The Bucket List

“If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.” - Albert Einstein

Herein I shall regale you with smattering of goals I have set for myself, to (hopefully) be completed before my demise, also known as a Bucket List.  This will be done in part because it will be cathartic to see these things written out, but also it makes an interesting post on an all-too-neglected blog.

In truth, I've gotten inspiration from my friend Daniel, who recently published his own list on his blog. Thanks be to him for the prompt, and apologies if my own personal goals mirror his too closely.  I cannot fault him for having aspirations much like my own.  Great minds think alike.

Baldragar Begins, Part 1

 The following is the first part of a short story, detailing the background of Baldragar Frostwing, my D&D character.  He is a young Dragonborn male, raised as a Paladin of the Raven Queen, goddess of Death, Fate and Finality.  I will continue his back story as much as I can, but there is a limit to how much I can reveal, as my fellow players are as of yet unclear of Baldragar's motivations.  I hope you enjoy...

The road to Frigid Cove was lined with slowly melting snow, and Baldragar could just see the gray ocean spreading out beyond the sparse trees.  The earth crunched beneath his feet as he walked, and he began to hear the ringing of the port bells coming from the harbor.  His view of the tree tops was slowly being replaced by that masts and rigging.

The biting wind tore through his ragged cloak, and felt especially harsh under the second-hand armor he'd pieced together since leaving the Acanthas.  The cold didn't bother him much, though.  In the seventeen winters he'd seen pass, Baldragar had learned how to conserve body heat and survive in the bitterest weather.  His masters in the Order had taught him well.

Of course, their efforts were now squandered.  Baldragar's exile from the Order of Finity had wasted years of training and discipline, and he now wondered if they felt the loss as much as he did.

Not likely, he thought.  More young boys would replace him soon.  Hells, he would probably be soon hunted by youngsters he himself had helped to train.

How long had he been running? Three weeks now?  It felt like a lifetime, and yet the circumstances of the departure from all he'd ever known were as fresh in his mind as though they'd happened only hours ago.  He wanted desperately to return home, but with his father now gone, there was no one left who would welcome him.

His fate had been sealed when the deal was made with that cleric.

Now, his father was dead, his armor gone, the road open before him, and his friends running behind to catch him with their weapons ready.

So, why is he running? What happened to his father? Who is this mysterious cleric? Tune in next time!

The Campaign Trail

There was a time in the not-so-distant past when I felt I had lost touch with my geeky side.  I was preparing to leave California for good, heading East, and none of the friends with whom I spent my time wanted to join me in quenching that thirst.  I had just seen The Gamers for the first time, and I felt that I was missing out on a revolution in the gaming world.  That revolution was Dungeons and Dragons, Fourth Edition.

I knew a handful of coworkers that had been playing regularly together for many years, and had recently stepped in a 4E campaign.  My requests to join the group were spurned, with good reason, and I was surely better off.  I had not played D&D since the days of 2nd edition, and even then I was only dabbling.  While my hunger for the gaming experience was legitimate, I had not the background in D&D they were looking for, and was therefor turned away.  Understandable.  I definitely would have embarrassed myself, and their game would have suffered.

Luckily, when I moved to Connecticut, my good friend Kennison had found the desire to run a 4E game, and a group of people willing join him.  I, of course, jumped at the chance to be part of a gaming group once more.   None of us had yet played 4E, but a couple of us had some experience with D&D.  4E was so different in the fundamental systems from its predecessors, it was as though we were all learning a new game anyway.

So, over the last couple years, we've been getting together, whenever our different schedules and locales could allow.  Kenn has created a sprawling world in a constant state of upheaval.  We each created deep, motivated characters who came together by misfortune, and now work for a greater good - though they aren't sure yet what exactly that is.

It's been good to be a part of a gaming group again.  I'll  periodically post about my experiences, in hopes of peaking  readers' interest in the pen-and-paper culture.  Roll on!

PAX East: Welcome Home Indeed...

Well, hello there! My, has it been a while...

