Tag: gaming

Uncategorised

Tell Me About It

Brice had three more lines for us to run at Dwight this morning. Amanda and I were put on his crew, so our first demand was to re-check the rooms in question for existing lines. It only took us about three hours, but wouldn’t you know we found two lines already in place? We did have to run one more in a room that had several oldschool telephone drops, but we spent so much time trying to track down other lines that we didn’t even get to run it before lunch.

Jesica was in town for another meeting, so I met her at Sumo for lunch. Her client was evidently pretty crazy, which only served to upset her. The waitress dumped my water all over the table, but fortunately only a little bit over me. Then for some reason she only came back with a single rag to clean up a whole glass of water, and had to run off and get more. Just as Jesica’s food came out, her boss called to check up on her and she spent the entire meal talking to him about her appointment.

I was a bit annoyed that Brice had suggested Brown’s for lunch and actually had others agree to go, because nobody ever wants to go when I do. I suppose only to annoy me further, Brice didn’t even go, and Allen and Jason were the only two that did. Sumo isn’t exactly a favorite for me, but Jesica said she started keto and felt like she could only eat raw fish.

After lunch, I got out of running that single line with Brice and Amanda because Jason wanted me to meet Al and Kenny at the high school while they scouted out locations for new hallway wall clocks. I tried to convince them that digital watches for the entire student body would be cheaper, but they didn’t seem to like that idea. Somehow I managed to graduate with honors using only the existing dummy clocks though.

When I got home, a bit of rain cooled the air down quite a bit and made the house quite habitable. I started to get into a few things, but ultimately only really cleaned up some email and played some Overwatch. Later in the evening, I made my way to Summer’s where she talked at me about her week at work before bed.

Uncategorised

The Junior High Issue

Just as I started to drift off, someone knocked loudly on our door. Summer and I both scrambled to our feet, and I peeked out to see who it was. I only saw one of the girls, but soon found out it was several of them outside our door, shaky with adrenaline. Johnny was there with them, and the first words out of his mouth were that this seemed like a junior high issue, so he would be letting us handle it.

Summer and Hannah jumped right into action, kicking ass and calling parents. I wasn’t sure what my place was, so I just laid back in the room waiting to see if I would be called. I started to doze off a little, but without my CPAP I ended up exhausting myself more. I don’t remember what time Summer finally came back to bed, but it was really late, and I knew that even sleeping a bit later we would still be deprived.

They kicked four kids out for vaping, including some star players, so they knew the rest of the team would suffer for it. It was a bad deal all around, and a part of me felt like maybe it was a bit much drama for some vape pens, but rules are rules, and these kids are used to a system without repercussions. I was glad they stuck to their guns, and had one of the kids out the next morning after having her sister drive all the way down overnight. It’s anybody’s guess whether the parents will actually do anything, but at least they could rest assured they did the right thing here.

I got down to breakfast just before they closed, and then ended up babysitting the three remaining kids with Dylan while the rest went to their game. I was excited to be in control of some punishment, though Dylan got them started with copying newspaper articles. After a while, I added a modifier by having them write with their non-dominant hands. I got the feeling that only one of them was really taking it very hard, but I’m not much for empathy anyway.

When the team finished, we walked to the Riverwalk for lunch. We didn’t really have time to do anything but eat, and I was still full from lunch. My ciabatta was pretty terrible, and I was just overall disappointed to be eating food court food in New Orleans anyway. Without time to shop the mall, we headed back so they could continue their day of games. It was so hot and humid that I was excited just to be back inside.

Once those games were over, we went back to the Riverwalk to let the kids shop for a few minutes before eating. Unfortunately we found out they would only be open for about another hour, so Summer, Hannah, Dylan, and I went to the opposite end of the mall for some frozen slushed wine first. Summer and Hannah had to go back to the hotel immediately after we got them though, because a second player’s parents were coming to pick him up. Johnny had also screwed up their plan to pay for dinner, but I was able to get everyone fed with my own card.

Dylan and I carried food back for the girls, and lead what was left of the group back to the hotel safely. We ended the evening with some more Mario Kart in our room, but we kept getting interrupted by kids knocking on the door. The delinquents continued being shunned for the most part, while the rest had a little get-together party in one of their rooms. We had to shut it down early too, partly because they were being loud, but also because the adults were too tired to exist any longer.

