Zel-kun’s Words

The whole reason for going to Vegas, the wedding.  I didn’t really think about being married until about two days before the fact.  Afterwards, it started to hit me.  It still feels a little odd to say “my wife” or to think that I’m actually someone’s husband.  But, here I am in any case, and am definitely happier for it.  I’ve come a long way since working at Wal-Mart and living in my father’s basement.  And as I look towards the future, I still have a ways to go.

Anyhow, on to the wedding review!

The License:

We drove through Las Vegas following vague directions to the place where we were to get our marriage license.  After twenty minutes of driving through the seediest areas of downtown Las Vegas for nearly an hour, I pulled out my phone with the GPS, the FREE GPS provided by my job.  Yeah, I sometimes space out a little.

The GPS led us to a closed road, but following the map on the phone, we were able to go around it and finally found the place.  It was nearly pitch black and nearly midnight, only minutes before the place closed.  Some guy leaning against a building across the street looked at us funny, then turned away.  I could understand why Zai’s mother locked the van the second we got out.

We got in and bought our license, as we were the only people there.  As we were about to leave, three couples sauntered in the door.  I guess midnight is a popular time for marriage…

Lost in seedy areas, but ultimately we found our destination: C

Preparation:

Much of the preparation was done before we left for Vegas.  I went out and bought a tailored suit, because I wanted to actually have a properly fitting suit for once.  Being my height and my weight, it can be difficult to find things that fit me well.  Zai of course bought her wedding dress twenty-three years ago, and has been keeping it in the closet ever since.  She tried it on about a week before we were to leave, and found it didn’t quite fit.  So, she needed a new wedding dress exactly like the old one.  There’s about eight thousand nuances to this that I’m sure she’ll be happy to relate on her MySpace page (sure to contain many photos of me in a suit looking doofy), but I’ll just say she became quite stressed and irritable.  Try as I might, I could not avoid her wrath.  I fear the wounds will never heal…

The day of the wedding was no different.  She was running all over Vegas getting her hair done (in some gorgeous curls, might I add), and I spent most of the morning watching TV in our hotel room.  Eventually, I decided to get ready, trying to use the razor Zai’s sister bought to replace the razor I had lost during the trip.  Twenty minutes in, the stubble on my face was still there and the razor was rendered inoperable by the hair stuck in it (unlike my own Mach 3, it did not have a backless cartridge, so rinsing the blades out was nearly impossible).  Another search of my luggage, and I found that my razor had indeed survived.  Finally, I could shave.

I put on my suit and grabbed my tie.  I realized at this point that I had no idea of how to tie a tie.  I grabbed Zai’s laptop and hopped on a free wi-fi network, I then bounced across several websites, most of which had vague directions at best.  Finally, half an hour of staring in the mirror later, my tie was tied.

Go me.

Oddly enough, Zai’s cousin’s boyfriend also did not know how to tie a tie, and I ended up tying his tie for him.  (Have I said tying and tie enough yet?  Can I stop now?)

But, even with Zai’s stress and my ignorance, we managed to get ready: C

The Ride:

We rode to the wedding in style, in a big black limousine.  It was the first time I had ever been in a limo, and it was pretty nice.  I didn’t really have time to enjoy it, as five minutes after we left, I realized I had forgotten something.

Something mildly important…

THE RINGS.

Needless to say, we had the chauffeur do a U-turn across the congested Las Vegas Boulevard and ran back to the Paris.  I ran through the lobby barely dodging crowds of seemingly lost patrons, hopping onto the elevator.  I hit 26, and nothing happened.  The guy next to me hit 25, and we began ascending.  I continued to hit 26, and that number would not light up.  Finally we got to 25 and the elevator opened.  Try as I might, I couldn’t get the elevator to go up one more floor.  I didn’t have time to think about it, as the doors closed and I began heading down again.

Once at the bottom, I ran for another elevator and finally got to 26.  I ran to our room, snatched the rings, and ran back.  In true movie fashion, I nearly ran into an old woman, a blind guy, and a giant luggage rack (I am not making this up, it’s like they were drawn to me).  As I raced towards the exit, for some reason the fast-paced instrumentals of Metallica’s ‘Master of Puppets’ were stuck in my head.  I opened the door and saw the limo.  But despite my extreme hurry (were were nearly fifteen minutes late to our own wedding), I held the door open, because an old man was wheeling his wife towards the door.  I guess even in times of duress, there’s no excuse for bad manners…

Finally, though, we were off: A (for sheer memorable value)

The Ceremony:

I arrived and only Zai’s parents were in front.  I asked them if they were the only ones there, and they said ‘yes.’

