This year, preparing for ApacheCon has been unusual. I guess it changes every year, but this year I really would rather be staying home. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure that the conference will be fabulous. It always is, both as a technical conference, and as a time to catch up with longtime friends. But the trees are just starting to green, and it’s warming up, and I will miss my family an awful lot. And I’m just not that exited about Amsterdam. I’ve seen Amsterdam. I’ve seen the bits that truly interest me, and may try to go to the Van Gogh museum again this year, if I have time. But I don’t care for the red light district, and I don’t care for the coffee shops, and I don’t have a lot of cash laying around to spend on the admittedly amazing restaurants, so I expect to spend most of the time in the hotel working on long-past writing deadlines, which I’d really rather do in my own home.

That said, I’ll say again that I’m sure the conference will be amazing, and as soon as I get there and get immersed in it, I’ll have a good time. Just not real fired up about it right now, with just 4 hours left before I need to leave for the airport.

I wonder if I packed my toothbrush …