Wil! Seriously?? When were you there? My husband & I just went to Hawaii for the first time from Sept 17 to Sept 25, with Maui being the 22-24 (25th was all plane). If we were there at the same time & I didn't get to meet you, I will shit bricks. (Wasn't it awesome? And did you go horseback riding? I did, & my butt is still sore, but it was well worth it!) -Alicia www.thewagband.com

"Emgiggen"? More of that crazy computer-speak... ;-) -Alicia www.thewagband.com

Wil, I hope you don't mind - I know you're not on Facebook, but I am, & I shared this there (complete with link to your blog & credit given where due). I think this is an absolutely brilliant post, & apparently so do a lot of my FB friends, as I've gotten lots of positive comments on it. -Alicia @AliciaWag

OMG... I love you AND your brother!!! That is so awesome... X'-D -Alicia www.thewagband.com

Seriously, Wil - you look old enough to be their brother, not their father. :-) Good on you & Anne for raising such great kids!! :-D -Alicia

Popping back in to say something that really only has meaning to me, but still. I went to New Zealand in Feb 08 & fell in love with the entire country. I never wanted to leave - I felt it was *home* - & was depressed for 2 years (not my normal state of being) after returning to the US. Went back to NZ alone this past February (& have been fighting depression ever since returning to the US again) & went camping in a gorgeous place called Otaki Forks with a few friends. NZ has the most beautiful, clear skies, & it's amazing when you see unfamiliar stars in the sky... when you see the actual Milky Way... when you see the ISS (I never saw it in NJ, but I saw it in NZ!!) One of our nights in Otaki Forks, we went outside - it was summer, but bitter cold - & my friends showed me the Southern Cross. It brought tears to my eyes - the thought of it is doing so right now, in fact - & while I'm way too old to wish upon a star, I figured maybe I wasn't too old to wish upon an entire constellation. So I silently begged the Southern Cross to bring me back home - back to NZ - again. I stayed outside that night for I have no idea how long... & I begged & pleaded with the Southern Cross to bring me home. It makes me sound crazy, but whatever. Somehow, I felt connected to it. It hasn't brought me home again yet... but I have faith that I will get back to NZ someday. And now that you all think I'm crazy, I'm sure, I'm going to go to bed & dream of Aotearoa. :'-) -Alicia

That's awesome, Wil. I didn't get to see it, but I did get to see a meteor shower a few years back that was well worth the loss of sleep & the freezing weather. Also, this is a great sentence: ""What's wrong?" I said, while I was still waiting to clear immigration between Dreamland and Reality." You rock, Wil. :-) -Alicia www.thewagband.com

Good for you, Wil! :-) This post made me happy; therefore, you have accomplished something else that's good today. :-) I think you described Seamus' happy prance & Chris' reactions perfectly. Even though you didn't say it, I get the impression that, as Chris was shaking you by your shoulders, he put his head down. Tell me if I'm right... -Alicia www.thewagband.com

Wil, what a great telling of a great story! :-) The way you & Anne are together is very much the same as the way my hubby & I are together (even after 12.5 years). So warm & fuzzy & comfortable & fun... And I, too, am stealing, "I have... comments." That is made of win, right there... -Alicia www.thewagband.com

I'm so happy for you that you're having such a blast, Wil. :-) You must be exhausted, though - I quote: "I was so exited to be working outside..." Well, yes, I suppose if one is working outside, one is technically exited... ;-) (Sorry, the proofreader in me strikes again!) Honestly, I'm happy that you're happy. I'm only a few months older than you, & I feel that in many ways, my life runs along a similar course to yours. I went through a time when I was very down; I now have a job that I *love*; it doesn't pay much, but it nourishes my soul instead of sucking it dry, & that's what counts. So, Wil - good on you!! :-D -Alicia www.thewagband.com @AliciaWag

