Two Weeks

Weeeeeee!

That is all.

One Week

It has been about a week since I've been in California and as I recall anything longer than that is considered "too long" between updates. So, here is an update!

I get daily texts from my mom about the well being of my cat and my goldfish and I spend my days doing awesome things with awesome people in an awesome place (no less).

Right now we are working our way through Diablo II. We will save the world! Or perhaps we'll inevitably destroy the world, with our dark might (TM)! Who knows?

Not I.

The only draw back is my Windows Bug has escalated and I'm now stuck in 800x600 resolution with no hope of changing it until I reformat. So every time I get online it's like a laptop time machine to 1997. By the way guys, I've got a Windows Bug.

Also: Magic. I have learned it (more or less). Now I can also be a card geek. My nerdiness knows no bounds! I now just have to make my own decks.

Alas, I smell something delicious in the kitchen and my curiosity will not let me remain here, on the bed, typing like a typerton. Away I go!

California FTW

Safe and sound in California, been so for a couple of days but I'm a big slacker and found myself too preoccupied to say anything. So here I am saying something while waiting on a game install.

Hope you're all well and having at least half as much fun as I'm having.

Sunshine, Ho!

Me: I wanna take me with me.
My mom: Does that mean you're beside yourself?
(I don't remember typing this, I must have still be kind of drunk?)

I won't have time to check in tomorrow before I leave for the airport, since I have to be up far before dawn, so I'll say my habitual pre-travel words tonight before bed instead. I just got back from last minute shopping to grab things I may or may not need but should have "just in case." Rather have something and not need it than need something and not have it. amirite?!

As soon as I finish shoving everything back into my luggage I intend to go to sleep so that I won't be totally dead all day tomorrow. Though, even if I went to bed right this instant, I'd still only be getting about 6 hours of sleep. So I'll probably end up sleepy anyway, but at least I won't feel crappy AND tired. I can live with that.

I'm super excited, which is going to work against my whole going to bed plan I'm sure. Shut up! I can't help myself. Of course the drinks I had when I took my mom out to dinner tonight may prove useful in that regard. We'll see. My extraordinarily shitty internet will definitely be conductive to going to bed early. Like it's trying to prove a point or something. It's gone out about 14 times since I started writing this.
I'll update from an airport someplace, if I'm able.

In case any of you find yourselves wanting to imagine me flying through the sky, here's my schedule!

Flight #1
From: Cleveland, OH
To: Chicago, IL
Departs: 7:30am
Arrives: 8:20am

Flight #2
From: Chicago, IL
To: Sacramento, CA
Departs: 10:05am
Arrives: 12:40pm

Hopefully no one forgets to feed my goldfish. Ahem.

To everyone in Ohio: See you in a month!
To everyone in California: See you tomorrow!
To the internets: We'll be in touch, obebe.

P.S. Tomorrow is Aaron's birthday. I am going to hug him the instant I'm off the plane.

Nicest Viewer Ever

EVER! No seriously. I mean it.

Someone added one of my sketches to their favorites over at Deviant. Now, it is customary to thank people for visiting your gallery, so naturally that's what I did. I never want anyone to feel like their support isn't appreciated. Image my surprise when this is the response:

Name omitted.

At first I thought I was being yelled at, but as I continue beyond the first sentence I realize it's just a really nice person saying really nice things. On the internet no less, how rare! Viewing, commenting, and collecting my work is great on it's own, but this individual really took it to the next level. The rest of you may have to step up your game. I kid, I kid. But really, it was a very generous appraisal and it made me smile when I read it.

In less than a week I'll be in California again. How exciting! Some of you already know that, either because I told you personally or because you're following me on my super official Facebook. Like that guy and her over there. Yeah, you. I'm stoked. I'll be gone for an entire month, so if there's anything in particular you'd like for me to do that I wouldn't be able to do from the other side of the country, you should probably ask me now. Tomorrow is already quite booked though, so, any other day.

Mauled By A Bear!

Okay, it was my cat, but honestly he is kind of like a bear. In size and build, anyway.

What happened is that everyone and their dog (literally) wanted to come see the mythical giant cat on my nephew's birthday. I tried to warn them that he had never seen a dog before and thus wasn't a big fan, but children are hardly adept at waiting and they opened the door prematurely with the dogs right there. Much to the dismay of my flesh:

I should probably get stitches or something.

The worst part was that due to his weight (30 lb.) and size (2'8"), he didn't just rend the flesh, he also bruised the muscle beneath. The big fat! Mere seconds after it happened he was chilling on the foot of my bed half asleep like nothing out of the ordinary had happened whatsoever. Dog intrusion totally forgotten. But that's Neelix for you.

