Conclusions of Variety A Personal Blog on my happenings and thoughts

Freakin Cell PhonesPosted by cczernia on October 18th, 2004

Ok, lost my phone again! Thanks to my man Lee for trying to keep me reconnected. I should have a new phone by Nov 7 in which my phone plan will let pick a new phone. They currently have a 2 for one deal so I might jump on that given my history with cell phones.

There is a slight chance I might still find it as the last time I used it was last Tuesday at 9pm in my apartment. I never left the apartment and realized it was missing right before I went to bed so it should still be there. If I find it I’ll leave a comment here.

So, if anyone needs to get ahold of me please email me and if you want you can request my home phone. I never answer it but you can leave a message and I should get it. You’ll be able to call again normally on Nov 7.

Ho downs and DragonsPosted by cczernia on October 11th, 2004

A lesson in humiliation is suppose to be good a thing and a hope it is because Stephanie and I certainly made asses of ourselves last Saturday trying to dance at a Cowboy bar. Having learned the two step about five years ago I thought I’d remember how but realized that I didn’t. We asked a dance instructor how to go about it and she showed me, then I showed Stephanie. This resulted in us on the dance floor trying our best from not falling over.

However, we did not give up and kept trying to make it work. The dance floor became more and more crowded resulting in us getting more and more frustrated. If no one else was on the floor (which was small in comparison to others I’d seen) we might have been able to figure it out. But inbetween people swirling, bouncing and square dancing (yes, there were people square dancing while other two stepped around them) we didn’t have a chance.

The dance instructor, watching our peril pulled us outside to give us a couple more tips. After a quick 5 min lesson we were ready. The instructor said she would play a slower song so we could have an easier time. By the time we got out for the slow song the floor was so packed we could barely move. Try to actualy step, much less two-step was an act of futility. But the end of the song we finally had enough and left. We aren’t giving up though, either with some friends or a free lesson we’ll figure this thing out just to prove to all those damn yuppie cowboys that I do have rhythm.

On another note there is something about Dungeons and Dragons. Perhaps I’m elitist roleplayer but I suffered some form of shock meeting with a bunch of people who were straight D&Ders. Many of them were new (or inexperienced) to the game but they all wanted their Drizzt Do Urden, Dragonlance, Base Attack Bonus, level 5 elven wizard. Even upon suggesting playing Iron Kingdoms they scratched their heads and said “D&D with guns??? It doesn’t make any sense.”

So I, an uber-elite roleplayer have agree to play with these inexperienced D&Ders in hope to mold them into something great. An asset to gamer society. It is a lot of work but hopefully something positive will result from it.

The Great Out DoorsPosted by cczernia on September 28th, 2004

So, I went camping this weekend. Stephanie and I headed out to Cuyamacca State Park (which had been burnt down a year ago and was starting to grow back), about 40 miles East of San Diego on I-8. We left around 5:30 and got their about an hour later with just enough time to check in, set up the tent before it got dark. We only stayed the night but a few interesting things happened.

- Cooking hamburgers became a slight challenge as the grill was too high above the coals and the bars spread far apart. The charcoal I brought was not adaquite so first I tried cutting open a can to use like a frying pan (in honor of Scott’s and my adventure at Elephant Butte). It didn’t work but tossing more wood on the fire did.

- Stephanie and I were talking, drinking wine and what have you and it started to get cold. I decided to put on a warmer shirt but first I had to restart the fire. This proved more difficult than I thought and I was only able to get it started by tossing in large weed. It started to crackle and I backed up, when it lit I jumped back and fell off the wall.

- Right after we went to bed a racoon got into our food.

Overall, pretty basic even though sleeping was tough. Quote of the trip “I feel like I just got out of a dryer.” Second quote “She got the elevator and I got the shaft.”

Tangent – We also went and saw Shaun of the Dead. Amazingly funny movie that everyone should see.

Wedding and BabiesPosted by cczernia on September 20th, 2004

Some exciting things have been happening. First there is Scott and Denise’s baby, Conner. Went and had a cigar with Scott to celebrate the miracle of life. So, props for Scott for getting his groove on and making something out of it.

Also, props to Jonathan and Michelle for throwing the most kicking wedding, EVAR! They threw tradition out the window and threw a great party. Lets start with the bachelor party.

