All a-titter! SQUEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!
I have some very exiting news. No, This isn't my review of Gladiator, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and American Gangster. Hell, this isn't even my Life with Mini post nor the Favorite Things post that I have been wanting to post for so long. No, this is about a dream come true.
As most of you know, I have wanted to travel to Texas and meet ehowton and his family. Of course it would have been nice to meet the gang: drax0r and his family, celtmanx and his family and the rest of the kind folks in Texas. What I never dreamed was possible was that I could meet all of these fine people as well as galinda822 and photogoot all in one whack and by whack I mean a whirlwind of a weekend. You see, ehowton is throwing a block party in honor of the vote, the Holiday season, the reunion of old friends and just to celebrate life in general.
When I first read the open invitation, I had a fleeting thought of attending but assumed that like all previous invitations this would be out of my price range. But then Priceline came along and saved the day. Initially, since there was going to be a $37.50 fee/tax for the round-trip ticket whether I bid $10 or $90 I attempted to bid $10 several times. I actually went up to $75 flying non-stop from Huntsville to Dallas, but alas it was not in the cards. Deflated, I almost gave up, but then I went back to an idea I had earlier cast aside: flying out of Birmingham. When I looked for flights out of Birmingham, I was amazed to find that I could pick my itinerary for $127 flying non-stop both ways.
That was what cinched the deal for me. I sent Eric a voice mail because this was too good to be true. He confirmed that there would be transportation provided to and from the airport as well as lodging accommodations. The ticket was bought as soon as I could get my ass back in front of the computer!
All night long as I drove for Steak Out, my mind turned over everything that needed to be done: I would need to get a carry-on suitcase from el famila when I went home for Thanksgiving. I would be parking the car at the airport and would need to take that Friday off. (I'm actually considering taking off the following Monday, but as my itinerary has me getting back at a semi-decent hour despite my commute back to Huntsvegas, I should probably just opt for Friday.) I would need to purchase cigars because one does not come into a situation like this empty handed. Of course since this is a BYOB party, I must by the obligatory bottle of Snake Oil in Anna TX, exercising the privilege that ehowton and drax0r fought so hard to keep.
I have considered impulse buying an iPod Classic for the wait in the airport on my departure, but that is too much. I am considering whether to bring The Count of Monte Cristo or Mossflower to read. I will pack two decks of cards so that if the opportunity arises Friday I can teach those dwelling at Casa de Howton Shanghi Rummy. My mind has been racing over what I can do Saturday to help but yet stay out from under foot. I wished I had spent the time learning all that magic that I threw away money on so that I could provide some entertainment but alas, that too is not in the cards.
The timing couldn't be better. I'm only getting Thanksgiving and Christmas Day off and as someone will be required to fill the hours, I'll take one for the team for those with family while being able to spend just a little time with mine. Having this mini vacation in the middle is really like having an early Christmas or as photogoot and ehowton observed, This will be better then Christmas, the real thing will pale in comparison. I keep expecting something to happen that will prevent me from going like a car accident or getting snowed in or some other sundry thing.
The only downside that I can think of to this dream come true (besides not having the iPod, which, if I keep coveting, I will more then likely impulse buy anyway) is that snapper521 and melancthe will not be in attendance. I will observe a personal moment of silence for their absence during the festivities.
There is so much more that I wanted to say here, but it just doesn't belong with this post.
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I didn't get a wink of sleep last night. I just kept tossing and turning. I don't know if it was all of the caffeine and sugar, the anticipation of going and finding out that I can go or the combination thereof. One thing I know for certain: these next three weeks can't go by quick enough. Of course, if I stay pumped like this, they may pass before I know it.
I finally got out of bed at 0630, clean up the place a bit and then went into town with the intention of eating breakfast after running by the cigar shop to at least price and see what he will have in and see what he can get/hold for me, but alas he doesn't open until 1000. The bank too doesn't open until either 0900 or 1000 and I have a savings account to open. (I'll blog about that in the near future.) I really should get the oil changed and the tires rotated, but I have too much adrenaline flowing through me to sit around and wait on them.
So, my plans for the day are to get something to eat, go to the bank, go to the cigar shop and then come back and work on some emails for work, work on a few posts and even perhaps get some writing done on at least one of my open screenplay projects.
I'll see you kind folks really soon. For the rest of you who are relegated to just sitting back and reading, fie on thee!