Well crap.

I called my father, who told me he couldn’t find the place.

Double crap.

And then in true dad-fashion, told me he was in the chapel.

He’s a REAL funny guy.

When we got in, Zai was pulled aside for a photo shoot, and I met with the minister.  I was then asked who my Best Man would be.  My first thought was my brother, so I peeked my head into the main chapel, and didn’t see him.  While pacing through the halls, I peeked in again and again, and still didn’t see him.  I thought he was coming about, but figured something must have come up.  He’s been working very sporadically, and figured maybe he got called away at the last moment.

Finally, Pete walked in.  I hadn’t seen Pete in years, it was really good to see him.  I thought he wasn’t coming either since my last ten calls to him while I was pacing the halls went unanswered.  He responded, “Oh, is that what that sound was?”

Truly, the people I know are a laugh riot.

After one more look inside, seeing my parents but no sign of my brother, I decide to make Pete my Best Man.  I kinda put him on the spot, and for that I apologize to him.  He was a very good second choice, however.  He is easily the best friend I know, and my respect for him is nearly unrivaled.

I walk into the main chapel to begin the ceremony, Zai at my side, and after I pass the door, I see my brother’s head.

Well crap.

I let him know later on that he was my first choice… I hope he didn’t feel too slighted.  I’m sorry Josh.

The ceremony itself was a blur, I was very nervous through the whole thing.  All I remember is that we lit a unity candle, and that Zai looked even more beautiful than usual, something I had previously thought was impossible.

Afterwards, I had a ring on my finger, and I was a married man: A

The photo shoot:

We had a very demanding photographer who insisted I twist my neck in odd positions and hold very unnatural poses for long periods of time.  I had to hold several kisses with Zai for several moments.  Not that kissing Zai is a bad thing, but after the fourth “Now kiss!  Now hold it for an hour!” is was feeling a little awkward.  Truly, the awkward moment came as I left the main chapel and my mother gave me a hug and a kiss.  He asked us to do it again, and then shouted ‘hold it!”

I’m sorry, but holding a prolonged kiss with my mother?  Not that kind of family, Mr. Photographer.

Afterwards, we were then offered these pictures (most of them horrible) for the low price of five hundred dollars.  Zai and I did not want most of them, but our families insisted, to the point of putting their money together to buy them.  My father tried to get the price to come down, but was stymied by everyone’s willingness to jump at the price.  To all who pitched in, thank you.  I’m sure in ten years, I’ll be glad that I have those pictures, and didn’t simply walk away from the memories.

All in all, it was one long awkward moment: D

The reception:

We ate dinner at Maggiano’s, which was exceedingly fun.  The food was delicious, and Pete went around snapping both candid and posed pictures, both feeling very natural.  He’s a far better photographer than he gives himself credit for.  He also has a CD of the wedding pictures he says he can edit and make them look amazing.  I fully believe he can do just that.  As the exchange between him and my father went:

Pete: I can make it look like a zebra and a chimpanzee got married.

Dad: Could you make it look like they didn’t?

Not a whole lot to say about the reception.  Funny about when things go well, there just isn’t much of a story: A

And there you have it, my wedding in a nutshell.  Both the good and the bad came together for a very memorable experience.  I wouldn’t change a damn thing… well, maybe I would have walked further inside the chapel so I could have seen my brother and made him the Best Man…

Zel-kun out.

So, when you think of Vegas, Casinos are the first thing to come to mind.  And why not?  It is the city of gambling after all.  When I watched television, and I saw shots from Las Vegas, it always showed the same thing: Neon lights on the outside, and bright flashing lights on the inside.  The colorful carpeting was a mainstay, and nothing really jumped out at me.  In that way, I would say that television truly mis-represents Las Vegas.

To begin, neon lights are almost absent in most places, replaced by giant monitors and big glowing displays.  It’s bright, colorful, and a full-on attack to the senses.  When I rode down the street at night, it was a fight between wanting to see everything and look at nothing all at the same time.

