duck-shaped pain

Currently listening to: the alarming sounds of a swiftly humming monitor. Unsettling ticking noises coming from somewhere within the computer setup. I tried to listen to something else earlier, [1] but machinery won out yet again.

Today, I needed to decide whether or not to go to Albuquerque for a few days next week. I made my decision, finally. I'm not going.

It's not like I wouldn't like to, it just that it didn't seem like it was worth it. It wouldn't be a trip for fun, really, although a few transitory moments of fun could possibly be scheduled here and there with some effort. It would sort of be for work, but mostly I'd be along to help out with the drive. There's a big geological convention in ABQ this weekend. My dad is going, along with a bunch of his students, plus nearly everyone I work with. It's too expensive to fly, so everyone is driving. It's an eight-hour drive one way. Most of the drive is over rural highways and narrow mountain passes. You only reach an interstate during the very last part of the drive.

The original plan was to leave early on Friday and come back late on Tuesday. This would have been fine with me -- there would have been time to not only deal with convention business, but I could have also hung out with my friend Z. on the weekend, either in the city or out where he lives (Zuni, N.M.) and explored a bit. But things got changed around, and now the plan is that only the college students are going down on Friday and everyone else, plus some people being picked up along the way, is leaving Sunday afternoon.

Leaving then would mean we'd roll in the 'Que about 1 a.m., have one day to deal with presentations and the like, and then leave early on Tuesday. One whole day. Since my presence is only requested, and not required, I decided that this was lame and that I'd rather stay home and have the entire office to myself for a few days. Easy choice, really.

Of course, I did think about the fact that it's been awhile since I've been to Albuquerque. It's been on my list of Possible Places to Move To for awhile now (frontrunner for awhile, even). I'd like to look around for awhile, check out the university, and generally enjoy being in a different state for awhile. But, no, not this time. It would be too much effort for too little reward.

[1] Still making my way through the pile of CDs I obtained in Denver: Nobokazu Takemura -- Scope, People Like Us -- A Fistful of Knuckles, Matmos -- A Chance to Cut is a Chance to Cure (which I listened to five times today -- nice), Japancakes -- The Sleepy Strange and Southerning -- Templates Made or Found (not that great so far, but it was in the cheap promo CD bin, so why not?). None of these CDs have words (or, rather, lyrics, or even people singing earnestly -- just some sampled parts here and there). This wasn't, like, planned. It just sort of happened.

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