Friday, February 29, 2008--After work today, I went to Crossroads Mall Uncle Games to play a Lorwyn-Lorwyn-Morningtide booster draft. We ended up playing a 7 player draft, 3 rounds total. My first pick ended up a
Mad Auntie, so I naturally went red-black goblins. Unfortunately, there was one other guy drafting red-black goblins, but he was sitting across from me, so it wasn't unexpected.
Anyways, here's the deck I ended up with:
8xMountain
9xSwamp
Fire-Belly Changeling
Adder-Staff Boggart
Brighthearth Banneret
Lash Out
Goatnapper
2xStinkdrinker Daredevil
Mudbutton Torchrunner
Axegrinder Giant
Boldwyr Intimidator
Nath's Buffoon
2xExiled Boggart
3xPack's Disdain
Moonglove Changeling
Mad Auntie
2xEyeblight's Ending
Quill-Slinger Boggart
Warren Pilferers
Weed Strangle
In the first round, I played against Colin, who had an Elemental deck featuring
Vigor. Fortunately, I was able to keep it off the board with my plethora of removal, thus beating Colin two games out of two. (In round two, Colin ended up getting the bye.)
Record: 1-0
In the second round, I played against Ian, who had the buy in the first round. I don't remember much about his deck, but I remember beating it pretty handily two games in a row.
Record: 2-0
I don't ever recall going into the finals with a shot at first place before. This may or may not be the first time. In any case, in the finals, I played against a dood named Mark, who had a few treefolk complemented by the
treefolk lord. In game 1, he got the treefolk lord out, but I managed to kill it off with a pair of
Pack's Disdains, only to draw an
Eyeblight's Ending next turn. Once the treefolk was dead, I proceeded to smash him to bits. In game 2, I was feeling confident, since I was one game away from winning the draft. I drew a hand with 3 swamps, 2 black spells, and 2 red spells, and figured that it wasn't a horrible hand, so I might as well keep it. Unfortunately, I didn't see another land (let alone a mountain) for many, many turns. Needless to say, the color screw cost me the game. In game 3, Mark just plain outplayed me.
Record: 2-1
Yeah, the color screw cost me the game, match, and the tournament.
On this day: ...hey, wait a minute...
Also, Konami has announced that Metal Gear Solid 4 will have a
worldwide simultaneous release on June 12. I guess it beats Disgaea 3 as first game for the PS3 available.
Thursday, February 28, 2008--Today wasn't much. It was work, then gym (Gravitron today), then Lost. Little Vivian couldn't be online to discuss it afterwards, though, because she had homework to do.
On this day:
In 2003:
- "According to Linda, Sarah, poorly translated into Chinese, becomes Skunk. I passed the information on to Sarah, but she's so used to my abusing her that it didn't mean anything to her."
- Me: [upon Linda's request] Yeah, I'll check out these books, and while I'm at it, I'll check out something else.
- Justin: You mean Cindy?
- The first official mention of my Slivers...
Wednesday, February 27, 2008--They officially announced that
Disgaea 3 is coming to the US in August 2008. It's official. I'm getting a PS3 this year, and I won't be getting an Xbox 360. Sorry, gamertag.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008--
Happy Birthday Mishra!
So about a month ago, I asked Abhi what kind of present he would like for his birthday, and he replied "nothing". Also, Abhi really liked the nut bread they served at Crossroads at Berkeley. So today...
me: I figured out the perfect birthday present for you.
me: It's essentially nothing, but I think you'll appreciate it anyway.
me: *posts link to a nut bread recipe on the internet*
me: Well, I guess it's more like a "nut-thing" than a "nothing".
Monday, February 25, 2008--After work today, I went to the gym and benchpressed 140 lbs. I'm getting stronger every day!
On this day:
In 2007: My first truly selfless act.
In 2005:
Me: *unscrews Tiffany's chair*
Colleen: Dwayne, don't do that. *re-screws Tiffany's chair*
Me: Aww, you ruin all my fun.
Colleen: Yes, that's what I'm here for.
In 2003: My first MTG booster (Legions)... I discover Slivers for the first time ever... and Mistforms, too.
