Over a year ago, I started my 4th Edition players on the Tomb of Horrors superadventure. They are still in the early stages, having just finished the first of four chapters. After a few intervening adventures, they're almost ready to start chapter two, as soon as we find time to get together for tabletop gaming. In the meantime, we've been having fun with online sessions using Maptool, a handy online tabletop.
None of my players have played the original Gygaxian masterpiece, which is a legend among D&D adventures. Since it provides both back story and insight as to the 4e adventure, I decided to run them through it, using their old 2nd edition characters, to which they're hopefully no longer so attached.
It's interesting, because we're a 4th edition group, but now we're switching back to 2nd edition rules to play a 1st edition adventure. The conversion isn't seamless, but it's helping us realize why we switched to 4e in the first place. We resisted 3rd edition and 3.5, holding firmly to our grognard attitudes, but when I read the 4e PHB I realized that the changes were very much for the better. Thac0 is whacko. Problems arise playing a 1e adventure, though -- especially one that says things like "there is no saving throw" and "this trap cannot be discovered". This makes things difficult, and I've had to pull out rule zero more often than I'd like already, and after one session we're just getting started.
What follows is an accounting of our first foray into the Tomb of Horrors.
I created an NPC cleric of Tymora by the name of Xewt, who tracked down the PCs and led them to the location of the tomb. They found the skull-shaped hill and stood at the base of the gravelly cliff, looking for the way in.
The rules state that the only way to find the entrances is by prodding high on the cliff with a spear or pole. As a DM, I thought this was just stupid. Why make the adventure so difficult to start? I decided to use a regular search for secret doors.
The wizard, Keryth, took the lead and started searching for secret doors. Soon after following the cliff, he found the middle entrance. The other players helped him dig it out, and they looked into the ornate corridor. Then he promptly tromped down the corridor, avoiding the red path. His 18 dexterity saved him from falling into a pit trap. My dice were rolling in the PCs' favor, it seemed. Fine by me.
Next, the Paladin, Usul, walked in. He opted to follow the red path. He triggered a pit trap and fell in. I rolled my d6 and he managed to avoid any of the spikes. Huh. The DM's dice once again saved a PC.
At this point, the PCs noticed the message on the floor, and decided that this must not be the actual entrance. (Teehee). So they went outside again and started looking for another way in. (I suspect that one or two of them has read the adventure once upon a time, but I don't think their memory is helping them. Good deal.)
They found the eastern entrance first. The thief, Ryld, examined each square thoroughly for traps before proceeding, and he did manage to find cracks in the wall. He couldn't figure out how the trap was triggered from where he was standing, though, so the innovative PCs hauled in the biggest rocks they could find from outside and started chucking them into the hallway. *Blam* went the stone trap, and all of the PCs were outside. They'd avoided another.
Then they found the western entrance. The Paladin hoisted the Dwarf fighter, Rak, onto his shoulders, and Rak held his flamtongue sword up and burned off the cobwebs. They noticed the ceiling, and decided to play it safe. Keryth, standing outside, used his rope of climbing to open the false door. *Boom* went the ceiling, and the PCs went back to the middle entrance.
Keryth started searching for secret doors, and although he didn't succeed in finding the secret door in the hallway, he cast a knock spell on the painting of the door (the pit trap had already been sprung by Usul), which succeeded in blasting out the plaster and lath that covered the portal. Meanwhile, one square to the north, the Dwarven fighter/mage (yes yes, I know that dwarves can't be mages in 2e, but I allowed it anyway) Oktober was examining the box being held by the jackals. Ryld was standing next to him. Oktober pushed the button, but made his save vs. poison when the "easily detectable" dart sunk into his flesh. Then he grabbed the lever in the box and said, "Well, we came here to die, didn't we?" and pulled the lever.
Ryld has a ring of feather fall, so he was fine. Oktober plunged downward for 3d10 damage, but once again the dice saved a PC and he avoided any spikes.
The rest of them got him out of the pit, and forged ahead into the room with the gargoyle. They actually completely pummeled the gargoyle before he even got a hit in, so that was...amazing. Then they started with the square rooms.
Guys, I know you're reading this, and hindsight is 20/20. If you all would have gone together, only one bolt would have hit a random character in each room once per round. That would have saved some HP. However, that's not what happened. Keryth, the wizard with the lowest HP amount, spent a lot of time in those square rooms finding secret doors, figuring out how to open them, and getting blasted by bolts. Side note here: The adventure just describes them as bolts, with no ability to be disarmed. I described them as something like a magic missile (to explain why they can't be blocked by protection from normal missiles) and instantly my mages wanted to dispel the magic. There was a 'soft' rule zero here - more of a rule Gygax - they can't be dispelled, so I had to say that the wizards weren't able to find the source of the magic in order to dispel it.
After Keryth became dangerously low on HP, Ryld took his turn. (He had actually been spending some time in the rooms with visible doors. He found several doors as well, and then retreated. Then Rak took a turn. This went on for a while, and eventually they found their way into the long hallway. At this point, the party decided to call it quits for the night.
For me, it was a lot of fun so far. I'm not sure if it was fun for them, but I can't wait to continue with it and see how far they get. I'll post more each time we return to the Tomb.
Showing posts with label games. Show all posts
Showing posts with label games. Show all posts
Blog! I have a blog!
I just remembered that I have a blog. Well holy moley. I'd better get on that, it's been months.
So it's December, apparently. The year is rocketing by as it tends to do. The biggest bit of news that I have these days is that my lil' boy turned ONE. He's a year old already. It's funny, I'd probably written 700 blogs about Gwen during her first year of life, and I've probably written 5 blogs TOTAL in Joey's first year. I've been busy. (And yes, I know that I could easily figure this out by LOOKING, but I like to make up statistics. Did you know that 95% of statistics are made up right on the spot? ;^) )
It's apparently winter again. Everything is covered with snow. I'm once again the lazy last guy on the block to put up Christmas lights, but I plan on getting that done on Sunday. Ahh, plans. Other than that Kerry and I are jetting off (read: driving) to the big city (OK, SLP) because she needs to work at the nature center and I need to play some D&D. It's a crushing need.
For the D&D nerds out there: I'm about to take my players through the notorious Tomb of Horrors, as re-released for 4th Edition. It's going to be awesome. I'm excited for the notion of an adventure that forces them to use their minds. I know it's not really the way 4e works, but I'm thinking of giving xp bonuses to those that figure out the puzzles, because some of 'em are doozies. To add injury (no insult here, there's just going to be injury) I'm starting them on their trek through the garden of graves at level 7. It's ok, there are 6 of them, and they're pretty good in a fight. They need a challenge. Heck, a couple of them are still level 6. Hee hee.
In other news, for some reason I got suckered into playing Fantasy Football this year, and it's been a catastrophic failure. I actually got in a bit of a row with the organizer for comparing it to D&D, which really made me laugh. Like...hard. But that's all done with. I won the argument. It's D&D for the a*****s that used to beat up kids that played D&D. It's also not my thing, I'm currently 3 and 9. Obviously my bad statistics (see above) have hurt me in a game that uses...real statistics. Whatever, fantasy football is what it is, and I'm having fun with it -- I guess that's what's important.
That's about all that's new. I'll try to blog more, blah blah blah, but really, I won't. Work keeps me busy. I'm thankful for being a noob lawyer that actually has a job -- many in my graduating class don't. :(
Talk atcha later.
Nerdination!
So, based on the acquisition of 4th edition D&D books, I've gotten back into D&D in a major way. I was always into it, and have been playing fairly regularly since I was about 14 or 15 years old. That's well over half my life, and just contemplating that is astounding to me. Very few other games have been such a mainstay for me. Super Mario Bros., perhaps, but I don't play that with anything near the fervor of a good D&D session.
I remember getting my first copy of a Player's Handbook (2nd edition) back one summer long ago. I was doing some corn detassling at the time, and invited four of my friends over after work to play some D&D. The first group ever consisted of my friend Corey as DM (because he'd played before), and Myself, Chad, Nate, and Mike as the players. I played a Halfling Thief (that's right, we called ourselves thieves back then, noobs, because Bards are Rogues as well!). Mike was a Dwarf Fighter, Chad was an Elf Mage, and Nate was a Human Cleric. You know, you just don't get a more vanilla group than that. And we had a lot of fun and played a LOT of D&D over the next several years.
Eventually the DM hat got passed in my direction, and I enjoyed the helm. I had a few stints as a player in college, but I knew that DMing was the place that I belonged. Still, I never felt like I could possibly know all of the rules. That hasn't changed to this day, but I figured out the secret of being a decent DM -- Use good judgment, make it up, and don't waste time looking up rules. If you really need it, the players all have PHBs, so they can look it up for you. That's it. Other than that, be as descriptive as possible and only as restrictive as necessary. OK, I could go on and on, but the truth of the matter is that as long as everyone is having fun, that's all that matters.
