Intermittence

This just in: Barnes & Noble University will be offering free online courses on Dungeons & Dragons, taught by none other than James Wyatt (one of the creators of the Eberron campaign setting).

It looks like roleplaying games might be going mainstream. I don’t know if that’s a good thing, but at least it’ll help remove the stigma from gaming…

Does anybody else think this is a little strange?

We’ve just about finished renovating our bathroom. To date, we’ve done the following:

• Removed the carpet
• Destroyed the vanity and tossed out the sink
• Pulled out the toilet
• Laid new flooring (after several hours of pulling staples and tacks—remnants of the old floor)
• Replaced the toilet
• Installed a new sink and vanity
• Pulled the mirror off the wall, breaking it repeatedly while doing so
• Yanked the old towel cabinet out
• Removed the medicine cabinet
• Hung a new mirror
• Installed a new, larger, more attractive cabinet (from Ikea!)
• Pulled down the new mirror
• Re-hung the mirror (this time with wire instead of two hangers, so we can keep it level)
• Removed the extendable magnifying mirror
• Installed four new tempered-glass shelves
• Installed a four-shelf shower caddy

All that’s left to do is:

• Install the transition between the bedroom and bathroom
• Install the floorboard
• Re-attach some ceiling molding
• Anchor the new sink and vanity to the wall
• Build a surround for the plumbing on the back side of the sink
• Touch up the silicone caulk around the bathtub, and re-caulk the shower surround to prevent leakage
• Find and install a new light fixture

It’s been an arduous journey, but we’re almost done…

My 34th birthday was the best ever.

I took the day off from work and spent the first several hours helping out with Career Day at Donnell’s school. I didn’t present my career, but instead helped a Tae Kwon Do instructor (who’s a student at the Do Jang I attend) with his presentation by holding boards, getting grabbed and grappled, and so on. The kids were very receptive and excited, and I had a great time (even if they did keep asking us about Karate—grr).

Followed up Career Day with lunch at a Korean restaurant with some friends, and then had an appointment with an accountant (the wife of one of my co-workers) about my tax obligations once my business actually gets off the ground.

Dinner at Gratziano’s and an evening of cuddling with my sweetheart capped off a very nice day.

Oh, you want to know about my birthday loot? Let’s see… I received:

• an external dual-layer DVD burner
• a book to accompany the recently-released motion picture Mirrormask, which I haven’t seen but looks amazing
• a very generous Amazon gift certificate, with which I purchased:
  • several roleplaying game supplements to help with our bi-weekly gaming sessions
  • a pad of Post-It notes
  • a selection of Post-It flags, and
  • a car-lighter charger and audio interface to go with…
• a brand-spanking-new 60GB Video iPod!

I’m surrounded by generosity. It’s almost unbearable.

I have a lot of catching up to do, I’m afraid.

Look for a flurry of entries, three or four per day…

No excuses.