Last night Becky and I went to see Blue Man Group over at Universal Orlando. BMG is one of those acts that’s very hard to describe to folks who haven’t heard of them before. “Well, it’s three guys. And they’re all blue. And they do stuff with drums… and paint…” You see? That makes no sense at all, does it?

So last night we had tickets that put us in row 3, the “poncho” area. That’s right, there are plastic ponchos on each seat and yeah, you ought to wear them. It truly is the “spray zone”. The show was a mix of loud music, sweet drumming, and humor. The Blue Men never say anything, but the show is narrated by an unseen voice. They did a few hilarious “skits”, and they often pulled audience members up to participate. The one girl did so well that I have a hard time believing she wasn’t a plant - no way a random person does so well in an improvisational scene. But still, it was quite enjoyable. We laughed a lot, went “wow” several times, and left the show bleary-eyed but pleased. Oh, and Dad, if you read this: you’d get a real kick out of the trombonish instrument they made out of PVC pipe. Pretty cool. Here’s the picture as they’re trying to assemble it:

For those really curious about BMG, there’s a pretty decent review written up here.

Hard to believe it’s been that long already. Nine years ago tonight, on a hot, sticky night in Charlotte, NC, Becky and I exchanged our vows and became Mr. and Mrs. Chris Hubbs. (Our first stop after the wedding was in a Home Depot parking lot that had an available dumpster, but that’s a different story.) God has blessed us greatly, and it’s been a wonderful nine years.

So today we are celebrating in Orlando. Becky woke up at 2:45 CDT this morning to finish getting ready so she could catch her 5 AM flight from Cedar Rapids to Minneapolis, and from there she headed down here to Orlando. I picked her up at the airport about 1 PM. We grabbed a little lunch and then came back to the hotel. I think she spent some time at the pool while I grudgingly attended the afternoon’s technical sessions at the conference.

Tonight we ate dinner at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. It was my first time at a Ruth’s Chris, and given the price I wouldn’t be able to eat there very often even if there was one close to Cedar Rapids. That being said, tonight I had what was hands-down the best steak I have ever had in my life. It was a filet, cooked medium, and just the smell of it on that sizzling plate as it came to the table was almost worth the purchase price. I will say this: Ruth’s Chris knows how to do service right. When we made the reservation online, the form asked if it was a special occasion, and I noted that it was our anniversary. From the time we arrived at the restaurant and gave our name, each staff member who spoke with us first wished us a happy anniversary. Then they gave us dessert “on the house”. It was tasty, too. Bravo, Ruth’s Chris of Orlando.

Two more days of conference and then we have two days on the beach before heading home. Nice.

…and it’s rather boring.  Kinda sad, really.  Headed out and around to look for a piano to play, but can’t seem to find one.  Don’t think I’ve ever been to an upscale hotel before that didn’t have a piano.  :-(   A tasty reception/dinner was provided by the conference, which was nice.  But what I’m really craving now is dessert of some sort.  However, the lounge/sushi bar in the hotel lobby doesn’t serve dessert, and I just don’t feel like going to sit in the restaurant for 30 minutes by myself.  So, I’m back in my room, watching baseball on ESPN.  I will certainly be glad to have Becky here tomorrow.

Made it with no serious travel glitches to Orlando about 7:30 pm local time. Gotta say this - that iPod with video capability is pretty great. I loaded Season One of Battlestar Galactica on it and made it through the first two episodes before my ears got sore from the headphones. You can bet I’ll watch some more this week. Good stuff.

Got my rental car (a 2007 Mustang, pretty spiffy, though a little lacking in the headroom department) and found a restaurant to stop for some dinner before heading to the hotel. I guess hotel is really the wrong word - this thing is a full-blown resort/convention center. Got a good room without a hitch, finished my week’s worth of ironing, now I’m gonna finish a book and try to convince my body that it’s really almost 11 pm instead of the 10 pm that it is back at home.

Tomorrow morning should be fairly slow, no meetings until 11 AM and then just afternoon sessions. Good times.

Well we got all packed this morning, and now Becky and the girls are headed to Wisconsin so they can stay with the folks; I’m sitting in the airport terminal waiting for the plane that will take me to Minneapolis, then I catch the connection to Orlando.   Glad that the vacation is finally here.

• Games » Bloxorz
  this is pretty fun.
  (tags: games flash)

• Touchstone Magazine - Mere Comments: Nothing More Than Feelings
  A really, really good article on “feelings” and their interaction with worship music.
  (tags: music church)

Today is my last day in the office for a week or so, and I am definitely ready for the break. A synopsis of next week’s events:

• Sunday - flying out to Orlando.
• Monday - Freescale Technology Forum begins.
• Tuesday - Becky flies out to meet me. The girls are staying with my folks. (Thanks again, Mom and Dad!) Oh, and it’s our ninth wedding anniversary.
• Wednesday - more FTF during the day, and we’re seeing Blue Man Group in the evening.
• Thursday - FTF in the morning, then it’s off to be beach bums.
• Friday - whole lotta nothing. We have a hotel on the beach in Cocoa Beach. Should be nice.
• Saturday - fly home in the afternoon. We have an overly-long layover in MSP, but such is life.

I shall come home a more rested person. It will be glorious.

Long, hot congregational meeting last night. Not a lot of fun.

Morning comes early.

Only 2 more work days until I pack up and go to Florida for a week.

Not a minute too soon.

So the iPod case that I mentioned yesterday still hadn’t shipped as of yesterday mid-morning. I was kinda disappointed - should it really take at least two days to send a single item? Ah well, so I went to my backup plan. Sent an email to Tony in Seattle who just happens to work at a Mac store. He was kind enough to offer to get me a case and ship it post-haste. By last night I had a UPS tracking number, and by tomorrow I should have the case, well in time for my trip to Florida next week. Woohoo! And thanks, Tony.

Last night late, then, I had a nice chat and recorded and interview with Andy Osenga. The interview has some audio issues and will require some post-production; I’ll probably post it next week on andrewosenga.net. If you visit ao.net now, though, you’ll find some info that might excite you if you are a fan of Andy’s old band, The Normals. It was good to just chat with Andy and get an update. I’ll have to do it again sometime soon.

So, yeah… it’s good to know people.