Conclusions of Variety A Personal Blog on my happenings and thoughts

New York CityPosted by cczernia on June 24th, 2008

Last week Stephanie and I went to New York city. I guess this was our honeymoon in the since that people kept asking us what we were going to do for it so we told them New York.

We had a fun trip though we ran into a few snags including getting dumped on Saturday evening. I can’t remember the last time it rained that hard. Stephanie came prepared with emergency ponchos but they did not help as it rained so hard in the three blocks from the subway station to our hotel that I might as well not have been wearing it.

Also, on the trip back we got stuck on the plane for four hours before it took off. As a result we missed our flight in Atlanta and had to stay the night.

The rest of the trip was a lot of fun. We arrived late at night and got some sandwiches at a deli. We seemed to make a habit of late dinners and catching restaurants before they closed. Our hotel room was tiny and on the 5th floor with no elevator. One night we got back and I was exhausted. The clerk asked which room number we were in and I replied “Hi, my name is Chris.” I really can’t explain it.

We did the typical touristy stuff including Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Empire State Building and Central Park. We also did some shopping including specialty soap shop, specialty spice shop, specialty gaming shop which had a great selection of roleplaying games and was a block away from the Empire State Building. We also saw the Met Baseball and August: Osage County which won the Tony Award for best play three days later. We visited the Cooper Hewitt museum of design and the Sex Museum of sex. We had some great eats including a giant peanut butter cookie, Italian Food, Pizza, and sandwiches.

Our last full day there we took the train to Poughkeepsie NY where my highschool friend Tim picked us up and took us to his house where we met his wife. We had a good time and went canoeing, played with the dogs, lawn bowling and hung out in his backyard.

Overall, a great trip. Not sure I could live in NY as I love the city and the subway but the whether is a little crazy.

More pics can be found here.

2 Concerts, 1 ConPosted by cczernia on June 5th, 2008

On Memorial Day weekend I went up to LA for GameX which is held three times a year. This con was possibly the worst of four I have been two. I had planned on running two games, Werewolf the Forsaken and Fading Suns and no one showed up to either game. I ended up playing in some fun game though including Tribe 8, Spirit of the Century, and old school Deadlands. I also got to play in a demo of D&D 4th edition.

Last Thursday (a week ago) Stephanie and I drove up to LA again for an REM concert at the Hollywood bowl. Suspecting hellish traffic we left at noon and got a room. We then took a bus to the concert. We got their about half an hour before the opening act and got some dinner. We had really good box seats where the staff brought us a table and we had a nice picnic dinner. The concerts opened with a band called “The Nationals” and then moved on to “Modest Mouse” which I was excited to see. Finally REM came on stage and they were great. We took the bus back to our hotel and left the next day.

For years I have wanted to see the band The Cure and had given up as they kept saying they were going to retire. My dreams were answered and Stephanie and I went to see them last Tuesday. They played a really long set and ended with three encored of vintage Cure. It was great and was the best concert since NIN a few years back.

Wedding Photos on PS3Posted by cczernia on May 15th, 2008

A few weeks ago I decided to get a Bluray player. The two cheapest I found were the Playstation 3, and a standard Sony player both costing $400. The guy told me that the PS3 did everything the Sony player did so I picked up the PS3.

On Tuesday we received our wedding photos on DVD. Since I’ve gotten the PS3 I’ve been playing with it and seeing what it can do. I decided to throw in the photos DVD and the PS3 gave us a great slide show. Here is but a few of the photos taken. For more click here.

So, I got MarriedPosted by cczernia on April 29th, 2008

Stephanie and I got married on April 26.

We got up at 5 in the morning to go to spin class (Stephanie’s normal time). When we got back we prepared everything and drove up to Diamond Bar (30 miles southeast of LA) arriving at Stephanie’s mom’s house around 11:30. We spent some time cleaning windows and at 1 Stephanie and her mom went and got their nails done while I put together furniture.

When they got back we discovered the cable we had wouldn’t connect the ipod to the stereo so we had to get a new one. After that we relaxed for a couple hours and then went out to dinner with our parents and friends that drove down that day.

The next day was the wedding. We got some breakfast and then headed back over to the house to start setting up which we did for about four hours. First we set up lights, then the tables and chairs showed up and eventually the caterers and cupcakes.

We had everything ready to go and people started to show up a little before 3. For the first hour everyone got drinks and appetizers and talked. A little after 4 we had a quick ceremony which was performed by my friend Jonathan. It went well and right after the ceremony I signaled my friends in the back who blasted Sandstorm and Erik yelled out “I present to you the new husband and wife.” Stephanie and I then ran down and I gave everyone hi-fives.

We then had dinner which was from The Linkery and it tasted great. Later we brought out the fancy cupcakes (carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, and chocolate with peanut butter frosting) and they were amazing. Around 8:30 everyone had left.

On Sunday my parents and I went to see a Dodgers game which was fun not a little hot. On Monday we packed up all the leftovers and headed home. Overall, it was a lot of fun and now I’m married with a big fat ring on my finger. Pictures will be posted when I get them.

Karoake MachinePosted by cczernia on April 14th, 2008

Last night Stephanie and I went to a friends b-day party and did some karaoke. Apparently, I love karaoke and didn’t really know it.

