Tag: gaming

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Talk Down Lock Down

Summer felt a bit off this morning and took a slow ride downhill all day. We got up and munched on a bit of breakfast and then she laid back down for a while. Eventually she tried to get the kids up to take care of some chores and Autumn seemed to be in some sort of mood that earned a stearn parenting moment. I wasted most of my time playing Oxygen Not Included or Lumino City. Summer had a nice pork chop dinner planned and eventually got up to execute that. I put on the National Geographic documentary Science Fair so the kids would have something perhaps a little less mind numbing to watch, and it seemed to grab their attention pretty well, but I wish it had been a little more educational.

When I finally made it home for the evening, I got started on some laundry and cleaned up house a bit. I even managed to frame a poster I’ve been meaning to hang for a few years, but I’ll have to find my way to the wall in order to actually hang it.

Parenting is way easier when you’ve never been one before.

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Seven Player Megonopoly

Summer had to moderate a quiz bowl event today, so I got up shortly after they left to make some breakfast and then go home. I was a bit slow getting started, but eventually became productive. I spent too much time messing with my Google Home/Nest speakers, but discovered my Chromecast Audio devices would output an optical signal, so I eventually got that going in the living room for a true whole-home audio system that sounds great. I started to get the kitchen cleaned up as well as I bounced from one thing to another.

Eventually I got showered and headed to Walmart for cheese dip stuff, and to my horror it had already become quite the zoo. There were so many people wandering around with such full carts, and I could barely make it from aisle to aisle. I loaded my arms full of everything I needed and then some, and the only saving grace was a zero wait time at the newer self checkout lanes they recently opened.

Back at Summer’s, I made the cheese dip in the Instant Pot by first sauteing some hamburger meat with some onions, Rotel, and taco seasoning. I had twice the hamburger meat the recipe called for, but I added some American cheese to it on a whim. The whole thing came out looking pretty bad, and the cheese didn’t seem to properly melt very well, leaving what looked like tiny pellets of unmelted Velveeta. It tasted fine though, and soon we were off to John and Melissa’s.

Travis was there, along with Maria and her boyfriend Asher. Veronica showed up eventually after running around town doing very Veronica things. We snacked on dips and eventually got a game of Monopoly going for seven of us. We had to break out a different set for the extra money and player tokens, but we made it work. It didn’t take us very long to break down some of the rules, but having a couple drinkers around made everyone giggly enough that nobody cared. Much fun was had by all, lasting late into the night.

But what if we put two whole boards together into a figure-8?!?

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Look at the Skies, They Have Stars in Their Eyes

I didn’t sleep in very long today, but I was still slow to get around. It could be the cold making me sluggish too, but I still felt a little lame most of the day. I played Lumino City on my phone for a while and really enjoyed the cute handcrafted feel of it all. Then I played some more Oxygen Not Included until it was time to go up to Summer’s. We had some leftover salad she brought home from Venezia’s, and then watched the new “live action” Lady and the Tramp. It was definitely a more flawed animation than The Lion King, but it was still pretty spooky. You can’t trust anything to be real any more.

Remember that night time we were having?
Cell phone cameras are creepy…

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Party Pooper

I managed to sleep until a little after noon today. I never really got hungry which was nice, but I also didn’t feel up to much after popping my Dulcolax tablets. Originally I had envisioned cleaning up the house a bit, and I did try, but I just didn’t accomplish a whole lot. I spent most of my time playing some more Oxygen Not Included until things started getting gurgly. Then I watched The World According to Jeff Goldblum, which honestly kind of left me not really liking him as much just because he seemed completely unable to be even a little bit normal. He’s an entertaining character in smaller doses, but I could see how someone would become tired of him after a while, like an annoying, weird uncle.

Overall it felt very much like the old days of hiding in my home and not seeing anyone for days. I completely forgot to go out and get gas for Hog Wild Wednesday. I wonder if I can last another week.

Won’t this be fun…

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The Long Hunger

We were supposed to start the first day of testing today, but I’m not sure that actually happened. I kept busy with my own little projects until Ben showed up unexpectedly to chat about what happened yesterday. I really hope he actually takes some kind of meaningful action this time, because it definitely feels like nothing ever works.

