So this past weekend was nice and pleasant, and at a time when many of my friends were scrambling like crazy, or so I gather. Doing what? Putting together comics, for SPX, which goes down later this week; so I guess that there is one benefit of skipping out I suppose, though I really wish I could be there. Though truth be told, the chance to just rest and relax, as well as to party it up was just what the doctor ordered; it?s been so hectic and crazy that I haven?t been taking such great care of myself as of late (instead of having a nice solid block of sleep, its been brief pockets here and there, and eating nothing but shit food at all hours of the day and night). Plus I?ve been really bummed out and stressed for all sorts of reasons (especially with the November 1st deadline coming up for finding a new place), so I haven?t been feeling so these days across the board.
Due to way too much shit going on, I wasn?t able to get my submission done in time for Synthetic Visions, but Katie understood. At least I have a slot of issue 2! At least I was able to get some shit done last week that?s been long overdue, such as my piece for the next issue of The Gamer?s Quarter, which when all was said and done, clocked in at about 15 pages or something. Mike is currently cutting the fat off, before it goes to Shaper (who btw FINALLY got a proper blog, so check it out). I have a feeling it?s going to ruffle certain feathers, but at this point, I kinda don?t care, and I guess its no big surprise that many people who work in huge game publishers have their heads up their asses.
Anyhow, speaking of Mike, Friday night was my first boxing lesson, which has been talked about for some time, but took a while to settle on a date. And it was fun! As well as good exercise. Some folks who know me are aware of my interest in pro wrestling, which bleeds in martial arts, as well as mixed martial arts, which Mike studies. I also used to be a pretty bi\g professional boxing fan, till that world started to go totally downhill. Anyhow, I was shown how to throw a proper punch, plus other stuff like proper stances, how to breathe, as well as strengthening exercises. The one thing I will complain about when it comes to my childhood? and I for one try not to bitch about that time since, ultimately, who didn?t have a hard time growing up? the one thing I?m so irked about is how I never had a chance to learn proper balance. Become deathly afraid of water early on played a part, as well not having access to a bike or a skateboard. But all that stuff can be improved upon, somewhat. Anyhow, I plan to make it a regular thing, time permitted. And in case, no, we didn?t punch each other in the head, because if so, I probably wouldn?t be able to write this right now.
Afterwards Mike and I, along with his wife Liz, went out and got so Thai and some beer, and holy shit was it the best pad thai ever. For reals. I explained to Liz that whole deal a few weeks back where I was set-up with this girl, and everything was going just awesome, till I complimented her on her shoes, and then she immediately thought I was gay. Which apparently was a bad move? damn. She also noted that if I ever wanted to try and act out my wacky, slime filled sci fi sexual fantasies in real life, there are plenty of slime recipes out there. Good to know! We then watched Beyond the Mat. I swear to God, I must have seen this movie at least a hundred times, and for whatever reason, it just doesn?t get old. And Mike loved it, which I expected. Especially the Sylvia Plath quote.
The next day, I did some apartment hunting in the morning and afternoon, and then it was off to a party. It was Mary from Rocketship?s birthday party, so she threw a BBQ for all her friends, and I was lucky enough to get invited (I was at the store the night prior to pick up Farel?s new comic, which like everyone, I?ve been waiting for FOREVER). And it was fun! Lots of good food (some spicy, spicy sausage), beer, and… Pumpkin carving! Just like last year, at Jay?s birthday gathering, except this time, due to the pumpkin to people ratio, it was two or three people to just one, which worked out great for me; I was the residents artist and my two partners handled the carving chores, which I suck at. And everyone?s was judged at the end. Sadly, my team’s (aka “the Three Pumpkineers”) entry did not place, despite featuring a really cool gun. It was tied for second place apparently. And believe it or not, the one on the left, featuring a big cock, did not place either…
Didn?t stick around for Guitar Hero (which is what led to Mary and I to be friends in the first place). Instead I headed to the city for the second birthday celebration of the evening, this one filled with chiptunes people; it was Jeremiah?s birthday. First went to the Ginger Man, a brew haus that has like seriously eighty different brews. After pounding one that was called? Delirium something, myself, Josh, and Jake stayed behind while everyone headed towards the next leg of the evening, since we got our drinks right late. On the way, we ran in Hae Young, better known as Bubblyfish, who was also on the way to sing, and it was my first chance to actually chat with her (I?ve only seen her on-stage at shows) and that was nice.
Out destination was a karaoke joint, which could also be described as nice, though totally fucking awesome is a slightly more apt. It was Japas 38, and was simply the best place of its kind that I?ve ever gone to. For a party, which is what we were, it was $30 a head for three hours. Which seems expensive, but they give you these huge platters, of sushi and assorted fried finger foods, plus all the beer and sake you can drink. And unlike all other karaoke places I?ve been too, it was not impossible to find something good to sing. I can?t even remember the highlights… all I know is that everyone hammed it up nice and good, though Pete from Anamanaguchi practically stole the night with his rendition of… something. Again, can?t remember, since I had so much to drink that might (possibly the most ever). And the place itself was pretty rockin?; on my way to the bathroom, I witnessed a fight between a fight between two girls who were part of the same bachelorette party. And while in the bathroom, these three guides came in, screaming to each other ?AWW, MAN, YOU GOTTA HIT THAT SHIT!!! YEAH!!!? And then they all went into the same stall. This was to my left while I was urinating, and when I turned, this Korean dude to the right of me, also peeing, gave me this ?oh white people!? look. And then this other Korean guy came in with his kid, which I thought was strange.
