anarchist_nomad (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
anarchist_nomad) wrote2010-01-04 11:25 pm
anarchist_nomad) wrote2010-01-04 11:25 pm
Day 61: Finishing Off The Nomadic Twelve Days of Christmas
I composed the initial part of my holiday write-up from a motel in Ohio, USA. Thus, it seems somehow fitting that I now write its counterpart, concluding the holidays from a hotel in Tokai, Japan![*] Without further ado, here is a summary of the last two states visited in the Nomad 2009 Decemberween Five State US Tour! Have at it, gentle readers!
Day Nine: (Thu Dec 31) Arrived in Michigan with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
gyades, where I greeted my darling tawneypup and her husband, plasmonicgrid. After settling in, we were introduced to Little Big Planet and the four of us spent a couple of hours bonding over the Playstation 3. When finished, I took a call from the future -- the charming cheshcat, the beautiful bunnypip, and the marvelous miss_amaranth phoned from 2010! We chatted for a bit, then it was time for homemade pizza paninis!
Guests[**] began arriving at half eight -- in total, fourteen people attended, making for a cozy little group. We played a couple of games of Bag of Nouns -- each time I was on the winning team by just a razor-thin margin of victory! I passed around the Signspotting book thatcheshcat had given me for Yule -- it was generally a huge hit, with much laughter ensuing! At midnight, we watched an animatronic Dick Clark ring in the new year -- and decade! -- as we enjoyed malts at midnight! Yummy!
We got comfortable in the new year by chatting and having random attacks of silly string. Around two o'clock in the morning, it was suggested that we go to sleep... but we played Apples To Apples instead! Despite an early lead, I came in third with six cards to my name. Apparently, I am "pure" & "eternal"... as well as "chunky", too! More sleepy -- and slightly tipsy -- musings followed, so it was nearly six o'clock in the morning before people finally made their way to Dreamland. Definitely a fun way to see out the old year and welcome in the new one!
Day Ten: (Fri Jan 01) After a lazy lie-in,tawneypup and gyades and I went out for a delicious breakfast of omelette and hash browns and pancakes! Then we exchanged gifts before packing up for the drive to Chicago. gyades drove on first in his car; tawneypup and I followed half an hour behind in hers. The weather outside was frightful -- much snow and ice assailed us. Still, my dear Tawney handled the roads expertly... and the slow speeds required gave us all the more time to talk in the car! When we finally ran out of things to say, we spent the last hour or two singing various and sundry songs together, especially a few duets!
On our arrival in Chicagoland, the three us of went out for a dinner of Mexican food... followed up by games! I managed an amazing rally to beatgyades at air hockey... only to lose the next game to tawneypup. I then scraped by a win -- in overtime! -- against gyades in foosball before we all headed in to the Lazer Tag arena. This time around, I tried a new strategy: Hide in one of the highest spaces and try to pick people off sniper-style. It didn't pay off, though; not enough people in my field of view to rack up sufficient hits. Out of fourteen players in our free-for-all, I ranked only twelfth -- compared to tawneypup (clad all in black ninja gear) at #3 and gyades at #5. Oh, well -- better luck next time! After our session shooting each other in the backs[***], we returned to the Event Horizon for some good old fashioned Rock Band. That topped off the night well, until we were all ready to collapse into bed!
Day Eleven: (Sat Jan 02) After waking,gyades and tawneypup and I made our way to the Morton Arboretum to wander about the grounds. Although this magnificent arboretum is located only half a mile from the Event Horizon -- making me a frequent visitor when I am local -- this is only the second time that I have dropped by in Winter. The ground was covered in snow and the sun glistened beautifully off the shiny white surfaces! I had never seen the arboretum like this before -- it was absolutely lovely! We drove slowly through both sides, stopping in the middle to wander on foot. We attempted a gnome hunt... but found too many gnomes were hiding beneath the snow! Whoops!
