friends in even lower places

a while ago a friend of mine introduced me and some of the rest of our group to a little game called galactic civilizations II. this friend of mine (that we will from here on out refer to as satan), did a little demo for us. it seemed like a fairly interesting game. one of the other guys has always been very interested in turn based games such as this so he began looking at how to upgrade (read: buy a new) his computer. during this phase, and the subsequent technical issues he faced, i found myself purchasing this little slice of evil.

now i have never been too terribly interested in the turn based, take over the country/planet/universe type of games. its not that i didn't like them, just they never drew me in. but something about this game seemed intriguing. so i got it.

this game is evil. pure and simple. once you start it, you cannot turn it off. you will find yourself sitting there for hours on end, frantically trying to remember which planet you were doing what with, as you build and rebuild and upgrade and redesign your military fleets over and over and over again, adding new toys to each successive generation, taking advantage of lower tech civilizations as you colonize planets and put them to work as slave labor in your factories, making deals with pirates and destroying almost-sentient lifeforms between battles for the supremacy of the galaxy.

ok, maybe not all that, but if you get this game, and i highly recommend you do (insert evil laugh here), be prepared to forget about food, sleep, work, family, or anything else of value in your life. at least until the blush is off.

some friend, huh?

continuing the friend theme, i just found out a good friend of mine is in town right now. of course she didn't bother to let me know until she was already here, but what can you do. hopefully we will be able to get together so i can point and stare at her unborn child. ok, maybe not but i am sure i will find something funny to say. or if not, something fairly stupid or inane that will serve to make everyone around me more aware of their intellectual as well as moral superiority. but i guess we will see.

i have become more aware of, and more grateful for, those in this world i can actually call friends. i have made a lot of mistakes, bad choices and horribly glaring errors in my life. somehow, throughout it all, i have managed to find a select few individuals who can get past all the crap and still speak to me. some have even been helpful or dare i say instrumental in changing my life (hopefully for the better). some have done so just by still being mt friend. i know most of them have never heard me say it, and i suspect i never would to their faces, but thank you.

now shut up and let's get back to the game...