4 JD's and a Wedding. Part 1

So last weekend I travelled to Rome to take part in my GM's Wedding . . . I had to I failed my dodge roll. I'm kidding of course. As they both are some my closest friends so there was no way I would miss it and when I was asked to be a Groomsman I was extremely honoured. I flew out on sunday morning into Ciampino Airport and got a Taxi straight to the hotel I'd be staying. Unfortunately the Giro de Italia was running so there were a lot of diversions but the driver did make every effort to get us there as quick as possible.

Once I got to the hotel I checked in straight away and tried to make contact with my friends who were there already. The happy couple were there since the day before, but when I got through to them they were already out with a native guide that worked with my GM. And unfortunately I had know Idea where anything was as we couldn't access the map we had done up online. So I decided to wait for the Bestman and his Girlfriend to arrive, they were staying in the same hotel. Since they were flying with AerLingus they were flying into Da Vinci Airport and would have to get a train to Rome. I ended up watching Italian dubbed Baywatch and KnightRider and napped for a bit.

Eventually my GM made plans with me for Dinner and we went out to find a restuarant. We ended up in a nice little place that did Pizza and Pasta, I had a Pizza with sausage and Potato . . . yes I said Potato. After the Dinner they had to head back to their Hotel as their son was tired but fortunately the Bestman was just heading in to meet with us, so we ended up looking for a bar that was still open. And that was a challenge in itself but finally we found a place called Mad Jacks. It had everything we were looking for. . . a Guinness sign above the door which was still open. After a couple of Rounds we headed home but with a couple of Souvenier glasses.

The next day I headed over to the Hotel Napoleon to pick up the Grooms suit as he was going to stay with us that night and the Bestmans Girlfriend would stay with the Bride to keep her company. When I arrived there, the Brides Family were just getting in so I got to hang with them for awhile which was fun. I then returned to my Hotel just as the Best Man and his Girlfriend had finall gotten up and were ready to go exploring. We walked as far as the Colosseum and were contemplating trying to go inside as we couldn't see any admissions signs when a girl came up to us asking if we were english speakers, when we said yes she told us about the tour she worked for. It was a good pitch, she explained the prices €12 admittance & €10 for the tour which was the last one of the day, The tour itself would be from a fluent english speaking native who had visual aids to help people get an idea of the past view, they also threw in another tour around the ruins of Rome which would be done after the Colosseum tour and for these reasons it was definitely value for money but there was one more thing to tip the scales in her favour . . . we would be able to skip the queue which was 45 mins long at that point. Sold to the Lady with the American accent. She really should just have started with that one.

The Tour was great it pointed out a lot of facts that weren't readily available inside the Colosseum (and there was plenty of info and signs everywhere). We were walked around by the Guide who was Italian but had great english and he had no problem pointing out the more gruesome details and morbid facts. And then when his part was concluded we had a half hour before the second tour to walk around for ourselves and take photos and the like. Actually here are some from the Colosseum showing the reconstructed Arena and the Gate of the Dead.

Before you ask I dont know who the girl in the first photo is but she was too cute to crop out. . . as mentioned before in previous posts, I am a Skeeve . . . don't Judge me!

Due to Time constraints we didn't opt for the second tour. We were on a mission . . . to find a Bone Church. The Best Man and his Girlfriend had heard about a Cappuchin Crypt which was below Santa Maria della Immacolata Concezione so we decided to try get to see that. Along the way we stopped for a brief bit in a fetish shop . . .


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. . . After navigating our way to the crypt we arrived just before it was due to close, so we figured they'd come back later (I was flying home the morning after the wedding) and we made our way back to the hotel. At one point I could see a huge fountain down a street that I had mistakenly thought was the Trevi Fountain ( I couldn't think of the name of it to find it on the map) so we took a detour to have a closer look. It was in fact The Fountain of the Naids at the Piazza della Republica. It was a fantastic area, the fountain was amazing and the spray from the water meant you felt cool and refreshed. On our was around the fountain we saw a church across the way that we decided to stick our heads into. After a few minutes of looking around in hushed reverence we left as they closed the church for the day.

