Blog Share: My Partner is a Gamer

I recently discovered (or rather, was discovered by) a woman named Vicki who also blogs about her gamer guy. Actually, she is much better at it than me because my blog covers a wider range of topics (like crafts and other random geeky things), whereas she has dedicated multi-post series on the how-tos and best practices of tolerating and eventually coming to understand your gamer's favorite addiction. My favorite categories include Game Face Tips (your attitude toward his gaming habit) and Things to Do While Your Partner is Gaming.

Anyway, I hope you'll check her blog out and give her some love and support. I guess the reason why I don't write as many focused entries on "dealing with" your gamer husband/boyfriend is because a) I don't consider K to be a hardcore addict and b) I've never had a problem with that particular hobby. I grew up watching my younger brother play video games, and now I enjoy watching K. In fact, I almost prefer it when K plays games versus when he wants to watch TV/movies with me because as a type A person who hates being idle, I want the freedom to get off the couch at any point and start doing something else, whereas a TV show or movie demands a large percentage of my attention for a continuous period of time.

But apparently women like me are not the norm. Of all the male gamers I know who have wives/girlfriends in their lives, about 66% of those women do not like it when their gamer, well, games. Some women are more supportive than others and will even buy video games as birthday gifts. Others flat-out despise the entire genre and will begin screaming at their significant others at the slightest "beep beep boop" they hear. One time I had a friend ask me if K plays Halo, and when I said, "No, why?", she replied, "Because I asked my husband to pick up some groceries last night while I was at work, and instead he spent the whole evening playing that stupid game. So, does K want a copy?" Um... your solution is to give away Halo? Won't he just turn to some other game next time? ^_^;;

I think K put it best when he asked, "Why are certain hobbies considered better than others? Like reading books versus watching TV versus playing a video game. All of them are just forms of entertainment that different types of people enjoy. And you cannot seriously tell me that reading Twilight is a 'higher form' of entertainment than playing Heavy Rain."

(I was totally going to put a picture of Twilight vs. Heavy Rain up here, but then I saw this awesome collage of the Heavy Rain main characters compared to the actors they were based on. So cool! Credit goes to SiMPLExDESiGN)

Question:
Are you part of the 33% who enjoys watching your significant other play video games, or the 66% who just tolerates/hates it? Why do you feel this way?

Anime Suggestions for Anti-Anime Audiences

K is not an anime lover. He enjoys Japanese video games and American comic books, but it's like pulling teeth to get him to watch any Asian animation with me. Sure, he watched Macross Plus and Robotech in his youth (blargh, I hate "fighting robot" mecha anime), but nowadays, he feels that anime all has the same, stupid characteristics:

Faces that abruptly transform from serious to super silly, disproportionate expressions

Boys that accidentally faceplant into female chests (I agree, overt fan service is pretty annoying... ¬_¬)

Super awesome sword fighters/warriors that can barely be touched in battle but have secret emotional wounds/vulnerabilities (I don't quite understand this one, but K referred to something like "adolescent power fantasies etc etc")

Anyway, what I'm hearing is that the only way he'll watch anime is if it's as non-typical as possible, so I'm thinking:

• Serious drama or action genres (definitely no comedies because he doesn't find most anime humor funny)
• "Mature" content (aka avoid shows for kids like Bleach and Naruto) 
• More realistic drawing styles

Based on that, I've honed down my selection (no more Mushishi or X, which are both very Japanese in their own way). Maybe you'll find this list interesting/useful, but mind you, I'm catering to K so these are a) pretty guy-friendly series and b) not necessarily good for people who are completely new to anime. So yeah, take these suggestions with a grain of salt:

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
Futuristic crime thriller involving a special ops task force and sentient robots (robots are kinda like mechs, right?)

Baccano!
Think The Untouchables violence meets chronologically challenged Momento, but set in 1930's New York with a huge cast of immortals, Mafia gangs, and more (yeah, K likes complexity...)

Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit
An action-adventure fantasy set in ancient Asian lands, where an honor-bound spear-wielding warrioress protects a young prince on the run from his father, the Emperor

So far, K has watched a few episodes of Ghost in the Shell and Baccano, and they appear to be real contenders for holding his interest. However, with 3 Star Trek series on his plate (yes, I said three because he just added Enterprise x_x), it's hard to make time for them. Will let you know how it goes...

Question:
What series would you recommend to people who have watched anime before and hate it?

