On the Second Quarter of 2025
A few days late here, but I’ve had a busy weekend! I was in NYC for the actual solstice, but I’ve had time to collect my thoughts on the past three months and am somewhat pleased with this quarterly update. I’ve made some progress on some goals, less progress on others, but this is still a good way for me to check in on myself, prove that I am actually doing things, and hold myself accountable. 3 out of 9 are done, 3 out of 9 have significant progress, and the last 3 need some work.
Read 25 books - Still super in progress! My TBR keeps growing (I should probably make a blog post on that and the books I’ve read this year…). I made the choice to re-read the Eragon series in hopes of starting the latest book, “Murtagh”. It took me about a month to get through Eragon, and though I’ve started the second book in the series, I’m only about 100 pages in despite being over a month into reading it. I’ve had other priorities. I’m currently on book 18 out of 25 for the year though - not bad!
Visit one new NHP (bonus points if it’s in a new state) - Not yet, but maybe in August? We did add a picture from New Jersey to our photo map! It just wasn’t from a new NHP.
Re-start learning a language, preferably Spanish (DONE)- Well. It still isn’t Spanish. I’m on level 18 of French on Duolingo and I’m pretty thankful that I remember so much from middle school and high school. Conjugations are tough. Everything in the language having a gender is tougher.
Finish a Legacy game (DONE) - We finished Ticket to Ride and My City, and we’ve moved on to a legacy version of Betrayal at Huse on the Hill. We haven’t been able to play in a while due to our crazy summer schedules, but Chris and Matt and Brian and I have a game night on the books for the next month or so. We won’t finish the third any time soon, but it’ll be done before the end of the year.
Get the website to 1000 views (DONE) - I’m dumb and can’t read analytics right. For a little “behind the scenes” action, Squarespace (who we use to run this website) has analytics for lots of data points, broken down by day over the past month by default. I was looking at that and not the year to date. We’ve had over 1,500 unique page views so far this year! Thank you!! We’ve also had over 700 site visits and 424 unique visitors. That means this is reaching a lot of people. To those who find our nook on the net: welcome.
Do something for Dad - still haven’t made a whole lot of progress on this. I need to seriously buckle down on this one and get it going before Dad’s birthday. The don’t do benches in OCMD anymore. I guess they got too popular. My current thoughts are a leaf on their “beautification committee” tree or tree planting donations with the Arbor Day Foundation. Maybe both.
Travel to a new state - not really in the works as of right now. I’d love to travel more, but with work ramping up and Brian’s job getting ever-busier, we’ll see if this happens this year.
Write more - Three months ago I thought I’d write a book. I never got started but instead I’m the Dungeon Master of our latest D&D campaign, so I’m writing tons. Story threads, character backstories, puzzles, battles, you name it. I’m writing all right, just not exactly something I’d get published.
Take the ATP exam.- Yeah… I still have to do this. The plan was to study as much as I could before and during the extended school year, then take it before the fall semester starts. I’m having a hard time motivating myself and need a real strong incentive. If anyone has ideas on how to get my brain to like to study, I’d be open to them.
-G
On Golden Birthdays
What is a “Golden Birthday”? It’s when you turn the age that matches the day you were born. If you’re unlucky like my husband, your golden birthday comes and goes before you can really celebrate because it happened to you so young. If you’re like me and you have a birthday as late as possible in the month, it can be pretty nice to celebrate yourself in a special way. Today is my golden birthday.