And I shall continue from here tomorrow.

And why the hell not!?!

An Escort . . .Me?

So a couple of weeks ago I was asked by a friend to help out at a fashion show in aid of the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind. Now the cause is a great one and I would do pretty much anything I can to help out a friend, so I agreed to fairly quickly.

My friend was asked as the shop we're getting our suits from for his wedding were donating the use of their dresses. Since I showed up in my utilikilt for my fitting I made an impression and they asked him to see if I’d show off their formal Kilt ware and escort one of the models in the show. A chance to wear a kilt and walk around with a beautiful woman, I told him I’d have to think about . . . for a second! He gave me the details for the night which I made a note of for later.

The night of the show came around and I headed straight from work out to Balbriggan to meet him at the Hotel. After a ride on the LUAS and a quick train ride I made my way to his house as the show was going to be later than we had originally been told. So I got to hang out with his Fiancé and himself for around an hour, talking about the upcoming Wedding and the other things going on in their lives at the moment.

We made our way from his house to the shop to get changed for the Show, and that’s when things started to go wrong. First off once we got into the shop the owner had one look at me and said the formal Kilt they had gotten sent over wouldn’t fit. The one they got in must have been for a midget. The shoes were a size 6 and the jacket sleeves stopped at my elbows. I wouldn’t even risk trying the Kilt on, for fear of castrating myself.

Then we were told that the organisers of the show just wanted to have us standing of to the side of the stage and not really involved at. Also instead of a section of the show featuring all the bridal dresses they only wanted to use her Debs dresses. This was quickly shot down as the Owner pulled the organisers aside and made it clear that the shop was called Balbriggan “Bridal” and she was doing them a favour by giving the use of the dresses.

When we first got there I had performed a quick scan of the models and called dibs on one of the girls who I liked the most. Strictly speaking I really didn't need to since he's engaged and getting married in a fortnight and all but I still followed protocol and declared it, granted I knew nothing would come of it as they all looked like they’d only date guys that looked like a shaved monkey after being kicked through a TopShop.

Anyway we went into the main hall to speak with his Parents and get a quick drink before we were needed. One JD & Coke and a Pint later and we get called to the back to sort out the running order. In the end they had three of the Models in the Brides Dresses and we were to escort them onto the stage flick out their trains as they went on to the stage and escort them back once they had finished.

Of the three Models wearing the Brides Dresses one of them was the girl I had called dibs on. Straight away I was thinking “Bonus!” The organiser says to me (pointing to one of the other Models) “You take her up first, then your friend can take her up (pointing to the one I had called Dibs on) and then you can come back and take me up. All I could think was “But I called Dibs!?”

So I walked out with the first Model, arm in arm left foot forward and all that. Helped her up the steps to the stage and flicked out her train and then escorted her back out of the hall; it went fairly smoothly and as we got back the next couple went out. She took off like a horse out of the gate and ran about five steps ahead of my friend both ways. He was a little put out but all I could think was “Well that's what you get!” And then I set of again with the final Bride. Once we were done we had another chat with his folks and then ran back into the shop to change before heading home. So all in all it was a good night, granted not everything went as planned but in the end I was hanging out with 15 Models,

And why the hell not!?!

My Gaming History 1

Since things are a little slow till the Wedding in Rome (not mine) I've to post some of the finer moments of Gaming Sessions I've played in. I have for the most part be playing games with the same circle of friends for 7 or 8 years. Mainly we have played White Wolf systems, Vampire and Mage, but we have also had a few games from d20, B.E.S.M., Marvel Universe RPG, amongst others. There were usually a few good moments in every session but occasionally there have been those moments that you can look fondly upon with a gleam in your eye and that warm feeling in cockles of you heart.

This story takes place during a Vampire Campaign were I was playing a Gangrel. I had spent a lot of time with the GM planning and creating a fairly well balanced Character, a decent history and a good plot hook for future games. One thing that came up during the process was the issue of the Gangrel Clan Flaw: They gain an animal feature every time they frenzy. This could be things such as wolf or bat like ears, cats eyes, claws or fangs, patches of fur, etc. On top of that for every 5 frenzies they lose a point from a social attribute. Given most Gangrel are prone to frenzy they can become patchwork monstrosities that are just as big a threath to the Masquerade as the Nosferatu or Tzimisce can be.

