dracil

Left at 1:30 with my housemates to go to the meetup with the SF Bay Area Boardgames Group. I actually joined the group several months ago *after* I'd left SF and regretted not finding them earlier, and I was reminded when Catherine told me about a friend who was into boardgames as well since I thought I knew the club he was in (which I did, and was also on meetup.com). I was gonna go to that club's meeting yesterday at Endgames, but decided not to afterwards.

Anyways, for today, when we got there, they were playing Set. Olivia and I managed to find one set each before the game ended. Played several games of Blokus with a woman called Shirley (I won 2 or 3 of the 4 games we played), and then I taught them Ra (and learned I was playing a rule wrong from one of the guys there, and the correction does make the game better). Ran away with the lead completely but that's probably more due to the fact that I'm experienced with it). Other People were playing Power Grid during that time, and then some other abstract game that starts with a T, and they started playing Vegas Showdown as we left. I had to go back 'cause I forgot my jacket and LeQi bought a sandwich there.

Well, it turned out pretty well I think. I'll probably continue going. Oh, this isn't the same group as SF Games, which I went to a long time ago (and I'd like to go again, but I need MUNI to finish renovation so I'd have a direct way to get home afterwards (no direct line after 9PM on weekdays now until 1:18AM)).

I think I really need to find a circle of real-life friends that's much more into games, like during my high school days or the early years of college. Not having one means I've had to rely on the non-gamer friends and it appears I'm starting to get a bit of backlash over that... Maybe these meetup/clubs are the answer. In any case, I think I will start isolating this and other parts of me from most of the people I currently know. Yeah, yeah, masks and all that. Whatever.
Currently feeling mixed

dracil

I find out that I left my ATM card in the machine yesterday when I got some money after I left the place. So now I need to make a trip there, which isn't exactly convenient. And I gotta do it within a week or they destroy the card.

And couldn't get things to work at work today, and felt quite stupid when we found out what the problem was. And still didn't quite get this one thing working (although I'm pretty sure the part I was supposed to do works, but if the whole thing doesn't work, then it's still useless). Urgh.

And my Muni pass still hasn't arrived. And the one I have expires in 2 days.


Currently feeling annoyed/upset/blargh

dracil

Well, still recovering from the slew of Bad Things but things are better...
Currently feeling blah

dracil

Left early so I could go buy a book of H.P. Lovecraft's short stories. I was amazed at how they were able to fit 850 pages in such a small book. Turns out it's basically very thin paper, like in dictionaries or Bibles. BTW, I read three stories while waiting and I thought the stories were pretty cool! I think I was in the right mood for it. I tried reading a story online but I just can't do it. Stuff like this really needs to be in book form for me to enjoy it. I guess this will be the second author I'm reading because of boardgames. Well, H.P. Lovecraft's pretty famous, even if nobody else in our group knows of him. Cthulhu or the Necronomicon, anyone? From the wiki article, unfortunately it seems he was also rather racist, although supposedly it was his racist views that also allowed him to create the works he did. Also, supposedly he recanted his views later in life. I guess he might be an interesting author to read and discuss in a literature class. Anyway, I think his horror style is generally more of what we generally think of Japanese-style horror. You/the characters don't necessarily see the "monsters" but rather their effects on the world. Basically, the stories so far feel like something that Junji Ito might draw, in particular the latest story I read, "The Music of Erich Zann" But I haven't gotten into the core Cthulhu Mythos yet.

So anyway, because of that, got to MacArthur Bart early, Sophia arrived on time but Aaron and Eric arrived late. However we were still the first ones to arrive at the scarecrow place. The people still spelled my name wrong. Jenny arrived next, then we heard a group speaking Mandarin. Eventually I decided to go check and they were indeed Joyce's friends. Joyce then arrived and we got started with the scarecrow. We ended up making a fashionable pirate. David showed up midway. We then went to Japantown where we were surprised by the Spirit of Japantown festival that was going on there. Unfortunately it also meant the lunch places were even more crowded. Nancy arrived at this time. Eventually we ate at Sushi Maru but we had to be split into two groups. Joyce, Tim, Jennifer, Aaron, me, and Eric at one table, and Sophia, Jenny, David, and Nancy at the other table.

