Back.

So I've been out of circulation for a few days while I had a friend in from out of town. Alec is an old friend of mine from college, fresh out of his tour of duty in South Korea and with some time to kill between this and his next billet. He got routed through Seattle, so he decided he'd like to look around the city for a few days, and I took some time off and played tour guide. Logistically the trip was a success, as he was able to see all the stuff we'd planned for plus some. We spent a lovely couple of days in Victoria, BC, where we got to see the Parliament Building, The Royal BC Museum and its really cool Tibet exhibit, and spent a really fun day touring bits of the island with dvixen and paolom.

Culturally, I was struck afresh by the odd similarities and differences between Canada and the US. There's just enough surface similarity that it can lure you into thinking you're just in another part of the US (and I imagine the same thing is true in reverse if you're coming from Canada). As soon as you allow yourself to be lulled into that false sense of familiarity, though, you realize that you're definitely not in Kansas anymore. One thing that tripped me up was eating in a steakhouse/bar one evening, only to discover a table full of kids next to us, right next to the bar. My brain immediately said "they can't be in here!" and I started to say something, when I suddenly realized that I wasn't in the US any more -- go figure. It's rather like getting in a car that looks very like yours, only to discover that the gear shift is in a different place, the radio controls are all different, the seat won't quite adjust to where you're used to having it, and the paint colors, while similar, are just a shade different from what you were expecting. None of the changes are bad, but they're all just a bit unexpected. I really loved my time there, though. Victoria is an utterly charming place. Given the low cost of getting back and forth, I think I'll be visiting Victoria more often in the months to come, assuming my friends there don't mind. :)

The rest of the trip went equally well. Flirting and talking and sightseeing and generally having a good, relaxed time was done by all. Now I have to gear up for going to GenCon in a couple of weeks and catch back up on my work, but I should be able to pull that together. Alec was dropped off at the airport, the kids have some Korean coins to ooh and aah over, and if I'm very lucky, I'll get to go visit him at his next station. I have an open invitation, at any rate, which is always encouraging. :) And now, time to go back to work....