I had one Soylent to last me the whole day, and then I stopped to see Summer on my way home to stay up late playing video games to stave off the hunger. I was definitely allowed to eat today, and my belly wanted to know why I didn’t. I should be fine tomorrow with enough other stuff going on to keep my mind off of it. The cat is starting to look pretty yummy though.

I played a couple short rounds of Overwatch arcade matches with Jack before he went to play Call of Duty with the others. Then I made the mistake of starting a two-hour update on my computer, so I laid in bed watching some short extras on Disney+ that I finally got access to from Julie. Once my computer was finished, I dove right into a multi-hour session of Oxygen Not Included until about 5am.

23 Hours Later….

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Nice Day for Anything

We all got up this morning at a pretty good time, and Summer made egg sandwiches for breakfast. I spent a whole bunch of time playing Oxygen Not Included, and the kids watched TV or played the Switch. I joined them for some Mario Party and Mario Kart for a bit while Summer went to the gym, and then they all worked on some chores. It was a beautiful day outside, so I wish we had gone out to do anything at all, but it just didn’t happen.

Noah had to work in the evening, so Summer made a really early dinner for us all. Then I took Noah to work and went home to clean up a bit myself. I got in a little more game time, and Josh got on to play a little Rocket League with me before a bunch of the other guys got on to play Call of Duty. I can’t believe they just keep making those games.

Prep the Soylent!

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Move It, Buster!

The clocks rolled back an hour last night, so of course I woke up fairly early and just lounged around with the cat until Summer got up. Eventually I got cleaned up, and we headed to Conway for a bit of shopping. We stopped by Kohl’s first, then Target before meeting Hannah and Dylan at Red Robin for lunch. They made the trip down after church, we ate, and then ran through Sam’s for a few things before heading on to Little Rock.

We got to Dave & Buster’s relatively early and went right in to play. I had picked up a Groupon for a “date night” pair of unlimited play cards a while back, and we had been meaning to make it down there to use them for the past couple months but just never made it. This was the last weekend before they expired, so I was feeling the pressure. They each came with 18 chips and unlimited free plays on any blue card readers, which basically eliminated anything new or that gave tickets.

It took us a little while to get used to the cards, since we were technically improperly using them for four people. We had to wait 60 seconds after scanning each card, so getting all four of us in the same racing game was a bit of a challenge. We did find that it worked well for shooters, since you could just keep scanning every minute to bank credits. We finished the entire 15-stage first chapter of Tomb Raider in a bit under an hour. At first I wasn’t sure I had made a good purchase, but I think at the end of it all they convinced me it was a good buy. It would have been less awkward to use them for just two people as intended, but I bet we could have made the kids share.

Nobody wanted to eat when we left, and it was getting a bit late anyway, so we headed on home, dropping the others off at their car along the way. I got home and cleaned up a bit before heading up to Summer’s for the evening.

A truck of Vick’s VapoRub crashed and spilled all over the highway.
There was no congestion for eight hours.

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Break Time Not Included

I slept so well last night, smothered in my weighted blanket. Finally, the weather is cold enough to allow me to properly burrow underneath it all. The outside temperature was high enough that my heat pump actually kicked on, and it seemed to work fine to maintain the temperature. I resumed my game of Oxygen Not Included and spent nearly the entire day building up my little home base. When lunchtime came around, I still hadn’t heard from Summer, so I decided to run to Arby’s and take her some lunch in case she couldn’t get out. Their drive-through never picked me up, so I had to go in, but I think I spent more time waiting for their speaker to work than I waited for my food.

When I got to the shop, it was just Summer and three others to handle a slow, but steady stream of cars. I ran to Little Caesar’s to get them some pizza since nobody would have a chance to leave on break, then went upstairs to eat my own food. I waited around for a little while before heading out, stopping at Sonic for a drink before landing back at home. It was so nice out that I considered going out back to continue cleaning up, but all I really wanted to do was continue my game.

Summer asked me to get the girls from the high school after they returned from quiz bowl, so I took them home while she went to the gym. I had some leftover chili while I was there, and then headed back home when she took the girls to their father. Finally, I finished the day the same way it started.