They seemed to be really out of appetizers today, but the rest of the food was decent although the two girls at our table barely touched their food.

Tim and Jennifer had to leave afterwards while the rest of us went to Joyce's place where we had some really good cheesecake poppers. Then we played a game of Imaginiff. I guess that was pretty good at understanding other people and/or how they think of you. I think it's interesting how my name barely got picked though. Hmm... Also, where the people were located at the end of the board tells an interesting story as well, but I'll let people think about that themselves.

Jenny had to leave right afterwards. The rest of us continued to talk. I brought out the Introvert book so we had a good time talking about how introverted we were. Joyce was touched that I had actually gone and bought the book on her recommendation. I think a lot of people were really interested in it after today though. So of the remaining people, Joyce, David, and Sophia were the middle ground while the rest of us were introverted, with Nancy being the most introverted.

I think this led to discussions about dating and somehow it got to me talking about my past. It's pretty much the same thing I wrote in my blog after the last hangout. May have said a little more on some stuff and a little less on others. Joyce was trying to guess the people. I guess it's interesting hearing who people thought I might've been interested in. But anyway.

Also got the New York UN for Taiwan shirt Joyce got for me. Thanks Joyce! :D

Joyce's mom cooked us a wonderful meal again so we ate well, and basically continued talking about various subject matters, like food, anime, alcohol, games, work, more 8gua. Typical BST subject matters I guess.

We left about 10:30 I think. It was fun, and certain thoughts I've had during the week got cleared away, or basically I got confirmation that my thinking about certain stuff was not necessarily wrong.

Happy Birthday Joyce!
Currently feeling content

dracil

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,22535838-5012895,00.html

Kinda neat. I don't know why the image is so strongly clockwise for me though. I'm pretty left-brained so it should've been counterclockwise for me. Have to hide the girl and only look at the reflection on the ground or look far away and concentrate straight ahead but on the rotation on the edge of my vision going counterclockwise for me to be able to flip the picture.
Currently feeling thoughtful

dracil

Olivia brought home her friend from school today. "Little P" in Chinese, or Chiqui in English (which apparently has no relation to her Chinese name).

Hmm... extroverted people are truly different creatures. Maybe it's because I've been reading that introvert book so I was more aware of the differences tonight.

Olivia actually called me when I was about a block away to see if I was going home. Apparently they had trouble deciding what to eat, but now that I was there, they could eat the $2.50 Safeway pizza that I'd bought. So, yeah, for once, I actually "cooked" the meal here. They did microwave some shaomai first since we felt just a pizza might not be enough.

LeQi just stayed in her room the whole time. =/ Dunno, she hasn't eaten with us all week as well. And she claims she's not introverted.

In other news, may have to work this weekend. Meh, that'll break up my plans a little this weekend if it happens. I wanna go gaming on Sunday but I also wanna attend Oktoberfest. If Saturday is given to work, unless it ends earlier I won't be able to go to Oktoberfest on Saturday so that means I'll have to go on Sunday so that means probably no gaming, or at least it'll be rushed.

Also, Portal is made of pure win. Downloaded and beat it last night. The ending song especially was hilarious (doesn't make as much sense if you haven't played through the game though). Makes a little more sense if you've at least seen the boss fight (you get a sense of the humor during the rest of the game from this). I think the fact that these are spoilers is self-evident.


Currently feeling fine

dracil

Hmm.... I actually like it better when I'm really busy at work. I actually enjoy the day more. I enjoy it so much that I don't get hungry and will actually skip lunch.

Also, spent the entire day basically listening to the "Still Alive" song (the ending song from Portal from yesterday). It's a really cute song in a way, like a morbid love song, but of course it makes sense in context of the game.

Out of context, Karen thought it was about grad students.
Currently feeling content

dracil

Hmm... so much for Oktoberfest. Was feeling incredibly lazy today and didn't feel like going to it for $20 by myself.

