Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday were all game heavy last week, and Tuesday would have been as well, had my theatre friends all bailed the day of. *sad trombone*
Wednesday night was spent almost entirely on my newest Kickstarter game, Wizard School, which turned out to be a real disappointment. About twenty minutes in the first person bailed on it, and the rest of us spent about another hour and a half before we gave up. The last time I had this many problems with interpreting game text was Ruse & Bruise, and that at least was fun. This was more like…work. We gave it another shot on Sunday, but I don’t expect I’ll ever play this one again.
Thursday I spent catching up with my ex, who finally finished graduate school and is back in town. I volunteered Maple Block Meat Company as I’ve been dying to get back there since I visited it early last year. The brisket is fantastic and the side of biscuits I got were equally excellent. Thus far, this is probably the best brisket I’ve found in L.A., though my search is relatively new.
Friday was a bonanza of gaming, and made up for the lackluster Wednesday night. We ended up having eleven people show up and got a couple of games of Secret Hitler in (I’m still awful at it) and a round of Vegas Showdown before things started winding down. If you’re a fan of secret role games (e.g., Werewolf) Secret Hitler is a good choice. It’s another Kickstarter game, though I backed this more because my friend did than me having a real interest in it myself. Still, happy to have it in my collection.
Saturday started off early with a flurry of activity, with a 9am meeting for the volunteer group at the animal shelter I just joined, followed by a two-hour training session on handling the dogs, which I’m now allowed to do. However, this only covers general socializing with the animals, cleaning the cages, and building busywork. I’ve got to get 8-16 hours before I can take the level 2 classes, which let me get more involved with the animals.
That afternoon I drove down to UCLA to see The Lion at the Geffen Playhouse. My ex had mentioned loving the show over dinner so I decided it would be a good way to kick off theater-going in the New Year. And boy was that the right call. The Lion is a one-man show by Benjamin Scheuer, chronicling the story of his life through about sixteen songs, played on a half dozen different guitars. When he isn’t singing he’s storytelling, and the two weave together so seamlessly there were only a handful of opportunities to get applause it. It’s an amazing story filled with loss and adversity and if you’re in the area I highly recommend check it out. You can also find the soundtrack on Spotify.
The rest of Saturday was spent at home playing Endless Legend (link to Steam page), my current gaming obsession, and making a Cooks’ Illustrated recipe for gumbo. It’s wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t anything special either, so I’ll likely not make it again. I did like their method of making the roux though, which involved baking the flour until it was a dark, nutty brown color, and then mixing it in with the liquid. It gave a lot of flavor to the roux.
Sunday I finally got off my butt and made my friend’s birthday ice cream, Vietnamese Coffee, from the Humphry Slocombe cook book she got me years ago, of which I have made copious use of ever since. I’ve actually got another batch I promised some co-workers and then I’m going to make some Baraky Road for myself.
Then my roommate and I went tuxedo shopping with our friend for a wedding in March. We found a small store in the locale mall that managed to check off all the boxes the groom required and we were back in time to get a couple of games of Aeon’s End. That’s ANOTHER Kickstarter game, but unlike Wizard School this one was absolutely worth the money my friend paid for it. It’s a take on the Dominion deck-building mechanic, with its own unique twists. We actually won our first game ever that day, followed by an excruciating last second lost.
The evening was spent playing more Endless Legend.
The Monday holiday was spent sequestered at home playing more Endless Legend and delving into the first two episodes of A Series of Unfortunate Events on Netflix. It’s weird, but I like it. I look forward to watching more of it, as well as getting into AO and the new episodes of Sherlock Holmes. Of course, that would require free time, of which I’m to have precious little. The only real productive use of the day was sitting down with my friend and figuring out a timetable for finalizing and submitting the serial play we’ve been working on. Of course, with him having a baby and me about to jump into pilot season, actually producing and directing the show will be tricky. Fingers crossed.
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