Okay, so I’m sitting here in the airport concourse, waiting for my flight. I have 90 minutes to kill till takeoff, about an hour till we board. It was easier this time than ever before. I was surprised. Seriously. There was minimal traffic on the freeway, although I made a point of going the slightly longer route, since it meant less stoplights. Still it was like weekend traffic at rush hour. Go figure. When I got into the terminal, I had barely finished at the check in kiosk when the delta counter person came up to me and asked for my id and to check my bag. No waiting, no counter. whole process took about 2 minutes. When I went to the luggage drop off, yet again, no waiting. 2 minutes. So, I proceeded in to security to get screened. It always takes a while here because people behave like idiot cattle and move slowly and get set to do the x-ray shuffle at the last minute. Not so this time. There were more screeners than people, tons of scanning bins, and NO LINE. I pulled out MeatLoaf! (my macbook pro), removed my shoes, belt, and watch, and was through security in yet again, less than two minutes. Go figure. I then walked to my gate. Now, I’m online.
Sitting here, its almost surreal. PDX is usually a very busy airport. Lots of people, lots going on, the whole usual airport gig. But not tonight. Its almost dead. Sure, there’s people milling about, but its feels more like its early morning or late night here. Not like a Monday evening of a holiday week. So far, for my flight, there’s only a half dozen people here. The flight was listed as booked, but with this few people here, maybe it’ll stay empty and I can score a whole row of seats and sleep.
I’m sitting here, and I’m wondering. Wondering if the cost of fuel and the price of airline tickets isnt off-putting to people. Maybe people arent flying because of the cost. If thats the case, it may very well be possible that the airlines are shooting themselves in the foot in regard to their checked bag fees and such. Seriously, I’ve never seen an airport so empty.
On the plus side, this gorgeous, brunette girl just sat down across from me. Now, I dont mean gorgeous in that statuesque or fashion model kinda way. I mean normal girl gorgeous. You know her. She’s in the coffee shop, or she’s at the grocery store, and she makes beautiful look easy. Easy like putting on a t-shirt. Its impressive. I’m actually making an attempt not to throw glances at her constantly. I dont want to be the creepy oggling guy. But jebus, her parents deserve a thank you note. Now, wouldnt it be awesome if I lucked out and caught a seat next to her on the plane. That is, if I cant get my own row of seats. That would be choice.
In other flight news, there are a couple people here with kids. Small kids. Kids that cry when their ears get pressurized. Thank the gods of technology for noise canceling headphones. I can kick back with a movie and ignore everything.
Anyway, I’m gonna be up for 24 hours by the time this ordeal is over. Granted, the red-eye is better than any other time I’ve flown, but still. Nothing like getting to your connecting flight at 6AM and all you want is a sandwich and a nap.
In other news, there’s good news on topics of which I cant speak. However, I’m not gonna say jack until its all finalized. I refuse to jinx myself. But, for what its worth, keep crossing those fingers and thinking good thoughts for me. Its worked out so far.
So it seems I’m getting a chance to post on the weekends, more than not, and that twitter has brokulated itself again. Joyi. Oh well. I’ll keep playing and figure it out eventually.
In any case, its been a sweltering hot weekend in Portland. The temperature has been up around the upper 90’s since late thursday early friday. and hasnt really settled back yet. Normally people would just grin and bear it, but we’re talking about a part of the country where being in the 80’s is considered hot. Then bear in mind that most homes in portland dont have A/C since we usually dont need it. So, its been a bit toasty. Luckily, thunderstorms moved through this evening, and helped cool things off. I was pleased to say the least.
Otherwise, I’ve been slowly pulling my stuff together for the trip. I’m starting to flesh out my carry on, dig out my traveling books, charge my various batteries, and locate all my various cables. A man cant travel without cables. I’ve also picked up a new electric toothbrush (my old one died yesterday) as well as things like trail mix and such. At current, I’m processing movies for my iPod so I’l have entertainment on the flights, and wont have to wear down my macbook pro batteries. Granted, I have two batteries, but still, I’d rather not waste them unless I have to. Checking email between planes is more important than watching Futurama in flight. I’d rather make do with my ipod. The upside is that I have good movies for the flight. I’m especially looking forward to Batman: Gotham Knight. Yes, the anime style batman piece. I’m hoping its as good as I want it to be.
So yes, Tuesday, I get on a plane and head home. Jason will retrieve me from the airport Wednesday, and then I can spend the day recuperating from traveling, while helping the moms prep for the arrival of my step sister, my brother in law, and my niece. They’ll be dead tired by the time they get in, but I’d be lying if I said I wasnt super excited to see my niece. I cant wait to play with and get to know the little goblin, considering its been 2 years since I saw her. Of course, I consider this unacceptable. As of Wed, I will have remedied the problem.
In yet other news, I’m now in the mid 80’s in terms of completion of GTA4. I need to put in more time, but I’ve been multi-playing, and focusing on non L.C. space things. More than anything, I’ve been just focusing on what I need to do, so I can help time pass more quickly, while I think about my vacation. Yes, I’m fixating on my week in DC. I havent had a true week off since thanksgiving, when I went to see Jim and Jaide in Vegas. Sure, I made it home for a weekend in January, but that was a quick turn-around so I could get a bunch of tech done for the Mom’s company. So, I didnt have near enough time to see anyone, or do anything other than sit in the basement and fix things. Now, when I go home, I’ll have time to see people, and yes, fix things. Being able to split my time will be a plus for sure.
