HOME SWEET HOME! I won't lie, I'm glad to be back. The work was refreshing, the beds were comfortable, the van was nice, and the company was stimulating; but home is obviously where I am most comfortable.
Dealing with the sound equipment wasn't nearly as stressful or threatening as I had anticipated, although podcasting does invoke a little discomfort. I'm not shy, but the thought of a few hundred people listening to a recording with my voice is a little unnerving.
The Man, also known as Chris Williams hosted South Carolina Code Camp 2.0. He also runs a place called Reality Check. I had fun geeking out with Chris and Dru, talking about tabletop RPGs and the like. Reality Check has a wireless internet connection so I was able to WoW it up a little bit and drink some good coffee. I'm eternally grateful that our hotel also had a wireless internet connection. Any hotel with a quality wireless internet connection gets a pat on the back from me. I was enamored by the ability to get my WoW fix in South Carolina.
I'm not from the South, I haven't spent a lot of time there, I don't know much about the differences, but they have certainly done something right - sweet tea. Every dining facility has it, and I loved it. While I'm talking about the South, the accents were fun.
While conversing with the person at the front desk of the hotel I learned something that I find socially curious; while most of the people that lived in the area had easily noticeable Southern accents, they didn't perceive my lack of an accent as an accent even though they didn't notice their own accents...accent, accent, accent.
The drive was probably the worst part of the trip. The van could technically seat eight. Four-five geeks with sound equipment and geek hands (laptops, PDAs, etc) fit just fine, but after only a couple of hours it felt kind of cramped. I would have probably gone crazy if it weren't for the company. Dru, Jeff, John, and Tim - I can only think of a few people I would have rather shared that space with, it was great getting to know you guys. I hope you had as much fun as I did.
Jeff, John's looking out my window again!