The past week has been a triumphant return to those thrilling days of yesteryear, UNDERGRAD.  I've been to two concerts in four days, yesterday I was sound asleep when The Tamster called at 4PM, and I spent Day Five drinking beers while playing Galaga, Space Invaders, Tempest and pinball.  I quite wanted to play Centipede, too, but there was this row of eight game machines, four long, facing each other, and the dude playing the game opposite Centipede was playing hunched over the game with his butt sticking out so I couldn't get to Centipede without majorly hip-checking him, which Alan kept encouraging me to do but I am non-confrontational so I didn't, I just kept walking over and checking the Centipede machine in vain, and then playing more pinball.

On a side note, my friend Mark is the undisputed Centipede mastah.  Or at least he used to be.  I need to get him out for a match and see if he still has the mad sKillZ that he used to have, back in the day.

On the upside, I am now on the machines as one of the top ten (but alas! not number one) scorers on the pinball game and Space Invaders.  Tempest used to be my thing but I guess I've lost my touch; I didn't crack the top ten after FOUR whole tries.  I think I've told this story here before, but long ago my younger brother had a birthday party at Showbiz Pizza, complete with animatronic animal band, and I, as a surly angsty teenager, was pissed at being conscripted into attending said birthday party, fraught with sticky children.  So I spent the whole time and a lot of allowance playing video games, mostly Tempest. I got a high score, then kept trying to beat that high score, finally stopped after I was #1 and had beaten my own #1 three or four times.  Then years later, a friend of my brother's who had been a guest at that party got a part-time job at Showbiz Pizza and asked him, "Hey, your sister is 'HEL', right?  She's still the highest score on the Tempest machine!"  Years and years later.  I rock, I roll, I rule.

I didn't do as well at Flashback Games; I'm only on Space Invaders and a pinball machine, having missed Galaga by only 7,500 points.  I want to go back and assert my authority and in preparation, I am playing several emulators on my PlayStation.  Mark, I also have Centipede - are you busy???

As far as the concerts, Matt and I went to hear Black Stone Cherry on Tuesday, which was fantastic.  They played a lot of my favorites and totally rocked.  I'd brought my CDs, hoping to get them autographed but the band didn't come out after their set like usual.  The headliner of the show was Seether, but we didn't particularly care; we left after BSC's set.  They are great live - they all act like they're having the best time, and are so into it.  I've seen bands that barely make eye contact and seem so bored with the whole thing - BSC is not like that at all.  I enjoy it more when the musicians seem to be enjoying it too!

On Friday, I went with Alan to hear Mogwai. That's more his thing than mine, but it was a nice time.  I didn't care for their opening act; it was way too techno for my taste.  Still, it was a fun evening out with my husband, and that's never a bad thing.

So who's up for getting a case of Budweiser and playing quarters????