Okay, time to do some updating.

I had a very busy weekend, so I'll type fast and hope you can keep up.

Friday I worked, went to the gym for a quick workout and then headed into Seattle's Wallingford district to meet up with Shana. I arrived just in time and we walked over to the Varsity Theatre and met up with a bunch of other people from work to see Bubba Ho-Tep. It was entertaining, but very slow. Unfortunately I didn't get to see that last 20 minutes because the fire alarm went off and everyone had to leave. The theatre handled it pretty well and handed out free tickets to everyone so we could come back to see a movie sometime for free. That pretty much ended the evening, so I went home and went to bed.

Saturday I was up early to pick up Dawn (another work person). We went down to Seattle Center to play in the Magic prerelease tournament for the newest set, Mirrodin. I'd been to one of these a few months ago with Matt, but Dawn had never been before. It was well run and fun. I go for a couple of reasons; to see and get the new cards so I can determine if I'll like the new set, to see how things are run, to see how many people show up, and finally, to see what I can learn from the whole event. Overall, I had a good time and I think Dawn did, too.

We wrapped up later than I thought, so I returned home just in time to change and head to southern Seattle to go to a two-years-late wedding reception for some people I know in the gaming industry. It was great to see people that I'm used to only talking to at conventions, plus I made some good industry contacts that I may be able to turn into a paid gig at some point down the line. The whole "reception" was set up to be a night of gaming, but the game I was really excited to play in ended up being cancelled. It was a Mutants & Masterminds game and I was bummed that it didn't happen because I've always run the game and never played. Things ended around ten o'clock, so I went home and watched more of the second season of Angel before going to bed.

Sunday I had a brunch date for a friend (those of you on Friendster can check out Angel as one of my friends) whose birthday was a while ago, but she wasn't able to do anything then, so this was the make-up get-together. Brunch was very good and the place we ate was exactly the type of place that makes me want to move into Seattle-proper. It's in the University area and is called the Portage Bay Cafe. As a point of reference, it has sort of a Bluephies feel to me -- that's a restaurant Madison folks will know.

Oh, I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but I'm getting the bug to move into Seattle, which is why I mentioned it above. Who knows if or when it will happen, but the idea is there and it doesn't seem to be going away. I may have to check the paper sometime soon for apartments.

After brunch, Brian (another friend from work whom I'd given a ride) and I went to Comics Dungeon for a quick comic run.

Sunday afternoon I was going to go to the gym, but I didn't really have time after the long brunch and comic shopping, so instead I cleaned and vacuumed the homestead. It needed it. At four o'clock Shana, Jen, Shand, and Cathy (again, from work) knocked on the door and we hopped in my car to head down to the beautiful Boeing parking lot where the travelling Cirque du Soleil show Alegria, had set up a huge, HUGE tent in which to perform their few-week run of shows that was wrapping up at our show. The show was interesting, I didn't really appreciate it on a showmanship level, but rather as a showcase of what it's possible for someone to do with their body. There were acrobats, trapeze artists, a strongman, contortionists, gymnasts and more. It really made me want to get in shape even more. It would be amazing to push yourself to be able to do one-tenth of what they were capable of.

When the show ended we stopped for dinner, then the evening was over. We had a great time and I really like the people I went with; intelligent, witty, and just plain fun.

This week has, so far, been filled with work, the gym, work, and now I'm going to get some food and try to see Bubba Ho-Tep with my free ticket. Have a good night.