I have to thank Brian for going out of his way to give me an absolutely awesome, fun-filled, thoughtful weekend. It started with Friday evening, where I got to host the first in-person D&D session at our apartment (and the first really D&D session I’ve had the privilege to truly DM for) in a very long time. Alex, Ari, Rachel and Brian were so fun to lead through a rather straightforward session and I can’t wait to see how this campaign plays out. I have so many ideas and I hope they come to fruition. Then, we had Saturday and Sunday to spend inside, taking it easy and doing one of my personal favorite past times: crafting. I won’t get into details here, since it has to do with our aforementioned D&D campaign, but for the first time Brian and I had the opportunity to craft, create, get messy, and try new things in terms of making art. Brian’s never done things like this before and it was a learning experience for both of us, but it was so lightening and freeing to spend two whole days creating again. It really helped ground me and reset my brain and get me thinking in a positive way. Monday was the beginning of our weekend away. Part of my birthday present this year was a three-day getaway to Atlantic City - entirely because my real present was to get the chance to eat at a Gordon Ramsay restaurant. A little aside here… If you know me, you know I’m obsessed with Gordon Ramsay and I have been for a long time. My mom and I used to watch Hell’s Kitchen together when I was a kid, my Uncle Kevin gave me Gordon’s autograph when I was in middle school (yes, it’s still framed) and Gordon’s shows are typically a dinner watch for Brian and I. Getting to eat at one of these restaurants was on my bucket list. So on Monday, we drove a quick hour and a half jaunt down to Atlantic City, past the poor saps stuck in tons of traffic going back home after the holiday, and we got to stay at a rather nice hotel for a rather nice few days away. We walked the boardwalk twice (three or so miles were walked in total I believe), we shopped at two different candy shops (one of them got two separate trips too), we played arcade games on two different days and I hit two different jackpots on two different arcade machines, we ate at two different pubs for two different dinners, but at each I had a dish with French fries, a dish with beef and bread, and a delicious dessert with fruit in it. The weekend was full of reminiscing about our childhoods and looking forward to more time together in the future, but for the most part, it was a great way to disconnect entirely from work and life. No complaining about long hours or stressors. No bemoaning chores or early mornings. It was perfect. The meal at Gordon Ramsay’s pub could be its own post, but in general it was savory, flavorful, skillfully crafted and undeniably delicious. I want to do it again. Today we came back home, just in time to have pizza and cake with my mom and Aunt Rita.
Here we get into the weepy, sentimental part. The whole weekend, and yes I do mean the whole weekend, I couldn’t stop bringing up absolutely great memories of my dad. Vacations, trips to the beach, playing arcade games, taking pictures, special dinners, and thoughtful presents were my dad’s thing. Last year’s birthday was the first without him and it put me into a catatonic spiral. I’d funnel myself into work and come home burnt out and numb. I’d stare off into the distance or get stuck in a feedback loop of sad and anxious and regret and emptiness. That didn’t happen this year. I miss my dad so much. Probably more than anyone but Brian realizes. But this trip was the exact opposite. Instead of mourning what I didn’t have and filling the emptiness with more emptiness, I found fond memories and rejoiced in the fact that I had so much to reminisce on. True, I’m sitting on my couch crying as I write this and I almost broke after I blew out the candle tonight (Aunt Rita if you’re reading this, you caught me tear up and just barely crack. I was hoping you didn't. Brian probably did too). But I’m not crying because it’s over, just crying because I don’t get to do it in the same way again.
So here I am on this golden birthday full of parallels and doubles, happy to be here, secure in my place in the world, longing for those who are gone but striving to make each year another where they could still say they’re proud of me. Thank you to everyone who sent me well wishes. Thank you to my mom and aunt for the gifts and cake. Thank you to my ever-dazzling husband, who brings out the best and truly went out of his way to make the past five days all about me at nearly no cost. Thank you to life for continuing to be worth living. And thank you to those who aren’t here, I feel you every day.
Some Words of Wisdom (if you know, you know): Sometimes, life doesn’t seem like it, but it has a funny way of working out. Loss makes you stronger, but it tries its best to break you. Someone who seems unimpressive or unimportant might be the very person who completely changes your life. Sometimes things take time to change, but if they didn’t the change might not have happened in the first place. It’s all we can do to trust the path we’re on and make the best of our choices - both those we’ve made and those we’re still making. If you need to hear it, let this be your sign: let life work its way out, trust the process, and keep going.
-G
On My City
Two within one month, we’d finished yet another legacy game! This time, it was the first legacy game Brian and I have ever started together, also the first one we started with Chris and Matt. I skipped my 10-year high school reunion for this, so let’s talk about it!
Background
So, what’s My City? It’s a legacy board game for up to four players consisting of 8 chapters, each with three episodes each - that’s 24 total rounds to play! Brian and I had initially bought our own copy, which still sits half-finished in our bedroom. We really enjoyed the game, but each round takes about 30 minutes or so to play, and we found ourselves leaving it for too long and every time we picked it back up for a few rounds, we struggled to remember strategy, rules, and find a good groove. So, when we saw it at a steep discount at Barnes & Noble (I think it was discounted to $15), we decided to take a chance on it again, this time with Chris and Matt. It was the first legacy game that we started as a quartet, but the second we finished. We got a little engrossed in Ticket to Ride, so My City took a back seat,
Gameplay
So, how do you play? Each player has a game board consisting of a large grid displaying an expanse of land. The gameplay area is dotted with objects of note, mainly a river, single trees, single rocks, a mountain and a forest at first. The goal of the game in the first few rounds is simple: build your city. With each turn, a building from the card deck is picked, and players are expected to place it on the map. The rules at first are simple: build next to the river to start, don’t build single buildings spanning the river, and keep buildings in the city connected to each other. And that’s about it for the first few rounds. Buildings consist of one of three primary colors, and at the end you’re either finished because you’re out of buildings or you’re out of space for buildings. It takes some planning since buildings are different shapes - a similar fashion to Tetris - but after a round or two, players get the hang of it. Points are earned based on the number of rocks and trees on the map, then the next round begins.
