We had Calfgrit7’s birthday party today, at the bowling alley. It was his choice of venue, and he had enjoyed the three or four other birthday parties we’ve been to at the bowling alley for some of his friends. Eight kids showed up, and we used two lanes.

It seemed that everyone enjoyed the party, and it was good organized and active fun for the kids. Some of the kids were calm and quiet, some were rowdy and wrestling, but overall, it was not too difficult to ride herd on the bunch. Cowgrit and I were the main parents present, of course, with help from Cowgrit’s mother, but there was a dad and a mom with us too for much of the time.

All eight kids bowled, though there was a ninth who didn’t want to, and she left early. Even Calfgrit3 bowled a few frames near the end of the party. I also bowled, because it’s a game, and I love playing games. But it was a mistake to think I could actually do any real playing; I was too distracted to do anything other than just throw my ball down the lane — I usually didn’t even watch to see how my bowl did.

After everyone had left, and our family was back in the mini van, Calfgrit7 exclaimed, “That was awesome! That was the best birthday party ever!” That makes a parent proud and happy. We, then, talked about us, as a family, going bowling one night for the fun of it.

Bullgrit
bullgrit@totalbullgrit.com

We’ve started a new D&D campaign, with one of the other guys as DM. (I was burning out, and need a break.) This new campaign is set in Freeport, a few weeks after our previous Freeport campaign ended (about two years ago, real time); the previous campaign had us running through the first three Freeport adventures.

For this new campaign, we’ve all decided to play psionic characters: two human psions and a human soulknife (my character), all brothers of a gypsy clan. Where our previous campaign had [some of] us playing heroes fighting the evil and chaos of Freeport (I was playing a paladin), this new campaign has us playing less than good characters out to take over the town’s seedy operations. We’re not playing evil characters (I wouldn’t like that), but we definitely aren’t heroes.

We’ve only played one game session so far, but it looks like this campaign direction will be fun. The psionic side of D&D is interesting, and new (to me), but it’s basically very similar to standard D&D magic. The psions are like standard D&D sorcerers, and my soulknife is like a standard D&D Dex-fighter. It’s all just different enough to feel different, but not so different to play differently.

I don’t know nearly as much about psionics as I do standard D&D magic, so I’m being mildly surprised by some of the things the other characters can do. I’ve always had a dislike of the concept of psionics in D&D — psionics feel more like science fiction than fantasy, to me — but I think this change of mechanics is interesting in actual play.

I still doubt I’ll ever bring psionics into any of my own campaigns, but it’s good to see and feel how they actually work in play, in a situation where I’m not running the game.

Bullgrit
bullgrit@totalbullgrit.com

Yesterday was Calfgrit6’s birthday; he’s now Calfgrit7. His party, with his friends, will be today, but last night we let him open his gift from Cowgrit and me, and then we went to Chili’s for dinner (his choice). We also went to Cold Stone Creamery for dessert (his choice).

I started feeling a little weird as evening came on, and by 6:00, I was definitely out of sorts. I didn’t feel particularly ill, but just “not right.”

Calfgrit7’s birthday gift from us was a Lego Knights chess set. He had been wanting it for a couple months, and he was disappointed to not get it at Christmas. So he was ecstatic to get it for his birthday. After dinner and dessert, we sat down on the den floor and played a game of chess.

Right after the game, I needed to lay down for just a few minutes. I crawled up from the floor onto the sofa and . . . that’s the last I remember until this morning. I woke up still wearing my clothes from yesterday. Cowgrit knew I wasn’t feeling well, so she just left me to recuperate.

During bath time, Calfgrit7 slipped in the tub and hit his head. Cowgrit dealt with it (his head is fine now), and I never woke up. I was completely unconscious from a little after 6:00 last night till this morning. I don’t feel bad, now, and I should feel better and more normal after a shower. I’ve got to get out of these clothes I’ve been in for literally 24 hours.

Bullgrit
bullgrit@totalbullgrit.com

Our Thursday game nights got put on hold for a couple weeks during the holidays. Last night was the first time in three weeks that we all got together, and it was good fun. We played Dungeons & Dragons till 11:00, and then we just sat around in the den talking about D&D and World of Warcraft until 12:30.

I love my game nights. It’s so much fun to hang out with my friends, play games, and talk about our hobbies. We guys communicate some through emails, but sitting around playing and talking face to face is really much better. It’s so fun, in fact, that nearly every time, I end up staying and talking much later than I should.

It’s a 40 minute drive back home, so staying till 12:30 means I don’t get home until after 1:00. Then I write this post, upload it, and it’s nearly 1:30 by the time I get in bed. Six o’clock comes early in the morning; it’s really dumb of me to stay so late.

But hanging out with friends, talking and playing is just so much fun. And now that job and family responsibilities restricts that time to just once a week (at most), I like to stretch the time out as long as possible. Oh for the teenage and college years when I could hang with my friends for hours a day, several days a week.

Bullgrit
bullgrit@totalbullgrit.com