Gnomedex 2008: Day One

My day on Wed started with me rolling out of bed at 3:45am EST. After I was showered and ready, I set out for the hotel. Both flights were uneventful and on time, and I arrived in Seattle at 10:30am PST. One of the ops from the chat room lives here in Seattle. Dave (Blaster) met me at the airport, and took me to rent the “van”. I had reserved a mini-van, per Ponzi’s request. However, they had already given it out to someone else!! I got an upgrade to a better class, though, at the same rate. So I’m driving around Seattle in a brand new Dodge Durango. This sucker is SWEET, and I now want one for myself. It handles beautifully, and the ride is niiice.

From the rental place, we headed over to Chris and Ponzi’s house. We got there at the exact same time as Chris’ parents, Joe and Judi. Chris came out to meet us all, hugs all around… and Pixie ran out for hello’s, as well. Wicket was shy, and hid for awhile from me, but Pixie and I made friends quickly.

We all spent the afternoon hanging out at the house, playing around on the stream (that was actually fun, and not as painful as I thought it would be!), planning out the rest of the week, and eating some excellent Mexican food. Joe is a huge Cubs fan, a retired Accountant, and loves to camp. He and I had much in common! Joe and Judy are both very nice people, and very funny! I had a great time at the house. Chris is just as much of a smart ass in person as he is on his stream, so there was a lot of laughing going on. Ponzi and I bonded immediately, literally. She and I have felt close from day 1, and meeting in person solidified that.

I got to my hotel in the late afternoon, the Edgewater. This place is simply amazing. I have a ‘water-side’ room. Outside my Windows is Elliot Bay… literally outside. I can open the window, lean out, and the water is THERE. I could jump out the window into it, if I was nuts that way. It’s totally beautiful, and I keep sitting in the comfy chair that I pulled from the fireplace over in front of the window. Don’t worry, I’m taking tons of pics.

There are pocket doors that lead from my room to my bathroom. Inside those is a huge oversized claw foot tub, which was excellent for a nice long soak last night. There’s also a huge glass block shower, with beautiful tile in it, and two showerheads! The decor in here is gorgeous… rustic style, with a 42″ plasma tv thrown in.

Ordered a pizza for dinner, and relaxed. Fell asleep a bit after 9pm, since I had been up for about 21 hours at that point. Slept straight thru til 7:30 this morning. I’m relaxing right now, and enjoying the gorgeous view. I’m picking Dave up from the ferry later, and then he is taking the Durango to the airport to pick up Preston (four_ones) for us. Ponzi and I have set-up and registration to do later, along with the registration party to attend!

So nothing ‘exciting’ happening yet, but I’m happy to be here. It’s beautiful, and I’m having a great time.