It’s THAT kind of Saturday.

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Rocket Legs

Today was cool and drizzly, and it crept along just like you’d expect a cold, drizzly day to creep. I got a few little things done in the morning and thought I might start messing with the 1:1 laptops a bit in the afternoon. Brice sent us a picture of a Mac ‘N Cheeseburger from Ruby Tuesday, so he, Allen, and I decided to go try it out for only a fiver. Our server was a guy I’d seen around town a lot, and I think he worked at the call center for a little while back in the day. He was nice enough, but it felt like it took him forever to take our super simple orders. Luckily the food came out super fast, and though it didn’t look nearly as good as the picture, it did taste pretty good. I still think it’s hard to argue it against a $5 combo deal at Wendy’s though.

I went by the shop for a little bit after lunch just to catch up on things, then went back to the high school. Dad confirmed that insurance would cover my windshield chip, so I set up an appointment online with Safelite. I had only just submitted the form when my phone rang with a lady calling to confirm the insurance information. Just a couple minutes after that, a local guy called to reschedule my appointment for tomorrow morning since everyone in the area had already left for the day. With that taken care of, I wrapped up the day swapping parts on some laptops. The district won’t make any self-maintainer money from it, but they couldn’t anyway since I don’t have the certifications required by the program. Frankly this way is less wasteful anyway, so I’ll put in the extra effort to save the planet a bit.

Eaddie rode the bus to me since Autumn went home with a fever today. I took her home so I could change, then dropped her off at karate while I went to eat with my parents. Neither lunch or dinner left me feeling totally satisfied today, but I filled up on some water rather than eat more. The hunger came back well before bedtime. When I got back home, I cleaned up a bit and then sat down to play some Rocket League with Josh for a bit. I hadn’t played in a super long time and was using my Xbox Elite Wireless Controller that I hate, but I made it work and didn’t flail around too horribly. Aerials were rough and pointless, but I scored a goal or two.

Maybe time to do some future shopping.

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♬ I Told the Butt Doctor I Had a Bloody Poo ♬

♪ It’s been leaking blood from me just like it was a geyser! ♪

I forgot my badge and keys at home this morning. I also forgot to take my meds after deciding to take them a little later in the morning rather than before I left for work. None of that seemed to matter much though. I went with Amanda, Heather, and Gary to hang a TV above James’s piano. I had an above average time drilling into the brick at first, but I could tell the bit wore out pretty quickly. We were supposed to rehang another one I had hung last year because they wanted it higher, but the class was occupied and we didn’t make it before lunch. We ended up killing some time in Heather’s freezing office, chatting with Kevin a while until lunch.

Allen and I decided to walk next door for FryDay, where we sat across the room from Heather and Gary since they didn’t invite us. We both got the three meat fries special of the day, which was beef, chicken, and shrimp over fries with garlic butter and “taco sauce” which was more of a taco-seasoned cream sauce. It was all good, but left me a bit gurgley from all the butter. I took a half sick day to go to the gastroenterologist for my meet and greet.

I went home first to change, then went to my appointment and filled out a bunch of new patient paperwork. It was probably the least painful that I’ve ever experienced that process, and the girls at the front desk were just great. I thought Dr. White was a relative hoot, though he definitely controlled the conversation. I was most impressed with how quickly I was in and out of there, and I wished I could have that experience ever again in healthcare.

After that conversation and subsequent scheduling of a proper pooperscope, I went home and got the Grom to see Summer at the shop. They weren’t super busy, so I got to tell her all about my doctor visit before going home. I relaxed for just a little bit before taking my bike out for a bath. Then I met Allen at his place for a quick polish on the bikes. With that done, I had just enough time to get gas with him, and then head on home to prepare for the evening.

Travis was hosting a Star Wars Monopoly night, so I went to get Summer and we met him and John for game night. I was either the first one out or the winner, depending on who you ask. A great time was had by all, and Summer got to bring home an oddly monochrome JAWS sink stopper. By the time we wrapped things up there, it was time to get home and into bed for the early ride in the morning.

♫ He said that, “Poo-py, oooh ah ah! Ting tang, walla walla bing bang!” ♫