The Cake Is A Lie

It was inevitable. I heard about it for ages. People told me it was great. I listened, I nodded in understanding, I forgot.

What was it again? Tunnel? Hallway? Hatch?

Oh, right. Portal.

Then, I started hearing about Portal 2. This somewhat peaked my interest, but not too much. Fine, fine, another game. Yes, great, one day I’ll get around to playing the first one. One day. Maybe.

I might never have gotten to it, except that Teefury (this amazing site that puts out a new geek-themed shirt every 24 hours, for 24 hours only), released an awesome shirt on the day Portal 2 debuted. Only, I didn’t know yet just how awesome it was. See, it said this:

How cool is that??? But, what did it *mean*?

As it turns out, in Portal there is this cake motif where they promise you cake…but there isn’t really any cake. Kind of a bummer, but it sounded quirky. And yummy. Except, now I want cake. Hang on, I’ll be right back!

*picks up crumbs* As I was saying, the game sounded interesting. So, I texted my friend to get my Steam username again and downloaded the free trial. (For those of you who don’t know what Steam is, the best explanation I have is that it is iTunes for computer games.) I WAS HOOKED.

The same awesome friend gifted me an extra copy of the full version he had lying around on his computer, and I’ve almost beaten the game. It’s getting to the intense part, so I’m only playing it a few minutes at a time (lasers make me nervous, okay???).

It’s not your typical computer game, either. You have to use logic and math and physics and stuff to advance through the game. I got stuck on one level for hours because I couldn’t figure out the right angle approach to a certain jump that would give me the required velocity to breach the wall. See, just playing the game makes you sound smarter. Or, at least it makes you think you sound smarter.

So, I shall end my fangirling with a link to the song from Portal. It is quite sarcastic and amusing. If you get the chance, definitely try the game out! You might even get cake.

Still Alive

 

 

Why We Do What We Do

I am sitting in a Starbucks not my own, watching the dynamics of those around me. This is a young Starbucks…I don’t see or know of a barista working here who is over 30. They get along well with each other, and seem to have a solid customer base.

One if these regular customers is a mentally challenged young man, sitting in the cafe. He knows the baristas and a good many of the customers, and they know him. He wanders for a while, restless. Quiet, unobtrusive, but restless.

Soon, one of the young male baristas comes into the cafe. He takes off his green apron and black hat, and arranges two chairs at a big table. He sits in one, the mentally challenged young man in another. A deck of UNO cards appear, and they play.

For over an hour, they play the game, soft exclamations of UNO punctuating the alternative mix on the radio. This is not the first time I’ve watched this scene play out, and it won’t be the last. It touches my heart- the patience, love, and dedication of time that this barista is willingly making. I leave to run an errand, and come back half an hour later to take drinks to my friends. They are both still there, still playing, still chatting, still smiling.

I would go up and tell this barista how proud I am to have a fellow partner like him, but I wouldn’t interrupt this UNO game for the world.

<3