Bachelor Party – VegasPosted by cczernia on March 31st, 2008

Last weekend was my bachelor party and I decided to go to Vegas. Influenced by my last trip there I decided I wanted something similar only with strippers and that’s exactly what I got. A fun filled geek weekend in Vegas.

There was about 10 of us total, mostly from San Diego and one from Minneapolis who each met at the Riviera Casino around 5:30 when we arrived. We hung out and got drinks waiting for everyone else to show up. We got dinner at the Treasure Island buffet and then did some roleplaying in the Casino where I ran InSpectres and the other group ran “Don’t Rest Your Head.”

After that we headed back and my friend Joe and I stayed up drinking scotch and talking javascript. Also one friend got hijacked by hookers and ended up drinking with them for a couple hours.

The next day we got something to eat late morning and then headed to the Star Trek Experience where everyone kept ordering me drinks and I got pretty drunk. We spent 6 hours there talking with Star Trek characters and going on the rides.

When we got the Star Trek tickets at the 1/2 off booth we also got scheduled for dinner and entry into a strip club called “Treasures.” A limo picked us up around 9:15. It was a strange place to have dinner but fun and included something called a lapatizer. After dinner we headed up to the strip club and well… had a good time.

Next day the drive home was tough as traffic was horrible and the wind was blowing real bad. It took us 4 hours to get from Las Vegas to Barstow (normally a 2 hour drive). However, I am back and read to be married.

D&D Program Two YearsPosted by cczernia on March 7th, 2008

Yesterday was the two year anniversary of the Dungeons & Dragons teen program at the El Cajon library. I bought pizza for everyone and handed out dice prizes for the teens who have Dungeon Mastered and then raffled off a couple other prizes.

The group has changed a lot over two years. I started with five players and the group would change a lot. I have had three players that have been with for almost the entire time. It has now gotten so big that I can no longer run games but have to coordinate them and help the teens run their own games.

Orccon 08Posted by cczernia on February 20th, 2008

Last weekend four friends and I went to Orccon up in LA near the airport. Orccon is part of a three con series that lands on three day weekends including Presidents Day, Memorial Day, and Labor Day.

For this con we left around 7am and arrived a little after 9. We got our badges and hit the dealers room where I bee lined it to the Indy Press Revolution booth which sells independent role-playing games. I picked up “Grey Ranks” and rpg about playing teenage rebels during the Warsaw Uprising during WWII. I also got “Cold City” where you play supernatural investigators in Berlin during the 1950s.

At 10am was my first game which was “Houses of the Blooded” with game designer John Wick. HotB is his new game and it was a lot of fun. It had a fun system which allowed players to define characters and the setting as you played.

My second game I ran which was Witchcraft. I had ran this adventure before and it didn’t go well. Something had to change and I cam up with an idea before the con. I decided that each player would declare a contact for their character. They would write the contact on a piece of paper and hand them to me. The game would revolve around each character visiting their contacts to solve a mystery. They would take 2-4 other characters with them. The other players would play the contact and other NPCs.

The game was fantastic and everyone had a blast.

The next day I played Heroquest. There were four of us and the GM was ill prepared. He had us make characters (something I discourage for a con game). However, everyone was open-minded and we come up with some great characters. The GM ran with it and was encouraging and creative. The game turned into a great experience and I’m using the concepts we came up with for my own one-shot.

Final game was Unknown Armies. We were playing a published adventure called “Jail Break” in which some of the players play escaped convicts while other players play hostages. I have heard this is one of the greatest written adventures of all time. I ended up disappointed in the adventure though I still had fun. It had some fun moments but a few players with left with nothing to do and character goals could have been a lot clearer especially for my character and the woman who was playing my characters wife (the characters had a very important roll).

Overall, great fun gaming, staying up late, and hanging out with old friends and meeting new ones. I have grown to really enjoy the con scene and am looking forward to GameX in May and possibly Gencon Indy (the big one) in August.

Birthday BirthdayPosted by cczernia on February 15th, 2008

Hurray for birthday! I’m 32 and still going. This weekend I’ll be heading off to LA for Orccon to do two days of straight gaming.

Also, TRIO (my company) officially moved to our new office building. It is a lot bigger then both previous offices and will include a showroom and gallery. When everything is finished I’ll include pictures.

Jury Duty and FencesPosted by cczernia on February 5th, 2008

Last week I got selected to do jury duty. It was a criminal trial where the defendant tried to smuggle meth across the border in Tecate. When the customs agents where examining his vehicle he ran back into Mexico but left his Alien ID card, drivers license, and truck in the agents.

A few years later he jumped the border and a border patrol officer caught him. They figured out he was the same man who tried to smuggle the drugs and arrested him. The jury ended up convicting him.

It was an interesting experience if a bit boring at times. I liked seeing how our justice system really worked. It was also nice not having to be there until 9am and I got a lot of reading done.

Stephanie and I also saw the premier of “Fences” by August Wilson at the Cygnet Theater. It was amazing and Stephanie said it was the best production they had done. We normally don’t go to premiers so it was funny seeing more people dressed up along with a buffet after the production that we didn’t stay for.