Sudden Change of State
By the time April rolled around, I was pretty worried about several things. My savings were depleting and I hadn’t found a new job. Mom was in a rehab center in North Carolina 4 hours away from me because of her latest mini-stroke, and getting to see my girlfriend only every other weekend was becoming intolerable. In desperation, I answered an ad for a job that was… less than satisfactory, but it would pay a few bucks.
I made it all the way to the interview before they told me it was an overnight shift, which I had specifically insisted against. I’d be a useless zombie to them on that schedule. So I stormed politely out, went back to my borrowed bedroom, and considered my options. And that’s when the idea struck me: I wanted a job in NC close to Mom and Maya anyway. Perhaps I’d get more attention from employers if I claimed on my resume to already be living there…
A few quick changes to my online job seeking accounts, and I kid you not, I had an urgent interview within three days. Two years of searching, and a simple fib dropped a job in my lap in THREE DAYS.
So it’s two months later. I’ve got a solid job that pays decently and has great benefits and perks, I have my own place in Raleigh with Maya, Mom’s doing okay with her cat, and they just delivered the first couch I’ve ever paid for all by myself. As I stood at the sink washing some dinner dishes, the whole thing seemed so unreal… but here I am.
I’m more stressed than I’ve been for a while, especially since I’m still doing the podcast, and in a fit of insanity accepted my first con staff position in around 20 years or so. And I miss my friends and chosen family in Hampton Roads. But there’s so much good stuff in my life, stuff I’ve been striving for for so long, that I think I’ll find the strength to handle it. I’m just still a bit bewildered by the speed of the whole thing.
Life-changing events don’t phone ahead, I guess.
A Visit to Technicon
Technicon 27 started with our water heater cracking open.
Okay, so the two weren’t causally linked. The situation remained damn frustrating, though: Starr had been scheduled to work her 7am-7pm shift, but we both really wanted her to come to the con, which meant we would probably get there around 2 or 3 Saturday morning. So be it: such is life. Then her work called in the wee hours of Friday to say she’d actually been scheduled 3am-3pm, which wouldn’t be any easier on her, but meant we’d show up in Blacksburg at a decent hour!
Then we both came home to work to find our driveway awash. For once, there was nothing both vital and water-soluble in the garage, and the heater is all we lost. But one of us had to stay to get it fixed, and I was the one with the Guest badge and panel commitment, so off I went.
I have learned to despise that drive. I love the con, and I love seeing friends and family; I’m so glad I didn’t have to miss out on my twenty-fourth straight Technicon. But that drive is beginning to get on my nerves. At least I caught the tail end of the Meet Our Guests social, and enjoyed meeting artist T Campbell (with whom I shared a hotel room).
Technicon was small this year; that’s not a criticism, just an observation. They chose not to run a dealer’s room this year, though they had most of the other trappings: a video room, anime, card and tabletop gaming, and various panels and presentations. I participated in the Amateur Film panel with rubinpdf and other members of Galtham Films, who made up about 90% of the attendance; I had a good time, and hope that impink will post images of his revised TSE Mirage design.
Late in the evening, southernsinger performed what was almost a White Plectrum sing-along rather than a concert: the fraction of new attendees in the audience may well have felt slightly left-out. I helped judge the six-entry Costume Call – though the event was small, the costumes were wonderful, and we had a heck of a time picking the ones we liked best. trenn won “Best in Show” with a great Seventh Doctor, but ypawtows did score a mention for “Best Use of an Undead Smurf in a Short Subject”.
I ran my late-night panels as usual. This year, I just wasn’t in the mood for complex presentations, and aimed more for a “friendly discussion circle” atmosphere. At least a few folks told me they enjoyed them, so it must not have been a terrible idea. After closing out the room, I had just enough battery power left to swing by jlfranklin‘s room party, which was nearly shut down itself. Back up to the room and sweet unconsciousness.
Sunday, it felt surreal to have no closing programming, no chances to say goodbye to folks. I just got on the road as soon as possible, spent a nice lunch in Roanoke with my Mom, and then did that cursed drive again. I was so tired and strung-out when I got to Chesapeake that Starr and her dad managed to get a glass of wine in me at Olive Garden, and now I’m not sure whether my vagueness around the edges today is exhaustion, the effects of drink, early con-crud setting in, or Monday.
Anyway. For me, Technicon 27 was a great success. It’s the only time I get to see lots of people who mean a great deal to me, and I had much fun. My hall costume got remarks such as, “Okay, you are now officially my favorite person ever.” I have another Guest badge for my collection. Furthermore, I got to continue a TCon attendance streak beaten only by an elite few.
Was it a success from the con’s point of view? I don’t know. I heard a rumor of around 150 badges, staff and guests included. The venue wasn’t the best, though I know the staff’s choices were limited this year. I suppose we’ll see – I wouldn’t mind attending a full three-day Technicon 28 if they can pull it off.
