I’m skipping the April Fool’s shenanigans this year in favor of regular content. Here’s a quick summary of a what I’ve been up to recently.
I’ve cancelled my subscription to the World of Warcraft. Blizzard’s take on the MMO was a refreshing break from the pack in the beginning. Though the game opens strong and holds interest through hundreds of hours of play time, it loses momentum at the end game. I watched the disturbing spiral of a once-strong guild hemorrhaging members as players scrambled to stay interested with life after 60. I’ll add more on my experience later.
Barco sent me to Washington D.C. on business. It was only my second time in the capitol, though I expect another opportunity in the near future. A smooth demo Monday morning freed up time for sight-seeing Monday night. I enlisted the help of friend and local, Jane, who proved to be an excellent guide. (Many thanks!) Dinner at the Raku Asian diner in Bethesda and a comprehensive night-time tour of historic downtown rounded out a very pleasant evening.
With tax season in full gear, I decided to file electronically for the first time this year. For all the IRS, Intuit, and the like are preaching the benefits of e-filing, I wasn’t impressed with the experience. After the $30 fee to TurboTax and extra follow-up paperwork, I feel like conventional filing remains a better value.
Mom and Dad both celebrate birthdays within a week of each other in March, so I took the opportunity to pay them visit. I treated everyone to a nice dinner at a local favorite, La Bamba, in honor of the occasion. We also took time to renew old Cribbage fueds and discuss plans for a summer trip to Vancouver.
The fourth installment of the Elder Scrolls series, Oblivion, was released in late March. After a solid week with the game in hand, I’m confident that the game lives up to its pedigree. Bethesda has successfully enhanced and streamlined almost every facet of the game. Now, if they could only do something about those ugly faces in character generation.
That’s all for now. See you again soon.
I just noticed that the Fall/Winter 2005 ASMS Update newsletter, a publication distributed to those affiliated with the Alabama School of Mathematics & Science, features my pictures from the Class of 2000 Five Year Reunion. That makes me a published photographer! Turn to page 12 to check it out or see my earlier post from the Reunion if you don’t get the newsletter. I’m not credited in the article, but seeing something you did put out for others to see is gratifying in itself.
I spent my Thanksgiving in proper form with family in Auburn. Between eating homecooked meals, watching movies, playing video games, and learning the ropes of an eBay business, it was a most enjoyable holiday. A Georgia Tech win on Saturday would have been nice to see, too, but it didn’t work out.
I was curious to see how Vance would have changed, if at all, since he started college. Aside from some new facial hair, my “little” cousin hasn’t changed much. Aunt Kathy’s eBay business seems to be in full swing. She had at least five or six different auctions going while I was there and I helped post a few more. She seems to take it pretty seriously.
Now with the Thanksgiving holiday barely behind me, I’m preparing for a business trip to Toulouse, France. There, I will be receiving training for an upcoming project. I believe it involves a modular software package for PC health monitoring.
I am now all moved into my new apartment, a pleasant one-bedroom located within walking distance of my place of business. Now, I have the unfortunate disposition of being somewhat of a packrate, which presents two immediate problems with my new living arrangement.
- I’m now living in a much smaller space.
- I’m blessed with an over-abudance of junk.
Simply put, it won’t all fit.
I’ve begun rooting through all my stuff and discarding anything that has outgrown its use (a process long overdue). It’s not entirely unpleasant, either. Regardless, I intend to be more frugal concerning acquisition and retention of personal effects in the future.
I went for location when choosing my new apartment. Effective September 16, 2005, my address is 19112 Sugarloaf Reserve Drive, Duluth, GA 30097. This puts me less than a mile away from work so I plan to actually bike rather than drive to work whenever possible. Here’s to time saved.
