Another Bout

I've starting coming down with another sickness. Feverish (no fever, yet) and lymph nodes swollen so much they are tender to the touch. Hopefully it goes away quickly. We have a meeting with the CEO tomorrow at 10am and I really don't want to miss it.

The girls continue to grow quickly. My parents were in town this last week to help Hirono and I ease into life with her working at Apple. She started last Monday and is already into overtime. They were a huge help; but, I'm afraid they'll likely catch whatever it is I have now.

The best part about the girls growing up is that they can communicate better. For example, Alisa had a string of communication triumphs today. Walking down the sidewalk she put together a string of 10 or so 2-word sentences. They were not related to each other; but, to things we saw as we walked. "Truck go", "Kitty eat", "Leia run", "Alisa swing" and so on. She also had a three word sentence at the end of the day. We gave them popcorn for the first time tonight and they both really liked it, Alisa more than Leia (go figure!) After the first couple of bytes Alisa turned to me and said, "Daddy cook popcorn! Oishii!!" Then she gets a huge grin on her buttery face when she says "Oishii" (Japanese for "yummy".)

Leia, on the other hand, is still excelling at her physical skills. She gave us all a big scare Saturday morning. Hirono had gone to work early that Saturday, leaving Alisa and Leia and I asleep in the bedroom. Eventually I woke up with Alisa asking me to go downstairs. Leia was nowhere to be found. The gate at the top and bottom of the stairs were both open. I went downstairs with Alisa only to find Leia already there. She had apparently opened the gate (or Hirono left it open) and she came downstairs all by herself.

Lastly, I found another gaming group. I'm not sure I'll have the time to play; but, at least the option is there. With work starting to slow down again (please!!!) I may be able to do two nights a month. It will be King Arthur Pendragon (v5), a really cool game that focuses on the passions and brutality of noble lords in Early Medieval Britain. Its not your normal Dungeons and Dragons game, that's for sure! Mortality rates for player characters are extremely high - so much so that the rules suggest starting with two characters already rolled and ready to go.

For those into RPGs, its not a level-based game where characters strive for treasure and experience. The goal is to win glory for your family and to pass on as much power as you can to your heirs. There are generally 3-4 generations of a family played within one campaign. You start your first character(s) in the game as vassal knights with a single manor and go from there. It loosely follows a book I'm currently reading, __Le Morte d'Arthur__ by Sir Thomas Malory. A friend picked up the book for me in Noida (Thanks, Soan!) and it led me to the game. This is going to be fun, if we can actually find the time to play.