The true surprise came when I actually entered these casinos…

The Paris:

We stayed at the Paris, and arrived there at twilight.  We arrived at the perfect time, as the final rays of the sun bathed the neo-classic structure.  If you were to ignore the bustle outside, it was easy to think you were entering a fine manor in the French countryside.  Inside the first thing of note is the ceiling, some three stories high and painted like a sky in twilight.  The wrought iron street lamps helped enhance the illusion of being outside.  I had to do a double and triple take when I first entered.  It was quite impressive.

Not so impressive were the gigantic banks of slot machines in the middle of the floor.  But it is a casino, it’s to be expected.  I was too busy looking at the walls, floors, and ceiling, all made to give me the illusion of walking down a French street.  The front desk was in a side area made to look like a ballroom in Versailles, which it pulled off well, with grand crystal chandeliers and paintings of pre-revolution royals and nobles, with the exception of a neon ad for blackjack on the rear wall.  Pity they had to mar a perfectly good room with that.

The rooms we had there were simple and elegant, but something of more standard hotel fare, rather than keeping to the old French illusion.  The hotel was set up very simply, and it was easy to find our rooms.  The hotel was clean and I was never bothered by the staff.  All in all, the Paris gets an A.

Bally’s:

At first glance, I thought it was related to the health club.  But, it’s simply another casino.  It’s architecture was such a sad disappointment after coming from the Paris.  It was plain and unremarkable.  The best thing about Bally’s is that it connects to the Paris and leads to a nice walkway above the street for easy access to the Bellagio.  Bally’s is a C.

The Bellagio:

The theme is a mishmash of European styles.  I’ve seen French Ceilings, Italian tiles and carpets, and English overhangs.  Despite that (or perhaps because of it?) it ends up looking very elegant, like the summer palace of some forgotten member of royalty.  The fountains were amazing, and I could have spent a long time simply looking at the carpets and windows.  Add to that a nice conservatory and art gallery, and it ends up being a fun place to go to.  It’s also the most expensive hotel in Vegas, from what I hear.  B.

Caesar’s Palace:

Greco-roman decor, and very nicely done at that.  The place is littered with columns and statues both inside and out.  It has a lot of space outside with statues and fountains that take quite awhile to walk around, and then an indoor street that stretches on much like that of the Paris (though it doesn’t pull it off quite as well).  The central fountain with Poseidon was breathtaking, especially since the ceiling was much higher there, doing a better job at creating the illusion that you’re outside.  On the casino floor itself it’s smoky and confusing, without to much of the greco-roman style, so the casino itself really ruins Caesar’s as a whole.  B-.

Planet Hollywood:

Regurgitated faux-glamor at it’s best.  The silver, dark purple, and gold don’t play well here at all.  When I walked in, several casino employees tried to sell me things and entice me with free gifts.  We were almost tricked into attending a timeshare presentation when they offered us a free meal and tickets to some magician.  Further into the hotel, you can see the areas that have not yet been remodeled, and the style of the old Aladdin casino still exists.  It had a streets of Marakesh theme to it, reminding me of Indiana Jones movies.  It was actually really cool.  It was sad to see it slowly taken over by the white and silver paint they were slopping all over the halls.  F.

MGM Grand:

Everything Planet Hollywood isn’t.  With a Metro-Goldwyn Lion theme, and classic black and gold, it pulls off the feel of old Hollywood quite well.  It was easy to navigate, with a lot of good restaurants around.  Not quite as impressive as Paris or the Bellagio, but it was very nice in it’s own right.  B.
The Venetian:

Ah, the Italian-themed casino.  After my own heart.  Everything was right out of Italy’s renaissance.  From the Michaelangelo paintings on the ceiling, to the streets of Venice complete with gondola (post-renaissance, I know, sue me).  There was a night club called ‘Tao’ there, which boasted a line of a thousand people or more.  This made some areas quite difficult to go to.  The hotel as a whole was pretty crowded, but it seemed to be prom night for the locals, so maybe that’s to be expected.  B+.
The Luxor:

Not too fond of Egyptian things, but this was enough to impress me.  The beam of light shooting from the top gave it a nice sci-fi slant that I really enjoyed.  I had always thought the pyramid was built like a normal building, but with slanted walls.  I was shocked when I entered and saw a giant chamber extending all the way up.  The rooms are actually along the slanted walls, and an inclinator (an elevator that travels at a 45-degree angle) takes people to their rooms.  From sheer style alone, and amazing architecture, Luxor gets an A.

