What a week!
I spent most of Friday (17th) puttering around the house trying not to eat. When I last bought food, I avoided buying anything ready-made or with a quick prep time (other than pasta); it really helped. I did some light cleaning to burn time until the munch. I got there a bit late due to some heavy traffic, but it didn't seem overly crowded. Later, when the munch boiled down, some really good discussions started. That was the first time I've stayed 'til closing at the new place and I really liked it. I motored home and went to bed early (before 3 AM is early for me).
I woke up around 8 AM Saturday morning and went downstairs. After a killer breakfast (scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast) I tidied up a bit, watched my taped shows and set the VCR to record some stuff that night. About the time I was settling in for a Little House marathon (SHUT UP!) I got a call from B. In no time flat I had reprogrammed the VCR and was motoring my way down to Morgan Hill. While he was busying himself with some minor fixes in the kitchen, I made my way upstairs and continued my game of Fallout 3. My experience this time has been a lot different. I'm deficient in areas that I kicked ass in last time (mainly lock pick and explosives), but I'm up in caps, so it balances out. With the increased caps, I've been able to buy a few schematics and piece a few things together. Before starting the game, I made a list of all the items that were used in building weapons. Every time I came across something on the list, I would bring it back to my place in Megaton. So far I've pieced together a Rock-it Launcher and a Shishkebab. I like the Shishkebab, but the Rock-it Launcher is a bit awkward. I think I'll keep it as more of a last-ditch-effort weapon. Every once in a while I'd pop down to check on B's progress in the kitchen. He was having some problems which I offered quick fixes to. Feeling refreshed, I went back upstairs to do some more slaughtering in The Wasteland. I noted several times that my levels weren't going up as fast as last time, then realized that this is a *good* thing. I can get more done before it becomes crucial in later levels.
Once B finished his work, he came upstairs and we got a game of Star Wars: Battlefront going. We had a blast and finally mastered the space levels (Flying upside down makes it way easier for the turret gunner.). When we quit for the night, I crashed on the couch and surfed the 'net for a while.
Sunday started early as well. I woke up and surfed over to Hulu to catch up on some shows. A little while later B wandered down and started cutting some shelves for the kitchen. I bounced upstairs and continued my game from yesterday. I found a few new locations I never came across in my previous game. I also came across Dogmeat in an entirely different location. I proceeded to go tearing through the south end of The Wasteland coming across Raiders and killing them. The only other notable event was coming across the Outcasts. I took their technology quest, but I'm not sure I'm gonna follow through with it (I *may* give them a few laser pistols.). Sometime later, B wandered in and started setting up for a Battlefront marathon. We played as late as we did the night before, then I headed home. I could have stayed the night, but I wanted to make sure I got my laundry done before going to the munch.
Monday morning had me waking up early again. I could still feel the sleepiness wrapped around my brain like a blanket, but I pushed through it and started the laundry. In between loads, I watched the shows that recorded while I was away. When laundry was done, I made a quick snack and read a little, keeping one eye on the clock. Around seven, I headed out to the munch. When I got there, the entire weekend caught up with me. I could barely keep up with the conversation, I was so tired. I slipped out a bit after introductions and announcements (I haven't left that early in a long time.). The drive home was quick and uneventful. I don't even remember getting home and going to bed.
The next thing I knew, I was waking up around nine Tuesday morning. A message from mom said that she was swinging by after her dentist appointment to help me take my old bed to the dump. I loaded the old mattress, box spring, frame and a few other things into the pickup and we headed off to the dump. It took a while for her GPS to find itself but, once it did, we were on our way. The trek up to the dumping spot was a little bumpy (How she expected me to do this in my Saturn is beyond me.) but quick. In no time, all the stuff in the back of the truck was resting in a pile next to a discarded desk and broken down piano. On the way home we stopped at In-n-Out (Double-Doubles rock!) and had a little discussion about the state of things. We went over a cleaning and maintenance strategy for the house and talked about the remodeling at the cabin. I scrolled through the pictures on her camera and barely recognized the place. The brick in the fireplace has been replaced with this grey rock from Squaw Valley. It looks awesome. Both bathrooms were enlarged into some extra space between them and were sporting full tubs. My room was moved from the back to the front (I really didn't mind that at all.) and a new bed (hand made by the contractor) made of wood from the old, old deck (This is from the original deck that collapsed back in the 90's.) was put in it. They also got rid of a lot of stuff, such as 100 of the 150 coffee mugs my grandmother had up there. We also had a serious discussion about me being able to use the cabin (on my own) in the future. In the past, I had expressed my desire to have nothing to do with the cabin. This was based on the fact that almost every time we went up there as a family, there was always some sort of repair or maintenance that had to be done. I hated it. Now that I see a lot of those problems are being semi-permanently solved, I'm finally seeing the cabin for what it is: a nice, relaxing place to go to. I brought up the idea of making a seasonal operations manual. That would make it easy for me (and my guests) to keep the cabin in tip top condition. She thought that was a good idea, but a lot of things would have to happen before she presented that idea to my dad.
