Faint glimmer of hope

Gen Con is next weekend, in Indianapolis. It's a twelve hour drive or a $350 plane ticket. I can probably scare up crash space from people I know who are going, so lodging isn't really a factor. Registration at the door is $80. I could spend X-hundred-dollars plus on games and food and the like.

Sadly, without a job or cash flow, I need to plan for next year. Maybe I'll buy a lottery ticket.

Dragon Con and BGG.Con are in September and November, respectively. At least I'm pre-regged for both.

Back in Austin

We have arrived safely! Food, gaming, and state-of-life updates tomorrow.

broadband

This marks the first time I'm on broadband since I left Austin for California. I'm in a coffeeshop in oldtown Salinas, drinking an average hot chai and killing the ton of spam I've managed to collect.

I could rant about airports and the loss of privacy in the wake of false security, but the bile isn't fresh.

I could take about the first day of actual sunshine we've had on our trip since New Orleans. Rain in Houston, rain while flying, rain while driving, fog while flying. We wound up circling San Jose for an hour and forty-five minutes waiting for the weather to clear. For a while, we didn't know if the pilot would land us in San Fran, San Jose (where Cat's parents waited to pick us up) or Oakland (of oak.oakland.edu fame).

I have a camera full of pictures, precious few of which are of Carl and Jackie's wedding- sadly, we left the camera in the car.

I would like to mention that I've played twenty-plus sessions of Wits and Wagers (BGG, BUY ME!) since Monday. Beyond passing the "Let's Play Again!" test, it has also passed the "Can we play without you?" and "Are we playing tonight?" tests. I'm a little floored- I suspected the mix of trivia and gambling would go over well, but How could I suspect I'd play so many games? I'm starting to need more question cards.

I have a new didgeridoo! A present to myself with courier servies courtesy of Cat's cousin, holidaying in Australia. Pix soon.

We will soon return to your irregularly scheduled game blogging, complete with a list of presents.

I've got some productivity and lifehackery things in store for the New Year, too.

I am not an Internet addict.

In California, behind dialup. Via cell @ enroute to the Pacific. Pix Soon.

Travel

Itinerary:

• Drive from Austin to Houston
• Fly from Houston to New Orleans
• See friends and family, attend wedding
• Fly from New Orleans to Houston
• Drive from Houston to Austin
• Less than twelve hours later, fly from Austin to San Jose, California (as opposed to San Jose, Costa Rica {that's another story})
• Drive around to various towns in California
• Fly from San Jose to Austin before the New Year

We made it in last night on a very late flight, originally scheduled to leave Houston at nearly eleven PM, arriving at two minutes after midnight in good ol' MSY. Due to inclement weather, our flight was delayed about an hour. I don't think I've ever flown on a more turbulent flight; the captain nixed drink services so the flight attendants and soda pop wouldn't fall about the cabin. This made me pretty cranky, especially since the fascist TSA busted Cat for an unopened bottle of water, destroying the backup beverage service that lives in her backpack. To make up for it, my ears didn't bother me at all for possibly the first flight ever- normally I go through a pack of gum per flight.

My good friend Judson got out of his Jury Duty (two months of nonsense, then an 11th hour settlement) and actually could make it in for the wedding. As luck would have it, our flights were scheduled to arrive within minutes of each other, so we arranged to give him a ride. I haven't seen him since before the storm, and this is his first time back to see the city. We drove around to the Quarter and had cafe au lait/hot chocolate/chocolate milk and beignets until 3AM. I also managed to not wear black and cover myself with powered sugar, another first.

Good times.

Back to Austin

Back in Austin after four days of nearly twenty-four hour gaming. I got 3-4 hours sleep most every night.

Just finished unpacking the suitcases. I'm about to put food in my mouth and fall asleep, hopefully in that order. One of these days I'll learn to take an extra day off after con for recovery.