Tag: gaming

Uncategorised

Friar Cluck

Summer started off super early to get the car show going. I got out as quickly as I could, feeling much better after sleep. I had to go by her place to get some cakes she forgot, then made it in at least before it started.

I didn’t feel confident in running more than one deep fryer because of the lack of outlets, but I managed with just one pretty well. The show had a great turnout, and people seemed to have a really good time. Nick sold out of pulled pork peculiarly fast, but we had chicken strips for days. I just kept churning them through the fry baskets, using the timer on my Pebble to keep them going. While I was there, I had a few esports kids come in to play, but they were just left to their own devices since I was busy elsewhere.

Dad came by to check it out and hung out with the Model T guys for most of the day. I pulled him away for just a bit to climb up to the roof for some photos. The trees were a bit in the way, but I got a decent panorama out of the deal.

I was absolutely beat by the time we got everything wrapped up, but I had to go to my parents’ to clean up their fryer, and then to the shop to drop off the borrowed extension cords. Somehow Summer had the energy for some gym time. I went home to clean up just a little bit, then made my way to her place to pick her up for the Magic: The Gathering open house. Travis met us there, but John and Melissa had something else going on. We ended up wishing we had brought the kids, but they were tired and moody anyway.

We played a couple games, first for Summer to watch and learn, and then again with all three of us in a free-for-all. Summer won that game, and seemed to really enjoy it, so I’m sure we’ll be back for the next open house. One of the esports kids that didn’t show up to the car show today was there learning how to DM a game of D&D, which I thought was pretty neat. They really did a lot with a small amount of space.

Once Travis had had enough, we headed home and I fried up some rice and egg for dinner. We watched a couple episodes of Parks and Rec, and then crashed.

Oh, oh, it’s Magic!

Uncategorised

It’s Snot What You Think

Heather was supposed to come work with me at the junior high this morning, but she ended up being pretty busy back at the office. I just kind of piddled around until testing was over, and then went back to the shop to meet up for lunch. Jason wanted wings and suggested Zaxby’s, so he, Ben, Zach, and Heather all loaded up with me to go. I had a salad that was really pretty good, but it still made me sad. It wasn’t even a healthy salad, but I just get so much joy out of their chicken strips that it made me sad not to eat them.

After lunch, I chatted with Gary for a while before going to Oakland to clean up a virus our firewall detected was being synced by OneDrive. Then I went back to the shop until the end of the day.

On the way home, I felt a mass inside my right nostril that I thought I could extract. It took some back and forth, but eventually I blew it out. It was so big that my curiosity had me weigh it at just over five grams. I felt like I had never breathed clean air before in my life, but that only lasted a few minutes before I felt the congestion start to move back in.

The Dumbo betta’s fins seemed to have gotten worse since separating her, so I spent some time getting her into some medicated water. Then Summer came over to help clean up the leftover pizza and some dill soup Ronda gave me. Ronda didn’t care for it from Stoby’s, but Summer and I both liked it. Then I spent the rest of the evening on the computer haphazardly researching things I keep putting on the backburner. Clint and Aaron got on for a bit, so I ended the light with a couple rounds of Overwatch before retiring to bed.

Is that my brain?!?

Uncategorised

Self Promoting

Gary and I chatted for a while this morning, reminiscing about the days of olde. I missed not getting to see Mitch when he came to town. He said they all went to Robert and Grant’s barbecue truck to see what they had, and that it was the best barbecue he had ever had. It got me thinking and wondering, and even made me a little sad to think back to that earlier time.

Dad texted Mom and me asking for a ride home from St. Mary’s after they had doped him up and told him not to drive. I got him home and then went to the junior high for a bit before lunch. Allen was really craving chicken, so we went to KFC for lunch, and then I went back to the shop to talk with Gary some more about how to block the kids from accessing porn on the school devices. Those kids are so crafty about it, and some of the things they do are pretty creative. I guess I just can’t imagine them living in today’s world without access to that kind of thing everywhere else, and it makes me wonder why they’d do it at school.