I’ve never seen a group of coworkers so divided before.

Uncategorised

Live Music Everywhere

We got up a bit earlier than usual so we could get breakfast in the lobby before heading down to the French Quarter. As soon as Aimee dropped us off, we went up some stairs to an overlook for a group photo. I was immediately caught by a street shoe shiner, much to the entertainment of Summer and Hannah. I narrowly escaped with my fabric shoes and my life, trading my pocket banana from breakfast for safe passage.

From there, we split up and wandered around downtown. We walked around with Hannah and Dylan for a while, making our way through the half set-up open market. People were still setting up their wares for the day, and it all seemed like very typical street market stuff, probably all made in the same place in China.

We did stop at a tiny Jazz “museum” state park, and almost returned for jazz yoga, but I guess we forgot. Instead, we wandered further down the square and into a toy shop where I picked up a little moo can. I had seen them before and always kind of wanted one, but I finally decided to bite the bullet. Then we made our way down to the cathedral where a weird looking guy with an unexpectedly higher-pitched voice offered a “special” on palm readings. I told him we were trying to avoid the dark arts, to which he seemed to quietly and incredulously respond that it wasn’t “dark arts.” That was about the time we got called back to some students trying to get into a different jazz museum.

Summer and I left Hannah and Dylan at the cathedral to let the kids into the jazz museum. She and I looked through the mint museum on the bottom floor first, which was pretty cool. The old building was neat by itself, but seeing the old coin minting equipment was even cooler.

When we finished there, we had the kids all meet us just outside the flea market at Market Cafe for lunch. The guy there was so nice it was almost creepy, but he really grew on me. I had an appetizer sampler as well as a New Orleans sampler, both of which were excellent. I didn’t love the fried gator so much from the appetizer sampler, but I had some better stuff at dinner.

Once we got back to the convention center, the kids all went to shower and change for their first game. The first game was against Russellville, AL, which was funny to us, but nobody seemed to really outwardly care while we were there. We were behind most of the game, caught up to lead, and then lost on the very last question by 15 points. Then we dominated the second game before calling it a day.

Hannah got Autumn a piñata for her birthday, so we went out to the little courtyard field to hang it. Luckily one of the kids had a baseball bat, and Autumn made quick work of it. Then we waited outside for just a bit loner before heading up the street for dinner at Mulate’s.

I had a fried seafood platter that was good, but overall relatively unremarkable. I found myself wishing I had gotten something like jambalaya, or an étouffée, but it was alright. A couple of the kids ordered gator there and didn’t care for it, but I liked it quite a bit.

Back at the hotel, Summer, Hannah, Dylan, and I got some drinks and went back to our room to play some Mario Kart. Dylan proved to be a consistent threat, and even Summer finished in first for the first time ever. I’m really glad we get to sleep in tomorrow.

If you’re advertising a discount higher than 10%, then it’s not really discounted at all.

Uncategorised

The City that Drowned

We finally made it to Quiz Bowl nationals trip day. Summer and Autumn went to pick up Burger King for breakfast while I got ready, and we made it to the high school to load everyone onto the bus. I ran into Ben outside the high school and told him my sick day was to meet a witch doctor from the south. We barely had room for everything and everyone, but I think they may have overpacked some supplies on the way out.

The first stop was Quiznos to pick up lunch to take with us. I guess it was easier than stopping somewhere along the way, and certainly expedited that process. I’m not really sure how we ended up with a full bag of extra sandwiches, but hopefully they keep until the ride home. I certainly would rather experience unique cuisine while I’m here.

Around three hours into the trip, we stopped at Lake Village behind a gas station, got snacks and took a bathroom break, and then walked over to a park to eat. Luckily it wasn’t too terribly hot out, but I did sweat a bit. It definitely took the bus a bit to cool back down after that.

Summer and I watched the first episode of Firefly after I did some finagling on my devices. I was upset to learn the iPad Plex app wouldn’t stream without a Plex Pass. I’ve never had that issue with my Android app for some reason. Not too long later we made it to a Walmart in Crystal Springs. I didn’t really need any snacks, so I wandered to electronics and picked up a couple clearanced smart light switches and a physical copy of Diablo III. It was all just so cheap.