I had decided I didn't want to have to deal with this so I pumped up my conscience and willpower to give me as good a chance as possible. Now the GM didn't quite like this idea, he thought that was half the fun of being Gangrel, the chance to be a powerhouse, running on instinct not reason. When I told him I didn't want to frenzy he said he'd make me in fact not only would he make me frenzy, he'd make me want to frenzy. The game progress as I had expected given what I had went through with the GM. He had a solid idea of how he wanted the game to go and could improvise his way out of most situations we had trapped him with. It's the basic rule, no matter how many options you think you have presented to the party they'll still come up with something that not only is something you didn't think of but also buggers the rest of your plans. But he rolled with the punches and was able to keep the momentum of the game going, mainly this came from not using dice for combat resolution, instead he used Rock, Paper, Scissors.

As the game went on I had narrowly avoided a couple of Rötschreck Frenzies, due to fire or other stresses and thought I had everything well in hand. This is when the GM unleashed his plan. We had been sent to examine an underground base that was controlled by Sabbat Tremere . As we went through the base the leads we had proved fruitless and we were getting no where but slowly. As we went through the lower levels we entered rooms filled with corpses, dissected and partially dissected, of one or two clans mainly Gangrel. I announced to the party that I felt uncomfortable with the surroundings pointing to the gurneys. After two or three more rooms with more bodies but less parts therin we finally open a door which has a "Surgeon" "operating" on one of the bodies in front of us.

Straight away I say "I kill him!" to the protests of the rest of the party. They gave valid arguments like we needed the information and so on but I was determined to kill him. After about 5 minutes of out of character discussion I relent and say fine I won't kill him. But I turn to the GM and say "I reckon that'll require a frenzy roll." He smiled and said "Yes it would" and we did a quick check against each other. Just a quick point on using R,P,S as a resolution system. If you are using it make sure that you don't, as my GM did, always start with the same one. (His was scissors in case you're curious.) So we engaged, whilst I look away from the GM towards my friends, 1, 2, 3 and throw paper and smile and say "Oh dear I lose" and quickly and violently proceed to kill the "Doctor". The GM and myself were laughing maniacally as my character went on a half hour rampage through 5 War Szlachta and was eventually found clawing at a door. After a few minutes of reveling in the ramage I finally told the party how to immobilise me so we could move on safely. My memory of the rest of the game is vague compared to the lead up but it's safe to say we got through the rest of the compound and back to our base.

After the session the GM and I sat down to decide what animal feature I had gained. After a lot of discussion I managed to persuade the GM to allow me to take a social trait as opposed to physical one. We decided that my character would now have to circle the ground 3 times before sitting down, be it a just on the floor or even walking around the chair at meetings. The only condition the GM put on me was I had to Roleplay this. So at the first session after my frenzy I had said nothing to the rest of the party, but everytime we mentioned we were sitting I made a point of standing up turning around in a circle 3 time and then sitting back down. I think the first 2 times this went mostly unnoticed but on the 3rd time one of the guys copped it figured out why I was doing it and proceeded to fall out of his chair laughing.

What can I say I dedicated to my Roles,

And why the hell not!?!!

What happens in Prague goes on Blogspot. . .

So I was in Prague on the Weekend for a Friend's Stag Night. I had been moaning about it to some of my friends before hand as I was to miss two or three events that I really would have liked to have been able to make. And I must apologise to them because the weekend was fantastic.

We flew out on Friday and I love flying, if you've read the posts on the Triple Threat you'll already know this, and the flight itself was fairly smooth. We went by AerLingus and it was a short flight with no Movies that I was aware of . . . I can't say much as I read an Anne Rice novel that I picked up just before the gate in the Airport. It was Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana, the second in the trilogy and it was a good read that I reckon I finished with half an hour to spare.

