Damn, I have awesome friends.

So, I’m home from Oklahoma City. We had just purchased a new facility out there, and my mission was to evaluate the building and see what would need to be done to get it onto our network. It was a routine trip reason, but I can’t say I enjoyed how it started. Thunderstorms caused our plane to leave an hour late, and when we got into Oklahoma City, it had already started snowing. Fortunately the roads were mostly clear, so I got to the facility with no problems. I got done what I needed to get done, and was able to leave before Oklahoma City’s equivalent of rush hour started.

I had plans to meet up with my old friends Jeff and Malinda (who live in Norman), so once I got to the hotel I called Malinda and we made arrangements. At 6:15 or so, I made my way down to the lobby and waited for them to arrive. Malinda eventually walked in… and damn. She had not changed a bit. (Keep in mind it had been eight years since I’d seen her or Jeff.) Jeff looked like he’d gained a little weight, but that’s not a bad thing considering he was really thin before. We all got in the car… and they decided to surprise me.

I’ve posted before how I loved the board game Talisman and had even recently wandered into a Games Workshop store looking for a copy. Well, I had forgotten that I had introduced Jeff and Malinda to it way back when, when it was out of print. So, imagine my shock when they handed me a bag that contained this:

Damn. I can probably get George to play, or maybe even Sean and his group. I don’t think Louie or Dave will ever be willing to give it a try, though. Hell, I can’t wait to introduce it to Misty… :-)

As you might imagine, I am very thankful and grateful. Thanks, guys! Now I just have to return the backpack I borrowed to take it home in, considering I had only brought a laptop backpack with me as an overnight bag.

Anyway, from the hotel we went to this GREAT Italian restaurant just off the campus of OU called Victoria’s. After a very satisfying meal there, we went to their house, where we continued to catch up, and took time to watch a hilarious Doctor Who parody called The Curse of Fatal Death. After a while, though, it was time to go home, as I had a flight back to the States in the morning and they had work. We did agree to meet up again when I go back up. :-)

Today was uneventful, though. I got to the airport with plenty of time to spare, which was used to get onto the company network and do some work. Once back in Houston, I met Dad for lunch at Denny’s, and from there went home and worked from there.

So, what’s going from here? Tomorrow evening I’ll be going to Sean’s birthday dinner and whatever they have planned afterwards. Next week looks like a standard week of work. The week after, though, looks more and more like I’ll be in Oklahoma City for a few days. I had thought that it would be a month before I returned for the network implementation, but instead the boss wants it sooner. I’ll have to email Jeff and Malinda to warn them ahead of time.

Either way, I don’t mind. I’m sure there’ll be plenty of time to catch up… and play Talisman. :-)