Technically, the 2nd time I’ve been to a strip club in San Diego. The 1st time was with Scott when we came up to San Diego for comic con. We left at 1 in the morning and arrived at about 12 in the afternoon. However, the motel wasn’t going to check people in until 2 so we decided to kill time at a strip club our friend Shane recommended. However, the place we walked into wasn’t really a strip club, more of a pervert theater. The place had theater ceiling with the house being completly dark and the stage lit. You couldn’t see who was around you or what they were doing. Made me feel icky so we left after about a half an hour.

I have returned to San Diego strip seen in the guise of a bachelor party for Jonathan. A few of us went out, got some beer, sang karoke… well, I didn’t sing karoke (I wasn’t ready) but everyone else did. We left after the electricity went out and headed over to Pacers, the partially nude bar where you could drink. We found out there was a $10 cash only cover and I was the only one with cash. So, a quick detour to the wamu. Jonathan was then distracted by an adult bookstore so we had to visit that, where I introduced him to man’s greatest enemy, The Rabbit.

We changed our minds about Pacers and a few minutes later found ourselve at Deja Vu, the fully nude strip club. A quick run through the medal detector and $14 poorer I found myself beholding beautiful naked women. Of course I found that San Diego strip clubs are much more conservative than the ones in El Paso including a 3 ft buffer between the stage and audience and cover lap dances. This didn’t stop us though and we made sure the soon not to be a bachelor received his due, plus bonuses for the rest of us.

A few hours later we decided to give Pacers a second try as our buzz had worn off because you can’t drink at the fully nude club. Unfortunatly, Pacers was closing as we discoverd it was 1:30 in the morning. We returned to Jonathan’s, had one last beer and all returned home with visions of sugerplums and candycanes.

Two days later was the wedding. A few of us put a gift together entitled the “Essential Marriage Kit.” I went and picked up Stephanie and we headed down to Ocean Beach. Of course, thinking more traditional wedding, decided to arrive 15 min early. There was no one else there. We waited and discovered there were a few others waiting who were just as confused as I was. Others started to show up and Jonathan, Michelle and most of the immediate family show up right at 4 (when the wedding started). Of course it didn’t actually start as I realized this was a true Southern California Beach Wedding which once you’ve experienced it there is no going back. Oscar and his clan show up making an awsome enterance.

They than started the ceremony with Jonathan’s dad (an Episcopalian Priest) and step mom marrying them. Even though the two were lacking in tradition they certainly were not short on the symbolism as Jonathan was given his dad’s and mother’s marriage rings to be married by.

The cermony was beautiful and probably one of the best and most meaningful I had seen. Instead of being bogged down in bad music, and cluttering tradition you had a very honest ceremony. The audience faced the ocean which framed them nicely. The sun was coming causing some glare but was still amazing.

After the ceremony some pictures were taken. And than Michelle decided to throw her bouquet. I know what you’re thinking and even though it was traditional it was a mixture of single men and women. And yes, I did catch the bouquet, thank you very much.

After the ceremony we headed over to a place called “Tower Two.” A nice little Cafe/Bar where we partied for a good four hours. There was no bridge/groom table, no silly dances or DJs, just people having a great time. A let hear it for the coolest old people in existance who were all hilarious and tons of fun. I blame viagra. Quote of the evening:

Oscar’s Dad “So, have you managed to convince our son to vote for the right candidate.”

I ended up driving so I only had two beers, but Stephanie made sure to take advantage and managed to work four Pear Ciders. Taught her how to two step, apparently we have no rhythm. So, good luck to Jonathan and Michelle and thanks for throwing and wicked party.

Sex, Lies, and WebsitesPosted by cczernia on September 7th, 2004

Well, let me start by saying I don’t have a problem with adult entertainment. A lot of it I find to be healthy and a good release for society. I imagine a world without porno would be a lot more violent.

Anyway, after first moving to San Diego I found it difficult to find a job as a web designer. As I noted in a previous entry that I was on top of the world people respected me for the work I did. Not so in San Diego. I was lucky to get a call back.

After a month of poor luck I started getting desperate and applying for any graphics related position I saw. One of those entries was “Video Editor for adult entertainment.” Well, I didn’t know what to think. Sounded interesting but did I want to get involved in the porno biz??? I asked Maya what she thought and she didn’t have a problem with it so I applied.

