"SHANE'S BACK" OR "A VISIT FROM DAWN" OR "THE MESA EXPERIENCE"

today was a wonderful day... the best in recent memory. hell, the best in distant memory. why? well, i'm sure you've noticed that like desplechin and kubrick before me, i had a bit of trouble choosing a title... though neither of them ended up with three. i win!

• part one: where shane comes to gamespy: today shane returned to oc... and he came packin' a white chocolate kit kat and a curry pan -- my new favorite snack. it's like a roll filled with curry. rather, it is a roll filled with curry. i like rolls. and hey... i love curry so, yeah. rock.
  
  if you've clicked the above links, then you can likely tell the snacks were tightside. but it was even better to have shane back. he looks thinner than ever; that's obviously something we'll have to remedy... we do have taco mesa, remember, so it shouldn't be too big an issue. the day moved quickly. after a brief tour of the 'spy, a bit of mucking around on the ole' mac, we simply sat around my desk while our stomachs turned. that was, until...


• part two: where gamespy is brightened by dawn: yes, the sun looked immaculate early this morning, peeking around the corners of our lovely irvine office park... err, wait... no. so, shane and i were at my desk -- he was playing metroid: zero mission and i mgs: the twin snakes -- when the real dawn arrived. and it was great. we talked work... about arri light kits, beta sp, and about which hot corners to use with expose... about traveling and freelance work... and reality television... we talked about zach horton... for too long. we showed each other some recent work... and i neglected much of the actual work i should have been doing today -- like, for my job. oh well, i'll have plenty of time in vegas this weekend to nerd it up by being nerdy and staying in my nerd room doing nerd work.
  
  basically, yeah, it was wonderful to see dawn today, and as i told her before she left, i miss her even more now that we've finally come in contact again. i've learned that she was deemed "too beautiful" by several of my co-workers today, as well... but to compliment dawn simply on her looks would be a disservice. among other things, it's her passion for her work and her commitment to do so constantly that makes dawn so fascinating... that and her ability to wield a camera like no other. i can't stress what a fool i feel like for falling out of contact with her... dawn, i love working with you and you're a tremendously sweet human being. welcome back... i mean it.
  
  she's another of the fantastic people i'm leaving behind by moving up north... of course, i know it's for the best. but i can't help but think i'm making a mistake... you know, when i remember that i'm leaving the only county in the world with access to taco mesa. i mean seriously! what the hell am i thinking!!! seriously.


• part three: where all of the friends gather at taco mesa:
  

shane, it's wonderful to have you back. dawn, we're keeping in touch. daniel, you rock the taco... possibly even harder than i -- a frightening thought indeed. carlos, christian, raymond... i see you guys daily. but you're still rad.

i had a great day... it can only get bleaker from here on out though. tomorrow, sin city... yes, vegas baby, vegas. until then. Posted by ryan at February 25, 2004 09:17 PM