my agent for lunch and we talked about geeky tech stuff, the Kindle I’d secretly ordered for Kate, and plans for Hidden Things. (Currently out for consideration with about a half-dozen publishers whose names liberally coat my bookshelves at home.)
I asked her if, knowing a potential publisher would (probably) have a whole new set of revisions for me, it would make any sense to sort of hold off getting into another writing project, since it would only be interrupted.
Her answer: “Write. Always go forward and write the next thing. Don’t kill your momentum.” Advice that rings with the easy-quotability of truthiness. I took it to heart.
New tiny-writing project here, inspired by the Othar Tryggvassen twitter. More I will not divulge, but it should be fun for both reader(s) and writer alike.
Is this thing on? Seriously, are the comments working? What options among all those comment options aren’t? The old site’s comment traffic didn’t always vibrate the walls with kinetic energy (note to self: secure the water main in the house before it shakes the drywall loose), but what was once a grade-school water fountain has dwindled to a drip that wouldn’t keep a hamster alive. I’m a narcissist, people: validate me.
I’m still trying to figure out how I want to set up and use this site. I’m half-tempted to just put all my game-related material here as well, but once I do that, then there’s all the requisite links I’d need to provide over to random-average.com, and that breaks the kind of zen simplicity I’m aiming for here.
Oh, right: new job. All of you wishing me well on the job hunt, thanks very much. While I was flying out to New York to get married, I got a call and a job offer. I’m the new training coordinator (read: manager) for a big-and-still-growing company in Denver who really believes in good training for their people, but doesn’t quite know how to go about it, except “get someone in here who does know”. There are worse plans.
Their employee retention rate and length of employment is about five times higher than the national average, and I don’t think it’s an accident — I’m pleased to spend my days with these folks.
And… is that it? That’s it for now. Far more frequent posting coming up. First up: toddler vocabulary and how it compares to Shakespeare.
Experiencing Technical Difficulties
While toddlers are generally soft and pliable creatures, it turns out they do not interact with one’s eyeball very well. Live and learn.
For the next few days I’m going to be cultivating a dashing new look and pretending that words like ‘avast’ and ‘matey’ and ‘swab’ are necessary adjuncts to an eye patch designed to protect a pretty badly scratched cornea.
Kate informs me that if my condition persists, we’re going to ditch the Double Down swing band for the reception and go with a Pirate-themed wedding, including a parrot sidekick for the bride.
I’m considering faking it.
Overheard today
Guy: “I swear I tested it.”
Other guy: “Okay.”
Guy: “I mean, I swear I tested it. I swear.”
Other guy: …
Guy: “Maybe.”
Other guy: …
Guy: “I was pretty sure it worked.”
Other guy: …
Guy: “I can look at it. Again. If you want.”
Total elapsed time: 15 seconds.
Change and paint fumes in the air
Kate made the final big move to Colorado on Friday and, true to form, teared up a little bit when the Denver-based Frontier crew announced, upon landing, “Welcome to our home town.”
Why? Because now it’s her home town, too. She’s like that. It’s endearing.
Friday night, I thought I’d try making chicken quesadillas in a skillet. Never done that before (in a skillet or otherwise), but it actually worked out all right (and the dogs assure me they enjoyed the failed attempts).
Saturday involved many hours of running around town to pick up home office and home improvement supplies, followed by installation of same.
Sunday I ran another session of Matt Wilson’s Galactic rpg, which is currently an “ashcan” release — a stage of publication in the indie gaming industry whose closest corollary in fiction is the distribution of galley copies to reviewers. The clear winner in this comparison is the indie gaming market. The gathering was another solid, fun session, despite the fact that we were driven up to the main floor of the house by the primer fumes creeping from the home office remodel that Kate is working to complete before the moving truck arrives tomorrow.
This morning, I sat in the family room with KK and Kate, munching on cereal and watching an episode of Avatar with my two best girls before heading off to work.
It has been, all told, a good start to the Next Stage.