Afterwards, we all hung outside, and this stupid Long Island cunt kept coming up to everyone to see if she could bum two cigarettes, but for such a large party, no one smoked, and she got really annoyed by the end. That made me LOL. I also got to check out one of Nullsleep?s birthday presents. If I don?t mind saying so myself, my gift for Mary, which was a pack of vintage Nintendo trading cards circa 1985, unopened, was the hit of that party, and I though I did a good job getting Jeremiah a copy of the Incredible Changebots, but I was totally trumped by the DVD of black gay gangsta porn called URBAN DICKS. And I?m totally kicking myself for not taking a pic of the cover. Anyway, since no one was familiar with the area, we had no idea where to go next, so we all went down to Koreatown to do some more karaoke, but given the time of night (around midnight, on a Saturday), the wait was too long, and everyone was losing their buzz, so we all ventured back to Ginger Man, which at this point was insanely packed. But Jeremiah managed to score us a cluster of chairs and couches. The rest of the evening was simply spent just chatted it up with Josh and Jake, and everything was nice and chill, until…
So behind my chair was a column with all these metal hooks, for jackets and the such. And they were attached to the wall via a hinge, and if you lifted one up, it would come falling down and hit the metal base, which would result in a loud, metallic thud. And there was this guy who was just standing there playing with the hook; he kept on flicking it, and it would come up, then down, make noise, and he?d repeated the process. This was pretty annoying, but it really got on Josh?s nerves, so tried getting the guy?s attention to stop it, but the tard was in a trance, like it was shiny things.
Till finally Josh had to yell ?Excuse me! Can you please fucking quit it? It?s extremely annoying!?
The tard didn?t like this and immediately protested. ?Hey man, what?s your fucking problem??
?My fucking problem is that you?re fucking annoying us!!! Jesus Christ!!!?
… I believe that was what was actually said. I was kinda drunk, so my memory is a bit foggy. Sorry. But I do recall it being a totally hilarious, and awesome, scene. Josh once again is like the nicest, sweetest guy on earth, seriously, but man, do not get on his nerves! Anyhow the tard kept trying to state his case, but Josh kept shooting him down, and eventually, he shut up and all was well. Anyhow, after that passed, we went back to talking, and just as I was talking about? either the clone comic that Katie has set to draw, or the story behind Matt Bernier?s installment in UNLUCKY #3 (which again, will be at SPX for all those who will be there!), that same asshole from before ducks over and kinda gets in my face to say ?By the way, I just wanted to say your story is fucking boring and gay as shit. That?s all.? Aw, shit, IT IS ON!
So Josh again gives this guy hell: ?Hey, we?re just three friends, trying to enjoy each other?s company and swap stories, SO WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BE SUCH A FUCKING ASSHOLE?!?!?
?I?m the asshole? You?re the asshole who fucking gives me shit for??
?BEING AN ANNOYING RETARD, THAT?S WHAT!!!?
The douche? which by the way I should describe: some dude who looked as if he was the type to get sand kicked in his face, so he went into body building, hence why he had these rather large arms, and the way he was carrying himself, his body language was totally ?look at my guns!?, hence why he probably wanted to get into an argument or fight, but deep down, he?s still a big fucking pussy? he just going on and on and on, and Josh kept on pointing out ?Dude, ladies? room is available, you can go now.? Again, fucking awesome. And of course, I couldn?t let Josh have all the fun and started to ask him how in the world could he not think that what he was doing was fucking the most annoying shit in the world. Eventually, his gf, who looked to be yet another Long Island cunt, came out of the bathroom, and he shuffled on behind. What a cock.
Soon it was super late, and I was pretty drunk (I was going to get the Flying Dog, Horn Dog, but the waitress talked me out it, so I simply had Duvell), so I headed out, had a corn dog, and passed out on the train ride home. Which meant I overshot myself and woke up two stops away from Coney Island. Again.
Next day, Sunday, I slept till like three in the afternoon, or something like that. Though I did get out of the house and bummed around Brooklyn. Hey, I found a new game store near the Fulton Street Mall, on one of the side streets, on Nevins. A place called Game Champ. They had a pretty decent selection of stuff, including a pretty big stock of GBA titles. I maybe shouldn?t mention this, but they had copies of WarioWare Twisted, and I thought about getting another copy, because I?m convinced that there?s something wrong with the one I have (the calibration always goes wildly off within just a few minutes).
Oh, and all this past weekend, I?ve been on a serious Guitar Hero kick. I really wish my copy of the hacker?s edition worked. Oh well.
As for today, it was back to work, as well as back to searching for an apartment. I forget if I mentioned previously that I had a place sorta lined up in Inwood, but that?s kinda fallen through, so back to square one. Also, like I said, I haven’t been feeling too hot, and after this past weekend, though mostly from Saturday, with all the food at the BBQ, and all the sushi, and assorted over finger foods, plus all that beer and sake…
