Three Weeks, One Post

For whatever reason, October always seems to be loaded with things to do around our house. We get together we people we haven't seen for a while, out-of-town friends come for visits, and we start refilling our "to-do" list for the coming new year with some new items and all of the things we didn't get to do in this one. It's my assumption that we tend to get more visitors (and be visitors more often) during this time because all of the major summer vacation plans, not to mention budgets, have been exhausted. That's just a guess, though.

We started the month by traveling to PA for the wedding of Amy's cousin Sarah. They held the reception in an old pump station outside of Shippenville and it was a great choice. It might seem overly industrial, but it was really a great choice and was decorated well. The building itself was nestled in a small valley next to a stream and a grove of trees. The weather was beautiful and the all the huge doors and windows were wide open to let in the breeze. There was house across the road from the building that had a bed sheet tacked up to the garage wall that was spray painted in hunter's orange "Get Out of the FIELD!", which I assumed meant that they'd had some unwelcome visitors from previous festivities running across said FIELD. Country charm, indeed.

Last weekend, Ian, Rachel, and their nine-month-old son Lucian came for a visit. It was encouraging that he seemed to like me a lot. Well, it was more like he enjoyed my antics, but he loved the cat. Every time he'd see the cat, he'd squeal and smile and then struggle to be put down so he could give chase. Sid, being the nervous, curious one always tried to keep about six feet between himself and Lucian but would never quite run and hide. I keep telling Sid that he'd better get used to small, pink, loud things in the house, but I'm not sure he quite understands yet.

In other news, I've begun giving saxophone lessons from my home. I have one student for now, the daughter of one of Amy's coworkers. I think this might give me more inspiration to play a bit more often if for no other reason than to demonstrate concepts and techniques. I do miss it and have considered trying to find some local musician's ensembles to get back into playing. With the baby on the way, I'd have to see what kind of commitment the groups require, but I'd like to give it a shot if possible.

Finally, I can't neglect that I purchased the Orange Box when it came out last week. Ever since I'd heard of Portal, one of the titles included therein, I'd been holding off purchasing anything in the Half-Life 2 universe in case they bundled the game with any of the other offerings. They did and my patience paid off well. I pre-ordered it via Steam so I ended up with five games for $45, an excellent value for the amount of entertainment the box has to offer, although I will probably avoid Team Fortress 2 for the most part, though. Being sworn at by teenagers is no longer what I consider entertainment.

Sorry, I was talking about Portal. Please watch the trailer available through that link. It's worth seeing the game in action. Portal has been labeled by the zealots of the gaming publishers and press as a first-person, action-adventure puzzle game. I don't care what they call it. I just call it fun. It's the most fun I've had with any game since Puzzle Quest and if you are anything like me and are tired of the game design rut that the industry has dug for itself, Portal is another small glint of blue sky through the clouds.

The Road More Travelled

Amy and I were visiting our childhood home this past Labor Day Weekend for her brother's wedding ceremony. Despite a slightly rocky rehearsal, the ceremony went quite well. Mike and Pam are now enjoying the Caribbean sun from the deck of a ship most likely somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico. Congratulations to the new couple!

While we were visiting, my mother recommeded that Amy and I take a walk on a newly paved bike trail that wound through the trees just behind some houses in my old neighborhood. As we walked the path, I was astounded by how closely it followed the motorcycle paths that had been so well travelled by my friends and I when we were kids. A good number of kids in my neighborhood, myself included, had small off-road motorcycles in the mid '80s that we would use to get around town. We would ride through fields and forested areas to avoid the roads, not to mention it was much more fun. Eventually, newly constructed homes eliminated our motorized access to the paths, but by then we had our drivers' licenses and had no need for the dirt bikes anymore. It was really fun to be able to walk the trails that I had driven countless times over 20 years ago and I had to laugh when I thought about how easy it must have been to find a good route for the bike path because a bunch of 12 year old kids had driven it bare such a long time ago.

Killer Road Trip

For the four people who read these ramblings, I apologize that November was a slow month for posts. But, I was so busy with other things that posting just kind of went away and hid under a bed for awhile.

After I finished building my new computer, Amy and I packed up our belongings and partied east coast stylee in VA Beach (prounounced "vuh-beech", as Mike Parker always used to say). Adam and Theresa's wedding festivities went well and if you're curious about any of the goings on, please email me. I'd love to document what happened, but despite the lack of huge readership on this blog, I'd feel a little weird about making it all so public. Besides, if you're one of those four people I mentioned before, you probably already know all of the fun, juicy stuff anyway.

The week after wedding was Thanksgiving so Amy and I spent that time with family in PA since we were already over that way. It had been colder than normal in Virginia, but when we got to PA it did nothing but snow. At least, in my memory it did nothing but snow. On Thanksgiving Day proper, while traveling to Amy's grandparents house, we actually had to pull off of the road for about 10-15 minutes due to white-out conditions. I couldn't see anything beyond the hood of our borrowed car. No thanks.

Speaking of traveling mishaps, I've never felt safer on a plane than when I was in the cab on our return trip home from the airport. As we were pulling away from the terminal, navigating the tangled S-curves that lead traffic away from the airport, the driver's phone rang. He was looking for it but couldn't find it. Amy spotted the phone and tried to hand it to him, thrusting his arm well in front of his field of vision so that he could easily see it without looking around. However, as Amy exclaimed that she had his phone, he turned his entire torso toward the back seat. At that point the cab promptly careened into another cab in the adjacent lane. It was just a small dent and some paint so after a few minutes and exchanged insurance information we were on our way home again. The rest of the trip was only mildly harrowing, but it was not without a race against some falling railroad crossing gates. If I hadn't been so tired, I might have kissed the asphalt of our driveway when we pulled up to the house.

So, now that we've been home for just over a week, the Christmas tree is up and the lights are on the bushes outside or front window, complete with a frosty covering of fresh snow. I'm bored. When's my next vacation?

Water Conducts Electricity

We traveled home to PA again this weekend for Ian and Rachel's wedding, or as one sign aptly stated, "Voltz-Krest Wetting". The events were all held outside and, unfortunately, it did nothing but rain for almost two straight days beginning with Friday, the day of the rehearsal and ending Saturday night after the festivities. Also unfortunately, the tent under which the ceremony was conducted was at the bottom of a small gulley. Small hand trenches were dug in preparation for the big day, but they were simply no match for the amount of water that came down in those two short days. Nevertheless, Amy and I were happy to be able to share the moment in support of two of our best friends. Congratulations, Ian and Rachel!

It was good to see everyone after the wedding ceremony! And thanks to Adam's folks for opening their home to us.

While we were staying with my family, lightning struck their driveway a mere 25 feet from the house. In fact, it struck between two cars that were parked in the driveway under 10 feet apart. I'm glad our car is on rubber tires. Thank you, Charles Goodyear. The strike took out a few of the electronic devices in the house as well as some of the lights in the shed that was mere inches away from strike point. The charge left a small crater in the cement and the debris was scattered into the yard a few feet away.

Back to work today. I need a vacation from my vacation!

Currently listenening to: Radiohead, How to Disappear Completely