Ugh...

Okay... many things were accomplished yesterday, chief among them, getting license plates for the new car so Skribl could actually drive it. Mission accomplished, and I got to ride around with him a small bit as well. Skribl's not the best driver there is, and he is *very* aware of this fact. The level of caution he displays while behind the wheel is almost Grandma-like, but I would rather have that than Skribl thinking he is the next Mario Andretti. I have no doubt that he will get better at vehicular operation with time and experience, and that he has the tools to be very good at it. Now to convince him that he is in no way, shape, or form ready for driving in Chicago yet. He has friends there he wants to see next week and is looking at driving up there by himself. Needless to say, Mom and Dad think this is a B-A-D-D bad idea...

Now... as I stated above, many things were accomplished yesterday. Those things were accomplished by me getting up way early (6:00 AM) and going to bed way late (3:00 AM). As a result, I am incredibly tired, and with the weather change, I also have a sinus-driven headache that refuses to go away. Fatigue and pain hasn't stopped me yet, though almost no side work is getting done at the store today due to those factors. The main work for the day has been finished as orders have been received and processed, the web site has been updated, and I've let non-regulars know that special orders are in. Other orders have been placed, and are awaiting arrival so I can do it all again. Depending on how I feel, I might stick around after Skribl arrives to work so I can get some other stuff done, but at this point, I'm not counting on it.

My darling Loquacious wrote a neat post today over at her playground. I could do something like that, but it would go on for pages and pages and pages... It brings up some interesting thoughts, though. Ones that are intermixing with my current desire to run another game. Her post mostly has me thinking about the RPGs that have influenced my the most in my gaming life and how they have contributed to game design philosophies. Over the years, I have found that I enjoy running melodramatic, personal-level, story-driven games. I suppose my ideal mix of game system would take Feng Shui, HERO System, and Storyteller, throw 'em in the proverbial blender and hit "Frappe" until smooth. 'Tis a shame that no one has done that yet. It would save me time from having to do it. This line of thought does bring up an interesting analogy, though...

Like most food, I am finding that homemade games are are frequently better than those that are store-bought and pre-made...

-- GopherDave

It's Early Days Yet...

Long nights sometimes lead into early days, and today is one of those times. There are a handful of errands that have to be run before the store opens and if I am to get at least the bulk of them accomplished, I need to be out of the house by 8AM. Sooner would be better...

Loquacious is getting ready to set up the RPG she wants to run, and I'm happy for her. We have carved out a place in the schedule for the game and now it's just a matter of getting it started. Me? I'm still trying to find the system that tweaks most of the correct buttons. The more I look, the more I am thinking that I need to just write what I am looking for, which then delays the game further. As much as I like creating game systems I just don't have the time necessary for me to do so currently. HHRRRRRMMMMM...

I am taking time just looking for the "right" system, time I could use to write and construct... Stupid, logical conclusions driven by creative urges...

How's a guy supposed to just relax, pet his dog, eat chips, and watch N.C.I.S. with his brain twitching like this?

-- GopherDave

Summertime...

The kids are now out for summer, which changes some of the routine here at the house and the store. The most jarring change is the fact that the boy is now 18 and can pretty much do what he wants. Yeah, he still has responsibilities as long as he lives here, but for the most part the leash is off and he's on his own.

Tonight was KnightErrantJR's DC Adventures game, and it was fun as usual. We beat the crappage out of the Time Trapper by having Bjorn (our resident Werebear) hold him, Myrmidon point out exactly where Time Trapper should be struck, and Marathon punching hm in the ding-ding until unconsciousness is reached. Necromancer tossed in sorcerous help, and despite some Villain Point shenanigans keeping him up for a bit to be more threatening. We had Time Trapper down before Paradox could be back with items pertinent to his TT's desire to stop/de-exist us. With Time Trapper defeated, we closed a temporal rift that had been widening. This allowed the Justice League/Justice Society/Teen Titans to pop back into our reality and be rescued. The session ended with the wedding of Myrmidon to Vicky Vale. According to KEJR, there is one more story arc left before the campaign is finished. I for one do not look forward to the ending. I like this game and I really do dig and appreciate KEJR's handling of it all.

Good times...

-- GopherDave

Memorial Day And A Party...

Hey All...

My apologies for being absent these last few days, but they have been busy.

Today, however, It's Memorial Day and the store is closed. I would like to thank the men and women of our armed forces, past and present, for their service to our country. 'Tis appreciated, folks... ...more than you may realize.

On a more personal note, the boy has officially graduated high school, and so we are throwing him a small party. I'm making my uber-delicious Hawaiian honey-teriaki burgers for folks here at Casa Gopher this afternoon. They are the bomb-diggity and they are coming with full-effect. Just so you know...

-- GopherDave

Skip Day...

Hey all... back at it again after a surprise day off. Basically, something of a personal nature came up and I had to pretty much hide for the day to get my head back on straight. Still not completely there, but I am *MUCH* better than I was Wednesday night.

Not much beyond that. Today is Friday, so that means a lot of Magic: the Gathering will be happening tonight. Skribl actually has most the weekend off to celebrate his high school graduation. The young man is amazing in what he can accomplish when he sets his mind to the task. He reminds me of... ...me. Headstrong... passionate... funny... and, at times, a total a**hole. I guess the Mother's Curse of having kids just like you comes true, after all... =P

-- GopherDave

Still Catching Up...

Wednesday... Normally Wednesdays are when delayed orders come in and I play a bit of catch up. With my trip out of town this weekend, I'm about a day off and this has become the main shipment day for the week. Thus, I'm about to head off to the store and do what needs to be done.

One potentially coronary-inducing milestone passed as of yesterday, though. Skribl graduated high-school in typical-for-his-DNA seat-of-the-pants fashion. Translation... Barely. He's a smart kid, but as unmotivated as they get in regard to school. Now, he's out... on time... on his own terms. With that, I no longer have to worry about Skribl in the educational sense. He'll do what he feels he needs to, but on his terms, and in his own time.

Will I still worry about him? Well, yeah... I don't know of a parent yet that has stopped worrying about their children. But now, with one of the major milestones of adulthood crossed, Loquacious and I can worry less...

-- GopherDave

Back At It...

Note to self... Don't ever do that again...

The ubiquitous "that" would be drive to the in-laws some 530 miles aways, return a rental car, pick up a different car, hang out for a small bit, and then drive back arriving roughly 32 hours from when you first left. There was a five and a half hour nap in there somewhere, I think. I could do this, and things like it when I was 25 with relative ease. At 45 years of age... gah... it is/was exhausting.

After a day-ish to recuperate, I'm back in the saddle and playing catch up. There's roughly a couple of hours before the store opens today, and I still have a couple of errands to accomplish before I get there. That said, driving there and back provided me with about seventeen hours of ruminating time. Not all of it was taken up with game thoughts, but a significant chunk was. The rest of it was taken up with trying to stay awake, missing my family, and trying to stay alive while driving into the heart of a massive thunderstorm near Memphis.

-- GopherDave