With each round, new hazards, rules, buildings, and goals are established. Your city may be trying new methods of prosperity, like cutting down the forest to reveal more green space, establishing mines in the mountain to find valuable resources, establishing religion through the building of non-skippable churches, and more. Each of the 8 chapters introduces a new challenge to face in gameplay, keeping things fresh but also distracting players from previous goals. Things are added to the map via stickers - sometimes they’re even taken away - and players are left to their own devices to prioritize the most effective ways to earn points in each round, which contribute to their overall personal points for the whole game.
Endgame
Well, the winner wasn’t a shock for me. In fact, when we played our second-to-last session, I realized that it was a rather difficult race for second place. Of course Brian won. It was actually quite nice sine we had never finished our own game, so we didn’t actually know what the final points or rounds looked like. Brian had a lofty fifty-something points by the end, and had a clear ten-at-least point lead over Chris and I by the 20th or so episode. Meanwhile, Chris and I were sort of neck-and-neck with points in the high twenties. But everything changed in the final three episodes. Chris hit a stride and ended up raking in the points, so he came in second. I fit in a comfy third and Matt rounded up the tier list. The main challenge, which I didn’t realize, was that there were going to be bonus points at the end based on achievement throughout the game. No spoilers here in case anyone wants to play it, but if you did well in certain rounds, you got certain stickers. Same thing if you did poorly. And by the end, these rankings gave bonus points, based on how your map looked. This was somewhat expected, but a nice way to earn a few more points by the end - kind of like the bonus points in Mario Party.
Final Thoughts
My City was fun, especially since the four of us kept each other responsible for finishing the game. I think it was a little drawn-out and lengthy, but at the same time, I wish there were more rounds to earn more points toward the end. Sometimes, it felt like we were using a gimmick for too long, like churches staying in play for the whole game after they’re introduced. Other times, it felt like things happened too quickly and one less-than-productive round would totally screw your progress. I loved that there were so many additions, slight changes, and rules to keep track of, but this also meant that if you took too long of a break in between rounds, you were at a disadvantage with all of the gimmicks and quirks to remember. This is what did Brian and I in when we played our first game at home. We would go days, weeks or even a month or so in between episodes, so we would forget that we’d get extra points for things like surrounding wells or making large groups of buildings in a specific color. The instructions were clear, accessible, and organized, but that doesn’t mean our easily distractible brains remembered everything. Still, I liked the strategy, frustration, planning and long-game thinking required for a successful game. It’s probably not something I’d play again, especially having knowledge of what’s coming up and what to focus on in order to succeed, but it’s something I’d recommend for anyone looking for a strategy game to play with others.Just make sure you pick reliable people to play with - this game doesn’t give pity points for players who missed rounds.
On Nightcore
Did you know there’s a whole genre of music centered around speeding up songs? And they sound like chipmunks sing them? Well I didn’t.
But Hamilton just put out a Nightcore EP for the tenth anniversary of the musical on Broadway (damn, it’s been a fast decade) and I’ve just discovered that I rather like fast-paced, squeaky voiced music. Brian claims he’s known about this for a while, but not many of the other songs he’s showed me hit the same way as this Hamilton EP. The diction, focus, and breath control needed to keep pace with the sped-up soundtrack is on point. It makes me want to crack open that Hamiltome (or take a look at the lyrics included in the boxed set of vinyl) and study.
This morning, I realized that listening to something fast-paced, with clean, crisp articulation got me hyped up for the day. I’ll have to do this more often. I highly recommend listening to some Nightcore, partially because they tend to have cool anime-style cover art, partially because a lot of them sound like theme songs for action-packed shows, but mostly because it’s hard to be in a bad mood if you’re picturing Cinderella’s mice or Chuck E. Cheese singing to you about the high-stakes American Revolution.
-G
On Ticket to Ride: Legends of the West
We did it! We finished a legacy game. A huge shout out and thank you to Chris and Matt for keeping us on a semi-consistent schedule and getting this game to its conclusion. I thought I’d give my thoughts and recollect on the process!
