
![]() |
2 people marked this as a favorite. |

I did the introvert thing, made plans weeks ago and now I have to execute them. Curse you past TOZ!
But yeah, driving to Tucson tomorrow to see Momma Mia! on stage. Gonna get cultured for the first time since Hamilton.
Then Sunday we have Strange Aeons, with who knows what shenanigans to exerience. The dreams started again now that we have our memories, so onward to adventure I guess.
And Monday is my first real holiday in awhile, now that I'm actually working M-F and it isn't just a day of bonus hours.

Andostre |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |

My son liked the first Matrix movie! And then he said he wanted to see the next one. I had to explain to him how the 2nd and 3rd movies disappointed a lot of people. There are great scenes in those sequels, and worth watching for those scenes, in my opinion, but the films got problems.
The 4th movie was just not great.
UPDATE: My son liked the second Matrix movie, but he didn't like how it ended mid-story. The freeway scene in the movie is my favorite Matrix scene, so I'm glad I got to watch that with him.
You know how I know that my 14 year old son enjoyed that scene? Afterward I asked him about it, and he mumbled, "It was cool."

DungeonmasterCal |

I'm taking tomorrow completely away from the innernetz so I'm posing the burning question normally reserved for Fridays now; what happening this weekend? Our game, which was supposed to take place Saturday, has been postponed until June 21st, which, to be honest, I'm not that bothered about. The last two games were each a single combat encounter that lasted for nearly 5 hours and the GM teased that there would be a lot of fighting this weekend, as well. I like combat sessions; my character was designed explicitly for them, but c'mon, man. I'll miss the camaraderie and the host's huge game night dinner, though!

Orthos |
2 people marked this as a favorite. |

ONLY THREE MORE DAYS until the flight to Chicago. We'll be spending the whole first week of June there. Some of two of the days will be spent at the Chinese embassy getting paperwork done for our visas, but the rest is all to ourselves.
Got in touch with an uncle I haven't seen in twenty years - a mutual black sheep of our family - and we'll be spending at least some of the week with him and his family, seeing the sights and getting toured around.

DungeonmasterCal |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |

ONLY THREE MORE DAYS until the flight to Chicago. We'll be spending the whole first week of June there. Some of two of the days will be spent at the Chinese embassy getting paperwork done for our visas, but the rest is all to ourselves.
Got in touch with an uncle I haven't seen in twenty years - a mutual black sheep of our family - and we'll be spending at least some of the week with him and his family, seeing the sights and getting toured around.
Go visit the Field Museum and see the life-size reconstruction of Sue the T. rex!

Andostre |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |

I hope everything goes smoothly for your trip, Orthos!
*********
I've got one kid finishing middle school and another kid finishing elementary school, and the last day of school for us is June 4th. There's lots of end of year events going on. And then both kids are going on class trips (one to Italy, one to Boston) a few days after that, so that's even more planning to do. Plenty of things going on this weekend.

quibblemuch |

DungeonmasterCal wrote:I'm taking tomorrow completely away from the innernetz so I'm posing the burning question normally reserved for Fridays now; what happening this weekend?I omly know that feta cheese will be involved.
That's one of those sentences that, given the right context, could be extremely ominous...
As for me, I'm spending the weekend digging myself out from a week out of town (just got back last night). My wife had a work trip to Dublin, so I tagged along because I'd never been to Ireland.
The thing that stands out most from the week was seeing Loughcrew Cairn--it's at least 5,500 years old. It was incredible to stand up there, pick up a tumbled-down cairn stone and think that another human hand had touched it, over five thousand years ago. Got some great pictures from atop the hill (can't actually climb up the cairn itself without getting arrested, which, while in likely keeping with the custom of my ancestors, wasn't something I wanted to experience). The countryside was beautiful.
Also got a bunch of pictures of the ancient carvings on the inside of the passage tomb. Bonkers to think no one knows what they mean or anything really about who made them.
Saw Trim Castle, which is now famed for being a film location for a small indie joint in which an American actor who grew up in Australia played a Scottish warrior (I resisted the urge to say, at the gate: "You may take my ticket, but you'll never take my freeeeeedoooommmm!")
Wandered around the ruins of St. Féchín's Abbey, which was beautiful and quiet except for the spring birds and the occasional lowing cow.
Got lost in Galway, had some amazing pizza and chatted with the restaurant owner from Rome and then found the bus again by happy accident. The tour guide thoughtfully put a sign in the window with the meet-up time and the words 'Feckin Eejits' so we'd know which bus was ours and not get on the wrong one.
Tromped 15ish miles around Howth, along the sea cliffs and down to the waterside. Found the hood in Dublin--not sure what the local term for it was, but the preponderance of graffiti and abandoned buildings sheltering junkies was an unmistakable sign of hoodum.
And after all that walking it was time to fly home, so that's what I did.

Limeylongears |

Limeylongears wrote:DungeonmasterCal wrote:I'm taking tomorrow completely away from the innernetz so I'm posing the burning question normally reserved for Fridays now; what happening this weekend?I omly know that feta cheese will be involved.That's one of those sentences that, given the right context, could be extremely ominous...
It was, for the cheese.
Glad you had a good time in Ireland!

