Ice Cavern Studios

So it’s back to the grind again. I’m currently on the train making my way back out to Beverly. Yes, I was working from home yesterday, but this is different. I’m heading back to the office and normal hours (read life) for the first time in five days. The break was really awesome, but it definitely was not a vacation.

Just like my man Tos, the convention was a hell of a lot of fun. I got to hang out with cool, fun people. And I even got to watch some anime. Wait, scratch that, I didn’t actually watch any anime this year. Wow, I managed to go to an anime convention for four days (including setup) and not watch more than maybe three minutes of anime that wasn’t in an AMV (Anime Music Video). I guess that’s the price one pays to help run said anime con.

It’s interesting, I don’t recall having watched much last year. I did get to watch some late Saturday night in 2005, but that was only after everything had died down, and I was just trying to stay awake to my next con. Looking back, however, I’ll gladly take the lowered amount of anime viewing in exchange for getting more sleep, and having things run as smoothly as they did. I think a lot of the staff will.

Oh yeah, things went almost eerily well this year. Saturday evening, a bunch of us were sitting in the convention office, and we all remarked how nice, but unnerving it was for things to be as quiet as they were. I was acting as the Tech Manager at that point (the real one was busy handling the Main Events room) and things were just going really smoothly.

I also got to be a bit more social this year. Of course, I knew more people to be social with, which made a big difference. It was awesome hanging out with everyone again, and I had such a good time, I’m going to try and swing a trip to Kumori-con over labor day.

I also only spent $45 in the dealers room. Mind you that ended up costing me more as I had bought a really cool Nintendo DS game, and then had to be a DS to play it on. Thankfully, though, I was able to get one of these off of ebay. So that worked out pretty well. (As a note, as of the posting of this, I have already received it. And yes, it is awesome. And by awesome, I mean Totally Sweet!)

But yeah, the weekend was awesome. It was great seeing everyone whom I was able to see (albeit all too briefly). I’m sorry I couldn’t see more people. Maybe I’ll be able to make a less scheduled trip sometime in the future. But yeah…um…BANZAII!!!

Life and Times

Hehe, I’m about to head off to Seattle for Sakura-con. I’m really really excited. I have so much to do, and so little time to cram it all in. But it doesn’t matter. I’m really really excited. Wait, I said that already. I’ll be sure to give a full report about the con when I get back. Till then. I’m out!

Life and Times

Back to back good weekends. You can’t really ask for much more than that. This weekend was one filled with a lot of friends; a lot of celebration; and, well, a lot of alcohol.

So Friday was St. Patrick’s Day, and for those of you who don’t know, there are few places that are better than Boston in terms of celebrating St. Patrick’s. No one even looked twice when I left the office early heading towards the train. When I got to the station, there were a hundred people waiting to get on to get into Boston. It was awesome. The people of Boston are serious about this holiday, and it was fun to just kind of get wrapped up in it. I haven’t been this excited about it…well…ever. It’s crazy what being in both one of the most Catholic and Irish cities in the country will bring about.

So yeah, Friday night, a bunch of us went out to a bar and celebrated St Patrick (the patron saint of both the Irish AND Engineers) as well as watched more of the first round of the NCAA tournament. What’s really cool is that it started out as just four of us. (Celeste, Kratville, Nicole and Me), but then expanded when we ran into Ben and his friends from Brandeis (who just happened to be going to the same place, which we found randomly). Shortly after Ben arrived, Erik got showed up after going to dinner with some MIT prospectives…who later randomly came to the bar. We ended up with a good sized group.

While we were out on Friday, we found out that Sunday was Erik’s birthday. Because celebrating on Sunday really wouldn’t be prudent, and because we just wanted another excuse to party, we all decided that something needed to be done to celebrate. Mind you, we didn’t really ask Erik if he wanted this. We all wanted to get together anyway, but Erik’s birthday was a reason to celebrate, and not just go out. Besides, we couldn’t just let it go unrecognized. So last night, we Dan, Celeste, Nicole and I invaded Erik and Kratville’s apartment with food, beer and rum. We spent the evening watching the last two tourney games of Saturday, as well as the end of the Japan – South Korea baseball game. It was a very relaxed, pleasant evening. And what was cool was that Erik really appreciated everything, which made it so much cooler.

Today was not quite as raucous. Nope. Instead I played some D&D over skype (I’m a nerd, I know) and met Erik and Kratville at the Cambridgeside Galleria to pick up some stuff. (They needed help driving back a stereo to their apartment) I picked up a new pair of shoes and two new hats, which is exciting. But otherwise, I just came back and cleaned my apartment and did laundry. All in all, a good, relaxing day. And I was productive, which is always a plus.

