日常生活

Since Gears of War didn't turn out to be the awesome "board game that we play every weekend" I've kept searching for another game to play. (Really, I've been pushing to play GoW again, to at least beat that first annoying level, but the others won't comply. What do?)

I noticed Ad Astra was on sale and figured we should give it a try. I didn't really know what the game was about and after having seen a quick review on the game on Youtube - after I had ordered it - I didn't think it would be very good. (But hey, it was on sale..)

My brother, a friend and I tested the game yesterday and as it turns out, Ad Astra is actually a lot of fun to play! There's a lot more strategy in this game compared to many of my other games (which are mostly just all about killing stuff). Travel to various planets, gather as many resources as possible to score more than the others and eventually win the game. For some reason that setup worked out just fine with us. Maybe we're getting too old for mindless mayhem? Grah, the horror!

The tokens, or pawns, are all pretty neat. A few of them look a bit fragile and the ships are a little skimpy for my liking, but all in all, they're very nice looking.

Both my brother and the friend commented that it would've been interesting if there were a way to attack the planets in an "intergalactic war kinda way" somehow.

I suppose there's still room for some mindless mayhem, after all. :-)

Jump For It - The figure in this image reminds me a bit of myself in that it feels like I'm jumping off of the mountain of dark dreary thoughts, aiming for that happy place where the sun is always shining. My girlfriend is the sun of my life, making me smile like I haven't smiled in ages. She's pretty awesome and I love her very much. <3

Quantum Cat Curiosity - The first one of two cat-tees. Ironically they're both of Shroedinger's cat. I prefer my cats alive and well without the guesswork, thank you!

Shroedinger's Cat - Wait, now they're in a box each? Well I suppose that only makes it easier to grab the one that's still alive.

MoriarTea - I don't know enough about Sherlock Holmes - hey, to be fair, I don't know enough about anything - but he drinks tea which makes him a pretty cool guy. Eh solves difficult cases and doesn't afraid of anything.

Night of the Living 8-Bit - There's just no preparing for an 8-bit zombie apocalypse. These babies are back from the past to haunt you.

It took Mr King many years to write The Dark Tower-series and it looks like it'll take me a few years to read all of it, mostly because I try to read other books inbetween (for no apparent reason, really).

I'm roughly twenty chapters into The Waste Lands and it's been pretty good so far. Seems the books get better and better with each instalment, which is nice. Gives me something to look forward to.

I like the way King writes, so when I'm done with The Dark Tower I'll look into getting some of his other works. I've been hearing good and bad about Salem's Lot, for instance. ;-)

One of my brothers bought the game Rock Science and the three of us broke it in yesterday. It's a trivia board game with a Rock-theme and we quickly found out that neither of us is a Rock Scientist. A lot of the questions were super hard (or rather, they're about bands that neither of us listen to). To move your marker (which is a cool guitar pick) you have to answer a question correctly. Or - and this is what got us around the board - you "bet" that the player answering the question can't get it right (which happened about 90% of the time, even on the easier "Poser" questions).

Yeah, we suck.

Eventually I completed a lap around the board, just shy ahead of the others, winning the game. Woop! But rather than feeling victorious, I walked away from the table full of shame, feeling like a poser. Not worthy..

There are some additional rules with the game, such as a drinking game variant, which I'd like to try out some time. (Not that I see how that would make things any better)..

Star Map - Back in the days they didn't have GPS. Back in the days, before they had proper maps, people navigated using the stars. It's no wonder they eventually had to turn to technology to do it proper because they're going the wrong way... It's either that or, since they're pirates, they're waiting to ambush someone else following that star map. You never know with pirates..

Escape - While I sometimes feel like escaping, I imagine using more...reliable means of doing so. Still, taking a companion on an adventure sounds like a terrific idea.

+5 Sword of Critical Hits - "So uh, I'm attacking the Kobold Slinger, and.... I'll just move over here to.. I'll swing my sword and, let's see now.. I'm rolling... 1d8.... Plus... 5...? Yeah, plus 5.. And I deal.... Lemme see... 12 points of damage. Wooh yeah, take that you little twerp! How do you like that sword now? Hahaha ha hahaha..."

"12 points of damage doesn't seem so critical..."

I have depression. I never know how to bring this up with anyone. The fact that I don't like talking about myself on that a personal level doesn't help much. It sucks because there are several people I wish knew about it. (Partially because maybe it'd help explain why I'm being a dick some times). Writing this is a start though, I suppose. Baby steps.

I don't remember exactly, but I was 16-17 something when I was diagnosed with depression. (I can't remember if I was even "diagnosed", but I got medication and counseling for it, so probably, yeah?)

I wasn't on the medication for very long, not nearly as long as I probably should have been. Long story short, what happened was that I met a girl in a chatroom. We talked [almost] every day and she made me happy enough to decide to quit the meds (even against the counselors suggestions, hurr durr). Dunno what "damage" that caused, if any, but I was pretty happy for a while there, and that was all that mattered.

Still, it gradually went downhill and today, several years later, I'm back to feeling like shit most every day. Some days are worse than others, naturally. In a way, I've been depressed, on and off, for nearly half my life. That's a great fucking life, right there.

Not that long ago I was reflecting on the meds and how I probably would've had better use for them today than back then. Still, I don't really want to resort to medicine to fix things (even though that may be one of very few options).

Recently, in the last few weeks, I've started to feel a little better. I've been more happy and talkative than I have in several years. Feels kinda great, actually. The reason is, again, because of a girl. A woman, I suppose I should say - I'm getting fucking old..

Having depression is getting fucking old.

Talking to her have been really nice though, and have brought smiles I've rarely seen before (both hers and mine, and hers will melt a frozen heart). I don't know where this road leads, but I'm glad I ended up on it...

A while back the money ran out on my account and I have been on another of my "sporadic" breaks. My plan to reach level 85 on my paladin was put on hold, once more. I only got to about 71 when my account was frozen from the lack of funds, and I haven't been bothered to reactivate it again. Truth is, I have decided enough is enough. I'm quitting, finally.

Game Over.

It's been a good few years and you will be missed, but I suppose I've finally come to the conclusion that it's time to move on... I tip my hat to you, WoW. :-)

..I finally speak, and out comes one stupid joke after another.

I'm not kidding; if you've talked to me, chances are I tried to be funny. I know that I'm not funny, but I don't seem to know when to stop talking..... And then you walk away, thinking wtf is wrong with me. I walk the other way, thinking the same thing.

Socially Awkward Penguin, I am you.

Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device - If Leonardo da Vinci had come up with the Handheld Portal Device (and I'm not saying he didn't), it might have looked like... Like, uh.. Like it always did... Imagine playing Assassins Creed with this baby. :o

This Was a Triumph - The cake is a lie! It's a tasty, triumphant lie - sure - but a lie none the less.

Haunted Scarecrow - Don't gaze into the pumpkin's eyes or you'll end up harvest. Seriously, don't! According to that grin you'll be the pie!

Who Watches Us? - I've seen V For vendetta only once and I thought it was alright, not awesome (but I do like the mask). Same goes for Watchmen. Combine them for greatness, though.