AFK: May 2008 Archives

We got back from Cabo late last afternoon, mostly no worse for wear; Kate had a run in with a jellyfish (as did I to a much smaller degree) that left her less than a hundred percent, and I think we're both running a little low-energy, but otherwise, everything is good. The trip was a lot of fun, though it was more of, say, a "resort vacation" than a "Mexico vacation." In either case, it was a wonderful chunk of quality together time, interrupted at scheduled times with parasailing, snorkeling, and sunset sailing excursions.

While driving up the Pacific coastline in a rental car on Sunday, Kate and I discussed the different kinds of a vacation options a person really has. Those options we boiled down into a kind of grid on which "Things to Do" was one axis and "Things to See" was the other. Our Prague trip was very strongly on the "Things to See" end of things, which Cabo was definitely full of "Things to Do" (even when those things are "sit around the pool and read while people bring you margaritas").

Some vacations or vacation locations are more successful at blending the two basic types. Likewise, certain people might enjoy a mix, or at least can do one and then the other and enjoy both (we are two such people).

Trouble arises, however, when you try (for instance) to fill a day with Things to See in a locale that's entirely (and unapologetically) geared for Things to Do (or vice versa). Ironically, we were actually en route to make EXACTLY THAT MISTAKE on Sunday, while we were having this conversation. Lesson learned -- something to file away for the next grand adventure.

Right. We're home again, the little girl is wonderful, the dogs are exuberant, and Other Things are going on...

* The author of one of the games I'm editing is wilting in the face of unenthusiastic playtest reviews. I'm trying to shore up his resolve and enjoyment for the game he himself invented, but I don't know if I had much impact. It may be as he says -- that I am one of the game's biggest fans and truest member of its target audience. We'll see. For now, I'll work on other things.

* The little writing project I mentioned last week is ch-ch-chugging along. One person (of course) was told what it was, and was visibly nonplussed, but I'll keep at it at least for a little while, because I'm enjoying it, and I like it when I can entertain myself.

* Gregory Frost, best known and recognized for solid short story work, has turned that knack into a full length novel through the charming and engaging trick of making a storyteller his main character. That novel is Shadowbridge, the first in a two-part fantasy that I want to recommend. You'll find I don't recommend books nearly as much as I do movies or television, so take from that what you will. It's good. It's entertaining, and it often interrupted other good vacation activities (drinking, napping, sleeping) so that I could read a bit more. For those who don't like starting unfinished series, rest assured that the sequel is already out.

* My sister seems to think Kate and I should run a half-marathon. In the middle of summer. In South Dakota. She's absolutely, wall-bouncingly mad, but I love her. Family, you know...

In no particular order...

• Terry Pratchett is a funny, funny man. And wise; his commentary on change and how people react to it is worth a post all its own, at some point in the future when I'm not blogging via a ridiculously overpriced hotel connection.
• Ninjas -- successful ones, at any rate -- would never wear flip flops.
• I have a good book you should read, that I guarantee you've never read. More later.
• All sand is not created equal. The sand of Los Cabos, for example, reminds you rather constantly of its origin as pulverized, sharp rock; and that the pulverizing process itself was not particularly thorough.
• Respect riptides.

And finally, this bit of wisdom, as we walked along the fairly ironic Lover's Beach:

"They said they filmed part of Planet of the Apes here."
"Who did?"
"The people I was eavesdropping on."
"Huh. The first one, or the new one?"
"I don't know. There's only so much information you can get from eavesdropping."

See you all in a few days. In the meantime, expect radio silence -- my indulgences are reserved for somewhat more important things like local crafts, local food, and local beer.