After some deliberation we have decided on Conker - Live and Reloaded. This game had a fairly good rating overall and is a bit different than any other game of the month we have played. A walkthrough is available as usual. Also available is the schedule.
Yes, people are not only awake late at night, but sometimes they are actually trying to be productive. Sadly us late night people are relegated to 24 hour grocery stores (they finally came to their senses to remain open during these hours as they suddenly must have realized that even people that are awake in the evening eat just like the daywalkers), McDonald’s and Tim Horton’s. Before anyone says that these establishments along with coffee and cigarettes are the requirements of all major food groups, keep in mind that some of us although not militant health nuts, may actually want to have a higher quality of life and an expectancy past 50.
Recently, I was doing some late night tech work (after finishing my day job. I ended up finishing at around 4:30AM and typically my routine is to finish my regular job around 11pm or a bit after if I end up staying late and then go to the gym to work out and then home to eat what I refer to as my supper because that’s how my schedule works. I will admit, it is a bit unconventional compared to the daywalker rat race of shuffling through train stations and driving in stop and go, but somehow I am able to get through an existance without such experiences. I hadn’t eaten anything after leaving at 11PM so by the time 4:30AM came around I was quite hungry. I knew my choices would be limited but even with that pretext, I still ended up disappointed. So, let’s review my choices at this hour - either I go to the grocery store and pick up something I can make myself or I can go to McDonald’s or Tim Horton’s. Now, although visiting Tim Horton’s has become some kind of Canadian fixation, the idea, smell or taste of anything coffee related makes my stomach turn. Incredulous? The next time you are standing next to someone with a cup of coffee, close your eyes and imagine someone just had a bowel movement there - the two odors are interchangeable. And, I have to say, I’ve never been impressed with Tim Horton’s food, I have almost always found it unsatisfying. So, one down, two to go. Next up, the grocery store - I didn’t feel like actually making anything and almost anything else you can get from a grocery store that is premade isn’t very good anyway. To add to those factors, the idea of getting out of my car and traversing a 6000 square foot kingdom of food didn’t really sound appealing at 4:30AM. So, off to McDonald’s. Surely I can get something chicken oriented or as close to the actual bird as they can get (everyone loves biting into the ever popular “McChicken” that most times actually looks gray or black on the inside and unfortunately this is not because it is burned). So, I pull up and all I see are eggs and english muffins. So I inquire on the obligatory mumble machine and sure enough, they suddenly have contracted acute amnesia and completely forgotten to make anything else other than breakfast! This is one of the downfalls of larger establishments - they have to play by the rules all time. If it were a locally owned family restaurant, it would have been no problem to throw on a burger or prepare something with real chicken. So I muttered ‘nevermind’ into the refurbished walkie talkie and was on my way back home. At least I didn’t give them my money because conglomerates only understand this as a sign of approval. Very few places actually customer’s opinions. All that matters is whether you buy from their establishment. Spending is the direct and only litmus test of customer satisfaction for most places these days.
I know there are arguments against this late night school of thought, but it gets to be the chicken or the egg routine all over again doesn’t it? Places aren’t open late at night because they don’t get enough customers but customers don’t go there because they aren’t open. I would have loved a Quiznos sub or a pita from one of my favorite pita places. As it turned out, I went home and puncuated the whole escapade with some irony by having oatmeal and then going to bed.