Once we left the restaurant we talk a bit as people have to leave so I didn't get to the BART station until 13:55, already going to be late. It was 14:35 when I got to Shannon's, not too bad. Donald and Matt had gone out to get food and no one else had arrived. I'm not sure why Matt was here, probably some Sun activity. I think he's been staying at Shannon's. Shannon indicated that Matt was not enthusiastic about role-playing today, something I kept in mind later on.

Since we were waiting for people to show up, Kimberly came down and we played some board games. Kimberly is still rather ill, as she has been for months. Dizzyness and weakness I think. I'm afraid that the cause is environmental. Probably some kind of mold or building material in the house. Hopefully she'll get well soon, though it's too bad that their HMO is rather slow about setting up appointments and the whole medical bureaucracy is rather tiring. I'm glad I don't have to deal with that with my medical plan.

Back to the games. We played Apples to Apples, which Matt almost effortlessly won though he hadn't played before. Then we played Cranium and Woo and Fulton showed up right after we started. When we started we put Matt and Donald on one team against Shannon, Kimberly, and I as the skills were about even. Woo and Fulton joined Matt and Donald and we lost a close game. Cranium is a pretty fun game because it has variety. Not only trivia questions but elements of Pictionary, charades, and word puzzles.

At this point I decided I wasn't going to run Star Trek. I didn't feel like it and we were having fun playing board games and keeping Kimberly involved. That and my adventure wasn't really designed for only 5 characters. It needs lots of characters and not Eric. It's a fantasy holodeck adventure which I modified to have a few Erzo elements and to play more like a video game a la the D&D video game. So I guess I'll run it some other day.

We then played this game whose name I forgot. Relatively simple concept: there is a question that everyone must answer (except the phasing player), then the phasing player must try to match the answers to the other players. Some of the spaces are reversed, everyone answers what they think the phasing player would answer. Correct matches move you forward one space (or two for reverse questions). Great fun and an interesting way to learn more about the other players.

Some of the questions. What's one thing every man and woman should try? Shannon and Kimberly said chocolate, Matt said being rich, Woo and Donald said travelling, I said sex. What quality do you admire most about another player and name the player. Most people said Shannon or Kimberly with one other. I admire Shannon's maturity, at least compared with the rest of us. What one person do you wish you had never met? Lots of random names here, too bad for Kimberly. If you could go back in time, when and where and what one item would you bring? If you could change something in your past, what would it be? For the first I answered something that was used in the second (which was a reverse question for me) and 4 out of 6 people remembered what I answered for the first. If you had to choose between being blind, deaf, or mute, what would you choose? Not so strangely we all chose mute.

Dave and Julie stopped by towards the end of the game, and afterwards we played two more games of Cranium. Fulton, Shannon, Kimberly, Dave and Julie versus Matt, Woo, Donald and I. We beat them badly twice. In the first game we didn't miss a question, got a couple of purple rolls (which means you move quite far) and finished before the other team had gone 3/4ths of the way. The second game we missed more questions, but they got stuck with their first question and missed it three times, so by the time we won the had only gotten a bit more than half way. We had a good, balanced team with Matt doing the acting bits, Woo doing the claymation and spelling, and Donald doing charades and music. I occassionally did some things. Kimberly is quite good at the acting and charades.

Dave and Julie left in a rush. We played one more game of Apples to Apples, which Fulton, another new player, won. Then we talked a bit and headed out. Dave came back and he joined Woo, Fulton, and I when we went to Caffe Giovanni for dinner. After a big lunch and snacking all day I was still hungry. Some days I can eat and eat and eat. Anyway, I had the Seafood Fetuccine which is only on the menu occassionally. It's quite good. We also had the usual (so Fulton insisted) BBQ Wings and Fried Calamari appetizers. Woo and I even had dessert, the Flan that I had being delicious.

After that Dave went to Chris and Tea's St Patrick's Day Party, which no one else wanted to go to. Sure, Chris did express some dismay that we wouldn't go, but it's not as if *he* ever shows up to gaming anyway so why should we do the same? Besides, I've met the kind of people that Chris associates with and frankly I don't want to talk to them. Bad enough putting up with other friends' friends. I guess I'm just too antisocial.