WoW Wednesday: Halloween Fun

21. October 2009 · Write a comment · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , , , ,

I have some more serious thoughts in my head about WoW, but they’re not congealed yet, so instead, let’s talk about Halloween. Blizzard has incorporated a variety of events related to seasonal holidays. We actually just had brewfest a couple of weeks ago. I’m now a member of the Brew of the Month club and a brewmaster. W00t!

These events tickle me with their allusions to the real world while taking advantage of the game world. For Halloween, you can go trick or treating at all the inns. There’s an achievement to get candy from the pumpkin buckets at every inn in the world. You can also “trick or treat” once an hour with an innkeeper. Tricks include getting turned into things like bats, frogs, and ghosts. Treats can be candy, masks (which need to be collected for an achievement), or other fun items like toothpicks. There’s also a headless horseman who terrorizes a couple of towns by setting the buildings on fire. Characters form a bucket brigade to put out the fire and become a hero.

You can take down the Headless Horseman by taking 4 of your best friends into the Scarlet Monastery, calling out the horseman and then killing him. It’s a fun fight, especially when his head disconnects from his body and you have to chase the head around. The horseman drops several unique items, some of which are needed to get the Hallow’s End achievement. There’s a pet pumpkin and a special helm that are especially coveted. There are also several rings, a broom mount (seen in the picture above), and a horse mount (which is very rare).

Throughout the season, you see people running around with pumpkinheads, as ghosts or bats. The towns are decked out in Halloween decor, and the whole scene generally puts you in the Halloween spirit.

WoW.com has the lowdown on all the achievements for Hallow’s End if, like me, you’re an achievement whore.

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Geekyboy Posts for the first time!

20. October 2009 · Write a comment · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags:

Hello. I think we are all well aware of why we are gathered here today. It is posting time. For those of you who don’t know what posting time is, I recommend you learn immediately. I have received requests of what to post about, but like on facebook, requests are really codes for demands. Oh you have a new demand to be this person’s friend. What are you gonna do? Say no? No your not that mean and you can’t say no. As far as I’m concerned, demands are something you can’t say no to. I could do less with these mean demands and I’m just going to do my own thing. I like to talk about me so here are a few things about me.

Blood Type: O (no you can’t have my kidneys)
Favorite flavor of ice cream: Bacon
Special Talent: Sneezing with eyes open
Least Favorite Book: Where the Wild Things Are 2: College Party too Wild for Even the Wild Things

Now that those are out of my way, I can continue walking on the sidewalk. About three thousand people wanted to know what books I read. Its more like a genre as I don’t read many series. I really won’t read anything that isn’t an action adventure. If someone doesn’t get stabbed in the Achilles tendon within the first 50 pages, it is clearly not my book. There is a small exception to my strict category with George Carlin. He is a nice guy. Someday, I’ll have to bring it a quote or two.

I don’t like writing in big paragraphs as I think this is easier to read so I’m going to put my series that I read down here. Now, some of you that are aged 14 to about, 14, may have heard of the series Ranger’s Apprentice. It’s a wonderful story of a tactical archer that saves the day. If you like a good medieval action adventure this is your book. Unfortunately, only some of the books have come out in America while the others are only found in Australia. If you want to pay more in shipping than you do for the actual book, you are truly a action adventure fan.

I think this is enough for one day. I need to save some ideas for next Tuesday. That’s posting day.

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Watch this space

20. October 2009 · Write a comment · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: ,

Supposedly, Geeky Boy is going to make a guest appearance here today. Might be later this evening. At any rate, keep an eye out. If there’s something you’d like to know from a 14-yo boy’s perspective, let us know.

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Writing habits

16. October 2009 · Write a comment · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags:

This IHE article on writing was a much-needed inspiration today. Single discusses two myths of writing. One, that one can only write in large blocks of time and two, that you need to be motivated to write. I’ve know for years that these are myths and I’ve worked accordingly, writing whenever I could, as I did when writing my dissertation, and writing whether I’ve felt like it or not, which I’ve had to do most of my life. But these are myths that are sometimes hard to dispel when you feel stuck and/or truly unmotivated.

