Dark Ascension Pt. 1

In the cards...


Several times a year I get the opportunity to go out with friends and play Magic. We attend the midnight releases of expansion sets at a little game shop in Waynesboro, PA. These midnight releases are always on a Friday night, and since I've been attending, I've always had to work that full day first. The same can also be said for my brother Nich and my friend Wes. By the time the tournament starts, we've all already been awake for seventeen hours.


Over time, our trip has developed a routine, one we've come to rely on. We stop before we reach the venue for caffeine and foodstuffs, according to our individual tastes, to keep our minds limber for the tournament. In the past, my preference for the pre-tournament brain food was always some hyper-caffeinated, sugary sweet 'beverage' with name that's actually a verb and box of little chocolate donuts.


Hulu - SNL: John Belushi - Little Chocolate Donuts.




This past evening was very different for me because I could not participate in my traditional ritual. I am banned from caffeine until February and instead I would have to rely on sheer force of will. When we arrived at the Sheetz to load up on supplies, I got... an apple to compliment my diet, caffeine free soda.


Over the course the evening I came to learn that the vegan diet and the calmness that accompanies it, is well suited to handle the rigors of sleep deprivation. I was not tired the entire evening. I wasn't shoveling chemicals into my furnace to keep me going, I don't need to. I wasn't naturally high, I wasn't smugly awake, I was just not-asleep.


The game itself and the trip were great fun. I did about the same as I usually do at these events... I won slightly more often than I lost.. But I got to spend some quality time with my brothers and it that's always a good thing... even if there aren't any little chocolate donuts.


I didn't arrive home until 5:30am and even then it took nearly an hour for me to fall asleep. With caffeine I know I would have been out immediately. This is another interesting thing learned in my vegan explorations. 

Comments

  1. huh... that's kind of interesting about the caffeine thing. On the topic of cards, I will say that I do miss the fun that playing brings. The goofiness and jokes. Just the all around carefre-ness of it all. I still have a couple of decks and I just can't bring myself to get rid of them. Just like the rubbermaid bin that is in the closet with all the White Wolf RPG books in it.

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  2. Kass, I gave all my Magic cards away... to my brother. Which is sort like saying, 'Here, you deal with this burden.' I still have access to those cards and have no responsibility when it comes to organizing them. It's kind of a sweet deal. As for the White Wolf books... If I put mine in storage, what would I use to play with every other Wednesday night? ;)

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