Sorry, I Don't Like You Enough to Knit for You

I have four other friends/acquaintances who are pregnant and due within two months of me. One of them, whom I don't know very well, invited me to her baby shower next week, so I decided to make a Miffy the bunny plushie. After about 3 nights of using a tight tension for this pattern (knitted amigurumi tend to be stretchy and can leak stuffing if the weave is loose), my left hand was severely cramping and poor Miffy was still lacking a face:

Poor faceless (and body-less) Miffy...

Compared to crochet (my first yarn craft love), knitting takes me at least twice the processing power and effort, and my results are... unreliable, to say the least. I know I know, practice makes perfect, but at that point, I decided that I just didn't know this woman well enough to suffer for her anymore. She was just going to have to settle for some speedy crochet projects... preferably something with lots of large holes! And what do you know, I was able to complete three patterns last night:

Baby hat, baby mittens, and baby cocoon for taking adorable newborn pictures

The acquaintance in question happens to be a photographer, so I figure that the baby cocoon will be even more special to her than a silly Miffy bunny that would take me 8x as long to make... :) And don't worry, Miffy will be completed in the near future and is still going to a good home, given that I have 3 other expectant moms to choose from!

(Photo from Sarah Boccolucci Photography)

Question:
Do you find knitting or crocheting harder? Which technique did you learn first?

The Resurgence of Stay-at-Home Moms?

A couple of months ago we had a snow day, and on Facebook, I saw lots of messages declaring "So glad to be a SAHM (stay-at-home mom)!", "Me too!", and "Such a blessing." Maybe this is something isolated to the Christian community, but it seems like all the wives in my past and current Bible studies are either stay-at-home full-time or working part-time. I'm serious, the count is 12 no-time/part-time to 4 full-time women, and out of those 4 full-time women, 3 of them are older and have no kids in the house.

With the impending addition to our family (let's call him "Dexter" from now on), the decision has been weighing on my heart. On one hand, I've never cared much about climbing the corporate ladder and derive more pleasure from supporting my husband and keeping our household running smoothly (yes, how domestic of me, an engineer with a master's degree). Plus, childcare for more than 1 kid is obscenely expensive. On the other hand, my mom worked full-time her entire career, and I feel like I had a normal, happy childhood and developed into a strong independent woman because of it. I think she would positively die of shock if I told her I was considering being a SAHM. I can already hear her now: "What a waste of an education!" "Children of SAHMs turn out no better than those of working moms." "What if something happens to K's job?"

Well, to be accurate, something did happen to K's job. He's been out of the workforce for half a year now, and yet God has continued to provide while we wait for opportunities to come to fruition. In my ideal world, I would like to work part-time 2 hours a day while Dexter is less than a year old. Once he's a little older, that could eventually ramp up to 3-5 hours a day, but I'd like to stay part-time permanently to have extra time for my family.

Sometimes it can be hard for me think that my measly desires will make any sort of blip in God's master plan, but it says in Matthew 7:
⁷ “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. ⁹ Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? ¹¹ If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!"

So I guess all I can do is what it says: ask and hope. I'll let you know what happens. :)

Question:
Do you or would you stay at home with your kids?

Using Friends to "Smuggle" Import Games

As you know, K and I are totally addicted to Capcom's Monster Hunter series, which is hugely popular in Japan. It's like the US equivalent of... the Harry Potter franchise. It's more than a video game; it's a cultural phenomenon. Unfortunately, Monster Hunter is not as mainstream here in America, so not every game in the series makes it across the ocean. The last release in the US was Monster Hunter Tri for the Wii in 2010 (remember K's monster hunting nest?), and since then, Capcom has released 3 expansion variants in Japan.

With only rumors of possible ports to America, what are desperate fans like us supposed to do? Importing a Japanese game would cost about $65-70 (including shipping), so we were going to forget about it. Then we found out a friend was booking a tour of Japan... ^____^

The tour guide pointed him to a video game store within walking distance of his hotel in Narita. (As you can see, the XBox 360 is not prominently featured because it's not considered one of the top gaming platforms in Japan.)

Even with a very poor understanding of English, the cashiers were able to communicate with our friend using only a calculator and finger pointing. (I can't tell, but is that 6 floors of video games??)

Hmm, I wonder if that mother is buying that game for her kid or herself...

Success!! Two copies of Monster Hunter Portable 3rd for K and me at only $33 each. (I can't believe Japan has already released the "Greatest Hits" version of it.)

Too bad we have to wait until his return in May to receive our payload. Still, it was such a pleasant surprise to receive these pictures as proof. I'd love to go to Japan myself someday, so then it'll be my turn to bring back "rare" Japanese goodies! ^_^

Peeps Sushi!