While we have been keeping ourselves busy with all things related to, you know, life, we still manage to entertain ourselves once in a while.  While Beth was on leave to visit her uncle in Sunny California, I was left here to fend for our household and keep attackers at bay.  At the end of that week, I had the privilege of attending the mother of all gaming events: The Penny Arcade Expo.  Actually the younger (though not smaller) sibling to PAX, the inaugural PAX East.

Some of you will undoubtedly be unfamiliar with this event.  Shame on you. Shame indeed!  However, it is not my purpose to educate you here.

I've been to a small handful of conventions before this one, but I was amazed at the overall feeling at PAX East.  As Wil Wheaton - the undisputed Prince of PAX - said in his keynote address, we were home.  We, as gamers, were with our own, and it felt good.  None of us felt like outsiders, or rejects, or anti-social weirdos, as some of us were made to feel at some point during our lives.  Our common interests that bound us together in some enigmatic social subgroup were openly acknowledged and embraced by what could be considered no less than family.

There was so much to see and hear, so much to try out and play.  There was no way to experience everything those three short days had to offer.

I was able to snap a few pictures.  I apologize for the quality of some of them during the keynote.  I am not as experienced a photographer as some (Shock!), and I was having a hard time figuring out the lighting.

In closing, I want to thank Mr. Krahulic and Mr. Holkins.  You, sirs, have given me something I can look forward to every day, and created a world where we, your fellow gamers, can feel at home.  And thank you, Mr. Wheaton, for putting it best:

Look around you. We are parents, we are grandparents. We are sons, we are daughters. We are professionals. We are students. We are geeks, we are nerds. We are liberals. We are conservatives. We are Christians, we are Jews, we are Muslims, we are Atheists. We are Trekkies, we are Browncoats. We are Nintendo fanboys, we are Xbox fanboys, we are Sony fanboys, we are wannabe rock stars, we are wannabe race car drivers.  All that matters is that we are gamers, and there are 30,000 of us here, which makes it hard to believe that we are an antisocial group of maladjusted misfits. So if you happen to come across someone who thinks we are, invite them to play a game with you. Just try not to be a dick when you pwn me. Thank you very much.*

*Admittedly, I was unable to find a transcript of Wil's address from PAXe, so that excerpt is from his PAX Prime keynote in 2007.  He said pretty much the same thing at the end of this one, too.  Beautiful words, Wil.  Thanks again.

Progress!

As you may have noticed, we moved blogging platforms. For as much as we update the blog, we figured a free service like Blogger was a better way to go. Don't worry, we'll be sure to update this one just as much as the other one.

Also, you may also have noticed some new pictures! OMG!

Yes, we have uploaded pictures from the wedding and honeymoon. You can find the in the Photos page, linked above.

Enjoy!

Shake Further!

Wow, we're off to a good start, eh?

The new year (often capitalized, i.e. New Year) is upon us, as is the New Decade, one of decadence, I'm sure.

We will have some more posts coming soon. Holidays, honeymoons and other obligations have slowed our blogging continuity, but surely we shall prevail! We have pictures from the wedding, the honeymoon in Punta Cana, and other Wilkins family events to share, and rest assured, shared they will be.

Until then, Happy New Year, and we'll see you in the next decade.

My Personal Debut

It only makes sense that I write my first blog at 3am while I can't sleep, and of course sick. Many of you know I met Jason the same way, Up late with insomnia. I have to say, with all other times aside, that one night with insomnia changed my life forever. I met the most wonderful man, my husband.
Three weeks ago today, Jason and I were married. It was the single most perfect day in my entire life. What an amazing feeling it is to have all your loved ones in the same room sharing such a special day with you, and of course the music and open bar are also great :) For me, I find it hard to try to sum up the wedding in a few sentences. Everything about the day was perfect. The pictures will say it all. They show smiles on everyones faces and people all over the dance floor. From laughs to those "happy tears" the day was unforgettable.
We received our proofs from the photographer and it will be hard to pick and choose which pictures we want for our album, everything came out great! Later today with Jason's help I will try to put the link to the photographer's website on here so you can view some of his pictures. Honeymoon pics will also be coming so stay tuned...