Back to the crux of the discussion: I now live farther from my friends than ever before, yet we play more D&D than we have since high school. It's a very social activity, and it's extremely awesome to have the excuse to get my friends to come over (or to go to their places) to sit down, have a few beers/mountain dews/whatever and immerse ourselves in an afternoon of slaying monsters and performing epic acrobatic maneuvers. After moving to a new town, this is pretty much the pinnacle of my social activity.
The game has grown considerably since my days in a 4-player party. So many of my friends play D&D now, and all of them want to be part of the action (which is awesome). This has resulted in a HUGE party of players. At the last session, we had 9 players. There were moments where the potential player turnout was somewhere around 14, but there's never been a time where everyone invited has showed up. I had a 9-player session in my basement in Robbinsdale back when we were playing 2nd edition, and it was utter chaos. There were actually several sessions back then where we only got through one fight. That's not the case anymore -- 4th edition moves a lot quicker for a number of reasons. First, you only roll initiative once. When we played 2nd edition (whether this was in the rules or not I don't rightly know) we rolled initiative every round. That adds up to taking a lot of time. Also, just figuring out whether you hit or not was more difficult.
This is getting to be a long blog, but I wanted to mention a couple more things. I totally skipped 3rd edition and 3.5, but was immensely pleased to find out that 4th edition relies heavily on miniatures. D&D started as a miniature game, but by the time 2nd edition rolled around they weren't nearly as necessary and in fact we didn't even play with miniatures until I became a DM. Even then they were only used for placement and facing, not for movement. That's right, we ignored movement rate (it was just too dang complicated). Now my 4 pewter miniatures have become 25 pewter miniatures, although I only actually own 4. My players tend to leave their minis with me. I've also assembled an army of monster miniatures, and crave more. The visual aspect that the miniatures adds to the game allows players to continue to be interested in the board and to strategize their next move even while it's not their turn. They stay engaged, and it's awesome. That helps a ton with 9-player groups.
However, miniatures are expensive. You can get some for under 1.00, but some are ridiculous (like the gelatinous cube that sells for $40 and is just a plastic cube. come on. Some of my dice sets have come inside perfectly good gelatinous cubes. LOL.) I'm so INTO the minis, though, that I've decided to try my hand at making my own, as soon as I can get my grubby mitts on some fimo. Also, crafting cool looking encounter grids has become an obsession/goal of mine, because it really brings the scene to life. So, in addition to the fimo, a woodburning kit might be on my list of stuff to get. Oh, and a tackle box for my minis. This stuff literally fills me with glee.
If you can't tell...I'm excited to play more D&D.
Awesome weekend
Life is good. First of, my little less-than-three-month-old boy is sleeping through the night, and that's is a holy crapton of awesome. It took Gwen twice that amount of time, which admittedly was heavily due to Kerry and I not really knowing how to get her to sleep through the night. With Joey, it was all about routine. We didn't even need to do the whole "cry it out" thing. He just decided that he should sleep. Good boy. :^D
This weekend marked a trek to the cities for some D&D. Lundo and Amy were kind enough to host, and as usual I had a blast. It's funny, now that I've moved out of town I play way more often than I did over the course of the last several years. That's due to the blissful lack of law school, of course. It's a lot more awesome to have one or two sessions a month than one every six months. I think that the switch to fourth edition has really revitalized everyone's desire to play, as well, and everyone is having a lot of fun.
On Sunday it was time to pay Kerry back, because she had the kids all day on Saturday and they were a couple of hellians. So, she went out for a long long lunch with her friends, and I stayed at my sister's place with the kids. When I go to my sister's place with the kids, chaos follows, because she has two kids that are about the same age. It was interesting and chaotic, and I hope they all got some rest once we left.
I've been obsessed with Chess lately, thanks to chess.com and their lovely app for facebook. I've been playing against my friends, and it's a ton of fun. If you play chess, and are on facebook, I look forward to your challenge. It's made me really want to break out one of my chessboards and go to town against friends or family in an actual, factual, head-to-head game. Hopefully Lars and I can make that happen soon.
Too much going on
Yes! I have TONS of free time now! It's a crazy, weird feeling. Yet amazingly, I'm able to fill it up with a whole bunch of stuff going on. Too much! How do I do this to myself?
It's not entirely true. Yes, there's a lot going on -- mostly stuff having to do with unpacking boxes and organizing furniture -- but there have also been plenty of TV watching nights. Those fill up fast when I'm watching all three CSI shows, a bit of V, a touch of Survivor (for whatever reason) and a bit of Biggest Loser (to feel good about m'self)...yeah. Sloth is the NEW homework!
So yeah. Time to haul that treadmill back downstairs and get back to exercising. Or maybe just wii fit, which almost counts as exercise. It'll be nice to actually do some of that without a GIGANTIC PICTURE WINDOW through which the neighbors get to watch me doing yoga poses and running in place.
I went for a rousing D&D session at T-Rav's place last Saturday. We finally got a chance to try out 4th Edition, and it exceeded every expectation. Absolutely awesome. Thanks to Lars for driving me down, and to T-Rav, Lundo and Amy for playing.
Lars drove me back to Benson on Saturday night. Then on Sunday, I woke up and drove back to the cities for my new nephew's baptism. Sunday night we drove back to Benson. Know what? That's four trips to or from the cities in two days. Know what else? It wasn't bad at all. So to all ye bold heroes with qualms about the drive to Benson, COME VISIT ME! IT'S NOT A BIG DEAL! ;^)
I signed up for NaNoWriMo again, but I think I'm giving up. I just don't have the motivation that I had last year, when I was completely insane. My new motivation is to hit level 80 in WoW before the baby comes. We'll see how that goes.
It's not entirely true. Yes, there's a lot going on -- mostly stuff having to do with unpacking boxes and organizing furniture -- but there have also been plenty of TV watching nights. Those fill up fast when I'm watching all three CSI shows, a bit of V, a touch of Survivor (for whatever reason) and a bit of Biggest Loser (to feel good about m'self)...yeah. Sloth is the NEW homework!
So yeah. Time to haul that treadmill back downstairs and get back to exercising. Or maybe just wii fit, which almost counts as exercise. It'll be nice to actually do some of that without a GIGANTIC PICTURE WINDOW through which the neighbors get to watch me doing yoga poses and running in place.
I went for a rousing D&D session at T-Rav's place last Saturday. We finally got a chance to try out 4th Edition, and it exceeded every expectation. Absolutely awesome. Thanks to Lars for driving me down, and to T-Rav, Lundo and Amy for playing.
Lars drove me back to Benson on Saturday night. Then on Sunday, I woke up and drove back to the cities for my new nephew's baptism. Sunday night we drove back to Benson. Know what? That's four trips to or from the cities in two days. Know what else? It wasn't bad at all. So to all ye bold heroes with qualms about the drive to Benson, COME VISIT ME! IT'S NOT A BIG DEAL! ;^)
I signed up for NaNoWriMo again, but I think I'm giving up. I just don't have the motivation that I had last year, when I was completely insane. My new motivation is to hit level 80 in WoW before the baby comes. We'll see how that goes.
The New House
Kerry, Gwennerpants and I (as well as the bun in the oven) have moved into a new house, which we are in the midst of purchasing. The sellers were kind enough to give us an immediate move-in agreement, which is super awesome. We LOVE the place.
Lemme give you the rundown. It's in a very new development of our new town, and it was built in 2002. When we moved in, there were kids playing football in the yard, and one of our neighbors came over and brought us a plate of cookies. This neighborhood feels like Utopia to me. From my driveway, a sidewalk stretches to infinity. Apparently I'm supposed to stock up on candy, because ALL the kiddies are gonna be coming our way on All Hallow's Eve, and I should expect over 200 trick-or-treaters.
The house itself is huge, compared to our previous digs. It's got over 3,000 finished square feet, an attached 2-car garage, and much unlike our last house, a kitchen that's big enough to open both the dishwasher and the refrigerator at the same time. The basement is all finished, and there are two huge family rooms down there, both with fireplaces. The lot is also twice as big as our old lot, and there are swingsets as far as the eye can see.
For whatever reason, my wifey is bringing the hammer down on the basement decor, and not letting me "geek it up". Apparently she wants to hang out down there as well or something. Oh well, the term "man-cave" is stupid anyway. Sorry, Voltron III poster, I guess I have to hang you up in the kid room and pretend my 3-year-old is the one that digs your lion-combining awesomeness. I managed to sneak a sword onto the fireplace mantle, though. We'll see how long it lasts. Perhaps I'll just need to pull out all the goodies for D&D sessions.
Work is going great so far. I love it. I have never had a job where I actually enjoy going to work in the morning. It's amazing.
The first part of the final book of the Wheel of Time came out this week, and I picked it up off of audible.com, because I have too many other books to read and had credits available. During my commute (LOL less than 5 minutes now) I listened to the forward, where the new author, Brandon Sanderson (one of my new favorites, because of his incredible Mistborn series) talks about the Wheel of Time's influence on him, and especially its author, the amazing Robert Jordan. Sanderson talks about Jordan's death and the shock of it all, and of being chosen to complete the series. Honestly, that forward choked me up. I'm excited for the book. If anyone can pull it off, it's Brandon Sanderson.
