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So, as my time here in Monterey swiftly draws to a close, I prepare to make my final purchace at The Game Habitat, the local game/hobby store where I've been spending the bulk of my weekends, playing MtG, chatting with the owner about any number of things, and buying a handful (or six) of boardgames and RPG books. The Game Habitat (which the owner wanted to name 'It's All Fun and Games' but his wife nixed it due to the intentionally implied 'until someone loses and eye') is one of the best local game shops I've ever had the joy to patronize (that's not the right word, is it...?), due in no small part to the great people I've met there, and I'm really going to miss it.

But that's not the point of this post. The point is I'm getting ready to buy a boatload of games, mostly RPGs, and as many of you on this list (1) play RPGs and (2) live in the area I'm moving to, I thought it'd be an idea to let you in on what I'm getting. Any opinions you have are unlikely to change *what* I get, but I'd really like to play (most of these) with you guys.

I already have most of the new World of Darkness, as as I've always liked the *idea* behind WoD, I'd love to play this new, more-integrated incarnation. In particular, I just picked up Changeling: the Lost and so far it seems to be everything I wish the Dreaming had been. I think, maybe, with a different storyline and slightly more organization and cooperation, it might be nice to try a game of it with some (or most) of the players I originally met at Loki's attempted Dreaming game. I know I'd like to see my character re-rolled in the new setting, and I *know* I'd like to see how our characters might've interacted if the game didn't... collapse onto itself.

Along similar lines, I've really liked the looks of Scion, and the second book (and thereby second arc of the story) comes out in another week or so. I think there's a lot of potential in that game, and who *doesn't* want to play the son of a God?

I just picked up the core rules for Savage Worlds -- a $10 core that supports some half-dozen or so separate, fully-functioning games. Of those, I intend to get Deadlands (supernatural horror in a twisted Wild West during the Civil War era), Rippers (supernatural horror in Victorian/Industrial setting, where people become monsters to hunt monsters), a game set in the middle of the Vietnam War (with a healthy dose of supernatural horror and a basic assumption that everyone will die withing a session or three), and Necessary Evil (a game where all the superheroes have been killed in a great betrayal and it's left to the super villains to protect planet earth from invading aliens -- LOTS of potential if thew villains are well-crafted, believable villains and not just the "you can't destroy the earth, *I* want to!" kind). I, uhm, tend towards supernatural horror, I think...

I'm also getting the Legend of the Five Rings game; I don't actually expect to *play* it, except with maybe my brothers, but there you go.

There may be a handful of others -- I already have the newest rules for Shadowrun and Ars Magica, both of which I'd love to play, never mind possibly treading into RIFTS...

Seriously, people, I *want* to RP. Honest-to-god table-top RP. I don't even mind (so much) if I have to be the one running the games -- I plan on having a house so I can certainly host games. I've time and again been denied playing in games, and I'd like that to change in the next couple years.

Heh heh, I'm starting to sound desperate, huh? Heh. Yeah. I'ma go now.

Tonight was definitely one of the best nights of my life. It was just great.

Friday nights are Draft nights at the Game Habitat (the game shop I'm always referring to). We usually get a mid- to large-sized draw of players, and it's a nice time, usually whittling down to The Usuals by the end of the night. Saturdays are Constructed tournaments, which usually draws significantly fewer players -- almost always just The Usuals, and the games run a bit timelier because we're all playing decks we've personally tuned to the event. I like these a little bit better, partly because I feel more comfortable with my weapon of choice, and partly because there's less riffraff (and, as noted, I'm kind of an elitist). It's just the regular guys; we all know each other and we all kick around for a few hours with our shared hobby.

Tonight after the tournament (Haven beat Rob in the finals; I was running an experimental B/W deck dubbed "Save the Pandas" by it's original creator), a group of us went around the corner to Denny's. We ate some food, drank some coffee, chatted a lot about MtG, The Game Habitat, Judging, problem players, everything. We also played a cool little card game called Gloom, which I very much want to get now; it's loads of fun. Haven, Brent, Chris and I played a couple rounds of it.

After all that I drove Haven, Brent, and Chris to their respective homes. We got to hear about when Brent got beat up by a swan, and the strange wordplay games Haven and his siblings (Lyric, Cheer, and Eden; their parents were hippies) play. Then Brent asked what the band was that I was playing -- ThouShaltNot, which I admitted was Goth music. And apparently both Brent and Haven like Goth music (in retrospect, I think the large-gage earrings Brent has should have tipped me off), and Brent asked if I'd heard of VNV Nation -- if you're keeping score at home, VNV Nation is one of my three favorite bands! So he asked if I know Apoptygma Berzerk and was surprised when I said I did -- no one knows Apoptygma Berzerk, and he thought he was showing off.

So we got into this whole thing about my 'other life' as a Goth, and I told them how Leslie says "deep down inside I have black little heart that bleeds mascara." We got into talking about Goth clubs, anime conventions, leather pants, and randomly making out with Mint.

At one point Haven said, "It makes sense now: it only sounds like giggling, it's really the laughter of the damned!" We all laughed a lot. I laughed myself to tears -- which was bad, as I was driving at the time. My sides *still* hurt, I laughed so much.

So the three of us have decided we seriously need to hang out more, outside of weekly MtG events and stuff. They both already have my email (JackOfAllGeeks) and apparently they both envy me for it -- "We didn't I think of that," Brent said.

A very awesome night.

So, this weekend went very nicely. it was probably the most relaxing three days I've had since coming out here.

