lostcarpark | Random Update (Again)

I really ought to write something here more than once a week... but looking at what I've got to do the next few days, that's not terribly likely for a while.

Things that have been going on in my life (in no particular order)...

Work
I've been making good in-roads into the new phase of the project. A lot of it uses a fairly funky web-based grid control we bought in, and I've finally been forced to take the time to get to grips with some of its more complex features. It's pretty cool what it lets you do, actually, and how cleverly it integrates with the .NET framework. Demoing it to my manager tomorrow, so hopefully we're on target.

Conventions
Phoenix Convention takes place this weekend, and I'm talking on a couple of panels. I've also got to finish off their program book for them, which has been delayed because their computer went belly-up.

In related news, I seem to have got myself on the committee for Octocon next year. I'm very excited about the new venue we're moving to, which has lots of really cool space. There was an unfortunate mix-up of dates between Octocon and Phoenix Con 2, but that's all cleared up now, so full steam ahead!

Websites
I was lorking on LostCarPark's cool new look, but I haven't had time to look at that for a bit. I've suddenly got to rush out Octocon's new site, which looks quite funky in my opinion. I've also got a couple of other sites people are nagging me to get on with. An extra day in the week would come in handy right now (but only if everyone else didn't get it too).

Estate Agents
I've now got an offer on the apartment that I'm very happy with. On Friday, it reached the bottom of the range I was hoping for, but by Monday it had risen to the top end of that scale, and on Tuesday it tipped right off it. The person who was outbid has asked us to give her till tomorrow to decide if she wants to up her offer further. Either way, I'm hoping to agree a sale tomorrow.

On Monday evening, we went out to see another house (no web link, I'm afraid) which we liked very much indeed. It's a little further away from the station than I'd like, but I guess that means I'll have to cycle which will help keep me fit. It's also very close to a good friend of mine, which is a bonus. It seems almost perfect. It's one of the biggest houses we've seen, and has a beautiful conservatory. Aparently all of the furniture (including fridge, dishwasher, dining table and a water bed) that's still in the house is included. I've made an offer on it, which I suspect is below what they'll accept, but apparently it's bad strategy to raise the offer by too much. So fingers crossed!

NaNoWriMo
One of the panels I'm talking on at P-Con is about the National Novel Writing Month, which I took part in last year. For those who don't know, the aim is to write a 50,000-word novel in the month of November. As nobody in Ireland had taken part before, we didn't have a municipal liaison, so I ended up organising the party afterwards. This year, I'm keen to get more people involved and I plan to put up posters and distribute flyers, but I've got to somehow get these designed and printed for Saturday. I'm hoping someone at NaNoWriMo has got these already and can just email me the designs. If you've ever thought you might have a novel in you, this might be your chance to find out.

Angie
For the first time in a very long time, I feel like I'm in a relationship where I'm not holding anything back. I only recently realised this. Prior to this, I've always been expecting it all to go wrong, and it always did. These facts may well be related. I can honestly say that I completely trust her, and I know this is supposed to be.

Sorry for being so mushy!