That, and because I spent the day grocery shopping and doing stuff with food. Made shuijiao with Olivia and then tried to make the Stinking Rose's Garlic Relish recipe. I don't think that turned out too well, though I haven't tried it properly. We ended up adding a lot more garlic than we were supposed to I think.

Then I baked another Safeway pizza and some tater tots and we ate some leftover ranch dressing and then tried that garlic relish. Yeah, maybe the ranch dressing works too well with the tater tots, or tater tots simply was never meant to be combined with garlic relish, but that really didn't go down well. Maybe I'll try the Green Onion Slab from the Acme Bread Company at the Ferry Plaza on Monday.

Leqi only joined us for dinner for once slice of pizza and then disappeared in her room again. =/

I guess it'll be the shuijiao for dinner tomorrow. I'll also have to work tomorrow, but from home, I think.
Currently feeling okay

dracil

with the Weighted Companion Cube!



I'm so sorry for throwing you down an incinerator! I hope you'll forgive me.


Currently feeling in love

dracil

Facebook incinerated the Weighted Companion Cube!

I can't stand losing you twice!


Currently feeling sad

dracil

So worked from home today basically. Need to test stuff using regular home connections. Of course, that meant I didn't get to go out today. It didn't take too long, it was mainly the timing of it. Oh well.

And I think my garlic relish actually isn't a failure (I guess it's pretty sad if I really failed to make something that simple ). The solidified mixture in the fridge didn't look appetizing, but after heating it up and trying it with some noodles that the landlady cooked for us, I thought it went pretty well with it. I think it's just the tater tots were a bad choice. I guess eating a half clove of raw garlic to test how garlicky it was while making it yesterday didn't help either (since it made me feel a little sick).

The real test will come after I bring home some bread tomorrow.
Currently feeling okay

dracil

Hmm, so I'm trying to make my own weighted companion cube. This actually takes some work...



Of course, I think I'm gonna get the plushie when it comes out. Before Christmas they say!

Why am I, and thousands of other people obsessed with the Weighted Companion Cube? Because it will never threaten to stab you, and in fact, cannot speak. :3

Oh, and garlic relish + bread was nice. But I'm pretty sure I have too much garlic now. A bit too spicy to enjoy it well.
Currently feeling okay

dracil

WTH, we just got given homework assignments at work. *boggle*
Currently feeling amused

dracil

So. Many. Meetings. Today.

Well, the one I was assigned for was actually kinda fun. Then I got dragged into another one. Then there was another appointment that's not really a meeting but since it's scheduled, I consider it one.

Oh, and it's nice being one of the few people who can actually read Japanese in the company. :D

Can't wait for the weekend!

Oh, and Public Service Announcement for people who use lipstick
Currently feeling okay

dracil

Comcast blocks some Internet traffic

Tell your friends. 'nuff said.
Currently feeling okay

dracil

On the tail of the last entry, this is what could happen if Net Neutrality loses.



Anyway, so my Japanese skills came into use at work again. Yay.

Also, I was surprised to actually see some cop on the Muni checking that people have passes on my way to work yesterday. Somehow, I don't think rush hour Inbound trains are the best time to check. Sure there's a lot of people, but most of the people at rush hour need a pass to go home anyway. Or at least, I didn't see him catching anyone without a pass/transfer.

The ones who check at Powell Station in the evening are more likely to catch people, but those are just annoying.
Currently feeling sleepy

dracil

http://consumerist.com/consumer/drm/valve-deactivating-customers-who-bought-orange-box-internationally-314690.php

1. I've told people for years, and I'll tell them again. This is why piracy is good for consumers. See the lower prices these countries get? That's the result of rampant piracy forcing companies to sell stuff at lower prices to compete. But no, stupid, gullible people eat up the corporate propaganda.
2. This is absolute BS. I'd like to see an Onion article with Valve employees buying plane tickets to some country, then once they get there, find out they can't go home again because the return ticket is only valid in the US.
3. What Valve did is illegal in some countries, e.g. Australia. And isn't this a violation of general free trade stuff? (Not up-to-date on where America is with all that and with what countries. Then again, so should DVD region codes, but we tolerate that only because it's a useless protection)
4. Apparently the copy I bought in Thailand years ago for about $20 still works though.
Currently feeling indignant

dracil

"HELLO, INTERNET, I'M HOME!"