A few day later I actually got a call back from a woman who wanted to interview me. I couldn’t beleive it but it was the only call for an interview I had received. So, I went. The location of the interview was in a mansion and one of the things they liked was that I lived in Lakeside at the time, the same town as the porno mansion. So a quick drive into the hills of Lakeside and I manage to find the mansion. At first I didn’t see it as it was surrounded by a fence with a green cover completly hiding the mansion. I drove through the gate and parked.

The interview took place in a film studio part of the mansion near the pool. Inside there were computer and video equipment. Four people were there to interview me: the middle aged woman who originally called, a young man about my age and just as geeky complete with original Nintendo t-shirt, a heavier older man, and a european man who spoke English but with such a thick accent that the woman had to translate.

The questions revolved around my experience and to make sure that I was interested in the position, and not some pervert trying to make into the porno industry. The job itself was to edit video that would later be put on the web. Something I can do but wasn’t excellent at as I had only done it a few times. Needless to say, I didn’t get the job as they found someone who was more qualified but the woman said she liked me and would keep my resume on file.

And I thought that was the end of that. Not so…

Two weeks ago I’m working on the online catalog for TRIO Display when my cell phone rings. I pick it up and the woman introduces herself and says she spoke with me over a year ago. Didn’t click until she mentioned the interview in Lakeside. She asked if I was working full time and I told her yes, but curious I asked what the position was for. She said it was for “assistant to the director.” I asked what that consisted of and she asked me three questions (paraphrased).

Woman: Chris, you know how set up websites and do video editing?

Chris: Yes, yes I do.

Woman: Well, do you know a program called “livechat.”

Chris: No, but I’m sure I could figure it out.

Woman: Finally, do you know how to operate a camcorder?

Chris: Ummm…. ahhhh… no.

And I almost started coughing when she asked that. A camcorder??? For what, to film people having sex. Editing them for a website is one thing but actually filming them. Not sure I could handle that.

Needless to say I turned down the offer for another interview. I think it would be interesting to work in the porn industry but more as a summer program to see what it was like. I did make me feel great that the woman remembered me after over a year and had I not had a job I probably would have gone in.

Kids on the FieldPosted by cczernia on August 30th, 2004

So, I havn’t been around kids in a long long time. So long in fact that I forgot what they were like. A few weeks ago a friend of a friend moved back to San Diego after spending 3-4 years in Japan (actually two friends of a the same friend were there and they both recently moved back, we’ll call them Tom and Oscar).

I became good friends with both of them even though Tom spent a little over a month in San Diego before moving to Santa Barbara to go to school. However, Oscar decided to move in with his family down in Chula Vista. Well, now that he is settled in is time to do some gaming (which he had been on a 3-4 year hiatus and was itching to get into character).

My friend (who is the friend who had the friends who moved from Japan, we’ll call him Jonathan) was more than eager to oblige. A few of us head down to his place to do some gaming, but…

It is a Japanese household (as they all sit on the floor and eat with their toes) and he has FOUR kids. Oscar had ordered a pizza and we had to help him clean up his garage for gaming. The two older boys (one 6 and the other 4, I think) we’re running around and doing kid things around us. When we finished everyone went inside except myself and the two boys. I suddenly became very nervous as I felt completly responcible for them. Suddenly one jumped up and ran toward the street and ringing around a car.

After about five minutes of this I couldn’t handle it anymore and realized everyone was staying inside. I decide to head back in hoping the two boys would follow… they didn’t. Again, I became super nervous thinking I was responcible. Eventually the came back in, perfectly fine.

The second time I went up their I had to pick up the two younger guys in our group while Jonathan and Oscar picked up another pizza. We arrived early. Just me, two guys who aren’t old enough to drink, 4 kids and the mother. Immediatly the two guys had fun wrestling and playing with the two boys (and the girl who was 2 or 3 and tried to jump in).

Just before arriving Jonathan called us and asked us to read to the kids (apparently, a daily tradition that must be completed before we game). Jonathan asked me but I told him I don’t do kids and handed the phone off.

But something strange happened. After the wrestling the two guys offered to read to the kids. The mother pulled a few librairy books and handed it to them. Suddenly all 3 kids (the 4th one is actually and infant only a few months old) crowded around the two. One started reading a book about dinosaurs and kept asking me how to pronounce certain dinosaur name. He than tried to give explainations of the material that were little more than useless, especially to a bunch of kids to whom English is a second language.

