Things have been good.  I had a little trouble some days making sure I got enough sleep, but good nonetheless.

We won Ludum Dare, somewhat unexpectedly (for me at least).  Really quite nice to see that people appreciated our game and what we were able to put into it.  I think the ratings reflect less on the overall quality of our work and more on what people were excited about and found enjoyable (and at the same time what flaws they were willing to overlook).

I think I was able to make a new friend, recently, too.  Perhaps more than the Ludum Dare win, that is something that gives me a little bit of a rekindling of my faith (I'm tempted to use "soul gem" imagery but that's definitely a too-morbid metaphor here, haha).  Recently I've been wondering if / how I could find people who seem "of my tribe".  It's not that I don'[t already know people like that exist, but I think having those people actually be present in my life is something that I have missed at times.

Social dance has been an interesting thing, lately, still.  The social aspect went well for me recently (oddly?), probably just good luck and a fortuitous attitude on my part.  I struggle now, still, to figure out what makes my dancing enjoyable for myself...or rather, how I should be dancing, in order for it to "feel right".  I've gotten a few clues into what it could be; maybe it's about focusing on my breathing, maybe it's about traveling more, further, and more smoothly.  Maybe it's simply about dancing with the right people, I'm not sure.  Something that's intriguing is that I don't know if I appreciate the same things in partner dance as I do in solo dance.  I mean, sure, there are broad similarities, but I don't think the smooth "pulling forward" motions are something that I appreciate in my solo dance.  I'm not really sure what that says about me, if anything.  I know that after I practice tai chi, I feel really pleasant.  Slightly exerted, but it's a pleasant feeling.  It feels like I ought to feel the same way after dancing well, too, but I'm not.

Rhythm Quest continues to roll along steadily.  I managed to put together the music for level 5-1, so that's one big hump (the intimidation of starting on a new world) gone.  Now I've just got to finalize that and start putting together the backdrops for that stage as well...and then force myself to remember how fun making the music is for these levels, so hopefully I don't drag my feet, and instead keep a good pace for them.

The next mission I have coming up in Caesar 3 is the infamous "Lugdunum", one of the biggest challenges in the entire campaign.  It's a peaceful mission where your farmland lies awkwardly on the top of raised plateaus, and the immigration/emigration points are separated from the rest of the map by an awkwardly long access point.  There's a lack of great open areas for your housing blocks (much less villa/palace housing), but I think the food distribution problem is the main issue really.  I haven't started trying to tackle this map yet, but I'm sure I'll probably have to restart it once or twice (unless I'm lucky) as I learn how to best approach it.

I've slowed down on progress through Triangle Strategy -- now approaching the final chapters of my new game+ playthrough.  I think the enjoyment is slowing down a bit for sure since there's not a ton more stuff to unlock and I'm reaching the level cap, plus story-wise it's a ton of retreading already-seen ground.  If anything I =might= try new game ++ on hard mode and go for the so-called "golden route", but I don't think I'm going to end up trying to recruit all the different characters (takes 4 playthroughs??) so I will probably pass on the 2 bandit characters.

I have an overseas trip coming up in under two months!  I've been doing some planning and such for that, which is kind of exciting, it should be a good trip and hopefully fun while also not being too stressful.  Really odd that despite purportedly "not enjoying travel that much" I seem to travel more often than several others around me.  The half/full day of travel part is a little rough but at the same time probably not =that= rough for me.  I'm sure I can find ways to make nice use of my time (I dunno, play through Mother 3 or something) but the layover (which I foolishly could have avoided, apparently) and physical effects of the flight and such might be draining.  Still, it's something that will probably be a lot of fun.

Tomorrow is the start of another week...hopefully another good one.