… That’s what the Evite said to Hollis and Stephy’s New Year’s Eve party. Hollis btw is that girl with the Mac that needed assistance, and who hooked me up with a big bottle of her family bourbon as a thank you, so not surprisingly, there was plenty of booze on hand. MK & I didn’t stay long (though it was enough for MK to get nice and loaded), because the main event was the big bash organized by Joe, and thrown at the Brothers Brett’s place.
Aside from ringing in the new year, it was a going away party for Rod who’s leaving for California to work for the video game industry. I actually owe quite a bit to Rod, since he’s the guy that introduced me to, among other things, the emulation and warez scenes back in ’99, and basically held my hand as I made my first steps into the wild world of true diehard gaming. I’ve played some crazy, bizarre, amazing, and downright insane stuff over the years, much of which even the most dedicated, self-rightious gamers, the one’s that constantly claim to be in the know have absolutely no knowledge about, and its all because of Rod. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have such gems in my collection as Lack of Love, Internal Section, Geppy X, and Love Love 2, nor would I have been one of the first persons in North America at the time to play Rez. Rod is not only a true blue, walking, talking encyclopedia of video game-dom (who puts everyone else to complete shame), but he’s also seriously one of the nicest, most pleasant guys you’ll ever meet (hence why I can’t stand most gamers, because Rod has proven that you can be really into games and not have to be some annoying douchebag about it). The guy will be missed.
Anyhow, to celebrate the occasions, I got really smashed, as did almost everyone that night. But, that’s what New Year’s Eve is all about, plus I (thankfully) didn’t get sick, so its all good. And of course, I took plenty of pictures, but I don’t think I’ll be posting any, since I wouldn’t want to embarrass anyone (especially myself).
The rest of the first day of 06 was spent recovering from the night before, which equated to MK & I spending the entire day sitting in bed and watching Futurama season 4 on DVD, which has to go down as one of the greatest seasons in all of television history. Seriously, what the fuck is up with Fox? How the hell does stuff like Futurama and Arrested Development slip away while tripe like The War at Home and (I’m sorry, but) Family Guy get the green light?
Anyway, the vacation is over with, and I’m back at work now. The time for rest, however fleeting, was good…. even though I didn’t play nearly as many games as I would have, nor did I fuck around online that much (though I did find time to check out some awesome Japanese music vides, which I’ll pass links to a bit later), but I did get to catch up on some comics and DVDs, and got some much neglected work done.
This week is gonna be killer: there’s already a ton to do. Its finally time to kick start a few new projects for the new year (and to reboot one that’s been perennially work in progress). At least this weekend will afford me the chance to properly blow some steam off, by shooting some guns! I’ll be heading to Delaware on Saturday for Andy’s birthday, which will be spent at a shooting range. Then on Sunday is another insert credit-NYC meet-up.
Oh, and since a few people have asked, I guess I’ll just say it now: my pick for game of the year? Shadow of the Colossus, duh!