Once we arrived we got to the hotel drop our gear and went straight out for food and a few drinks. And drink we did. After the exchange rate we were getting rounds for 7 people for €8. We had one of the locals join us for a bit and we had an interesting convertsation as he was fairly well on for the night when we got there, was drinking steady enough while we were talking and he kept switching back and forth between English and Czech when his english failed. Once we were done we headed back to the hotel, though not before I picked up a souvenier glass, and rested for what would be a busy day.

Saturday we woke and had breakfast in the hotel before heading out for some sightseeing. We went as far as Wenceslas Square and went for a tour around the National Museum which was very interesting. There was a good combination of historical, political, zoological & paleontology exhibits. It was hilarious to see one of the guys on the Stag turn around a corner of the stairwell and throw up the Horns because as he said "I see Skulls". After the Museum we travelled by Metro to see the area around Charles Bridge and meet up with the Stag's Father who had gone out on a tour by himself as he is visually impaired. He had contacted a group that provide assistance for the visually impaired before we flew out. His guide was a lovely girl named Eva who once hearing that we were mainly Metal heads on the Stag arrange for her Boyfreind to meet us and show us were the best clubs to go were.

We went for a meal with Eva & her boyfriend and some of the lads got to try Boar for the first time. I've had it several times before but this time I had it in a Goulash which was a first for me. After the meal we seperated and again and most of us went for a tour through the Museum of Torture Devices which was an eyeopener. Some of those pieces had us wincing in sympathy. Three floors of metal and wooden objects to cause pain and humiliation to criminals and free thinkers alike. Once we had finished with that we did a little shopping and then headed back to the hotel.

After a short rest we headed out with our main objective being to go to "Hells Bells" for a night of Drink and Metal (Simples Tastes. lol.) Once we located the club we got a bite to eat in "Corleones", an Italian Restaurant just around the corner. The meal was fantastic, the portions were huge, the atmosphere was great and most importantly . . . the waitresses were cute. The only downside was we weren't in their section but they walked by enough.

We headed back to the club and managed to get a table close to the bar and speakers. The music was at a good level that we could hear the songs and still hear each other. The only downside was that the sound system was a laptop running winamp with a huge selection of tracks, which was cool, but the "DJ" would search randomly go through the list to find an Artist and then play an entire album straight. On the plus side it did mean you heard some of the tracks that weren't as big hits but the down side being if you didn't like the band you had a whole album to sit through. The decor was cool, they had what looked like duvets on the ceiling painted with album covers, protraits of KISS on the walls and a mural over the walls and doors for the toilets.

We drank, sang and chatted amongst some of the locals then went to the hotel to drop off the Stag's Father before heading back for some of the more traditional Stag night activities. From the hotel we got in a couple of Taxis and . . .

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. . . we fell onto the street at 06:30 to be called over by a street vendor with her Sirens call of "Breakfast". On sale were Keilbasa Hotdogs, Burgers & Chicken Burgers and of course Beer. One of the lads asked if it was ok to drink in the street and the vendor replied "Drinking in street is no Problem, Boxing in Street that Problem " [sic]. We went back to the hotel some walked some got a Taxi but either way it was a short enough trip. We slept past breakfast and checked out around 12:00, well most of us.

The hotel were nice enough to let us leave our bags with them so we could do a bit more sightseeing before a taxi back to the airport. Once we were there we kill some time with some "Pizza to Go" (The Spaceballs fans are laughing right now I guarantee it!) and then flew home I can't say much more about the flight home as I slept through most of it. That is a rare thing so I was really tired for that to happen, the last time I slept on a plane was on my first flight out to Seattle back in 2000 and even then it was only for when Tin Cup was playing. Costner films are better than NyQuil for me.

We landed to come back home to some typical Irish Weather. Rain, lots of it, coming straight down and kind of to the left. My final review of the stag was this: "This Stag was brought to you by the Letter 'A' for 'Awesome'!"

I think some of the lads are planning another trip over. . .

And why the hell not?!!

