Havi at The Fluent Self has a wonderful habit (among many) of checking in with herself every Friday, to reflect on how the week went. I like it. I don’t have a better name for it, so for now I am stealing quietly borrowing hers.

The Hard Stuff

Sensory overload. I spent most of the week in Austin at GDC Online, and while there was plenty of good (see below), there was just too much of it! Too many crowds, too much food, waaay too much alcohol. Not enough sleep, not enough downtime in general.

Airports, sigh. For carpooley reasons, I showed up at the airport Saturday to head back to Vegas 6.5 hours early. So, that happened. At least I got to read a whopping 150 pages of World War Z.

You know, that’s about it for the hard stuff this week. There just wasn’t any more room. My normal everyday hard business went largely unnoticed (although it was there, I just didn’t find it load-bearing this week). Phew.

The Good Stuff

GDC! Non game developer types, it’s basically an industry conference where a bunch of people convene on a city (Austin, in this case), attend discussions about different subjects on building games. Also, many within this bunch of people are actually friends! That you haven’t seen in a long time! And there are parties sponsored by companies with open bars. And because it is Austin, there is plenty of Tex-Mex and BBQ. Yum.

Oh, one more thing. One in the bunch is The Boy. Squeee!

Liberace Museum. The museum is closing its doors after 31 years, next weekend. I’ll be out of town then, so I went down there this afternoon. Mmm, feathers and fur, sequins, rhinestones, DIAMONDS! Jewel-crusted cars. Mirrored player pianos. Luscious fun. I’m glad I took the time while I still could.

Dance! There was a substitute teacher for my class today – it’s always interesting to see the differences in teaching styles. This one, while not quite as musical or creative in her teachings, got my body to twist and bend in ways I didn’t think it could do any more. Get your mind out of the gutter. Long story short, on my way home I stopped by the Capezio store and got OMG MY FIRST PAIR OF POINTE SHOES IN LIKE 15 YEARS!!! She teaches a regular class on Monday nights, where the speed is slow enough that I should be able to relearn pointe work. Even if I have to work late through the rest of this month, I’ve made the commitment to do this. Second squeeee!

Objectives Quests!

Blegh. Objectives sounds so cold and business-like, but I really do want to add a section for looking forward to next week. I need a list.

Let’s start with the most important piece….

  • Serenity. After last week, I’m surprised I’m still feeling okay. I need to hold on to this. Things coming up will test my endurance – work and extended family, most notably – but if I can remember to take my downtime, it’ll all work out.
  • Makin’ biznazz! I’m going to be a laser on my big work project this week. It sounds intense, but it’s the only way to enjoy my upcoming weekend in…
  • Fabulous Boise, ID! My gramma’s birthday is coming up. I haven’t seen her in a seriously long time. Add aunts and uncles, cousins and second cousins to the mix. Make sure there’s alone time, as previously mentioned, and it’ll be a lot of fun.
  • Climbing! The last lesson in the Learn to Climb series is this Wednesday. My forearms have finally recovered from the last bit, thank god, so I’m all ready.

I haven’t mentioned it yet, but it should be fairly obvious that this Friday Chicken edition is actually going out on Sunday night. I’m taking it in stride – I was in a place all week with limited free wireless access, and only now have I found the time and energy to do the reflection I need. Pththththt.