I can’t believe I’m getting around to blogging about my Nintendo “Girlfriend’s Guild To Gaming” party just now!   If I look back on the last three overwhelming weeks, I think those 4 hours of playing DS, drinking champagne and hanging out with my girlfriends was the last time I didn’t have my stomach wound into a knot of stress, so thank you Bre and all your crew for that!  

Basically, part of my being chosen a “Nintendo Ambassador” was a party to be thrown for me and my girlfriends. (Again, I am not getting paid for anything, just the opportunity to try out DS games in advance and other DS goodies) Who could say no to that?!   I just had to invite people and show up.  Easy.  Well, for most humans.   I don’t actually THROW a lot of parties because at any party I’ve hosted I’m always totally neurotic and uptight, in people’s faces asking them “Are you having a good time?  How about now?  What can I do for you?!?!?!”   Then the next day, I send out apology emails for not having paid attention to individuals I didn’t chat with enough.   Yes, I’m insane.   And that’s another blog entry.

Anyway, this one had everything taken care of for me.  I just had to arrive.  Ahhh, sigh of relief!  When I got to the party I didn’t know what to expect at all, I just knew that my friends, most of whom NEVER game, would show up and be introduced to how the DS works through several game stations.   I know for a fact that at least 5 woosy girls had “other excuses” because the idea of gaming was so weird and foreign to them.  Too bad for them, I say! 

The party was BEAUTIFUL!  In a lofty old Spanish building, 4 adorable couches laid out, and a DS game for each “station” with a trained DS instructor, alert and ready to walk any gaming neophytes through the steps of kicking butt in Mario Cart, or, say, scoring age 79 on Brain Age like…some people.  (Defense:  I had some champagne.)  I can’t tell you the vicarious thrill I got when I got blown off by a friend because she was too into Planet Puzzle League to talk about her new puppy, or how cool it was that we were able to network 8 people together on DS lites and compete in Mario Cart! (FYI, Robin (Clara from the Guild) had obviously trained hard for that one, total ringer. She smashed everyone as Yoshi and just giggled. Beeyach. )  I know that there were a LOT of reluctant gamers at that party, and to see them be totally sucked into the DS was just cool.  I corrupted them! :)  The coup de tete was at the end of the night, when a DS was presented to each and every guest.   There was some “Price Is Right” screaming.  Actually, a lot of it (Yes, Brooke, I’m talking about you!)

 The cool thing about the whole experience is that I KNOW that everyone had their perceptions about video gaming and how they would use it in their lives changed.  Girls aren’t really encouraged to see gaming as a viable hobby as a kid, and the older you get, the less likely you would pick up something like that.  So now, there are some very happy girls/women/mommies from the Felicia Day database!   A quote from my friend Natasha in an email: “Okay, first of all, I am OBSESSED with my DS. Seriously, I love it. I have yet to buy another game, but the fact that I’m consider it, is huge cause for alarm. I buy a DS game and the next, I’m part of the Guild! “  Great, destroying lives anew, yay!

At the end of the night, two Wii stations were revealed, and there were some fierce tennis slapped down.  It’s just a wonder how many girls had WANTED to try a Wii, but never been in a situation that they could get their hands on it.   Clearly, my next party. DDR pad, Guitar Hero, Mario Party (If I ever get to Best Buy and purchase it, shame on them for closing today for a HOLIDAY!  The good thing is I think NOW they would actually show.  Before, they would have “other plans”.   Since I’ve run into a few of my friends who went, ALL of them had their DS lites on them in their purses.  A few even said that their boyfriends were whining that they got light pink ones because they wanted to steal them.  Haha.  Own’d.  Find your own Nintendo Ambassador!  Anyway, good time had by all.  Can’t wait to have more games to review!

I forgot to put something in the last post that has really made my week!  I have been chosen for the Nintendo Ambassador Program!!  Yay!  What does that mean?  That means….I get to play DS lite games!  That they send me.  In the mail!  WHAT?!?!  And have a cool party to introduce my girlfriends who aren’t gamers to the DS Lite.  WHAT?!?!

