ccgs – K. Close III

Yeah, it’s Tuesday, but I played hooky yesterday so it feel like Monday. It’s just a really cool Monday because it’s Tuesday already.

Well, it was a lazy weekend, so I’m happy. Friday, Heather and I rented a crapload of movies (5) and Jeremy came over and played some Magic. We had a good time. Played some games, ownzored him a bit, then watched Boat Trip. It was a lot funnier than we (Heather and I, Jeremy had gone home already) expected. We were expecting kind of stupid comedy with b(.)(.)bs. It turned out to be a really funny romantic comedy ( with b(.)(.)bs).

Saturday we watched Holes. It was really cool too, and awesome modern fairy tale. It had a whole bunch of plots that revolved around eachother and wrapped up together in the end. A lot of cyclic stories and myths. Very cool. Saturday night I went to Steve’s game and had a pretty good time. Not a lot of fight, but I think we actually got some decent RP in. First good character development since I joined. I still haven’t got my character nailed down yet, but it’s tough to do when the games are two weeks apart and I didn’t have a solid inspiration in the first place. I based the character on a combat concept rather than a character concept, so I have to let the character develop as I play him. He’s getting there though. I know he’s standoffish (represented by being a pole-arm fighter) and a little naieve about the world. He’s inventive and creative, a crafter, but not of standard weapons or items. I think, if I get enough play, he’ll be really interesting.

Sunday, we watched Bend it Like Beckham in the morning and Identity in the evening. Both were fantastically entertaining, in their own ways. Finally, Monday we watched A View From The Top which, while entertaining, was not all I expected it to be. Also, Monday, Jeremy and I played some more Magic, he was redeemed and we are now at a score of 4-3 (my favor).

I’ve been thinking about our money again. thanks to Heather. I don’t want a second job, but I keep thinking that’s the only way I can think of to help us out. I really like my ballance of work and leisure right now, and would actually prefer more leisure, but if we don’t start moving in a more positive direction, I may feel forced to take a second job. I keep looking at this Utopian point 5 years from now when our cars and cards are paid off, but it seems like a ways. We both want to feel secure and stable before we think about a child and by then I’ll be 35. I know people are having children later in life these days, but that still seems pretty far off to me. I think about how I’ll be in my 50s by the time our child even graduates high school. I’m not in a rush to have a child, but at the same time, I’m want to be spry enough to enjoy it.

I’m also thinking about excersize a lot more again, recently. I feel unhealthy. I’m not what you’d call out of shape, by any means. And fat doesn’t apply to me at all. But I want to be proud of my body, I liked being toned and tanned from when I was working at the mill. I think if I do get a second job, it needs to be a labor job, lifting and hauling. Sure, it would have to be at night so I woudln’t get the tan back, but I could at least get the tone back. I don’t know what kind of job could possibly provide the workout I got at the mill though, we worked our asses off in a steaming, 200º workplace. It was like being in a sauna and working wieghts at the same time, while at the same time running aerobics. Where the hell can I get all that at the same time, and get paid to do it?

I tried jogging a while back. I like to run, I mean I actually enjoy it. So Heather and I bought a treadmill a few years back. I ran on it off and on, but back at the beginning of this year I put some serious effort into it. I ran hard three days a week for three months. Not only did I not see any physical change (fat changing to muscle, less bounce in my body), I didn’t see any change at all in my weight. I stayed a solid 190lb. the whole time. It was depressing and unmotivational. I quit. I admit that it was weak of me to quit, but it obviously wasn’t doing anything. I need to do more, but I don’t know enough about what to do to do anything else. I keep thinking I could ride my bike more, that works out a bit more of the body, adding some strength to the aerobics, but I haven’t motivated myself to do it. I’ll have to start considering it. I’m sure I could ride three days a week and do isometric strength two days a week. I just have to get motivated. Come on, someone motivate me!

poop, I ran out of things to say. I always feel like I should have more to write, but when I write, I feel like I’m just rambling. I’ll have to see if I can start focusing my writing in here. Hmmm. I got an idea, but I’ll have to see if I can flesh it out a bit.

I’m tired and I want to go home but I’m here at the lab waiting for a bunch of documents to print out. I told someone I’d print some images for them and the printer is being really bitchy tonight. I don’t know why, probably because I want to go home. fucky.

Anyway, I succombed to the Magic urge again today. Yesterday, Nick and I started talking about CCGs. Wait. lets start earlier than that. Steve tells me he’s been shopping on eBay for Netrunner cards. We’ve played a few times over the years, usually 6+ months between games, but enough to remember how to play the next time we get the urge. He decides they’re cheap as fuck on eBay and would pick up a few of his own for the next time we decide to have a game. That gets me to busting out the Netrunner cards. We play a game, okay, actually Nick and I play a game with Steve coaching. I start thinking about how much time I spent and how much fun I had playing Magic. A few years back we did a sealed deck thing where a bunch of us bought one starter deck of cards and we played for ante. You heard me right, we risked our hard bought cards on each game. We did no deck adjusting, no culling, straight out of the box. It was just for fun, no caring about our cards, no bullshit about rarity or value. It’s a damn game, and that was the attitude we were playing with. We had a blast. To be honest, that’s how my first months of Magic were back in ’93.

So every now and then I think back to the cheap days of Magic, when we didn’t drool over the best cards in the game, we didn’t lust after rares, we just played cards, and all cards were equal in the eyes of the ante. I lost the only Shiivan Dragon that way. It was a woop ass card that I never replaced.

Anyway, back to my story at hand. Nick, Steve and I are playing Netrunner and I start thinking about those glory days and our successful reinactment of them years later. I decide it’s time to do it again. Nick’s on board, my nephew Brandon is totally in it (he still plays Magic with all the bullshit), my brother say’s he’ll play, but he doesn’t have money for cards. I front him the cash. I had an Aberrant game last night, so I didnt’ get to go shopping, but Nick looked everywhere for decks and couldn’t find any “starters.” I’m perplexed and confused by this, so today I went to the one place I was sure I’d be able to find a starter. When I get there all they have are Theme Decks and Tournament Decks (remember, it’s been a long time since I’ve played or bought cards for all you back talkers out there). I finally figured out that Starter Decks are now called Tournament Decks and they come with 15 more cards then they used to. No book though (boo). As an aside, can someone tell me if the two player starter package has randomly generated decks? and if so, how many cards are in it? That’s driving me crazy because it doesn’t say what’s really included anywhere on the package or on the website.

So, I have this new deck of Onslaught cards that do all kinds of fucked up things with creatures, and Nick and my brother have these Mirrodin decks that are all artifacts. I don’t know when we’ll start playing, but if you’re in Denton, and want to play Magic without the bullshit, here are the rules we’re following:

you may only buy one deck of cards, a starter, preferably a 75 card Tourney deck.
you may not trade cards, nor may you add cards to your deck that are gained through any means other than ante
you may edit your deck down to 60 cards, no less. The extra cards are yours and you cannot ante from them.
you must play for ante, and you must not whine if you lose a good card.
if your deck drops below 45 cards, you must add to it by either:

using cards you trimmed from your original 75, or

buying one booster pack to bring you back up to playable levels. This is the only time you may purchase cards beyond the starter deck

you must play for fun, and have fun playing. Oh, and don’t bring any bullshit to the table, I played that game once, I don’t need it again.

So, yeah, I bet Jeremy and I will break out a game or two tonight. I expect to have some more artifacts in my deck before the night is out.

damn printer.