Fall/Winter 2010 Update
I haven't updated since mid-November. I can't blame Facebook though because I'm hardly ever on there. I'm on twitter more often than Facebook, for sure. I did get a little thrill when I saw LiveJournal on-screen in the movie The Social Network. Even though I'm not posting as much, I'm still coming in a couple of times a week to keep up on my friends list.
Quick Fall/Winter 2010 update then.
My parents' divorce was finalized in September 2010. Just found out about this a few weeks ago from my brother actually - there's quite a disconnect where no one's talking about anything divorce related in my family. The whole ordeal took about three years to end - just glad nothing went to trial and it's finally done.
Mid-November saw the 9th annual OmegaCon come and go. This past year will be forever known as "The Year of the Blizzard Blackout." Yes, the power went out on Sunday morning. About six inches of snowfall. It was a good enough time as any for the power to fail (I guess) and the weekend seemed successful enough. I had fun. We are already selling out the hotel like crazy - had 64 reservations by the end of the weekend for 60 rooms for 2011. Would have to draw names and get rid of four room requests but eight individuals stepped forward to consolidate/combine their rooms in the nick of time so we didn't have to go down that route. There were a few growing pains w/ConSuite (lack of institutional knowledge carrying over in that dept.) but I think we've gotten everything straightened out for next year.
Thanksgiving was fun. Went to Northfield and had Thanksgiving at bbtinydancer 's house (spacevlad 's sister). It was a lot of fun. Matt's parents came up from Durango and Matt's other sister snowsophie joined us. It was cool seeing his whole family reunited under one roof again.
Later on that weekend, Matt & I got together with my dad and my brothers to go bowling at Maple Lanes in Fridley. That was quite a trip - hadn't been in that bowling alley in 15 years. Spent a good portion of my childhood growing up there - my mom worked there on and off growing up and my grandparents owned the place from the mid 1960's to the mid 90's. Still looks recognizable but they knocked a bunch of walls out of the arcade to expand the dining area - and the nursery is now the pro-shop. Didn't bowl well at all though. Too rusty.
Christmas was fun. I guess it was especially interesting because this is my first Christmas as a self-accepting atheist. I was raised Roman Catholic but moved to agnosticism probably when I was 20 or 21 and now, at 30, I took that next step and just wrote the whole religion thing off. Discovering Matt Dillahunty and The Atheist Experience TV show (on public access in Austin, TX - which has many clips on youtube (like this excellent one here) has helped nudge me that one last step. I wish the MN Atheist group was as cool as their Austin counterparts (judging by their podcasts vs. the Austin group - they aren't). Everything's just cooler in Texas, I guess.
Still, I was able to enjoy the secular trappings of the holiday and it was great to see family. My mom threw a big get together at her parents house. My grandpa seems to be doing a little better and my grandma was in good spirits. At my aunt's request, I brought the Wii so she could try Wii bowling. That lasted about five minutes, lol. Went up to my Dad's cabin at Mille Lacs on Boxing Day for spaghetti dinner. That was fun as well but a long day of travel up there and back.
Decided to stay home for New Years. Didn't feel like going out and stayed in playing video games instead. Even I have my socializing limits and the weather didn't look good/roads were slick.
Matt's brother Mark (milkman30 ) is moving here permanently in January. He's gotten a job at a large insurance company here in St. Paul. He's Matt's fraternal-twin brother who used to live in England (Matt and I visited him there in March 2009) and he came back to live in Durango and then he went to Hamline last year to get his paralegal certification. Really excited about him living nearby. He's really fun to hang out with and I consider myself just as close to him as I do my real brothers. He's moving into the apartments near Bandana Square in a few weeks, so just a stone's throw away.
In other news, I started shaving my head. It just looks better and I was balding too much. Now I wear a shaved head with a beard. Everyone says I look like a mean bouncer or wrestler.
Oh, and I loved the latest Dr. Who Christmas Special. Steven Moffat rocks.