Also, Princess texted me. I forget exactly for what. Something about her needing me to do something and then running off, and I doing that thing for her, and her texting me to say thank you. Also, it's the first text message I've ever received from a human. Just like how Princess was
the first person to ever call me.
Sunday, February 24, 2008--
Happy Birthday Sarah C!
On this day:
In 2006: In EE192 lab, I manage to get pieces of wire impaled into my finger. OUCH!
In 2004: Zach: Some asshole--probably me--put on two small prongs instead of one big prong and one small prong.
Saturday, February 23, 2008--Meher was craving pancakes, so me, Meher, Michael, and some other guys I don't really know went to Pike Place market to a place called Lowell's to get breakfast. Meher, Michael, and I each had a different type of omelet (I went with the Ham & Cheese), and we split an order of pancakes.
Mmm... pancakes...
On this day:
In 2006: "Why is this NAND gate pulling the input up to 3 V? Wait, that's not a NAND gate, that's an
op-amp."
In 2004:
- My first Tau Beta Pi Candidate meeting.
- "If a fencer scores a touch, but the machine is broken, does it make a sound?"
Later, I went to Michael's to play some Gears of War so I can get more gamer points on my gamertag. Then, I got a haircut. (Pics on
Facebook.) And then there was the party at Jonathan's, where there was hilarity, fun, and I finally got to see the entire Russell Peters act and the Eddie Izzard act in their entirety.
I am a jelly doughnut.
Monday, February 18, 2008--After work today, I went to the gym and benchpressed 130 lbs. I'm getting stronger every day!
On this day:
In 2007: I talk to Little Vivian on the phone for the first time ever.
Sunday, February 17, 2008--Apparently,
Jon Finkel, best Magic player in the world, is back. He just won a tournament for the first time in years!
Saturday, February 16, 2008--Today was a little bit of Sims, a little bit of listening to the Black Sabbath CDs that arrived yesterday, a little bit of fiction, and I guess a little bit of everything. I like everything. It's delicious.
On this day:
In 2003:
Me: If you're lucky, Justin will show you his Phyrexian Dreadnoughts.
Franklin: Wait, if I'm unlucky?
Me: Yes, if you're unlucky, he'll show your his Phyrexian Dreadnoughts... in battle.
(Later that day, Bernard got unlucky.)
Friday, February 15, 2008--Today, I meant to go to Uncle's Games at Crossroads Mall to play Magic, but apparently, FNM was cancelled tonight due to an Extended PTQ or something tomorrow. Ah well. Next week.
On this day:
In 2005: Exploding soda.
So instead, I played The Sims. Because for some reason, lately, I've been having the craving for The Sims. (I can't wait until
Spore is released, if ever.)
Thursday, February 14, 2008--
Happy Valentine's Day!
After work and gym and
Lost, I decided to call Little Vivian. We talked for a bit, but then I had to go. And then she said
Little Vivian: Wait wait wait, who answered the phone? Was it Robin?
me: I dunno. It sounded like a young girl. So it was prolly Robin.
Little Vivian: *giggles* That's funny.
me: She doesn't know, does she? Does she know that I call you?
Little Vivian: No, not yet.
me: Well, don't tell her.
Little Vivian: Okay. But she's prolly gonna find out eventually anyway, 'cause my parents always ask who called.
me: Oh, okay. It's okay. What do you think she'll do when she finds out? Will she stop answering the phone?
Little Vivian: I dunno. Prolly not. There's not really anything she could do.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008--So today, I looked up the nutrition facts for the burritos at
Baja Fresh and
Qdoba. Now, the burrito isn't exactly known to be a healthy food. But as it turns out, burritos have a
lot of calories. Apparently, the Baja Fresh burrito that I always get has about 880 calories, and the burrito I always get at Qdoba is about 1150 calories. Of course, these burritos are frickin' huge. (The Qdoba burrito is 22.5 ounces, for example.) So it's not so much that burritos are unhealthy (though they're not exactly healthy, either), just that a burrito is a lot of food.
Also note that the average human is supposed to have a 2000 calorie diet (according to the nutrition facts that are posted on most foods at the supermarket), so two burritos a day, and you're done.
On this day:
In 2004:
- The sniper-rifle Physics Lab.