Last of the Triple Threat

So I'm back home now. I had no internet access in Buffalo so I didn't get a chance to blog at all.
I was over there to visit with family mostly so I won't go on too much about it and there won't be any photos. I arrived in Buffalo on Wednesday of last week at 22:20 to be met by my Dad and one of my cousins. As we were walking out I get told we're heading for a few drinks before we head home. (I'm sure my Dad's arm had to be twisted to agree to that) So we stopped off in a pub fairly close to where I'd be staying and had a few drinks.

The next day we did a bit of shopping in the Walden Galleria Mall and I had to stop myself from buying Rock Band 2 hardware. There were a lot of things I wanted but didn't think I could get them in my bag. In the end I bought my self a Transformers top (Decepticons Logo of course) in Hot Topic. We got home and chilled for a bit before going out to a restaurant for something to eat with a couple of cousins. It was a nice meal and there was entertainment with a guy performing Frank Sinatra classics as well as other songs.

On Friday we had a party at a housewarming and it was a great night. There was food and drink a plenty and we had a guitar brought along to have a small bit of a sing song. Unfortunately we hadn't brought our songbooks so we were limited to what we could play and sing. We did manage a few tunes both sung and with music, and then just sung and then we handed it over to the Americans who I think managed one complete song before the night was over. We had to leave earlier than I'd have liked but our ride had to get home to be up early in the morning. But I think I can safely say a good time was had by all.

Saturday started with a trip to the Flying Bison Brewery which was a fun trip and educational. I didn't sample anything myself as I don't drink Lagers or Ales but my Dad and Cousins had a great time. One of my Cousins bought a Half Gallon bottle known as a Growler (I still hear Lorraine Kelly every time thats mentioned) which had to be refilled before we left. When we got home we had some BBQ'd steaks for dinner which was lovely the Cousin who was cooking and myself had ours rare and everyone else had their's medium to well done. (So we got the biggest juiciest bits off the grill . . . Drool!) After dinner my Cousin and my Dad both fell asleep even though one of my other cousins had wanted to take us out for a few drinks that night.

Sunday was Easter Sunday and we had a late lunch with our Family before my folks had to head for their flight home. I saw them off from the house and then tried to make arrangements with more cousins for something to do but in the end they just dropped up to the house and we had a quiet night in watching TV. If you haven't seen or heard of it check out Breaking Bad because it's class. It has Hal from Malcolm in the Middle as a Chemistry Teacher / Cancer patient that starts cooking drugs to make sure his family is taken care of after he's gone. I only caught one episode but it was great! Also I passed around a book called the Virgin Project which is an illustrated collection of a load of peoples first sexual encounters. It is a great read and if you can pick one up I highly reccomend it. (www.thevirginproject.com). I picked up a copy for the Gaelcon Charity Auction so if you're there you should bid on it.

Monday was my day to fly home so I packed my bags and watched some TV till my ride came. I pretty much just went through security and got a snack to eat before boarding the plane at the Gate. There was one slight snag. As I headed towards the gate I realised I had left one of my carry ons at the check in desk. It was one of the items I had picked up for the charity auction and completely irreplaceable to me. To make matters worse I had no identification marked on it. I spoke to the girl at the gate and asked if she could contact the check in desk to see if it was still there but she just told me that I'd have to check myself with 5 minutes before the gate closed. Fortunately someone in Delta was doing a better job than I and noticed the pack after I left and had it sent to the Gate so before I had to run off through security one of the other girls at the gate asked what I had left behind and pulled it out from behind her. So a big thanks to Delta required here. If you want to know what was left behind go to Gaelcon this year.

The rest of the trip was smooth sailing. I flew into JFK. Had a dinner before my flight home, strolled through security and only had about a 30 minute wait at the gate. The flight itself was quick and I slept in short naps through out the flight missing most of Marley and Me but I did wae when for some reason they started playing Inkheart which looked really cool until they stopped it before the end because we had to land. So there's a little bit of closure outstanding.
I mean why start it if you won't have time to finish . . . really! I walked through customs with no hassel and was met in the Airport by my Mom. And that's it the last bit of my Triple Threat.

All in all it was great I had a lot of fun & Chaos and still was able to relax by the end.

Now I'm looing at hitting Dragon*Con in September.

