Still catching up

I led the Dark Elves into battle today against David Foster, one of my Warhammer buddies. My gaming friends are pretty interesting, in that the game is my sole point of contact with them. I don't mean people on my mailing lists that I also game with, but people like Dave or Brian or Jim. Occasionally we talk about other interests, but ususally it's Warhammer related. It's interesting how people come together through their hobbies, and how we don't think about them outside of that arena. That marks the difference between friendship and acquaintance.

Anyway, we have an old rivalry between his orcs and my dark elves. I've gotten some major drubbings from him in the past, and this battle seemed to follow right along. In the initial turns of the game his dice were amazing and deprived me of several units. My mood immediately went south, and I quite frankly starting whining. Several times I was aware of this, and told myself (internally) to stop it. But I'd cotinue along, bemoaning my fate as I picked up the dice, looking at the bad side. Then midbattle, one of my regiments resisted a savage attack, and allowed me the chance to counter attack. I ended up winning that combat, and even though the carnage raged back and forth, in the end I won the game.

I was very surprised that I won. But I shouldn't be. There are so many variable factors to a game like this, you can't assume all hope is lost until the end. "Things would be fine if you just lightened up," Dave told me as we picked up our figures. I smiled back at him. "You know, you're really right." How many things do I put a ton of weight on, making each little failure out to be the end of the world? How many things do I blow out of proportion.
Winning a game is fun, and rolling poorly can be frustrating. But there's always another game to be played, another chance to do better. And for crying out loud, it's only a game.

I mused over that on the way home, until a rattling from the car caught my ear. I made it to the garage down the street, and the attendant told me I could just be low on oil, or something could be grinding inside. I added some oil, and the grinding was there but quieter. When the car idles in the morning, it rattles or grinds. When I accelerate, same thing. When I take it out of gear and coast, it's quiet. I'm hoping that this won't be anything too major, since the car is so new. We will see how it sounds when I drive it over on Monday.

Next, an interesting adventure.

surprise, surprise (almost caught up)

Last night Tatiana and I embarked on a visit to a select little party up in New Hampshire of a mutual friend of ours. But I didn't know I was her friend. This is a woman I saw perform at ManRay. My attempts to introduce myself to her were rather cooly received. Repeated introductions didn't seem to fix things either. Then she started talking to me a little more at the club. About a week ago, I got an email from Tatiana that I was invited to her birthday part, an invitation only event. Puzzled, I said I'd come along.

I wore The Cursed Outfit, as the invite said to wear fabulous attire. It actually worked! The zipper will work, though I should still have it replaced I suppose. I brought a batch of sangria with me, and we zipped up in T's hybrid car. I found out that there is a lot more to X than meets the eye. The house was small and cozy, and enfused with character. Drawings, pictures, artwork was everywhere. Food was in every room: lasagna, turkey, meatballs in sauce, all manner of desserts and breads and cheeses. And the guests were a wide and varied sort: club kids, middle aged and older men and women in dress clothing, lots of pagan and ren fair attire. Fortunately, there was one other person wearing PVC. The compliments and admiring eyes made me feel a lot better about being overdressed, and after a glass or two of sangria, I was chatting away.

That was one of the very nice things about the party. I didn't have my ususal anxiety when I went out. I noticed this during NYE as well. I was more vocal, more animated, and more comfortable. It's a very nice change of pace. I ran into a few old card playing friends from south of Boston. Seeing them in a completely different environment gave a whole new depth to their character. While there was some pretentiousness, and a few parties revealed their smarmy sides, the evening was very pleasant. I watched X's dance, I danced with X, others watched me dance. Not under the club lights, but in a brightly lit living room. It was a wonderful experience. I'd like to have a party sometime, where the goal is to dance. I remember when people used to dance at parties, back in college. There's been too little of that up here.

Eventually sleep caught up with us, along with some severe inebriation. Perhaps the absinthe had something to do with it, or the face that all the brandy floated on the top of my sangria! In either case, we drove home, blurring in and out of realitiy until I plunged into sleep around 4:30. T did not blur at all, she was a most responsible driver.

Caught up! at last.

1:00.
Moan.
Attempt to wake up.
Fail.
Stumble to bathroom, scarf down advil and water.
Return to bed.
2:30
Succesfully wake up.
Catch a ride to Heatray's for DND.
Save the kingdom, get our rewards, nearly get eaten by a demon after our elf picks a fight with a drow.
Return home, put meat away in freezer.
Write lots of updates.
Reflect on how nice things are now.
Look forward to more nice things in the future.
Hope that my car is not too banged up.