Eventually I made it back to the junior high for esports. Rachel and Josh came by to get a few quote from some kids and take some more pictures. Josh even staged a little artistic photo as well with a mix of someone’s Razer headphones, a VicTsing mouse, and my Monoprice mechanical keyboard. At the end of the day, I accidentally remotely restarted three computers that were being used to play a winning game, and I felt really bad for causing the team to lose an otherwise winning match. They gave me some grief over it, but they seemed to brush it all off in the end since it was really time to go anyway.

I went home for a bit to clean up, and then went to Summer’s for the evening. She prepped some more veggies and I made another awesome pizza since the girls went out with their dad. Then I spent the rest of the night playing some Overwatch with Johnny, Jack, Aaron, and Clint. It was nice to have so many people on, and I was surprised at how late they all stayed on. Must’ve been kismet.

The Executive Director of Esports, Game Master, and Emperor Supreme does not 1v1 a bruh!
The Executive Director of Esports, Game Master, and Emperor Supreme sends his Legions to dispatch his opponents!

Uncategorised

Grey Skies

It was cloudy and a bit rainy all morning. The girls got up and we had leftover smoked pork sandwiches that Ben made for the potluck. Then they went home to clean up and go about their day while I readied to say goodbye to my friend.

Grey seemed to go downhill just over the course of the day, so I felt like I made the right call. I scooped her up off the top of the couch by the window and set her in the carrier. She sort of half stood up, and at one point even got out a little bit of a meow, but that was it. I took her to Tanner Veterinary Clinic for one last time. They had me do the paperwork up front so I could just walk out at the end. I did alright until I looked over at their little LED candle they light for when someone’s saying goodbye to a pet.

They got her weight, and she stood up a bit for that, and then we went to a room in the back. It was all pretty quick from there. I put her up on the table and she walked around a little bit. They gave her a sedative that knocked her out in just a few minutes, but left me in there for 15 to make sure she was solidly out. I just kept petting her, wondering what a cat might dream about that’s lived indoors all her life. Finally they came back in, shaved a spot on her leg, and for some reason wiped it down with alcohol. It took one shot to stop the breathing, and then another just to be sure her heart stopped. She was resilient and stubborn to the end. I didn’t bother to take any more time, having had a few weeks to make my peace.

I headed home and had a couple beers with Split Lip, the last living bit of a life I had so long ago. Things are different now. More convoluted and often difficult. But also simpler and easier. Better. We’ve all grown and changed, or at least our view of the world has expanded. In the end, the best we can do is try to pass on what we’ve learned along our way.

Amanda met me at Ruby Tuesday for a birthday dinner. I got to use my free garden bar birthday coupon. I only ate about half what I normally do since I waited for her to get her food first. We caught each other up on work things mostly. Lots of complaining about working for the government. A little gossip about old work friends. Nothing of any consequence. The true highlight was when our waitress looked at my phone for just a few seconds and memorized my coupon code. It had to be mnemonics. She’s definitely missing a calling somewhere in industrial espionage or something.

From dinner, I headed straight over to get the girls and head up to Zach and Sara’s. Bryan, Daspri, and Gary beat us there and had already chowed down on the burgers and dogs. Hungry for some meat, I had a burger myself hoping the others would follow. Of course they did not, so I ate alone during our game of Sequence. We did that until it was no longer fun, and then switched to Unstable Unicorns. That dragged on a bit as well, just for the number of people we had. We only made it through one game, and then Bryan and Daspri rounded up their girls and headed home. We stuck around to try out a few bombs in Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes. It seemed to be a pretty good hit once we got rolling, but I think the game would really shine as a team building game at work. We ended the night with a round of Mario Kart so I could assert my dominance. Zach nearly beat me, but nearly is not enough.

We ran home, stopping for gas, because tomorrow it’s off to take a hike. Somehow we really managed to cram a lot into this spring break.

You’re 5,000 candles in the wind!

Uncategorised

Cards Versus Humanity

Spring break was in the air today. I got up an hour and a half early and made broccoli, rice, and cheese casserole for our potluck, and then had plenty of time to get everything ready for work. We didn’t have anything in the way of group projects, so I just leisurely took care of a few things as they came in.

