“So Karel, what the hell did you do all weekend?”

I’m so glad you asked, metaphorical reader! My weekend started midday on Friday when I came home to watch the kids while Wendi did the first of two DJ gigs for the weekend. We pretty much just goofed off all evening.

On Saturday, errands were run. For instance, I cleared out several months’ worth of material in my Future Dreams box. The haul included two copies of Protoculture Addicts (yes, it’s a dated Canadian rag of questionable worth, I know) as well as TPB versions of stuff I already had in single issue form. Let’s hear it for changes in publishing policy. The unusual item I acquired was “1602,” the new Neil Gaiman miniseries that takes elements of the Marvel universe and throws them way back in time and weaves them into a whole new story. At least that’s the idea. I admit that I’ve found it entertaining and amusing so far, but it’ll remain to be seen if it falls on its face later on.

As Wendi and I returned home from the shopping trip, who did I spot pulling onto our street just ahead of us but Geoffrey! And so the afternoon (and a bit of the evening) was spent gleefully playing a wide variety of computer and console games with him and Alex. For the record, I suck at Soul Calibur. Oh well. It’s still fun. The evening was rounded out with french bread pizza (ahhh, Stouffer’s, how I love thee) and four episodes of Angelic Layer. Think of the show as “Barbie meets Pokemon.” Sort of.

Sunday was originally “hang out at Lil’ and Geoffrey’s place” day, which did in fact happen but it also ballooned into an impromptu BBQ for all sorts of friends of the household. Unfortunately I was in a bit of a weird place emotionally so I wasn’t as good of company as I could have wished, especially given how many new people I met. It’s a good thing they like me so much… though only the gods know why! At any rate the burgers were very tasty, the well-chosen root beer (Henry’s!) was just what the doctor ordered, and the assembled company was among the finest in the city of Portland. Nevermind the dramatic undercurrents, I still think everybody had a good time. Yes, even me, for the most part.

Today was a blissfully quiet day at work (which means only a dozen or so small fires instead of two dozen small fires plus a major catastrophe), so I enjoyed a long lunch with Dalemar. It’s easy to enjoy a lunch when somebody else is picking up the tab, mind you. No, I kid! He’s great company, and I probably jawed his ear off a bit longer than I really ought to have. In between book recommendations, movie reviews and other forms of geekery we also engaged in the odd bit of meaningful dialog. I found myself much more relaxed in his company that I really expected to be, all things considered. This is a Very Good Thing.

And so I packed a fair amount of socializing into a surprisingly short amount of time. After the travails of the previous two working weeks, I needed some low-key downtime with cool people. I may even be ready for the rest of the work week now…