Life is not bad, it is merely hectic.

First, the good:

My birthday party was a lot of fun, despite my somewhat under-the-weather state. avivahg did a tremendous job, assisted by shadowandlight, my mom, and others. Much good conversation was had, an abortive game of croquet was played, water gun battles were fought, and fireworks were lit. I got some great gifts, including a shotglass checkers set, “Flood” by They Might be Giants, and a truly amazing stack of books from my mom.

And then the not-so-good:

I’m headed for overload country. I’m in extremely high demand right now at work. The list of things I need to do outside of work is scary, and most of them are fairly urgent. Which wouldn’t be a problem except I have no free time. I have to:

• Prepare for a week-long camping trip in less than two weeks, including making reservations and buying equipment.
• Set up an automated system for distributing my dad’s photos from Sudan, which will operate without intervention while I’m gone.
• Get my driver’s license renewed.
• Get my car’s oil changed.
• Pay bills.
• Deposit a birthday check.
• Schedule a dental surgery consultation.
• Bug UMUC for answers again.
• Whatever else I’m forgetting…

No big deal, right? Except the only free time I have this weekend is tomorrow night. After that it’s off to NJ for the extended weekend to visit family, and then straight back to work until it’s camping time. And there is a very real possibility that by going camping right now, I will be holding up the rest of my project – which needless to say is a Bad Thing.

*bonk*