My fraternity, Omega Phi Kappa, turned 12 today. I haven’t seen any of my frat brothers in many years, but I’d like to wish the ones I went to school with, as well as the ones that I have yet to meet, a happy birthday (we refer to this anniversary as a birthday… I’m not sure why). I have been the admin for that site for about 10 years now, since it first appeared on Geocities. I don’t do much work on it these days, aside from making sure the name is renewed and the server stays up.

Earlier this week my first year anniversary at my job came and went. It was uneventful; I think I only mentioned it to one or two people the day of. Things have been pretty good so far, and I’ve learned a lot. I’ve become a much better web developer for it, but I’m still a rookie and have a lot of room to grow.

I’m sure you noticed that I took a bit of a hiatus from blogging. There are a number of reasons for that:

1. The 28th Bestest Day Ever took place last week. There were no parties or parades in my honor. No virgins were sacrificed for me. Not even a statue was built for me. I can’t complain though; the usuals called me to wish me a happy birthday, like my family and a few friends. I was very surprised at two people who did not say a single word to me. You know who you are, and I will beat you mercilessly for it. Nadia even took the trouble to send text messages to some people to remind them of the special ocassion (I’m pretty sure she thinks that I didn’t see her do it); what gave it away is that I was bombarded with calls and e-mails and text messages shortly after she suddenly starting typing away on her RAZR’s keypad. I received games, movies, and books, and I couldn’t be happier.

2. The wedding of K&A finally happened. We drove up to Waterville, Maine to watch Nad’s sister get married. She was the matron of honor, and I was a groomsman. They made the very smart move in asking all out-of-town guests to stay at the same hotel, and they held the reception there as well. We had a great time there, and it was certainly worth the 19.5 hour drive there and back. The reception had a movie them to it, given their love for films of all types. I’ll see if I can get Nad to scan the program and post them here.

3. Work has the tendency to kick your ass the moment you return from vacation. I was buried under urgent tasks that were piling up in my absence. I think I finally have a handle on all my work, so I should resume my normal blogging schedule.

4. Test Drive Unlimited is digital crack. TDU is a new Xbox 360 racing game that drops you onto the island of Oahu, Hawaii and lets you drive all sorts of cars, from the mundane to the exotic. Unlike other racing games, this game mostly takes place online where you can race and crash into other players of the game. I’ve been collecting cars so I can win tougher races and bigger prizes so that I can collect more cars.

I have lots more to say, so be sure to come back soon. Thanks for reading.

That’s the phrase I used two days into my four-day vacation in San Antonio. If I were a bit sharper, I would have realized that’s what I was getting into before I even got onto the plane, or even before I booked the flight. On the other hand, Nad knew exactly what she was doing. I’m not complaining, mind you. We had a great deal of fun, and I’d do it again without thinking twice.

I’m thinking of anecdotes that I can relate, but most of it is a little too NC-17 for this site, which I try to keep firmly in the PG-13 realm.

Instead, I’ll tell you that Texas is hot. By hot, I mean HOT. Muggy too. It was nasty all the time. We drove a Hyundai Sonata (2006, I think) with the A/C blasting at all times, and we both believe that it is a viable alternative to a Honda Accord or Toyota Camry. It even looks sharp too. Lots of leg room, and enough pep to speed past the slow pokes on I35 (or any other road you happen to be on).

We saw Superman Returns. If you liked Superman I and II, or just like comic book movies in general, do yourself a favor and watch this movie. We watched it in an interesting theater where they served you dinner 15 minutes before the movie started. Stuff like pizza and burgers. There were bar-style stands in front of all the seats where you could keep your dinner and drinks. In the third act of the movie, the waiters would return to deliver the check. It was an interesting experience. My only complaint was that the seats did not recline.

I’ve got more to talk about. I’ll post again a bit later.