Ben brought some smoked pork for a potluck, and I think I was the only one that actually made anything myself to contribute, but it was worth it. I haven’t made that stuff in a while, so it was about time. We took a long working lunch, but that didn’t really affect when I was going to leave. I had stuff to do. They got my lift to the junior high so I could replace the band projector bulb. It’s always fun driving heavy machinery around indoors.

After work, I chatted with Ben for a little while before heading home and trying to feed Grey a bit. She managed to get a bit of gravy down along with several treats. Then I went to Walmart to get some stuff for cheese dip before picking Summer up.

We went to Travis’s to play Cards Against Humanity with John and Melissa. Veronica backed out, but she missed a really good time. Travis and Summer had never played before, so it was a lot of fun. Nearing the end of the game, I kept having to tend to my phone to orchestrate the meeting between the internet fish lady and Clint. Eventually they did make the connection, and he shuttled the lot all the way home for me.

Summer and I stayed to chat with Travis for a while, and then left as Clint got closer to town. We met him nearly exactly on time, and I took an armload of fish off his hands. I didn’t have the time or space for them anywhere, so I just ended up opening the bags at Summer’s so they could get some air. I’ll have to take care of them properly in the morning. The girl even sent me some minimal plant trimmings, which was super awesome of her. Just before bed, I also got an invoice for a collection of plants from someone in California. Hopefully this comes together nicely. I have all spring break, after all.

Meeting people on the internet is completely normal and safe in every way.

Uncategorised

Double Down Loaded

The junior high started testing this morning, so I took that time to start cleaning out my office. I got some white space on my desk, which felt really good. Then I got some tech tubs over to the graveyard for storage, which freed up some floor space. I met Allen at New China for lunch, and he brought along a surprise Gary with him. I had to pregame for my birthday dinner at Brown’s Catfish tomorrow.

After lunch, I ran by Oakland for just a bit, then spent the rest of the afternoon at the junior high working on a few things. I ended the day working late to get Sandy’s lab ready for my first esports expansion. I kind of hope I have even more kids there this time, but a part of me thinks we won’t completely fill up the first lab tomorrow. I’ve done zero advertising for this week, so at this point I’m kind of just finding out whether these kids have this programmed into them automatically for weekly meets. I still need to meet with Al at the high school to see about gauging interest, and hopefully finding some help for coaching.

When I got home, I tried to get Grey to eat a little something, but neither of them really love the new can of food I opened. I did get her to eat a bunch of treats, but as soon as I put them near her wet food, she ignores it all. I should probably just give up on her fattening up, but she’s been so sweet.

The girls had leftovers for dinner, so I came up to join them. I finally got some of the spaghetti Summer made while I was sick. Then I played some Breath of the Wild until the girls went to bed. Summer and I finished the evening with a couple episodes of Parks and Recreation until she wanted to pass out.

We’re taking back HSTI!

Uncategorised

No Spring in This Step

I woke myself up this morning with a cough, and decided to just stay up so I wouldn’t have trouble sleeping tonight. I didn’t feel it until much later, but only having a couple hours of sleep really sapped me.

Autumn beat us all up and was watching Criminal Minds when I got out of bed. Summer got up and around just a little bit later, and then she had to drag Eaddie out of bed in order to get them all home. I had a bit of a stomach ache that kept me from being too active, but I did get my bills paid, and I arranged a meeting for Clint to taxi some fish from Fayetteville for me.

Summer came and got me after she finished at the gym, and we went to Walmart to get dinner. We ran into Bác Vân and Doug there and only stopped for a moment in the busy aisle before we were off. I tried finding some more wet food for Grey, but she’s so picky that I even got a bag of treats to see if she would eat those.

Back at Summer’s, she fried up some veggies that Tammy brought me to go along with some grilled cheese brats and corn. The girls had a bit of trouble getting along, but also suffered from their own negativity or inability to focus. It’s tough to discipline them at this age because they’ve already grown into habits and personalities. Conversations work sometimes, but I feel like I really missed out on the belt phase of the child rearing.

I tried having some fun with New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, which is frankly just a stupid and ridiculous name for anything. I don’t think anyone was prepared for the amount of cooperation that was needed, and the fact that the whole screen froze when someone took damage made it that much more difficult to control things. Eaddie was eventually sent to bed for having an attitude, and after finishing the second level, Autumn left Summer and me to watch a couple episodes of Parks and Recreation.