![]() |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |

Orthos wrote:Go visit the Field Museum and see the life-size reconstruction of Sue the T. rex!ONLY THREE MORE DAYS until the flight to Chicago. We'll be spending the whole first week of June there. Some of two of the days will be spent at the Chinese embassy getting paperwork done for our visas, but the rest is all to ourselves.
Got in touch with an uncle I haven't seen in twenty years - a mutual black sheep of our family - and we'll be spending at least some of the week with him and his family, seeing the sights and getting toured around.
RAAAAAAAAWWWWWRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!

DungeonmasterCal |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |

As for me, I'm spending the weekend digging myself out from a week out of town (just got back last night). My wife had a work trip to Dublin, so I tagged along because I'd never been to Ireland.
I'm extremely jealous of your journey and I would have had a hard time resisting that same urge (as someone who was banned for life from the zoo in Memphis, Tennessee I have a history of saying the wrong things at the wrong time).

quibblemuch |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |

quibblemuch wrote:Only age keeps me out of regular trouble...That and the statutes of limitations have run out on the feral youth who once lived in my body.
Yep. All of us must face that one day we can no longer outrun the popo after some hilarious shenanigans...
♫Sunrise, sunset, sunrise, sunset♫

Orthos |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |

We made it to Chicago! Sunday was hell, the plane was delayed two hours due to a missing screw and when we did finally arrive it was almost 11 PM.
We got up early Monday morning, had to go back to the airport as it was the closest place to get bus/tram passes, then take the tram to downtown and wander around to find the consulate... only to find it was closed June 2 for a Chinese holiday. A closure that was not mentioned on their website at any point.
We wandered a bit more, grabbed some food, and headed back to the hotel then crashed for a few hours. Got up, got dinner, headed back and vegged for the evening.
Today went MUCH better. Other than a minor hiccup with the paperwork we were able to get in, get done, and get out of the consulate with instructions to return Friday to pick up our stuff. We then met up with my uncle and his family - fellow black sheep of my extended family who I haven't seen in years or ever in the case of their son/my cousin - and went to the Lincoln Park Zoo, grabbed lunch at a nearby sandwich and burger place, did more zoo, then drove back to the apartment.
Tomorrow is planned to do the museum, aquarium, astronomical society, and some other stuff that's all indoors as we're expecting rain, once again alongside the uncle and family.

Andostre |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |

I love that you're using this as an opportunity to get in touch with family, Orthos! Especially family that doesn't get much opportunity for that, it sounds like.
*********
I owe all of you an apology. When I mentioned above about all of the end of school year stuff going on, I forgot to mention that my in-laws were coming into town, and more importantly, I forgot to complain about it. And just now they've left, and I can finally relax again, but it's too late to complain about it. I'm sorry that I wasn't able to give you guys that.

DungeonmasterCal |
2 people marked this as a favorite. |

I love that you're using this as an opportunity to get in touch with family, Orthos! Especially family that doesn't get much opportunity for that, it sounds like.
*********
I owe all of you an apology. When I mentioned above about all of the end of school year stuff going on, I forgot to mention that my in-laws were coming into town, and more importantly, I forgot to complain about it. And just now they've left, and I can finally relax again, but it's too late to complain about it. I'm sorry that I wasn't able to give you guys that.
It's also never too late to complain!

Orthos |

I love that you're using this as an opportunity to get in touch with family, Orthos! Especially family that doesn't get much opportunity for that, it sounds like.
It's been a really good experience. We've spent two days together now seeing the sites, getting food and travel recommendations, and getting to commiserate over our mutual frustrations with the rest of the family - which I've since learned is pretty much exclusive to my immediate relatives these days. Seems I drew the short end of the stick in life.

Bjørn Røyrvik |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Mostly a quiet weekend for me. Visited my parents on Sunday and had Monday off because of Pentecost* so we took my MIL and our nephew to a local open farm where the kid got to run around and look at a lot of animals. No riding the horses on weekdays, sadly, so he will have to visit another time.
* Most Norwegians have no idea what Pentecost is but we take our holidays seriously. Religious holidays are far more religiously observed than the religion they belong to.

DungeonmasterCal |
3 people marked this as a favorite. |

It was fantastic. My son's band was really well received given that the average age of an audience member was probably 65 and every man there had a long grey ponytail and could play guitar (except me, on both counts). Pat Travers is 71 or so and didn't have a lot of energy when he addressed the audience but could still belt out a tune and play guitar as though it were a natural extension of his hands. He was funny and had a really good rapport with the audience, too. My son said he was one of the friendliest, most welcoming of the rock legends he'd ever met. Travers said he hoped to do more shows with them in the future.

![]() |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |

Arrived in Vegas last night. The hotel is a little sparse but that’s what you get on a budget. The pup is doing real well despite the heat and his pup shoes being a new experience. Had a relaxing morning and then hit up a pet friendly restaurant for lunch. Tickets to the shows have been purchased, hoping to have a really relaxed vacation while we’re here for Cyz’s birthday.

quibblemuch |

It was fantastic. My son's band was really well received given that the average age of an audience member was probably 65 and every man there had a long grey ponytail and could play guitar (except me, on both counts). Pat Travers is 71 or so and didn't have a lot of energy when he addressed the audience but could still belt out a tune and play guitar as though it were a natural extension of his hands. He was funny and had a really good rapport with the audience, too. My son said he was one of the friendliest, most welcoming of the rock legends he'd ever met. Travers said he hoped to do more shows with them in the future.
AWESOME!