Whispers in the Windstorm

( Here's what Jeff is selling at the auction. )

Ah, the auction. Well, first, Friday night. Kind of fun, but a little disappointing. Charlie didn't show, and Ken didn't bring decks. I played LOTR with Rich, loaning him a deck, and it went pretty well. I have a problem loaning decks, as I usually wind up picking decks that don't go well together, but this was pretty competitive. I played Ents/Moria, and he played Elves/Besiegers, and it wasn't too bad. I drew a really weird starting hand (6 orcs and Power and Terror), but didn't get a Balrog forever and ever. But it was a nice hand to have for him, so I kept it longer than I should. He won by outracing me (I think) and then we talked for a long time. While Noel called home, Rich and I walked over to White Hen, and Noel eventually followed us. We then went back, talked even more, and then I drove home.

"You're never so nonchalant as when you're eating an apple."

Then on Saturday, I got up around 8AM, cleaned up and gathered stuff together, and drove out to GP. I got there around 9:45, and the doors opened at 10:05. I got in and sat down in the front left side, pretty much next to the door, and set up my office. I had the trash can right next to me, my bag of stuff to my right, and a stool that I could either use as a footrest or a table. So it was good. Mike showed up, sat next to me, and then Ernie, Rich and Noel arrived and filled out the row behind me. So we had our own section, and it was good.

The auction took from 11:10 to around 9:00. They get a LOT of items there. There was a TREMENDOUS amount of D&D Second Edition, a few D&D 3.0 books (I estimate between eight and fifteen 3.0 Player's Handbooks), and a smattering of d6 Star Wars, Legend of the Five Rings, Shadowrun and some stragglers. No Exalted, no Deadlands, no 7th Sea, no Aberrant (but three Trinity/Aeon books went by). After I got through opening a few weeks' worth of snail mail, I worked on some Games Magazines I had. But writing on a 3x6 pad is a little annoying, as is writing on a fluffy stool cushion. So at lunch, I bought myself a clipboard. A $20 clipboard called the Exalted Players' Guide. Sigh. And Mike was so right - I made the decision to buy it 90% because I wanted something to write on. Mad props to you, Mike. But anyway, another cool moment in the middle. Kurt (the main auctioneer) went to the bathroom and Jeff (not me, but one of the store's owners) took over. He picked up a role-playing book called Nephilim but announced it as Necrophilia. Oddly enough, a LOT of interest was sparked by that announcement. Ernie gave his standard line, "Ah. The desire to crack open a cold one." I went with a more original "Okay, make a dex check." Crowd loved it. I leaned back a minute or two later. "Hey, Rich - wouldn't that be the only game that doesn't need a Charisma score?" Tee hee.

So anyway, I bought four items there. I got FarCry for $11! I'm pretty sure it's still listed at Breast Buy at $30! I was a little surprised to see it there. It's always been on my "take a look at it" list, but never made it to the "I need to have it" list. So it was good. I got the main rulebooks to Changeling and Werewolf: Wild West, and I picked up a board game I've played once or twice called Drakon. Pretty neat. Paid around $23 for around $123 retail. Can't knock that. Mike left around 6PM, Ernie left at the end of the auction, and Rich, Noel and I went out to dinner. We talked about City of Heroes, a woman who came into the auction with absolutely gigantic breasts, a man who could not seem to look at the items on the cart without aiming his butt STRAIGHT at the crowd (Noel said she closed her eyes), and generally had a great evening. I then drove home, making my call on the way. They day was productive and good, and there may be a meeting online tomorrow. Dunno. :)

Chris was home by the time I got here, and he and I did computer stuff for a while. I played some Okage while he updated my Norton AV and tools, and fell asleep.

Today, I showed him Star Wars Battlefront, played a little more Okage. We're going out to see Collateral soon, and then to Walker's Pancakes for dinner. Nummmmm!

And that's the news from out here.

Eat Snacky Smores.

Well, I found out my doctor's appointment is next Thursday. Whooo! (I have no idea if I'll do anything meaningful in that time, but it feels like a release anyway.) So I'm playing Vampire tonight at 7PM, not 8.

I felt a little guilty driving over to the auction, as I had the music up way loud and my phone off. I drive faster and more aggressively with tunes on, and I wanted to get to the auction ASAP. (Not to mention talking to the kitchen sink.) But I wrote an email later that night asking how the evening had gone. It's probably enough - but it shouldn't be. Siiiigh.

The auction was pretty fun, if slim pickings. Ernie, Mike and I hung out for most of the time - and Mike and I kept trying to get the other to buy stuff. Mike actually BID on Star Trek cards, so that he could give them to Sebastian, so that Sebastian could give them to *me*. I'll get to those stupid cards someday, just to laugh at and with Sebastian as I hand him his $5 check. But in the end, all I got were some Vampire cards - and mostly bulk commons at that. But many of them are Camarilla Edition, which had a mess of reprints with dramatically reworded texts.

Got the two things on my desk out of the way in fifteen minutes, so I'm a little idle at work now. I'll dive into GilGalen's notes, I hope. I also have to update a few of the private threads, and maybe update my new character's history to account for discussions with Garvey.

Oh, and paranoid me can no longer tell if Brian's lying or not. He stormed off last Tuesday (squealing his tires, no less) and then canceled Thursday, next Tuesday, next Thursday, and the following Tuesday. On the other hand, he IS working at Fright Fest at Six Flags. I know this takes up almost all of his October. On the other hand, I'm not sure I recall his absences being so -complete- last year. Anyway, I still have his Champions of Kamigawa, and he's welcome to pick them up or have them delivered whenever. If he'd been at the auction last night or stopped by on Tuesday anyway, I might have given him crap. Now, I can hardly care less. He wants to palpitate his heart, fine.

And now, on with the show.

And once again, I'm awake.

Work's light, so I'm starting this up and alt-tabbing to a document I'm merging together. It's odd that work's light this late in the year, but what the hey.

Going to the Games Plus CCG auction tonight. It's been thin pickings for me the last few times - I think I might be bought out on the older stuff. If I don't see much I like tonight, I might drop it in favor of the sci-fi/fantasy auction on Saturday, which I will go to for the first time ever (in its entirety) this weekend. But the CCG auction has a few regulars (including me) and is pretty laid-back, so I dunno.

I think (but I'm not sure) I'm going to the doctor's tomorrow for another follow-up. I still can't keep a food diary worth crap - and I can't say that doesn't lead to bad omens about my frequency of updating THIS particular effort. But we shall see, we shall see - as someone I know well is inclined to tell me.

Oh, and come see my Amber game - I'm proud of it beyond measure.

http://samaritan1975.proboards20.com/index.cgi?board=ambertest

I really wish Tony was still available to thank.

Here's my journal, and welcome to it.