Off to the beach later today with the family for camping, beer, books, and sandcastles. Back on Monday.

So need this.

Be good!

Totally hit the chaos whirlwind over the last 10 days or so. It’s been crazy. A good kinda crazy, but crazy nonetheless.

Last Sunday I flew out to Seattle for 6 days. As mentioned in previous posts etc., I really enjoy traveling out to the west coast for day job shenanigans. They prove to be very busy trips with very full days in the office. But it’s great to see people in the flesh that I work with on a daily basis via email and phone conferencing. And it just so happens some of my dearest friends also live in the cities that I travel to for work. Which means after work tom foolery takes place as well…usually revolving around a drinking establishment, and usually involving several nights.

My latest trip to Seattle was no different. It disappeared in a blur but was a ton o’ fun as well. I only wish I can remember more of it so that I can give a more detailed account of the events. Maybe it’s a good thing I can’t. Bottom line: I’m looking forward to my next trip.

I flew in last Friday and was home for dinner. It was great to be able to see my girls. They were so happy to have me home, running to greet me at the door (well, my wife didn’t run, but she was glad to have me home again, believe it or not). We all went out for a great dinner and then I read the kids stories and put them to bed.

Saturday was Ad Astra. I felt horrible having to leave everyone for the day/night since I just flew home the night before, but Ad Astra is a once a year thing and I’d been planning to go as always. The work trip was a much more last minute thing.

And it was a lot of fun as usual. Got to hang out with the usual suspects: Karin Lowachee, Leah Bobet, S.K.S. Perry, Caitlin Sweet, Lesley Livingston, and many, many others. I was also able to chat with the talented and awesome Adrienne Kress (and yes, she’s a sweetheart too).  We talked about MG/YA writing, pirates, spices (it’s Fen-ELLE, not Fennel!), Pixar goodness and the copious differences between Antz and A Bug’s Life. She’s pretty cool, so go buy her books, Alex and the Ironic Gentleman or Timothy and the Dragon’s Gate, or both.

And while I’m at it, if you haven’t picked up Lesley Livingston’s Wondrous Strange yet, add that one to your order too.

One cannot go wrong with “dark power and mouthy cleverness”.

Right. Saturday disappeared in a mad rush while at Ad Astra, but it was a great time even if the Memories of Japan are memories worth forgetting (stick to the teppanyaki, not the sushi). There was also lots of talk about Worldcon in Montreal as well, in which I will be attending (and many other people!). And no, that wasn’t a bottle of red wine in the brown paper bag… not at all.

Sunday morning brought some pleasant news (none of which I can talk about obviously), and the rest of the day carried on the same bright spirits. Other things are in the works too (and no, I can’t talk about those yet either), but I finally feel as if things are starting to fall into place… or are at least moving into a more positive direction.

But it is getting late and I still have much to do… so very much to do that it is a wonder that I get any sleep at all. So on that note, good night.