Capture the Flag

Capture the Flag totally happened today, and it was magnificent.

I have to admit that in the few hours before we were supposed to meet, I had some concerns.  Nobody had responded to my reminders of the event and a ton of people bailed or couldn't make it.  But luckily, we had just enough players to start a game and we quickly gained momentum as friends and strangers alike joined us.

Credit goes to Kyran for spurring interest in Kaitlyn, our new flagbearer, who is now one of our core participants, and to Jonathan for being the only one who arrived on time.  Due to these acts of merit, and the fact that they each managed to capture the enemy flag in the two conclusive games we played, Kyran and Jonathan are our MVPs in the league.

The territories worked out really nicely, and the best part is how we can condense the playing area if we run low on players.  In my excitement I made an official group and set the date for the next game for the following Sunday.  Aside from an exploding wallet, high-speed tumbles, breaches of verbally unconfirmed time-out etiquette, and a competitive edge arising in many of us, this looks like a promising start to a brilliant new pastime.

Biscuit Showdown

Due to the pleads of Jacqui, and the general lack of enthusiasm for another dip-related competition, I decided to organise a bake-off.  There were some semi-heated debates about whether a cookie and a biscuit are truly one and the same, but other than that, things went fairly smoothly.

Oh, with the exception of Nick nearly killing Kyran by insisting on pistachio drizzle for his alleged "biscuits" (which were more like cakes anyway, in all honesty).  The rules are there for a reason!

Way more competitors than I expected!  Despite waiting awhile for three very drunk friends, it went as smoothly as we could have hoped.  Kyran won again, much to the dismay of Jacqui and Nicole, who were the favourites to win, with their trademark salted chocolate chip cookies and French macaroons, respectively.  Jacqueline argued that the coconut ice cream Kyran brought to accompany his cookies gave him an advantage not directly related to his baking prowess, but his cookies were delicious, in all fairness.

Afterwards, we played Quelf, which is decidedly the worst board game in the world.  Any family or group of friends that plays this will hate each other after half an hour, especially if anyone has had a few drinks beforehand.

[February 7, 2011] - Kyran made a video to commemorate the occasion.  Fantastic.

Bah.. Hummus!

Another food competition!  I'm not going to deny the possibility that I enjoy organising these simply to make food-related puns.

Despite my confidence that my hummus was going to school all the others, I came fourth.  There were five competitors.  It's still a leg-up from my dead-last finish from the Guac-Off, but it's disappointing nonetheless.

Kyran pulled a slight faux pas by adding pomegranate to his entry yet again, but he still came in a comfortable second place.  Andrea's hummus was the champion, and deservedly so.  The paprika sprinkling on top was a very alluring addition, and won her the Nicolas Schneiter Presentation Award from the majority of the judges.  My mind is already scheming the next contest.. and I find myself thinking deep thoughts with the word "Salsageddon" on my lips..

Oh yeah, and afterwards, Justin bet me $20 that I couldn't eat a massive flatbread loaded with hummus after we'd already gorged ourselves.  I did not hesitate to accept his offer, to the delight and disgust of all present, and won easily (there is a video, but I'm not going to post it here).

Yep.. It's a Guac-Off

Success!  Each competitor stepped up to the challenge with a unique guacamole of their own.  I say "unique" because mine was laced with levels of garlic and lemon that surpassed ordinary human tolerance.  Justin awarded me a mere four out of ten, the bastard; I believe this may have tarnished our friendship to a degree.

Kevin arrived late (after entrusting his guac entry to me to bring to Nick's for him), and he was shocked to see that the majority of the guacamole had disappeared.  My theory that guacamole can be eaten continuously until gone, no matter the quantity, has yet to be disproven.

In the end, it was a dead heat between Nick's meat-guac and Kyran's pomegranate-guac but we eventually decided that Kyran was the winner.  Mariam being a vegetarian, the chorizo in Nick's entry was frowned upon.  Kyran's presentation was phenomenal and he also churned up his guac minutes before the contest began, so he deserved points there.