Good long weekend

We had a very nice Memorial Day weekend. My dad was still in town (or rather, back from seeing my sister in D.C.) Thursday and Friday, and we had dinner and went shopping Thursday and then went out for dinner with him and my aunt Friday. I had a half-day Friday, which made things even easier—headed home in time for a late lunch and then spent the day cleaning up and so forth.

Saturday was quiet—my dad flew back to N.O. and jendaby and I spent most of the day cleaning and prepping for Sunday. I did get a little work done, and of course spent time with wife and kids—jendaby and I watched Casino Royale after our daughter was in bed. Good movie, and an excellent Bond—the plotting was a little confusing, mainly because it switched focus several times (particularly toward the end), but a lot of fun.

Sunday was Game Day! Deltagrl, qadgop, and Peter came over—we were supposed to have more but justcomeinalone and paleologa both had to cancel last-minute (for completely understandable reasons) and our friend Mook found out Friday that he couldn’t make it either. Four people is enough to run a solid game, though. Jendaby grilled (yes, she’s the family pyro, not me—are you surprised?), we had plenty of munchies and soda and beer, and we played.

I ran an adventure I named “Lockout,” a Doctor Who story using the new World of Darkness rules. I set it up to feature the Companions, and we wound up with Rose, Martha, Adam Mitchell, and Captain Jack (I had more drawn up in case other people attended). I can provide details if people are interested, but suffice to say it took place in modern-day London and involved the gateway between parallel Earths, the Tardis, Cybermen, and Slitheen.

We had a great deal of fun, and the game went very well—we started playing around 3 and ended just before midnight, with a break for dinner, so it mapped out to about eight hours. Deltagrl seemed to enjoy her first gaming experience, and we all had a good time playing the Doctor and his past and present friends.

Monday was recovery and work. We cleaned up, put things away, and I worked on novel revisions—the only problem was the heat, which kept me out of the office in early afternoon (it’s the warmest room in the house). I did get a good deal of work done later, though. And then Jendaby and I watched the latest Dr. Who ep, which was excellent.

Tuesday meant returning to work. But we’re on summer publishing hours now, which means I get here the same time as usual (for me), leave a little later Monday through Thursday, and have a half-day on Friday. I like it.

I’m still working on novel revisions, but I expect to have at least one if not both finished by the start of next week, which is good because my father-in-law and our niece arrive Monday and I don’t know how much work I’ll be able to get done while they’re here. The price I pay for having the guest bed in my office, I suppose.

Sleep is for the weak

Look look, an update! And in less than two weeks! Gosh!

Had a long, busy, but good time this past weekend. The Nebula Awards were in town, so Friday I went over to meet a few people—ran into mckitterick and another friend there, which was cool. We didn’t have a game that night, so jendaby and I took advantage of the lull to order dinner (mmm, Japanese bento box!) and watch the first two eps of Jonathan Creek after our daughter went to bed. That was fun—it’s a good show, clever and quirky, and the fact that the female lead looks—and acts—a good deal like my aunt only made it more amusing. We got to bed around 2am.

Saturday during the day I did some work and hung out with the wife and kids. Then I headed back to the Nebs for the reception and the Awards Ceremony. James Gunn was inducted as Grandmaster—he was my mentor all through college and grad school, and a major influence on my writing and my critiquing, so of course I was there to help honor him. It was an excellent time—saw a lot of people I know, including some I haven’t seen in ages, and met several new people as well. There was a banquet between the reception and the ceremony but a few of us ducked out for dinner instead, figuring we’d have a nicer, quieter meal and then come back in. That worked nicely. The ceremony ran long, though, so by the time I got home and got to bed it was again 2am.

Sunday was Mother’s Day. We got up as late as the kids would let us (which is to say, not much later than during the week), had breakfast, gave jendaby some well-deserved cards and a small token of our appreciation, I did a little more work, and we made a quick shopping trip. Then jendaby and I dressed up and, after justcomeinalone arrived to selflessly mind the kids for us, we headed into the city so we could see the talented deltagrl’s one-woman cabaret. She was excellent and we had a wonderful time, including dinner afterward with her and a few of her other friends. The three of us took the subway back together, and then jendaby and I chatted with justcomeinalone a bit before he headed off and we carried the two sleeping children up for bed. For the third time, I got to bed around 2am.

And of course it was off to work at the usual time Monday morning. Whee.

I finished the layout project and some page proofs, so now I’m down to two sets of revisions and the novel, plus a new RPG project I’m excited about and maybe a few others on the horizon. My dad’s coming up to visit in a few days, which is always fun but cuts into my writing time, and we’re fast approaching summer, with its trips and visits. I’ve got a whole list of things I want to do around the house this summer, many of which aren’t hard but just require some time to be set aside for the task.

On a completely separate note, I replaced our broken mouse and our wearing-down keyboard with a new wireless set a few weeks ago. They are awesome. Now I find it frustrating to go to work and have to deal with the cord on my mouse there—I keep wanting to snip it so the poor wee beastie can be free, free!

Yes, it’s early afternoon and I’m slightly loopy. Or it could be the weekend, finally catching up with me.

Mind the shell!

Hm, I need to get back to updating more often. It’s been a little over three weeks since my last substantive post. Sorry about that.

I wish I could see it’s because I’ve been doing amazing, exciting things and have been simply too busy to post.

Actually, that is partially true.

jendaby and I have actually gone out twice—TWICE—sans children this past month, both times thanks to the amazing deltagrl, who offered to mind the kids for us. First we went to a birthday party for a friend, which was very nice. Then we went to a comedy club to see the comedic stylings of our own xochitl42, who was excellent—and then out for dinner with her and many others afterward. It’s been very nice to actually go out and do something fun with my wife as adults instead of just as parents. The fact that both kids adore their sitter certainly makes it easier.

I’ve also seen two movies lately: Hot Fuzz and Day Watch. I recommend both of them, with the caveat that both are odd—if you liked Shaun of the Dead you’ll like Hot Fuzz and if you liked Night Watch you’ll like Day Watch, but if you’re expecting a Hollywood film from either you’ll be disappointed.

What else? We’ve been hanging out with friends, gaming, watching movies, etc. We’re a little behind on our TV shows at the moment, though we did finally catch the most recent Heroes ep last night, which was excellent. jendaby and the kids came in with me last Thursday for Take Your Children to Work Day, which was fun but draining—I don’t know about our children but we were exhausted by the time we got home! Part of that was carrying sleeping children home from the subway, though.

Work is fine. Busy, and my friend who freelances for us is leaving, which could make things a little difficult for a while, though more power to him for the job he’s abandoned us to take. I’m still finishing up that layout project, and gearing up for the revisions, then it’s off to the races with the next book. I’m also reading a friend’s novel for him, which is fun—it’s a good read so far, and the character is enough like him that I can visualize it easily.

Tomorrow I'm hanging with my kids so jendaby can go do the Revlon Run-Walk with several of our friends. We’ve got another kidless outing planned next weekend, and my dad's coming up to visit a few days after that.

And there you have it. My recent life in a virtual nutshell. Probably a walnut. :)