K is so funny. I sent him on an errand to get some French bread for making homemade Italian sausage pizza tonight, and when he comes back, he won't let me look into the kitchen for at least half an hour or more. Mind you, I'm working at the dining table, so the kitchen is right behind me with no doors or walls in between. The sounds coming from his general vicinity included chopping, crackling of plastic, and the occasional shooing of the cat (Chairman Meow was equally interested in the going-ons of K).

Turns out my oh-so-sneaky husband was making... Peeps sushi (aka "Peepshi")! I'd shown him this article from Serious Eats over a year ago, and it looks like it triggered a memory when he saw all those cheap Peeps on sale post-Easter at the grocery store.

All lined up, ready for easy consumption :)

I was out tonight with my anime group, suffering through the terrible 1980's animated movie The Flight of Dragons (blargh, can't wait till we go back to watching series again), so I haven't actually eaten one of these cute little sugar bombs yet. However, I've been told that the Peepshi are so much better than the sum of their parts. ^_~ Happy belated Easter to you all!

Chinese BBQ Pork Buns (Cha Shao Bao)

K and I loooove Asian food. Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Thai... I can never OD on it. So why not try to recreate some of the delicious delicacies from the restaurants? One of our favorite dishes is the Chinese BBQ pork buns you can get at Cantonese dim sum. We also found them at a local Asian grocery store, but it can be quite an expensive addiction. Imagine if we could make them at home instead! (Note: this recipe requires a steamer or rice cooker with a steam rack.)

Chinese BBQ Pork Buns (Cha Shao Bao)

Source: Closet Cooking

INGREDIENTS:
(makes a dozen buns)

• Dough
• 1/3 cup water, lukewarm
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 cup flour
• 3/4 cup cake flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp oil
• ~1/2 cup water (lukewarm)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• Filling
• 1 cup Chinese BBQ pork (cha shao) from an Asian grocery store, chopped finely
• 1 green onion, sliced finely
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp hoisin sauce
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 tsp sherry cooking wine
• 1/4 tsp sesame oil
• 1/8 tsp Chinese five spice

INSTRUCTIONS:

1) To make the dough, mix the 1/3 cup water, flour, yeast, and sugar in a large bowl and let it sit for 30 minutes.
2) Add the flours, baking powder, salt, sugar, and oil.
3) Mix while slowly pouring in the 1/2 cup water until it just starts to form a dough.
4) Knead the dough until smooth, about 3-5 minutes.
5) Place the dough back in the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let it rise for 3-4 hours.

6) Mix the pork, green onions, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, honey, wine, sesame oil, and Chinese five spice.

Dicing up the Chinese BBQ pork

Mixing up the filling

7) Sprinkle the baking powder over the dough and knead it well.
8) Roll the dough into a log and cut it into 12 equally sized pieces.
9) Roll each piece into a ball, flatten with a rolling pin, and place a tablespoon of filling into the center. Pinch the dough on both sides, and then pinch the dough on the top and bottom. Pull the four pinches up to the center and given them a little twist.

(click to enlarge)

10) Place the balls on squares of wax paper, cover and let rise for 30 minutes.

11) Place the balls into a steamer, without touching each other, and steam for 10 minutes. I don't have a steamer per se, but my rice cooker has a plastic steam rack. I dumped about 2 inches of water in the  rice cooker and placed the buns + wax paper in the steam rack accessory. I waited till I saw steam coming out of the rice cooker (maybe 30 minutes?) before I started the 10-minute timer.

K swears they taste just like the restaurant and store-baked ones and can't wait to make more. Personally, I count this recipe as more on the gourmet side of the scale, so it's going to be a little while before I can muster the courage to make them again. ^_~

Top 3 Quirky Pregnancy Announcements

Back when we were trying to think of creative ways to announce our pregnancy, I tried to look online for geeky ways to do it, but there was hardly anything out there! However, among the search results were a few examples that caught my attention. Maybe we'll think of something even cooler to do for the birth announcement. :)

Geekiest Announcement: Star Wars Baby
Several people of done similar variations on the Star Wars theme, but this method of announcement might be a little too nerdy even for us. ^_~

Funniest Announcement: Raisin' Baby
Back when we just got married, K used to kid that he didn't know if our first child should be a "raisin' baby" or an "eatin' baby." This image totally brought us to our knees in laughter.

Craftiest Announcement: Puzzling Baby
Out of the three, this is my absolute favorite baby announcement! I would've loved to do something like this for our family. Maybe for the next kiddo. :)

P.S. A reader named Mollie had posted this awesome geeky baby announcement on my comments, but I wasn't able to download it in time. If she sees this post and gets back to me, I'll be sure to write about it!