Casual(poet) friday – sweet dreams are made of these…

This Friday, we decided to spend the afternoon at Casual Poet. This was a place that Stella discovered while surfing some time back, and the last time we came, it was in the evening and we stayed for a little while. Since we both thought that it was a nice place to chill, Casual Poet was our choice of venue.

Boardgame Review Blog coming soon

Stella and I have decided that it was time to embark on another project together. Since boardgames is a key point in our relationship and a common hobby that we enjoy very much together, we have decided that we would start a separate blog together, centered on board game reviews. The address and actual specifics of the new blog have not been properly fleshed out, but check this space for more details soon.

birthday week (continued)

Day before my birthday, we met up with the guys for drinks at Walas. Although The UneXpected wasn’t playing that night, we still had a good time just chilling out and listening to the replacement band for the night. They weren’t half bad. Apparently they were some 60s old men rockers, and they could really play the stuff we requested from them.

It was nice just hanging out together, and Stella and I enjoyed their company for the night.

Some pictures for the night. Had to put the 4 person one in the centre as Hong was too “broad”:

All of us:

The following day, we had a gathering at my place. Stella had previously arranged for Andy and Keane to come back on the 20th to celebrate my birthday. Was really touched that she went through all that effort to get all the gaming people in one place. Also, this was special to me because it was my first birthday party ever. I don’t think I’ve ever organised a party for my own birthday before and it was something different for a change.

Prepared some food courtesy of Stella’s mom, and had some other food that my mom prepared earlier in the day. I booked the function room downstairs and prepared for the gathering.

Us before the party:

The food:

Waiting on the couch for the guests to arrive:

Andy grabbing a bite, with Tin watching on :

Keane and Serene who flew in from Wellington:

Stella, Serene and Tin:Me with Keane, Serene, Elton and Sheena:

After eating, we brought out the boardgames. For the night, we decided to play BSG since it was a group favourite. Also, we wanted to get Keane and Serene to try it to see if they liked it.

Shang arranging the cards. Andy and Jon hanging around:

Hong and Jingyi

Sheena and Elton, Keane and Serene. Learning the game.

Me and the beloved organiser of this party :

Unfortunately, we had to evacuate the place by 11, so we headed out to cut my birthday cake.

Everyone pooled in money to buy me my very own copy of Space Hulk! Been hearing all sorts of good stuff about it but was hesitant about spending the money on it since it was a whopping 149 bucks for a single game. Stella jumped on the opportunity when she heard me mention it to her a couple of months back, and she made a pre-order for it from PI. Thanks baby! Truly a geeky present, and I really liked it very much. Thanks everyone!

The guys:

The girls:

After that, it was more BSG. We finished the game at a nearby void deck. In the end, the Cylons won, but it was a good game all in all.

Most of the people departed from there, but Keane stayed for a bit to join Elton, Sheena and Stella and myself for a game zombie killing in Last Night on Earth. Definitely one of the better zombie games out there. From there, we parted ways, and there ends my very geeky and special birthday party. I had a great night, and if not for Stella, I would never have gone out to plan something like this for myself. Thanks so much dear, for the effort you’ve put in =) And finally, thank you friends, very much for making my day.

BSG

Got to watch two episodes of Battlestar Galactica with Stella today over lunch. Enjoyed it quite a bit, especially after the six player BSG board game session with the guys and their respective partners on Saturday. It was a riot, and I must say that the board game captures the level of paranoia of the series very well. Everyone thought I was a Cylon just because I hesitated for a moment to process what Mindy said. wtf. Great stuff anyways.

Running a Dark Ages game this Saturday for Stella, Jon, Mindy and Shang. Will be good I hope.

unboxing day

I bought a couple of boardgames over the net a week ago. When they arrived, I left Small World with its wrapping still intact, specially for Stella. I felt that there is always this childish thrill in opening something you like, and looking at all the little things inside. Opening up new games is something that I particularly enjoy, so I decided that Stella should have a chance too. After all, she has been wanting to play this game since the time she saw it on BoardGameGeek, and I decided to buy it so that we could play it together.

Geeky girlfriend with the geeky toy and the new geeky glasses :

Tearing open the wrapping :Looking at the components :

And here are the other two games that I bought. Really pleased at the games that I got for a very decent price.

The pictures brings a smile to my face

Mid-Sem break

So Stella and I are sick again, at the same time. Seems like the stomach flu/ sorethroat thing has been spreading around. A week ago, I had some kind of stomach upset, and recovered from it. Just yesterday I found out my mom also had the same problem. Getting caught in the rain on Thursday also kinda killed Stella and I – we’re both down with fever and sore throat, thanks also to the Tonkichi dinner we had on Friday (which was really good btw).

After the Tonkichi dinner and some shopping, we both headed to Yew Tee and explored the area. Seems like all the MRT stations are turning into replicas of one another, with the same shops, same commercialised food branches, and glass facades. I suspect that the one responsible for this is somehow trying to pull people away from the town areas – it’s frankly getting damn crowded. Not too sure what I feel about the same people who they pulled off Orchard Road flooding into the town centers though. Doesn’t change the fact that things are getting uncomfortably crowded and stuffy around here. Had a long chat with the girlfriend after, and I was glad that we managed to talk about everything and get to know each other a lot better. Somehow even though we go to school together all the time, we are often too busy for heart to heart chats, so this is definitely the highlight of the week for me.

We tried out Twilight Imperium yesterday with Shang, Ian and another friend. Pretty interesting game, and although I wouldn’t rave about it, I think it does a good job at capturing the feel of an epic space game in terms of its interaction and political intrigue. In short, I had a good time, and I’m sure Stella did to, as she surged to victory all the way with a technology based race and no one actually really caught up with her. I like the idea of games where you can win without actually attacking anyone, as it makes a lot of sense.

Finally, I achieved my aim of getting a new GP tuition student. I’ll hope that I’ll be a good teacher and teach someone something useful.

Happy new year

tired but happy to have spent the eve (and the new year) with the girlfriend gaming. It was a wonderful experience and we all had tons of fun.

Merry Xmas one and all

As Stella recovers from her runny nose and flu, I seem to have caught something instead. Feeling slightly numbed and a little feverish right now. And to think that I was just joking with her that the best way to lose weight is probably to follow Cheryl’s tactic of sleeping for 12 hours straight and skipping lunch altogether. Be careful what you wish for on Christmas, I say.

This Christmas has been quite different. Firstly, there’s none of the family gathering/bbq that I have every year. Most of it was spent watching dramas with my mom, which is something that I rarely do, and I appreciate the chance. Stella’s iMac came up with a hardware problem couple of days back, and today we brought the poor thing to Funan for repairs (seriously, Apple should have some home collection system. I wouldn’t mind paying a bit for the convenience) after lunch. Tomorrow’s a gaming session, so something fun for Stella and I to round off the week. Come next Friday, and I will be on a plane to HK.

So all that said and done, it’s been a not very usual but good Christmas period this year. Wishing a very Merry Christmas to all out there reading this, and may you have a wonderful year ahead.

Recieved a 10 dollar PI voucher in the mail. Maybe I’ll pick up a boardgame or something soon. Trying to save my money for HK.