Been a while huh...

Its funny, the more things change, the more the stay the same.

- That friend, I spoke of earlier, is probably just going to ever be a friend, and I am OK with that.

- I am looking to upgrade my current computer at home and that means everything from the CPU outward.

- I am fighting with a card store about making better business decisions that will help him!

- I am arguing with players who don't think it is fair that they get only one pack more for winning a tournament than they did for losing the tournament. (But they loved it when they were starting out)

- I have fallen back into old eating patterns (3 nights this week was Pizza). I really need to get back on my diet! (Which until I saw girl scout cookies outside the store I was doing very well on)

- I am planning summer convention season again...

- I am waiting at work to get information to do my job. Then when it takes longer than I told people it would, I get talked to.

In the end every year seems like the last. Different TV shows, different card games, but the amount that I watch and play seems unchanged...

I am not sure if I will continue to blog, it just doesn't seem like a fun as it once did. Nothing much to talk about any more, and like the old friend, I think I am OK with that.

Game On!

Snow, damnit!

Alright, before all of you start to call those cool guys with the leet straight jackets let me explain. I am going to visit the 'rents in Washington state over the holiday break. I go there for two reasons. One of which is to see the parents, friends, other family members, oh and someone else this year... But more importantly I need to get my snow quota for the year. I grew up in Washington state, where we get 3-4 months of snow and as far as I recollect we never had a Christmas that was not white, with like a foot or more of snow.

Well, this year Spokane had 3-6 inches of snow for the last month, up until about last week when it started to rain. This is the second year that it was raining instead of snowing leading up to Christmas, and I m sick of it. I would like to blame the self proclaimed Harbinger Of Doom but it happened last year as well as this year, so I don't think it is (completely) his fault.

At any rate, I am tired of this lack of snow over the holidays, so I am making a simple demand of the Spokane area weather people. Either stockpile the snow that you get every year over thanksgiving, or simply move the entire city about 60 miles north. I guess we could just fill in the entire town and build the entire city about 2000 feet higher than its current elevation, that wouldn't be so bad either.

I think these are rather simple demands, as all I want is some snow while I am home for the holidays. How had is it to make that happen!!?!

Game On!

Feeling No Pain...

4 weeks ago I broke my little toe. It is still broken and I realize this every time I sit on it, or have it brush up against something.

I just 1.5x paid my mortgage (full payment for December, and the half payment scheduled for January)

It is 8:30 on a Friday night, I'm at work, and it isn't even my first night to be at work at this hour (nor my second).

I'm on a diet, and not able to eat the foods I like.

I had to review a report (of a person that makes significantly more money than I do) that could have been written by a 3rd grader (who is bad at grammar AND math), and essentially had to review every step of the analysis, making no assumptions. (I got in trouble after reviewing it assuming he knew how to add 137 + 128*1.25 IN EXCEL).

The Union is still striking, and as the holidays approach it is more than likely to get violent.

All of these things would cause a normal individual pain. Me? I am feeling no pain. My life is great. Why? Someone special has been emailing me atleast twice a day. Calls do not happen much, but an email a day keeps the pain away.

I won't get into details here (out of consideration for her) but everything is flying along. And to top it off, I get to see her when I go home for the holidays. But I will say, she made an off the wall comment about wanting a vacation...

Really... !!!

First website I visited after reading this: Orbitz.com. But I don't even know if we are serious yet, but she has been playing all around that topic about being serious. Basically the only reason holding me back, she's still married. Not that anything is going to happen, I just want to offer her a vacation, and what better place than Tucson!!?! Anyway, if anyone is still reading this, let me know what you think I should do.

Game On!

The truth behind IAM 933...

Here in Tucson, the International Association of Machinists, Lodge #933 are on strike from my place of work. They claim that the company is increasing their medical costs and not directly increasing their pay to compensate. They claim that some employees will not be able to pay their rent or buy food after paying for their medical coverage, and that a MAJORITY of them will be below the poverty line due to this increase in medical coverage.

I am here to tell you all that THEY ARE WRONG!

