Ups and Downs

As usual, a lot has happened since my last post. I can't seem to piece together a cohesive post, so here are the interesting bits.

Travel

• Emma, Alicia and I went to Rachel and Aaron's wedding in West Palm Beach, Florida. It was a beautiful wedding in a beautiful place-- with beautiful flowers! Alicia was terribly busy with the flowers and being a Matron of Honor, so we didn't get to do the beach thing. I still managed to get a sunburn, though. I met lots of cool people, too. All in all, it was time well spent.
• I was in Longmont, Colorado for several days for work at the beginning of June. I nearly didn't make it because I missed my flight due to an awful accident on I40, but Southwest managed to get me there. I toured Seagate's R&D facility, learned how they make the new rugged hard drives we just started selling, and climbed a mountain. Ok, so most of the mountain climbing was done in a car, but I did go to Rocky Mountain National Park and did a bit of hiking. Most of the trails were still snowed over, but I did hike up to a 12,005' elevation site. It was tougher than I expected! It was windy, winding, cold and snowy. There wasn't all that much oxygen, either. I managed to drag my big self up there and enjoy the view for a while. Then I went back down the mountain and watched the elk for a while.
• I visited my parents in Wilmington, North Carolina a couple of times, too. It's a fairly short three hour drive, and I always manage to feel recharged when I go there. I visited with my grandmother while I was there. She's looking more frail than ever, but her spirits seemed to be higher than previous visits this year.

Other stuff:

• I started playing EverQuest again. This is starting to turn into kind of an annual thing. Alicia and I play for three or four months when we are trying to save money. It's cheap, fun and keeps us from going out and blowing money on big dinners and entertainment. If anyone is concerned about my ability to control myself, worry not. If anyone asks, though, I might say I'm playing WoW. That just seems more socially acceptable.
  
• It seems like I'm getting more responsibilities at work. Or maybe I'm just imagining things. Either way they're putting me on the road more and I'm spending more time with important vendors and clients. I hope it keeps up.
• I'm sleepy.