I now feel reenergized and refocused.
I woke up around 8 AM Saturday morning and went downstairs. After a killer breakfast (scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast) I tidied up a bit, watched my taped shows and set the VCR to record some stuff that night. About the time I was settling in for a Little House marathon (SHUT UP!) I got a call from B. In no time flat I had reprogrammed the VCR and was motoring my way down to Morgan Hill. While he was busying himself with some minor fixes in the kitchen, I made my way upstairs and continued my game of Fallout 3. My experience this time has been a lot different. I'm deficient in areas that I kicked ass in last time (mainly lock pick and explosives), but I'm up in caps, so it balances out. With the increased caps, I've been able to buy a few schematics and piece a few things together. Before starting the game, I made a list of all the items that were used in building weapons. Every time I came across something on the list, I would bring it back to my place in Megaton. So far I've pieced together a Rock-it Launcher and a Shishkebab. I like the Shishkebab, but the Rock-it Launcher is a bit awkward. I think I'll keep it as more of a last-ditch-effort weapon. Every once in a while I'd pop down to check on B's progress in the kitchen. He was having some problems which I offered quick fixes to. Feeling refreshed, I went back upstairs to do some more slaughtering in The Wasteland. I noted several times that my levels weren't going up as fast as last time, then realized that this is a *good* thing. I can get more done before it becomes crucial in later levels.
Once B finished his work, he came upstairs and we got a game of Star Wars: Battlefront going. We had a blast and finally mastered the space levels (Flying upside down makes it way easier for the turret gunner.). When we quit for the night, I crashed on the couch and surfed the 'net for a while.
Sunday started early as well. I woke up and surfed over to Hulu to catch up on some shows. A little while later B wandered down and started cutting some shelves for the kitchen. I bounced upstairs and continued my game from yesterday. I found a few new locations I never came across in my previous game. I also came across Dogmeat in an entirely different location. I proceeded to go tearing through the south end of The Wasteland coming across Raiders and killing them. The only other notable event was coming across the Outcasts. I took their technology quest, but I'm not sure I'm gonna follow through with it (I *may* give them a few laser pistols.). Sometime later, B wandered in and started setting up for a Battlefront marathon. We played as late as we did the night before, then I headed home. I could have stayed the night, but I wanted to make sure I got my laundry done before going to the munch.
Monday morning had me waking up early again. I could still feel the sleepiness wrapped around my brain like a blanket, but I pushed through it and started the laundry. In between loads, I watched the shows that recorded while I was away. When laundry was done, I made a quick snack and read a little, keeping one eye on the clock. Around seven, I headed out to the munch. When I got there, the entire weekend caught up with me. I could barely keep up with the conversation, I was so tired. I slipped out a bit after introductions and announcements (I haven't left that early in a long time.). The drive home was quick and uneventful. I don't even remember getting home and going to bed.
The next thing I knew, I was waking up around nine Tuesday morning. A message from mom said that she was swinging by after her dentist appointment to help me take my old bed to the dump. I loaded the old mattress, box spring, frame and a few other things into the pickup and we headed off to the dump. It took a while for her GPS to find itself but, once it did, we were on our way. The trek up to the dumping spot was a little bumpy (How she expected me to do this in my Saturn is beyond me.) but quick. In no time, all the stuff in the back of the truck was resting in a pile next to a discarded desk and broken down piano. On the way home we stopped at In-n-Out (Double-Doubles rock!) and had a little discussion about the state of things. We went over a cleaning and maintenance strategy for the house and talked about the remodeling at the cabin. I scrolled through the pictures on her camera and barely recognized the place. The brick in the fireplace has been replaced with this grey rock from Squaw Valley. It looks awesome. Both bathrooms were enlarged into some extra space between them and were sporting full tubs. My room was moved from the back to the front (I really didn't mind that at all.) and a new bed (hand made by the contractor) made of wood from the old, old deck (This is from the original deck that collapsed back in the 90's.) was put in it. They also got rid of a lot of stuff, such as 100 of the 150 coffee mugs my grandmother had up there. We also had a serious discussion about me being able to use the cabin (on my own) in the future. In the past, I had expressed my desire to have nothing to do with the cabin. This was based on the fact that almost every time we went up there as a family, there was always some sort of repair or maintenance that had to be done. I hated it. Now that I see a lot of those problems are being semi-permanently solved, I'm finally seeing the cabin for what it is: a nice, relaxing place to go to. I brought up the idea of making a seasonal operations manual. That would make it easy for me (and my guests) to keep the cabin in tip top condition. She thought that was a good idea, but a lot of things would have to happen before she presented that idea to my dad.
I now feel reenergized and refocused.