The IAM #933 are striking for selfish reasons, and are the personification as to why I believe unions have completely served their purpose and are only hurting industry at this point in history. Every 3 years we have a potential strike because the union thinks that the company is giving the employees the shaft. First lets talk about the previous deal:

4.2% increase in pay over 3 years

That's it! No changes to medical coverage, no changes to anything, and one minor loop hole about overtime (see later). This was acceptable. The new deal:

9% increase in pay over 3 years
Increase in medical premiums
No more automatic double time on Sundays

According to the union PR machine, the 9% is an insult and the union would never accept such a pitiful increase in pay. YOU ACCEPTED IT BEFORE! I know for a FACT, that the real reason for the strike was due to the change in double pay on Sundays. In the previous contract, there was verbage that stated that if you worked on Sunday that you automatically got double time, reguardless of your current hours. So you could work 2 x 8 hour days, and then then 12 hours on Sunday to get your pay. While I think this is outrageous, and patently stupid, it gets worse. Work 4 x 10 hour days (40 hours) then take Friday and Saturday off, then come in on Sunday and work 8-10 hours and they get charged at time and a half (for overtime) and an additional times two for it being Sunday. It makes working Sunday equivalant to a 3/4 weeks pay! Is there anyone out there that does not think this is patently rediculous!!?!

Finally, I know for a fact that the lowest member of IAM #933 makes as much as I did when I started. While I won't go into details, it is FAR from the poverty line, and considering the low cost of living in Tucson, it is a very, very good starting pay. In the end, I hope the company does not cave into the demands. Actually I hope the cave into the medical demands just to prove that the union is being greedy and its members won't work without a stupid loophole.

So I hope everyone in Tucson reads this. I hope people start asking questions, and I REALLY hope that people will learn the truth behind this strike and instead of looking at me like I am a giant cold sore, will look at the picketers and realize how greedy and stupid they are being.

Game On!

Top 10 lists...

Many of my friends have listed a top 10 (or 100) movies of all time. Unfortunately, I have missed a great number of movies in my adolescent and teenage years, so I must go a slightly different route...

I am going to make a list of my Top 10 TV episodes of all time. I might eventually expand it to 50 or 100, but for now it is my Top 10. I welcome comments and suggestions. Be warned there be spoilers ahead!

10) Babylon 5; Z'ha'dum - If you never watched Babylon 5 you won't understand why this episode is HUGE. The lead character gets a visit from his wife (assumed dead) while sleeping with his current girlfriend. Both the station commander and head of security disappear. The greatest enemy of our time surrounds our stronghold. A meeting with the leaders of the enemy for the first time. I can go on, but this episode was what hooked me for 2 more seasons and forced me to pay more attention to the previous episodes.

9) CSI - Identity Crisis - I know I have two CSI episodes on here, but they are both great for different reasons. In this episode Grissom faces off with his nemesis; the one that got away. The episode makes you wonder if what you are looking at is true or if Grissom is just slowly going insane... I really enjoyed this episode.

8) CSI - Play with Fire - In this episode there is a few injuries and one that causes one of the main characters to be hospitalized. I liked this episode the best because of the response of people after 'the event' and the attention to detail they made to how 'the event' happened. I jump just a little each time I see this episode, even when I know it's coming.

7) Star Trek: The Next Generation; The Best of Both Worlds, Part 1 - I have to admit that this episode would be much lower on the list (probably out of the top 10) if I had to include the part 2 of this episode as well. But seeing Patrick Stewart in the Borg makeup gives me shivers even today. This is the first ever episode that I screamed at my TV over when I saw Locutus for the first time. I think that this episode is why First Contact is the best of the newer Star Trek movies, and has a lot to do with why I am a Star Trek fan today.

6) Battlestar Galactica; Lay Down Your Burdens, Part 2 - This episode is a changing of the guard, and that is all I can really say without spoiling it all. Just watch this episode.

5) Buffy, The Vampire Slayer; Once More With Feeling - Go ahead. Get those laughs out of your system. This is the 'singing' episode and it is very well done. I did not watch it when it was on TV, but this episode is one that I will watch and day I need a pick me up. The songs are well done and clever, and stand well on their own. (I even have a few in my iPod) When taken in context of the rest of that season, and the events of the previous season, this easily cracks the top 5 of my list. I will need to watch all these again to make sure I like this order. Of these episodes this is one that might actually move up from 5th the more I watch it.

4) Lost; Two for the Road - See, I assumed that Michael was not 'right' in the head. I assumed that he was hiding something. But I did not see THAT coming. This episode was a regular really good episode with THAT at the end. While a number of Lost episodes will make it on my list (if I expand it to 50 or 100), this one stands just a little above the rest in my mind.

