Okay, folks, this has been a really, really long week, mostly because of the involvement of hours and hours of conference calls and powerpoints (seriously – yesterday was like eight hours’ worth). This is my life now, apparently.

the good news is that I have short work week next week, and although that break will be semi-working (DragonCon with the Humdingers), it’s still a weekend of playing music with my friends and peeing next to c-list celebrities, so it’s not exactly work work. I’m taking a week off spanning the labor day weekend holiday, and I’m really looking forward to the break, and the day or two of idle time I built for myself on the back end at home.

Of course, there’s a big inconvenience between here and there. Recently, my workgroup picked up a new member, and I’ve been spending the last couple of weeks working on transitioning her in to take over one of the projects I manage. She’s awesome, and I’m confident she’ll do a much better job with this than I ever did, in part because we’re taking the time to manage the transition properly instead of just throwing it at her (like I got it). As part of the transition, I’ve got to pop into a software test in Columbus, Ohio for a day or so to do a semi-official in-person hand-off, because all the players are going to be there and it’ll be a good opportunity to facilitate introductions and build relationships.

Normally, I like to drive to Columbus (I find the eight hour trip over the mountains relaxing and, to be honest, lucrative for the mileage it pays me), but in this case, since it’s literally kind of a pop-in, I’m taking a plane. So Sunday afternoon, I get on a plane, fly through Atlanta (ironically, where Dragoncon is) to Ohio, spend Monday shaking hands and handing off, then getting back on a plane (through Atlanta again…hrm) on Tuesday to come back home. I then spend Wednesday shutting up the office for a week (except for the parts where I have to sit through several hours of senior management briefs), running home to do laundry and pack before hopping in the car to drive to NC on Thursday morning to hook up with the band and caravan down to Atlanta to be geek rock stars.

So, that’s what, zigzagging through like eight border crossings (not counting the ones where I never touch the ground) and five different states in four days?

Yeah.

anyway…here’s some pre-travelling music, courtesy of Pandora and random crap on my phone, because my tiny mp3 player seems to have wandered off:

1. “Death Valley ’69” – Sonic Youth
2. “Icky Thump” – White Stripes
3. “Last Friday Night” – Katy Perry
4. “Round and Round” – Imagine Dragons
5. “Truth About Love” – Pink
6. “My Eyes” – Doctor Horrible
7. “The Miracle (of Joey Ramone) – U2
8. “Somebody” – Bryan Adams
9. “Spooky Shit” – Jonah Knight
10. “The Middle” – Jimmy Eat World

edit: – because I screwed up the list tags. go me.