My Birthday Week 2012

Monday was the first time I have worked on my birthday in a while. It was all good though, because I wanted to keep my birthday low key this year. After work myself, Troy, Sarah, and Frank went to the casino ate at the buffet and did a little gambling. I don't know if it is my age or the economy, but I don't think the casino is as interesting as it was ten years ago. I might need a new birthday tradition.

We came home fairly early, I made some ice cream and we played some Fluxx, both regular and the Martian versions. I kept drawing the card that allows you to play two extra cards on your birthday, what can I say, it made me smile.

Tuesday after work I gave Frank a refresher course in driving a car with a clutch. It turns out that he didn't need much refresher he stalled once and then did just fine, but it was cool to hang out.

Uh oh, someone is watching me.

Wednesday I ended up staying home from work for the first time since the end of February. I woke up with a pretty nasty migraine. I didn't do much of anything but Diablo 3 and a little bit of chores. In the evening there was finally rain ... sort of ... at least a lightening show.

Thursday nothing happened really at home, because I went to bed pretty early so ...

... I could get up at 0400 to take Troy to the airport. It really wasn't a big deal, the traffic at that hour is negligible. I came back home and went to sleep for a little while, and then off to work. Friday evening I made a lateish appearance at the usual dance and had a nice discussion with Christy about not being cool, but instead being 'warm'.

Saturday morning as soon as the clock hit 1000 I was out cutting the lawn. After I finished, I cleaned up and then and napped so I could stay awake for Kaleb's game night. I arrived as a group was finishing up a game of Eclipse ... Jared was the plant people that I was last time. I played a little bit of ping pong with Lydia, Roslyn, and Tom just to warm up.

The first game up was 7 Wonders. It was a very entertaining game that moved very quickly, in fact, I think it was pretty close to the 30 minute listed play time. The different players at the table used several different strategies, resulting in a close game; something like 59-58-57-57-56-53-41. I had one of the 57s.

The second game was Kingsburg. For the second time in a row, I once again I built a substantial lead in middle and late part of the game, but I couldn't hold at the end and eventually lost to Kaleb. My early and mid game strategy works, but it falls apart at the end.

The third game was a four player game called simply Kingdom Builder. It was a nifty little game of, go figure, kingdom building. This was a game that previous knowledge of the game is really helpful. I finished last behind Maggie, Melissa, and Nick.

Werewolf was up next. For the first game we tried a new card, the Ghost, and that was out quickly as being too powerful and broken. Natalie did an excellent job as the last werewolf. The second game was a lot like the first, this time with CJ trying to fend off the townsfolk by convincing Maggie he was safe. We played with the Minion, a townsperson who, if chosen by the werewolves, turns into a Werewolf instead of being eaten. In theory, this should be a powerful ally for the werewolves, however the minion was not found, so we didn't get to see it in action. I was thinking about playing Werewolf, I think we have probably played 70 to 80 games of Werewolf. That is tremendous staying power for any game, the next closest game is probably Shadow Hunters, and that really isn't that close.

There was a game of around the world ping pong that so many people played, we actually ran out of paddles. I ended up winning (i.e., the first player to win five games), even though I didn't think I played skillfully. We went upstairs and watched the end of a game of Munchkin.

We played one more game, Chrononauts. This one is one of Maeg's favorites. I ended up winning by trading missions with Elliot and having the right cards in the trade to complete my new mission. I was pretty sure when I traded I was going to win, it's was a rare case of me 'counting' cards. I like the game much more in theory than in practice, I think it's a little too random for good gameplay, but I probably thought that about Fluxx at one time too, now I can see how you can manipulate the rules to your advantage.

By this time it was after 0300, and I was trying to stay up all night so I could be awake to take Frank to the airport at 0400. I ended up getting home about 0320 and found things to do until Frank texted me around 0355, however one thing led to another, I didn't take him to the airport, and I was asleep by 0415.

Sunday morning I got up and with Maeg, went and picked up Frank's car at the airport. She went to do something, and I went home for chores and nap. Later, after Maeg got home, we went to pick up Troy from the airport. Yes, I spent a lot of time driving back and forth from the airport in three days. Troy got dropped off and Maeg and I went to the grocery store. The weekend ended with another run #25 for the year, 1.78 miles in 18:09, at a 10:09 pace.

Next week: more heat, less rain ... and a party.