I'm so thankful that Terry Goodkind wasn't chosen. He would have had Rand ranting about the evils of communism for entire chapters. I'm also thankful that George R. R. Martin wasn't chosen, because honestly he's not going to be around much longer and probably wouldn't have finished it. I want GRRM to keep working on his OWN series, which has a bazillion fans chomping at the bit.
Lemme give you the rundown. It's in a very new development of our new town, and it was built in 2002. When we moved in, there were kids playing football in the yard, and one of our neighbors came over and brought us a plate of cookies. This neighborhood feels like Utopia to me. From my driveway, a sidewalk stretches to infinity. Apparently I'm supposed to stock up on candy, because ALL the kiddies are gonna be coming our way on All Hallow's Eve, and I should expect over 200 trick-or-treaters.
The house itself is huge, compared to our previous digs. It's got over 3,000 finished square feet, an attached 2-car garage, and much unlike our last house, a kitchen that's big enough to open both the dishwasher and the refrigerator at the same time. The basement is all finished, and there are two huge family rooms down there, both with fireplaces. The lot is also twice as big as our old lot, and there are swingsets as far as the eye can see.
For whatever reason, my wifey is bringing the hammer down on the basement decor, and not letting me "geek it up". Apparently she wants to hang out down there as well or something. Oh well, the term "man-cave" is stupid anyway. Sorry, Voltron III poster, I guess I have to hang you up in the kid room and pretend my 3-year-old is the one that digs your lion-combining awesomeness. I managed to sneak a sword onto the fireplace mantle, though. We'll see how long it lasts. Perhaps I'll just need to pull out all the goodies for D&D sessions.
Work is going great so far. I love it. I have never had a job where I actually enjoy going to work in the morning. It's amazing.
The first part of the final book of the Wheel of Time came out this week, and I picked it up off of audible.com, because I have too many other books to read and had credits available. During my commute (LOL less than 5 minutes now) I listened to the forward, where the new author, Brandon Sanderson (one of my new favorites, because of his incredible Mistborn series) talks about the Wheel of Time's influence on him, and especially its author, the amazing Robert Jordan. Sanderson talks about Jordan's death and the shock of it all, and of being chosen to complete the series. Honestly, that forward choked me up. I'm excited for the book. If anyone can pull it off, it's Brandon Sanderson.
I'm so thankful that Terry Goodkind wasn't chosen. He would have had Rand ranting about the evils of communism for entire chapters. I'm also thankful that George R. R. Martin wasn't chosen, because honestly he's not going to be around much longer and probably wouldn't have finished it. I want GRRM to keep working on his OWN series, which has a bazillion fans chomping at the bit.
A New Edition (Warning: Geek Post)
Well, it's almost my birthday. I'll be 33 years old this year, and my plan on that evening is to hoist many a Rolling Rock, because that particular beer has a mysterious "33" emblazoned on the side of the bottle. And I like beer.
Although I'll be becoming even older, that doesn't stop me from acting like a kid. In fact, I'm having some friends over this evening to play some good ol' Dungeons and Dragons. It promises to be a swell night. We're gonna kick back and knock out some AD&D 2nd edition.
Because I'm a dork, I decided to do a little research in the ol' 2nd ed. DMG (which is for some reason not actually pictured on Wikipedia...perhaps some editing is in order) and I discovered a number of slight changes that I'm going to employ this evening. These changes won't last long, however. Brace yourselves, players -- your world is about to be shattered.
You see, I've been finding that although I absolutely adore the 2nd edition, I need something more. You know what that means. You can feel it in the back of your heads. You know where this is going.
2nd Edition, it's not you. It's me. I've loved all of the times that we've shared. Some of my fondest memories involved playing with you. Sure, we've had our ridiculous fights (there was even a time where I got up out of my chair and kicked Corey. Yep. True story. I actually physically kicked him.) and our ridiculous triumphs. But dearest 2nd edition, the fire is on the wane.
The hard truth is, I've found somebody new. No, not that tramp 3rd edition. Not even 3.5. Nay. I've spent some time in the arms of 4th edition, and you know what? It felt good. It felt good to get a fresh start. It felt good to lean in close, and what I really want to do is stick my nose in and smell the sweet perfume that is the pages of the book.
It's my birthday. And that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to get the books. The 4th edition books.
Where does that leave us, 2nd edition? I hope that this isn't goodbye. I just need to see other methods. I need to do some soul searching. I need to find myself.
OK back to the real world here. Yes, for my birthday I am really and truly going to purchase 4th edition D&D books. I plan on starting a 4th edition adventure. I hope that my players will accompany me on this journey. It will be fun. I assure you. It won't be painful. It will be fun. And if we hate it, I'm keeping my 2nd edition books and all of the character sheets that I've collected over the years. I know that once my soul searching time is through, if I need to go back to 2nd Edition, she'll welcome me back with open arms. I just might suffer 1d12 damage.
Although I'll be becoming even older, that doesn't stop me from acting like a kid. In fact, I'm having some friends over this evening to play some good ol' Dungeons and Dragons. It promises to be a swell night. We're gonna kick back and knock out some AD&D 2nd edition.
Because I'm a dork, I decided to do a little research in the ol' 2nd ed. DMG (which is for some reason not actually pictured on Wikipedia...perhaps some editing is in order) and I discovered a number of slight changes that I'm going to employ this evening. These changes won't last long, however. Brace yourselves, players -- your world is about to be shattered.
You see, I've been finding that although I absolutely adore the 2nd edition, I need something more. You know what that means. You can feel it in the back of your heads. You know where this is going.
2nd Edition, it's not you. It's me. I've loved all of the times that we've shared. Some of my fondest memories involved playing with you. Sure, we've had our ridiculous fights (there was even a time where I got up out of my chair and kicked Corey. Yep. True story. I actually physically kicked him.) and our ridiculous triumphs. But dearest 2nd edition, the fire is on the wane.
The hard truth is, I've found somebody new. No, not that tramp 3rd edition. Not even 3.5. Nay. I've spent some time in the arms of 4th edition, and you know what? It felt good. It felt good to get a fresh start. It felt good to lean in close, and what I really want to do is stick my nose in and smell the sweet perfume that is the pages of the book.
It's my birthday. And that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to get the books. The 4th edition books.
Where does that leave us, 2nd edition? I hope that this isn't goodbye. I just need to see other methods. I need to do some soul searching. I need to find myself.
OK back to the real world here. Yes, for my birthday I am really and truly going to purchase 4th edition D&D books. I plan on starting a 4th edition adventure. I hope that my players will accompany me on this journey. It will be fun. I assure you. It won't be painful. It will be fun. And if we hate it, I'm keeping my 2nd edition books and all of the character sheets that I've collected over the years. I know that once my soul searching time is through, if I need to go back to 2nd Edition, she'll welcome me back with open arms. I just might suffer 1d12 damage.
Things are moving fast
So, I'm noticing that I'm terrible at blogging lately. It's something that I haven't had a ton of time for these days, because there's a ton going on both at work and at home. I'll try to fill you in...
My work informed me that my last day is going to be September 30th. This is something that I expected, and is a part of my plan. Still, having that official end date makes things suddenly crazy, because there's a ton that I have to do before the big move.
I'm starting with my dad on October 5th, and will probably find out about the bar exam right around then. (GULP). I'm nervous as all get out, but even if I didn't pass the bar there is still a lot of work I can do whilst studying for bar exam number two. (Ugh. I sincerely hope that I don't have to go through that again.)
I've had some opportunities lately to do the things I used to know and love. I played some D&D with friends last weekend, and it was a lot of fun. I went to the Reniassance Festival one day last weekend, and hope to go again this coming weekend with my in-laws. Last night, I brewed some beer (it had been MONTHS!) with Ryan. That was a ton of fun. I've played a couple of rounds of golf, and although my game is still fairly terrible, it's been a lot of fun to get out and play.
The house still hasn't sold, and that's a huge pain. We're going to drop the @#$%% price yet again, and make some improvements on the basement. Not much we can do at this point. We entertained the thought of putting in a bathroom, but it would be cost prohibitive. Therefore, we'll do what we can.
My work informed me that my last day is going to be September 30th. This is something that I expected, and is a part of my plan. Still, having that official end date makes things suddenly crazy, because there's a ton that I have to do before the big move.
I'm starting with my dad on October 5th, and will probably find out about the bar exam right around then. (GULP). I'm nervous as all get out, but even if I didn't pass the bar there is still a lot of work I can do whilst studying for bar exam number two. (Ugh. I sincerely hope that I don't have to go through that again.)
I've had some opportunities lately to do the things I used to know and love. I played some D&D with friends last weekend, and it was a lot of fun. I went to the Reniassance Festival one day last weekend, and hope to go again this coming weekend with my in-laws. Last night, I brewed some beer (it had been MONTHS!) with Ryan. That was a ton of fun. I've played a couple of rounds of golf, and although my game is still fairly terrible, it's been a lot of fun to get out and play.
The house still hasn't sold, and that's a huge pain. We're going to drop the @#$%% price yet again, and make some improvements on the basement. Not much we can do at this point. We entertained the thought of putting in a bathroom, but it would be cost prohibitive. Therefore, we'll do what we can.
