Sunday, January 2, 2011

Antelope Elopement Atonement

*The general confusion surrounding the holidays and the weird way they fell this year, coupled with a really bad call as far as the weather went has really put a dent in the time I have gotten to spend with my fellow Red Palms over the past month. That in and of itself is pretty annoying, but it seems that I missed a big announcement at the NYE event. Mind you, I haven't had the chance to confirm this at the highest levels yet, but it seems that a shift in the owner's family could result in the end of the Chef as we know it. More news on this rather depressing development as it becomes available.

*I may have been fairly correct in stating that it would seem to be really difficult to lose a game of Forbidden Island. I should add the clarification that that statement was made based on starting on the 'novice' level. I doubt this would be the case on the 'epic' level.

*OK, I am still having right around zero luck in getting the printer/game developer guy the types of files he needs in order to give me an estimate on doing a production run of Fezquest. So, I may end up physically going to Niles on Tuesday so I can meet with this guy face to face. Maybe then he can get the scans he needs, I can tell him about the edits I want, and I can get this thing moving more towards actually getting into the hands of people so they can play it. If not, then I'll have to start looking around for someone else.

*It had never crossed my mind that I should look on E-Bay for bamboo flats and canes. But now that I know those types of things are on there, when I get to that point of the downstairs remodel (yeah, right), I will have to compare those prices against others that offer the same thing.

*Another month, another fun event. Survivor's Day was a pretty good time. Had a lot of the usual faces and a couple of new ones to boot. Had some call-offs and some no shows, but that's to be expected. The obvious downside to having a party on NYD is that a lot of people have done a good amount of drinking on NYE, so things weren't quite as lively as they could have been. I was really glad that Steve could make it up for the event this time around. I have also decided that there was too much rum in the Miami Snowmen, so I need to tweak that recipe. I think I actually have some mai tai mix left, and I don't even think that I made one for myself last night. The area between the bar and the green chair continues to be a dead space, which I'm hoping that the new bar design (should it ever come to pass), will help eliminate. It also looks like it's time to dig into the stored boxes and rotate the items on display out in the main room. And while you're at it, Fear my spaghetti arm!!

*No, I do not want any more cookies. If you try to give me a plate of homemade fudge, I may well punch you right in the nose. The next person to offer me any type of consumable with a >80% sugar content will get a boot to the ass. Repeatedly. My pancreas is frickin exhausted. No. More. Sweets. Got that? As it is, I doubt I'll be able to eat anything sweet until well into March of next year, and quite possibly later than that. Not to mention that I will have to spend considerable time and resources trying to unload the sugary treats I have already been given by others. Got curry? Hand it over. Salsa? Likewise. Chili? I'll take that too. But, if it's something dipped in chocolate that you're trying to pawn off on me, you just might end up finding it crammed in your ear.

*After a recent vet visit, all three of the Thundering Herd have been given clean bills of health and ideal body scores. I, however almost needed CPR after finding out how much it cost me to get that report from the vet. On the up side, we did discover that getting the beasts in and out of the Element is easier than any other car that we've had so far. Little bastards may just actually get to go more places with us in that case.

*Did I make any resolutions for the new year? No, not really. Never really found them to be anything that really sticks. I mean, if you already have the discipline to stick to a resolution, odds are that you don't really need to make any resolutions in the first place. I'm just going to make sure that I keep doing the things I know I need to be doing. Which, is kinda funny, considering I haven't worked out in a few days, and I'm pretty sure that I didn't take my meds today. But I need to start working out, since I've had a yen to watch The Matrix for like the forty bazillionth time. Plus, all that beer is starting to make it's presence known in ways I am not fond of.

*Almost all the snow that had been deposited around the area disappeared after we had a rather unseasonal stretch of days above freezing, a couple of which approached the 50 degree mark. I think I can also say that this has been the foggiest December that I can ever remember. Luckily, or not, all the mud generated by the sudden thaw froze solid when a 20+ degree temperature drop hit the area overnight. So, it's back to winter for the next five months or so. Did I forget to say wheeee?

*Managed to complete 4 new pieces this week, which was really nice. Not that any of those pieces were anything that I needed to get done, but it was good to just let instinct run and do whatever I wanted to. Didn't really like having to do all the blending when I was using the colored pencils, and the resulting shiny finish isn't quite what I was looking for. Liked doing the pastel piece, but it does make a lot of dust, and that piece will have to be sealed before it can be handled. What's next? I just may do another pastel. Got some black paper I've been waiting to do something with, and this may be a good media to use on it. Want to drag out the tempra again, too. I doubt either of those will be something that goes out for any of the charity auctions I know I'll be getting calls for soon, which means that I need to get to carving.

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