You may think I’m being inconsiderate, but it seems that the title of this post was actually uttered on radio here in the US. Memorial day, a federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May commemorates the dead of the US civil war and further deaths of US servicepeople. However, due to the long weekend timing at the beginning of summer, it has become an important time for outing, picnics, and other fun activities.
In contrast, memorial day in Israel is not a holiday, and it is a day before independence day. To ensure the correct atmosphere, all entertainment venues are closed by law, and the TV and radio screen sad films and documentaries, in addition to live broadcasts the official ceremonies.
Back to the US, I spent this year’s memorial day weekend at KublaCon, the annual bay area gaming convention. The Convention features all types of non-computer gaming, from miniatures to LARPs, boardgames to RPGs. The convention lasted four days Friday-Monday, but I decided not to go on Monday. It was held in a hotel near San Francisco airport. I registered onsite for $50, and got a badge and a wristband. I spent most of the weekend playing dozens for boardgames with many different players of all ages from 8 to 80.
On the second day of the conference I registered for a Settlers of Catan tournament. After winning two of three games, I broke to the semi-finals that were held the next day. In the semis, in a very close game, I came in tied for second with 9 points (out of 10). Later that day, I have then spent many more hours playing all kinds of boardgames with people I could find, including a very smart 11 year old girl, who managed to play very well and come in second in several games in a row, until finally winning a game of Tsuro. It turns out that her father, who joined us for some of the games, owns a game store nearby and can get me good deals on games.
All in all, KublaCon was lots of fun and well worth the money. Now I have memorial day to rest before going back to work tomorrow.
May 27th, 2008 at 05:09
Posted by
epsalon |
American Culture, Gaming |
2 comments
Today and yesterday I spent cleaning up my room and car. I’ve dumped all the packaging I have accumulated in the car and room, sorted all the paper, and brought all the bottles and cans in for recycling. Got more than $5 for the bottles (5¢ each).
After recycling, I went to the Toyota dealership where I bought my car for a 6-month service. Because I only drove 2,900 miles, the service included only an oil change and general inspection. However, they took a long time to perform the service, so instead of paying $28, I got the service and materials completely free.
Now I’m back the office. Later today I’ll go to another boardgaming session in San Jose (30min drive from here).
March 29th, 2008 at 02:04
Posted by
epsalon |
Daily Life, American Culture |
one comment
This week I started doing stuff in my free time instead of staying home all day. It all started with me searching Google for information about the movie “Be Kind, Rewind.” That search popped up a link with showtimes in my area, so I decided to look around and see how much to movie tickets cost here.
So I browsed the ordering site, and found that tickets for the early screening cost $7.50. Not expensive, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to go, so I browsed out of the ordering screen. That popped up a message saying I could get the ticket for free. After a short signup on some other site I got my free ticket cupon (I’m a big sucker for free stuff). After going through all that work, I decided I might as well pay $1 for my “free” ticket and go see the move.
I went off directly from work to the theater in Redwood City: 20 auditoriums and lots of space, cheap and plentiful parking, and generally a nice place to be. As usual, I was about 15 minutes early, so I went into the theater and watched trailers before the movie. The movie itself was funny and enjoyable, and I didn’t feel weird watching it alone.
After the movie I felt like I wanted more, and wanted to see a more serious movie I heard good things about, so I went out to the cashier and bought a ticket for “Juno.” It was one of the best dramas I’ve seen in a while and I could really identify with the main character, even though my situation does not resemble hers.
That concluded that night out, but not my excursions for the week. Coming back to Google’s movies site, I noticed that an Israeli film called “The Band’s Visit” is showing in a small arthouse theater in literally on my way from work home. So I decided and go see the movie the next day. Even though I read very positive reviews about it on FishEye, I still think that Juno was much more moving. That said, I don’t think it was a bad movie.
Today is Saturday, and the day before Easter. I decided to finally do something I’ve been thinking of almost since I got here, and went to the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, about a 5 minute drive from my home in Palo Alto. Admission is free and we got a nice tour of the exhibits. The docent has also shown us some of the exhibits in storage that are not usually accessible to the general public.
After visiting the museum I visited the museum website, and found out that they do not have a Dragon-32 computer and are seeking donations. The Dragon-32 was the first computer I’ve ever used (The 32 stands for 32 Kilobytes of RAM it has). We should still have a working Dragon-32 at home in Israel, and I would like to ask my parents if they are willing to donate it.
March 23rd, 2008 at 04:47
Posted by
epsalon |
Leisure, American Culture, Tech stuff, USA |
6 comments
This post was written on Christmas day - December 25th. Ever since Thanksgiving there are decorated Xmas trees everywhere, the radio plays Xmas music, and everyone is away with family.
As everyone is with family, most of the boardgame events were canceled, and Stanford is almost empty.
The only ones still around are the Jewish community. A person I met in a conference invited me to meet some of his friends at an Israeli restaurant on the Sunday before Xmas. It turns out that the person who operates the largest Jewish site in the bay has the same name as my brother - Tomer Altman.
They have invited me to join them to a Chinese restaurant on Xmas day. They forgot to mention that the meal is strictly veggie. Luckily, I got some veg-less noodles so I could eat. The whole occasion was long and boring. I left as soon as the meal was over.
Earlier that day I realized that most restaurants are closed on Xmas day. After trying two “24 hr” McDonald’s branches which were closed, I settled for Mediterranean food in a Greek restaurant I found open on University Ave.
That concludes my Xmas tales. This weekend will be boardgames again.
December 28th, 2007 at 07:58
Posted by
epsalon |
American Culture, Gaming |
3 comments
(Title sounds better in Hebrew)
Today is the 4th Thursday of November, which means Thanksgiving Day is celebrated throughout the United States. This is the day where Americans celebrate their conquest over the native Americans (”Indians”). This is the most family-inclined of all US vacations, and most people use this holiday to meet with their families and eat together, similar to the Jewish Passover.
As a tribute to this togetherness, the family I live with have invited me to join their Thanksgiving celebrations. I got to meet many members of their family in their house in Palo Alto. They have invited me for dinner as well, but I have already booked dinner at Stanford.
The Stanford dinner included Turkey and mashed potatoes. I met there someone I have met while walking “the dish” on one of my first days here.
Tomorrow is Black Friday. While in most cultures calling a day “Black” implies a negative context, Black Friday actually celebrates the most American tradition of them all: Shopping. The use of the word “black” comes from the fact that retailers start making profit, and thus are “in the black” after this day. It turns out that the day after Thanksgiving marks the start of the US Winter Holiday Season, and specifically the shopping season before Christmas. Many retailers have sales on this day, and unless your are shopping-crazed it’s advised that you stay home, which is exactly what I plan to do.
November 23rd, 2007 at 06:40
Posted by
epsalon |
Stanford, American Culture |
3 comments