Nerding!
I adore Half Price Books. I just discovered this store for the first time, and it's freaking awesome. I walked into the store, specifically looking for an item of nerdery (in other words, an item so powerful that it makes the bearer an instant nerd.) I perused the shelves of paperbacks, and there it was: The second book of the avatar series. Yep. A D&D genre novel.
I'm going on vacation later, and I've learned in the past that taking giant bomber 1000 page epic books isn't the best idea. Gripping, yes, but when I'm on vacation, soaking up the rays of Grand Cayman, I actually want to read something that's completely mindless. Therefore, I'm getting some cheezy 300 page paperbacks, and it's going to be freaking awesome.
I just started the third book of the Emberverse series (also known as the Dies the Fire series) by S. M. Stirling. These books are so freaking full of win. I know that the idea of all modern technology suddenly stopping and everyone having to revert to medieval processes is a little far fetched, but you have to admit that it's a belief at the very core of every D&D player. Admit it: You'd like to see what would happen if suddenly everyone had to use bows and swords and horses and the like. This book series properly displays the absolute chaos that would occur. I recommend it highly, and will lend the novels on a first-come, first serve basis.
I'm playing some D&D on Friday night. WOOHOO Here comes super-nerd, flying into the sunset! Hooray! I can't wait.
Last but not least, after successfully beating both Mega Man and Castlevania 2 last week, I downloaded Castlevania 3 (a game that I remember from my youth but have never completed). It's not nearly as good as Castlevania 2, because it reverts back to the style of Castlevania 1 (level, boss, level, boss, etc. instead of the free form of CV2.) I'm a sucker for things Castlevania, though, and I'm enjoying it. It's also the debut of Alucard in a video game, and he goes on to pwn in Symphony of the Night, another fantastic installment of the series.
I'm going on vacation later, and I've learned in the past that taking giant bomber 1000 page epic books isn't the best idea. Gripping, yes, but when I'm on vacation, soaking up the rays of Grand Cayman, I actually want to read something that's completely mindless. Therefore, I'm getting some cheezy 300 page paperbacks, and it's going to be freaking awesome.
I just started the third book of the Emberverse series (also known as the Dies the Fire series) by S. M. Stirling. These books are so freaking full of win. I know that the idea of all modern technology suddenly stopping and everyone having to revert to medieval processes is a little far fetched, but you have to admit that it's a belief at the very core of every D&D player. Admit it: You'd like to see what would happen if suddenly everyone had to use bows and swords and horses and the like. This book series properly displays the absolute chaos that would occur. I recommend it highly, and will lend the novels on a first-come, first serve basis.
I'm playing some D&D on Friday night. WOOHOO Here comes super-nerd, flying into the sunset! Hooray! I can't wait.
Last but not least, after successfully beating both Mega Man and Castlevania 2 last week, I downloaded Castlevania 3 (a game that I remember from my youth but have never completed). It's not nearly as good as Castlevania 2, because it reverts back to the style of Castlevania 1 (level, boss, level, boss, etc. instead of the free form of CV2.) I'm a sucker for things Castlevania, though, and I'm enjoying it. It's also the debut of Alucard in a video game, and he goes on to pwn in Symphony of the Night, another fantastic installment of the series.
The dreaded three point five
Last night, I was scheduled to play some D&D 3.5 with a different group of friends. It almost feels like cheating on a significant other, in that I'm totally devoted to 2nd edition AD&D, and I'm currently in the midst of an adventure with my group. (The adventure is a 1 fight over the course of 3 hours, 8-player affair, though, and we honestly don't do a lot of playing in the semi-annual playing sessions). I wanted to try out the new(er) system, and I wanted to do something that I haven't done in a role playing game in far, far too long: I wanted to be a player.
I rolled up a character and everything. It's neat. I'm a rogue with aspirations of being an assassin, and I should be pretty cool.
Then Gwenner got some sort of a stomach bug. She puked a few times yesterday. Not cool. I opted to stay home with her. Because of this, the DM canceled the D&D session. Yep, that's right. Because of me, and my character's absence.
OK wow. So, let's see here...this is a very very type-A personality group that I'm getting into. They know that I'm in law school. The DM's wife is a lawyer, so they know how this is. I think that they're expecting a commitment that I am in no way ready to dive into. Therefore, perhaps it's in my best interests to just stick with my own group. We'll see. Maybe in an opening sequence of derring-do, I'll leap to my (character's) death or something. That would be interesting. Or maybe someone should get some 4th ed. books and I can play as a player with a different DM. If you're reading this, you should think about being that guy or girl. :D
Gwen is feeling much much better today. It wasn't the flu after all, just some sort of upset tummy bug. It breaks my heart whenever she's sick, though. Puking is so difficult for a lil' punkin to understand. She was a trooper, though, and today she makes little silly puking noises and talks about not feeling good. It's super cute. She woke up singing this morning, which is also adorable and has honestly brought tears to my eyes on a couple of occasions. I don't want to be an overbearing dad that forces her to go one direction or another with her life, but she's seriously very very musical for her age, and that makes me beam with pride and puff up like a peacock. She doesn't just toddler-sing, she actually carrys a tune. That's impressive to me. I know I'm biased as all get out.
SHE'S A GENIUS! AN ABSOLUTE GENIUS! I HAVE A WUNDERKIND! OK maybe I'm jumping to conclusions there, but I love her tons and I'm very proud of her. :)
I rolled up a character and everything. It's neat. I'm a rogue with aspirations of being an assassin, and I should be pretty cool.
Then Gwenner got some sort of a stomach bug. She puked a few times yesterday. Not cool. I opted to stay home with her. Because of this, the DM canceled the D&D session. Yep, that's right. Because of me, and my character's absence.
OK wow. So, let's see here...this is a very very type-A personality group that I'm getting into. They know that I'm in law school. The DM's wife is a lawyer, so they know how this is. I think that they're expecting a commitment that I am in no way ready to dive into. Therefore, perhaps it's in my best interests to just stick with my own group. We'll see. Maybe in an opening sequence of derring-do, I'll leap to my (character's) death or something. That would be interesting. Or maybe someone should get some 4th ed. books and I can play as a player with a different DM. If you're reading this, you should think about being that guy or girl. :D
Gwen is feeling much much better today. It wasn't the flu after all, just some sort of upset tummy bug. It breaks my heart whenever she's sick, though. Puking is so difficult for a lil' punkin to understand. She was a trooper, though, and today she makes little silly puking noises and talks about not feeling good. It's super cute. She woke up singing this morning, which is also adorable and has honestly brought tears to my eyes on a couple of occasions. I don't want to be an overbearing dad that forces her to go one direction or another with her life, but she's seriously very very musical for her age, and that makes me beam with pride and puff up like a peacock. She doesn't just toddler-sing, she actually carrys a tune. That's impressive to me. I know I'm biased as all get out.
SHE'S A GENIUS! AN ABSOLUTE GENIUS! I HAVE A WUNDERKIND! OK maybe I'm jumping to conclusions there, but I love her tons and I'm very proud of her. :)
Headache
So, I've had a headache for the last four days. It's completely due to stress. The problem is that it's still not gone. That's pretty typical for me, also.
See, last night I had my last final of this semester! WOOOHOO I'm on break! So that's pretty awesome. The problem is that even though my main stressor is out of the way, my reaction to stress (the aforementioned headache) has not yet caught up. So, unfortunately, I have a headache that hurts so badly it has brought me close to vomiting. Yikes.
So hopefully tonight's wonderful session of Dungeons and Dragons will help to alleviate this monster migraine. If not, then the flow of beer should help in that regard. Heh heh. Nothing in the world like medicating with alcohol.
Last night, I tried to record another flock of kobolds song. The problem was that it was too late for me to figure out that I needed to adjust my microphone levels. Everything was clipped, and I didn't feel like doing it over again, so it's back to the drawing board on that one.
The recording experience made me realize something, though. I'm absolutely obsessive about recording in one take on garageband. It doesn't matter to me if it's the first take or the two-hundredth, I just have a thing about having one giant line from the beginning of a track to the end. Seriously, if you're one of the lucky A.F.O.K. recipients of .zip files (which, based on my known readership you almost certainly are), you should look at the vocal lines. It's funny.
The problem with that is obvious and twofold: 1) If I make a mistake, I have to do the whole darn thing over again to fit my mad obsessive compulsion. 2) I inevitably make a mistake that I can live with but don't correct for the sake of one giant string of uninterrupted sound.
Oh well. That's the way I roll. As a result, I played the song "Factory Girls" by Flogging Molly all the way through a few times last night. All for nothing, because as mentioned before, I just deleted the whole thing and went to bed. HAH.
Oogh, I'm tired. I had a 7:00 A.M. meeting this morning. These things are the bane of my existence. If I were only allowed to change one thing about work, it would be this 7:00 a.m. crap. If I were allowed to change more than one thing, it would be that and all the other crap. Heh.