Background
What’s a Legacy Game? - A legacy game is a board game that gets played over multiple rounds, with the game, rules, pieces or conditions for winning changing each time. The basic premise of the game is usually the same, but new challenges, goals, or pieces to use may be incorporated with each passing round. It’s usually played with the same people each time, and at the end, you have an entirely unique-to-you game board.
What’s “Ticket to Ride”? - Other than a Beatles reference, the Ticket to Ride series is a collection of board games involving trains (and sometimes boats…). The series has over a dozen entries, each with a different spin. The game has players collecting different colored cards in order to pay for new train lines connecting cities across a map. The overall goal is usually to connect specific cities in order to earn points, but some other games have bonuses for the longest train, using the most train cars, etc. We have a few games in this series and particularly like the “Europe” version of the game.
Who did you play with? - Brian and I played with some friends / neighbors / former coworkers of ours: Chris and Matt! They’re the reason we’ve been introduced to the Ticket to Ride series and they’re who we bought the legacy game for. Legacy games themselves tend to be somewhat expensive, since there are a lot of custom stickers, added rules and materials, and limited replayability until it’s finished, so we wanted to play with people who would really appreciate it… And who would make sure we finished.
Gameplay
We broke gameplay up into one or two rounds per game night, spread over four months. Each player got to pick a specific train line / color - Yellow (Erie) for me, Black (New York Central) for Brian, Red (Pennsylvania) for Chris, and Blue (B&O) for Matt. The game started with three puzzle pieces showing the eastern US (the former colonies) and the simple premise of (1) connect cities with your trains, (2) make as much money as possible, and (3) keep in mind that Mama O’Connell, a big bad stretching over the series who we kept calling Mama Odie, is someone we want to stop somehow.
At the end of each round, we tallied our points on a bank slip and stored it in a box that matched our train line, not to be touched or looked at until the overall end of the game after 12 rounds of gameplay. As the overall game progressed, more pieces of the board are added and the map expands, but it’s the player’s choice which part gets added next. It was hard to keep track of who was in the overall lead since points were kept secret, especially as new challenges were added: a circus to grow, stocks to collect, treasure to find… Especially since we would only play every other week at most and every new challenge made us prioritize different things: would we try to connect as many cities and complete as many tickets, or would we try to make as much money through various means, or would we take this round’s gimmick in stride and try to make a fortune that way?
Endgame
So? Who won??? Well, it was kind of an upset in my mind. Whenever I play boardgames with Brian, I expect him to win. It’s one of his many secret talents. So, when we finally finished the final round this past Friday, I was absolutely shocked when Chris won by a rather slim margin (12 points!!). The entire game, Brian seemed to have all of the goals prioritized: he managed to collect the most stocks, he always collected a ton of money, and he completed a decent amount of tickets. It was one round, one single ticket that went uncompleted, that allowed Chris to eke out ahead. In the end, I think this was a good thing, particularly since this was Chris’ Christmas present to begin with.
Final Thoughts
Overall, if you like Ticket to Ride and have a dependable group of people to dedicate a solid chunk of change and good bit of time to, it was a great investment. Each round was an easy 1-3 hours in gameplay when you factor in setup and breakdown. The rules were a little convoluted, but there was clear thought in the overall progression of the game itself and I had a lot of fun.
I rather liked the game as a whole. It was challenging, fulfilling, and each new round brought new intrigue. I liked that the map ended up spanning hundreds of years, cities in Canada, the US and Mexico, and a variety of geographical zones. The map pieces were well themed, came with interesting and refreshing gimmicks, and became motivating factors in continuous playing. The final round even seemed semi-high stakes and really seemed like a grand finale. It even came with optional extra endings in case anyone had ever played before and already knew the ending.
One of the few downsides involved the fact that we only played with four people, not the max of five, so there weren’t as many benefits, challenges, or resources related to the green team. Another downside was the irreversible nature. This is usually a highlight of the legacy games, but if someone gets distracted and say, holepunches a ticket incorrectly or fills in their name twice on their score box or loses their cards or confuses their cards with someone else’s… Some mistakes are easier to fix than others. That being said, that’s not really an issue at all and leads for some good laughs and memories along the way. A final downside was the cost and time commitment. This game isn’t cheap. A solid hundred dollars to buy a game that you’re going to desecrate and over 24 weeks to complete isn’t something everyone has or can do.
I’m happy I completed yet another goal for the year, and I think we’ve already purchased another legacy game to start soon. -G