Traveling to the northeast for work and even here at home in Texas, it's more and more apparent that masks are becoming less common. Things aren't one-hundred percent back to normal yet, but it feels inevitable.

Independence Day is only a few days away. I'll still avoid the crowds, but I know many crowds will form for whatever festivities they can partake in.

Work

The Team

Just last week, it was the first time we had any significant gathering of anyone from work. I and other vaccinated co-workers met in Philadelphia at our HQ for our first in-person meetup since January 2020 right before COVID shut the world down.

It was a great time. While it felt like we never really missed a beat, the number of new faces there who I'd worked with for a while but never met showed how much we've grown in that time. Can't wait now for our next meetup in October.

Malcom helping out.

Luckily, I had Malcolm the Maryland crab there to help out during the week and keep me company.

Movies

  • Boss Level is a fun reliving-the-same-day-over-and-over film that's funny and filled with action, too.
Malcolm and I watch Popeye
  • Popeye, the live-action one starring Robin Williams from 1980, is much more awful than I remember it being from having seeing it as a teen.
  • Freaks (2018) was pretty good. Kind of hard to talk about without spoilers, so I recommend it, but probably best if you go into it without knowing too much.
  • The Keep (1983) is okay but definitely feels like a lot was cut out which would explain a lot more. Like reading a book, but skipping a few chapters here and there.

Horrified board game

Horrified board game on my table

I've seen some great play-throughs of this game and looked like something I'd enjoy. Fate presented me with an opportunity to pick it up at half price, so I jumped on that deal and added it to my library.

I'm glad I picked it up. My solo play-through was pretty fun. Something without a ton of rules, so easy to into for anyone. A great gateway game about the same fun and complexity as Ticket to Ride or Carcassonne.

Players go up against two or more Universal Monsters, like Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, and The Creature of the Black Lagoon. Your goal to defeat each creature entails running around the board doing different things depending on the monster. For The Creature, that's finding its lair. For Dracula, it's destroying all of his coffins. Only with that out of the way do you stand a chance at defeating them and saving the village.