I started falling asleep in Summer’s lap, and headed home to try and feed Grey one more time. She ate the treats, but not much of the gravy. She doesn’t act sick, but she’s just a fuzzy skeleton at this point. It won’t be much longer.

SUPERHACKER

Uncategorised

Fly

Gary had to help get League of Legends to work again this morning. I guess they moved some DNS entries around on their update server, which broke SSL encryption for us again. I’m mostly just parroting words, though. He made the blinky thing workie again. Then he took me to the other basement.

I met Allen at KFC for too much food. I still wish they’d reinstall a tray rail along the buffet. They’re just asking for trouble without it. Then I spent the afternoon at the junior high contemplating organized sports. Being under the AAA umbrella means that players can only play for four years, which means 8th graders can’t actually compete. Fortunately that doesn’t seem to mess me up too badly, because I don’t think anybody has actually stepped up to play in the tournament yet. Matt wants to just throw a couple kids in, but all I see is throwing money into a hole.

After work, I wasn’t hungry enough for phở, so I skipped going to my parents’ house and went to Walmart in the rain to get Grey some wet food. On the way out I drove past a guy with no legs scooting himself across the parking lot between cars on a skateboard, so I’d say things are going pretty spectacularly for me.

Back home I got Grey to eat a little bit before trying to play a custom game of League of Legends with Kang against some bots. For some reason it ran horrendously on my computer, and I just left frustrated. I don’t understand why it drops so many frames, yet Overwatch, Rocket League, and even PUBG will run fine. Generally upset about my computer, I got up and did the dishes and then came back to play some Overwatch with Jack and Johnny, and then Clint after Johnny left. Still fewer wins than expected. Must be tired.

“I don’t listen to a whole lot of classic metal, but if I decided to explore it more, I would definitely listen to more Metallica.”

Uncategorised

Eat. Sleep. Esports. Repeat.

We woke up this morning and finished up some ancient barbecue leftovers for breakfast. Then it was the struggle of getting children out of bed. I took Summer and Autumn home with me to get their car, and I got to work crunching esports stuff together.

I left for a brief moment to get some leftovers at my parents’ house for dinner since the girls didn’t really have time to come down the hill. Nothing fancy; just some leftover KFC. Then it was back home to try and build a playlist of highschool-appropriate esports promotional videos for parent-teacher conferences tomorrow. I just hope it’s not a disaster.

Feels like cramming.

Uncategorised

Dungeons & Deaths

We started work 15 minutes early in exchange for leaving 30 minutes earlier than usual. Ben had a conference to attend, so the rest of us kept busy cleaning up random projects. I got a little time at Oakland to myself, but then spent the afternoon with Zach and Allen after we all had lunch at Fat Daddy’s. I always forget how disappointed I am in the value of their Friday special of a pork loin “covered in bacon.” $7 is just a crime.

After work, Summer brought the girls over to me at the shop, and I took them to get dinner before dropping them off with their grandparents. Autumn wanted a burger and Eaddie insisted on Popeye’s, so we ran by McDonald’s and then Popeye’s before heading to my house to eat. The chicken took an incredible amount of time to prepare, at least for those that were in line ahead of us. I was parked by the speaker for near 15 minutes before they even addressed me and asked me to wait longer before taking my order.

Once the girls ate, they stopped bickering just long enough for me to drop them off. From there, I headed to Kroger and then Domino’s before swinging by Summer’s. She had to be back home relatively early to be up for a quiz bowl tournament the next day, so she just followed me to Travis’s house in her own car.

John and Melissa beat us there, and we spent just a very small amount of time on introductions and pleasantries before jumping right into a game of Dungeons & Dragons. The game was pretty fun in spite of me dying twice and not having anyone around to resurrect me. Summer seemed to enjoy it as well, and we’re excited to go back and continue the campaign.

With the game over, Summer went to get the girls and I met her back at her house for the evening. I showed Eaddie a bit of Bandersnatch while the other two went to bed. We made it through to the credits once before the Netflix autoplay took over and tried to start an episode of Black Mirror. I wish you could just disable that timer and have it automatically play the full credits every time.

I’m gonna have to kick this into high gear!