- Justin: You fail to charm every girl you meet.
- Me: No, not every girl. Just the attractive ones.
- Justin: Okay... you fail to charm every girl you try to charm.
- Me: Fair enough.
In 2003: "Don't fall into the [active] volcano!"
(I wonder how many calories the
Super Burrito has.)
Tuesday, February 12, 2008--After work today, I went to play Tuesday Night Magic. This time, in everybody's pack one, there were boatloads and boatloads of Merfolk. So I went into Merfolk. As did a guy 3 seats down from me. 'Cause there were a lot of Merfolk.
Here is the decklist:
9xIsland
8xPlains
4xStonybrook Angler
Merrow Commerce
Stonybrook Banneret
Familiar's Ruse
2xDewdrop Spy
Glimmerdust Nap
Distant Melody
Merrow Harbinger
Cryptic Command
Mulldrifter
Daily Regimen
Judge of Currents
2xStonybrook Schoolmaster
Oblivion Ring
Neck Snap
2xWellgabber Apothecary
Lairwatch Giant
First, I played against Eric. Unfortunately, Eric was mana flooded two games in a row, so that really was no fun.
Then, I played against Dimitar, who pulmogorized me two games in a row.
Finally, I played against Alex, the
other Merfolk player. Unlike me, he seems to have also splashed red and black in addition to the Merfolk blue-white. He also had a
Grimoire Thief. In game 1, he managed to deck me out with a turn 2 Grimoire Thief. In game 2, I overran him with boatloads of Merfolk. In game 3, we had a long creature stalemate, but then Alex got out his Grimoire Thief and proceeded to deck me out. D'oh!
Monday, February 11, 2008--Today, I meant to go to the gym, but the gym was impossibly crowded and we couldn't find parking, so instead, we ate sushi. But it's okay. I went to the gym twice last week.
On this day:
In 2007: I beat Disgaea with my good playthrough. (That is, with the powerful Flonne and the well-built army.
In 2005: I beat Diablo 2 Act 5 for the first time ever.
Also on impulse, I borrowed Firefly from MichCh and started watching it. It's fairly interesting so far, but given that Fox cancelled it in its youth, I dunno if they developed the major plot points much or at all. (I've only seen 3 episodes of it so far, though.)
Sunday, February 10, 2008--On impulse, today, I ordered the
Black Box: The Complete Original Black Sabbath box set. After it arrives, in about a week, I can say that I have all the Black Sabbath albums (plus the Greatest Hits CD). (Okay, that's not completely true. After Ozzy left Black Sabbath in 1979, Dio took over, but I don't count that as Black Sabbath, because Black Sabbath minus Ozzy just isn't Black Sabbath.)
Saturday, February 9, 2008--Today, I went to the Democratic Caucus for my area. Apparently, because Hillary and Barack are so neck and neck, a lot of people decided to attend to make sure their vote counts. Apparently, there's more than twice as many people at this caucus then there ever have been before. The Area Coordinator estimated that there were 583 people there, because 583 was the maximum occupancy for the building.
In any case, Obama swept the Caucus for my area. In my precinct, in particular, Obama took 3 delegates to Hillary's 1. My friends reported similar results in other precints. Apparently, overall, in this state, Obama is winning over Hillary 2 to 1.
Now, I just hope these "superdelegates" fall to Obama's side.
On this day:
In 2006:
In 2005: Colleen L makes her first appearance in my Online Journal.
Friday, February 8, 2008--Not much today. I just went back home after work, had a late dinner, and watched the new Stargate Atlantis. (Apparently, Jewel Staite is going to be a regular next season. Yay?)
On this day:
In 2005: I beat Normal Diablo at Level 27 in Diablo 2 (all time personal low record).
Thursday, February 7, 2008--
Happy Chinese New Year!
Wednesday, February 6, 2008--
Happy Chinese New Year's Eve!
Me and JKern and FredeM and MichCh went to Sichuanese (a restaurant that serves, well, Sichuanese Chinese food) for dinner to celebrate Chinese New Year. I was originally planning on having the dinner tomorrow, but FredeM convinced me that you always celebrate New Year on the Eve, not on the Day. So we decided to have dinner today instead.