I haven't checked out the links & video yet, but I will. I just wanted to take a second to say how I loved how you preemptively answered the "Who's your favourite Doctor?" question. For some reason, that cracked me up. I agree with you, BTW, about Tom Baker. For me, he is The Doctor. IMO, though, the runner up is Peter Davison. But that could be just because I don't think I've seen an episode since Davison left... -Alicia allywag67@aol.com www.thewagband.com

I was home from school, too - not due to illness, but to a snow day. I was at my friend Tamara's house, having breakfast with her & her family (I don't remember clearly, but I think we knew it would be a snow day & we'd have off, so I slept over the night before. I think.) I remember eating not-quite-cooked pancakes & watching the news over & over on the TV in the kitchen. I remember thinking that the smoke trails looked like a chicken. I think I was too shocked - too young, maybe - to cry. But when Columbia happened... I remember hearing about that on the radio, & not being able to stop the tears. To the person from NASA (was it Dave@Nasa? Sorry, can't find the post now...) who explained about the budget & the plans... thanks. It was very informative. :-) -Alicia (@AliciaWag)

Joanna- I followed that link, & then saw this on the side: http://gizmodo.com/5462178/captain-picard-laments-twitter-lauds-the-iphone Wil, you should watch it. :-) -Alicia (@AliciaWag)

Wil & friends, I wanted to share a little thing with you that seems like it has nothing to do with your post, but it really does. As I've said in previous comments, I'm not a gamer. I am, however, a total LoTR geek, to the point that in Feb 08 my hubby & I went to New Zealand on a tour (sidenote: if you ever want to go on a LoTR tour, go with Red Carpet Tours - they are the BEST tour, as well as the nicest, loveliest people you could ever want to meet). We only got to do half the tour - the North Island half - because our 2nd week was spent in Australia. All my life, I've felt like I was missing something, but had no idea what. The instant - and I mean the *instant* - I stepped off the plane in Auckland, I knew that I was home. I even said it out loud. I'd never had any affinity for NZ, or any preconceived notions; I just knew that I was home. And I knew that I'd found what was missing: New Zealand. Unlike other, shorter vacations, not ONCE during the 2 weeks that we were away from the US did I feel homesick. My hubby did, but I didn't. Ever since being there, all I've wanted to do was to get back. I have been *homesick* for New Zealand. My husband doesn't get it; "It's only a place", he says. He doesn't understand. How can you be "homesick" for a place that you spent a week in 2 years ago? I don't know, but I am. My mom thinks maybe I lived there in a past life; I don't know if I believe in that stuff or not, but there is *something* that draws me there - not LoTR-related, just something about NZ. I'm a geek, not a freak. So, I went back, by myself, for 3 weeks this February. I stayed alone in a hotel in Wellington; I met up with the Red Carpet Tour group during the 2 days that they spent in Wellington; I got to see Daniel Reeve again - he's the cartographer & calligrapher for LoTR, as well as many other movies, & did the artwork for my band's latest CD - and met up with friends there that I'd previously only known online. I also spent a lot of time by myself; most of the time, actually. Here in the US, I'm a wife, sister, daughter, friend, employee (well, up until I lost my job a few weeks ago), band member, etc. In NZ, I was just... me. Maybe that's how gamers feel at PAX, I don't know. But I was really *me*. I sure as heck wasn't homesick for the US, because I was already *home*. All those 3 weeks did was strengthen my desire to live there (which hubby doesn't wanna do... yeah.) So I completely understand your homesickness for a place, a thing, that isn't technically your home. It's your home in your heart, and if you could be there forever, you would be. My heart broke the moment I set foot on the plane back to the US, & despite very difficult immigration laws & a husband who doesn't want to move, I will fight with everything I have to get back to NZ again - hopefully permanently. You gamers are lucky that you have each other, & that you have PAX & other cons to be "home" at. I envy you that you can depend on it... Hey - thanks for letting me verbally vomit all over your blog. I know that my post is a sort of sideways view of your "homesick" thing, but I just wanted all of you who feel that way to know that here's another one who feels the same way you do, even if it's about something else. And while I feel bad for all of you who feel homesick, I'm glad to be in such good company. :-) -Alicia (@AliciaWag)

