Welcome back, cave dwellers! I’m still around I’ve just been busy, but it’s time to get back to posting. I know that because I’ve recently spent too many nights lying awake at night, unable to sleep, while my mind races along with a topic I can’t let go. Might as well get it out on paper… so to speak. My hope is that writing about the subjects I’m discussing internally with myself in the middle of the night will help me get some much needed rest as well satisfy my desire to… well, write. Before we get into all of those, I thought I would take a some time to talk about what’s been going on with me in the nearly two years since my last post. I’ve been working hard on multiple projects, including about 4 months spent in New Zealand. All is well at the house although I don’t spend enough time there, but we do have a wonderful new addition to the family. I’ve made some new friends, tried some fun new hobbies and attended my first geek-centric cons. And of course I’ve been playing video games when I can. It’s been a lot of fun!
Traveling Abroad
I had the opportunity to go to New Zealand to work on a project stabilizing ground damaged by recent earthquakes at the Lyttelton Port of Christchurch. It was particularly exciting as I had never been outside of the United States before. Ignoring the fact that my luggage was lost during the initial trip, it was a fine time. Meeting new people and getting to know new places has always been one of my favorite parts of being a traveling construction worker, but this was a whole new ball game.
The most challenging aspect of my time there by far was just learning how to get around. Even my ride from the airport was both exciting and stressful, watching an unfamiliar world pass by on the wrong side of the street while my brain couldn’t get over the fact that my seat was supposed to have a steering wheel but didn’t. Being on the left side of the road was only the beginning. My company had rented a
couple of work trucks to use for the project and they were both equipped with manual transmissions. I’ve had plenty of experience driving a stick shift before but with the steering wheel on the other side of the vehicle I had to adjust to shifting with my left hand rather than my right. Doing this while continually reminding myself which lane to turn into was manageable with the proper focus… until I would signal the turn and the windshield wipers started. The turn signal has to be on the other side too? Although I got pretty comfortable driving around by the time I left, I could never quite shake the sensation of being in a giant blind spot. Because my mind and body instinctively look up and to the right to see the rearview 
mirror, which in this case resulted in me looking out the door window, I mostly used the side mirrors. Even though I wasn’t there long enough to get accustomed to checking the rearview mirror to the left, I was there long enough that my first car ride back in the states was more than a little unnerving. I had 
planned to bring my wife over for a visit, but the project duration was unfortunately cut short. The unexpected change in plans also meant that I didn’t get to do as much sightseeing as I hoped, with most of my time spent at the jobsite. My sightseeing ended up being little more than commuting to work and shopping for necessities, basically business as usual, only in a place that has summer during the months that I’m used to having winter! I did learn that the really cool Kit-Kat bars are not sold in the US. 
I also discovered that Mountain Dew has a very tasty flavor exclusive to the region, Passionfruit Frenzy! My wife was a little frustrated that I was on the other side of the world and most of the pictures I sent were of candy bars and soft drinks. Overall, it was a great experience! I met some interesting people, saw some incredible new sights and got a brief glimpse into the daily life of the Kiwi. I wouldn’t want to live there permanently though, as they appear to put barbeque sauce on everything! Pizza with barbeque sauce instead of tomato? Wrong! The humble BLT, which I content is where the very idea of a sandwich reaches it’s full potential? Exactly as it should be… except for the addition of barbeque sauce. Wrong! Cons Ahoy!
In September of 2013, Salt Lake City hosted its first Comic Con! When my wife called to inform me of this I was a bit surprised. This is because when we were newlyweds she often expressed a measure of embarrassment to be seen in public with me wearing my Nintendo controller belt buckle and goofy, nerdy t-shirts, so imagine my surprise when she said, “I think we should go!” I feel my best Emperor Palpatine impression was more than justified, “Your journey to the dark side will be complete!”
The organizers had clearly not anticipated the level of enthusiasm there would be and didn’t make use of enough of the expo hall to accommodate all the attendees, however. Getting from place to place was a claustrophobic’s nightmare as the isles resembled Japanese commuter train cars during rush hour. At one point I was full on rubbing bellies with Quailman (it was actually a pretty good costume) while trying to make my way through the teeming mass of nerd flesh. And the unique, aromatic delight resulting from the combination of so many different odors…? Sorry, I almost passed out for a minute. All of that aside, we had a great time! Checking out all of the vendor booths, creative cosplay and celebrity guests was so much fun! While taking a break in the hallway we witnessed a flock of several dozen Deadpools appear out of nowhere, parade through the hallway, and suddenly vanish. My wife got to meet an actor from one of her favorite TV shows (Brian Krause from Charmed) and I got to meet Kevin Murphy! If you don’t know who Kevin Murphy is, shame on you! Stop reading right now, go watch some Mystery Science Theater 3000 (he’s Tom Servo), and then come back. I can say he is truly a class act!
We also ended up attending the following event in the spring, Salt Lake Comic Con FanXperience, which was billed as a different but similar event targeted at a much broader range of interests. The reality is that it was basically a second Comic Con, which was fine by me. The entire expo hall was opened up for the event allowing for much easier and less stressful navigation. I was even able to connect with a good friend I haven’t seen in about 16 years for a photo op with Nathan Fillion!
This past July marked the first annual FantasyCon, which was originally planned to occur in Las Vegas but ended up in Salt Lake City for reasons I don’t entirely understand. It shared a lot of similarities with Comic Con and FanXperience but trending more to the fantasy genre side of geek fandom. A new friend of mine runs a local animation studio and helped put the event together so we were more than happy to show up in support. His studio (Too Many Legs Animation Studios, Inc.) was sketching willing participants at their booth, mine is included above in the intro. Like the previous events there was a wealth of celebrity guests and cool vendor booths among other fun things to see and do.
Wait, What Golf?
Remember that new hobby I mentioned over 1,200 words ago? I started playing disc golf! Technically this began during my time in New Orleans way back when the PlayStation Move was first released. Some of my co-workers and I would play Sports Champions for many hours over the course of several weekends, specifically the “Disc Golf” portion. It was a great multiplayer experience for a few friends to just get together and have fun. At one point someone said, “You know, we can go play actual disc golf.” Of course with the travel for work and usual daily life stuff that tends to happen to us all, it took a few years to finally make that a reality. Now I have my own discs and I meet up with a couple friends to play when I’m in the Bay Area, which has been pretty often as of late. Each weekend we check out a different course. By now we’ve just about exhausted all of the local courses, so we’ll have to start circling back to our favorites and occasionally expand our search a bit further away.
In my humble opinion it is a great, simple and cheap outdoor activity that just about anyone can enjoy. It has a low-cost initial investment. My first 3-pack of discs cost me about $25 and we’ve only played at one course that required any kind of payment, a $2 parking fee. I’m not very good at it but I’m much better than when I started and it’s something I enjoy that keeps me active. It’s just like hiking, but with a purpose! By the way, don’t describe it that way to someone who likes hiking…
Meet Sir Reginald!
Last but certainly not least, our new family member is this sweet, lovable hairball! Reggie is a Maltese Poodle mix, or Maltipoo (which is a ridiculous word), and he is just wonderful! He was having a hard time with his previous family and we offered to take him in a give him a good home. How could you say no to that face? 
To those of you who got all the way through this, thanks for sticking around! I really didn’t realize this post would end up so long when I started it. Come back soon and we’ll talk about video games, I promise.
Play nice, everyone!
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