zenten's birthday

After a moderately productive morning, I picked up jagash and oni_neko then went to zenten's birthday party. It was a pleasant afternoon and evening of gaming and socializing, with them supplying lots of eats. I played several games (Set, Pitchcar, Red Dragon Inn 1 + 2 combined x2, Dominion x3 (betcha can't play just one :), and Age of Empires III - Age of Discovery) and an RPG also happened.

It was nice to see gabriel_le, scubajim and pezchica out, though I'm sad they were already tired from a previous social engagement and had to leave too soon. The little ones were cute, and it was good to see James again.

level loss

This evening my fridge lost about 5 levels in scare human. This is a good thing.

More gaming for me

and others, too.

People showed up late -- some expected, others more unexpected.

Mikepictor was first to show up, so we started with a game of Kingdoms.

While we were playing, ironphoenix and jagash appeared. So, after Kingdoms we setup Age of Steam (which ironphoenix got for Christmas and has been wanting to play). Age of Steam is a vicious game -- Railroad Tycoon is the kinder, gentler Age of Steam and RT is not the nicest game out there, itself. Age of Steam makes the money decisions in Brass seem nice, cuddly and friendly. After turn 5 (of 8) had finished, we declared ironphoenix the winner with me a clear 2nd -- but not likely enough to catch him to be worth playing the game out.

While Age of Steam was being played, xiphia and niall_ showed up, and they played Saga then Tsuro, both won by xiphia.

We then all headed out for dinner -- aimed for the Mee Xim. When we got there, we discovered they were still on Christmas vacation, so we went accross the street to a small Vietnamese/Thai restaurant called "Pho Song Ha". There was noone there, and they turned the lights on as we arrived. As it happens, we all ended up ordering Thai items rather than Vietnamese, and we all were very pleased with our food. We all agreed that it was, definitely, a place to return to. But, it was definitely small -- the food for the 6 of us didn't come out together. I think they probably had one cook, and two woks working or something similar. I wasn't surprised at the not together food; I'm actually happier that they brought it out fresh as it finished being cooked, rather than keeping it warm and serving together. Also, even the spicy dishes weren't particularly hot -- then again, we were all white people. I'm sure if people ask for their dishes spicier they could get them that way.

After dinner, mikepictor wandered off, and there was some discussion as to what to do -- some people talked of staying later, or just an hour or so. In the end, we started a 5-player game of Dominion, but it took too long and ironphoenix had to bail before the end. After it finished (I won), everyone headed off, at least partially because jagash could catch a lift with xiphia.

Oh yeah, we also played 3 games of Set between ordering and food arrival.

To-do list

Lots of things on my to-do list:

Play more boardgames.
Enjoy myself at Arisia and Confusion over the next two weekends, respectively.
Get the furnace looked at -- the fan was rattling today.
Clean my house.
Find a house cleaner, maybe.
Find a room mate.
Find a new girl friend. (or two, why stop with one?)
Go through my clothing and dispose of anything that doesn't fit any more, and never will again.
Clean and neaten up my computer desk area.
Buy more port.
Visit Wicked Wanda's and maybe buy some interesting toys.
Finish cleaning out the fridge. It could probably stand to lose a couple more levels in scare human.
Straighten up the Gorm room.
Actually get people together for a game of Struggle of Empires. Hopefully 5-7 people.
Get (exactly) 3 people together for another game of Through the Ages.
Maybe Long Live the King again, too. (Though, oddly, I still find myself more inclined to GM it than play in it.)
Get my car fixed -- the automatic transmission fluid has a slow leak, and I think the right rear tire may also.
Write some reviews or session reports for BGG.
Return ilanikhan's serving platters.
Go through all my bed linens and organise them by size. (queen, double, twin, single). Then keep them separated.