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The next couple of months, it seems, will be busy ones for me.

I'm going to stay in the room I'm renting in Chicago until the end of July. At that point, I'm moving back to Kenosha with my parents and household. But I should get most of the moving things done before month end, because I may have help with my car from someone in Ohio on the weekend of the 30th, which would mean driving out there with my transmission to install.

On the 4th of August, I'm leaving for Gen Con with Danaeris. I haven't been there since the last year that it was in Milwaukee, but I'd been to it nearly every year before then, back to when it was at the old Mecca. My dad used to run the games library there, where people could come and borrow board games to play between scheduled game sessions, or if they otherwise had free time.

I can't imagine that going to Gen Con again will be anything like I remember it. Really, everything is just different now. It'll be kind of like a whole different convention. But when I used to go in Milwaukee, I was way too scared of other people to do things like actually play games with them. Crazy, huh? Plus, back then, I had the feeling that Gen Con was focused on tabletop RPGs. Probably because that's what I knew my parents and their friends primarily did. That was my experience, and it didn't occur to me that there might be some people there primarily for board games. I suspect I'm going to have a really fantastic time and play tons of board games with bunches of new people, and I'm really excited about it!

And directly after getting back from Gen Con, I'll be going to New York City for a week with my family. Myself, my dad, my brother No-LJ-James, my youngest brother, akreaveter, and our friend Lara, all went together last year and had a really great time. This time, my mom's going to go, and I'm thrilled at the idea of her getting to see a place that's peerless in my experience and at taking a great trip with my family. Much like last time, we're going to drive from Wisconsin and stay in a hostel. I'm hoping the same one, right off of Central Park West, will be available. But regardless, it will be wonderful.

And this upcoming weekend, danaeris and I will be driving up to the Madison area to see The House on the Rock (that bastion of the bizarre that it is), the Forevertron and Delaney's Surplus, possibly Taliesin, and other random things. I'm terribly excited about exploring the first on that list with her particularly. It really is an indescribable sort of place that you have to see to appreciate.

Today, I'm driving up to Kenosha after I'm done in St. Charles. I'll be delivering my filled out financial aid special circumstances paperwork to school on Wednesday, then driving back to Chicago to visit lisagems that evening. We're going to make some more broccoli soup and try and fix her loveseat. And I'd like to get to the city early enough for a bike ride too; it's been way too long since I've had the chance.

My last Japanese class is coming up on Thursday. I'm a little sad about that, because I really enjoy not only the class, but my classmates and sensei. They've all made it a wonderful experience for me over the last, what, eight months or so? I wish I could keep going, but the next term is too close to overlapping with school. And on top of that, it'll be great to have an extra day free during my last month in Chicago. Exploring and photographing will be happening for sure!