We’re headed back to Asia again.
And I’m waiting at an airport again.
At least I get to wait in style at the LAX Cathay Pacific lounge. We got ourselves cocktails. I checked out the food spread. I got bored. I took a nap. Pokin tried to convince me to use the airport showers. I ignored her.
Well today is a sunday. Normally that would mean Super Sumi Sunday.
Instead, it was a day devoid of gaming.
Instead we packed up the car and drove to the middle of the dessert in the middle of nowhere just to check out some flowers.
I can see flowers in my front yard. I fail to see the appeal.
“Sumi, it’s the superbloom,” Nick tried to explain.
“Trying to add SUPER onto something doesn’t make it super great,” I countered.
Superbloom is a phenomenon that happens in Death Valley roughly whenever we have El Nino. Then all the wildflower seeds that have been sitting dormant in the valley get doused with enough water to burst out in flowers. It happens about every decade or so.
So we had an El Nino this winter and somehow “we” decided the resulting bloom was important enough to see.
I don’t know who “we” were. I’m sure my bud would have voted the same way I would have.
Anyway here we are.
Check out the flowers.
Yeah. That’s the superbloom.
Today we are exhibiting at the Virtual Reality Conference in LA. We were there to show off our robot, Peer.
The bot didn’t really work, so there wasn’t much to exhibit.
So we just sat there, talked to people about what they could have seen, and just watched all the lasers.
So many lasers.
We made to to CES again this year and I have to say I’m disappointed. 90% of everything here is the same as last year! Where is the innovation? I guess this is a good reminder that even technology moves slow in the physical world.
There was one exhibit that I did approve of. All this talk about drones, this company EHANG is making a crazy full person drone. Now that’s something I could get behind. From the looks of it, my bud and I could just fit inside and go for a ride.
Well, that and the full scale BB8 robot. Nicholas, make me one of these!
I got a care package today in the mail. They were from my bear bud’s mom and sister.
Check it out. Bears.
It’s my very own care bear package!
After Christmas, we decided to do a family activity. I suggested marathon gaming. They went on a road trip to Death Valley.
The best part of it was the run. Here’s us getting ready to run.
Then we ran.
It was so good we needed a nap afterwards.
I had this idea once we were back home again that we would be getting right onto our gaming machines.
Instead I learnt that all the family was already in town, and that gaming would have to wait.
At least the positive was that I got to build a B-Wing space ship featured in a movie that I haven’t yet seen yet.
There’s got to be some positive to that?
I’m good at directing things to be built.
It’s Christmas! It’s one of my favourite holidays again! It’s a strange Christmas though because we had no tree and hardly any Christmas decorations. But at least we have Christmas gifts!
We’ve been away for a long time so I’m sure my bud must have gotten me some cool game presents to make up for it.
I was in such a good mood I made the effort to 3D print some cool Christmas name tags. I focused on blinging out the name of the giver. That’s the important part after all.
And then it was time to open my presents.
First I got Canadian Smarties. They’re cool. But I’m already a pretty smart bear.
Then my bud got a bandana. I took it and put it on. Looks better on me anyway.
Next I got to the packages that were from my bud. I can’t wait to see what they are!
STEAM GAME CONTROLLERS! Yesss! I have more ways to game. I knew my bud would come through for Christmas.
To the media room, Nicholas!
Can’t wipe that grin off my face. I’m heading home!
And I’m heading home in style! I get to hang out in the Cathay Pacific Business lounge in Hong Kong with bowls full of Tim Tams*.
Gaming here we come!
Tim Tams :
(these will do when a bear’s desperate enough)
Shortly after we arrived to Hong Kong, Peep disappeared. I didn’t pay much attention to that, and assumed he was off hunting for coffee.
I guess I started getting worried after a few months had passed. One day I happened to look up and found out that, for some unbeknownst reason, the ridiculous bunny had decided to dangle himself off the ceiling beams.
I eventually realized that the bunny was trying to do a leap of faith into the coffee pot below, but naturally, didn’t think through the logistics before he got himself all tangled up there.
Well he wasn’t bothering anyone up there…so I left him there.
Today we are finally leaving Hong Kong. So I (reluctantly) told Nicholas that we better rescue the bunny.
“You ready to come down now Peep?” I ask.
“Peep.” said Peep.
That crazy bunny still wants to do a leap of faith.
“You realize leaps of faith are for experts? Not everyone can master the jump.” I caution.
“Peep” said Peep.
I sigh. “Fine, let the bunny do what he wants.”
“1 – 2 — ”
Peep falls to the ground and promptly faceplants himself.
Sigh. I still don’t know what to do with that bunny.
At least he recovered enough to still have a go at the coffee.