A thousand words

9 days 'til I fly to Maui.  Today, I spent money I probably shouldn't have, but that's pretty much true of this whole trip now isn't it?  I booked two "tourist" functions: one is a full guided day on Lanai in a 4x4, and the other is a drive to (and hike through) a rain forest in Hana, which is supposed to be *the* most beautiful spot in Maui.  I'll get lots of amazing pictures and enjoy myself, and start being financially responsible when I get back.  Probably.

(Random note: today is the first time I've worn underwear in a 18 months.)
Speaking of pictures, Patrick asked if we could do a "photo trip" last weekend: a friend of his had lent him a D50 and a few lenses.  So, I grabbed my D300 and we went to the Japanese Garden in Van Nuys.  It was actually kind of nice if a bit - well, stark.  I suppose the heat doesn't allow a lot of lush vegetation, and to be honest there were parts that had enough shade for it to get going.  Most of it, though, was just a well-manicured lawn.  Anyway, that didn't stop me from taking pictures.  For some reason, I really like this one:


I also got to play the Unnamed Alpha (for NDA reasons) last night.  There are obviously some control and functionality issues, but I still had a lot of fun.  Once things get ironed out and it rolls into beta, it should be great.  My only real complaints are that the alpha tests so far are mostly on nights where I have prior commitments so I can't play, and that it doesn't run on my notebook (so no playing in Maui).  Aside from that, though, it's going to give me a reason to start upgrading my computer (mainly, my video card and motherboard/chip/RAM) when I get back, since the damned game's a resource hog.  I love my lilttle 8800 GTX, but it's getting grey hair now.

See, I can't even finish a post, and I'm already planning on spending more money.  *sigh*