Let’s take a look back at the past 36 hours:

Woke up @ 4:45 am EST, drive to airport, kiss mom goodbye, wait for the plane, 23^rd on list to get a seat, don’t make the cut.

Wait another hour, nab last seat on flight. Rush over to Reno gate to again be denied. Four hour wait until next plane… read, eat yogurt, drink water, type, edit, type. Too bad I don’t know anyone in Salt Lake City. Afraid of airport’s airport (can everyone online right now access my documents?). Log off. Browse magazines, read Chabon’s Kavalier & Clay—am now obsessed!

Finally, my 3:10 departure begins boarding. Things seem bleak as the attendant is saying they are looking for someone to give up a seat because they oversold the flight. Minutes pass, then miraculously my name is called. I’m handed a golden ticket, to which I hold on tight, navigating the jump flight hallway while texting friends and family that I’ve finally made it. Hooray for me. Get on the plane, putting my bag in the overhead bin, when I hear my name again. Uh oh. Yep, the cruel humans yank me from the flight to wait more hours upon end for more oversold situations. Oh the emotional roller coaster of standby. (note I use no exclamation mark because I am now emotionally blank after the ordeal)

Needless to say, I left my Delta standby dreams at that awful E72 gate, then caught the next Southwest flight outta there (which was delayed 45 minutes). Some twelve hours later, I am still trying to get ahold of a Reno Delta agent to obtain my checked luggage. sigh.

46-degree high in Tahoe today… not your typical June day, but it sure made for some fun photography at the lake. Went out to the T-dock in Tahoe City to take some parting shots with my Polaroid camera for a friend moving back East. Gloomy but beautiful, eh? I’m checking out for the weekend… off to play ultimate in (hopefully sunny) Santa Cruz. adios!

This is your f@%#ing wake-up call man. I am an F, B, I, Agent!

It’s Friday night. I’m in San Francisco, where opportunities for a good time are endless, yet somehow I doubt it could have gotten any better than Point Break Live!, showing at Cellspace. To best emulate the acting talents of Keanu Reeves, the director has the crowd vote on an audience member to play the Johnny Utah role. Said untrained person is then shadowed by an cue-card assistant for the rest of the play. Lucky for us, the birthday boy in our group was selected for the job, which certainly heightened the utter ridiculousness of it all (I’m working on securing the blackmail-worthy photography for your enjoyment).

Among the cult classic’s most famous lines, came one that I didn’t remember—one that I will not likely forget again: “I’m so hungry I could eat the ass end out of a dead rhino.” hmmm.

Please note that if you choose to sit front row, you are subject to some serious action, ie. getting tossed around by bank robbers, rubbing lotion on surfers, getting splashed by epic waves, etc. I have a bump on my knee to prove it.

Where do I begin? Today’s gathering with WordPress developers, bloggers and big thinkers infused my brain with so many yummy nuggets I couldn’t possibly get them all down, and keep your attention at the same time. To boot, I’m fresh off the highway, slightly delirious (always a prime time to write) and on the verge of collapsing into my Mac’s precision aluminum unibody enclosure.

What I can tell you about WordCamp San Francisco is that it was no ordinary conference. I make my case:

+ Presenters referenced everything from The Simpsons, to South Park‘s underpants gnomes to the annual Talk Like a Pirate Day (Sept 19). Suffice it to say they were pop culture savvy (as they should be), and highly entertaining.

+ Shirt included in ticket price—American Apparel’s 50/50 variety—is the best in production today (I wouldn’t lie to you… buy one now. This makes #4 in my wardrobe, and I doubt I’ll stop there).

+ Is it a coincidence that I happened to be seated by Reno-based folks, twice? I think not. Some unknown force in the world (WordPress MindControl 1.o?) was certainly playing matchmaker, and now my creative connections extend to Red Sage Design and Reno Collective.

