*****FRIDAY*****

*1:00 PM* We have arrived at Hosscat’s lair, computers in tow. Unfortunately there was a miscommunication and our hosts were waiting for us at Cici’s Pizza. We setup quickly and rush down for the all-you-can eat buffet!

*2:05 PM* We’re back at Lan Central with full bellies and eager to get the first frags of the weekend. The first few folks to arrive are myself, Joe Frescoln, Justin Miller, Tristan Pinkham, and Andrew “Hosscat” Reiter. We loaded up Team Fortress 2 and found a good server to play on. Its game time! The Mountain Dew count is now at 1.

*3:00 PM* Nate just showed up with his computer and a double case of Bud Select. Nate was born without the ability to control the volume of his voice. Time to insert earplugs. Shortly after Nate started setting up, Tristan lost power to his PC. He wasn’t pleased.

*3:29 PM* The internet went down momentarily, forcing a break the action. A perfect chance to check out Guitar Hero 3 on the Wii. Forgoeing any kind of warming, Butch selected the Dragonforce song for us to play head to head with.

*4:03 PM* The internet is back up and running, unfortunately Nate’s car isn’t. We took a small break to move cars to the commuter lot to free up Butch’s driveway. Justin volunteered to move Nate’s beat up Oldsmobile when it stalled pulling onto the highway. It took two guys to push it onto the side of the road, and there it sits, in front of Butch’s house.

*6:18 PM* More people have showed up which include Chris, Butch’s cousin Jake, and Nathan Sanders. We’ve taken a small break from Team Fortress while we wait on more players. Justin and I are playing Kart Rider, while Chris and Jake duel in Ping Pong. A few others are upstairs playing Guitar Hero. The chili is warming in the crock pot and is starting to sound pretty good.

*6:47 PM* More people starting to show. Aaron just pulled in, followed shortly by part 1 of the Branson crew: Jason Wyatt and Jeremy McNeal. The chili is going fast, and my Mountain Dew count has gone up to 2.

*7:30 PM* The rest of the crew has arrived from Branson. Rose, Thomack, Libertini, and Toli. Tempers are starting to flare as there is a reported shortage of Mountain Dew. The original Branson revealed a huge stash of goodies sent here by my mom. Chocolate chip cookies, chips, soda, and potatoes?? The chili is almost gone, and everyone is eagerly setting up their PCs so they can jump into the game.

*9:57 PM* A network outage interrupted a long gaming session which featured a local game of 9 vs 9. Several people are playing Ping Pong, Guitar Hero, and Portal while we try to get things working on our impromptu network.

*****SATURDAY*****

*10:04 AM* Its morning. I’m not exactly sure what time I went to bed, we played Team Fortress late into the night. I’ve been forced to stop counting my Mountain Dew intake due to outside influences, but its somewhere around 7. Hosscat’s chili didn’t sit too well with my stomach. I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one. We’re looking or the number of a Priest to come in and exercise the back bathroom after Nate made a morning visit. Speaking of Nate, he scored a ginormous bag of breakfast burritos from McDonalds for our breakfast.

*2:08 PM* After a very intense session of gaming this morning, we’ve taken a break to get food, rest our eyes, and stretch. Several of the older gamers are noticing that sleeping on the floor isn’t as easy as it was at some of the first Lan Parties. The Reiter brothers are injecting seasoning into two mammoth turkeys. That with four boxes of stuffing, a couple boxes of instant mash potatoes, and an enormous pile of rolls will be our annual Thanksgiving lunch.

*6:18 PM* Lots of gaming, Team Fortress 2 seems to be the most popular game of the Lan Party. Not much really going on other than a bunch of geeks staring at their computers.

*****SUNDAY*****

*9:46 AM* Its morning and most people are up. After two nights in a row of sleeping on the floor, I feel like I’ve been in a car crash. Some of the guys are playing Lego Star Wars on the Wii, while others are eagerly awaiting the breakfast casserole. We’re trying to setup a game of Team Fortress now to get that last bit of gaming in before everyone leaves.

*7:24 PM* The Party is over and most people are home or on their way. A special thanks to Katie and Butch for hosting us again. I’m fairly confident everyone went home having had a great time. We were fortunate to have several intense gaming sessions, lots of great food, and nice accommodations.

Here are the pictures I took from this weekend’s event.