Home is Where The Heart Is

We got back in to Ohio yesterday, but I was so exhausted and busy doing things that I didn't bother with an update. My apologies for that. Hopefully enough of you heard through the grapevine that there was no worrying. It's not like me to set out on an epic journey and not let you guys know I arrived safely.

We got a late start because our plan to grab a couple of muffins and some coffee from the hotel's free breakfast failed when my grandfather saw biscuits and gravy and just had to have a plate. Then we ran into traffic crossing the Ohio river, where all the interstates merge to cross the bridge. Then I delayed us a little longer when we pulled off 75 North to get gas in Ashland and ran into Grandpa's Cheesebarn. How can you NOT stop at a place like that and buy something is beyond me.

We finally got in around 6pm.

Neelix made the trip like a pro. Not a peep of protest from him despite being in a carrier for over seven hours. My grandpa, being horrible with names, of course cannot remember the cat's. He's been dubbed such things as, "Melee," and "Ni hao." Or most recently, "Meatloaf." Waiting to see what he'll call him next became a minigame. If I guess close to right, I win! Neelix always loses, though.

When I got him home and let him out all the other cats here came to investigate. Despite everyone's concern, there was no confrontation.  Which, if I recall (which I do), I said about a million times before I brought him back that there wouldn't be. And there wasn't. Odin, Karma, and Spider all came and checked him out with no hostility whatsoever. And, naturally, Neelix being as carefree as he is didn't mind their curiosity one bit.

<3

In fact, everyone's biggest concern: Odin, had no qualms about his presence at all. Neelix sat under my chair, I sat in my chair, and Odin curled up under my desk. Just a foot away from one another with no incident. By this afternoon Spider and Neelix were sleeping on my bed together. Karma has visited him several times, in her indifferent sort of way, and then carried on about her business.

The only concern now is the dogs and that's not even actual concern. They are all well tempered with cats, since they've grown up with them around, but Neelix has never seen a dog. So I'm sure when he encounters one he'll be a little freaked out. Nothing time won't solve, though.

He's been sleeping in my lap all afternoon, making my legs fall asleep because of how very big he is. Not fat, just large. About 30 lb. worth of orange and white cat. Good thing he's well behaved. I missed him so much that I couldn't bring myself to make him get off of me. I just drank my coffee and dealt with the pins and needles.

Today is my nephew William's birthday, so I'll wrap this up to go eat pizza, shower him with presents, and then devour lots and lots of cake. Mm, birthday cake... I'll never forget his first birthday, he donned his first piece of cake like warpaint. It was great. Soon he'll be starting school. wtf!

Tennessee

Tennessee is one of those words that you look at weird because you're pretty sure you spelled it right. So just to be sure you rearrange some of the letters, add or remove a few and then the whole thing just becomes so confused you're not sure any of it was ever right in the first place. Then even if you are certain it is right, every time you read it thereafter it seems wrong.

I'm checking in from some place in Tennessee (see?). The hotel in Port Richey had no internet, so I was a week without. Not a huge deal, I was pretty busy anyhow. Hanging out with the Seminoles, loading up the SUV, driving out to retrieve my cat, and then taking all the folks who helped out to dinner so many times I lost count.

Boy was I thrilled to see my cat again. Words can't even describe it, so I won't try. He remembered me as soon as I let him out of the carrier into the hotel room to wander around. Spent the entire evening stalking me like a shadow and laying on me like a big big fat. He's taking the journey well which is fabulous. Not that I expected much differently, he's a chill cat.

The drive down was a breeze. From Ohio to Georgia, where we rested the first day, went by fast. Kentucky has beautiful architecture along 75 South, and Tennessee is just naturally gorgeous. Georgia is, well, Georgia. A whole lot of nothing. Only redeeming quality of Florida is all the armadillos I saw. I had never seen a live armadillo before. Super yay!

The drive back up? Not so fast. We ran into a 2 hour delay after Atlanta. We had no trouble at all driving through the very heart of it on the way down, but it was atrocious this afternoon. We bypassed the city itself on 285 West and managed to, somehow, run into a traffic jam once we got back onto 75 North 20 miles after Atlanta. Go figure. Luckily we had gotten lunch just before, so even going 5 mph wasn't so torturous.

Now I sit here sipping a strawberry-chocolate shake and munching french fries watching reruns of House until I'm tired enough to sleep. Then at the crack of dawn it's back on the road. Only about 5 or 6 more hours ahead of us if we make good time.

I've tons of pictures of tons of things, but those will have to wait. Sometime after I arrive in Ohio tomorrow. See you all then!