Nikita Hengbok :: You Can Never Be Me

The last time we(forum friends) went to a board gaming cafe, the Settler's, it was fully booked. We vowed to try them & this time round, we made an appointment on Saturday, 12pm, 7/7/07. What a date... three sevens! I arrived two hours late due to some unforeseen incidents. I swear it got something to do with that date! Seven may be a lucky number to westerners, but it's not exactly a good number to the Chinese.

Settle's Cafe located at North Canal Road

It's a no fringe cafe with bare tables, cheap plastic chairs, but stock with lots of board games. Price is $17 or $18 per pax which include free flow of drinks, snacks & a meal. Seem quite expensive to me as their snacks is so-so only & that one meal is horrible! They have two branches(one at Katong) & seem to be very popular with lots of teenagers. With the popularity of computer games, I'm surprise that board games is still in vogue.

Board Gaming Haven?

I'm not into board games. Only played Monopoly, Snake & Ladder, Aeroplane Chess when I was a kid. Other than those, I know next to nothing about board gaming. Also tend to get bored after a while playing board games or even computer games. Some find it fun though. Nostalgia for their childhood or school days? Anyway, half the time I was at Settlers, I dunno what's going on. All I noticed are, board games tend to be noisy & oily. Noisy coz gamers are screaming their frustration at computer games which are destroying their board gaming world? Oily coz those people are eating & handling game's items at the same time... =P

Let the game begin...

One of the game we played involved drawing & making outrageous comments or guesses.

And this is how it goes...

The turn get passed...

Then slowly. but inevitably, it turned weird...

Virus in board games?

and the virus spread to the other gender...

It's good game!

At 4 pm, exited gays & lesbos from Settlers to spread our newly founded sexual preference to Ngee Ann City where CosFest was held. Cos-play... oh yes, lots of cross-gender dressers there! We will join them in force! Invasion of the mixed-up gender-identity-crisis board gamers! Charge! LOL!

Our target site

Damn! The cops were prepared & waiting for us! They fear us so much that they set up security points & barricaded the area where the event was been held. To get in, you have to surrender all your belongings to the mighty X-Ray Robot! Then you walk through the menacing Metal Detector. Inside, lots of police were in disguise, cos-playing as... cops! The place was so confining with the huge crowd. CosFest was also made smaller by kids who played netball there regularly & now have to content with half a court.

Half-Court Netball

Cos-players not only have to put up with the heat & humidity, but also the hassle of going in & out of the area, especially those with fake weapons. Months/weeks of loving artfully works on accessories were trashed in a few seconds, rendered inaccurate by those bright blue 'Pass Inspection' stickers! We found out the cause of the security problem is not almost harmless us, but a big shot name LKY. Chey... is he so afraid that some cos-players gonna assassinate him with their wooden swords & plastic guns? Remind me not to go to any events which have big shots attending.

Despite the stifling atmosphere, lots of cos-players/fashion dressers bravely faced all those security horrors & they came parading in various anime or movie imagery, portraying the fantasy world of otaku-ism(otakon?).

All walks of Otakon

Fancily dressed groups

How to improve social skills & making impression with others...

"Which skill should I choose?"

To protect someone who dress like me from buayas, I need fierce & strong bodyguards franking me where ever I go. =P

My bodyguards

To illustrate a point of me needing bodyguards, I was pestered by many photographers who asked me to pose for pic even though I'm neither a cos-player nor a fashion dresser. Next cos-play event, I'm gonna hang a sign on me saying "Only a Casual Passerby!" =P

Me with stolen chopper photo-ed by unknown photographer

Note: Like the above pic, I discovered numerous different pic of me at StreetFest & CosFest on the web. To those who took my pic, it's ok, I don't mind. Actually, I'm flattered. Thanks. =P

After my involuntary cos-play photo shoots, some of us went to Esplanade in the evening to watch fireworks.

An Esplanade Evening

I love watching fireworks! Watching fireworks is like sex. You waited & waited in anticipation, wriggling with impatience. When it cum, bursting with powerful & colorful orgasm energy, just take my breath away. Alas, like sex, it last only momentarily. Hahaha... =P

Let There Be FireWorkz!