Team 2!!

A few months ago I was lucky enough to take part in an Improv performance entitled "Blind Troika."  The idea of Troika is an improv competition introduced in Philadelphia by Matt Nelson.  They take 27 improvisers, put all their names in a hat, and divide them into 9 groups of 3 people.  Bracket-style they compete to crown a single group to be the Troika champion.  Normally, Troika groups have several weeks to prepare for the show.  Blind Troika is simply drawing names from a hat of the people in the audience.  I was one of the people drawn from the hat. 

This would be my first ever performance in Improv.

When I heard my name, I turned to my friend Luke next to me and said, "Oh shit!"   It was then I realized that I probably shouldn't have put my name in at all.  Luckily, I was picked with two people I am actually fans of in the improv world (BJ Ellis and Jess Snow). 
Normally, I can't remember anything that happens in an improv show, but I can probably describe at least half of the show that night.  The tiny apartment, gargoyles, the story I told to my daughter, and the yellow dress.  So much fun. 

And luckily, we're able to do it again.  We're opening for our friends Rookie Card at the Raven Lounge in Philadelphia on Monday, September 27th at 9.  I am so excited for this show, I took my horrible graphic arts skills and made a team picture...in 5 minutes.  Don't worry, it doesnt say anything bad.  "Team 2!! You laugh now"

Have Fun Good Luck Good Game

hf gl
I recently got my hands on Starcraft 2, the sequel to the game that almost completely destroyed my college career, and even a long distance relationship. Now that I don’t have homework to do and I date inside my area code, I am free to play whenever I want.

Quick description of Starcraft 2: It is a real-time strategy game based around an economy of collecting money, and spending it on an army to destroy your opponent, who is trying to reciprocate. It’s like a game of chess. Chess with nuclear missles.
This game has a lot of great facets, the best of it being an online multiplayer ability. It easily searches out random people who are also looking for a game and pits you together in battle.

Maybe it was the fact that I was an only child, and my mother insisted that I win every game, but I have grown to have quite the competitive side. (I have reason to believe that she would pay off my cousins to let me win board games. Those cousins who still give me shit about all of the times that they had to take a dive, just so I could win. )
So even to this day, when I am presented with honest competition, I have to approach it with full force. And let me tell you, it exhausts me.

I love this game, Starcraft. Possibly my favorite game of all time. But I can only play a few times each night. Some nights I can’t play at all. There is a point immediately after every game where I literally have to catch my breath. (I would like to remind you that this is a game where I sit and stare at my computer monitor.) Even I find it hard to believe that something like this can be so mentally exhausting. But it is.

But hey, maybe that’s what I love about it. gg