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My phone's dead. It's been dying a slow and painful death for the past few months so I've been expecting this to happen. I didn't think it would happen so soon. I knew something was wrong when my (cordless) phone started losing power only forty-five minutes into a conversation a few months back. I knew the batteries were designed to go for a few hours, although it's a fairly old phone (several years old in fact). A couple of weeks ago, I was barely able to keep a five minute conversation going. I needed to rush next door and switch over to Werdna's phone (who moved out Friday) before I lost the connection. Today, the battery lasts about five seconds. Just enough time to figure out who's calling and who it's for but that's about it. It's rather annoying actually, but I don't use the phone all too often, and I'm moving out soon, so it's not that much of a problem. Anyway, let's see what's going on in the world today.
I've finished MDK 2. It was a fun game to play, although I did get stuck twice and had to check the walkthough (one of those times I would never have figured it out on my own). I was also playing at medium level because I wanted to finish the game ASAP. Hmm.. I guess three days is pretty quick. I'll return it to weirDo tomorrow.
Let's see. Oh yeah, I didn't talk about yesterday. I went to Jean-Guy's (S2000) BBQ. I recognized a number of faces, but most of the people there were new to me. I did see Eric the Red, although I think KGL is the only person here who knows him.
I arrived at the BBQ a couple of hours late (I figured I get there late when the food was cooked, and spend some time making my way through MDK 2) but it didn't really seem to matter. There was lots of food, and Jean-Guy was manning the BBQ (for at least four hours - whew!). After grabbing a bite to eat and throwing the disc around a bit (and paying for the food) I decided to head out early so that I could walk downtown to the restaurant where JCC and company were going to have dinner. I figured it was too nice a day to pass up on a good hike, and I didn't feel like paying for a ride down there (and I couldn't find anyone to take me).
So, at around four, I embarked on my journey downtown. I decided to take the scenic route, through the residential areas of town just to see what it was like. While I was wandering through the suburbs, I started composing a poem in my head to describe my journey. I have long since forgot what I made up, but I do remember the.. variety of people, houses, buildings, and things in general as I walked from one city to the other. I wandered down quiet residential streets, where the houses were older than my parents. I walked on a paved hiking trail, where train tracks once lay but had been abandoned for years. (It was actually part of the Canadian.. er.. hiking trail?) I walked passed abandoned warehouses, and empty lots. A small town that was swallowed up by by the sprawling metropolis. I passed through Victoria Park and watched newlyweds immortalizing their special day. I passed through the core, around the core, and went all over the core (because I was lost for a while). But I learned something. Something very important.
You should not walk for the entire afternoon if your foot is injured.
I was so sore afterward.. but I haven't finished telling the story. I made it downtown about an hour after I left the BBQ. I had checked the map earlier and had a good idea where the restaurant was, but didn't bother to write down the directions (or the address). So I blindly followed a street which I believed would take me there. The fact that I was walking through a residential neighborhood didn't bother me at all because I believed that the restaurant was "a little further". It didn't bother me when the road twisted and turned even though on the map (the part that I was looking at) it was straight. It finally bothered me when the road ended. *blink* What the.. the road's not supposed to end yet! Clearly, I had overshot (and had left the downtown core), so I turned back.
This time, I took a wild guess and went onto another street that could possibly have been the street I was looking for because it was quite possible I misread the map. I wandered through and saw nothing (there were a couple of restaurants, but not the one I was looking for). That street also ended, so I sat down to rest my weary legs (and sore feet) when I noticed this sign next to me. It was a sign for the restaurant I was going to! (The arrow was also pointing back.) Curses! It was like I was following directions from Jax! (*ducks*) I headed back and wandered around the area for a few minutes before finding the restaurant I was looking for and I went inside.
Inside, the proprietor welcomed me and I asked him if there was a reservation for our group of people (since I had forgotten to ask JCC about the time). Apparently not (they were also not there yet, but I was early - around five-thirty - so I didn't expect them to be there yet). Sucky. I had noticed a poster on the board outside the restaurant promoting a chess challenge where some international chess champion was going to play some simultaneous games from one to six on the 19th. I was a little interested in that until.. the 19th? *looks at watch* Doh!