After we returned to the Event Horizon, we let the games begin!tawneypup and I played Tic Tac Doh! using my Icehouse pieces, each winning several games. We then moved on to Martian Chess -- also an Icehouse game -- where I won. By this point, xirpha had arrived; we broke out Betrayal At House On The Hill and played with all four of us. Interestingly enough, we stumbled on the one scenario -- out of fifty -- where there is no traitor! Instead, the four of us had to collectively defeat our evil twins, which I am proud to say we managed without sustaining any casualties! Go us! By this point gyades was feeling a bit off so he went to take a nap whilst xirpha taught tawneypup and I how to play Ingenious; the first game was a close win for xirpha (eight points for him, with seven for each of us), whilst the second was a much more dramatic win for tawneypup (eleven points for her, seven for me, one for xirpha. Next up, we played Empire Builders. This was a close game -- and a long one! -- but I managed to achieve a victory! By this point, the lovely wyldekyttin, & unclevlad, as well as the charming emrldgirrl & wiktowasichu had arrived! We introduced them to the now-infamous Bag of Nouns, which was a hit! I teamed up with wyldekyttin and unclevlad against the rest... but, alas, we were undone! At the end of the game, we were behind three points!
We had a little time to chat and schmooze before we needed to head out to catch the midnight showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. My dear friends, I am proud to say that your favourite Nomad is a Rocky virgin no longer! Before the show, us virgins were rounded up and made to mimic barnyard animals having an orgasm -- my turkey garnered great laughs... and came in second only to the walrus! The show itself was lots of fun! The shadow cast was excellent and came equipped with very elaborate props! Of course, I have no basis for comparison... buttawneypup has seen half a dozen such productions of Rocky -- and she thinks that this one was the best! Originally, we had planned to dress me up as Magenta for the show; to that end tawneypup had brought a French maid's costume with her. Alas, time did not allow... so there are no compromising photos to share with you, gentle readers! Perhaps next time!
The cinema itself was impressive, with a fantastic ambiance and seating at conference-style tables. This permits a full restaurant menu, with food and drink delivered throughout the show. I very much enjoyed the venue and plan to return on future trips to Chicago -- either for Rocky or just for other movies! The admission fees are quite reasonable (only eight dollars), though everyone is required to purchase at least one item from the menu. No complaints there -- tis a good deal! Meanwhile, I owe thanks towyldekyttin and unclevlad... as the surreptitiously intercepted and paid the restaurant check for tawneypup and I![****]
When the show ended, we bid them farewell... then returned to the Event Horizon to collapse into bed once more, circa three o'clock in the morning!
Day Twelve: (Sun Jan 03) Vacation over -- hop a flight to Japan!
Thus completed the Nomad's Twelve Days of Christmas in the US of A -- all in all, it was an excellent holiday and a wonderful start to the new year! Now I am in Tokai, batteries recharged and eagerly looking forward to the start of our next collaboration meeting tomorrow! The experiment is turning on now so these are some very exciting times!!
[*] Hey, I've got a name to live up to!
[**] Other thangyades and I, of course!
[***] And front. And shoulders.
[****] Indeed, I would have thanked them sooner -- and in person! -- except that I did not learn of this until after we had already parted ways for the night!
Day Nine: (Thu Dec 31) Arrived in Michigan with
gyades, where I greeted my darling tawneypup and her husband, plasmonicgrid. After settling in, we were introduced to Little Big Planet and the four of us spent a couple of hours bonding over the Playstation 3. When finished, I took a call from the future -- the charming cheshcat, the beautiful bunnypip, and the marvelous miss_amaranth phoned from 2010! We chatted for a bit, then it was time for homemade pizza paninis! Guests[**] began arriving at half eight -- in total, fourteen people attended, making for a cozy little group. We played a couple of games of Bag of Nouns -- each time I was on the winning team by just a razor-thin margin of victory! I passed around the Signspotting book that
cheshcat had given me for Yule -- it was generally a huge hit, with much laughter ensuing! At midnight, we watched an animatronic Dick Clark ring in the new year -- and decade! -- as we enjoyed malts at midnight! Yummy!We got comfortable in the new year by chatting and having random attacks of silly string. Around two o'clock in the morning, it was suggested that we go to sleep... but we played Apples To Apples instead! Despite an early lead, I came in third with six cards to my name. Apparently, I am "pure" & "eternal"... as well as "chunky", too! More sleepy -- and slightly tipsy -- musings followed, so it was nearly six o'clock in the morning before people finally made their way to Dreamland. Definitely a fun way to see out the old year and welcome in the new one!
