Day 189 of 362

Okay... It's O-Dark-Early in the morning for me. I'm getting ready to head to the store to get ready for the MtG: M12 Pre-Release tourney. I'll have some help from Hi-Sign and Z-Lock to get ready (thank you, guys), but it will be ugh-a-licious in terms of fatigue factor. I will however, have a good time once it gets going. These things are usually fun...

Then later, I will have a late-starting Champions game with at least one missing person, but it can be dealt with. I'm still without my laptop (though I got an e-mail saying it was on its way back, all better) so notes are sketchy at best, as I am relying on my memory to do this.

Beyond that, I'm too tired for meaningful conversation... I'll talk at you later... =)

-- GopherDave

Day 188 of 362

It's Friday, so that means Friday  Night Magic. I expect it to be a hopping one as Skribl will not be there tonight. He usually helps at the store, but he's got other plans, so I'm flying (mostly) solo. Hi-Sign has agreed to help out a bit, so some pressure will be off... ...but that leads us to tomorrow. Saturday is the Pre-Release tourney for the next MtG core set, M12. Yeah, like most pre-releases, I expect this to be off the hook bonkers, but they're also a lot of fun and lucrative for the store, so...

Last night, my Deathwatch campaign was handed over to one of the players on sort of a sour note. Basically, the ending devolved into a slight rules argument over Squad Mode abilities and how they interacted with each other. I will admit, I have BARELY read the rules for this game due to time and the fact that things in the Deathwatch books aren't laid out terribly well, but I was fairly certain I was correct on how some things were supposed to work. It turns out I was MOSTLY right... there's still a bit of contention over when a ROUND ends, but I'm letting that go as it's no longer my concern.

The game had been hovering in the no-fun zone for me for a while now, and it was showing. GODS, was it showing. Last night just pushed it over the edge. I do believe I've handed it off to someone who loves it more and has a better handle on it than I could ever hope to have. Thank you and good luck, DDS... you'll need it.

peace... GopherDave

Day 187 of 362

Ahhhhhh... a rare day where I can sleep in and don't have any major errands to run for the store... and my body wakes me up a 6... A... M.

GAH!!!!

That being said, it hasn't been all bad. I moved things around so I think we're getting better reception with the XBox wireless setup. NetFlix did not flake out on me once this morning as opposed to several times last night... I also scrubbed the bath tub as it had a layer of soap scum that made taking a shower a dangerous adventure. I should know, I almost succumbed to gravity about three times during my "daily rinsing".

Beyond that, gaming-wise, things are in flux.

I am running my DeathWatch game for the last time tonight. It's not ending as one of the players is taking it over. I like the system, the background fluff, the players (especially the players), but I'm not really having fun running it. The players are expected to act a certain way ALL THE TIME, and while they may not feel constrained, I do... and thus, I'm stepping away from that particular table.

The Deadlands: Hell on Earth game I've been playing in for a couple of years now is going on hiatus. Thing is, when/if it comes back, I'll probably step away from that as well. The game is fun, but we are getting busy enough that I spend more time behind the counter than at the table. It's not a bad problem for a shopkeeper to have, but it's not fair to the other participants of the game.

Finally, my Champions games are still going, though one seems to be on life support. The other is going strong, but it's gotten weird with a bizarre flux of incoming and outgoing players. The game is strong, but it's not stable. I need to tread carefully. The one on life support may get jettisoned due to a similar problem I have with the Deadlands game. If a customer needs to be helped, I need to step away from the table. The problem is magnified as I am the GM and the game comes to a screeching halt when I need to do that. Again, not fair to my players... I dunno...

It'll all work itself in the end I guess...

-- GopherDave

Day 186 of 362



JPG




PNG


It's shipment day at Gopher and I'm getting a late start, but not because of oversleeping. Nope, I woke up on time, but with a splitting migraine. Once I got the wife to work, it took a dark room, 800mg of ibuprofen, and a Diet Coke to chase the beast away.

There's still a tinge of pain, but I need to get going as I have a lot to do today.

As for the two pictures? One's a JPG, and the other is a PNG. I've been doing nothing but JPGs thus far, and I thought I would experiment a bit...

Later... GopherDave

P.S. -- Christian, I shall reiterate... DON'T. LET. THE. BASTARD. WIN.

Day 185 of 362

Okay... Tuesday, the day after a Monday holiday, and I'm about to hit the ground running. I have to pay rent for both the store and the house, place orders, get the store ready, and call our NEW merchant services company to get the credit card machine to send payments to them and not the current merchant services who have pretty much been forcing us into "compromising positions" financially.

On the whole we'll save $30 to $80 a month with the switch, but that translates into $240 to $960 a year, and that's definitely useful to the store.

As for the holiday itself, it was good to excellent. We had breakfast with the nephew and his son, which was wonderful. Then Loq and I came home and watched a movie off of Netflix... and finally, we went to the store and hung out with folks. Movie night at Gopher didn't work out like we had originally planned, the games and the conversations were quite enjoyable.

I hope your holiday went as well as mine, if not better...

-- GopherDave

Day 184 of 362

Between this and the navy blue pants I'm wearing, I'm looking as patriotic as I ever have...

Happy 235th birthday, U.S.A.... For a crotchety old fart, you've held up surprisingly well... =)

It's Monday... it's a holiday... and I'm up WAYYYYYYYY too early after having the floors done last night. However, my oldest nephew and his son want to hook up with us before they have to scoot back home (out of state), and I am more than happy to oblige.

As for it being a Monday holiday, Warhammer 40K has been cancelled for the night. Instead, some folks are getting together to play some other games, and, if we can find a projector, we'll be showing a random smattering of movies at the Gopher in an effort to just hang out with folks and enjoy the holiday.

See ya 'round kids... Have a good one...

-- GopherDave

Day 183 of 362

I've got a very busy day planned at Gopher today. I have a game I play in that runs this afternoon, then my Chicago-based Champions group plays tonight. Small problem... my notes for the Chicago game are on my laptop... my laptop that is en route to California to be repaired due to a broken screen... crud.

I'm also hoping that today is a better day than yesterday, overall. The store was fine, but things kind of exploded at Casa Gopher in the early morn. They're on the road to recovery now, but it will be a long process full of self-reflection.

Beyond that, life is hunky *AND* dory... =)

peace... GopherDave