oops I did it again

So I managed to somehow aggravate my back once again. Am now resting in the comfort of my room, trying not to move around too much. Never take for granted the ability to move around unimpeded, because it is certainly a bitch to be wincing in pain whenever you turn in bed, or get up from a chair. So much for the weight loss efforts too. Think that’s gonna get a reset, since all I’m doing is sitting after eating everyday.

books are good, tv is bad, and freaks do exist in society.

Funny thing happened today: Stella and I were on the train home from lunch with Nat and there was this particular guy who somehow dashed and pushed his way across half a busy train cabin before plonking his ass down on a seat. Soon after, he opened his media player, and proceeded to play some opera track out loud to the entire train, all the while oblivious to the many stares that he was getting.

The question now is whether people like that do indeed know that they are doing something socially deviant, and if so, do they resist conforming because they want to? or because they do not actually think it is wrong. Even if they do not think it wrong, how is it that they still persist in deviant behavior despite the various signals that the environment may be providing? A lack of understanding/knowledge of socionormative cues?

In other news, we’ve taken to clearing our weekly Fringe episodes during the weekends, and realised that this frees up a lot more time to do other stuff. Just last week I taught Stella the freestyle down at the pool. What a difference an hour can make. I wonder how many hours have TV junkies(like me) spent, glued to the box set, where these hours could have been used in some alternative and arguably, more productive manner. Of course, watching shows together with a loved one is excellent bonding time in my opinion at least.

Currently reading a couple of books simultaneously. I think sooner or later I gotta stop starting on too many books and concentrate on actually finishing them. Reading The annotated H.P Lovecraft, Palace of the Plague Lord (Warhammer Fantasy), To Kill a Mockingbird and Teach Us to Outgrow Our Madness (Kenzaburo Oe).

You don’t scare me

While I’ve been running D&D for the group for the past couple of weeks, somehow or another I’ve been thinking of getting back into Call of Cthulhu. Part of the reason behind this is due to the ease of running CoC games, but the other reason is also because I’ve always had a fascination with horror.

Of course, the main question that arises when thinking about horror is the question of why do we get scared? what makes us scared? Some are afraid of mutilation, some are put off by things that go bump in the dark. Others, like me, appreciate the fear of the unknown more than anything else. Whatever it is, horror roleplaying, or horror appreciation takes two hands to clap: the producer being willing to scare his/her players, and the receiver/player being willing to be scared. It’s difficult, admittedly, to suspend belief of the real world and take the world of the gamemaster seriously, but if you do, you’ll be treated to an experience that you’ll never forget.

Now, anyone willing to be scared?

Our second 10k run

Went for our second Stanchart Run today. Due to the lack of exercise/training and putting on the extra weight, I found it pretty sluggish and difficult to complete the route. Will train harder for next year’s run. Knees and calf muscles are now screaming in pain from the trauma today. The good thing was that Stella ran in the 10k men’s run as well, so we got to run together, and it made the whole race a lot more bearable.

After the run, we headed out to Raffles City to claim some free coffee using my brother’s vouchers, and had some brunch at one of the restaurants in the area. Chatted about school, teaching and advertising. It’s always nice just sitting around and chatting to one another about life, hopes and dreams.

Time Fourplay

Our Time Fourplay boardgames review blog is almost up! Will spend December getting some articles written, and get them published soon. Hopefully through this blog, we will be able to introduce people to a wonderful hobby that they can share with their loved ones and friends.

Do support us at  http://timefourplay.blogspot.com/

See you there!

Sunset Tavern

Had a great time at the Sunset Tavern snacking on fries and chicken wings while watching Fight Club on the Macbook tonight. The cool night air made it all the better for a timeout with the girlfriend.

Dwarf Berserker (aka Thoradin the Broken)

Partially finished up the dwarf berserker model that I got from the Avatars of War range of miniatures. Really great sculpt I must say. I used it more as a testing ground for painting flesh, since I wanted Stella’s elf queen miniature to look better =) This model will be used as Shang’s character in my 4e d&d game – Thoradin the Broken, the Dwarven Berserker.

 

One fine day

Woke up to the sounds of rain against my window. Another rainy day, another day of tuition. But the good thing is that I’m free from the constraints of the agency, and I’ll finally be earning the full amount of money that I work for.

Watching Victor Victoria tomorrow. Can’t wait!

New books

Headed to Borders and Kino yesterday to grab some graphic novels and books. Stella got her Milan Kundera books, while we picked up the Dark Heresy rulebook together by FFG at Borders. Dark Heresy pits the players as acolytes of the Inquisition, tasked to root out evil in its many forms. Jon has been raring to give it a go for a couple of weeks already, so maybe we’ll give him a chance once the current D&D game slows down a little. Would be nice to take a breather for a change and be a player with the girlfriend. If all goes well, perhaps this might even be a good game for Stella and I, being both in the cosmic horror genre as well as being set in the grim darkness of the Warhammer 40k world. It’s a gorgeously produced book, and we’re both pretty impressed by the production quality of the rulebook.

More reviews of the game once we’ve gotten down to playing a couple of sessions.

Sushi Kikuzawa

Friday once again! It’s been raining for the past few days. Despite the wet weather, it is a great time to head out and walk the streets, as long you weren’t the one caught in the deluge. We headed first to Kino to get some books, and then to Borders for more books, before heading down to Sushi Kikuzawa. For those who remember, both Stella and I posted rave reviews about the place during our first time there, and we had planned this since the middle of the semester (man, how time passes so fast!).

Headed to Kikuzawa around 615. Sadly, the chef himself wasn’t there, but his two assistants were serving for the rest of the night. Despite the fact that there was a family with noisy kids running around, we had a wonderful time chatting and enjoying the delicious sushi. While the flow of food slowed down, and the rice got more and more as time got by, the pace was just right for us to have a very awesome dinner.
Christmas lights are up:
Unfortunately, Stella dropped her phone into the toilet, and it died. We then headed home after a short walk, so that she could get her sister’s phone as a replacement and retrieve some of her contacts. Poor girl Look how sad she is.

So the rest of the Friday evening was spent at Stella’s place, and despite not being out for the whole night, I had a wonderful time just hanging out (haha;)), enjoying the cool night air, and watching psudeo-horror movies in the comfort of Stella’s home.

TGIF!