picnics and reunions.

picnics and reunions.

On Saturday, Eric and I went to an igda picnic. The picnic itself was held at one of Richard Garriott's lakeside estates. Supposedly, his property stretches 3 miles long, and his house (which we did not get to see), has an observatory. We did however, see a fortress and ship (which have been reported to be used for water balloon fights), a mini town, tree houses with connecting bridges, and a large chess set. There was also a live band (with The Fat Man aka George Sanger, bbq from Salt Licks, free ice cream from Amy's, and later that night (we left a few hours early), the event was rumored to have fire dancers.

The event itself was a good opportunity for networking among the game developer folk. Well... that and rather awkward introductions and conversations. Do you ever get stuck in that? I mean, it's rather odd when you're trapped in a situation where neither party seems to be interested and neither party seems to leave... Anyway, I was able to get a few e-mails, though unfortunately, nothing exciting to report.

Job hunting makes me rather sad. It's an odd way to think of it, but I think I've gotten rather accustomed to having a job and seem a bit at a loss. Eric's been pretty encouraging, and I do have things to work on, but I suppose I feel a bit pressured since I know that there's quite a few people out there anticipating my failure and those who are hoping for the best. I really don't want to let people feel down, especially myself. I want to be able to prove that I've made the right decision, and that I can be successful in my career choice.

Sunday, we went to Eric's family reunion (on his mom's side). I've never been to a reunion before, and I was pretty excited! As uneventful as a reunion might seem, having all relatives in another country makes things a little more difficult. We drove out to a small town about 1 hr and 40 min. outside of Austin, and were greeted with a church full of name tag wearing relatives. It was very organized to the point where the MC announced minutes from the last reunion, balances, and updates... I felt very much like I was at a PTA meeting! Chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, and two tables worth of desserts, I wasn't too surprised when the official count (minus those who came late) reached 189 people.

Eric's relatives are really nice and welcoming. There was quite a handful that I've met during previous festivities, and it's always nice to see familiar faces... among the 189 :). I particularly like some of the kids (who are particularly fond of me as well). Kids are fun to poke fun at. Maybe I've become a bit soft.