That and, tomorrow is Gym Night/Lost Night, so it works out perfectly.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008--
On this day:
In 2005: I beat KH:CoM - Reverse/Rebirth.
In 2004: Alan: Wow... that was impressive... impressive in how fast you lost. I thought you said your little kitties raped his slivers.
In 2003: I discover that soda is the only thing that tastes good when you're sick.
After work today, I went to play Tuesday Night Magic with the guys. In my first pack, I opened Secluded Glen (faerie dual land), so I decided to go into blue-black faeries. Unfortunately, I didn't see enough faeries, so I went into merfolk instead. Also unfortunately, the packs I was getting were rich in blue, so Eric on my left also ended up going into blue. (Ooops.) In the second pack, Eric was cutting me off quite efficiently (except for the Merrow Commerce and counterspells he was passing me), so I started dabbling in green. Eventually, I ended up with a blue merfolk deck with a splash of green.
12xIsland
5xForest
Mothdust Changeling
Deeptread Merrow
Ink Dissolver
2xStonybrook Angler
Merrow Commerce
2xStonybrook Banneret
Familiar's Ruse
Streambed Aquitects
Sage of Fables
Sage's Dousing
2xFaerie Trickery
Merrow Harbinger
Scattering Stroke
Inkfathom Divers
Weatherspout Weavers
Gilt-Leaf Seer
Fertilid
Lace with Moonglove
Seedguide Ash
Orchard Warden
I shoulda taken the Oakgnarl Warrior instead of the Orchard Warden.
Anyway, I played against Ken (red-black), Eric (blue-black), and Peter (who actually drafted the "all-woman" deck this time, in blue-green), and all of them kicked my ass. D'oh!
Monday, February 4, 2008--After a rather long hiatus, I finally returned to the gym. (I went alone, because JKern was busy and MichCh was sick.) I actually did pretty well. My muscles didn't atrophy as much as I was afraid of.
On this day:
In 2003:
- I dreamt I was really dizzy, and when I woke up, I was really dizzy.
- Kristen Kurimoto decides to sit right in front of me instead of in her usual spot near the front of the room (which is usually right behind me) because today I sat at the back of the room instead of the front...
- Tricia: Kristen, why are you sitting way back there? Come sit up here?
- Kristen: *embarassed, goes up to the front of the room*
- Me: *confused, falls asleep*
Sunday, February 3, 2008--I beat FFTactics for the PSP. Time on the clock: 41'38"18. Here are my final character setups (as of the save point past the point of no return, but before the final boss):
Ramza, lv 41 Ninja
Throw
Mettle
Shirahadori/Reflexes
Concentration
Move +2
(barehanded)
Thief's Cap
Power Garb
Featherweave Cloak
Female generic lv 40 Ninja
Throw
Fundaments
Shirahadori/Reflexes
Concentration
Move +2
(barehanded)
Thief's Cap
Power Garb
Featherweave Cloak
Female generic lv 39 White Mage
White Magic
Time Magic
Mana Shield
Swiftness
Manafont
Mage's Staff
Thief's Cap
Luminous Robe
Red Shoes
Agrias, lv 41 Knight
Arts of War
Holy Sword
Counter
Attack Boost
Move +2
Excalibur
Crystal Shield
Crystal Helm
Crystal Mail
Bracer
Balthier, lv 43 Sky Pirate
Piracy
Martial Arts
Critical: Recover HP
JP Boost
Move +1
Ras Algethi
Platinum Shield
Thief's Cap
Mirage Vest
Featherweave Cloak
On this day:
In 2005: I start using Visual C++.
In 2004: I dream that Mark has a really hot sister who's name is not Julie.
In 2003:
- I dream that I am a buggy computer program.
- Cindy stops wearing glasses.
After clearing FFTactics, I decided to start on Jeanne d'Arc (Joan of Arc). Thus far, it seems quite simplistic and primitive, lacking both character creation and a variety of skills. (Well, there's a skill system, but I probably haven't gotten far enough into the game to see much of it yet.)
Saturday, February 2, 2008--Happy
Hedgehog Day!
In 2003: I find the "I Love You" virus on my computer.