When I look back on my dissertation writing, there are a few things that distinguish it from the current writing I’m doing. One, I didn’t have as much time then. I had a full time job and if I put off writing one day, a long time passed before I’d get back to it. So I set up a routine where I got up at 6 and wrote for an hour before having to get the kids up for school. I also wrote almost every day after dinner. The after-dinner writing was contingent on how my day when. If I was physically and mentally exhausted, then I didn’t write, but I felt okay about it because I’d written in the morning. I spent weekends researching and/or revising, often for large chunks of time. The second big difference was that I had a more focused end goal with people motivating me to reach that goal. My adviser wasn’t emailing me every day or anything, but I’d set a deadline for a section for myself, and even though he may not have noticed if it passed, I could *not* let the deadline pass. I gave myself a couple of extensions, but knowing that someone might be disappointed with me was a huge motivator to get work done on time. It was also nice to know that once I finished my dissertation, there was a pretty big reward waiting for me.

Now I’m faced with vast stretches of time compared to what I had before. I could indeed write for four to six hours a day. (Though I have to absolutely wait until the distractions, aka the kids and the husband, have left for the day. In the last 10 minutes, I’ve had to field at least three questions). So what’s stopping me? Well, there is other stuff to do, for one thing. Housework beckons. I have to shower at some point. I have to go to the grocery store. I have conference calls and presentations to prepare. I let that stuff hover over me. As I’m writing, I’m also often thinking about whether I’ll have enough time to get the laundry done or the shopping done. I’m in just the opposite situation I was in with my dissertation. No one will be disappointed if I don’t write except me, but there are three people (maybe four) who will be disappointed if the house is a mess and there’s no clean underwear. So I focus on that because it’s harder to worry about disappointing myself or about the reward for the writing, which is a long shot at best. Also, there’s some sort of social norm I feel like I’m violating by not showering before noon. I truly am the pajama-clad blogger!

Single suggests writing for no more than four hours/day. She says in fact, to find the amount of time that works for you. For the last couple of months, I have written almost every day for at least an hour and most of the time for at least two hours. I have tried not to beat myself up if I miss a day or to worry too much if I stop after an hour. I was about to write that unlike Single’s audience, my career is not on the line if I don’t write, but that’s exactly where I am, by my own choice, and that’s exactly why I feel anxious. I feel like two hours is nothing, especially when I theoretically have all the time in the world. But maybe two hours is what works for me, and I need to start being okay with that.

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Motivational Swings

15. October 2009 · Write a comment · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , ,

Warning: This post may be whiny and self-indulgent. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

It’s either the weather or the hormones, but I’ve struggled the last couple of days to do anything productive. Just Tuesday, as I was walking back from Starbucks, I was feeling quite proud of myself. I was thinking, damn, I finished a writing a section of a book and started the next section, and no one paid me to do it. There was a real spring in my step.

But then Wednesday, for some reason, I couldn’t get up the motivation to do anything. I wrote a couple of blog posts, one for another venue I’m experimenting with. And then I felt kind of sapped.

As is my usual habit, I’ve been analyzing the reasons behind the lack of motivation in order to figure out what to do about it. I could just blow it off, go play WoW and return to working when the mood strikes again. But my protestant work ethic won’t let me do that. There’s writing to be done! There’s laundry to do, floors to vacuum! You’re not making any money, you have to do something productive to contribute to the family! And there’s the rub. It’s not the only rub, but it’s a big one.

While we’re able to cover our necessities, there are some things we want to do that we can’t really afford right now, but that we could easily afford if I were working. Both Mr. Geeky and I have acknowledged this. And I’m torn in multiple directions on the career front. On the one hand, I could put considerably more effort into my consulting work. On the other hand, I could hold out hope for the writing to pay off, but that’s very long term. On still another hand, I could just get another job. My worry is that doing either option one or option three would detract substantially from the writing and it would never get done. Because that’s where I’d sacrifice the time, not on the family side of things, which are mostly positive right now and I’m getting a lot out of being with my kids more.

And then there’s this reality. I am doing 80-90% of the housework. And I really hate housework. I actually had the kids clean the bathrooms yesterday, but I folded 4 loads of laundry and made dinner. Mr. Geeky cleaned up and this morning took the garbage out. But I’m picking up socks off the floor, school papers off the coffee table and dining room table, and generally keeping in my head the various chores that need to be done. It sounds more even when I type it out here, but it doesn’t feel even and that’s the problem. And I’ve discussed this problem with the family, and well, no one’s really got a solution yet. And frankly, I kind of feel like no one but me cares about the house.