3) Firefly; Serenity - Firefly is the best TV series ever. No ifs, ands or buts. This episode started it all, and in addition to portraying the story and characters it was witty, and a classic Joss episode. All of the actors delivered a perfect performance, and I can find no flaws with this episode. FOX really screwed up not showing this episode first, as I am of the opinion that this show would STILL be on the air if they had not screwed it up.

2) M*A*S*H; Abyssinia, Henry - If you are a M*A*S*H fan like I am, you will know that there are a number of emotional episodes, others that are slap-knee funny, and others that are just filler. This episode is the departure of the base commander. He was one of the guys, and a father figure to more than a few of the younger enlistees. While much of what M*A*S*H is about is anti-war propaganda, this was the first time in my life that I thought a friend of mine could die in a war. I know its silly, but this episode still registers with me even today

1) Star Trek Deep Space Nine; In The Pale Moonlight - In TV, characters die, they leave the show, they have good days and they have bad days, but rarely on TV does a good character go EVIL. Everyone knew that Garak was a shady character, but Sisko was this pure, loyal, worshiped character who could do no wrong, or at least no EVIL. But not only does he turn EVIL and commits to murder for the greater good, he at the end of the episode expresses no remorse and the greater good has been served. I was floored when I watched this episode. I saw it live, and couldn't wait until tomorrow when I could see it again, and when I bought the DVDs it was the first episode that I really wanted to watch again. There is no other episode that I like to watch over this episode. At least not yet... =)

Currently just missing the list: Firefly; Objects in Space

Game On!

I didn't expect that...

So as it is Tuesday night, I am at cards gaming. Everyone who knows me knows this, so when I get home and see the two messages, I assume these are telemarketers that didn't realize my answering machine was not me. (I must really be a dull person)

So the first message. My mom.

*smacks the forehead*

She was returning my call, after I left a message for my brother to have her call me ON MY CELL PHONE. It isn't a big deal, but it did frustrate me that I did not get to talk to her last night. See, she has to put in for time off next year right now, so if my parents are going to come down to AZ to visit, they need to decide now, when that will be. Anyway, it is too late now to call her, so that will wait for tomorrow.

Now to the second message, and the subject of this blog. After the mechanical voice tells me when the message was left, I hear another female's voice, and she is speaking English (for some reason a number of Spanish speaking women call my house). And three words in I realize who is talking to me (she eventually leaves her name to confirm it). It is a good friend Kim, back home in Washington. When I went home for my brothers wedding reception, I got to see Kim again, and I was like all flustered, like I was 13 seeing a girl for the first time all over again. She is married, and pregnant, but as soon as she has the kid, she is getting a divorce. The divorce was in the works for about 6 months, but in Washington you cannot get divorced if you are pregnant. So while we are setting up the reception hall we got to talk, but I am not as young (or fit) as I once was, so I was taking breaks every so often, as was Kim (being 8.5 months pregnant will do that to a woman, or so I am told) so while we were resting we got to talking about old times. And here walks up my confusion. At one point about 6 years ago, right before Kim was going to get married, I would have done anything for her. We had a good relationship, and I thought she was on the path to maturing into a very nice woman.

Then unfortunate events happened, and she decided to marry this jerk (as was pressured by friends and the church). At that point she (my perspective) broke off the relationship, and I was perfectly fine with that. She was a wife (not mine) and her husband didn't like Kim to have male 'friends'. So I never got responses to phone calls or letters. I was sad but for the last 5 years I was moving on. Now I don't know what to do. This is going to be rough for her (the divorce, and having 3 kids on her own, even though she is living at home) and I want to be there for her, so at the end of the reception, I told her to call me any time and I would be there with a sympathetic ear and what ever else was required. She mentioned as I walked her and her mother out (who I am good friends with BTW) that she thought I cut her off, not the other way around, and she had this weird smile as she got in the van and they left.

So, I don't know what to do. Strike that, I know what to do, but I don't know if I should do it. I want to call her back. I want to call her every day and see how she is doing. Heck I want her to move to AZ once the divorce is final so that I can be closer to her (or I could move home, but I can't find work up there). But most of all I don't want to screw this up. Maybe she just wants to be friends, and that is OK too. To be honest that might be better, as I am REALLY not ready for more responsibility. I can hardly do the activities that I have on my plate now (including work and sleep) much less devote any serious amount to time to a relationship (be it a friendship or something more). So tonight that started as such a benign evening, is turning out to be a turning point in my life. Maybe it is nothing, but I guess I won't find out until I call her back....