Thanks to the con for the invite! While I don’t know at the moment where or when it may happen, I can’t wait to see everyone again…
One major event
Okay! I’m tanned, rested, and ready. Well, not tanned, and after the weekend I can’t say I’m rested. But I’m ready to catch up a bit!
On June 13th, Starr and I got married in the atrium of Senara Obici Hospital in Suffolk, Virginia. yubbie was kind enough to officiate for us, and we had a gathering of blood relatives and a few friends.
I think Starr and I may have been under more strain than we’ve been since we met. I was behind in nearly everything I needed to do for the day, and Starr of course was in charge of a million things. Had it not been for kind, generous folks who pitched in, this would never ever have happened. But it did indeed, and we have proof:
Here we see a mind-bendingly stunning bride, standing next to her doofus groom. Of course, we see Starr in fashionable cat ears in nearly every published picture, and this is no exception: Owen presented them to the two of us at the end of the ceremony.
I especially want to thank sir_alf and faekitty here: with practically no notice at all, they volunteered to pick up my mom from Roanoke, bring her to the ceremony, and give her a ride back. As well, they helped her with many things during the weekend that I hadn’t even put in the job description: they were two of many that went over and above the call. I cannot thank you both enough, nor tell you how much that meant to both my mother and I.
I have awesome (and work-safe!) stories to tell from the honeymoon, but those will need to wait until I can sit and cull the photos. No one wants the LiveJournal equivalent of 200 vacation slides.
But, woo! Wedding!
The Hunt for Red Hyundai
The first folks I asked for transport to Roanoke had other commitments, and that’s completely understandable: this all happened on pretty short notice. I was getting a little panicky about finding someone.
Then, by the sheerest coincidence, I was talking to a friend on Thursday night who’s a woodworker. He had an appointment in Staunton on Friday, and casually volunteered to drive me the rest of the way down I-81. I couldn’t say no! The trip turned into quite the adventure, as his delivery truck has no stereo, no AC, windows which must be wrestled into place by hand, and (it turned out) a bad left turn signal. But, while the whole excursion was draining, the conversation was great. I have no complaints.
Thanks to missed connections and three separate car-accident highway backups, the trip took nine hours, and I reached Mom’s place around 11 or so. We chatted briefly, but I had to beg off because my energy levels were almost non-existent. When I came back in the morning, we talked for quite a while, and I fixed her air conditioning set up, the new shower sprayer, and her computer’s Internet connection. When it came time to leave, I took her red Hyundai back to Chesapeake as promised. The five-hour drive on Rt. 460 stayed pleasant, and I got home in time to surprise Starr with a scallop dinner after her workday.
Today, I have done nothing useful. I am exhausted, and the house needs a lot of work still, but I have managed little. I will need to make up for it this week. And now to whine about something trivial: today, the ‘not-Easter’ celebration starts in WoW, and it begins with a ‘not-Easter’ Egg hunt. This is a lovely idea, except there’s some nice rewards for collecting large numbers of eggs, and you can’t get to any of the places where they appear; the micro-second an egg spawns, someone else has already clicked on it, and it fades right back out. People are ‘camped’ at all the spawning points, collecting eggs. Perhaps they’ll get bored, or finish, and I’ll have the chance to pick up a few after work later this week. 🙁
Car and house and car
Okay, quick recap of the last ten days: Starr’s doing really well. She’s had to do a lot more physical labor than someone who’d just left the hospital should, but since I was working my butt off as well, I really couldn’t relieve her of the necessity.
The rest of our stuff is out of the storage unit and in the house, and 95% of Starr’s parents’ stuff is out of the house. There’s an epic tale right there, but I’ll just say that this is why she and I are still physically exhausted. The house is a wreck, but we’re working on that a bit at a time.
The insurance company paid off the car loan on the PT Cruiser, but won’t provide for a new vehicle. Of course, we’re still trying to buy a house, and extra funds are non-existent. So, my mom has generously offered to loan Starr her car for a while, which is a perfect solution; if I can pick up the vehicle this weekend, she won’t miss a day of work. Only problem: the car’s in Roanoke. I’m going to need to plead with someone to come up with me and drive one of the cars back. I haven’t figured out who to ask, yet.
I’ve been a little forgetful recently. I think my brain’s overloaded. Have to come up with a workaround for that.
Lots going on
Langley is closed for the day, which surprises me. There’s a dusting of snow outside, but it sure isn’t anything I couldn’t drive through. Perhaps the bridge-tunnels are unsafe. Our e-mail notification system is a tease, though: “Check Sunday at 7pm.” 7pm Sunday: “Not sure. Check Monday at 5am.” 5am Monday: “We’re definitely closed until Monday at noon. Check at 10am for more.” 10am Monday: “Yeah, okay, we’re closed.”
