Going Home!

I'm heading home again. I haven't spent a weekend in Cali yet, that isn't a bad thing. This weekend is GP Phoenix. The last time there was a GP in Phoenix, I day two'ed it with a Ray Powers Special. In an Illusions/Donate environment, I played WW and ultimately got owned by Hunted Wumpus/Armadillo cloak. Meh...oh well, I wrecked Donate decks.

This time around it's Ravnica Sealed with Cold Snap draft day 2. I'm good at sealed so I hope to day 2 it yet again.

It's all in the cards.

Buca di Bojo!

YaY! I was lucky enough to spend some time with the Bojanowskis last night. I was invited over for some food and gaming. Had some pretty amazing Mexican food and got to talk some shop with Dan. Afterwards we played a couple games.

Tsuro - Metro lite. This is Wizkids first board game and it bears a very very strong resemblance to Metro.

Blokus - This game was hella fun. It has a certain Tetris feel to it and players can plan turns in advance. Of course, all of that could come crumbling down by one persons play.

Overall it was a great night. I like hanging out with the Bojanowskis and it was good to see familiar faces here in SoCal.

Fantasy Football - 2006

So I flew back to Arizona this past weekend to see Marnie and draft in my dad's Fantasy Football League. It's a $100 buy in. You run the standard players. The only different rule is that if you draft a quarterback, you get all the quarterbacks for that team. For instance, if you draft Warner, you get Leinhart too. There were 15 teams and each has 2 slots for QBs (1 starting 1 bench). I think it's a nifty rule and doesn't screw someone who might get "warner'ed".

Here is the team I drafted -

QB - Jake Plummer
QB - Rex Grossman
RB - Carnel Williams
RB - Duece McAllister
RB - Ryan Moats
REC - Tony Gonzalez
REC - Plaxico Burress
REC - Jerry Porter
REC -
REC - Sinorice Moss
K - David Akers
K - Phil Dawson
DEF - Seahawks
DEF - Browns

I can't remember who the other receiver is, I'll find him. As you might have guessed, I got stuck picking 15th. My 1st/2nd round picks were Plummer and Carnel Williams. I am not at all happy with this steaming pile of players, but there is a lot of potential. I had Chris Sims as my backup QB (which would have been money) but he's on the same bye week as Plummer. My dad stole Mike Bell in Round 5, so my sleeper was gone. And no Joe, my other receivers don't include Justin McCareins.

What you see when the Pillsbury Doughboy bends over...

So I've been in North County for almost a week now and I have made some observations, specifically where things might be different than Arizona.

- There are a ton of donut shops. Like every other stripmall has a donut shop in it. They are all over the place. Do So. Californians love donuts that much that they can justify having this many donut shops.

- The humidity is killing.

- Still don't have internet at home.

- And best...I saw Bojo yesterday. It was good to see a familiar face.

Ok...I'm here

I made it and am at my second day of work. Well, it's not really work. Boy did I miss doing this type of job on a regular basis in an office. I'm having a lot of fun already.

I found a place to live. Evidently, I am now living "in the Valley". Everyone either is or once was a skater. My roomates are cool. I will be getting internet at the house sometime this week (they have to take back the wireless router because it was broken and I'm going through WoW withdrawal). One of my roommates works for a TV station owned by Cox Cable, so I'll be getting cable in my room, at a discounted rate with every...single...channel Cox has to offer. I may never leave my room again. On Sundays, everyone gathers and someone cooks and we socialize. It's like something out of a movie.

I have to readjust myself to the humidity. The Jeep doesn't like the hills in North County. It's having troubles going up the hills. Hopefully the $700 I spent to fix some stuff won't go for not. I also have to get a mattress/boxspring. Right now i have a double-stacked air mattress. It's not very comfortable at all, but I have a plan.

And it's not really a job. It's a hobby where I have a desk and I get paid.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go find an abandoned house with an empty pool.

The Girard Goes to California

First off, I would like to say congratulations to Chuck on his recent opportunities. I hope things really work out for him and I'm looking for some great games coming out of that department of Sony.

I have a bit of an announcement of my own. I will be starting a new job on Monday, August 21st. This position will require me to relocate to southern California, specifically the Carlsbad area. Like Chuck, I will be a Game Designer as well in my new position. My first assignment when I get there will be to work on a game based on a popular MMORPG. It will be fun to once again work with my friend Mr. Bojanowski.

This means that a chapter is closing for me. I will no longer be an employee of Decipher. I've thought about what I wanted to say in this space. I could go out with a bang and just smear the name all over the internet. Confirm suspicions, blast business practices...the list could go on. I'm not going to. I'm going to say that some of the most influential people in my life and my experiences with them have come from working at Decipher. This company gave me my big break in the industry and I will never forget that, however it is time for me to move on.

If anyone needs to get a hold of me, I'm at dvader20 (at) yahoo (dot) com. The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades.

Human Version of the Female NE dance.

this is where they pulled it from

Foreshadowing

There might be some more information regarding this and a certain Free Agent game designer in the coming days. Stay Tuned.