Tag Archives: insomniac

Crawfish and other fun

Today was a fantastically social day, by my standards, seeing as I normally spend my weekends napping. Rob and I and some others were commenting about how the older ETC alums know very little of the current first-years (or rising second-years at this point), so we decided to organize a brunch for the LA alums and students who were interning in the city this summer.

A healthy crowd turned up, and a fun time was had by all mingling and chatting and such. I got a really tasty drink, which was essentially water infused with lemons, oranges, and cucumbers, with a large amount of each floating about in it. It was cheap and refreshing, and I’d like to attempt making some myself at some point.

After the ETC Brunch, Ben and I headed south for the Long Beach Crawfish Festival, which is supposedly the largest festival of its kind out of New Orleans. The buzz had been spread around Insomniac about the event, and we were all for it. I’m certainly glad I went, for the crawfish were DELICIOUS. They scooped up a giant pile of steamed crawfish onto my platter, along with some red potatoes and corn, and it was all seasoned very well. I also picked up a plate of jambalaya from another booth, and it too was fantastically made.

We sat down in the shade with a multitude of other people and listened to some great live Cajun music, including one band featuring a washboard played with spoons. Fantastic! The atmosphere was great all around, as there were tons of people decked out in fancy hats, dresses, and parasols (much to my delight, as I was carrying my own). Everyone was having a great time, and I couldn’t help but snap up some photos of people dancing and enjoying themselves.

After our crawfish feast, we met up with Josue, who lives in the area, along with his wife and friend, and went to an arcade. Normally I am not one to pass up on playing arcade games, but today I was content to watch Josue and his amazing skills at the old school Star Wars game, as well as some crazy sword game on which he got the high score for the day (some other girl was doing quite well playing after us, and Josue eyed her intently, thinking he may have to defend his sword game title, but she only got 2nd place. Fortunate enough, as we may have been there all day, otherwise).

We parted ways at last and Ben and I returned to Burbank, where I was quick to catch a nap upon arriving home. Today was a delicious adventure, for sure. I think I’m going to have to make a pot of shrimp creole before too long.

Things are good

I am in a startlingly good mood today, and I am unsure of exactly why.

Part of it, I think, is that I am so excited about going to Project Horseshoe this weekend that I can barely stay in my seat nor stay focused on any one thing for too long of a time. I have a feeling that it will be something like a Game Design retreat, and I am oh-so-excited to see Insomniac Drew again. I was also delighted to see that James Ernest and Nick Fortungo will be attending, both of whom recently visited the ETC. Plus, I’ll hopefully get to visit with Bryan Cash while in Austin!

My good mood could also be attributed to the fact that Resistance 2 is coming out, and though it probably marks me as an excitable young whelp in the industry, the launch of my first credited title does have me dancing and skipping and giggling in anticipation. First steps!

It could ALSO be attributed that my WoW friends have finally managed to do a full all-guild Karazhan run (with the addition of one helper), and will hopefully do another one this week. Granted, this was enabled partly from the nerfage, but it fills me with joy and love to be able to play the big instances with friends. I think I’ve given up on the notion that I am a casual WoW player, and will move it over into the “hobby” category. It is just such a fantastic means for me to nurture my friendships with those people I love who are far away from me!

Perhaps it is the weather. Who can say!

Thoughtful

Sigh.

I’m sitting here for my last night in Burbank, feeling thoughtful and reflecting on the summer. I have overcome fears, tried new adventures, gained confidence, and grown as a person all in one summer. I suppose that’s what summer excursions are all about.

Still, the time has flown, but I guess that’s just the nature of time. I’ve established bonds with new people that will be nourished into strong friendships, and oh how I will miss those people. I feel changed, like I have stepped into something new that is good and exciting.

I’m not sure why I feel so wistful, but it’s probably just the side effect from things changing again. Tomorrow morning I’ll set off to drive back across the country. I am looking forward to recharging with friends and family (and food) in Louisville, before trekking up to Pittsburgh to start the new semester’s work.

I will miss my luxurious weekends of sleep and WoW. I will miss my wonderful designer friends. I will miss my roommate’s cat.

More adventures to come, as always.

End-o-summer

This is an abridged cross-post of one of my mailing list postings. Hope the repeats don’t mind!

So, last Friday was my last day at Insomniac, and there were many tears upon my departure (mostly shed by me, of course). Before we left, Ted took the interns to lunch as a farewell and so we could ask him any lingering questions. One thing he asked each of us was, “What is the biggest thing you’ll be taking back with you from your summer at Insomniac?”

Summer wrap-up within

Resistance Trailer

Yesterday at work, we all crowded into the conference room to watch the Sony bit at E3 to see them show the Resistance 2 trailer. It was very exciting!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=dIfX1tIut2M

The best thing about this was being able to see a vertical slice of how awesome this game is going to be, it made me very excited to get back to work. I’m going to have to get a PS3 when this is all over with, so I can get the game and show it to people and say “hey, hey, see that setup? That one there? That’s mine!”

Best internship ever.

More Monster Comics

So the giant monster comic thing apparently triggered something in me. The ideas were pouring out of my brain so quickly that I had to run around with a bucket to catch them all. It’s fun to feel this way, I haven’t been on this much of a drawing frenzy in a long time!

T-saur Visits Monster Island, Part 1

Expect more to come.

And another amusing quote:

Colin: “In Fish Hell, I take care of you. In Fish Heaven, Lisa takes care of you.”

Quotes!

Some amusing summer time quotes…

Josh: “What do your parents do? Wait wait, I know…your dad is an engineer and your mom is a professor.”

Lisa: “No…”

Josh (ponders): “Okay, your dad breeds and raises unicorns and your mom teaches them to read…”

—–

Gabe: “Don’t you sass me!”

Lisa: “I’ll a-sass-inate you!”

—-

Jesse: “pinky swear NDA!”

—-

Chocula (Ross), from 2 bays over: “DAMMIT LisaTheIntern!”

Lisa: “I’m sorry!!”
Ross: “……don’t apologize for killing people!!!”