The upshot is that I have a day off, and for once Starr’s not working today either. We didn’t see much of each other this weekend, so this’ll be nice. We might hit the Y together and get some exercising in. The cats are thrilled to have us home, which means they are all over us every second. I’m thinking of getting some kitty restraints. (Cue Steve Martin’s “Cat Handcuffs” routine.)
I made my hotel reservations for Technicon this weekend. Went nuts and got a suite, since a suite at the Microtel costs less than a twin bed other places. My plan right now is to drive up Friday after work, chill Friday night, do the con and some local socializing, and drive home Monday. I often miss everyone up there. You guys need to all come down to MarsCon or NekoCon or something now so we can hang out.
Mom tried to move back into the house at Kentland this weekend. With reservations, I support this – her plan sounds workable, and she’s going to have outside help. But we learned that a pipe was broken, necessitating shutting off the water, and the gas was also shut off for some reason. I have to get her and Whitney together to get that fixed, as there’s not much I can do about it from here.
And speaking of houses… Starr’s parents have made us an offer to buy this house from them. Without going into details, it’s a deal we would be complete fools to pass up. We’ve agreed to their offer, and are setting up the money now. Nothing’s been signed yet, but it looks like we are going to be homeowners.
I’m going to own a house. A four-bedroom, 2.5 bath house in a nice neighborhood, with a garage, a swimming pool, a fireplace… and this from a guy who was amazed he could afford a three-bedroom apartment. I’m still a little dazed at the prospect… this is awesome. Starr’s right now looking at mortgage rates from her USAA membership, we might even get a good rate. Whoa. *deep breaths* Please send good thoughts my way if you can spare them. This means a lot to me!
We got a real small convoy…
I feel guilty when I let Twitter do most of my LiveJournal updating for several days. It doesn’t help that my DSL, which was working fine for a while, died again over the weekend. They’ll come by on Friday to look at it. Cox Cable, folks, I’m telling you now.
So, what exactly was I up to with all that driving? It’s an epic tale…
We left Chesapeake early on Friday morning, heading to NoVa to see Owen. On the way one of my tires sprang a leak; we pulled into a White Tire to have it fixed. It turned out that the tire was fine; something I’d hit on Xmas eve had bent the rim a bit, and that was letting air out. They hammered the rim back into shape, re-balanced the tire, and refused to charge me. Happy Holidays indeed!
To say that Owen was charged up to see us might have been an understatement. He wore us out just talking to us! He received a glow-in-the-dark NASA Langley shirt from us, which he wore all night; his parents gave us an elegant hanging candelabra and an Elfin Tree Door (which is already installed on a suitable tree in our yard).
When we left for the hotel, Owen’s folks sent us to a French cafe for dinner. I’ve never eaten French food before, and was surprised at how tasty a charred, bloody cut of meat could be. (Look at dish, and mentally sigh. Put forkful of dish in mouth, and mentally jump at the flavor!)
The HoJo’s we stayed at that night was clean and cheap, and the bed mattress might as well have been a solid slab of wood. I kid you not, Starr found the floor more comfortable.
We went back to Owen’s place for breakfast, and he and I bonded over some Lego. Eventually, we had to leave; Starr’s mom took her by a neighborhood yarn store, though, and we ended up losing another hour to their 25%-40% Off Sale. No problem for me, I had Solitaire and MahJongg on the cell phone. The drive from there to Christiansburg turned out to be the least fun of the trip, though; crossing the Appalachians on Lee Highway was tense and a bit nauseating, and our reward for reaching the other side was I-81. Yippee-doo.
Finally, though, we reached C-burg and we saw Mom waiting for us outside the facility where she’s staying. Mom ordered me to stop a yard and a half away, and walked that distance from he wheelchair to my arms as Starr steadied her. Wonderful! She gave me the best Xmas present she possibly could right there; the Red Lobster dinner that followed only added to the celebration!
We spent Saturday night in the Microtel, which did its intended job of being cheap, comfortable, and a provider of wireless Net access. I know that lots of folks in the New River Valley would have put us up, and I would have loved the chance to socialize, but we’d have been rude guests: coming in late, going straight to bed, and waking up early the next morning for a quick e-mail check and a return to Mom’s place.
After a Cracker Barrel breakfast, Mom took Starr to Mosaic, her favorite yarn store, where we met Benny, Cathy, and Jamie Williams; I passed the time proving to Jamie that I am totally old and lame when it comes to anime and Final Fantasy games, and Starr ended up with a couple more bags of crochet yarn. (I had given Starr yarn money for Xmas. Starr asked and received permission to buy herself other gifts with that money, as she’s now stocked up on yarn for a few weeks.) We said a sad goodbye to my mom, and began the six-hour drive home. I have to say, that used me up. We finally arrived around 8:30 Sunday night, and I was done. Kaput. Over.
Still, it was a lovely weekend, and time and gas well spent. I only wish that I could fly to Technicon Last instead of driving. Or perhaps portal there, if all that ‘cake’ stuff’s been worked out by now.