<- has no concept of time.
So I walked back to the Civic Centre (where the thing was being held) and made it for the last twenty minutes or so of the event. Not too many people were still playing, but after taking a look at the games, I saw that all of the challengers were losing. Dang. I wanted to play. I did take a look at the problem sets that they had displayed before they got rid of them. I solved all but two, although if I had just a bit more time..
After the chess thing had finished, I walked back to the restaurant. I peeked in and saw a couple eating inside, but nobody else, so I left. The proprietor burst out of the door after I had left and asked if I had found them. Nope.
I didn't know what else to do, so I headed back downtown (basically back to the Civic Centre, to check out the new games in Zappers (an arcade for those of you wondering). I finally got to see Marvel vs Capcom 2. It's a side scrolling fighting game, and were there a TON of characters! Laz wasn't joking when he told me how many characters there were in this game. I watched some guy pump money into the machine and marveled at the variety. The other game that was new was the Gauntlet: Legends sequel. Err.. Dark Legend I think it was? I decided not to try it out. *keeps an eye on the wallet*
I headed back to the restaurant after a few minutes of watching. I made it back around seven, and decided to sit outside and wait for a little while to rest my weary legs and sore feet (again). After I got bored waiting outside, I went in to see if they had arrived yet. As I walked in, this guy (who was part of the couple who was eating there the second time I came by) shouted out to me.
"Your friends are coming!"
What the.. I stood there stunned for a minute before the proprietor came down and told me that they had phoned in and would be arriving any minute. Goody! I can finally rest! So I headed upstairs to the washroom to clean up (walking around all day doesn't make you springtime fresh - I was so glad there wasn't a dress code), and when I had finished, they were already there. (Much to their surprise if I remember correctly. "[QYV]! .. What are you doing here?")
Ah yes, we had a nice meal, although we waited a long time for our food (more than an hour). HaremPresident went a little.. crazy afterward (I think he had too much sugar) but all in all, it was good. It was all good. *nods*
Okay, I just wasted the time I should've spent responding to e-mail to fill in this thing. Ah well, what's another day? *yawns* I should be heading back now. I need food and I need sleep (I didn't get enough last night). Let's see if there's anything else to clean up first..
Apparently, some studio wants to use are members as guinea pigs. Hmm.. I should see what sort of stuff they do first. I've got two e-mail messages that are quite intriguing. It's too bad I'm in no shape to respond to them now, but hopefully I'll bang out something tomorrow (after I've mulled about them a bit).
Oh, but before I go, I found these two things on the ShackNews. Some of you may have heard about that lady that got caught in a tree for three days, well this guy had it worse. There was also a leaked screenshot of the new DOOM out. So.. are they going to use a 3D engine or 2D sprites? I can't tell from that picture (although the resolution is amazingly good). [Monday, August 21, 2000: Apparently this screenshot is fake.]
Okay, I think it's time to go. But I should get milk. *sigh*
[0 Comments]
Tuesday, August 22, 2000 at 14:55:01 (UTC)
Well, that's what happens when you put NiCads into a cordless phone with a dumb recharger. Those things are practically begging to develop a memory effect. You should be able to get replacements fairly easily (a trip to Radio Shack is in order) unless you have something non-standard. Go for NiMH (metal hydride) if you have the choice -- no memory effect. Otherwise, get into the habit of completely draining the battery before putting it back in the cradle.
Grinning Reaper
Tuesday, August 22, 2000 at 16:44:30 (UTC)
Yeah, I should've drained the battery every now and then on my phone but I never thought about it. Oh well. NiMH batteries are fairly expensive though..
Thanks for the subtle hint Jaz.. I mean Jax. (Although if you're paying for lunch, I'd follow any directions you give me - well, maybe not =)
QYV