Cavalock and The Cat Who Knew Too Much

Dropped by Plaza Singapura the other day cos it was the place where my bank was open during the Lockdown. I mean it was the nearest one from my home so the Baker-at-Home and I took this opportunity to drop by Japanese grocery store Iroha Mart to stock up on some supplies. Unfortunately  still no Japanese bread flour for the Baker-at-Home. But I did spot some pretty fancy booze that were way outta my price range. Beer from Karuizawa! We were there couple years ago!

One of the interesting by-products or effects of the Lockdown are the weirder than usual dreams I been having. Gawd knows I have always had crazy and often 'action-packed' dreams since I was a kid but last week was the first time I had a theme song in a dream. It was 'She's a Beauty' by The Tubes and I was in a freakin' sitcom. I shit you not. There were other equally weird bits but I can't remember them.

And speaking of more weird stuff, you know us humans aren't the only ones affected by the Lockdown when this is the scene unfolding before your very eyes. So that evening I was waiting for my Grab ride when I saw this neighbourhood cat just inches behind a seemingly oblivious pigeon. The cat actually did a double take when it saw me! Was this the equivalent of ninja-zooming a meeting in the animal kingdom? Like it was actually surprised to see me. Was it talking to the pigeon? Then it just locked eyes with me. Now we all know you are not supposed to avert you eyes when caught in a death stare with a wild animal. So for about a whole minute, we just looked at each other and we both tried not to make any sudden movements. I only gingerly managed to snap that single shot before my ride arrived!

Cavalock and The Lockdown Role-Playing Escapade

Like I said in an earlier post, this is a pretty good time to be a gaming geek. While the nasty jocks are caught in a helpless fetal position, trapped in the knowledge that their precious bars and sporting events are either closed or cancelled, us geeks are still gaming like there's no tomorrow. So the media has recently been going on bout how gamers are entertaining themselves online and there was an article in the local papers that mentioned more folks than ever playing role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons online.

There's a site called Roll20 that lets you meet up with your friends and together with the characters you all created on another site D&D Beyond. At the moment I am in two Dungeons and Dragons role-playing campaigns where we meet up online (we talk via Discord) on those two sites and spend around three to four hours per session. I'm not running the campaigns as in I'm not the Dungeon Master, I'm one of the players going through the adventures and it's really fun. I have been into Dungeons and Dragons since I was a teenager but never really played the game until years later as a working adult. On my shelves are so many Dungeons and Dragons as well as other role-playing books, magazines, gaming aids that I have bought and collected over the years.

Right now I'm putting together a horror campaign based on another game system. First time running one. It's a narrative system so it's more immersive storytelling than fighting creatures and I'll be running it, most likely after Lockdown as I prefer running a narrative game in real life than online.

Over a month since the Lockdown started and the Baker-at-Home is still cooking up a storm. And that means it's time for another home-cooked college! Oh, plus it's our wedding anniversary today!

Cavalock and The Curse of The Buzzless Booze

It took a Lockdown and a worldwide pandemic to make me finally take a swill of alcohol-free beer. And while it definitely wasn't the best thing I ever drank, it wasn't as vile as I thought it would be. It tastes kinda like beer with the added bitterness and all that, but minus the subsequent buzz which is the whole highlight for me. Man, that is some weird shit! Now the only reason I drank the alcohol-free beer was cos it came free with the food I ordered online. I can't understand why would anyone pay that much money for alcohol-free beer in the first place. What freakin' purpose does alcohol-free beer serve in the grand food chain of life? I mean, if you want an alcohol-free drink, there's a gazillion other cheaper and better-tasting ones out there.

Yah, so we are all still in Lockdown mode and the Baker-at-Home has been cooking up a storm. But we still got to order out and we had dinner from Mustard Seed two weeks in a row. Thank gawd we also had some really great REAL beer and sake with our orders. The Baker-at-Home camped at the iMac just before 10am and managed to book a totally awesome weekend dinner. Good hearty restaurant food that reminds you of home.

Cavalock and The Revenge of The Lockdown Nerds

So I'm thinking this whole global lockdown situation is kinda like a real-life Revenge of the Nerds. Y'know that old classic comedy movie from the 80s bout college nerds getting bullied by the nasty sports jocks. Today it's not about college but you got the nerds who are more or less 'equipped' to handle the lockdown cos they got their books, games and hobbies as well as other forms of indoor entertainment to keep them occupied. While the nasty jocks are all moaning and groaning bout all their precious sports events being cancelled and their bars closing. Geddit?

Anyway here's another home-cooked meal for the Lockdown photo album. The Baker-at-Home made some dashi rice with salmon the other day. An excellent recreation of one of our favourite Tokyo meals. A really lovely meal. It's usually our last breakfast at Narita Airport before taking the morning flight back. For creatures of habit like us, it's almost ritualistic if you ask me. Hah!

In my last post, I showed the big big box of miniatures that I bought. Here's what I managed to build over the weekend. Wasn't an easy paint job even though it wasn't the first time I was painting this  creature. But it was incredibly satisfying to hold that fully painted miniature in my hand. Painted another similar figure couple months ago. I could just field one but I wanted to field two of them in the game I'm playing Age of Sigmar, or at least hope to continue playing once the Lockdown ends.

 

Cavalock and The Guilt-Free Lockdown Spluge

A little treat for myself last week! Ordered my favourite gnocchi from Cicheti, that's like a five minute drive away so it arrived nice and hot. Been awhile since we dined there. Did it really take a pandemic to rekindle a food craving? Hah! Missed them forest mushrooms and truffle ricotta, all so deliciously creamy. This is the kinda meals that make a Lockdown bearable although the Baker-at-Home and I are doing alright. We have been splurging a bit on delivery meals these days. You thought you could save some money during a Lockdown but you can't.

So me and the guys, all six of us, we were supposed to head to Indianapolis in the US at the end of July for the gaming convention Gen Con 2020 but for obvious reasons, we had to cancel it. As of today, 8th May, it's still happening. Unfortunately, everything was already paid in advance so right now, we are trying to get back every cent we can. I mean, between the random assaults on Asians in the US and the virus running rampant in the country, it's just crazy to be anywhere near there now or anytime soon. And I haven't even mentioned the possible quarantine periods we have to look forward to there as well as coming back home. Our 4-day convention could very likely become a month-long (mis)adventure!

Out of the six of us going, two of us have been there twice already, the rest haven't, it would had been their first time there. Damn, I had an absolutely wonderful time there, back in 2014 and 2016. But seriously, at the convention we were all packed like sardines, all 70,000 of us. This is the kinda convention where thousands of players sit across each other to play games, pass cards, roll dice, move miniatures, you get the idea. It is definitely not the kinda place you can practise safe-distancing. Oh well, it's really out of our hands.

We are all doing whatever we can cope with the present situation. And with almost another month of Lockdown to go, I got myself a big box of Games Workshop miniatures to build and paint! These are to supplement my existing Gloomspite Gitz army. Costed me just over $200 even though it was on sale. Wish me luck!