Jo Garcia: Birthday: Zip-lines, Parties and Late-Night Gaming

In my birthday T-shirt from the zip-lining place after surviving with all my limbs intact!

This week was my birthday, and I wanted to do things a little differently. I took a little vacation and got my hands into everything I could. Also, I want to thank all of you who wished me a happy birthday on Twitter! It made the day extra awesome.

Zip-lines

I am a girl who is seriously afraid of falling: No roller coasters, no sky-diving, no steep water slides for me. For my birthday this year I started my day with a trip down the zip-line. I thought I could easily handle this, but when they said I was responsible for stopping myself with just a special glove I started to freak out a bit. It can't be safe. I am going to hit a tree and die, I kept thinking. But then I saw a wall of pictures showing a bunch of 12-year-old campers doing it—that helped me work up the courage. I made it in one piece, and because it was my birthday I walked away with the stylin' shirt you see above.

Parties

My birthday wasn't over, so I traded my T-shirt in for heels and a sexy mini-dress. I just moved to Raleigh from Los Angeles and was worried I might have overdone it. But it was my birthday! We hit up a restaurant that was also part nightclub, called Solas. The food was great, but I was all about the dessert. I blew out all my candles with ease! My dress even scored us a complimentary cabana on the roof with a killer view. But there was something in the back of my mind the whole night....

Games!

In my birthday dress playing some Catherine

All I could think about was my copy of Catherine sitting in my suitcase. So, yes, after a long day of zip-lining and partying I went home to play Catherineon my PS3. On my birthday.

Catherine is a 22-year-old girl next door who is very playful and more than a little bit manipulative. She's a black widow who feigns innocence with the men in her life and it keeps the game exciting. Poor Vincent—lucky me.

I also downloaded Costume Quest and Insane Twisted Shadow Planet—thanks for the great recommendations on Twitter!

Imagine if Halloween were made into a game, and that's Costume Quest. Candy monsters, candy as the currency with small battles that felt oddly like something out of Final Fantasy (and we all know I love me some Final Fantasy). This one looks like it will be a lot of fun.

Insane Twisted Shadow planet has the art vibe of World of Goo and is similarly addictive. A little spaceship navigating boards. Pull shoot and zap your way around.

As far as I'm concerned, that's about the best birthday a gamer could have! Let me know what other demos I have to download by sending me a tweet on my Twitter account @gamernextdoor.