life as a dog…

OK, so I really didn’t have a weekend. I had to work both Saturday and Sunday. Next weekend – have to work Sunday. Blech.

I got home yesterday around 12:30. Took Harley out for his walk. Got myself cleaned up from the plane trip (I love riding first class – especially when the client pays for the upgrade). After that, I went in to Arlington to L’s place. We ended up getting a pizza from “The Italian Store” (pretty original name, eh? ). It was good. We stayed in, which is what I preferred, after having to walk all over that convention center. It was a very nice evening . And suprisingly, I got home at a half-way decent hour – just after midnight, I think. Took Harley out again, and promptly fell asleep.

Finally done here in Orlando. We ended up packing up the van ourselves, as we could do it quicker than the union. I’m now sitting at the hotel ready to go home. Tomorrow can’t come fast enough. I’m ready to get home…to both Harley and L.

Day five in Orlando is now complete. Today wasn’t so bad. I did have to walk the entire length of the convention center…with 30 pounds on one shoulder (camera) and 15 pounds on the other (tripod). It’s a HUGE convention center. Other than that, I had it pretty easy. So, this week (Monday through Saturday), I have worked 72 hours. Not my record…but up there. And tomorrow will be pretty long (I’m going to guess about 14 hours).

I get home on Monday. We changed our flights from Sunday. I thought I wouldn’t be home until Monday night, but they had a morning flight available. And a bonus…we are in the first class cabin. I’ll get back to Dulles, and then head down to the office – to get my car and then return home to my buddy. Then, in the afternoon/evening, I will hopefully be in Arlington.

This is my third day down in Orlando. Day one was pretty uneventful – just setting up our booth. Day two…hell. I spent the entire day outside at a golf course/practice range. That in itself wasn’t horrible (better than spending it in a convention hall). But I got burnt. It was a sudden thing, too. I got to the course at about 7:30am. Not until about 3pm did I really feel the burn on my neck. We left there at 5pm. Today was inside all day (thankfully). The burn is easing, so I think I’ll be OK by the time I get back home (now probably Monday instead of Sunday).

We are staying not 5 miles from Disney World. Some day I’d like to get back down here and visit there again. It’s been about 20 years since I’ve been to Epcot, and about 30 since Disney World. I think Animal Kingdom would be pretty cool to get to.

I’ve had no time to take any pictures, unfortunately. But that is exactly why I didn’t bring the Nikon…just the Minolta.

I had a pretty long conversation with L tonight (not that it was the first long one…we’ve had those before, believe me). But every one of them has been a really good conversation. I have yet to get to a point where there’s nothing more to say. They’ve just flowed…even if the subject suddenly changes to something utterly unrelated…it just keeps going without missing a beat. That’s nice.

Anyway…back to the subject at hand. The conversation tonight. It delved more into how the two of us act or communicate…we are both very similar. I tend to keep my guard up, I have a habit of trying to be “right,” I find it fairly difficult to voice some things. But with L, I have found it so easy to let those things go. I don’t know a better way to say it than I feel like I’ve finally met an “equal.” That’s something I’ve never had in 38 years. It’s only been a couple months, but strangely enough, it’s almost like we completely understand each other (sure there’s more to learn). We were talking about last names, and the meaning of names with “son” at the end. Spooky part…the first example we both thought of…Thompson.

Everything we’ve done…has been a good time. These aren’t things that most people would think were fun things – not all of them, anyway. But it has been… Going out to take pictures, going to see Lobster Boy, going to Ikea, cooking a dinner, staying in to watch a movie, watching a show about a train tour… It’s all been good, it’s all been fun.

There is only one thing that we don’t match on…she likes some science fiction stuff. But for me…it’s only that I’m indifferent to it. I’ve never looked for it, but I don’t hate it.

Do you know what it’s like to find someone who pretty much meets everything you’ve always wanted? I never knew…until now. I don’t know if it’s fate, or if I ever believed in fate…but if this IS what fate it…I like fate.