It’s been just over two years since I last posted here. It’s been a pretty mundane time save for just after AWFS 2023.
I am still the tech support supervisor at KCD Software, and that role just seems to keep on expanding. I do everything I’ve always done, but now I have three minions to do some of the grunt work. Vlad and Juan are pretty good. Mace, on the other hand, I’m pretty sure I’d love to put outside and lock out, but that’s normal, right? Nobody and nothing is perfect.
I’ve actually had four others as well. The first of which worked a few days to the best of my recollection and had a meltdown, which was frightening to our HR person at the time. The second was John Hughes, a super nice guy who went on to be part of the networking department at Cape Cod Community College. He was a former technophobe turned techie, and he was interesting to watch grow in the role. Then there was Dot who spent three weeks in training, and I swear was a practice in working hard at doing nothing. She moved in tons of stuff but did practically no work. It was very strange. Then, last but certainly not least, there was Michael. He transitioned over to sales just after AWFS.
Interesting times in KCD and thr world persisted through 2022. The KCD Software 40th anniversary stuff in Atlanta in 2022 was a blur. My mom got sick with COVID shortly after I left and tested positive that Thursday night. The trip is more of a blur than anything in my mind. I tested positive and was sort of sick the week after. I worked from home and pushed through it, as is my go-to.
The 40th anniversary party was a total flop, and probably one of the sadder affairs I’ve been to. It was just us and the EnRoute/SAI people. We did pick up an excellent contact, met the manipulative Micki, and I was reminded how bad my BS meter is. I’d love to blame it on being sick, but I probably wouldn’t have picked up Micki’s motive even if I had been 100%. But we got EJ out of the deal, and I vote that’s better than our continued partnership with SAI.
Returning to the minion front, Michael was the minion that replaced Dot in May of 2022. I wasn’t there for his trial day, but I was there for his first days in the office as an employee. He was an instant upgrade over Dot just in his professional personality. Dot was fired during his first day, according to him – I thought it was the second or third, but whatever. We worked well together, and I spent a lot of time bouncing between him and John Hughes, teaching them how to identify and modify things missing or needing fixing with cut list and pricing methods. Michael picked it up faster, having done some “coding” basics before. My little pod gained Vlad in October, and thus, the group was set until July of 2023.
In July, John got picked up by the community college, and without a raise from KCD or a better offer, he moved on. I was grateful for it. He had a carpentry background and tried hard, but I knew I was dragging him through basic file management, and something so basic as copying a file to another folder gave him pause.
That brings this long-winded post to AWFS 2023, which was much more interesting and the primary reason for this update. Vegas should be named the city that never sleeps. The days were impossibly long but absolutely exciting.
I spent the week getting to know Michael. We flew out sitting together and spent every night hanging out with at least Erin, if not Caleb and Lauren, too. Setup was mostly done when we got there. The show felt like a marathon, each day hitting another checkpoint before a nice dinner and more smoking and exploring the city. Breakdown was borderline brutal, I did a multi-mile walk from the booth spot to a shipping booth clear across the complex and then back to our hotel. It was over 5 miles if I remember correctly.
Each evening minus one, we’d meet down in a little gazebo at the back of the hotel to smoke and usually wait for Erin to appear with Caleb and Lauren if they were up for it. The only night out with them that I clearly remember was Thursday into Friday. Caleb, Erin, Lauren, Michael, and I wandered the strip and got to see the light and water show in front of the Venetian. The pictures and videos still make me smile. I thought Lauren was going to make a move on Michael. It felt like it had been building all week. I was trying to give them space. I had been feeling something towards him, too. Erin stood between Michael and I watching the show, and Lauren hung back with Caleb. I still wonder why she didn’t.
Friday night, after all the packing and everything was done, Michael texted me per usual to hang out in the gazebo. For one last night, of course, I indulged. The gang had gotten together for one last hurrah at the hotel bar, and they texted everyone. Michael was going to beg off, but I asked him to go anyway. When in Rome, or Vegas, am I right? We went, we enjoyed, we drank, and then it became time to say good night. He started to get up, and I agreed it was time for bed. We shared an otherwise empty elevator up to our floors. During this time, he looked at me and asked about establishing some ground rules. I turned, and so it began.
He said it had been a long time coming, and I’m still not quite sure of that. It has been pretty sweet. The elevator stopped on my floor, and we chose to ignore it. It continued to his, and someone else wanted to get on in-between. Deciding it was better left wanting more, we parted ways. The next morning, while Ken and Tim were off scouting for supplies, I gave him an opportunity to take it back, and he didn’t. Neither did I. The flight home was nice and cozy with Ken in our row for both flights and probably getting caught holding hands in the back of the SUV on the way back to the Sagamore Park-and-Ride.
Our first real date was the following Sunday. He came off Cape to save the traffic hassle. We got ice cream at Country Whip and The Spot, and we’ve been sharing our nonsense every day by text and on Friday nights and Sundays ever since. 💚
We’ve been together for almost 9 months, and it’s been a wonderful trip.
Sarcasm and Circumstance 