Bah.

Finishing a week apart from L, while she's been on vacation and incommunicado, as she's been out of the country. Has been a boring, listless several days, despite being pretty busy around the office.

She will be back in town tomorrow late, but I imagine we're not going to have any time to get reacquainted until Sunday afternoon. Bah.

Revenge is Bittersweet
Still, I have decided upon plans for my own upcoming vacation: from the ninth (or possibly eleventh) of July through the sixteenth, I will be heading to Seattle for a week of Northwest weather, driving among several Washington wineries that have come to prominence (Chateau Ste. Michelle, here I come!), and generally Not Doing Anything Work-Related.

I will be taking along several good books, my iBook for writing purposes, and an iPod full of tuneage. I plan to spend lots of time within earshot of crashing surf, sniffing and quaffing great Riesling, lightly oaked Chardonnay and hardcore Cabernet Sauvignon, and pointedly not answering my cellphone or indeed doing much of anything that might require structured or disciplined thought.

Oh, and if I manage to tire the old palate of wine, there appear to be a few breweries in the area.

Sadly, as L will have used the lion's share of her vacation for this year, I don't get to bring her along. I do plan to torment her with frequent status reports, though.

-Rich

Remiss

I've been very remiss in mentioning that Matt, illustrious brother of mine, has started his own blog: Dimensionless Numbers.

Head on over and say hello!

-Rich

Time Does Fly...

...When you're having fun, which I am. L and I are becoming closer all the time, and spending increasing amounts of time together as a result, so I've had little time to myself (outside of driving to and from Alabaster for pet care and that whole sleeping thing) to get the little things like laundry, lawn care and other sundry chores done. L has just embarked on a week's tropical vacation, however, so I'll be catching up on some of that stuff over the next few days. Laundry is already in a much better state; vacuuming and other cleaning will be today's mountains to climb.

In addition to housework and work work, I have a hazelnut porter and a Pinot Noir ready for their respective fermenters, and if all goes well I'll get the porter brewed and bubbling today.

So what about this 'L' woman?
Conventional wisdom holds that we should always try to be a complete person by ourselves, and never need anyone else. I have tried this to the best of my ability, and it's been a bitter and lonesome existence. I'm not a garrulous person (as longtime readers will note), but I do tend to make a very few very close friends, and keep them around for a while.

In this vein, I'm still quite the social loner, but having L around to lavish affection upon, to chat with during and after the day, and to engage in the occasional mental sparring match with has made me the happiest, the most confidently male, the most content I've felt since sometime in the late 1990s.

So are we talking love, or rings, or marriage? God, after only six weeks, I hope not! But it's indescribably nice to feel wanted and appreciated this way. I'm hoping this little association lasts a while.

-Rich