....

Game On!

Damn You John Madden

Damn John Madden and EA Sports! Damn you all for believing in a stupid curse. But most of all, I would like to know how a non-weight bearing bone would know if it is broken? Because if it doesn't bear weight, is it mearly a reaction type bone, like one in my fingers? If that is the case why miss any time at all? Throw the damn foot in a cast and be done with it.

I am of course kidding about most of this, but the following link really put a damper on my mood today (well more so than being ill and at home).

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2602571

Get well Shawn, we need ye!

Game On!

Are you ready for some Foose-ball!!!

I know it seems like I am just copying my other friends in this league, but I wanted to make my case as to why my league-mates will have such great years, and why the heck I was drafting the way I did.

I had the 5/16 draft spot in a ten team league. Not horrible, but only good if someone before me doesn't pickup a RB.

1 QB / 3 WR / 2 RB / 1 TE / 1 K / 1 DEF

1. T. Barber RB
2. M. Hasselbeck QB
3. W. Dunn RB
4. D. Jackson WR
5. N. Burleson WR
6. J. Addai RB
7. Chicago DEF
8. J. Brown K
9. B. Roethlisberger QB
10. K. Johnson WR
11. Da. Clark TE
12. J. Stevens TE
13. B. Engram WR
14. K. Curtis WR
15. B. Stokley WR

I got lucky and some team before me picked up Peyton so Tiki fell to me. I was very happy. Before we go on you should know that I wanted to draft all Seatle players, because my theory is two fold:

1) Why root for player on teams you can't stand? I want to root for my favorite team and drafting from one team (primarily) will allow me to do just that.

2) I up the point curve. I hedge my bets and say that my team is getting 10 points per touchdown thrown. This is better than 4 and possible 6's in my mind. It isn't a perfect theory, but it works for me.

So a run down of my picks. I took Hasselbeck second because there was another Seatle fan in our league and I knew if he did not take Matt with his second pick that he would get him with his third (both of which were going to happen before mine.) So after I got Matt, I knew I needed to get another solid runner so I picked up Dunn who has worked well (not a great, but definately productive) for me in the past.

After that I started to pick up my SEA receivers and my first backup RB in Joseph Addai. We have a big LSU fan here at work and he swears that Addai will have a big year by fitting right into the Indy offense. After that my defense disappears (SEA) so I decide to pick up the best still out there and turns out no one had picked up any defenses yet, so I get Chicago. I like them better than most, but I think missing out on Seatle will hurt me a little this year.
After that it is a mater of picking up backups (including both of my TEs) and I am pleased with my receiver group. Additionally with this mix I will have a full offensive roster every week, which helps me more than usual, when I have too many SEA players to field a roster on their bye week.

All in all, I am excited with this team. These guys are very serious about fantasy sports, so I will probably get lost in the shuffle, but I expect to have some fun, and I am definately able to root for these players!

Game On!

What would you lie for?

I am posting this based on an experience I had at ComicCon, that hopefully did not make this particular individual truely upset at me. I hope he is only joking when he says "Your dead to me".

G4 was at ComicCon interviewing players that happend to walk by a booth, asking them to do an interview about Game Y, if they liked it and what they thought of it. I am friends with people that work for Company Z who make Y, but I am not particularly a fan of Y. If I can be blunt, I think that Y is a waste of a license, and that the initial brokenness of the mechanics involved create an unbalanced organized play environment. Many changes need to be implimented to fix this inherant flaw in the execution of what appears to be a fluent design. I could have said this, on camera, and really had a negative impact on Y, but I declined, citing that I really did not want to say what I have to say on camera. They accepted this and moved on.

However this seemed to upset someone that I would not talk good about the game his company makes. I really like this individual, and want to be able to work with him in the future, but I wonder if he really wanted me to lie to people? I know he didn't want me to tell them bad things about his game on camera, so was he expecting me to lie for him?

I am not sure, which brings me back to my initial question. What would you lie for? There are things that I would lie about, to make others feel good when they really need it. Most "mom jokes" are lies (except that one night with Girard's Mom...) and a number of times I will lie to players that I am teaching a game to, that they are not retards and that they should still play game XYZ. But lying, on camera, for no real benefit, except to boost some sales seems like the wrong thing to me.

