Matt is… interesting.

No, seriously. There aren’t many people with whom I can disagree, and come out of the discussion in a mood for compromise. This isn’t a unique thing, either, constrained to a single topic. I like the opportunity to debate things that have meaning and importance, and then to jump seamlessly to a scatological punfest.

Which is a kickass bonus, too: Puns. Literacy is a gift wasted on those that do not use their powers for evil. Matt’s not one of those.

He, and his wife Amy (who is bound to end up considered in this manner at some future, more energetic time) are universally welcoming, enjoyable company, always a pleasure to feed or be fed by, whenever our respective crowded schedules can be made to get together (Aside: Farscape?! )

It’s a good, complete package: Sci-fi geek, gamer, music maven. Literate, articulate, and sociable. I like to think we have enough in common to weather our minor differences.

• Finish the assignment that was due last friday
• Finish the assignment that is due this friday.
• Do some real work on my project so as not to let down my team.
• Catch up on my paid work.

That doesn’t sound like too much fun. On the other hand, I can pull up my pants easier, now

Somewhere in there, however, I really need to find some way to thank Char for the fantastic way she’s helped me out throughout the first week of my slingery, when I really couldn’t do much for myself. Waking up at 7:30 is not something she enjoys, and she did it for me.

Char is probably the bestest, most wonderful person in the whole world, bar none.

Just…

Yeah.

This is where it gets a bit more complicated. Most of the people I’m going to be writing about in this vein now are people who read the blog with varying degrees of frequency. I’m not really sure how I feel about talking about them in such a public forum, and more to the point, I’m not sure how comfortable they are with it.

That being said, nobody I really hate is gonna end up in this section of the site

Anyway, here’s one for Aaron

I wouldn’t be far short of the truth calling Aaron my muse. Not the only one, to be sure, but somehow talking to him and getting a picture of what he’s doing in the myriad topics where our interests overlap always prods me to pursue those more actively myself. Maybe less of a muse, more of an inspiration. He’s really damn good at what he does, and he gives me hope that maybe I’m not so hopeless either.

A sense of humour. Really, I’d try to describe it, but I’d have to have a better gift with images and words. Suffice it to say he’s entertaining.

Aaron is one of the class of friends that I have that I wish I saw more of. Due to a combination of my own limited social energy and time, not to mention his numerous interests and work, I see him far too rarely for the enjoyment I get out of the visits. This isn’t limited just to him, there’s a fair number of friends that I find this happens with, and I think I’m lessened by it. I hope to remedy this, but then I’ve hoped to remedy it for years in many instances. I don’t have a lot of hope of success.

I guess one last thing — I owe Aaron a huge debt of gratitude (and dinner! Let us not forget dinner!) for helping me out when the basement flooded. Since I was phoning in order of proximity, he came up relatively early, and took time out of his own plans to help out.

What more can a guy ask for in a friend?

Beau is an interesting person, a study in contradictions from some angles, and probably one of the best people I’ve ever met. He is remarkably intelligent, although he does a good job of tucking that side of himself away, so as not to offend people who take offense at that kind of thing. He’s ostentatious, sometimes crude and cruel, but it’s more because of assuming that people are like him than it is explicit malice on his part.

In a lot of ways, he is the yin to my yang. We are congruent in many of our ideas, but not to the point of groupthink or syncophancy. Where we differ, he is a complement to me. He is social where I am solo. He is outgoing where I am retiring. When I wish that I was a nonloner, I wish that I was like him.

I have hurt him, in ways both large and small. I remember the look on his face, out of the corner of my eye, as I kissed the girl he was pining after. I remember worrying that I had ruined our friendship then. I’m not always willing to take time out of my solitude to spend with him, and I know that this hurts him. I wish that I could make him understand that it’s not his fault, I’m just like that.

He has hurt me. He dated a girl in college specifically because I had expressed interest in her. He is casually rude sometimes, and leaves me wondering what he’s really thinking.

Beau is largely responsible for who I am today. He brought me out of my shell in that first year of college. From a weak start (His first words to me? “What, you’re in this class too? Christ, you’re so fucking annoying!”) we progressed to real friendship. I still remember his madly grinning face as he shoved my shy and nervous ass into the mosh pit at a Watchmen concert at GPRC. He insisted that it was for my own good, although I suspect that at the time he may have had harm on his mind

Meeting people and not fearing that they would hurt me was a new thing then. Having someone other than myself that I could count on to back me up. Trusting anyone at all. These were all of the new things that Beau taught me how to do.

I am not a sociable person. I never will be. But I owe what little skill I have in a social arena to this man.

Beau is my friend, and I’m proud to know him.

So, here’s the scoop: The downtime resulted from Char and I moving, and shaw not moving as fast as we did, due to some wiring issues. I spent tuesday to today with no net access, which meant no mailserver, no webserver, etc. Very crappy. And, as i’m sure you can all imagine, also very jitter-inducing.

So, an update. Leaving aside private events that have kept me off-radar a bit of late, here’s what’s new:

We’re moved! Yay! The new house is coming together nicely, and i’d like to make a very public nod to Char, who has worked tirelessly to make the new place look like the home it’s going to be for the foreseeable future. The house looks nicer every time she puts something in place. Another nod that is not only necessary but huge is to Simon; without his help, there is no way the place would have been done on time. Bro, i owe you more than i can repay for your help, thank you again and again - i don’t know what we would have done without the time, effort, and general awesomeness you displayed getting this together for us.

Also new and notable, i’ve now skydived. I wasn’t really aware of the distinction, but … i sure as hell am now. There’s something very different about stepping out of a plane 3.5 km above the earth, even with two very professional and very kind instructors on my two sides, taking a breath at my own pace, looking out at the horizon, and with total awareness of what i’m doing and how, letting go and starting a free fall for 40 seconds, reaching terminal velocity as i fall. After 3000 feet falling, i had time to just look. And feel. And fly. The little hop we did in the training/first jump just doesn’t count, after that. Why even bother? A memorable t-shirt quote dad forwarded to me: “The meek shall inherit the earth. We own the sky.” This is how i feel. I will do this again, no doubt in my mind at all.

Last but not least, in 3 days, i go back to school. Year 2. Damn, i so look forward to this…