Back from Austin

Well, I'm back from the LAN party in Austin. It was an intense weekend. We started working on Friday evening and worked pretty much straight through until Sunday night. We did it! We brought up the new ELNA website. There is still work to be done, but I feel comfortable saying that we did what we set out to do. We made some pixels too: I was invited to draft an article for Libera Folio.

Staying with Dr. Read was very comfortable. He and his family were particularly welcoming and hospitable. I was pleased this morning that, when Hannah was grumpy, I was able to cheer her up. She didn't get enough sleep because she was asleep when we took her brother Kelvin out for dinner (to Shady Grove, an excellent restaurant that he had recommended). But when we got back, Hannah had awaken and needed a sandwich to assuage her sense of indignation for not having been able to join us, and, therefore, didn't get to bed on time.

Back to being grumpy, Dr. Read pointed out that he and his daughter shared the trait of being grumpy if they didn't get enough sleep. I pointed out that I had a snake like that. Hannah couldn't help smiling, and soon we had a pleasant and far-ranging discussion about snakes, pets, fungi, and zoology songs. I sang her the beaver song. She said she'd already heard it and that I was getting the hand-motions wrong, but she humored me by smiling anyway. She has a very pretty smile.

We stopped by Nodog's place to pick up Jacob. I decided that they ought to be "nehundo" and "j-hundo". If you don't get it, don't lose any sleep over it. After going through security, j-hundo and I had a nice cup of coffee talking about a bunch of the various ideas that had come up over the weekend. We both had flights at the same time, so we split up around 10:30 to catch our respective flights home.

The flight home was uneventful. The flight to BWI was packed, but at least I didn't have to sit in the middle. I hate that. I was able to find a place for both of my bags and I survived, so I can't really complain. It only took about 12 hours from door to door. Now I'm getting myself around a drink and wrapping up loose ends before I got to bed in my own bed for a change.

Rolling back into Amherst, I realize how at-home I feel here. I haven't felt so much at home anyplace before. Driving through town, each corner, building, and sign has become dear to me. I feel like know each pothole and pebble as we turn the corner onto My Street and into my driveway. Home. I'm home. What a wonderfully great feeling to be home.