Without doubt, I had a fun time of it, and I think that was the overwhelmingly widespread sentiment (with kudos to Jet). The posher setting seemed to make everyone approach the event more seriously this time around (our 5-year was at school, which was still fun but felt more of a lark). Earlier in the week, I flipped through the Reunion Book submissions, and a lot of what people said surprised me -- particularly from those I never really got to know that well (or at all). With that in mind, I tried to make a point to try to talk to everyone there. However, the evening was up before I knew it, so I missed a number of people unfortunately.

You know, there were a number of people through high school that seemed mostly unapproachable -- in early years because I was insecure (yes, even at a nerd school there are "popular" people and "geeks" =) ) and later more because many people just seemed so different than me. But our differences really weren't that great after all. Funny thing that is.

There is one surprise though that I haven't gotten out of my head yet: one of the barely-knew-you people I approached (to whom I fully expected to have to introduce myself) recognized me immediately. That was cool of course (since who ever feels good about being invisible or forgotten?) but it was indeed a surprise. I'm not entirely sure why I keep mulling over this unexpected recognition, especially since I didn't make much of it at the time. Perhaps realizing that this person was actually quite attractive (of particular note, she had a delicate mouth and a soft-spoken way of talking that underscored a gleam in her eyes) while we chatted has something to do with it. I think ultimately it just makes me really curious how she remembered me; her charm just adds to the mystique is all.

Anyhow, I had a great time there and afterwards, as Tarun summed up pretty well. My (platonic) date "C" seemed to have a good time too, so I didn't fail my duty there. It would have been nice to hang a bit more with my closer friends (as it was a nice setting to do so), and perhaps I shall next time. Now though, like Jet, I need to figure out how to ditch or move all my stuff! [07:46]

It was a somewhat surreal week as my godparents' family made their final preparations and exit from our town. It's hard to even call it our town anymore, as their presence and personality have been an integral part of my view of the city's identity even from before my arrival here. Not unlike the years preceding it, the exit was tumultuous, but inlaid with moments of serenity and, ultimately, grace.

We shared our last planned dinner together in mid-week and, as is perhaps all too common several days before even an eminent departure, the finality of this chapter in our lives had yet to become salient. Catching me unawares, it was during the weary, exhausted post-packing and loading respite that a true "breaking of bread" sense had arrived, as we foraged and erased the remnants of ice cream from the freezer. As we had spent most of our time together over the years at the dinner table, I am happy to have that moment bookend it all.

In the latter part of the week was the actual packing and loading, which involved an obscene amount of cubic feet of transport volume. I came to help, and returned to help more when the ordeal was revealed to be ominously larger than expected. But with a little ingenuity, some persistence, and a lot of patience, we found a way to get all that mattered (and when there is three decades of life for three generations packed into one house, there's a lot that matters). I am happy to have made that possible.

Farewell to you. Thank you for the years of companionship and good luck out West. I will see you again.

For all those clamoring for our band's next gig (and everyone else), this is to let you know that we have a show tentatively planned for Friday July 18. Confirmation to follow.

This will be the night before our vaunted high school's 10 year reunion, so for those of you who'll be in town... you have no excuse to miss this! j/k Enjoy the show!

Mark the date and keep it open =). We have a couple new songs to unveil too. [04:12]

Hey all. Thanks for the heads up -- at least I know I'm not talking out into the void. I keep meaning to make a recap post about the various things that have been going on, but the time seems to elude me. Now I must go to sleep (after which I'll play some bridge in the afternoon), but I'll leave you with this.

Jet and Roy are planning a grill-out for later today (they are also just now going to sleep =) ), which will be a nice kick into summer. Mmmm.

In bridge-related news, I just achieved the Regional Master rank after having placed in an open Swiss teams event at a Regional in Rockford last week -- woot! In band-related news, I just heard a mixdown of one of our demo tracks and despite its imperfections, it sounds pretty good! Word is that we'll try to edge our way into a show mid-July at a posher (and probably bigger) venue than our last gig. I'll keep you posted. [07:02]

Well, undoubtedly if you're reading this, you've noticed that the blog was gone for a few weeks, then upon reappearing has gone unupdated for several weeks more. Ladies and gentlemen, we have set a new record for longest lapse between updates -- by just over 24 hours!

When I first started this blog (nearly a year ago today -- just under 24 hours away), my intentions were to use the space for my own personal development (both as a way to capture thoughts and track my life) and just let any willing audience go along for the ride. It has become increasingly clear that for me this is not a natural vehicle for my original purpose (though I may try again with different tactics), however I have realized during this past entryless span that people actually do follow this blog (amazingly enough). Thus, I am happy to re-target this site to my audience as a primary rather than auxiliary purpose, and not worry so much about any direct personal benefits -- that is, if interest warrants doing this.

What I need to know now is 1) if I've lost everyone =), and 2) what people want to see. So, a roll call of anyone listening would be very helpful (yes, even you lurkers out there) to begin with -- if no one cares, I can just end this sad charade. Secondly, if you have any comments on what you'd like to see in terms of future entries, that may help me figure out what to put up (there's less urgency on this, as feedback as we go along in Act II of the "hot blog" is fine). Some examples: the boring life/daily updates, things on my mind, commentary on things that come up, pointing out things/news under the radar (somehow I doubt this is all too popular), really introspective/soul-baring shit, recounting amusing stories of the past and present.

Please weigh in here. The future of rock n' roll... ahem, this blog, depends on it. Boring life update in the extended entry.

This past week has been fairly hectic. One of the consulting gigs I have is with a Managed Hosting provider (they host dedicated Windows/Linux/etc servers for clients) as a referral (through another company). There's been a flurry of hacking lately, which has apparently translated to work for me.

I almost feel bad profiting off the misfortune of others -- kind of like a Bush crony. But I guess it's not like I'm doing something like finding people to actually hack into that hosting provider's clients' boxes. Oh and I guess these people can freely choose whether or not to retain my services.

Anyway, looks like I have a little more time now. Time for more entries perhaps... (BTW, thanks for the link Steve.)

Don't know why but I decided to look up jwz today, and noticed he has a blog now. I found this amusing entry:

A Warmonger explains the War to a Peacenik
(alternately, a TMW cartoon version)

Enjoy. [02:38]