So to that individual that I saw this weekend, if you are truely offended I am sorry. I just won't lie about a game. I hope you (and everyone) can respect that, because if I say your game is good, I hope you will realize that it IS a good game in my mind, and that I am not delivering you lip service, and if I have nothing to say at all, well, you get the idea... =)

Game On

Back for a moment...

Back from Anime Expo. Man, that was an experience. I was unprepared for all the COSplayers there and they way that people would dress. Shorts that would be inapropriate in any other forum... I think a new law for conventions should be passed for those of us that can't tell a person's age simply by looking at them. Age bracelets. Something that clearly identifies the person as under 18, 18-21, and over 21. I don't care if I am 10 years older than the people I am watching, but I need to know... well... if they are old enough for me to be watching them or not.

And where were the parents of these kids that were obviously too young to be at a convention alone dressed like that!!?!? Are there parents that think dressing up thier kids like their favorite woman of Anime is appropriate? Anyway, I was lucky to miss the inappropriate Areith, the Sakura who could have been played by me, and a number of other horror stories I heard through out the weekend. Unfortunately I saw a number of travisties including the band of men in nothing more than tighty whities and a green leaf. I assumed it was part of some Frat hazing and not done by choice. I am believing this reguardless if it was true or not... =/

Anyway, I have a few weeks to recover and rest before ComicCon International and then even less time before GenCon in August. Crazy time of year this is. I am really looking forward to the games but I need to work on sleeping more in the future...

Game On!

10 Things...

All the cool kids in school are doing it, so I figure I will jump off the bridge as well...

1) I was the fastest kid in elementray school over anything 100m and shorter. Yes, I was still overweight then. I was just like 6' nothing and a solid 4-6" taller than everyone else.

2) I have in my life been required to crochet, knit, and cross-stich to make gifts for other people. I learned these skills on my own, since it looked like fun, and was required to put them to use a year or so later when my parents filed bankrupcy and there were no Christmas gifts, or birthday presents for just about a full year.

3) I have been arrested. I didn't do it (and I am not getting into what I was acused of), and the charges were dropped less than 24 hours before the trial was scheduled to start. But I remember being terrified through the entire process that I would never be able to get a good job because I was arrested. I went through the whole ordeal, questioning, polygraphs, finger-printing, bail hearing. This happened when I was in 7th grade.

4) I don't drink. Actually a few people know this, but most of them forget and offer me a beer, wine, or some other mixed drinks. I was exposed to some rather nasty rotten alcohol when working at a recycling center while in high school, and I can't get near the stuff to this day.

5) I am terrified of the undefined. I hate calling people for the first time, going somewhere for the first time, trying a new food for the first time. I don't know why I am afraid of these things, but I simply will do anything instead of call someone that I do not know. Even if I just have to call them back (they initiated the conversation) I will be terrified to call them back. Second times are bad as well, but once I have done it twice I am less terrified.

6) I love seeing movies in the theater, but hate seeing them alone. It isn't like I talk to people durring a movie, or that it is an event (hanging out is more important than the movie) but I just hate seeing a movie by myself. I do, go occassionally, but most of the time I won't bring myself to do it.

7) I was *this close* to not going to college. OK, maybe not that close, but I seriously considered it for a few days. I really wanted to stay in touch with this girl and she wanted to get married right out of college. I had a chance when she was between boyfriends, but I screwed it up. Additionally I didn't think that getting married right out of HS was a good idea. Funny thing is that I think I loved her, and to this day I believe that was my one chance at true love.

8) I have only been playing collectible card games competatively since late 2000. Seems like a long time now, but I know, as do most other people, that I am mearly a rookie when it comes to the veteran players in the industry.

9) I hate chocolate. White chocolate doesn't count. =)

10) Most people I know refer to me as Mr. Beal. I don't know why it is so hard to say my first name, but for the longest time, people simply refer to me by my first name. It is almost freaky sometimes...

Game On!

Convention Season

Anime Expo (and Origins) are right around the corner, and if you know what those are, you know what they represent. They are the kickoff the the Summer Convention season which is the best time of year for any gamer. Sure non-gamers look down on us all as geeks, freaks, nerds, fat bastards, but this is our time of year to shine, re-aquaint ourselves with people we haven't seen for 9 months or so.

