(no subject)

[muckefuck]

Here I am, back from Mormon Country! (Not that anyone really noticed I was gone, since fully half my readership was there with me.) I managed to survive a family vacation thanks--in no small part--to my family. Everyone did their part, but those who deserve special mention are:

My sister, for imposing order onto chaos and injecting sense into confusion;

My sister-in-law, for being there exactly when we needed her;

My baby brother and my brother-in-law for providing humour even in the grimmest of situations.

But the biggest thanks goes to my boyfriend for being the HERO OF ALL TIME.
Listing all his contributions would only embarrass him and bore everyone else, but they include:

1. Tromping over half of Chicago to find a 3-CD set that I praised to the skies before I left in order to make a gift of it to me.

2. Doing the same in order to look for a novelty item simply because I pointed out that it's mentioned in one of the songs on the CDs.

3. Taking me out to a fabulous, pricy, romantic restaurant for my birthday.

4. Being willing to do whatever I asked when I had my inevitable Vacation Meltdown.

5. Picking up a gorgeous souvenir to make me feel better.

6. Responding graciously when we had our inevitable Family Blowout the very same day, despite my stalking out in fury and abandoning him.

7. Refraining from any hint of reproach through it all.

That's enough to sink me in his debt for ages--and that's not the half of it. I was pleased enough that he agreed to come along at all, given that one crazy family (his own) is more than he wants to deal with already. Despite everything, he actually wants to come away with me again. We discovered that almost all our stresses were external and, when it was just the two of us, the vacation went swimmingly. (I don't mean to make it sound like the week was one hellish episode after another; most of the time it was great, but everyone has their limits and, as the end of the week neared, they became painfully apparently.) Stay tuned for the report of our extraordinary day in SLC.

Comments

[rollick.livejournal.com]

*chuckle* Some of the other half of your readership did notice you'd disappeared, and were slightly worried when you suddenly went from twelve conversations at once to none. That same portion of your readership is wondering if you've checked your email, and if you have any interest in an RPG her boyfriend's running, and which welcomerain will be playing in.

[muckefuck.livejournal.com]

I have, and I'm still deciding whether I've got the time and interest for another campaign right now. Certainly, we must find some excuse to get together.

[rollick.livejournal.com]

Dunno if Bob's been in touch, but I can tell you that the games are almost certainly going to run alternate Wednesdays, if knowing that's any help to you in determining schedule. I know how you feel; I feel terribly overcommited at this point too. And you don't really know us, which makes it seem like even more of a commitment.

If nothing else, we're currently planning a game of Witch Hunt for, probably, the first weekend in September, up in Evanston. It would be a one-night thing. Talk to welcomerain or spookyfruit if you need selling; it's easy for me to say it's a cool game, but it might be more convincing coming from them. And they'll be invited too, once we get everything together. Basically it's a big group psychological game, very talky and intuitive and fun to play for anyone who actively likes gaming, IMHO. We throw Witch Hunt parties from time to time because a good game really requires a couple dozen people. Anyway, it would just be a one-nighter, so no big commitment required, and a lot of general socializing.

[muckefuck.livejournal.com]

Alas, Wednesday's aren't doable at this point. But Witch Hunt sounds like a blast. I would talk to spookyfruit if he were ever around! But I've been meaning to check on welcomerain anyway, what with the killer new house and all. We should all make plans to attend the huge Andersonville yard sale the weekend after Labour Day.

[bunj.livejournal.com]

I certainly don't remember being all that funny, but I noticed you judiciously phrased it as "providing humour (sic)". Personally, I'm really glad you and the Great White One (GWO) were there. You were there longer than I was, and held up amazingly well. I'm almost sorry for calling you Mr. Vain while you were gone. I'd also like to praise GWO for handling everything so well. It was great hanging out, and hiding outside, with him. A hoot and a holler all round.

[muckefuck.livejournal.com]

He put up with everything better than I had any right to expect. As soon as Saturday night he was proclaiming the trip a success with just a few hitches. On top of that, we figured out that we spent six continuous days together, the longest stretch in our whole relationship. I really could hardly be more pleased.

It was a smart move to stagger our return to Real Life as we did. A full day in SLC was enough to convince ourselves that we vacation well together when we don't have to take a half-dozen other agendas into account. Then taking Monday off gave us a whole day to reacclimate ourselves to Chicago. By the end of it, it felt like a normal weekend--except for the underlying sensation of relaxation.

Let's hope we can do as well next time (tentatively, Toronto for Thanksgiving).