I felt an urge to take over. I’ve always had an interest in teaching (I actually applied for the Jet program, a program to help teach English to Japanese students) and wanted to read to them. I didn’t interfere and let my friend continue reading but now I have a regret that I didn’t read to them as I know I would have done a great job. I’m actually looking forward to going back over their, and perhaps reading to these children and hopefully get use to them.

Back in the SaddlePosted by cczernia on August 20th, 2004

This installment has been a long time coming as I have started seeing someone new. However, after our first date/meeting I gave her my blog address. Right after I knew this was a mistake (not that I had anything to hide) because my blog was the perfect place to write about her but no she could read anything I put her. A few weeks after I asked some friends if I should write about her in this blog. The conversation went like this:

—————————————–

CHRIS: How long do I wait to post about her on my blog?

ERIC: A day.

CHRIS: Tomorrow?

ERIC: No…

TOM: …Tomorrow, then a day.

ERIC: …Yeah.

CHRIS: So, two days?

ERIC: Yeah, I guess you could call it that.

TOM: Definitely. Two days. That’s the industry standard.

ERIC: (to TOM, shop talk) …I used to wait two days. Now everyone waits two days. Three days is kinda the money now, don’t you think?

TOM: …Yeah. But two’s enough not to look anxious…

ERIC: Yeah, but three days is kinda the money…

CHRIS: (interrupting sarcastically) Why don’t I just wait three weeks and tell her I was cleaning out my room and remembered the date…

The guys laugh.

ERIC: Laugh all you want, but if you post too soon you can scare off a nice baby who’s ready to party.

TOM: Don’t listen to him. You post whenever it feels right to you.

CHRIS: How long you guys gonna wait to post about your honeys?

ERIC AND TOM: Six days.

———————————————-

Well, maybe it wasn’t exactly like that but enough time has passed that I feel I can post this. It feels good to be dating again. Her name is Stephanie and she is great. Tons of fun, interesting to talk to, athletic, pretty, smart, sexy.

Of course a concern of mine was that she had little to no interest in roleplaying or genre geek stuff in general. I quickly got over this as I looked at my friends and their partners who also had little to no interest in geek culture (ie comic books, scifi/fantasy, rpgs, video games ex ex). A friend of mine even said the next girl I see should have no interest in gaming. I agree 100%. This has also given me a chance to do a lot of things I have been wanting to do but have come up with excuses not to. Such as see a play…

My favorite date so far was when we went to see “Kiss Me Kate.” A musical about what happens backstage during a production of “Taming of the Shrew.” The musical itself was alright but the venue and atmosphere was amazing. An outdoor stage with a combination of seating and grass in which you can bring dinner and eat outside before the play started.

So, now with Stephanie I have something else to look forward to during the week which keeps me extremely busy. I wake up at 7am and go to sleep at midnight with little to no time to relax at home…. and I have no problem with that. As a matter of fact I love it. However, tonight I actually have nothing to do… might be nice to just kick back and watch a movie or read a book.

Game Fest and Musing of San DiegoPosted by cczernia on August 16th, 2004

From my rant that I posted on rpg-sandiego.org

must have been blind and deaf because I don’t know what happened this year. Now that I’ve been buying/playing at GT for a year and familier with the staff and regulars I was shocked and appalled by the lack of support by the gaming community. There was a community there… the Game Towne community. Perhaps I was niave in thinking that Game Fest this year was going to be as good if not better than last, and year before.

In the two games I ran, and the one I played only 1 person did not have a GM ticket (free entry for anyone who runs 2 or more games). Last year we had 3-4 players with tickets in Uhlan’s games. Count Zero warned me but I stuck it out in hope that Game Fest would come through. I even ran full fledged d20 Fading Suns because the d20 community is so large and vast that certainly they would be interested. I also ran vampire and I quickly discovered that there is only 1 vampire player in San Diego. Or maybe it is only 1 vampire playing in San Diego who shops at Game Towne. Or, it was 1 vampire player who was aware of Game Fest. Or 1 vampire player who cared.

So it seemed consistant with all the games. Lack of interest with the exception of the regulars who are waiting for a game at 6, showed up to another game that got cancelled ex ex.

Since writing that I got to play in one more game and had a lot of fun. I also discovered why I was so disappointed with Game Fest this year. Game Fest last year was probably on par but it was magical. This had to do with the fact that I’d only been living in San Diego for 2 months and only knew a few people. It was at Game Fest 03 that I would meet a lot of people who would become good friends.

