Sorry I didn’t have this up right away, but I had such an amazing time that I still wanted to write about it. Better late then never!

L.A.: CGS Condos, E3, and Venice Beach

Recently, two weeks of madness and fun ended, as us Frag Dolls returned home from the glazed confusion and exhaustion of two weeks on the road.  The madness has still not abated (at least for me) as I continue to try and recuperate from two of the best weeks of my life (and BlizzCon this last week as well).

I flew to L.A. on Tuesday, all hyped and geared up to work at a “new” E3 the following day.  Since my husband had been in this city for six weeks in order to compete on Project Gotham Racing for CGS, me and my crew (Calyber, Brooke, and Nelly) decided to go check out their sweet condos, which were conveniently a couple of blocks away, to see him and all the other CGS pro gamers. This venture also included seeing our ever-beloved, and super sexy ex-Frag Doll, Kat Hunter (a.k.a Katscratch), and many of our PMS girls that were participating in this circuit.

We walked into the condo and my husband had a bunch of people to greet us, including some of the shoutcasters and higher-ups, and (surprise, surprise) a chick sleeping in his bed, so it is safe to say everyone got a show from me in the beginning (long story, very good explanation, but you don’t surprise a wife like that without warning). After the fireworks stopped, we all got our swimsuits and went down to the pool to get some life-giving rays of sweet L.A. sun.

Periodically, the competitors stopped by and chatted up with us, but most were in their own rooms preparing for competition as they should have been. We laid out for a few hours then about twelve of us proceeded to go out to dinner, drink some good wine, and get to bed somewhat early for the next day of work.

While some might not like the new E3 set-up, I thoroughly enjoyed it for the first time this year. Finally, it was not a mad crush of sweaty bodies pushing their way to games. While it is too bad that the venues were split up and far away from each other, at least I was ABLE to play many games and get a chance to explore the venue this year. Last year, the only game I was able to see was Gears of War and I put my job on the line when I snuck away on the last day, during the last hour, to do so.

This year, it was smooth sailing and my highlight was seeing Rock Band played in the G4TechTV booth. My friend Joe (I love you!) is now working for G4TechTV and we all got to hang out with him as well; he even schooled Psyche on Guitar Hero (those of you who know how good Psyche is on this game will understand how big a deal this is)! The game we were demoing, Naruto (for the Xbox 360), was also spectacular and I didn’t mind the hours spent playing the campaign and versus mode.  I now consider myself and expert at this game.  If a league picks up this versus mode for competition, you can be sure I will be there with all the sweet combos I learned.

On Thursday night we attended the Ubisoft E3 party, in which us Frag Dolls walked in and first took over the private VIP area in typical spoiled fashion, then later in the night after a few cocktails, moved over to take the dance floor. The music was horrible, but who cares when you’re having fun, right? After making an idiot of myself we finally went home in blurry mess of flushed faces and skin, from a very fun and satisfying night of partying.

After the three days of E3 were over, we again hung out with my hubby and some of the CGS guys (Double B, GTO, & KreeganBG). On Saturday, we went to Venice Beach and swam in the ocean as I tried to get some sun on this albino skin. Later, we got antsy and everyone rented rollerblades and I rented a cute Schwinn bike (yes, I’m lazy).  We scooted down to the Santa Monica pier but, alas, those on rollerblades had forgotten to bring their shoes and I lost the bike lock so we didn’t get to go explore it. On the way back, I stopped to get my fortune read by a very freaky gypsy, who nailed me to a T, even if I don’t believe in that silly nonsense.  I also bought a cowboy hat, since I am a Texan and all, and we returned our stuff after about three hours of glorious play in the sun.

Lost Cause Boot Camp and MLG Dallas

And now the fun really began: on Sunday, we flew out to Dallas to get ready for the Lost Cause Boot Camp, which is run by Rafik (Top Quake Player) and his father, Harold.  Us girls ran to the store to stock up on some groceries for the players arriving the next day and tried to get to bed early after an already long week.

Monday - PMS arrived bringing in our partners in crime (and my other clanmates). Dixie Girl didn’t get there till Tuesday, but the rest of her team caused a commotion right away with Country Girl leading the pack of crazy girls, who included Shayla and Creeden. 

Then came Honor and Integrity with their boys Dewar, Chosen One, Inst1nct, and later that evening, Vulgar (little poop head). Unbeknownst to me, a romanced had blossomed online that I was soon made aware of as Dewar and Creeden started to sneak sickening sweet glances at each other and carried on an obviously flirtatious conversation. It was apparent to everyone even more so when we saw the cuddling starting in the pool (gag me with a spoon please). I am usually against online dating, but these two were too cute and it was amusing to be reminded of “puppy love” once again.

My boys in Zero Hour arrived in stages during the week with the first being ZH Prophecy, then MoonRaker Elite, then Aggression and finally PointForty. My constant cohorts in crime Azn PMS and Storm PMS filled in for Aggression and Point since they were the only noobs that came later in the week.

The boot camp was a ton of fun as we LAN’d it up all day and night, rotating teams and having a ton of fun. As we were in a private house and not at a hotel, we got fun and crazy, causing a riot in true gamer fashion. There were pillow fights, chicken fights in the pool, dancing, singing, and everything else imaginable going on. I think it is safe to say it was an amazing time for everyone there. Rafik and a bunch of other top Quake players even came to hang out our big party night on Thursday, and that was quite a treat indeed.

That weekend, we moved over to the hotel to participate in MLG Dallas. While we did worse than in the past, somehow being 2-2, we were able to put Guys in Camo into the losers bracket (who were reportedly the top-ranked Gamebattles clan). But, as all pro’s know, LAN is completely different than online and since they were lacking in LAN play we managed to take them out (much to their disappointment, I am sure).  I almost felt bad as these guys were hot and nice - if I had to lose to anyone, they would be top on my list any day. I later cheered them on in their next match, but I think this was because they were cute, more than me feeling sorry (ha ha)!

After we were out of the tournament, we stayed and cheered the other Boot Camp teams on. Both Zero Hour and H&I made Top 16, and H&I upped their rank to Top 8 again. I guess the boot camp LAN paid off for them!

Sunday night, following the tournament, was one of the best nights of my life. A group of 12 of us went to Medieval Times, which is a dinner show where you watch knights joust and other amusing antics while you eat. This was a favorite for me - as everyone knows, I am addicted to historical romance novels and watching hot knights duke it out (even though it is scripted) was a major gold star in my book. After that, Tart PMS, Cella PMS and I proceeded to put on our dancing shoes and our...um...party clothes for a night out with the Zero Hour boys. As you know, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas - but I do believe that we stayed up till the sun rose and all had an amazing time.

The following day, on Monday, we walked around like zombies and all departed at various times for the airport. I was reveling in the past week and how much fun it was, already anticipating the next time that I could be with my friends again. The best thing about this last trip was the people I was surrounded with every day. My girls, my boys - nothing else could have been better (except us placing Top 16).

I want to thank everyone that made these last few weeks so special, and I know I can speak for all the Frag Dolls when I say it was one of the best times of our lives. Hopefully we can do it again, at another boot camp, with even more of our fellow gamers and friends!