They usually specifically DON’T pick gamers for this program, they’re very selective and only a dozen or so people are picked across the country (Yes, I feel special)!  I guess they did something similar last year with those “Wii Parties” that started the buzz buzzing about the Wii, and now they’re doing it with the DS Lite and girls.   So, I get to invite my girlfriends to a party and they get to play with lots of DS games!  How cool is that?!  My girlfriends generally look at me like a freak of nature when they want to go out on weekends and I tell them I’m too busy raiding or Wii-ing or D&D-ing or something, so I look at this as a revenge of sorts:  If I can get them addicted, we could…play together. 
As you all know, I’m a huge proponent of women gaming.  The more women who game and are vocal about it, the more companies will broaden their point of view and say, limit women characters’ boobs to their head size or something.  And the DS lite, of which I already have one (a lovely boyfriend gift), is one of my favorite on-set activities when I’m acting.  My other one is knitting.   But I’m not well-versed in the games because I just have Brain Age and Mario, so I’m super excited about getting to try out new games that are released, and PRE-RELEASES!  Heck yes! I don’t think I could come up with something I’d rather be “Ambassador” for.  Maybe chocolate.

Anyway, I will be adding DS games to my blogging topics, and I’m sure there are a few of you Floggers out there who play as well ;)  And as always when I mention a product:  No cynical person, I’m not getting paid.  I did however, get a BEAUTIFUL coral DS Lite and Zelda and Planet Puzzle League in the mail yesterday!   Oh gosh, I can’t wait to load up Zelda, it was on my birthday wish list!   And I also should brush up on Brain Age before the party so I don’t get Ds or Cs in front of my non-gamer friends.  I DO have a reputation to maintain!

Guild shoot done! And today…I am absolutely useless.  I didn’t feel that stressed all week, but I realize now that coordinating, moving furniture, getting equipment, praying I didn’t forget a prop, rewriting the script…it requires a few days of rest at least to recover.   Lesson learned from this Guild shoot: Babies will not do what you want them to.  You’ll probably see what I mean after we upload, haha.

So to de-compensate…I played Depths of Peril for 4 hours today.  My newest addiction.   I found it from Game Tunnel’s best indie games of 2007.  I’m so gung-ho into indie coffee shops, and clothing shops etc. but I usually only play corporate behemoth games.  So, I gave a lot of the games on their “best of” list a shot, and found some really fun ones, especially the puzzle and adventure ones, my fave categories.  But Depths of Peril…mmm, it’s my new achilles tendon.

Graphics are cheesy, let’s just get it out there, so if you’re looking for that, don’t go indie.  But the gameplay is addictively Diablo-esque with the added element of factions playing against you.  It’s like having other real players adventuring alongside you (but it’s single player).  They compete for reputation by doing quests quicker than you, trading valuable objects for your favor, etc.  It’s really fun gameplay, and has that random loot drop addiction we all know and love.  A multi-player version of this would be sooo fun, I hope they’re working on it!  For now, it satisfies every one of my gaming urges in a nice, “feel-good about myself because I’m supporting independent people” way.

In other news, Flog regular Edgar reminded me today that I was slacking on my 101 things list.  And I totally am!  I don’t want to admit how far behind I am on leg shaving ;)  I realize that the habit forming items, like X 1x a week, are going to be hard to maintain and/or measure.  I might be altering those items to more concrete goals, and then transferring those recurring items to my daily checklist if I really want to make myself do them.  The “Remember the Milk” checklist is really doing me well, I’ve taken my vitamin and exercised almost every day since the 1rst!

I haven’t been totally slacking though.  I can cross one item off the list: #35, finish backyard!  We’ve had a dirt crapfest behind our house for 3 years.  Weed city.  Anyone who’s had landscaping done knows how expensive it is to install sprinklers, paving stones, etc.  I am not a ditchdigger, and I have a wilted thumb, so doing ourselves, bad idea.  I would go back there with a hoe and almost chop my foot off getting up weeds, and that was about it.  So, for my boyfriend’s birthday, I saved all last year, made the calls and last week the gardener started!  Yay!  I did a streamlined version of the grand plan we had envisioned, but at least it won’t be embarrassing to look back there anymore.  Yes, I might be dumb to spend money during the strike, but I figure being proactive is better than moping around.  And I rationalized, because a good friend of mine claims that the Feng Sui of that yard was adversely affecting my career.   Something about the back yard being the womb of Chi?  Ugh, I have no idea.   I will enjoy not feeling like trailer trash when I let the dog out in the morning

Oh, and you can see me in the Cheetos commercial I did! I think it’s actually airing on TV, this is some underground thing they’re releasing on youtube.  It’s weird they used my actual name.   There was a lot of dirty improv we did on the set, I hope they post more of it later.  For now, it’s just surreal and totally cool looking.

I couldn’t help posting a link to this announcement from Bioware. KOTOR are my FAVORITE GAMES in recent memory! I want to sign up now!