Perhaps I was wanting to do that for someone else. Wanting some new gamer to walk into Game Fest looking for people to meet and I could help show him the way. In some ways I got to do this when my old friend Scott and his wife, Denise, moved to San Diego. It was nice to show someone around the city. Show them my favorite places. It made me feel like part of the city.

Of course it didn’t help that on my way to Gamefest on Saturday I decided to the back route getting directions from a friend who is native to SD. Of course I get confused and drive into incoming lane. Luckily, I managed to spin around before any traffic was heading our way.

So, I realize that in a year I’ve learned a lot but still have a lot to learn.

Selling My Soul on Ebay: Part IIPosted by cczernia on August 5th, 2004

Needless to say a lot has happened since my original posting.

Last thing I mentioned was that the bidder was waiting for his package. Well, it did finally show up. Apparently, it had exploded and 1/3 of the contents was lost, 1/3 was damaged, and the final 3rd made it intact.

Well, I immediatly apologize for what happened and offer him a complete refund if he would send the other bidders package. He refuses and says he won’t send off the package until he gets a full refund.

Now, I didn’t have the money to give him a full refund. Let me explain why… As I said before these weren’t my books. They belonged to a friend and I got to keep half of the money. The first package sold for $180, the second $280 for a total of $460. I end up giving $230 to my friend. I end up with around $50 in ebay fees leaving me with $180 which I hadn’t touched.

So, I couldn’t offer him a full refund right away. I start the insurance claim and everything is looking well but it is going to take 6 weeks for the claim to process. I tell him and he still won’t release the package. I tell the other bidder what is going on and he asks for a refund.

I give the other guy a choice. He can either mail the package and I would refund him $180 (the value of the package) or he could keep the package and I would take off $180 from his refund. He freaks and threatens to sue me.

Well, know I have no choice but to refund the other guy and I shoot him $180 and will take it off the other guys refund. I did enough research to know he has little power (as it has been 30 days since the auction closed). To make matters worse he finally decided to mail the package and I havn’t been able to get ahold of the other bidder. The saga continues…. …. …

Comic – Con 2004Posted by cczernia on July 27th, 2004

Ok, who I am kidding. One of the reason I moved to San Diego was because of Comic-Con. A four day event of complete geekdom. This would be my fifth time going. The first 3 I drove from Las Cruces, last year was my first con living in San Diego.

My first Comic-con was amazing. Like many I had never experienced anything like it. Not only was I bombarded by the sights and sounded that overwhelm. I was also star struck by many of the (semi) famous authors and artists that I had followed for years. I had gotten to meet the likes of : Drew Hayes, Kevin Smith, Alan Moore, and Lois Royo.

This is year has been great. Planned on going one day, ended up going two. Started off on Thursday when I gave the money to a friend to buy tickets on Friday. The next day I found out he wasn’t able to get the tickets. I feel panic. I had always preregistered for these events and had heard horror stories of it taking hours for on day registration to occur.

Three of us decide to get there early at 7pm. Already the line stretched around the convention center. I thought we were doomed. We waited for about 30 minutes until the lined started to move. It took another 15-20 minutes to actually register. I was shocked how quickly it went. We were all done by 8pm and had an hour to kill before the con opened.

Saturday was a ton of fun walking around and seeing everything. But this is not what impressed me. As I walked around I got to see a lot of my friends and aquantences that I had met after spending a year in San Diego. I was pleasently surprised by how many people I knew.

I also got to talk to the SCA and look into getting back into that (debatable right now). I also managed to get a 4 day pass from a friend who had borrowed it from another friend. This allowed me to return on Sunday…. but I had to work on Sunday.

A week before the con I went full time at one of my part time jobs. My other part time job wanted to me to keep working on weekends and freelance during the weekdays. I agreed our first day would be the Saturday of comic-con. It didn’t take me long to realize my mistake and I quickly fixed the problem.

But now I had to work on Sunday. I again had to call her a schedule to work a few hours in the morning so I could go see Joss Whedon talk about his new film Serenity, based off the Firefly TV series. I managed to get to the con on time. The Serenity panel was amazing. Joss showed a clip from the movie and then surprized everyone by bring out the entire cast! Suddenly I felt star struck and overwhelmed like I had during my first con. I loved it.

After that I walked around with another friend I happened into until they closed the con. Overall, an A+ con. I look forward to next year and hope to spend all 4 days there.