And why the hell not?!

My run in with the fuzz!

I've travelled down to Biloxi, Mississippi to meet up with Nazo, a friend of mine I know only through the internet. We've been chatting through MSN, AIM, have written letters and had video chats so ther was only one thing left to do, actually meet. So when I decided I was going to the States again I knew I had to try work her in. It was a little out of the way but doable so I gave it a shot. After Seattle I flew to Gulfport/Biloxi Airport via Atlanta to meet up with her (That brings it up to 4 states I've been in during this trip). I had booked into a hotel as I had no idea what we were going to be able to do so I thought it would be a bit much to try Couchsurf if I might be bringing a friend back to hang out.

What I didn't know before I got there is that Nazo was still stationed on an Airforce base and because of the different phases they go through she wasn't allowed of base to meet up. So I had to be escorted by some of her wingmen onto the base before I could see her. This should have been grand but they had a warped sense of humour and decided to mess around about at the gate. We eventually got in and went to some tables to eat a pizza we had brought in and were about half way through when this Jeep with a pintle mount on the back of the flatbed pulls up with it's headlights on high beam right in our faces and two people get out. Because of the messing at the gate, security had called in to get us checked out. There I was sitting at a table getting the third degree off of a MP and a DOD civilian officer. I was a little nervous because the honest answer to my purpose of being there was to meet up with a 19 year old girl I had never met before that I only know through the internet and give her candies laced with alcohol. I think I could have only had a worse chance if I was waving a hankerchief and asking if it smelt like chloroform.

After a few minutes of questioning they seemed happy with the answers and left us to what was left of our meal. We had a bit of a laugh about it and probably about 30 mins later they had to escort me off as they had to get back to their barracks before curfew. I got back to the hotel and pretty much fell straight asleep. It was the first chance to get a decent nights sleep I had since I got here. When I woke up I got a quick breakfast and then weighed up my options for the day before meeting up with Nazo again at 5. The only things I knew about the surrounding area was there was a beach that wasn't open yet because of the devastation left behind by Catriona, a Casino right by the hotel or a hooters bar across the road. I ended up staying in my room blogging and chatting with friends as it was too hot outside for me. Irish skin does not fair too well in the sun and this was soo much stronger than what we get back home.

Once I got a text from Nazo to say she was finished with her class I grabbed a cab back to the Airforce base and again had to wait to be escorted on. At least this time I got to spend much more time with her. We just hung out on the base and helped one of her wingmen to make a meal. It was a little weird to be on the base, constantly getting little reminders of the rules they have to follow and the like. But when in Rome and all that. So basically the night was spent talking with any one who came by and eventually it was time for me to leave again. We walked back to the gate with one of her wingmen, she rang her Mom and put me onto her to say a few words as Gaeilge and I'll have to kill her for that. I have to say by the time we got to the gate I found myself extremely saddened to be leaving. It had me in a low mood till this morning, when I got to chat with one of the guys back home who had me laughing so bad it just put the whole day in a new light. I owe him for that.

So now I'm back in the Airport waiting to fly out to Buffalo to visit my relatives out there.
I'm going to finish off with a couple of pics of Nazo & her wingmen and one of Nazo & me.


And why the hellnot?!

Triple Threat Update.

Here some of the photos left from my Seattle leg of the Triple Threat.



One of the things I need to do is thank the girl I stayed with while I was in Seattle. She was a great host and made me feel so welcome. I really wish I had more time to hang with her instead of the flying visit. But it was a great time regardless. Once again my fondest thanks and regards go out to her.





These are shots of the Water Wall across from the Westlake centre. I managed to make it through with all my gear. I wasn't completely dry at the end but I didn't get soaked the hardest parts were the corners.



Here is a couple of shots of "The Mecca of Man Skirts" That's right I went to the Utilikilts Store. It was great to see all the types of Kilts they sell. Nick (pictured) managed to hook me up. Gods bless him.



















These are a few landscape shots I took during my wanders round.

1. The Space Needle.

2. The Paramount Cinema (Where I was Yojimbo back in the day).







And why the hell not?!