Wil- I'm not a gamer, & none of my friends are really gamers. But we have the same sort of relationship (due to Trek, MST3K, board games, just hanging out, etc.) that you do with your friends. I wanted to let you know how much I thoroughly enjoyed your speech (just watched it on YouTube), & even though I'm not a gamer, I totally grokked where you were coming from. It helps that I'm just a few months older than you, so we share lots of cultural references. :-) Anyway, I just wanted to say awesome job; you reach more people than you even mean to with speeches like the one you gave at PAX. Keep up the awesome work. (((hugs))) -Alicia (@AliciaWag) www.thewagband.com

Great minds, you know... :-) -Alicia (@AliciaWag)

I'm surprised that "irregardless" wasn't flagged... It can't have been accepted, since the "ir" in the beginning reverses the meaning of the rest of the word. I just re-read Wil's post, & feel the (nerdly) need to say: "alright" isn't a word. The correct phrase is "all right" - 2 words. Sorry, Wil... -Alicia (@AliciaWag)

Those are the newborn professionates. X-D -Alicia (@AliciaWag)

That's some win right there. :-) -Alicia (@AliciaWag)

Stop that, I am not! I just love words & language, so that really appealed to me. Plus, doesn't it *totally* fit into our Twitter convo? :-) Now then: the guitarist in my band has a word (although I can't remember if he made it up or if his friend did)... Gription. Grip + traction = gription. You can't not love that... -Alicia (@AliciaWag)

I like it - I think it describes doing what you're passionate about for a living (professionally, ya dig?) -Alicia (@AliciaWag)

Wow... thanks to Amy for writing that & Wil for sharing it. My favourite part was, "finding something you are passionate about in life should be one of your first priorities." How I wish I knew that 20 years ago... How do you start over at 37? (That's how old I am too, Wil, I'm not stealing your age.) -Alicia (@AliciaWag)

I agree with much of what you've written here, Wil, & with what others have said: I like the idea of only buying a few things, not going overboard. Hubby & I have a limit that we set for each other & for gifts for others. I also agree that this is a special time of year that is meant to be spent with those closest to you, whether it's family, friends, or both. It's the fellowship that's the important thing. One thing that does bug me (and I hope you don't mind me saying it on your blog, but it's something that you & others have mentioned here) is that people say, "I'm not religious, but to me, Christmas is about ." I'm not exactly religious either; I'm a practising Catholic, although I don't agree with every single thing the Church preaches. While I do attend Church every weekend & on the Holy Days, I don't feel that it's actually necessary, & I don't go to Confession. I talk right to God, you know? So I feel that I'm faithful more than I am religious. I like the ceremony of the Catholic Church; it helps me, personally, feel closer to God. All that said, it's a personal pet peeve of mine that people say "I'm not religious, but..." in the context of Christmas meaning "spend time with family" as opposed to "celebrate the birth of the Saviour". It's fine to believe whatever one wants to believe - but IMHO, if one only believes that this is the "spend time with family" time of year, having nothing to do with God, they shouldn't really call it Christmas. They should call it Yuletide, or something to that effect. I'm no religious fanatic, believe me, but I do believe that (to quote a zillion bumper stickers), Christ *should* be kept in Christmas. If you (not you, but the universal you) don't believe in Christ, or whatever, that's fine... but I wish people that feel that way wouldn't call it Christmas. I'm just sayin'... -Alicia (@AliciaWag)

*ahem* Playing editor here: "...which I think is >just< a little to complex..." That would be "too", not "to". It's OK, we forgive you. It is, after all, you, Wil Wheaton. -Alicia (@AliciaWag)

Of course the positive feedback is overwhelming - you're brother is tremendously talented!! :-D Thanks for sharing his photos with us again. I really need to stop by his site more often... *makes mental note to stop by JW's site more often* I wonder how close he actually was to that wolf...? -Alicia (@AliciaWag)