See, last night I had my last final of this semester! WOOOHOO I'm on break! So that's pretty awesome. The problem is that even though my main stressor is out of the way, my reaction to stress (the aforementioned headache) has not yet caught up. So, unfortunately, I have a headache that hurts so badly it has brought me close to vomiting. Yikes.
So hopefully tonight's wonderful session of Dungeons and Dragons will help to alleviate this monster migraine. If not, then the flow of beer should help in that regard. Heh heh. Nothing in the world like medicating with alcohol.
Last night, I tried to record another flock of kobolds song. The problem was that it was too late for me to figure out that I needed to adjust my microphone levels. Everything was clipped, and I didn't feel like doing it over again, so it's back to the drawing board on that one.
The recording experience made me realize something, though. I'm absolutely obsessive about recording in one take on garageband. It doesn't matter to me if it's the first take or the two-hundredth, I just have a thing about having one giant line from the beginning of a track to the end. Seriously, if you're one of the lucky A.F.O.K. recipients of .zip files (which, based on my known readership you almost certainly are), you should look at the vocal lines. It's funny.
The problem with that is obvious and twofold: 1) If I make a mistake, I have to do the whole darn thing over again to fit my mad obsessive compulsion. 2) I inevitably make a mistake that I can live with but don't correct for the sake of one giant string of uninterrupted sound.
Oh well. That's the way I roll. As a result, I played the song "Factory Girls" by Flogging Molly all the way through a few times last night. All for nothing, because as mentioned before, I just deleted the whole thing and went to bed. HAH.
Oogh, I'm tired. I had a 7:00 A.M. meeting this morning. These things are the bane of my existence. If I were only allowed to change one thing about work, it would be this 7:00 a.m. crap. If I were allowed to change more than one thing, it would be that and all the other crap. Heh.
What up, player?
I have ONE final left tomorrow, and studying for it is getting old. I've got such a complete and total lack of motivation for school right now that powering through my studying is becoming a real chore. I can only imagine how hard it's going to be in May, when the sun is shining and the birds are chirping and it's my last set of finals ever. (Besides the dreaded Bar Exam, of course.)
One good thing about next semester is that I've successfully registered for classes that are basically fluff. So that rules. I'm excited for some good old fashioned slackin'. Coming from a guy whose current semester allowed him sufficient time to write a novel in a month, saying that I have fluff classes next semester is saying a lot. Hopefully it's actually true. Heh.
On a totally different note, my friend Lukas was interviewed on NPR yesterday, regarding the mortgage industry. If you didn't get a chance to check out the interview, here it is. It's very interesting and informative, and it (*gasp!* I know that this next sentence will be shocking) actually makes me happy about my current job. I don't have to do any cross-selling, nor do I get any incentives for getting someone into a product that they don't need. Woot for credit unions. (I still don't bank here, though, because I don't poop where I eat. LOL.)
During my finals week, my limited spare time has been spent sneaking snippets of the Twilight series. I'm forced to admit that I really liked the first book. It's the teen girl in me, as previously discussed. The second is equally gripping, although for much different reasons. Most of it is kind of irritating me, honestly. Vampires rule, werewolves drool.
On the subject of the undead and lycanthropy, it's freakin' D&D time on Friday! WOOOOHOOOO! I'm super excited for that shizzle. I've got quite the crew coming over to throw down. I've since moved my keg of porter into the basement, so it's a nice temperature and easily accessable by players that want to get rowdy. (Taking that sentence out of context would be funny for the use of the word "player". Like "playah!" Yeeuh. Unfortunately IN context it denotes a player of the lovely game of Dungeons and Dragons. Aww yeeuh, thugg life.)
One good thing about next semester is that I've successfully registered for classes that are basically fluff. So that rules. I'm excited for some good old fashioned slackin'. Coming from a guy whose current semester allowed him sufficient time to write a novel in a month, saying that I have fluff classes next semester is saying a lot. Hopefully it's actually true. Heh.
On a totally different note, my friend Lukas was interviewed on NPR yesterday, regarding the mortgage industry. If you didn't get a chance to check out the interview, here it is. It's very interesting and informative, and it (*gasp!* I know that this next sentence will be shocking) actually makes me happy about my current job. I don't have to do any cross-selling, nor do I get any incentives for getting someone into a product that they don't need. Woot for credit unions. (I still don't bank here, though, because I don't poop where I eat. LOL.)
During my finals week, my limited spare time has been spent sneaking snippets of the Twilight series. I'm forced to admit that I really liked the first book. It's the teen girl in me, as previously discussed. The second is equally gripping, although for much different reasons. Most of it is kind of irritating me, honestly. Vampires rule, werewolves drool.
On the subject of the undead and lycanthropy, it's freakin' D&D time on Friday! WOOOOHOOOO! I'm super excited for that shizzle. I've got quite the crew coming over to throw down. I've since moved my keg of porter into the basement, so it's a nice temperature and easily accessable by players that want to get rowdy. (Taking that sentence out of context would be funny for the use of the word "player". Like "playah!" Yeeuh. Unfortunately IN context it denotes a player of the lovely game of Dungeons and Dragons. Aww yeeuh, thugg life.)
I'm happy with my geek status.
I’m excited to go to the Ren Fest this weekend. I’ve been there a billion times, and there really isn’t anything that changes, but I love the Renaissance Festival like other people love the State Fair: It’s this happy place that satisfies a craving for scotch eggs, mead, and bread bowl soup while at the same time providing nostalgia on about a billion levels: First, nostalgia from my youth. See, from high school until now, I’ve gone to the Renaissance Festival at least once a year. Sometimes (hush now) I even wore a costume. The second type of nostalgia is from my past lives: See, I’ve been a Viking, a Pirate, and a British serf in my past lives, so…wait, no. I’m totally kidding about that stuff.
Speaking of Vikings, I’m brewing some mead, so far it smells really good. Unlike beer, I can actually smell the mead through the airlock. I tried to convince Kerry to let me get a good drinking horn from which to gulp my honey libation. I’ll grow a crazed beard like my friend Johnny and shout “SKOAL!” with mead dripping from my drinking horn as I guzzle. Perfect. That’s the life for me.
On a tangent – last night I was playing WoW while drinking my homebrewed IPA and eating my father-in-law’s homemade venison and elk beer sticks. See, my father-in-law got a spiffy sausage maker for a retirement present, and the results have been delicious. Talking over my snack with friends produced the suggestion that we get my father-in-law and move to the woods somewhere and survive off of beer and sausage for the rest of our lives. Sounds like heaven. Might need to recruit some gatherers, though, or the ol’ bowels might suffer from lack of roughage. Of course, Lundo suggested that maybe we would just evolve to be some sort of beer-and-sausage culture. Like Germans.
In furtherance of my quest to become the ubergeek, I’m playing some Dungeons and Dragons after the Ren Fest on Saturday. I don’t know what’s going to happen – all of that geeking might cause me to turn into a druid or something. I predict best day evar!!!!11
Speaking of Vikings, I’m brewing some mead, so far it smells really good. Unlike beer, I can actually smell the mead through the airlock. I tried to convince Kerry to let me get a good drinking horn from which to gulp my honey libation. I’ll grow a crazed beard like my friend Johnny and shout “SKOAL!” with mead dripping from my drinking horn as I guzzle. Perfect. That’s the life for me.
On a tangent – last night I was playing WoW while drinking my homebrewed IPA and eating my father-in-law’s homemade venison and elk beer sticks. See, my father-in-law got a spiffy sausage maker for a retirement present, and the results have been delicious. Talking over my snack with friends produced the suggestion that we get my father-in-law and move to the woods somewhere and survive off of beer and sausage for the rest of our lives. Sounds like heaven. Might need to recruit some gatherers, though, or the ol’ bowels might suffer from lack of roughage. Of course, Lundo suggested that maybe we would just evolve to be some sort of beer-and-sausage culture. Like Germans.
In furtherance of my quest to become the ubergeek, I’m playing some Dungeons and Dragons after the Ren Fest on Saturday. I don’t know what’s going to happen – all of that geeking might cause me to turn into a druid or something. I predict best day evar!!!!11
But wait, there's more.
I'm sure that most of you have already read a lot of this on the Jabberboard, but I'll save it here for posterity:
Wow. So the story totally did not end. [Tuesday] night was fine. There was not a word spoken, not a wave given...I didn't see the guy at all. Then [Wednesday] he showed up at my house. At my front door. He asked if I had found anything out [about a supposed legal problem that I had previously told him I would not research]. I told him to go see a lawyer. That part was just fine, of course. The weird part was that he said, "Yeah, I saw you guys through my binoculars." I laughed at his joke. Then he said, "No I just like to watch the birds and stuff outside my window."
RED FLAGS!
He then said that he was now staying in the apartment until september.
RED FLAG!
He said that he wanted to be friends, and that if we're having any parties or anything that he wants to come down and hang out.
NO!
So yeah. The conversation ended aaaaaaaaaaand...
Kerry called the cops. Who showed up. And went and talked to him.