And of course there’s other news thats interesting and of importance, but I’m not at liberty to discuss it. Its a matter of the fact that it really isnt disclosable, and I also really dont want to jinx myself. If all goes well, I will get to make announcements, because at such time, such things will be disclosable. So, everyone cross your fingers for me, even if you dont really know why. It’ll all make sense later.
Lastly, I went out to see Wall-E with my friend Amy this evening. Upon exiting the theatre, we commented on how awesome it was, and how many mac jokes there were, and how many nods to classic science fiction there were, and how it was totally written for the geek crowd. We also realized that we were laughing at things in the movie that other people totally didnt notice. More specifically the geek jokes than anything else. But that was the point the animators were going for, I think. A movie kids would love, that most adults would enjoy, but had all kinds of great inside jokes. Yet again, I say that this is why Pixar consistently hits it out of the park. They get it. And I’m glad they do.
And so, with all of this said, I think I’m pretty close to being caught up. I’m sure more will come as I’m traveling, as one would expect. If you want to look me up, I’ll be home wednesday morning. Same cell number as always. call or text me. I’ll be local.
Lastly, so I can end this with a picture, here’s a photo-booth picture of the Hello Kitty I got for my niece for a belated birthday present. Cause I’m an awesome uncle.
In nine days, next Tuesday, I’ll be getting on a plane at 10PM. At 8:30AM the next morning, I’ll be landing at BWI. And I wont have to go back to the airport until the following monday. A week at home. I’m happy about this. Its gonna be good. The family will be there, my niece will be there, and I’ll have the opportunity to see friends I havent seen in a good while.
On the friend note, given that I have more than a weekend, if you want to see me, you should definitely email, call, or post a comment. I’d like to see people, so definitely let me know whats up so I can keep track.
I say this now, because the future is still uncertain. I dont know when I’ll make it home next. Its entirely possible it might be a long time. Given that, I havent seen some of you in almost two years. Others of you, seen, much less spoken to in that time span. Therefore, make some noise so I can make time for you.
And on that note, I look forward to burning through this week, so I can get to the travel awesomeness of next week. Yes, you heard that right. I think traveling is awesome. I’m good at it. I like airports, flying, and the whole thing. Maybe I’m crazy. I dunno. Probably yes. But if having to jump through the hoops of airports and airlines brings me back to seeing people I miss, and places I know and love, then its worth it.
So as much as the past weekend sucked due to job woes and illness, there was one bright spot. literally. Zorn, bartender god of the tiki bar decided that I needed a truly quality Zippo style lighter for fire purposes. So he got me one.
No, your eyes do not deceive you. Yes, thats a lighter. Yes, its the size of a personal pan pizza. Its called the Big Daddy. And it is HUGE. Its so big, it wont fit in a pocket. its just monstrous. Airport security would hate me for this, I’m sure of it 
So, despite a sucktacular weekend, Zorn made with the awesome, and reminded me how awesome people can be.
Those who tell you that the economy is fine, are lying. Let me say this right damned now. On Friday, a bunch of the service related folks where I work, were laid off. This happened because the company decided to cut costs before they got into a financial problem. The corporate reality is that their bottom line is healthier. The employee reality is now there’s a bunch of hard working and talented guys, who dont have jobs. Not because they sucked in any way, but because whatever their meager salaries were, had become too much for the company to bear. The personal reality is that I was one of those people.
Well, half way, actually. I got pulled into a meeting on friday with the service manager and the director of service who informed me that I’d done an amazing job and they really hated that this was the case, blah blah, and then I said, “I’m being let go, arent I.” I was given the affirmative. I asked how I could save my job, since unemployment isnt an option. I was offered a service position at the beaverton store, and a pay cut. Greeaaaat. A pay cut. Like I wasnt making shit previously? Now I make less than shit. But at least I can pay my essential bills still. I just cant eat or buy gas. So, the reality is that now I’m flying the service counter at our beaverton store on the weekdays. I was told to start work on tuesday, which left monday completely blank. Am I getting paid for today? you bet your ass not.
Oh, and to make matters worse, I went to bed on Friday evening feeling a little wonky. I woke up saturday with a stuffy head, a sore throat, a cough, and a fever. Wait. What? Not only did I spend ten minutes laid off, but I took a job for less pay, AND I’m sick? Please, line up the cute girls who are hear to kiss my cheek, tell me I’m very sweet, and then punch me in the junk.
But, now being monday, at least I’m starting to feel a bit better. So, back to the job bitching.
Anyone who thinks that there isnt a part time job in my future is kidding themselves. There’s also a planned sprucing up of the resume in order to see if there’s not something corporate that can give me the financial security that Apple Specialists havent.
I love what I do. I’m damned good at what I do. And there’s a market for what I do. The problem is that none of you small businesses that I love to work for, can afford to pay me what I’m worth. And thats a problem. I may finally be ready to go corporate. So, we’ll see where this goes. (first person to say “I told you so,” gets a rabid ferret in their pants.)
June? As a month, you’re fired. You’ve let me down two years running. From now on, I declare that the month of June will be known as Leroy. My calendar will show April, May, Leroy, July, and so on. Good Luck Leroy, we’ve got expectations. You’re predecessor was a chump.
And with all that said, I’m going to go blow my nose, eat my frosted flakes, and do my damned laundry.
Its been more than a challenge getting MGL back up and running. And I’ve made some discoveries along the way. MySQL 4.1 has no problem running wordpress, and has no problem handling the import of massive amounts of data. SQL 5, yeah, it failed miserably. I ended up having to rebuild from the ground up, which I kind of expected would be the case. But, I have all the crossposting working, twitter integration seems to be working, as well as all the other little nuances I’ve come to expect. Hopefully, I wont ever have to do this again.
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