Personal

Nobody ever blogs about good customer support. So I sent my Powerbook into Apple to be fixed on Thursday. On Saturday, I checked the repair info page, and the issue was marked as closed. This was somewhat worrisome; I had visions of my poor little laptop lost in Apple’s vast cavernous shipping bays, never to be seen again. So I called customer service. Turned out they’d fixed it the same day it got there, and dropped it back into the mail. I got it back Monday. Three business day turnaround! Go, Apple.

You don’t care, but I do. Putting my packing list online worked so well for GenCon (I didn’t forget anything) that I’m gonna do it again. Nyah.

Mom’s getting out of the hospital on Saturday, much to her (and my) relief. She really appreciated the cards and best wishes — thanks to all. We now return to my usual veil of silence about my personal life.

Mom, who has informed me that she is not to be referred to as “a family member” anymore, is doing good. (“But Mom, it was for privacy… oh, OK, fine.”) The surgery went well and she’s recuperating as quick as she can, although it’ll still be a while. If anyone feels inspired to send a card, I’m sure she’d greatly appreciate it: Priscilla Durrell c/o Cape Cod Hospital 27 Park Street ...

O’Sullivan’s Pub in Somerville has burgers that are two inches thick, made of ground sirloin, and if you want they’ll put garlic on it. Or roll ‘em in pepper. Or whatever. Also, the french fries are slabs of potato. The beer selection isn’t great, but they have Bass on draft, so that’s OK. I’m feeling very content, food-wise, just now.

Haven’t fared past the first run of breakfast joints I found for a while, but I did today. The Lighthouse in Medford Square is not exceptional and does not provide any unusual taste treats, but it does a basic breakfast damned well and I rather expect I’ll drift by there again from time to time. The coffee is OK and the hash browns are not too greasy; the french toast is angelic. Bring your own real maple syrup.

Look, it’s the only place I have where I can put the packing list and be constantly reminded of it. iBook \* charger \* DVDs? \* memory card reader Camera \* Batteries Shadowfist cards Razor, toothbrush, toothpaste, hair bands Wrestling tapes GBA \* Games: AW II, AW, Crash, Yoshi’s Island, p’raps Warioware \* Charger Cell phone charger iPod & headphones

I’m off to Gen Con (original) soon; specifically, I’m leaving Thursday. Blogging may be sporadic during that time, or it may be frequent — it all depends on what kind of wireless access I can find in the convention center. I’ll have my laptop and — hey, why not? — my camera. In fact, I’ll set up a Typepad photo blog for those so they don’t clog things up over here. If you happen to be planning to attend Gen Con, I will be playing a metric ton load of Shadowfist and will likely be at the Z-Man Games booth off and on. I might also be at the Vivendi Games booth. Or drop me an email. ...

Right there, in the big tan building at the center-left of the picture. If you were driving northwest along the road that cuts from the east side to the north side, you’d take a left after the semicircular driveway; then drive down one block. See, it’s the tan building on the left side of the street. Can’t miss it. (I’m pretty sure these wouldn’t actually work as directions if you didn’t know where I lived already. I hope, anyhow.)

Don Park’s philosophy of life is admirable, and not that far from mine. He calls it the Selfish Pig (original). Smart guy. I wish I was as capable of detaching appropriately as he is; life’s not really all that complex. Also: hi, John! I am sorry I was a flake last year; it was a bad year for me, but that’s no excuse.