The cop called me after talking to him, and told me that his name is J@mes J0seph G@rcia, not the name that he had given us, he is indeed moving but is most assuredly not moving to Plymouth but rather moving to some other apartments about a block away...basically the whole thing is a pack of lies and my initial gut reaction of creep-outitude was spot-on.
The police officer said that she doesn't think he's violent and doesn't think that he'll retaliate -- she thinks that he'll try to apologize (which we also do not want).
So I chatted with my 'rents about it. Dad's opinion was that the action we took was the exact right thing to do. Mom's insight was that for the first two years that my family lived in Benson, there was (unbeknownst to them or the rest of the area) a murderer living across the street who was likable, talkative, and eventually carried away by a S.W.A.T. team. So, there are Creepyguys everywhere.
Last night Kerry was gone for a work-related overnight, so it was just me and the Gwennerpants. Ryan came over and we played magic and swilled homebrew for several hours, and it was awesome. I would have been decidedly less comfortable if I were home alone. I'm not physically afraid of Creepyguy himself. I really don't fear violence. I just don't want to talk to him at all. I know that he's probably hurt by the situation. Whatever. I have a lot of anxiety that I'll have to tell him to get off my property or to stop talking to me or something. He needs to learn that those actions make people uncomfortable. I have a wife and daughter to think about.
Thankfully he hasn't come by. Kerry and I are headed out to the lake this evening, so we won't have to deal with him. What a tool.
Wow. So the story totally did not end. [Tuesday] night was fine. There was not a word spoken, not a wave given...I didn't see the guy at all. Then [Wednesday] he showed up at my house. At my front door. He asked if I had found anything out [about a supposed legal problem that I had previously told him I would not research]. I told him to go see a lawyer. That part was just fine, of course. The weird part was that he said, "Yeah, I saw you guys through my binoculars." I laughed at his joke. Then he said, "No I just like to watch the birds and stuff outside my window."
RED FLAGS!
He then said that he was now staying in the apartment until september.
RED FLAG!
He said that he wanted to be friends, and that if we're having any parties or anything that he wants to come down and hang out.
NO!
So yeah. The conversation ended aaaaaaaaaaand...
Kerry called the cops. Who showed up. And went and talked to him.
The cop called me after talking to him, and told me that his name is J@mes J0seph G@rcia, not the name that he had given us, he is indeed moving but is most assuredly not moving to Plymouth but rather moving to some other apartments about a block away...basically the whole thing is a pack of lies and my initial gut reaction of creep-outitude was spot-on.
The police officer said that she doesn't think he's violent and doesn't think that he'll retaliate -- she thinks that he'll try to apologize (which we also do not want).
So I chatted with my 'rents about it. Dad's opinion was that the action we took was the exact right thing to do. Mom's insight was that for the first two years that my family lived in Benson, there was (unbeknownst to them or the rest of the area) a murderer living across the street who was likable, talkative, and eventually carried away by a S.W.A.T. team. So, there are Creepyguys everywhere.
Last night Kerry was gone for a work-related overnight, so it was just me and the Gwennerpants. Ryan came over and we played magic and swilled homebrew for several hours, and it was awesome. I would have been decidedly less comfortable if I were home alone. I'm not physically afraid of Creepyguy himself. I really don't fear violence. I just don't want to talk to him at all. I know that he's probably hurt by the situation. Whatever. I have a lot of anxiety that I'll have to tell him to get off my property or to stop talking to me or something. He needs to learn that those actions make people uncomfortable. I have a wife and daughter to think about.
Thankfully he hasn't come by. Kerry and I are headed out to the lake this evening, so we won't have to deal with him. What a tool.
Weekend Update!
The weekend was wild and crazy, but based on how long ago my last entry took place I need to go back to before that. Let’s start with last Wednesday and work our way forward in time to the delightful present.
Wednesday night Kerry and I went out for a lovely date. We started with dinner at the Sample Room in Northeast Minneapolis. The food is good there, but the thing that I always forget is that it’s overpriced and small portions. So, without going too far into it, we ate like four different things that left us hungry. From there, we headed to the Ordway for Rent. It was well done, but definitely the weakest performance of the show that I’ve seen. The root of the problem was the American Idol guy that they jammed into the role of Collins. The guy had a good voice, just not one capable of playing that role. His range is too high to play Collins, and as a result he had to sing different notes. Rather than being able to smoothly fit with the music, the result was jarring. It’s my opinion that artists in these roles should be permitted a degree of liberty to make the part their own, but when the result ends up completely changing the melody of the song, that’s bad.
All in all Wednesday was good. Thursday was uneventful, for the most part. Our lovely daughter has decided that she is afraid of going to sleep, though. (This happens at her age). This resulted in a good amount of panicked screaming on her part, with Kerry and I in the living room trying to be quiet. Ugh. Kids are fun. She went to sleep eventually.
On Friday, Kerry and I had the day off and put Gwen in daycare. We went out for breakfast at the Good Day Café in St. Louis Park. Meh. The place is super busy all the time, and their food is good, but I just wasn’t in the mood for it. At noon, we picked the Gwenster up from daycare and hit the road for Bemidji.
My brother-in-law’s Groom’s Dinner was on Friday, and his wedding was on Saturday. Both were fun, although I had to leave the festivities early on both occasions, because lil’ Gwen was melting down by about 8:00 pm. She usually has a bedtime of 7:00, but we pushed her. My gift for being an usher was a set of polyhedral dice, in the wedding colors. AWESOME. After the Groom’s Dinner ended, Kerry came and relieved me. I went out to Bemidji’s Irish Pub, a place called Brigid’s Cross, and hung out with my brother-in-law Keith, Nick, Lars, and a host of others. It was fantastic to get out and hang out with those dudes.
The weather cooperated on the day of the wedding, and everything seemed to go without a hitch. My girls were radiant in their gorgeousness. As for my lil’ doll, she was a pretty pretty princess in a little yellow dress. (Pictures later, hopefully.) As for my wife, I must quote Atmosphere and say, “Every woman looks better in a sundress.” I might be biased, but when you’re talking about someone as pretty as my wife, that’s saying a lot. ;)
Wednesday night Kerry and I went out for a lovely date. We started with dinner at the Sample Room in Northeast Minneapolis. The food is good there, but the thing that I always forget is that it’s overpriced and small portions. So, without going too far into it, we ate like four different things that left us hungry. From there, we headed to the Ordway for Rent. It was well done, but definitely the weakest performance of the show that I’ve seen. The root of the problem was the American Idol guy that they jammed into the role of Collins. The guy had a good voice, just not one capable of playing that role. His range is too high to play Collins, and as a result he had to sing different notes. Rather than being able to smoothly fit with the music, the result was jarring. It’s my opinion that artists in these roles should be permitted a degree of liberty to make the part their own, but when the result ends up completely changing the melody of the song, that’s bad.
All in all Wednesday was good. Thursday was uneventful, for the most part. Our lovely daughter has decided that she is afraid of going to sleep, though. (This happens at her age). This resulted in a good amount of panicked screaming on her part, with Kerry and I in the living room trying to be quiet. Ugh. Kids are fun. She went to sleep eventually.
On Friday, Kerry and I had the day off and put Gwen in daycare. We went out for breakfast at the Good Day Café in St. Louis Park. Meh. The place is super busy all the time, and their food is good, but I just wasn’t in the mood for it. At noon, we picked the Gwenster up from daycare and hit the road for Bemidji.
My brother-in-law’s Groom’s Dinner was on Friday, and his wedding was on Saturday. Both were fun, although I had to leave the festivities early on both occasions, because lil’ Gwen was melting down by about 8:00 pm. She usually has a bedtime of 7:00, but we pushed her. My gift for being an usher was a set of polyhedral dice, in the wedding colors. AWESOME. After the Groom’s Dinner ended, Kerry came and relieved me. I went out to Bemidji’s Irish Pub, a place called Brigid’s Cross, and hung out with my brother-in-law Keith, Nick, Lars, and a host of others. It was fantastic to get out and hang out with those dudes.
The weather cooperated on the day of the wedding, and everything seemed to go without a hitch. My girls were radiant in their gorgeousness. As for my lil’ doll, she was a pretty pretty princess in a little yellow dress. (Pictures later, hopefully.) As for my wife, I must quote Atmosphere and say, “Every woman looks better in a sundress.” I might be biased, but when you’re talking about someone as pretty as my wife, that’s saying a lot. ;)
The celebration of my fatherhood!
As usual, summer is going way too fast. It always happens, though, and the best than can be done about it is to just enjoy every bit of it that you can. That’s my advice, anyway.
Before the weekend, I got to have a nice date with Kerry. We went to Thistles in Robbinsdale, which was quite good. It was amazing that in the five years we’ve lived in our house, we’ve never been to this restaurant. Kerry had some delicious tuna with wasabi, and I had chipotle pork, served with a wonderful sweet potato soufflé and topped with apricot chutney. It was, for lack of better description, hella good. After that we made our way to Coldstone for delicious ice cream. Nom nom nom.