This is my first time away from Origins, and I will miss it. Don't get me wrong, I hear great things about Anime Expo, and am looking forward to seeing old friends and making new friends, but I won't be playing my first ever card game (Star Trek) and in some way it seems like maybe I have lost something. Maybe I am just being nostalgic in my old age.

I played in the Magic Limited tournament, and despite a very poor starting, I was able to salvage the day with 3 straight victories... I know it means less to go 3-3 losing your first three and then winning the last three, but it was a start, and after seeing some of the cards I excluded in my decklist in action, I came to the conclusion that I was basically handicaping myself for the first game of each match. Oddly enough I was almost 50% with wins, which means, I lost badly or won confidantly in each of my matches. However I look on that tournament as simply a building point to move forward.

The Girard, Jay Webb and Ray Powers were all there, and it sure was nice to see them all again, it has been a while. I met some really nice players, and some players that... well they take the game WAY to seriously. Do I really want to become a Pro-tour player for Magic? Not if I have to act like that. I mean, I can act like that, I just don't want to be required to at a big event...

Anyway, this is a great week. Tuesday is Superman Returns, Wednesday is playtesting for the big convention weekend, Thursday is packing, Friday is FNM and leaving for the convention. Oh, and I guess I should sleep and other stuff to get ready... =) At any rate this is leading up to the best time of the year for me and I can't wait!!!

Game On!

Less Blogging

See, this is what I have been reduced to... blogging from work on off hours. I decided that since I am never at home (atleast never at home long enough to do anything) that I didn't really need cable (either internet, or the tv variety). I might change that eventually, but for the moment, I am internet free at home again. I do this every once in a while, so we shall see what happens this time. Maybe it is time I suffered through some dial up (AOL even...) for a month and find a new respect for the cable modem.

I have started to get more into Magic, and have found some really cool people playing that game. Friends that I never knew played, and people that I have known for years that out of the blue have mentioned to me that they have long lost Magic cards, and would I be intersted in buying them. I don't think I am ready to make an investment yet, but it has proven to be an adequate distraction. =)

I figure the next thing I post will be my Magic deck as it stands. I would like to hear some opinions about the deck and how to improve it... I like it, but I think it could be better, but I really don't want to switch colors, and I am limited by the number of rares that I have available to me.

Anime Expo is right around the corner (less than 2 weeks now) and I simply cannot wait! I really want to see this convention and all the crazies that pop up. I might even toy with a never before played game to win some cash. At the very least, I sould be able to round up some promo cards to sell. All in all it should be a great time, and I am really looking forward to the overall convention experience.

Game On!

Memorial Day

First paid holiday of the year. This marks the beginning of the summer months, and 100+ degree heat in Arizona. Unfortunately the weather wasn't paying attention to the calendar and we have already had a few days that were 100+....

Anyway, it has been a while since I posted, and things are starting to return to normal. I haven't really gotten to play much in tournaments lately, but I have more than made up for that in casual play. And you know what.... I am starting to like Magic. I don't even know why, I just have. It is a simple system that you can play with almost anyone who has ever heard of card games, and it is really easy to play casually. I don't know if I will ever pick it up for serious tournament play, but it is not horrible as I once thought.

My initial problem with Magic was the resource system. But with the help of friends I have gotten over that issue. Not enough to say that I love Magic or anything, and I am sure that I won't be playing in tournaments any time soon.... But I might pick up some cards and make a deck, just to have something to play every once in a while.

The store is finally cleaned up and looking much better. I still say that the tournament area is a little too cramped, but it is much better than before, and has more room for improvement now. I really hope Terry does well in this new location.

My diet, well I need to try something else. I don't know what it is, but I do not seem to be losing any weight. Maybe I need to be accountable to others, in like a Weight Watchers system, but I really don't have the money at the moment to get started, so that leaves me back to eating right and eating less on my own. Definitely not as easy as it sounds, and not as easy as I thought it would be. But something is for sure, I need to move faster down this path, otherwise I may never get started...

Anyway, like I started, Memorial Day is the beginning of summer and I am getting ready for Convention season. I can't wait for the first one for me this year: Anime Expo in July 1-4. It will be my first Anime Expo, but I know the area and the convention center so it should be a good time!!!

Game On!