Friday, July 7, 2000

7 July 2000

So, now that it's official, I guess I can talk about it. Braz just accepted a job offer here in Williamsburg, so he and Kris will be moving here. Braz starts at the beginning of August, so the fact is they'll be here before we even know it. Matt and I are both very excited!

I told K.T. about it yesterday, since she'd promised to feed the cat for us while we were gone to Montana and Chicago, and I thought she should know that we'd promised to let them stay at our house over the weekend we'll be gone so they can look for a place to live.

Her first reaction - which she admitted seemed a little paranoid and insecure - was to wonder if, with Braz around, she'd ever see Matt again. She asked me if Braz would be joining either of our games.

Well, as a matter of fact, I'd mentioned to Kris while we were visiting them that I'd love to have Braz in my game, and made clear that she, too, was welcome to join (though I know gaming really isn't her thing). Kris told me that she didn't think Braz would join - that he might join in an occasional game, but that he really wasn't into gaming any more and that she didn't think he'd want to participate in a regular game.

I was disappointed, and so was Matt when I mentioned it to him. I'll be completely honest - I wondered if maybe the fact that Braz isn't really into gaming anymore has more to do with Kris' lack of interest than his own... But it doesn't really matter. I got the impression from Kris that she'd be unhappy with Braz if he did join a twice-a-month game, and so I doubt he'll join even if he wanted to. I sighed with disappointment (Braz is a great role-player) and moved on. It's not like we're not going to see them if they don't game with us, after all!

I told K.T. that I didn't think Braz would be joining the game, and she wondered if Matt would continue to game if Braz wouldn't be there. I told her that I was pretty sure Matt would still be gaming, even without Braz. Again: It's not like we don't already have plenty of plans to see Braz and Kris during the week! She sighed and muttergrumbled about how little gaming we've been doing.

The funny thing is that I haven't missed the gaming. I didn't miss it when we went on hiatus over the holiday season, and I'm not missing it now. I'm not going into "gaming withdrawal" and I'd actually been thinking about either quitting or scaling back the gaming. Gaming is a social thing, for me. And I've been having at least as much fun running around with water guns, or going to the movies, or just sitting around shooting the breeze. It seems to me that there are dozens of things we could be doing instead of gaming that could be just as fun: I've heard there's an ice skating rink in the area, but I've never been; there are several museums and parks; there are college theater productions; we could go roller skating or bowling...

I think what I'd actually like to do is get together with my friends on a (more or less) regular basis, and do stuff. K.T. had actually suggested it a while back, but we never got around to doing it. Why? Well, part of the problem was Kevin's schedule, and part of it was that we were spending every Saturday night gaming. We all need some time to ourselves, and some time to run errands and do chores. No matter what they show on TV, you can't spend every night socializing. My thought is that gaming could be on the list of "stuff" to do, but that we could add other things to the mix. I'd even be willing to write a program to keep track of the possibilities and select one at random for us when we can't decide!

But I don't know that anyone would believe me that Braz and Kris moving here isn't the impetus for this thought - that it's a thought I've been having for months, but been uncertain how to voice.


Oh, how exciting! My dad just came into my office... Wait. Note: John and Sam, it's probably best for you to skip to the next section if you're reading this before the wedding. Just trust me. (If you're not John or Sam, don't worry. I don't think either of them actually reads this journal. I'm just covering my ass, here.)

My dad's been trying to plan a bachelor party for my brother for next Thursday evening, the same night as the girls' bridal shower. He thought it would be neat if he could take all the guys to a baseball game, but was unsure whether there would be a home game that night. His backup plan was to take the guys to a local cowboy bar with some minimal historic value.

He just came into my office with a print-out of an e-mail from Samantha's dad. It turns out that the CEO of the minor league ballpark there is a member of his church, and they talked, and the CEO is offering to set them up with box seats, catered with pizza and hamburgers and hotdogs, and maybe even getting John to throw out the first pitch!

Doesn't that sound fantastic? Now I'm jealous! Who wants to go to a boring shower when you could be at a baseball game?


Matt researched yesterday the possibility of us going to a Cubs game while we're in Chicago. They are, in fact, playing the Phillies the Thursday that we're there, so we're planning to make a day of it. I'm very excited about this, actually, despite my pathetic grasp of baseball.

Cubs fans are a breed apart from other baseball fans. They really are. It's amazing. And it seems like everyone who's ever lived in or near Chicago is a Cubs fan. I think there's something in the air or the water. (Maybe it's that green stuff they put in the river for the St. Patrick's Day parade.) Cubs fans really are fanatics, and they don't try to hide it.

And I've been told by more than one source - even from one source that isn't a Cubs fan - that Wrigley Field is a great place to watch a game; that it's a field with a lot of character and fun. An experience totally unlike any other baseball game. (This from the non-Cubs fan, even!)

So I'm looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to the whole trip, actually. Just don't expect me to come back well-rested!


Word of the Day: shell game - a swindling trick involving a small ball or pea placed under walnut shells or cups; a fraud, especially involving the substitution of something of little value for something valuable.

I'm going to try to talk to my manager sometime today or next week. It's time for me to think about my career - not only what I want to be doing tomorrow or next month, but next year, and five years from now. I'm tired of being on the sucker end of the corporate shell game, and I'd like to begin transitioning elsewhere.

The only question is: where?

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