This weekend was fantastic. It started on Friday evening, with a full-on geek out, with another wonderful Dungeons and Dragons session. The excellent surprise was that my good friend John was able to come from Madison to play with us. The bad thing is that a trip that should have taken him like 3 hours took 7, because there were a ton of roads closed in WI. So, he had a hairy drive, but it was good to see him and hang out. We ended up staying awake until 2:00 am, playing D&D and drinking way way too much beer.
My darling daughter decided to get up at 6:00 am on Saturday morning, which meant 4 hours of sleep for me. Needless to say, I was a bit of a zombie that day, but I actually took a nap in the afternoon. That’s usually unheard of for me, but I needed it. Saturday night was pretty uneventful. Kerry and I just chilled out at home.
Sunday morning was Father’s day, and it was fantastic. My girls let me sleep in, and Kerry had baked muffins for me upon my waking. After spending a little time with them and sippin’ some coffee, I was off to play golf with the boys. I played fairly wretchedly, but it was a fantastic morning for golfing. I wound up with a peaceful feeling in my brain and a slight sunburn on my skin. I went out to lunch with the guys afterward at JJ’s Clubhouse, near the golf course. We conversed, drank beer, and had good food. It was funny, because all three of my golfing partners had been over on Friday night for D&D. Us nerds roam in packs.
After I went home, my parents and sister’s family came over for a delicious backyard barbecue. I cooked burgers and brats, and Kerry had prepared the rest of an awesome feast (including a cherry pie from scratch – she actually stemmed and pitted a bowl of cherries for this delectable bit of deliciousness). It was awesome to see my family. All in all, it was pretty much the best weekend ever.
Before the weekend, I got to have a nice date with Kerry. We went to Thistles in Robbinsdale, which was quite good. It was amazing that in the five years we’ve lived in our house, we’ve never been to this restaurant. Kerry had some delicious tuna with wasabi, and I had chipotle pork, served with a wonderful sweet potato soufflé and topped with apricot chutney. It was, for lack of better description, hella good. After that we made our way to Coldstone for delicious ice cream. Nom nom nom.
This weekend was fantastic. It started on Friday evening, with a full-on geek out, with another wonderful Dungeons and Dragons session. The excellent surprise was that my good friend John was able to come from Madison to play with us. The bad thing is that a trip that should have taken him like 3 hours took 7, because there were a ton of roads closed in WI. So, he had a hairy drive, but it was good to see him and hang out. We ended up staying awake until 2:00 am, playing D&D and drinking way way too much beer.
My darling daughter decided to get up at 6:00 am on Saturday morning, which meant 4 hours of sleep for me. Needless to say, I was a bit of a zombie that day, but I actually took a nap in the afternoon. That’s usually unheard of for me, but I needed it. Saturday night was pretty uneventful. Kerry and I just chilled out at home.
Sunday morning was Father’s day, and it was fantastic. My girls let me sleep in, and Kerry had baked muffins for me upon my waking. After spending a little time with them and sippin’ some coffee, I was off to play golf with the boys. I played fairly wretchedly, but it was a fantastic morning for golfing. I wound up with a peaceful feeling in my brain and a slight sunburn on my skin. I went out to lunch with the guys afterward at JJ’s Clubhouse, near the golf course. We conversed, drank beer, and had good food. It was funny, because all three of my golfing partners had been over on Friday night for D&D. Us nerds roam in packs.
After I went home, my parents and sister’s family came over for a delicious backyard barbecue. I cooked burgers and brats, and Kerry had prepared the rest of an awesome feast (including a cherry pie from scratch – she actually stemmed and pitted a bowl of cherries for this delectable bit of deliciousness). It was awesome to see my family. All in all, it was pretty much the best weekend ever.
Stormy!!!
There’s a pretty astounding thunderstorm taking place right at this very moment. It was as dark as night for a while there, and then this torrential rain came blasting out of the heavens. My dorkiness is proven yet again here, because two separate thoughts came to my head during this occurrence, and neither one was of my own safety or the threat of inclement weather. The first thought was, “SWEET! Free car wash!” The second, “Hmm, I wonder if this is the storm system that is really hiding an alien invasion.”
My previously expressed goal of losing poundage is off to a good start. I’ve been more conscious about what I eat, and have been getting exercise every night (mowing the lawn counts!). I’m going to have a problem tonight, though, due to certain amounts of Mountain Dew, Cheetos, beer and the like that are guaranteed to be consumed when my compatriots join me in my basement for…you guessed it…Dungeons and Dragons. HEY! Stop making fun of me. I’m fully aware of how jealous you are.
So the Jabberboard has had this ongoing series of topics started by yours truly, dedicated to cover songs. The gist is that someone comes up with a theme, and people cover songs according to that theme. The theme for the latest round was “reggae”. I think it’s absolutely hilarious to cover (read: bastardize) the songs that close personal friends have written. Therefore, I took it upon myself to cover a tune by Ryan’s one-man death metal band, Kathetor. The result was…
Freaking awesome.
I had so much fun recording it, I can’t even begin to explain. Prepare yourself for Manifest Retribution. If you’re into cool sounding metal with rad riffage, I encourage you to check out the original as well.
My previously expressed goal of losing poundage is off to a good start. I’ve been more conscious about what I eat, and have been getting exercise every night (mowing the lawn counts!). I’m going to have a problem tonight, though, due to certain amounts of Mountain Dew, Cheetos, beer and the like that are guaranteed to be consumed when my compatriots join me in my basement for…you guessed it…Dungeons and Dragons. HEY! Stop making fun of me. I’m fully aware of how jealous you are.
So the Jabberboard has had this ongoing series of topics started by yours truly, dedicated to cover songs. The gist is that someone comes up with a theme, and people cover songs according to that theme. The theme for the latest round was “reggae”. I think it’s absolutely hilarious to cover (read: bastardize) the songs that close personal friends have written. Therefore, I took it upon myself to cover a tune by Ryan’s one-man death metal band, Kathetor. The result was…
Freaking awesome.
I had so much fun recording it, I can’t even begin to explain. Prepare yourself for Manifest Retribution. If you’re into cool sounding metal with rad riffage, I encourage you to check out the original as well.
I just want to golf...
I haven’t exactly been impressed with the weather this summer. There have been occasions where it’s been beautiful (this past weekend, for example) but by and large it’s been full of suck. All I want to do is find some time to play some golf, and for whatever reason it’s just not happening. Here we are, another week, and rain in the forecast every single day. What is this, April? No, I’m afraid it’s June.
Aww crap, it’s already June! I’d forgotten how ridiculously quickly summer goes by. I know that I’m probably jumping the gun on comments like this – it is only the beginning of June, after all – but I know that the feeling is only going to grow as the summer continues, so I figure I’ll get my complaining started early. The upshot is that there’s only one year of school left for me, and then I’m free from school and free from the shackles of a dead-end job.
A good friend of mine, Amy Lundebrek, had her first book published. It’s all done and available for order, and I must say it’s fantastic. It’s a really cute story that points out that beautiful things can be found everywhere. It’s called “Under the Night Sky”, and it’s about going outside in the middle of the night to view the Northern Lights. You should pick up a copy, especially if you have kids. I’m not a book reviewer or a blurbist, so I’ll leave it at that. Ever since I’ve known Amy we’ve chatted about writing, and I’m proud of her for taking her passion and making something really beautiful out of it.
Other than that, it’s a pretty uneventful week so far. My coworker got a new job, so I’m stuck doing the work of two people (while, of course, only being paid for one person). It’s a hectic, frustrating, panic-attack-inducing situation that I would very much like to end. If anyone wants to work with me* (and by that I don’t mean for the same company or the same building, I mean literally in the very same office as me, in a chair that sits about ten feet away) feel free to apply for the job. It’s posted somewhere in the Star Trib, I think…
Since the forecast proves that the weather does not want me to golf, I’ll be spending the week with activities such as beer-bottling and D&D. (yes. I’m such a freaking dork). Should be awesome.
For those who like WoW, I wrote a song last night that’s full of win. Bask in the smooth harmonies of “Stranglethorn”.
*You don't. Trust me
Aww crap, it’s already June! I’d forgotten how ridiculously quickly summer goes by. I know that I’m probably jumping the gun on comments like this – it is only the beginning of June, after all – but I know that the feeling is only going to grow as the summer continues, so I figure I’ll get my complaining started early. The upshot is that there’s only one year of school left for me, and then I’m free from school and free from the shackles of a dead-end job.
A good friend of mine, Amy Lundebrek, had her first book published. It’s all done and available for order, and I must say it’s fantastic. It’s a really cute story that points out that beautiful things can be found everywhere. It’s called “Under the Night Sky”, and it’s about going outside in the middle of the night to view the Northern Lights. You should pick up a copy, especially if you have kids. I’m not a book reviewer or a blurbist, so I’ll leave it at that. Ever since I’ve known Amy we’ve chatted about writing, and I’m proud of her for taking her passion and making something really beautiful out of it.
