ap06

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Last Day of Work in Aught-Six

The library was locked up tight and that is that. Phew.

Read Janaki a bunch of the story of The 47 Ronins from Tales of Old Japan, a book of Japanese myths and legends and a smidgen of history told by a British dude whose stiff upper lip just comes off the page. It is terribly fun to read, the language very much like the hoity toity people on Deadwood. She fell asleep just after the ronin beheaded the bad guy. We’ll finish it tomorrow.

I’m listening to the Harping Monkey’s Side Dish, in which they make characters for their Spirit of the Century game. I’m really enjoying it.

I picked up an iRiver so I can begin recording more AP. We’ve got all three sessions of our Cold City mini-campaign and the latest newspaper headline session of SotC.

I really want to do more John Madden type actual play recordings with the players listening to and commenting on the game after play is over, commenting on the session from some distance. It’d be time consuming but I think it would be rewarding and interesting.

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And on the seventh day…

I didn’t have to open a library this morning. What a different that makes to my day. I woke up, met Storn for breakfast at ABC where I had the most mediocre of their guacamole and cheddar omelets yet, but it was still damned good.

We walked about town and talked shit, running into J.J. and planning for Dreamation. I bought Battle Lore from Odyssey and collected my ogre figure that came with pre-ordering.

Then it was off to Jeff’s for today’s early afternoon Spirit of the Century Game which we recorded and was as low key as our pulp games get, which is to say there was time travel galore, a giant robot looking for forgiveness (or WAS he!?) and a lawyer under the sway of a Martian shape-shifter (who got away again) and the Tyrian Mind Tyrants.

We did some Sons of Kryos brainstorming and recorded a new intro and a funky promo for Paul Tevis.

Got home in time for my soccer match, which was a fun 6-2 victory over a solid team. Janaki and Zorro came to watch, though the Z-man didn’t like it as much as the outdoor games because he had trouble seeing over the indoor wall. He liked it when people crashed against the wall, though.

My stomach feels like shit but other than that, a lovely day that is easing its way to a lovely night.

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Done and Done

This afternoon I handed in the last bit of work due for this semester’s class. I think I did alright. That feels good, especially after the debacle that was last semester. I also visited Boynton Middle School’s librarian and chatted with her about the gig which really re-charged my batteries for working as a public school librarian.

Yesterday we played Spirit of the Century, which was quite fun. Thread here.

After the game I put on shorts and went right to my indoor soccer match. I am playing on a really solid team for the holiday season. The match was kinda boring. Its indoor with walls keeping the ball in play but the other team just couldn’t put it together. We won 8-2 and looking over the two remaining games, it doesn’t look like the other teams will be any more challenging. Bummer.

I wanted to play a bit more and waited around to see if any other teams needed extra players but none did. Feeling in a bit of a funk, I went home and took a brutally deep nap.

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In which I sacrifice my week for chimps.

And they were chimps I didn’t even know.

My co-worker who now works my old shift, the late night ’till 2:30 in the morning shift had to head back to the lab where she worked because they had been cut from funding and they needed help finding a home for the chimps. Apparently she worked with some kind of psych experiment that dealt with chimps and she was going to help them find a home. It seems like the best reason to take a shift for a co-worker ever, so I took two late shifts on her behalf.

But it really eviscerated my week.

I hope she brings back some pictures.

Tonight is the first session of our Burning Wheel game. I got to take my bastard wizard out for a spin and gain power for the hard fallen Castillo family.

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Jiffy-Con

Special thanks to Emily for getting that gig together and gathering such a fun gaggle of gamers.

I got to play Mechaton with Jeff, Vincen and Tom.

My mechs, Hoverthing Leader, Hoverthing Left, Hoverthing Right and Carrion 86 were victorious. Jeff won the day for me by destroying one of Tom’s mechs on the last action of the game. Good stuff. I think I had forgotten how much fun it is to build awesome robots with legos.

It is even more fun to build giant robots and then destroy all of your friend’s robots with the power of your unstoppable dice and cunning.

After Mechaton it was lunchtime which meant pizza for everyone and chicken fingers shaped like dinosaurs for me. Nathan complimented my dinosaur lunch. Oh, and Vincent made delicious mashed taters with nice spices. Delicious.

Thanks, Vincent.

Dictionary of Mu went alright, not great but alright.

Dinner was wonderful. Talking YA fiction with Jonathan, Vincent and Meg while on my left side Jeff and Nathan talked game design and Tovey waived his arms enthusiastically at Joshua.

And then Be Cool back at Vincent’s house where I won again, as the Developing Nations (that was me) blackmailed the world with ecological disaster. That game is just amazing. Its the Al Gore board game and its awe-inspiring.

The car ride with Jeff, there and back was just a treat, as we haven’t had a whole lot of non-Kryos, non-game time to hang lately.

Joshua has the coolest lego robots that have ever existed on top of his bookshelf.

And as always, Carrie and Joshua were fantastic hosts, filling me and Jeff with breakfast before we headed out across MA and NY to head home on that rainy, shitty Sunday afternoon/evening.

Odd little ending tidbit, on the ride home, at Cracker Barrel, I picked up a DVD of old Max Fliescher Superman cartoons for six bucks. I’m really intrigued to see these 1940’s cartoons.

Nathan’s Blog Entry and Jiffy-con Pics

Emily’s blog entry over at Fair Game and Jiffy Con pics.

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Hadrian Helm and Johnny Stripes vs. the Evil Earth

I don’t know where to start with the darned butt-stomping and rayguns and sword vs. mace fights while flying jet packs around a ball-room, the Quintessential United States Jock vs. the Quintessentially Evil United States Politician.

Jet Car vs. Jet Pack chase over London? Check.

Drag-out fisticuffs underneath Big Ben in an Evil alternate Dimension? Check

Unbridled optimism? Check.

Unbridled ass-kicking? Check.

We’re done, Friday night rocked.