Birthday greetings

No ST tonight after all; he didn't feel well. I suppose if I had to skip a Monday with him, it worked out well that it's a Monday after an intense thrashing on Saturday. But I missed him anyway. Feel better soon, sweetie.

Since I can't do a scene writeup, I'm going to take this time to wish a happy birthday to two wonderful men.

First up -- tomorrow, October 4, is Danny Chrighton's birthday. Wish I could see him and give him a big birthday hug and a smooch (and take his birthday spanking). So many fond memories... like here, the two of us being silly:

And of course, I can't let any birthday of his go by without trotting this one back out... :-D

(snickering) Ah, good times. Happy birthday, darlin'. Is there such a thing as a bacon birthday cake?

And the next day, October 5, is none other than my beloved's birthday.

I won't see him until Friday, but we'll celebrate this weekend. Already planning to take him to one of our favorite restaurants and bake him his favorite scratch brownies. :-)  He never lets me buy him presents, so I have to get creative. Attention on him makes John uncomfortable (a trait his girlfriend does not share). One time I had a big bunch of balloons delivered to his office, figuring everyone would see and then make a fuss over him. He told me, "That was so sweet of you, thank you and I love you. Now please, promise me you'll never do that again." (sigh)

When Danny lived here, we'd have a double b-day celebration. Damn, I miss that crazy man.

Who else has an October birthday? (I know at least one other person...)

Love you guys! Enjoy your special days. ♥

Thank you and questions

Thanks to everyone who posted birthday greetings to New Guy. As you can see, they motivated him to come out of the woodwork and post a comment! :-) And he let the cat out of the bag... yes, my own birthday is next week. Gawd, am I screwed. This Monday, I'm in for both his birthday spanking and my own!

(OK, so it sounds like I'm complaining. But you know I'm really not.)

Some thoughts for you to ponder. First, since we've been playing for a year now, calling him New Guy is kind of ridiculous. But I can't seem to get past that name. I don't want to use his first-name initial; that's too mundane. Suggestions, anyone? (And don't suggest "Old Guy." I'm older than he is.)

Second, I've had a request for a book signature via snail mail. Should I get a P.O. Box? I've never had one before. Are they good things to have, or not worth the cost in today's electronic world?

Third, John has asked me to research laptop computers. Neither of us has one, and we are thinking about either getting one for him that I can borrow when we go on party trips, or splurging and getting one for each of us.

So I started researching online last week, and my head exploded.

I know nothing about wireless technology -- I still have a desktop with the old-fashioned snarl of wires and cords. I have no idea how wireless computers work and what one needs. There are about six different subgroups in laptops; OK, I know I don't need a fancy gaming one, but I don't want the super cheapo budget ones either. I know you get what you pay for. For John, it should be portable; for me, it would be more of a desktop replacement. The array of features is damn near impossible to navigate. And every time I think I've narrowed down my search to a brand, a model, etc., because I've read good reviews on it, then I find bad ones.

Please, PLEASE do not suggest a Macbook. Yes, I know how Mac users feel about their computers. Yes, I know the Macbook is superior. But it's too expensive and I've never used a Mac before. I am sticking with a PC.

So, with that caveat in place, does anyone have thoughts about what's good, what gives the most bang for the buck, blah blah blah? I'd say the budget is between $500-1000, although John and I disagree on that. He wants to go cheap, I want to go a little higher and get better quality.

Currently, I have a Dell. But I've read that Dell laptops aren't as good as some of the other brands out there. I've seen a lot of good reviews for a brand called Asus, and I've never heard of them.

And how does one become laptop/wireless savvy? Is there a site where one can go with some good, current basics that's understandable to computer dummies like me?

Yup, there's a good representation of me trying to navigate all this techno information. I might as well be trying to learn a new language. Do they have Rosetta Stone software for people who don't speak computer?

That's enough questions for now, I suppose. I'm going to collect the pieces of my brain strewn all over the room and get ready to head for John's.

Have a great weekend, y'all.