*Yawn* It’s time for bed. I’ve had a long weekend, and I’m ready to sleep. Yay sleep. And yay to awesome friends and an awesome weekend. Boo-yah!

Life and Times

Wow, I have a bunch of things to report on. I’ve gotten really bad at updating. I guess it’s always a good sign when I’ve got so much going on, I forget to update. Still, I should really be doing a better job. I just keep sleeping on the train to work, and reading the paper on the ride back. Hmmm. Anyway, on to the updates.

Firstly, I haven’t been feeling well these past couple of days, and I’m trying to figure out what it is. My stomach has been bothering me; I’ve felt a bit nauseated, but I think what’s actually wrong isn’t viral. I think in my attempt to get back my six pack, I may have strained my abs. This is possibly the most bizarre injury I have ever sustained. I’m thinking that it’s muscular because whenever I stand up, I feel it most, and only a little when I sit back down. I feel kind of sore there, and if I’m stretching, it seems to feel worse. I’ve just never felt this. It really isn’t natural.

Secondly, I’ve finally gotten registered in the State of Massachusetts. I also have the required insurance. I was putting this off as long as possible because everyone told me my rates would go up. Turns out, because they calculate things differently here, my rates were cut in half. Friggen sweet. So yeah, I have my insurance, my vehical is registered with the state. I have my Cambridge parking pass (and visitors pass for you Boston folks), and tomorrow, I’ll be getting my license. I’m actually about to finish the entire moving process.

Speaking of moving, my piano is now sitting in my apartment behind me. It’s in my office, and I have plenty of space. This apartment is really turning out well. At this point, I just have to get my TV from Nicole’s dad, get the last little bit of furniture I need, and I’m totally set. It feels sooo awesome to be settled into my apartment. My apartment, that’s also going well. I was worried about not having roommates, but I’m actually finding that I like this arrangement. I don’t have to worry about what others are doing with the space. Everything here belongs to me, and it’s just…nice. I’m not saying I had bad roommates, quite the opposite, but for the first time in a long while, the space is MINE.

The other big thing for me right now is that I’m really getting back into playing guitar. Well, not so much guitar as bass, but regardless, I’m really getting back into it. It’s a bit of a shame I stopped practicing in college the way I did when I was in high school. Thankfully, I have time to get back into it, and I’m really glad that I have. I’m especially enjoying the bass. I always liked playing grooves with my guitar, and bass just provides all kinds of fun groove based options.

Speaking of Groove, things at work are going well. As are things with Nicole. I haven’t started climbing again, but my old membership dies after this month, so I will be able to sign up for a membership at the local rock gym here (I didn’t want to pay breakage fees). But yeah, life is pretty good. *nods* Awwwwsome.

Life and Times

A lot has gone on since I last posted something of meaning. At some point, I may talk about the trip to Princeton, but I currently doubt I will. My important things happened since then. Namely my parents came up to visit, and with that, I finally realized just how stressed out I’ve been.

It took riding through a small highway in Vermont for me to realize how much life had been stressing me out. Listening to Rachmaninov, I just sat and watched a town semi-frozen in time pass by. My only thoughts were how much I wanted to come back in the spring or summer and just be here for a weekend. I needed to get away from everything. And that’s what I did.

There are few things that relax me the way skiing does. Maybe because I can only think about the task at hand. Maybe because I’ve been doing it so long, it doesn’t require much conscious thought. I honestly don’t know. All I do know, is that when I need to get away, the place I know I will be able to deal with everything is on a mountain somewhere.

To say I needed this weekend at Killington would be an understatement. Life has been incredibly stressful. Moving alone is bad enough, but at work, we’re in the time that can only be described as fun. If I didn’t love my job, I would hate my life. I’m serious, it’s that time. I don’t see myself having to work crazy hours right now, but that threat always looms.

I hadn’t though about how stressful this might get when I started on this journey two months ago. I forgot how stressful it is to move. To pack up one’s life and move it to another part of the country. I forgot how stressful starting work can be. I forgot how stressful it is to try and enter a new social situation. And oh how the reminders have come.

My mother remarked how tired I looked this weekend. She said she could see in my eyes that I looked tired. I looked like I needed rest. At the same time, both of my parents said I looked happier than when I was in Seattle. And I am; I’m just currently exhausted.

Life and Times