This is where I bitch.

Trip up north to see the family was fun. Spent a lot of time with Jack. Hung out with Laura and mom a lot. Helped my brother-in-law set up a weight bench for my dad. Saw an old family friend I haven't seen in years. Went on a kayak trip. Saw Ben and chatted up old times. Played Settlers of Catan. Lots of driving, but a good time.

No plans for today yet. Some ideas.

Will go in to work tomorrow for a bit. I'm sure there wasn't anyone to work on my project while I was away/sick.

I finally got podcastle loaded onto my ipod. It's kinda hit or miss. I think it is easier to write short stories about horror, a la pseudopod, dunesteef, drabblecast, etc. than it is to write fantasy. Mostly because fantasy requires a lot of world building, as the listener needs to know the rules before the plot can happen. In horror it usually takes place in the real world, either modern or historical, and the setting can be assumed. I imagine that sci-fi will be the same, but will have to listen to some escapepod first.

The first podcastle episode I listened to was great though, and I will keep giving it a try, hoping for more of that. It was a short story about the politics of the Shire after the end of the Lord of the Rings books. I'll admit my favorite part was the gay trolls, but in general it was a good story. This supports my thoughts on setting, as nothing needed to be laid out for the reader, as most people interested in this podcast will be familiar with Tolkin.

Gonna be working all weekend. What else is new?

I'm looking forward to going north and seeing Jack and Laura. Not sure when yet, need to see Paul's July schedule first. It'll also be my friend Ben's birthday that week, so I'll try and meet up with him too.

Still need podcast icon...

I never would have thought that a story about futuristic football would keep my interest. But football with various types of aliens is actually intriging. Who'd've thunk?

Recently I've got in contact with a classmate of mine from grade school. We had a very small class, only 15, I think. Back then he was kinda a brat and we didn't get along at all. But since then he's changed a lot (of course so have I). We've been chatting on facebook a lot, it's been nice. He's got a art show in Chicago in a few months, I kinda hope I have time to get down there. Today he posted a picture of our class from second grade. It was so cool to see that again.

Must keep focused on the small things to keep positive.