It’s been a quiet couple of days on the blog as I have been trying to get back to a normal sleep pattern after my visit to Hong Kong.  I’ve generally been falling asleep as soon as I get home from work, which means I haven’t been able to get anything done after hours.  Oh well, the trip was fun and I think I’m back to Eastern Standard Time now.

Yesterday, Brendon and his wife Heidi invited myself and Kim to meet them at their vacation house on the north shore of Lake Lanier.  Ok, so it’s really Heidi’s parents house, but even so…  We took the pontoon boat out for a few hours, enjoying lunch in a relatively quite cove, plenty of slow drifting and conversation, and some inner tubing.  If you’re not familiar with inner tubing, it’s loads of fun.  You attach an inner tube to the back of the boat by a long rope and drag it (with someone in it) at 30 miles per hour across the water.  The poor schmuck inside (usually me in this case) tries to hang on for dear life while the cruel boat driver (usually Heidi) tries their best to dump you out with whip-like turns and ramming you over the wakes of other boats.  I think I rode the inner tube ten times!  It’s exhausting, trying to hang on so hard.  Actually, getting back on the inner tube once you’ve been dumped off is the most exhausting thing.

The lake was great, and I’m hopeful that Kim and I get invited back, but I’ve learned my lesson.  The sun-block I used clearly was not as waterproof as it’s label suggested, and I look like I’ve been boiled!  While I was at the lake, everyone was commenting on how red I was, but I didn’t feel bad at all.  By the time we got near the house, I was forced to stop at CVS to get some aloe vera gel.  Kim and I both got burned, but I’m worse off by far!  Maybe it was all the dragging?  Kim only volunteered to be dragged once.  Anyway, we slathered ourselves with aloe vera and sat around trying not to touch anything for a while before falling asleep from sheer exhaustion.

Good times at the lake.  I’m sorry that the other people who were invited couldn’t make it out.  We spent hours drifting around talking, and Brendon and I only talked about our computers and the .Net community activities for an hour or so of the time.  We did get made fun of by the girls when I opened Brendon’s water bottle for him, but I don’t understand why…?  It’s not like we’re a married couple or anything…

— Matt Ranlett

posted with BlogJet