The last leg of the trip was short, but took us through a bunch of traffic on what felt like the world’s longest bridge. It was interesting to see the water rushing out of the Mississippi River and just spreading out across what was once land. The water was high, and flooding has been expected all over, but here it just seemed a part of life.

We got to the Hampton in an old part of town, but really I think all of this area is old town. It’s been remodeled with new world commodities, but the outside shells of buildings seem to be left alone. We didn’t have any time to look around or do anything but eat, but I really didn’t want to eat the Domino’s pizza after overhearing the three telephone conversations it took to place the order. Instead, I opted to use Uber Eats to order some food from a nearby place called Magasin Kitchen. I got some grilled shrimp spring rolls and something called a bibimbap rice bowl that I didn’t dislike, but didn’t super care for either. It was decent food, but just not quite what I was looking for.

Summer passed out early for me, but it was really probably kind of late for her. I’m really glad I’m taking next week off after having to wake up early all weekend for this.

Love that chicken from Popeye’s!

Uncategorised

Basskitball

Crawford and Oakland had their staff basketball game this morning. I thought it was after school, but they reminded me that nobody would show up if it was after hours. They all bussed all of their kids to the high school arena, and had a rowdy game with an eagle mascot, and cheerleaders, and everything. Ben was playing for Oakland, so I tried to get the others to join me, but nobody cared enough. I noticed pretty quickly that nobody was around taking pictures up close, so I jumped right into the photographer role again. All I had was my phone, which was pretty terrible at catching the fast motion of the game, but I did what I could. I should have tried turning off HDR to see if it improved, but it’s too late now. The game went into double overtime and ultimately they agreed to end it in a tie where nobody went home a loser. It felt like the perfect analogy for public school.

After the game, I went to the junior high for a while and took care of some things. Summer and Autumn were going to leave for lunch, but I got stuck working on a phone issue and then got frustrated with some whining, so I just skipped lunch and went by Oakland, and then to the high school to work on keyboard bezels with Dale. He got some news that Ryan accepted a job with Thomas in Bentonville and sent a video of me working on laptops. Ryan replied with something about a timer and I had been curious for a little while, so I checked myself in at about six and a half minutes.

I left there a bit early and went to the shop to drop off a Chromebook. When Jason left, Ben, Gary, and I went upstairs to check out the refurbished auditorium. It looked better, but not great. The reverb on stage was too much to handle, and made basically everything incomprehensible. From there, I went to my parents’ house and had some leftovers before coming home to get ready and pack for New Orleans. Travel anxiety is always worse with other people involved, but having a checklist premade from previous trips made it easier.

Traveling on a bus for this long is going to be a challenge.

Uncategorised

Mow Fuel, Mow Problems

We got up this morning, and Summer tried to get the mower out to teach Eaddie how to use it. We could never get it started though, so we spent the whole day playing Magic instead. When she was finally ready to go to the gym, I headed home to mow my own lawn. I decided to take the power cord to the TV as well, and in response, Eaddie attached herself to me like some kind of spider monkey. It took a great amount of effort to get away from her without physically harming her.

Once I got home and started mowing, it went by pretty quickly. I really love my electric mower. My parents came by and saw me outside for just a second before I finished up, and then it was shower time.

Summer picked up our coffee urn from the junior high and groceries from Kroger on the way home, and I eventually made my way back up with a spark plug wrench in tow. It didn’t seem to help, and I’m guessing the mower just has bad gas in it. I asked if she got new gas for it, and I guess she thought “new from the gas can” was good enough. Crank as we may, we only got it to run for a few seconds before dying again.

Meanwhile, Autumn helped Summer make burgers, sweet potato fries, and asparagus for dinner. It was all super good, and I tried to fill up on the asparagus after watching a bunch of videos on how it grows. I never would have expected such a weird swamp grass-looking plant.

After dinner we played a little more Magic, and then watched a few episodes of Parks and Rec before bed.

You know what, I am going to have that third steak after all. Go ahead and put that order in now, please and thank you.

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!