Damn, that’s good

Spent yesterday in Vancouver with Graham doing some shopping and picking up a couple items I wanted. Finally have a decent dining table, with chairs, after around 6 years without. For most people, getting a table would be for eating – for me, it was motivated by the desire to a have tabletop for gaming. Need somewhere to set up my Advanced Squad Leader, after all. Other shopping included grabbing up a copy of the new miniatures rule set Field of Glory, snagging a collection of some Lupin III and a stuffed plush Vash (from Trigun) doll for Holly.

Graham's good people, so the trip was without headaches or much problem. All the more surprising, given how tired both of us were.

Put together the table and chairs today and they manage to look good in the apartment. IKEA was out of the black chairs I wanted, but had the chairs in red. Since I have some red highlights in the apartment, I took a chance and grabbed the red chairs. It proved a good move – the chairs look really good and set off the table perfectly. My hands are sore, though – using the hand screwdrivers is tough, especially when some of the screw holes are just starters and you're hand driving in the screw near the end. Still, for simple and clean design and construction instruction, it's hard to beat the wordless comics that IKEA produces.

The rest of the day was spent tidying up the mess and watching Season Three of The
Wire. Three episodes in and every time Major Bunny Colvin says "what can they do to me?" I wince, because I know they're going to break that poor, wise man in ways he hasn't imagined. The show is at once subtle (they are carefully drawing the differences between Sgt. Carver and "Herc", making it clear which one gets it, and which one doesn't) and blunt (every scene with Carcetti), but maintains a balance between the two that makes it entertaining.

I'm making some adjustments this coming week, as H&H are going to temporarily stay with me for a few days while their place is painted. Not sure how well this will go, since Dada's place (my apartment) is hardly the fantasy-land that Hunter thinks.

The crackdown in Tibet is a reminder that China is not a "good guy" in the world, and that we shouldn't let our desire for cheap goods blind us to that fact. Not that we in the west have a lot of moral authority at the moment to tsk tsk the Chinese for what they're doing; it's still important to remember what oppression looks like so hopefully we can recognize it when it pops up over here in some form. I'm hopeful that the political will in Tibet will remain strong.