From the West
Laura and I returned from our two-week trip to Seattle yesterday. We had an excellent time visiting family and friends. Was beautifully rainy and cold most of the time, a nice break from the unending sunshine in Charlotte. It was nice to loaf around instead of rising at 6:30. Very relaxing.
The two weeks really flew by. While we saw lots of our friends, we missed an equal number. I didn't get up to Canada to see Sean, Chris, Tam and the baby. Next time we're in the area, I hope.
We went to Portland for a day, and visited with my mother and sister. Hadn't seen my sister for several years. I'm not terribly good at keeping in touch with people, I guess.
Played a bunch of new board and card games while I was there. Much fun was had.
I bought Shadows Over Camelot, and apparently I'm the last person on the earth to know this is a good game. A cooperative game that takes about an hour and a half to play, it was a lot of fun and I look forward to playing it again. Lots of replay value.
The Order of the Stick game... tough call here. All 5 of us were learning as we went, so that added to an already length 2-3 hour short game (or so the rules suggested). But we spent almost 10 hours playing the one game. Even were it just 2-3 hours, that seems too long for a "short" game. Lots of replay value, with all the different card types and enjoyable once we figured it out.
Hex Hex is a nice, lightweight card game. Fast playing and enjoyable. Highly recommended.
Something about a brain (Cheapass). Really didn't care for it. Thought it was too random and not enough fun.
Pirate's Cove was really cute, I thought. Each player moves around a board, picking up treasure, fame or fighting other players. Easy party game.
The DaVinci Code game worked too hard to be just like the book/movie. The rules took forever to read, and the gameplay was incredibly convoluted. That being said, once we got going, it was enjoyable. No replay value though, since there are only 15 mysteries. Lame.
We also played the new Nintendo system at Steve's apartment. Quite entertaining. Will look into buying one.
Played a couple games of L5R at Leon's house. First game, I enjoyed. Got some big guys into play and took provinces. Entertaining. The remainder, not so much. They kept killing my big guys. That's not so much fun. Stupid game, not sure why I bothered.
I really enjoy traveling, because it gives me time to read. I don't make a lot of time for reading in my daily life, just a few minutes before bed usually. I finished 4 books on the trip, and started another. Finished the initial adventures of Richard Sharpe, completed at Waterloo. Very enjoyable reads. Started Eragon, which has been disappointingly formulaic so far. Very Wheel of Time/Lord of the Rings introduction.
New year, too. I need to go buy a couple calendars for my desk. There's a kitten day calendar that should help me be cheery through the year, but I'm not sure what kind of monthly calendar to get.
Which leads me to resolutions. I don't normally do them, but I figure I'll try a couple this year. Just a couple, though. I see people who have 7 or 8, and I boggle to think that they can manage. I'll work my way up to that. :)
1. No Soda - Coke is pretty much the default drink, and its terrible for me. Therefore, I will have no soda this year. Seems the hip thing to do, anyways.
2. Write More - I've never really kept a journal consistently, but I do wish I had. So I'm going to start. My goal is every day (though I'm already two days behind).
I hope everyone had a great Christmas and a happy New Year!
The two weeks really flew by. While we saw lots of our friends, we missed an equal number. I didn't get up to Canada to see Sean, Chris, Tam and the baby. Next time we're in the area, I hope.
We went to Portland for a day, and visited with my mother and sister. Hadn't seen my sister for several years. I'm not terribly good at keeping in touch with people, I guess.
Played a bunch of new board and card games while I was there. Much fun was had.
I bought Shadows Over Camelot, and apparently I'm the last person on the earth to know this is a good game. A cooperative game that takes about an hour and a half to play, it was a lot of fun and I look forward to playing it again. Lots of replay value.
The Order of the Stick game... tough call here. All 5 of us were learning as we went, so that added to an already length 2-3 hour short game (or so the rules suggested). But we spent almost 10 hours playing the one game. Even were it just 2-3 hours, that seems too long for a "short" game. Lots of replay value, with all the different card types and enjoyable once we figured it out.
Hex Hex is a nice, lightweight card game. Fast playing and enjoyable. Highly recommended.
Something about a brain (Cheapass). Really didn't care for it. Thought it was too random and not enough fun.
Pirate's Cove was really cute, I thought. Each player moves around a board, picking up treasure, fame or fighting other players. Easy party game.
The DaVinci Code game worked too hard to be just like the book/movie. The rules took forever to read, and the gameplay was incredibly convoluted. That being said, once we got going, it was enjoyable. No replay value though, since there are only 15 mysteries. Lame.
We also played the new Nintendo system at Steve's apartment. Quite entertaining. Will look into buying one.
Played a couple games of L5R at Leon's house. First game, I enjoyed. Got some big guys into play and took provinces. Entertaining. The remainder, not so much. They kept killing my big guys. That's not so much fun. Stupid game, not sure why I bothered.
I really enjoy traveling, because it gives me time to read. I don't make a lot of time for reading in my daily life, just a few minutes before bed usually. I finished 4 books on the trip, and started another. Finished the initial adventures of Richard Sharpe, completed at Waterloo. Very enjoyable reads. Started Eragon, which has been disappointingly formulaic so far. Very Wheel of Time/Lord of the Rings introduction.
New year, too. I need to go buy a couple calendars for my desk. There's a kitten day calendar that should help me be cheery through the year, but I'm not sure what kind of monthly calendar to get.
Which leads me to resolutions. I don't normally do them, but I figure I'll try a couple this year. Just a couple, though. I see people who have 7 or 8, and I boggle to think that they can manage. I'll work my way up to that. :)
1. No Soda - Coke is pretty much the default drink, and its terrible for me. Therefore, I will have no soda this year. Seems the hip thing to do, anyways.
2. Write More - I've never really kept a journal consistently, but I do wish I had. So I'm going to start. My goal is every day (though I'm already two days behind).
I hope everyone had a great Christmas and a happy New Year!