"The Zogby/463 Internet Attitudes poll found that 24% of Americans said the Internet could serve as a replacement for a significant other. Not surprisingly, the percentage was highest among singles, of which 31% said it could be a substitute. There was no difference among males and females but there was a split based on political ideology. Thirty-one percent of those who called themselves “progressives” were open-minded to the Internet serving as a surrogate significant other while only 18% of those who consider themselves “very conservative” would consider it a substitute."

What was that again where a certain someone denied that Internet usage was geeky (as defined as "an activity that allows them to avoid talking to girls/guys")? Also related to this particular conversation is this next article.

Nintendo Conference 2007 Fall

"For each household, the DS has 3.0 users, the Wii has 3.5 users. DS has a 53% female user base. Wii has a 51% female user base." -Nintendo president Satoru Iwata

Hmm... I feel obligated to exploit this information somehow.


Currently feeling amused

dracil

Got up at 8, left by 8:45. I think I just misseds the first Muni train, and the one that came afterwards had a broken door so I was further delayed, so that means it took me an extra 30 minutes to get my cake, so I got there about the same time everyone else which meant it was really hard to hide the cakes. Miscommunication galore all day and just general screwups meant that the secret cakes and stuff didn't end up really being very secret. Note to self: Don't take up espionage as a career.

So first screwup, miscommunication with Sophia results in me being in Jenny's car and probably raising suspicion levels.

So aside from that, we ate at the Great Szechuan for lunch. We had Catherine's cake then. Second screwup. We brought in David's cake and I had to rush back to the car and switch, where I think I made the 3rd screwup of leaving the cake in the trunk instead of the cooler. Doh.

Afterwards, Dave picked up his "new" girlfriend Joyce and her friend Emily. "New" because he basically hid the fact from us for like 3 months. Our Joyce and Eric arrived at 3:30. I guess I tried singing more English songs this time, and I had to help Catherine sing the Chinese songs. I also sang "If I were a Deep One," a song from the musical A Shoggoth on the Roof, sung to the tune of "If I were a Rich Man" from A Fiddler on the Roof. Basically I spent a bit of time listening to it on my phone and writing down the lyrics, then singing to the lyrics instead of the words on the screen. It kinda worked. (I'll be blogging about this at a later date)

Eric and Catherine left afterwards and the rest of us ended up having dinner at a Korean place in Oakland whose name keeps escaping me and I'm too tired and lazy to look up. Food was pretty good and we couldn't really finish it all so Dave got quite a bit of leftovers.

We decided not to hang out afterwards since it was really late by then and the logistics would've been pretty messy so Jenny dropped Sophia and me at the Bart and everyone else went home as well. Took the bus with Sophia to her place and then she drove me home from there.

Happy Birthday David and Catherine!
Currently feeling exhausted

dracil

Oof, had headaches yesterday night and today during the day. The headache for today went away as soon as I started listening to music.

So I went to Spirit Halloween Superstores to get a costume for Wednesday. While there, I see this mask I wanted but before purchasing it, I end up finding out one of the employees wanted to sell his, so I said fine, and waited. But he didn't have a car so that didn't go through. So I went after work, and finally got the mask. It didn't seem to fit as well as the one in the store, but he gave it to me for even cheaper than originally agreed, so I took it. Went back to the store and spent a few more hours checking the meager collection of remaining costumes before finally picking something that I thought I could use. I still think I should have more props though... Hmm, have some ideas...

The mask though... spent a couple hours tonight just trying to make it more comfortable and look a little less deformed. The mask > super glue > my fingers. But then I just tried some crumpled paper and that seems to hold it in place a little better.

And need to pick up some other stuff as well for the party. I'm gonna be a pack mule on Wednesday going to work.

The things I do...

(obscure reference to a book series I read)
Currently feeling tired