LAN in the Town of Cape

With all this recent going-outery and suntannery, a part of me has missed my beloved Xbox sessions and multiplayer mayhem. Fortunately, yesterday provided me with an opportunity to relive my gaming glory for at least an afternoon. With Gears of War 2 , no less.

Unfortunately, there was one hitch in my plan. My friends had locked me in their house.

Me Gnarl. Me HUNGRY!

You see, for the poor, poor students of UCT (my friends being among their number), it was back to the grindstone as a fresh new year of varsity began on Monday. That meant that every morning, I'd wake up and stagger to my feet (wearing nothing but my underwear, of course), scratch my beer-belly and belch a lazy goodbye to my hardworking associates before passing out again. Because that's how I roll.

This time, however, things were slightly different. I warned my buddies that I needed to go out that afternoon, so they were to leave the front door unlocked so that I could escape while they were out. The whole idea was that I would then close (and therefore lock) the door once safely outside the building. What happened instead was this:

ME (at about 9 AM): Don't forget to leave the door open for me.

MY FRIEND: Okie dokies, I'll keep it unlocked then.

(Friend instantly forgets promise and locks the door)

ME: Mmm, this peanut butter sandwich has completely diverted my attention. It is delicious!

(half an hour passes)

ME: OH CRAP.

I was stuck in the house until about 1pm, after which I was mercifully released and allowed to proceed to my LAN destination. It was a humble setup – only 3 Xboxes (Xboxes? Xboxen? Xbeese? I can never figure out which) and 5 players, newbies amongst their number - but Gears of War 2 is something of a trump card for awesomeness, so we proceeded rather merrily regardless.

The rig was great until we realised there was no space for the players.

During that particular afternoon, I went to what's probably the most awesome bakery in the existence of bread-like production. The Coimbra Bakery in Claremont has some of the most lovingly-crafted delicacies that I've ever seen in a corner cafe, including a whole bunch of delectable confectionery that one would be hard-pressed to find on offer anywhere else.

I was almost loathe to leave without extensively sampling the wares, but the fact that I'd just eaten lunch (combined with the promise of a glorious lasagne meal that evening) forced me to settle with a packet of popcorn and one of their delightful Petit Fours.

So, a summary of the Gears LAN? Well, it went swimmingly, of course. And I was amazing. Practically awe-inspiring.

Badass.

It also made for a refreshing geeky change in light of all the other malarkey I'd been getting up to recently, and also provided me with a little peek at Xbox Live's version of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night . I'm craving now, dear reader. Craving so badly.