Day Ten: (Fri Jan 01) After a lazy lie-in,
tawneypup and gyades and I went out for a delicious breakfast of omelette and hash browns and pancakes! Then we exchanged gifts before packing up for the drive to Chicago. gyades drove on first in his car; tawneypup and I followed half an hour behind in hers. The weather outside was frightful -- much snow and ice assailed us. Still, my dear Tawney handled the roads expertly... and the slow speeds required gave us all the more time to talk in the car! When we finally ran out of things to say, we spent the last hour or two singing various and sundry songs together, especially a few duets! On our arrival in Chicagoland, the three us of went out for a dinner of Mexican food... followed up by games! I managed an amazing rally to beat
gyades at air hockey... only to lose the next game to tawneypup. I then scraped by a win -- in overtime! -- against gyades in foosball before we all headed in to the Lazer Tag arena. This time around, I tried a new strategy: Hide in one of the highest spaces and try to pick people off sniper-style. It didn't pay off, though; not enough people in my field of view to rack up sufficient hits. Out of fourteen players in our free-for-all, I ranked only twelfth -- compared to tawneypup (clad all in black ninja gear) at #3 and gyades at #5. Oh, well -- better luck next time! After our session shooting each other in the backs[***], we returned to the Event Horizon for some good old fashioned Rock Band. That topped off the night well, until we were all ready to collapse into bed!Day Eleven: (Sat Jan 02) After waking,
gyades and tawneypup and I made our way to the Morton Arboretum to wander about the grounds. Although this magnificent arboretum is located only half a mile from the Event Horizon -- making me a frequent visitor when I am local -- this is only the second time that I have dropped by in Winter. The ground was covered in snow and the sun glistened beautifully off the shiny white surfaces! I had never seen the arboretum like this before -- it was absolutely lovely! We drove slowly through both sides, stopping in the middle to wander on foot. We attempted a gnome hunt... but found too many gnomes were hiding beneath the snow! Whoops!After we returned to the Event Horizon, we let the games begin!
tawneypup and I played Tic Tac Doh! using my Icehouse pieces, each winning several games. We then moved on to Martian Chess -- also an Icehouse game -- where I won. By this point, xirpha had arrived; we broke out Betrayal At House On The Hill and played with all four of us. Interestingly enough, we stumbled on the one scenario -- out of fifty -- where there is no traitor! Instead, the four of us had to collectively defeat our evil twins, which I am proud to say we managed without sustaining any casualties! Go us! By this point gyades was feeling a bit off so he went to take a nap whilst xirpha taught tawneypup and I how to play Ingenious; the first game was a close win for xirpha (eight points for him, with seven for each of us), whilst the second was a much more dramatic win for tawneypup (eleven points for her, seven for me, one for xirpha. Next up, we played Empire Builders. This was a close game -- and a long one! -- but I managed to achieve a victory! By this point, the lovely wyldekyttin, & unclevlad, as well as the charming emrldgirrl & wiktowasichu had arrived! We introduced them to the now-infamous Bag of Nouns, which was a hit! I teamed up with wyldekyttin and unclevlad against the rest... but, alas, we were undone! At the end of the game, we were behind three points!We had a little time to chat and schmooze before we needed to head out to catch the midnight showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. My dear friends, I am proud to say that your favourite Nomad is a Rocky virgin no longer! Before the show, us virgins were rounded up and made to mimic barnyard animals having an orgasm -- my turkey garnered great laughs... and came in second only to the walrus! The show itself was lots of fun! The shadow cast was excellent and came equipped with very elaborate props! Of course, I have no basis for comparison... but
tawneypup has seen half a dozen such productions of Rocky -- and she thinks that this one was the best! Originally, we had planned to dress me up as Magenta for the show; to that end tawneypup had brought a French maid's costume with her. Alas, time did not allow... so there are no compromising photos to share with you, gentle readers! Perhaps next time!The cinema itself was impressive, with a fantastic ambiance and seating at conference-style tables. This permits a full restaurant menu, with food and drink delivered throughout the show. I very much enjoyed the venue and plan to return on future trips to Chicago -- either for Rocky or just for other movies! The admission fees are quite reasonable (only eight dollars), though everyone is required to purchase at least one item from the menu. No complaints there -- tis a good deal! Meanwhile, I owe thanks to
wyldekyttin and unclevlad... as the surreptitiously intercepted and paid the restaurant check for tawneypup and I![****]When the show ended, we bid them farewell... then returned to the Event Horizon to collapse into bed once more, circa three o'clock in the morning!
