And Road Rules.

And TRL.

As a matter of fact, being away from eMpTyVee was the best part of the whole damn trip.

Well, maybe not, but writing that made me giggle, so deal.

Seriously, I have to tell you all, having a week with no phones, no tv, no Internet, and therefore no war, no war, and no war, . . . it was magnificent. If you can isolate yourself from news, even if it's only for an afternoon's hike, you gotta do it.

There were several dogs on the street where we were staying, and they were all very friendly and well socialized, so we just let Ferris run around with them. She's been pouting since we got home. If you say "Friends" around her, she perks up her ears, wags her tail, and starts looking for them. It's kind of sad. We've been talking about getting another dog for a while, (did you know that it's "for a while" not "for awhile?" I learned that from Andrew when I was writing Just A Geek) and I think it will probably happen before the end of summer.

On Sunday, Anne hit us all with a big surprise: When we planned the trip, we talked about skiiing, and decided that we couldn't afford it (we desperately need a new dishwasher), but Anne wanted to do it regardless, so she put away some money each week for the past few months, and she took us all to Northstar. We haven't been skiiing in over three years, because I think it's a luxury that's just not in our budget . . . but I'm so glad that we went. It was so much fun. Standing on top of the mountain, looking down at snow-shrouded Lake Tahoe on our left and the dusty [Whatever the hell it is. I'm too lazy to look it up] valley on our right was quite an experience.

Both kids did really well, considering that they hadn't been on skis in so long. By the end of the day, Ryan and I were racing down black diamonds, and Nolan was jumping through the trees.

When we got home, there was quite a bit of exciting news waiting for me:

• Forbes.com did a story on Celebrity Weblogs, and this site was voted "Best Celebrity Weblog!" Behold the power of Fark. :)
  
• Because of the Forbes article, The Hollywood Reporter mentioned me in a story:
  

  
  (Hwd Reporter)
  Celebrities find new voice with blogs
  April 04, 2003

  The power of the Web log -- or blog -- to shape opinion has not escaped the notice of Hollywood. Most of the popular blog sites are political in nature and some are created by talented writers who aren't (yet) famous. Even some celebrities have become noteworthy bloggers, with regularly updated Internet sites filled with stream-of-consciousness honesty, relevant links and photos, and well-researched opinions. Such celebrity efforts are no mere
  online marketing tools. Sometimes blogs are controversial. CNN correspondent Kevin Sites had been blogging from Iraq until CNN reportedly asked him to stop. "I've been asked to suspend my war blogging for a while," it says at his blog, KevinSites.net. I "hope to come to agreement with CNN in the near future ... ." Now the folks at Forbes.com have gone through the trouble of ranking the best of the celebrity blogs. WilWheaton.net took first place.

  
  

  Pretty cool, huh?
  

• I was named "Chester of the Week" by Brendoman.
  
• I'm currently featured in two webcomics: Dork Tower (check this out: you know who e-mailed me to let me know about it? About a thousand people. But guess who was mixed in among them? Monte Cook. How cool is that?!)

  I'm also sort of the villian in something called "Man-Man."

  You'll note that it's "Man-HYPHEN-Man" not "Man-SLASH-Man," okay, freaks? I present the description of Man-Man, from the comic's creator:

  "I write an internet comic strip called Man-Man. It chronicles the adventures of Man-Man, a hero who, after being bitten by a radioactive man, gained the proportionate strength, speed, and agility of...a man.

  He uses his astonishing lack of abilities to fight evil and such."

  
  

  The description had me howling before I even followed the link. Then I yowled.
  

• Remember that awesome book, Jennifer Government, that I was talking about recently? I dropped a short e-mail to its author, Max Barry, to let him know how much I liked it. While I was gone, he wrote me back!!

  
  "Hi there,

  Hey, you liked my novel! And then you told hundreds of thousands of people about it. Boy do you rock. Thanks a lot.

  Max."

  
  Cool!
  

It's been a great week. Now I am about to go into lockdown mode to get Dancing Barefoot to the printer within 24 hours (I'm in the corrections phase!). When I'm done with that, I remain in lockdown mode to write for the new ACME show, and finish the final re-write of Just A Geek.

Stay tuned . . .