And there you have it.  I know I didn’t post the Excalibur, because I didn’t really go there.  I did pass through it briefly, but not really enough to give it a fair review.  I did see some fantasy-themed shops, but nothing particularly impressive.  The inside looked like a typical hotel with a dragon thrown in here and there.  But as I stated, I only saw a little bit, maybe there’s some amazing scenery somewhere in there as well.

Maybe next time.

Zel-kun out.

I am back from Las Vegas, back from the city of glitz and glamor, of sin and vice.  It was a far cry from my home here in Chicago, both in distance and in style.  I’m going to withhold my review of Las Vegas until the end of Vegas Week.  During which I will fill this little blog with posts about the trip, as there is far too much content for one simple post.

In non-Vegas related news, I’ve been playing catch-up at work.  It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, but it took a little while to go through my email this morning.  The strange thing about having responsibilities is that without you, they go unfulfilled.  It’s good I wasn’t gone any longer.

I’ve been put in charge of training a new guy starting today.  Showing him around reminded me of my first day on the job.  Just like me he didn’t have a place to sit, so he spent most of the day over my shoulder in my small cube.  On the plus side, this finally prompted them to clean out a cube in the next aisle over, which I then began moving myself into.  It’s twice the size and I finally get to break out the brand new 8-port KVM and 16-port switch I’ve been sitting on for awhile.  I would say it’ll be nice not to be so cramped, but I know I’ll find a way to simply cram more equipment in it.

A co-worker and I took the new guy out to lunch, to the same restaurant I went to on my first day.  And just like my first day, I treated, as a little ‘welcome to the team’ gesture.

Sometimes… things go full circle…

Vegas week to follow.

Zel-kun out.

I get married Thursday… it’s a lot to take in.  It sneaks up on you.  It’s not bad by any means, I’m marrying a wonderful girl, and I’m sure our life together will be very happy.  Still, it’s a lot to take in.

I bought my suit, and picked it up during a torrential rainfall.  I couldn’t see more than a few feet ahead of me, so I tossed the suit into the back of my car as quickly as I could while keeping it neat.  Of course, when I got in my car, it slowed to a drizzle.

Go figure.

Anyway, here are my final thoughts as a single man:

Unlike a lot of people, I didn’t really get out there and ‘play the field.’  I’ve only had a couple girlfriends, and nothing beyond a date or two.  I’ve spoken to people who feel I’ve missed something by not exploring while I had the chance.  I guess I could lament on that, but I really don’t feel I missed a whole lot.  I hate dancing, I hate going on those interview-like dates, I hated being set up, and I hated having to break up with people.  Seems like one big ulcer waiting to happen.

Maybe they’re talking about the sex, which is entirely possible.  I had the opportunity, but I didn’t want to do it with someone I didn’t love.  Yes, I’m one of those old-fashioned fools, so kill me.  Honestly, I don’t feel I missed out there either.

I’m going to walk down the aisle and not have any doubts about what I’m doing, which is all I could ever have asked for on my wedding day.  I have a good, stable job, and I have a decent enough place (though I could ask for a better neighborhood), and I can provide for it all.  I’ve grown past living paycheck to paycheck, and I honestly don’t worry about money.

Of course, I still treat my money as though I was still working at Wal-Mart, which is probably for the best.  I am out of debt and loving it.  I’m about to go on my first vacation ever, and get married in the process.

These past years have been some of the most turbulent of my life.  If you said to me five years ago that I’d be working in IT and flying to Vegas to be married, I’d say you were out of your mind.  Maybe this is all a grand hallucination, and I’ll wake up in my bed in my father’s basement, around noon, and put on the blue vest to work at Wal-Mart.

If that’s the case, I hope I never wake up.

Zel-kun out.

I had overtime on Friday, so instead of making some extra money, I left early so I could attend Zai’s bridal shower.  Apparently, it’s now customary for the men to attend these.  I have older people asking me, “What?  Why are YOU going?” and the younger people around my age declaring, “Yeah, I had to go to my wife’s.”

So there you go.

The bridal shower was at Connie’s Pizzeria in Chicago, where you can find some of the worst pizza in the windy city.  The pizza isn’t BAD per se… just… mediocre.  And when you’re in Chicago, one of three centers for pizza in the world, you expect something more.

1. Italy - Thin, crisp, stone over baked crust with the freshest vegatables.  I love Italian pizza.  So much that I actually order it at nice Italian restaraunts.  Try it some time, you won’t be disappointed.

