In Which I Muse, Game, and Swim
Jun. 15th, 2019 12:19 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shannon_aIt's been a busy week because I've had a few unusual things on my schedule.
Mus(ic)ing (Saturday). Last Saturday, Bob and mom came up to Berkeley to take Kimberly and me to a concert by Leo Kottke. He's an acoustic guitarist that Bob enjoys, and it was a fun performance, though I thought the highlight was when he brought in a local to accompany him on the violin. Now, I'm not a violin fan: it tends to be a little high-pitched and screechy for me, but the violinist was amazing. First, he did a solo which was unlike anything I'd heard before on a violin, then he accompanied Leo on several songs and offered an absolutely beautiful counterpoint, really enhancing and complementing Leo's playing.
The night overall was terrific because Bob and my mom showed up a few hours early and then we had a sushi dinner (something I almost never get, because Kimberly doesn't like Japanese food that much, and especially not sushi, but she was able to get something that wasn't raw). Then we got to talk for a few hours, because we waited out in line in front of the Freight & Salvage for an hour, then sat in our seats for an hour before the show began.
Kimberly and I actually went to the Freight and Salvage quite a bit in our early relationship, when it was down just off of San Pablo. But I can only remember continuing to see shows there through our time in North Berkeley. We stopped around the time we moved into our house. We'd definitely never been to the new theatre in the Arts District (though I was surprised to see it only opened in 2009; I would have guessed years earlier). I'm glad to we got to see the new venue. It's over twice the size of the old one and even though it's lost its artsy, semi-pro feel, it's instead attractively professional (and still bringing in great folk singers of all sorts).
Bonus Gaming (Monday). A few weeks ago, I got review copies of the new Pathfinder 2e game sets, so I invited my usual bonus PF crew (Eric L., Mike B., and Sam) over for a bonus game of the Core Set. It was interesting: more difficult than the original (and I wasn't sure if that made it less fun or not), but also featuring more evocative cards and stories. I definitely need to write up a review and a case study. However, what I found most notable was how much having people over for gaming on Monday night threw off my whole schedule. It felt like it was much later in the week than it actually was, and I was left off-balance. We're talking about finishing off the Core Set game, which would take another four bonus sessions, probably.
Swimming (Tuesday). On Tuesday night, Kimberly took me to the "Y" so that we could work on her swimming some more, now that she's graduated (at least for the moment) from Patti's Swim School. I used to have a "Y" membership in the early years of Skotos, so I'd seen the main pool many a time, and I always smell another of the pools whenever I walk by, but I don't think I've ever swum there. In the 21st century almost all of my swimming has been in Hawaiian waters (plus a pool in a bank vault in Berlin, which was neat). So, it was actually a different experience to go hang out in a chlorinated indoor pool. Boy the water was warm! (We were in the smaller pool near the street on Milvia, that I can always smell when I walk by, and Kimberly says it's the warmest.) Anywho, we worked on Kimberly's swimming and her side-breathing and then she did some of her PT exercises. We're going to try and make this a somewhat regular thing (or at least as regular as can be when there are just six and a half months left in our time here in the Bay Area).
Regular Gaming (Wednesday). And finally, I'll note my regular Wednesday night gaming at Secret, only to say that it's sadly been a lot quieter since I've been back from this year's vacation in April. Its attendees have mostly been confined to the old downstairs crew at Endgame, which included a few staff and other friends who used to hang out together. It's good to continue seeing them and gaming, but we're running about half the participants when we had the most popularity at Secret. I knew it was going to be challenging to get people continuing to attend without a game store attached. Might be time to try and remind people it's there.
Mus(ic)ing (Saturday). Last Saturday, Bob and mom came up to Berkeley to take Kimberly and me to a concert by Leo Kottke. He's an acoustic guitarist that Bob enjoys, and it was a fun performance, though I thought the highlight was when he brought in a local to accompany him on the violin. Now, I'm not a violin fan: it tends to be a little high-pitched and screechy for me, but the violinist was amazing. First, he did a solo which was unlike anything I'd heard before on a violin, then he accompanied Leo on several songs and offered an absolutely beautiful counterpoint, really enhancing and complementing Leo's playing.
The night overall was terrific because Bob and my mom showed up a few hours early and then we had a sushi dinner (something I almost never get, because Kimberly doesn't like Japanese food that much, and especially not sushi, but she was able to get something that wasn't raw). Then we got to talk for a few hours, because we waited out in line in front of the Freight & Salvage for an hour, then sat in our seats for an hour before the show began.
Kimberly and I actually went to the Freight and Salvage quite a bit in our early relationship, when it was down just off of San Pablo. But I can only remember continuing to see shows there through our time in North Berkeley. We stopped around the time we moved into our house. We'd definitely never been to the new theatre in the Arts District (though I was surprised to see it only opened in 2009; I would have guessed years earlier). I'm glad to we got to see the new venue. It's over twice the size of the old one and even though it's lost its artsy, semi-pro feel, it's instead attractively professional (and still bringing in great folk singers of all sorts).
Bonus Gaming (Monday). A few weeks ago, I got review copies of the new Pathfinder 2e game sets, so I invited my usual bonus PF crew (Eric L., Mike B., and Sam) over for a bonus game of the Core Set. It was interesting: more difficult than the original (and I wasn't sure if that made it less fun or not), but also featuring more evocative cards and stories. I definitely need to write up a review and a case study. However, what I found most notable was how much having people over for gaming on Monday night threw off my whole schedule. It felt like it was much later in the week than it actually was, and I was left off-balance. We're talking about finishing off the Core Set game, which would take another four bonus sessions, probably.
Swimming (Tuesday). On Tuesday night, Kimberly took me to the "Y" so that we could work on her swimming some more, now that she's graduated (at least for the moment) from Patti's Swim School. I used to have a "Y" membership in the early years of Skotos, so I'd seen the main pool many a time, and I always smell another of the pools whenever I walk by, but I don't think I've ever swum there. In the 21st century almost all of my swimming has been in Hawaiian waters (plus a pool in a bank vault in Berlin, which was neat). So, it was actually a different experience to go hang out in a chlorinated indoor pool. Boy the water was warm! (We were in the smaller pool near the street on Milvia, that I can always smell when I walk by, and Kimberly says it's the warmest.) Anywho, we worked on Kimberly's swimming and her side-breathing and then she did some of her PT exercises. We're going to try and make this a somewhat regular thing (or at least as regular as can be when there are just six and a half months left in our time here in the Bay Area).
Regular Gaming (Wednesday). And finally, I'll note my regular Wednesday night gaming at Secret, only to say that it's sadly been a lot quieter since I've been back from this year's vacation in April. Its attendees have mostly been confined to the old downstairs crew at Endgame, which included a few staff and other friends who used to hang out together. It's good to continue seeing them and gaming, but we're running about half the participants when we had the most popularity at Secret. I knew it was going to be challenging to get people continuing to attend without a game store attached. Might be time to try and remind people it's there.