July 4th, My Birthday, and Anthrocon Preparations
Happy Independence Day to all the Americans in the audience!
My family is not one for large parties - mostly because our once-gargantuan family has dwindled to almost nil through natural attrition - so we just had my grandma over for a little cookout. I like it this way - I don't have to wait on anyone and there aren't a lot of dishes to worry about. It's always fun needling my dad and watching his mother's reaction to my shenanigans. :)
It's actually been a busy few days!
My brother and sister in-law were away for my birthday on the 25th of June, so we had a small party this past Friday. Nothing at all fancy - we just went out for dinner, then had cake at home. My sister gave me a nice hardcover book about Stan and Jan Berenstain - the folks who did the Berenstain bears series - and, my sister not being one to give a gift without some kind of message, a signed and inscribed copy of The Berenstain Bears and the Messy Room with a personal message from Mike Berenstain (the Berenstains' son) to "clean up your room! (Please.)" Definitely a gift I won't soon forget!
(For those who have never seen my house, my bedroom and office are completely immaculate, but the furnished basement looks like someone threw a hand grenade into it, rolled through with a backhoe, then had at it with a flamethrower. I'm working on it, honest!)
My parents previously gave me a large cash gift to purchase some much-needed furniture and fixtures for the basement. My grandma, brother, and sister in-law all gave me cash or some variant thereof, which was exactly what I wanted; I really have way too much stuff already and am now just spending most of my money on ways to store and present the stuff that I already have!
On the topic of Anthrocon prep, I've spent quite a bit of time and money purchasing new clothes the last week or so. I started with a couple of new dress shirts for formal occasions, and added some accessories - cufflinks, suspenders (yes, I prefer them to belts, but only wear them with a suit), etc. - but have ended up replacing most of my pants, almost all of my shirts, and switched from athletic socks to business casual. Everything was all-but falling apart. I got a haircut, made an appointment with my dental hygienist for Tuesday morning, and got my glasses repaired, so I'll be in good shape for the convention next week and hopefully won't look like a slob, or even worse, a fanboy. :)
About the only things left that I need to do are get my car's oil changed and figure out what things I'd like to bring along to have Stan Sakai and Michel Gagné sign for me. Unfortunately, the messy basement makes that a bit difficult, so I'll be doing some digging tonight.
This is the first year I'm going to Anthrocon without the peripheral goal of trying to escape some kind of depressing event in another area of my life (having to put my dog to sleep at the end of June in '02; breaking up with my longtime girlfriend in July '03), so I've actually had time to make ample preparations and, thus, hopefully have a more relaxing trip. I leave Wednesday morning, but should be all set long before then.
Further bulletins as events warrant. :)
My family is not one for large parties - mostly because our once-gargantuan family has dwindled to almost nil through natural attrition - so we just had my grandma over for a little cookout. I like it this way - I don't have to wait on anyone and there aren't a lot of dishes to worry about. It's always fun needling my dad and watching his mother's reaction to my shenanigans. :)
It's actually been a busy few days!
My brother and sister in-law were away for my birthday on the 25th of June, so we had a small party this past Friday. Nothing at all fancy - we just went out for dinner, then had cake at home. My sister gave me a nice hardcover book about Stan and Jan Berenstain - the folks who did the Berenstain bears series - and, my sister not being one to give a gift without some kind of message, a signed and inscribed copy of The Berenstain Bears and the Messy Room with a personal message from Mike Berenstain (the Berenstains' son) to "clean up your room! (Please.)" Definitely a gift I won't soon forget!
(For those who have never seen my house, my bedroom and office are completely immaculate, but the furnished basement looks like someone threw a hand grenade into it, rolled through with a backhoe, then had at it with a flamethrower. I'm working on it, honest!)
My parents previously gave me a large cash gift to purchase some much-needed furniture and fixtures for the basement. My grandma, brother, and sister in-law all gave me cash or some variant thereof, which was exactly what I wanted; I really have way too much stuff already and am now just spending most of my money on ways to store and present the stuff that I already have!
On the topic of Anthrocon prep, I've spent quite a bit of time and money purchasing new clothes the last week or so. I started with a couple of new dress shirts for formal occasions, and added some accessories - cufflinks, suspenders (yes, I prefer them to belts, but only wear them with a suit), etc. - but have ended up replacing most of my pants, almost all of my shirts, and switched from athletic socks to business casual. Everything was all-but falling apart. I got a haircut, made an appointment with my dental hygienist for Tuesday morning, and got my glasses repaired, so I'll be in good shape for the convention next week and hopefully won't look like a slob, or even worse, a fanboy. :)
About the only things left that I need to do are get my car's oil changed and figure out what things I'd like to bring along to have Stan Sakai and Michel Gagné sign for me. Unfortunately, the messy basement makes that a bit difficult, so I'll be doing some digging tonight.
This is the first year I'm going to Anthrocon without the peripheral goal of trying to escape some kind of depressing event in another area of my life (having to put my dog to sleep at the end of June in '02; breaking up with my longtime girlfriend in July '03), so I've actually had time to make ample preparations and, thus, hopefully have a more relaxing trip. I leave Wednesday morning, but should be all set long before then.
Further bulletins as events warrant. :)