2. New York - Home of the thin floppy crust, very large slices.  Not my favorite type of pizza, but a New York style pepperoni pizza with a generous amount of sauce is DELICIOUS.

3. Chicago  - Home of the deep dish pizza.  The crust is piled high with cheese, vegetables, and sausage.  It’s piled so high that one piece is generally enough to be a meal for even the largest of appetites.  My personal favorite for this is Arnelio’s Pizzeria, but then I haven’t been to Pizzeria Uno (the first and original pizzeria in Chicago), so maybe I haven’t tried the best.

Connie’s has thick crust, lots of cheese, and a distinct absense of sauce.  It reminds my of when I used to eat Domino’s.  Not really bad… just blah.  Although Zai swears by their pizza, so I guess there’s no accounting for taste.

I met her co-workers and they seemed nice enough, save a very angry woman who complained about nearly everything.  It turns out she’s the computer teacher at the school, and that she doesn’t know anything about computers, relying on ZAI to fix the issues she has.

Zai is a smart girl, but a computer technician she is not.  This should say something about the supposed teacher.

We were given a handmade fan that had money folded into it.  We were very grateful, as honestly we were wondering just how exactly we were going to pay for the trip.  I DID have the money in savings, but I was doing my best not to touch that.  The money ended up buying me the suit I was going to wear for the wedding, so it worked out very well.

Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we couldn’t remove the money without destroying the fan.

Saturday I picked up our wedding bands from Jared.  They set me back a pretty penny, but it was money well spent.  I managed to buy them out of pocket, so I don’t have a new debt floating over my head.  As of now, I am debt free, and I’m trying to keep it that way.

Sunday we just relaxed, I spent most of the day playing World of Warcraft.  Looks like no matter what I do, I can’t escape that game.  Truth be told, I’m having more fun now than I have in quite awhile.

Zel-kun out.

Things are finally calming down a bit at work.  I can actually see a little of my desk.  I worked late again yesterday, out on the road in Indiana.  It’s strange that my job leads me back to my old hometown of Merrillville, being as I scarcely even visit it anymore, it’s like a world I long left behind.

I had to check up on a kiosk in Southlake Mall, a mere 10 feet from the front door of Things Remembered, where I worked as an engraver for three years.  It was my first job, and where I picked up my loathing of malls.  I’m always tempted to walk on in to see if I see anyone I know there, but I’m always on a tight schedule.  I know myself too well, and I’d waste bare minimum of half an hour catching up and bragging about the direction my life has gone.

My old hometown has really changed since I left, as though I was the only factor holding the rapid growth of yuppie establishments in check.  The food court in the mall had been replaced by a sprawling two-story Borders, hot dogs on sticks replaced with books on shelves.  Around the mall grew at least two dozen new food places: Red Robin, Chipotle, Potbelly’s… the old Burger King had been demolished to make way for a a chocolate shop… it was like a whole different town.

Unfortunately, the Wal-Mart stands as still and strong as the day I left it.  I had to visit a kiosk in the Circuit City directly across from it, and I could still feel the evil resonating from across the road.  I had bought my PDA from that very Circuit City ages ago, the one I was accused of practicing witchcraft with, and the store hadn’t changed at all in that time.  And just like before, there were never any other customers in sight.

When I’m out in the field, I get to drive a company vehicle, which I both love and hate.  I love not putting miles on my aging vehicle, and I love not having to buy gas.   It handles well and has a lot of pickup, but it’s uncomfortable to drive.  The seat doesn’t go far back, so my legs are a little confined.  But beggars can’t be choosers.

I drove back to Schaumburg and gassed it up with the company card, then handed the keys to my boss so he could drive up to Wisconsin.  Those are busy vehicles, we bought it brand new earlier this year and there’s already 40,000 miles on it.  Sound like my car for when I worked for XSport running around everywhere…

Zel-kun out.

To say this last week has been stressful would be an understatement.

I’ve been put in charge of the project to upgrade all the desktops in our building to XP, which is a much slower and burdensome process than Elgin due to the distance from the production servers, and also to the varying job roles in the building.

Needless to say, I’ve been working a lot of overtime to get this project done.  During the project, the system set up to migrate and backup the userdata failed Friday night, so I suddenly had fifty non-working machines with missing data.  The users would be returning Monday, and they will not be happy.

