games

Day 276: Random Saturday Thoughts

Tastykakes from the freezer are the best!

Tastykakes straight from the freezer are the best.

A few random thoughts on a Saturday night:

  1. Tastykakes: They’re an East Coast treat, but over the years I’ve seen them more frequently in Southern California. My local grocery store was having a 2-for-1 sale and I couldn’t resist the power of the Tastykake.  I LOVE the peanut butter Kandy Kakes, which taste like a Reese’s peanut butter cup in mini-cake form. They’re even better when frozen.
  2. Dodgers: The good news is they won the NL West again and are going to the playoffs. The bad news is long-time organist Nancy Bea Hefley is retiring after this season. I hope the Dodgers don’t get rid of the organist position; as much as I love the snippets of today’s pop music during a game, there’s something very soothing about being at Dodger Stadium and listening to the between-innings notes from the organ.
  3. Jeopardy!: It’s always fun to see a player dominate on my favorite game show and Matt Jackson’s five-show run has been terrific. I liked this first-person account from one of his vanquished opponents.

Day 251: Organized

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This weekend I had a chance to organize my 7 Wonders game: I was tired of sifting through the box whenever I needed to use the military tokens or coins. I went to the Dollar Tree to pick up some small plastic containers when I realized that I had the perfect thing back at home: my extra petri dishes that I bought for Pandemic!

I bought the plastic containers anyways and when I got home I found my petri dishes. They were the right size for each of the military points (1, 3, 5, and -1) and fit in the box. Unfortunately, the plastic containers were too big and they’ll be returned to the store soon.

However, in another bit of good fortune, I found myself at Daiso Japan in Rowland Heights on Monday night. The place reminds me of a hipper, cleaner, and BRIGHTER dollar store: most items are $1.50, with a few priced higher, and they’re all BRIGHTLY colored. In spite of the BRIGHTNESS factor (okay, I’ll stop yelling), my family and I enjoy shopping here. It’s tough not to walk out with at least one item (and it’s equally difficult to pass up the coffee and pastries at the nearby 85 Degrees).

I scored a small food container tin with a plastic top that fit perfectly in the space left over from my petri dishes. The OCD in me would love to have two half-sized containers for each of the 1 and 3 value coins, but I’m not complaining. Perhaps another trip to Daiso is in order.

Day 243: Coins for Games

Soon to be growing soon: my humble games library.

Soon to be growing soon: my humble games library.

As I wrote back on Day 13 of this year, I keep my spare change in a jar. When it gets filled up, I take it to my local Coinstar and convert it into an Amazon credit. Coinstar normally charges about nine percent to count your coins, but it waives this fee if you opt to take the Amazon credit.

I usually cash out about $60 from the jar, so after I visit Coinstar I’ll be working my way through my Games Wish List. It’s nice not having a bunch of coins lying around; I’d much rather have a bunch of board games lying around.