Ok, time for the first of what will probably be many updates about my and ‘s travels to Gen Con 2003 in Indianapolis, Indiana. If you have no interest in hearing about this journey, I highly recommend that you skip reading my journal for the next few days.

We are currently sitting in the food court of airside A at Tampa International Airport. I have just had the “pleasure” of watching Mr. Winn devour a Cinnabon. Ahhh, nothing like the sheer joy of a man and his sugar frosted baked delight. Fortunately he excused himself to wash his hands, so I’m not going to have to deal with sticky hands for the reaminder of the trip.

Not that I should have to worry about his sticky hands or anything, but you never know. We’ve got a pretty long layover in New Orleans.

The coffee here is extremely hot. Too hot. I shouldn’t have to wait to enjoy my caffeine.

Believe it or not, I’m actually going to make an effort no to go too incredibly insane in the whole POINTS arena over the weekend. I’ve had a pretty good week so far. In fact, it was great up until last night. I got stressed out trying to get everything done, and started to binge eat as a result. I knew I should have thrown that fried chicken away. Oh well. One day does not override six.

This is going to be my first experience flying on Southwest Airlines, and I’m really looking forward to it. From what I hear, they are a great company. Will be nice to see if that’s actually true.

Oh! I’m writing this on my laptop. It looks like the laptop is running smoothly again. I got the operating system and all of the necessary software for the trip installed last night, and didn’t encounter one blue screen of death. I did have a problem with the road runner dial up access software, but I’m pretty sure that’s just because their software sucks wind. I went ahead and installed America Online, because I have a screen name through them with my sister’s account. What the hell? As long as it works.

On the romantic front…

I continue to be more and more enamored of netgoth. My days are starting to become measured in the minutes that stretch between hearing her voice or getting some kind of text message from her. We’re trying to go slow, really we are. I promise.

But damn.

Heh…funny thing….and part of that whole small world routine that my life is in recently. I went through her memories last night, and she had some links a photo page on her web site. There were pictures of sketch_says and green_muse from about two weeks after I met them.

Ok. Enough with the rambling. I’ll write more when I actually have something to say.

The rest (most anyway) of the survey

Why only the first part?

Because it’s huge!

A few moments for an update.

After feeling utterly and completely worthless at work over the course of the last few days (due to being held up waiting for software), I decided to go ahead and start coding one of the applications that I have been on hold with. I really didn’t want to do that, as the tool I was waiting for was going to save me a lot of typing, but it just finally got to a point where I felt like I was losing more than I was going to gain by waiting.

I started in first thing this morning. Made a lot of progress. Got well into the code.

Of course I got the license I have been waiting for about 3 hours later. Past the point of no return, as it were.

Joy of joys.

I’m feeling much more productive today in any case. I’ve been coding my little hands off, and I’ve been enjoying it. I’m still learning new things every day – finding ways to make my code better, more efficient. There really is some serious comfort in that for me.

Two days until ross_winn and I leave for Gen Con. As excited as I am about it, I have to admit to feeling a bit like a third wheel. He and hel_ana are going to be seeing each other for the first time since they were married, and they are going to have to deal with me in the room with them. How romantic is that? I know in particular that Adrienne is looking forward to one night of dinner and dancing, and I’m sure they don’t want to come back from that to find me in the room watching CNN.

Hey volvita! Are you coming up to Indy? Save me from feeling like an interloper!

August is going to be an amazing month.

I’ll have insurance again. I can go see a dermatologist and get this crap on my hands dealt with (speaking of which, I have come to the conclusion that my problem was decidedly NOT dry hands. Between the lotion and the hand salve I believe I made my problem 3 times worse. It has to be ecezma. I thank all of you for the great dry hand advice you gave me – I just asked for the wrong advice). I can go to a dentist and get a much needed cleaning. I can start using my vacation time. Yay!

Ugh. Vacation time. I REALLY wish I could use it for the two days I’m missing this week. I’m not sure how much of a dent it’s going to make in my budget. I didn’t account for it when planning things out, and I’m afraid it’s going to throw things completely off.

I digress…

I get to spend a weekend at a Bed And Breakfast in St. Augustine with netgoth, meet her son, meet all of her friends, and not have to see her rush off the morning after. I get to go to Dragon Con. I’m seeing Tori Amos.

Life is grand.

I need this month. A lot. I need to get over my burn out so I can go back to enjoying the work that I do on the side.

You know, I have to admit to being very nervous about meeting Jareth. It’s one of the four hurdles that netgoth and I have set up for ourselves as far as our relationship is concerned. Jareth has to get along with me, Alex has to get along with her, Jareth and Alex have to get along, and I have to pass my HIV test.

I’m completely confident in the last three. Pretty confident in the first. I don’t think I’ve met a young adult I couldn’t find a common bond with, but there is always a first time. Would be just my luck that this is it.

I’m off for the homestead. Will update more later, if I don’t get too wrapped up in the pipe.

I just got a new pair of black chucks off of Ebay for $27.88 (shipping included). That’s just over half what my in-store purchase cost!

Our intrepid hero pauses a moment before leaving his desk to go to a scheduled blood donation. “Is,” he muses, “it really wise to give blood when one has been feeling lightheaded a lot as of late and can’t get rested no matter how much he sleeps?”

Guess we’ll find out.

There are all kinds of things I could be rambling on about, but they seem fairly petty and pointless at the moment.

I just found what could very well be the most horrific web site on the entire internet.

The Forward Garden

It is a website entirely dedicated to EMAIL FORWARDS. It indexes them, and gives you the ability to send them to your “friends.”

ARRRRGGHHH