I worked until midnight on Friday, and put in some hours on Sunday to get the machines working, stressing out the whole time (which is saying something, I don’t normally let stress get to me).  Even when I tried to sleep, machine names and spreadsheets began cycling through my head.

Monday morning I began damage control, running through the building trying to calm down some people who lost their data (fortunately, policy states that they shouldn’t have data on their local machines anyhow), and getting programs installed for other people that didn’t get put in with their department’s image.  I worked untill 9:00pm that night getting the rest of the building converted to XP.  This time not depending on the faulty migration system, just putting out a communication to the affected users to make sure they don’t have any data.

Tuesday morning was more damage control, because even though they were told to back up their data, and told to ask me any questions they may have had regarding the process (which SOME did), a few people lost a little data.  The damage wasn’t all that bad, just a lot of people had a LOT of questions.

Around 10:00am my stomach started hurting, a twisting pain that came and went.  At first it wasn’t too bad, but after a couple hours, it grew worse.  Around noon we received a large shipment of monitors, and I was part of the crew unloading them from the truck and taking them to the storage room.  After that, my head was spinning and my stomach felt like it was collapsing in on itself.  I texted my boss and said I was leaving.

I drove home straining to keep my focus on the road.  Honestly, it was difficult, my eyes were threatening to betray me and close, and it felt like I was swimming inside my own head.  Finally, I parked about a block from my apartment, stepped out of my truck, and emptied my stomach out into the street.  It’s the city, so several people passed me as I did so.  I felt like some sort of drunk.

When I think of how my head was spinning… maybe that’s what being falling’down drunk is like…

I went home and passed out.  I woke up with a throbbing headache, and I was freezing despite being under several blankets.  The rest of the day s a blur, but thanks to Zai going out and getting me plenty of ginger ale and mint tea, I survived the day.

The next day I was feeling a bit better, but decided to take off of work just in case.  I woke up long enough to text my boss, then passed out for another five hours.  When I woke up, I felt good enough to eat, so I took some frozen chili that had been sitting in my freezer, and threw it in the crockpot.  I had to stab it into pieces over the course of several hours, but by dinner time, it was ready.

It smelled delicious, but after only a couple bites, my stomach didn’t feel so well.  Nowhere near as bad as the previous day, but enough to make me reconsider continuing my meal.

I woke up this morning feeling good as new, and came in to work.  I’m still doing a little damage control, but things are finally winding down.  At least, winding down enough to get this update out.

Zel-kun out.

Once I did write

Now I can’t find the time

The meter is a fight

And I can’t find the rhyme

I do write this blog

I find it quite fun

But if poetry you seek

Visit Hemingway’s Shotgun

See, it’s not that hard, Dave

You don’t have to pout

And now I must wave

Zel-kun is out

Zai’s closet broke yesterday.  Hundreds of pounds and thousands of dollars worth of clothing came crashing down to the ground.

She yelled at me as I was getting out of the shower, “We have a BIG problem here!  Really big!  Super huge!”  I thought the cat died or there was a fire in the apartment, or maybe even someone was shooting at us.  So I put on my robe and ran out of the bathroom.

“What’s going on,” I ask.  She leads me to her closet, where the rack that held her clothes had ripped out of the wall, just like I had warned her it would when we first moved in.  I probably could have made a better judgement call at this point, but no.

I began laughing.  I laughed as though I had never seen anything funnier in all my life.  I laughed at the hole in the wall, I laughed at the aged wood that had been ripped apart when the screw came out, I laughed at the plaster covering the overpriced designer clothes.

A lesser woman would have punched me in the mouth at this point.  A lesser woman would have stormed off and made sure I slept on the couch for the next month.  A lesser woman would have walked out on me ages ago.

Fortunately Zai understands my odd sense of humor, and settled for just giving me frustrated looks throughout the cleanup process.

We re-secured the shelf, and she agreed she needs to get rid of about half the things on it, so hopefully it won’t happen again.

In the meantime, I’ll get to work on the next installment of the crusader, which should be up in a few days.  There’s already a draft, it just needs a re-write.

Zel-kun out.

Sorry about the delays in gettinga revised first installment of the Crusader out there.  Been pretty hectic at work, and shifting back to a daytime shift is playing heck with my internal clock.

Promise to get something up by Sunday.

In the meantime, REALLY busy at work.

Zel-kun out.