Maaaaagic.
So Peter's been getting me back into Magic: The Gathering. (It's the first popular CCG/TCG made, pretty old, etc.)
For about half a year I've been holding onto a blue/black deck that's a bit unconventional in how it plays. I saw a card I liked, then built a deck around it; Peter, who has more experience (and more fun) building decks refined the idea. One-on-one it holds itself pretty well. Recently Peter rebuilt it to just black and changed a few of the key mechanics, based on how it worked against other people.
It's good enough that Peter and I are considering going to the local store and entering their weekly tournament. We don't play competitively because most tournaments are Standard: only the three most recent sets can be used. This is a blatant move by Wizards of the Coast (the publisher) to force people to buy new cards and re-adapt their decks to new mechanics. (I don't frown on this. Publishers have to make money and keep the game fresh, and if it's working, who am I to spit on a marketing strategy.) Peter doesn't play or purchase enough to make keeping up worthwhile. However, the store also runs a Modern tournament: sets after a certain era can be used.
It isn't for money: you pay to join (about 5 CAD), then win store credit to spend right away.
Oh, right, Christmas.
My side of the family is highly untraditional: my parents gave me a lump sum for Christmas/birthday/Chinese New Year. We go out for meals before and after the holiday rush.
Peter's families - his parents are divorced - require a lot of energy on my end to attend and socialize and purchase lots of gifts. As much as I enjoy being around people, I consider myself highly introverted and it wears me out to talk to people so much. It was nice to get together and eat and play games then curl up in a ball of pain because certain cramps decided to make their appearance all night. XP
Some homes in the city still don't have power, after last weekend's ice storm. I'm thankful we got ours back relatively quickly; I was worried because there's a lot of old growth in our neighbourhood, but it isn't as ancient as the east end of the city.
For about half a year I've been holding onto a blue/black deck that's a bit unconventional in how it plays. I saw a card I liked, then built a deck around it; Peter, who has more experience (and more fun) building decks refined the idea. One-on-one it holds itself pretty well. Recently Peter rebuilt it to just black and changed a few of the key mechanics, based on how it worked against other people.
It's good enough that Peter and I are considering going to the local store and entering their weekly tournament. We don't play competitively because most tournaments are Standard: only the three most recent sets can be used. This is a blatant move by Wizards of the Coast (the publisher) to force people to buy new cards and re-adapt their decks to new mechanics. (I don't frown on this. Publishers have to make money and keep the game fresh, and if it's working, who am I to spit on a marketing strategy.) Peter doesn't play or purchase enough to make keeping up worthwhile. However, the store also runs a Modern tournament: sets after a certain era can be used.
It isn't for money: you pay to join (about 5 CAD), then win store credit to spend right away.
Oh, right, Christmas.
My side of the family is highly untraditional: my parents gave me a lump sum for Christmas/birthday/Chinese New Year. We go out for meals before and after the holiday rush.
Peter's families - his parents are divorced - require a lot of energy on my end to attend and socialize and purchase lots of gifts. As much as I enjoy being around people, I consider myself highly introverted and it wears me out to talk to people so much. It was nice to get together and eat and play games then curl up in a ball of pain because certain cramps decided to make their appearance all night. XP
Some homes in the city still don't have power, after last weekend's ice storm. I'm thankful we got ours back relatively quickly; I was worried because there's a lot of old growth in our neighbourhood, but it isn't as ancient as the east end of the city.