And this is just a taste of the magic that happened today—even despite my grogginess from a previous night immersed in Point Break Live! action. And here’s where I leave you hanging for part two of the “camp & campy” post…

It’s that time of year again for Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care. The time when nature’s babies are born, and the unfortunate circle of life leads some of these critters into helping hands. As of last week, the South Lake Tahoe center was caring for 6 baby western gray squirrels, 5 chipmunks, 7 raccoons, 5 great-horned owls, 4 barn owls, 3 steller’s jays, 1 fox sparrow and (last but not least) a baby bald eagle. While you must be trained to physically help the animals, you can volunteer and donate otherwise.

As for me, who was trained three years ago, I need to make a call to see if they’ll have me back.

Just a few pictures of Tahoe goodness for all you blog readers out there… This past week has been prime for landscape snapshotting as a rare slosh of clouds came rolling through last Friday, creating what I like to call Tahoe neopolitan: sunset-stained clouds + baby blue sky + eggplant-tinged lake = a trifecta of beauty (see exhibit A).

Exhibit B showcases that classic Tahoe cerulean sky (nary a cloud in sight except for the one-legged potato), snapped above Eagle Lake, just a short hike from Emerald Bay, yesterday.

Funny how the smallest of things can inspire.

For me, I put some of my nearest and dearest trinkets at eye-view on the window sill above my desk. I find it calming to have a tangible, three-dimensional object to focus the eye on when in thought. Of course, my items have the potential to make the mind wander: The sea urchin shell recalls a recent trip to Troncones, Mexico. The two dinosaur figurines have, a time or two, sent my mind reeling on extinction (no good), and the marbles take me back to attempting still lifes in art class. Yet as I stare once more at these items, I realize it’s more than what they represent to me… it’s how they look. The way the clear glass marbles catch the light coming through the window, the dinos’ bright colors, smooth lines and hysterical extremities (look at the left foot on the orange one!), and the urchin’s spiky texture—it’s as good as a lake view for me. What are your little things?

‘He said mysteries work that way. If you want to keep people interested, you can let them know only so much.’ The rest is enshrouded in the vast sunny stillness.

And so ends “American Stonehenge,” one of the most enthralling features I have read of late, on page 126 of Wired‘s special mystery issue (May 2009). Written by Randall Sullivan, the story details the Georgia Guidestones, what the dek claims “may be the most enigmatic monument in history.” Yowza! As a Georgia native, I had never even heard of the guidestones, which are located in Elberton, about an hour and a half east of my grandmother’s Braselton home. Built by an man in 1980 to seemingly instruct survivors of an apocolypse, the monument is part guide, part calendar, part clock and part compass. Yet the identity of the man is unknown, and the purpose of the guidestones unrevealed.

I am certainly intrigued, and can safely say that this issue has been one of my favorite Wired releases. From the mind-bending puzzles scattered throughout the issue to the explanation of the Donnie Darko plot on page 40, it’s all brilliant. Certainly, the quote from page 126 is right… there is something about mystery that captivates us. One thing’s for sure: On my trip to Georgia next month, I’m going to high-tail it over to see the granite wonder. Stay tuned for more mysteries revealed…

Yesterday, as I prepared to leave for my first day of mountain biking this season, Chris helped ready my bike, then loaded it into my car. As I pulled away, he stood there waving incessantly. “It’s like the first day of school,” he said. Indeed, it felt like the first day of school—the excitement, the slight tinge of butterfly in the stomach, the “do I have everything” anxiety.

First days are often the best and worst of days… everything is new, or new again. You’re fresh, you’re pumped, you’re ready. Yet you’re also perhaps naive, undertrained or ill-prepared. Lucky for me, my first mountain biking day was on the positive side. I didn’t crash or ruin my bike; I didn’t have an asthma attack or feel too out of shape. And despite being a little rusty (or just plain “not good” in the first place), I managed to learn a few things and have fun. Now that’s a first day to remember (rock climbing is another story).

Yes, that’s right. I am an official WordPress dork. I’ve bought my ticket to WordCamp San Francisco and will be convening with some experts in the blog biz on May 30. Look for some exciting post-camp changes to my site—I’m sure I’ll learn a fancy trick or two.