Post-Vacation Blues

The bad news is that I forgot my camera for the trip.

The good news is that everyone else remembered theirs and are geeks, so they are posted at Geek Central. Warning, in them you will see a very happy, very social Alan. More on that later. Also in the pics is one of that guy I met back at the New York geek gathering, when he and I both declined going to the bar, and I thought I missed my chance for friendship with him, but he shouted me out on a podcast later on.

None of them know about this blog, so they don't know what was swimming around in my head during my trip, which was mostly "Oh my God. How glad am I that I'm on these meds?"

The meds have honestly, actually made a change in the quality of my life. Things that I wanted to do, I did. There were comic creators that I walked up to and started conversations with. People that I promised online to come check out--I actually went and checked them out. In comic book panels (auditorium rooms where the comic creators address the audience) at question-asking time, I actually asked a question. And when it came to meeting my geek friends whom I only knew from typed words at Geek Central -- I got my hug from every one of them.

The first guy I met was the creator of the Hey Ya, Charlie Brown vid (STILL located at the bottom of this page). Normally, I'd be shaking, afraid to death. But not this time (Dawn, it really WAS Worst Case Scenario Man's corpse you discovered!!) When my geek buddy crossed the street, towering over me, I said "Give me my hug!" (for I had warned them that they would have to do so ahead of time.) From that point on, it was golden. All weekend.

When you follow the link to the thread that has the pics of the weekend, you'll also find that my fellow geeks had the same experience. They felt the miles dissolve and love took their place. These guys say things in the thread that I dare to say, such as, "I love you, man." This was one of the reasons I listened to their podcast. They're married geeks (yeah, these blokes are not yer father's geeks) and they aren't afraid to show emotion for one another. They say what's on their minds, and show love for whoever they want to show love to. And you'll find a lot of them shared their love for me, and described me in ways that I want to be described. That was because I was who I wanted to be this weekend. I was social, and honest, and happy, and not afraid.

And they showed me such love. And I showed it right back! And it was glorious! These guys are my brothers. They took me in, just like you guys do. Miles and miles between us all, but the love is strong and right here in our hearts. It's a beautiful thing.

And of course, I'm aching for more of it.

So here is a treat for you all. Being geeks, one of the brethren made a video. Like to see it, here it go!!