Friday I slept in until 8:00; don't laugh, that's nearly 2 hours of extra sleep for me. I got up and did my laundry, did my dishes, and finally got out to make a doctor's appointment. I've needed to make that appointment for upwards of a year now, I think; nothing life-threatening or debilitating, but I'm slow to get medical attention of any kind. Then I drove up to my sister's house and we took her kids to Busch Gardens, mostly because it's Hallowscream up there and that's my favorite time to go to Busch. since we had the kids we couldn't go to any of the really scary bits, like the mazes or the train ride, but we did manage to see all the different shows, and they were generally pretty good. The magic show left something to be desired (like quality magic tricks), but I think a big part of that was a matter of having a mostly-unresponsive audience.

After getting home I played Guild Wars until 3am. I really enjoy that game, and it's almost restored my faith in MMOGs. In fact, I may even rouse my CoH/V account or, if I *really* start feeling good about the genre, reviving my WoW account. My biggest complaint for those two was always that I never had anyone to play with, but GW has given me faith that pick-up groups (just joining people you've never met before) aren't (always) the tools of the Adversary.

I slept in until 8 or 9 again on Saturday and spent most of the day reading and catching up on emails and stuff. I really didn't do much at all until about 4:00 when I called Leslie to see if she wanted to get dinner and maybe watch a movie; when she found out that I had "12 Monkeys" from Netflix she was all about that. So I cleaned up my apartment really quick, which made me feel a lot better than I would have thought (I like my area to be clean, I'm just slow about getting it that way).

We ate at the Macaroni Grill which was a lot better than I remembered it being (and it was so nice to have a glass of wine after so long). Then we went and watched 12 Monkeys, which I really enjoyed (time travel + insanity = A+ in my book). unfortunately, it seems I forgot my PS2 power cable when I went to visit Jesse and Louis, so Leslie brought hers. Unfortunately, I forgot to eject 12 Monkeys before Leslie left (with her cord), so now it's kinda stuck in there.

The reason I forgot was because Leslie brought over The Office, and wow. I'm in love. I need more. Really need it. But it was nearly 1am before we were done with the 3rd of the 4 episodes she brought, so she left (with her cord) while I was still entranced. i think I've seen bits of The Office before, but I can't think of when. Maybe my buddy Marcin (back in Monterey) was watching it once. He does that, watches strange adapted-from-British-TV shows. He's a big fan of Coupling, which I've also seen somewhere else before. To know about the giggle loop is to be part of the giggle loop.

I played Guild Wars until 3am again.

Sunday I got up for Mass later than I wanted to, but ended up going to St. Gregory's which, it turns out, is just around the corner from me. On top of that, aside from a few small personal preferences, it was just the sort of formal, traditional mass I like. Then I went out and bought groceries for the first time since I've been out here. I've been eating out a lot, and I really need to stop that. Dinner out with friends is one thing, but there's no reason I have to have Wendy's or something every day for lunch. Then I wrote an email to Jean (something else I haven't done in a long while), and got in touch with Katie Lapp on Facebook (she just joined, apparently, when they Opened to the world at large). Spent most of the rest of the day reading (I'm nearly done with The Amber Spyglass), and then played some Guild Wars before getting to bed at about 10:00.

And yeah, that was my weekend. No big plans, no far-ranging trips, but it was really low-key, really refreshing, and I feel renewed. which is a good thing to feel on Monday morning, before work begins to crush your soul again. And on that note, I should get back to said soul-crushing work.

Tonight was so incredibly awesome.
( Let Me Tell You Why. )

Up until about five minutes ago, I was watching Batman Begins. I love that movie. And Crane is suitably Halloween-ish.

About five minutes ago -- that is, at 12:30am -- the doorbell rang. Odd. And as I feared, though not exactly as I feared: my movie was being too loud. More specifically, the girl who's room is the one directly above mine was at the door, looking rather frantic, and saying "you're killing me, you're killing me, I can't take it any more." Not screaming, just a might bit desperate. After a short while, it was determined that she has to be up at about 5:30 on week days for class and I, not having to be up until later in the morning, tend to be up doing my own thing into the night, which keeps her up. I apologized, and noted that this was the first that I'd heard of it, to which she said that she'd been biting her tongue over it. Though I've no idea why; I can't very well fix a problem I don't know about. And there are plenty of quiet things I can do between the hours of 10:00 and 2:00 before I get to bed, so it's not really any trouble. She apologized (for needing sleep?), and said she didn't want to "come down here and bitch," and I had to assure her over and over (and over) that it was really OK, I'll be quiet.

I do feel kind of bad about it, though. I'm thinking I might take her a peace offering tomorrow, to show there are no hard feelings.

Which reminds me, I have this bowl to return, too. At about 7:00 or 8:00, the doorbell rang and I opened it to find two little girls dressed up as a princess and a... ninja, I think, trick-or-treating (with their parents a couple steps behind them). A little embarrassed, I said I didn't have any candy, but then it dawned on me, "I have apples; do you want apples?" And the girls assented, so I ran off to get the two apples left in our fridge. After I'd given them their apples, their parents said that they had some candy in their apartment, if I wanted, so I wouldn't be caught empty-handed. I accepted it, but I think those two girls were the only ones out tonight, 'cause no one else ever stopped by. So, I've their bowl to return tomorrow.

And I've also got class, some homework, an application to fax... *sigh* I wish there was more enjoyment in my life right now; but that's for another post.

I do want to end here by saying I love people, I love kids, and even the little (and partly-backhanded) interactions I've had today have made me feel better than I otherwise would have.