Day Twelve: (Sun Jan 03) Vacation over -- hop a flight to Japan!
Thus completed the Nomad's Twelve Days of Christmas in the US of A -- all in all, it was an excellent holiday and a wonderful start to the new year! Now I am in Tokai, batteries recharged and eagerly looking forward to the start of our next collaboration meeting tomorrow! The experiment is turning on now so these are some very exciting times!!
[*] Hey, I've got a name to live up to!
[**] Other than
gyades and I, of course![***] And front. And shoulders.
[****] Indeed, I would have thanked them sooner -- and in person! -- except that I did not learn of this until after we had already parted ways for the night!
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A special thanks to you for helping to get the logistics right for this Saturday! It wouldn't have been half as spiffy without you keeping me from veering off wildly in terms of location! ;-D
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And, yes, you are absolutely right! I forgot to mention the two games of Ingenious! I will go rectify that oversight right now!
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Sounds like you were having lots of fun and can't wait to see you back here in Ingurland. Or is it Engrand? I'll stop being accentist now :P
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anyway ... what kind of farm keeps Walri? This from the person who proclaimed only 2 days ago that they were going to start a Bonsai farm and dress ants up in little sheep costumes made of cotton wool!!!
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By the way, Love: Why does a Bonsai farm need ants to be dressed up in sheep costumes (made of cotton wool or otherwise)???
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(Though you should know that Bonsai do sometimes come that large! Next time me meet, remind me to tell you about what happened when I first encountered a large[*] Bonsai in Japan, back in 1999. Tis a short, but amusing, story! *grin*)
[*] i.e., tree-sized
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But, yes, you're right... I beat all the proper barnyard animals properly. I even beat out another improper barnyard animal -- the unicorn!
Loving the Engrish accents, by the way! You are aware of Engrish.com (http://www.engrish.com/), yes? *grin*
Looking forward to seeing you again in two weeks, my friend!!
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Miss you xx
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Sounds like you have been having an excellent time, too! Hooray! *grin*
Miss you, too... though I see that I have an e-mail from you waiting in my InBox to read after I type this! *bounces happily* Yay!!!
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I've sent 2 since you've been in Japan, but wasn't sure if they'd worked or not...
Love xx
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Hurm. It looks as if I have received one of them. I have a text from you, last night, sent just after I e-mailed you and before I went to bed.[*] Before that, though, the most recent text I have from you, my dear, is wishing me a good journey and hoping to hear from me when I landed.[**]
It sounds like one of them slipped past me! Come to think of it, I did notice how odd it was to not hear anything from you when I touched down in Tokyo yesterday! Or when you woke up yesterday morning! Perhaps that's the text that never made it? If you can find it, maybe send again, Sweetheart! I would hate to miss anything from you, Cutie!
Hope you are having a delightful Tuesday, Love!
xxx
[*] That one made me smile lots!
[**] Which, of course, you did! As if I could not ping my darling Jess!