Finally - congrats to congress and Obama for finally getting rid of Don't Ask Don't Tell. To quote Barney Frank - two down and two to go!
Quick Fall/Winter 2010 update then.
My parents' divorce was finalized in September 2010. Just found out about this a few weeks ago from my brother actually - there's quite a disconnect where no one's talking about anything divorce related in my family. The whole ordeal took about three years to end - just glad nothing went to trial and it's finally done.
Mid-November saw the 9th annual OmegaCon come and go. This past year will be forever known as "The Year of the Blizzard Blackout." Yes, the power went out on Sunday morning. About six inches of snowfall. It was a good enough time as any for the power to fail (I guess) and the weekend seemed successful enough. I had fun. We are already selling out the hotel like crazy - had 64 reservations by the end of the weekend for 60 rooms for 2011. Would have to draw names and get rid of four room requests but eight individuals stepped forward to consolidate/combine their rooms in the nick of time so we didn't have to go down that route. There were a few growing pains w/ConSuite (lack of institutional knowledge carrying over in that dept.) but I think we've gotten everything straightened out for next year.
Thanksgiving was fun. Went to Northfield and had Thanksgiving at bbtinydancer 's house (spacevlad 's sister). It was a lot of fun. Matt's parents came up from Durango and Matt's other sister snowsophie joined us. It was cool seeing his whole family reunited under one roof again.
Later on that weekend, Matt & I got together with my dad and my brothers to go bowling at Maple Lanes in Fridley. That was quite a trip - hadn't been in that bowling alley in 15 years. Spent a good portion of my childhood growing up there - my mom worked there on and off growing up and my grandparents owned the place from the mid 1960's to the mid 90's. Still looks recognizable but they knocked a bunch of walls out of the arcade to expand the dining area - and the nursery is now the pro-shop. Didn't bowl well at all though. Too rusty.
Christmas was fun. I guess it was especially interesting because this is my first Christmas as a self-accepting atheist. I was raised Roman Catholic but moved to agnosticism probably when I was 20 or 21 and now, at 30, I took that next step and just wrote the whole religion thing off. Discovering Matt Dillahunty and The Atheist Experience TV show (on public access in Austin, TX - which has many clips on youtube (like this excellent one here) has helped nudge me that one last step. I wish the MN Atheist group was as cool as their Austin counterparts (judging by their podcasts vs. the Austin group - they aren't). Everything's just cooler in Texas, I guess.
Still, I was able to enjoy the secular trappings of the holiday and it was great to see family. My mom threw a big get together at her parents house. My grandpa seems to be doing a little better and my grandma was in good spirits. At my aunt's request, I brought the Wii so she could try Wii bowling. That lasted about five minutes, lol. Went up to my Dad's cabin at Mille Lacs on Boxing Day for spaghetti dinner. That was fun as well but a long day of travel up there and back.
Decided to stay home for New Years. Didn't feel like going out and stayed in playing video games instead. Even I have my socializing limits and the weather didn't look good/roads were slick.
Matt's brother Mark (milkman30 ) is moving here permanently in January. He's gotten a job at a large insurance company here in St. Paul. He's Matt's fraternal-twin brother who used to live in England (Matt and I visited him there in March 2009) and he came back to live in Durango and then he went to Hamline last year to get his paralegal certification. Really excited about him living nearby. He's really fun to hang out with and I consider myself just as close to him as I do my real brothers. He's moving into the apartments near Bandana Square in a few weeks, so just a stone's throw away.
In other news, I started shaving my head. It just looks better and I was balding too much. Now I wear a shaved head with a beard. Everyone says I look like a mean bouncer or wrestler.
Oh, and I loved the latest Dr. Who Christmas Special. Steven Moffat rocks.
Finally - congrats to congress and Obama for finally getting rid of Don't Ask Don't Tell. To quote Barney Frank - two down and two to go!