"My dear, you have the Grim!"
...RIPPER, that is!
This has been an ehhhhhhhhhxcellent weekend. Yesterday, *takes deep breath* de_wolf, lisaf, tawny_vixen, fr0bozz, dreda and her lovely SO whose username escapes me, my ex-roomie and ex-GF from the distant past Lori and her BF Chris joined me and darwins_fox for a birthday celebration par excellence. There was drinking, there was the annual non-Euclidean croquet of EXTREME CRUELTY tournament (won by dark horse de_wolf), there was cameraderie, there was more drinking (did I mention I went to Table & Vine and picked up a mixed case of wine plus a few extras?), there was excellent Chinese food courtesy of Amherst Chinese by way of Delivery Express (hooray for laziness!), there was The World's Best Cake courtesy of darwins_fox, and there was Guitar Hero. Oh my, there was Guitar Hero. Thanks to the generosity of keitichandesu, I was able to borrow a second controller, and about half the parTEZ joined me in ROCKING OUT. I'm pretty sure I've hooked fr0bozz, dreda and her partner, and lisaf, and Chris seemed pretty interested in trying it out again.
Among the many moments of awesome: everyone wanted me to tackle "Crossroads" on medium, so I did it in career mode, and I did it! Sure, I only got a three-star review from the game, but I got rave reviews from my fellow parTEZers, and with the cash I got from unlocking the last stage (I had forgotten about those bonuses), I unlocked one of the secret characters, THE GRIM RIPPER. Yes, if you like, you get to play as Death. Seeing Death throw up the horns and levitate his scythe-cum-guitar is highly amusing, even if his actual performance borders on disturbing.
I'm hoping the fact that things wrapped up around 11 says "we've been parTEZing for over eight hours" more than "goddamn, we're getting old." It was wonderful getting everyone together, and seeing dreda for the first time in years was bloody fantastic. I just wish creachadair, Sara, and lanome could have made it, but I know how school gets.
Today, lisaf and I shredded for a bit after breakfast, and then she and de_wolf took off. d_f and I decided to go spend the gift certificate she won from Hadley Garden Center, and picked up a tree and some potting compost. The tree (a small yew) was to take the place of the juniper that was taken out by an SUV-driving UMass student who was driving too fast in the rain last year... *sigh* We also picked up some patio furniture; not that we actually have a patio, but there is a deck-building project that may very well happen this summer.
So now we sit, full of the season's first grilling endeavor and leftover cake rounded out with whipped cream and berries, sipping on the ehhhhhhhhxcellent bottle of port that was one of my birthday presents, and feeling that life is altogether bloody amazing. To everyone who came, thank you so much for making this such an amazing weekend. And thanks especially to darwins_fox for being the best birthday present imaginable.
Oh, and to the makers of Guitar Hero: damn you all for making me actually kind of start to like a Sum 41 song.
This has been an ehhhhhhhhhxcellent weekend. Yesterday, *takes deep breath* de_wolf, lisaf, tawny_vixen, fr0bozz, dreda and her lovely SO whose username escapes me, my ex-roomie and ex-GF from the distant past Lori and her BF Chris joined me and darwins_fox for a birthday celebration par excellence. There was drinking, there was the annual non-Euclidean croquet of EXTREME CRUELTY tournament (won by dark horse de_wolf), there was cameraderie, there was more drinking (did I mention I went to Table & Vine and picked up a mixed case of wine plus a few extras?), there was excellent Chinese food courtesy of Amherst Chinese by way of Delivery Express (hooray for laziness!), there was The World's Best Cake courtesy of darwins_fox, and there was Guitar Hero. Oh my, there was Guitar Hero. Thanks to the generosity of keitichandesu, I was able to borrow a second controller, and about half the parTEZ joined me in ROCKING OUT. I'm pretty sure I've hooked fr0bozz, dreda and her partner, and lisaf, and Chris seemed pretty interested in trying it out again.
Among the many moments of awesome: everyone wanted me to tackle "Crossroads" on medium, so I did it in career mode, and I did it! Sure, I only got a three-star review from the game, but I got rave reviews from my fellow parTEZers, and with the cash I got from unlocking the last stage (I had forgotten about those bonuses), I unlocked one of the secret characters, THE GRIM RIPPER. Yes, if you like, you get to play as Death. Seeing Death throw up the horns and levitate his scythe-cum-guitar is highly amusing, even if his actual performance borders on disturbing.
I'm hoping the fact that things wrapped up around 11 says "we've been parTEZing for over eight hours" more than "goddamn, we're getting old." It was wonderful getting everyone together, and seeing dreda for the first time in years was bloody fantastic. I just wish creachadair, Sara, and lanome could have made it, but I know how school gets.
Today, lisaf and I shredded for a bit after breakfast, and then she and de_wolf took off. d_f and I decided to go spend the gift certificate she won from Hadley Garden Center, and picked up a tree and some potting compost. The tree (a small yew) was to take the place of the juniper that was taken out by an SUV-driving UMass student who was driving too fast in the rain last year... *sigh* We also picked up some patio furniture; not that we actually have a patio, but there is a deck-building project that may very well happen this summer.
So now we sit, full of the season's first grilling endeavor and leftover cake rounded out with whipped cream and berries, sipping on the ehhhhhhhhxcellent bottle of port that was one of my birthday presents, and feeling that life is altogether bloody amazing. To everyone who came, thank you so much for making this such an amazing weekend. And thanks especially to darwins_fox for being the best birthday present imaginable.
Oh, and to the makers of Guitar Hero: damn you all for making me actually kind of start to like a Sum 41 song.