Other than that, it’s a pretty uneventful week so far. My coworker got a new job, so I’m stuck doing the work of two people (while, of course, only being paid for one person). It’s a hectic, frustrating, panic-attack-inducing situation that I would very much like to end. If anyone wants to work with me* (and by that I don’t mean for the same company or the same building, I mean literally in the very same office as me, in a chair that sits about ten feet away) feel free to apply for the job. It’s posted somewhere in the Star Trib, I think…
Since the forecast proves that the weather does not want me to golf, I’ll be spending the week with activities such as beer-bottling and D&D. (yes. I’m such a freaking dork). Should be awesome.
For those who like WoW, I wrote a song last night that’s full of win. Bask in the smooth harmonies of “Stranglethorn”.
*You don't. Trust me
Plumbing woes
Yesterday was simply gorgeous weather, and today is more of the same. The big difference between yesterday and today, though, is that today I’m stuck at work. Alas for Mondays.
Yesterday was weird. Kerry had to work, and that always increases the weird factor, just because she’s not around. What really made it a pretty lame day was the plumbing disaster that we experienced. Going into yesterday I thought that plumbing was just the connection of a series of tubes, and really wasn’t that big a deal. Now I understand the necessity of plumbers.
It all started with a clog in my bathroom sink. The little teeny sink-sized plunger was no match for this clog, so I brought out the big guns: The snake. I shoved it into the pipe and tried to fight this clog. In doing so, I somehow shoved the whole drain pipe off of the sink. Smelly, disgusting water was suddenly covering my bathroom floor. Not cool.
After finally procuring a wrench that was able to properly disassemble the rigging beneath my sink, I found myself with a severe backache and pieces of pipe that I was completely unable to put back together. OK, that’s not entirely true. I knew exactly how they went together; there was just simply no existing way to put it back onto the sink. I don’t know if it had been soldered before or something, but there were no threads, nuts, or any other means of fusing the pipe to the drain. All of my wrenching efforts were in vain. The plumber was called this morning. As a plus, I now have an awesome monkey wrench. Even if I never have to use it again, the board game “Clue” has taught me that a nice monkey wrench is a viable murder weapon, and one can never have too many of those. I digress.
Before the whole plumbing fiasco on Sunday, there was a Saturday that I have as of yet failed to mention. Most of the day was pretty uneventful, but that evening Ryan, Lundo, Amy, and Brian came over to eat a whole crapload of chicken wings and play some Settlers of Catan. Much fun was had, much beer was had, and life was good.
I’m sure I’ve mentioned it already, but when I have a whole bunch of people over to hang out, and beer is involved, I never have a good morning the next day. Not because I’m hung over or anything; I worry because I think that I said something stupid that would make my friends think less of me. More than the beer, the simple fact of being a social host sometimes causes me to just…verbally vomit. Some sort of subconscious thing within me (insecurity, mayhap?) causes me to just constantly try and fill any silence. When you add any amount of alcohol to the mix, I talk louder, faster, and much, much more. My apologies to everyone that came over – I hope I wasn’t too annoying.
Yesterday was weird. Kerry had to work, and that always increases the weird factor, just because she’s not around. What really made it a pretty lame day was the plumbing disaster that we experienced. Going into yesterday I thought that plumbing was just the connection of a series of tubes, and really wasn’t that big a deal. Now I understand the necessity of plumbers.
It all started with a clog in my bathroom sink. The little teeny sink-sized plunger was no match for this clog, so I brought out the big guns: The snake. I shoved it into the pipe and tried to fight this clog. In doing so, I somehow shoved the whole drain pipe off of the sink. Smelly, disgusting water was suddenly covering my bathroom floor. Not cool.
After finally procuring a wrench that was able to properly disassemble the rigging beneath my sink, I found myself with a severe backache and pieces of pipe that I was completely unable to put back together. OK, that’s not entirely true. I knew exactly how they went together; there was just simply no existing way to put it back onto the sink. I don’t know if it had been soldered before or something, but there were no threads, nuts, or any other means of fusing the pipe to the drain. All of my wrenching efforts were in vain. The plumber was called this morning. As a plus, I now have an awesome monkey wrench. Even if I never have to use it again, the board game “Clue” has taught me that a nice monkey wrench is a viable murder weapon, and one can never have too many of those. I digress.
Before the whole plumbing fiasco on Sunday, there was a Saturday that I have as of yet failed to mention. Most of the day was pretty uneventful, but that evening Ryan, Lundo, Amy, and Brian came over to eat a whole crapload of chicken wings and play some Settlers of Catan. Much fun was had, much beer was had, and life was good.
I’m sure I’ve mentioned it already, but when I have a whole bunch of people over to hang out, and beer is involved, I never have a good morning the next day. Not because I’m hung over or anything; I worry because I think that I said something stupid that would make my friends think less of me. More than the beer, the simple fact of being a social host sometimes causes me to just…verbally vomit. Some sort of subconscious thing within me (insecurity, mayhap?) causes me to just constantly try and fill any silence. When you add any amount of alcohol to the mix, I talk louder, faster, and much, much more. My apologies to everyone that came over – I hope I wasn’t too annoying.
Spring is springing, I'm still a geek.
It’s all melting! The snow is swiftly receding and the air has a hint of spring to it. Lemme tell ya, being outside soothes the soul. Unfortunately, my soul has been thoroughly un-soothed by the beige and fluorescent world that is work. So yeah – it’s hard to “put my all” into being here. Blech.
It’s kind of funny around here this time of year, though. My work’s parking lot was designed by a madman, because the whole thing is a slope, right next to a really big hill. What this means is that on warm days, all of the snow melts off of the big hill and runs into our parking lot. Then the sun sets, and all of that water running through the parking lot freezes. The end result is a sloped skating rink of sorts. So, people come in to work in the morning, park on said skating rink, and are surprised to find that all of their cars have slid into each other. I wish I was kidding, but it happens every single year. Heck, it happened to me once, the first year I was here. Once, mind you. I’m not one of the people that it keeps happening to, year after year. I laugh at them. I laugh at them because I’ve been there, and am now wiser. They’ve been there, and are not. Hee hee. Chortle chortle. Har har.
The great melt that has been taking place has also been a source of a little disappointment for me. I had this ridiculously awesome icicle that was hanging off of my house. It almost went from the roof to the ground…that’s a big icicle. It was hard and straight and fierce. My plan was for it to continue building its awesome girth, and then on Sunday I would pluck it from its perch and bequeath it to T-Rav, saying something to the effect of, “Here is thy FROSTSABER, sir.” Then…I dunno, he’d hold it like a sword and we’d take a picture and then photoshop it into something epic. I’m telling you, it would have been awesome. Unfortunately, the problem with epic frostsabers is that they don’t survive 50-degree weather. The whole thing was completely gone on Tuesday…wiped from existence by the vengeful Sun God, Ra. Plan B: MUDSABER!
Continuing this thread of me being an absolute effing DORK and LOVING it, I’m super excited for Sunday, because on that evening, a vast horde is coming to my home to play some good ol’ Dungeons and Dragons. Yes, you read that right. Yes, I’m that much of a dork, and Yes, if you’re reading this there’s like an 85% chance that you’re going to be there, too, which makes you as much of a dork as I am. HUZZAH, I say. Lift high a horn filled to the brim with the Dew of the Mountains, and let loose your battle cry. The sky may rain fire, but all will be well in the land ere long.
It’s kind of funny around here this time of year, though. My work’s parking lot was designed by a madman, because the whole thing is a slope, right next to a really big hill. What this means is that on warm days, all of the snow melts off of the big hill and runs into our parking lot. Then the sun sets, and all of that water running through the parking lot freezes. The end result is a sloped skating rink of sorts. So, people come in to work in the morning, park on said skating rink, and are surprised to find that all of their cars have slid into each other. I wish I was kidding, but it happens every single year. Heck, it happened to me once, the first year I was here. Once, mind you. I’m not one of the people that it keeps happening to, year after year. I laugh at them. I laugh at them because I’ve been there, and am now wiser. They’ve been there, and are not. Hee hee. Chortle chortle. Har har.
The great melt that has been taking place has also been a source of a little disappointment for me. I had this ridiculously awesome icicle that was hanging off of my house. It almost went from the roof to the ground…that’s a big icicle. It was hard and straight and fierce. My plan was for it to continue building its awesome girth, and then on Sunday I would pluck it from its perch and bequeath it to T-Rav, saying something to the effect of, “Here is thy FROSTSABER, sir.” Then…I dunno, he’d hold it like a sword and we’d take a picture and then photoshop it into something epic. I’m telling you, it would have been awesome. Unfortunately, the problem with epic frostsabers is that they don’t survive 50-degree weather. The whole thing was completely gone on Tuesday…wiped from existence by the vengeful Sun God, Ra. Plan B: MUDSABER!
Continuing this thread of me being an absolute effing DORK and LOVING it, I’m super excited for Sunday, because on that evening, a vast horde is coming to my home to play some good ol’ Dungeons and Dragons. Yes, you read that right. Yes, I’m that much of a dork, and Yes, if you’re reading this there’s like an 85% chance that you’re going to be there, too, which makes you as much of a dork as I am. HUZZAH, I say. Lift high a horn filled to the brim with the Dew of the Mountains, and let loose your battle cry. The sky may rain fire, but all will be well in the land ere long.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)