And there’s the kid activities, which I really am glad I’m able to let them do, but which is more work on my part also. Yesterday, I went to the farmer’s market at 2:30, came home, unloaded, then went to Geeky Girl’s field hockey game. I didn’t go to the last one and just picked her up from school afterward and GG complained that she was the only one whose mom wasn’t there and could I please come to her next game. For the record, I was at Geeky Boy’s soccer game. Sigh.

Yesterday, I was overwhelmed with the feeling, once again, of being completely disconnected from my community. When I got to the game, there was a group of moms standing watching the game. I walked toward them and stood near them, but didn’t say hi or anything. I only knew a few of them and just didn’t feel comfortable just walking up to them. They were kind of huddled together talking and they either never saw me or chose to ignore me. And I know this is more my problem than theirs, but still, I just felt awkward. A majority of my social interactions are coming through the Internet, which is not a good thing, but I have few ideas about how to fix that, at least on a regular basis. We are having people over later this month and going to a party next week, but day-to-day or weekly at least, I think I need more face-to-face connections. I miss that about work.

And then there’s the walking/exercising, which has slowed down considerably. The weather has been uncooperative and it takes a lot of time. I might have to work on a better schedule for it at least. I’m sure it would help with the mood issues. Geeky Girl has promised to go on a longer walk with me on Sunday if the weather holds out. It’s a nice show of support.

I’m feeling pulled in too many different directions and none of them feel comfortable for different reasons. I like writing the best, but worry about its financial viability. Playing the role of sahm is rewarding for the time I have with my kids, but isolating, lonely, and somewhat thankless (especially on the housework side of things). Starting a new business is liberating and exciting, but proving difficult in a down economy in an industry that doesn’t tend to look outside its walls for support. And thinking about a regular job feels like giving up, but would bring in much appreciated income. I know I will work through all of this eventually, but it’s a lot to process. Thanks for giving me the space to process it in. If you made it this far, you deserve a gold star.

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Proud Geeky Mama

14. October 2009 · Write a comment · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags:

Geeky Boy makes the front page of the school district web site.

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WoW Wednesday: LFG

14. October 2009 · Write a comment · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , ,

LFG stands for Looking for Group and eventually, you’re going to need a group. It might be for a group quest or, more likely, to run a dungeon. There are a couple of ways to find a group and some things to know before you head out on your group adventure. There’s a built in LFG feature within WoW pictured to the left. This puts you in a list that people can see and then they might invite you to join a group.

While this is sometimes effective and I like to use it if I’d like to join a group, but not immediately, if you really want to do something with a group, it’s often better to just ask in Trade or General chat. In a major city, trade chat is usually more active, but if you’re out in the world, general chat is going to be your best bet. To find a group this way, simply type /trade (to get you into trade chat; use general if you want to chat there) and then type something like “LFG ToC.” Now, you have no idea what that means. Most people use acronyms for all the dungeons and you’ll look less like a noob if you do too. The acronyms can be found at sites like WoWwiki and WoWHead. It’s sometimes also helpful to let people know what role you can play. So, you can say “DPS LFG ToC” which tells people that you’re a damage person looking for a group for the Trial of Champions dungeon.

Another way to find a group is simply to monitor chat and when someone else announces that they’re looking for a group or looking for a particular role for a dungeon or quest you’re interested in, you can ask to join. Of course, if you’re in a guild, you can ask your guildies to join you for an adventure.

Lingo alert! A group formed spontaneously is called a PUG or pickup group. Think of it like pickup basketball.

Once you’re in a group, it helps to figure out what the expectations are. Group chat is /party and that’s where you can start these conversations. You might want to clarify roles–who’s tanking, who’s healing, etc. Most importantly, you’ll want to clarify loot rules, especially as you get into higher level dungeons where the loot is awesome. Any time something drops from a kill that is green, blue or purple while in a group, you get a dialog box (right). You roll on these items by clicking the dice or the money icon. You can pass by clicking the x to close the window. The dice is a need roll. Need rolls trump greed rolls (money icon), and are usually only used if you really want something. Most of the time, people roll greed on an item or pass on items that they really don’t need. You might ask at the beginning of a dungeon run whether most stuff is need or greed. If something drops that you really want, don’t be afraid to ask if you can need roll. I always ask before I need and so do most people I’ve been in groups with since need rolls trump greed and some items become non-tradeable once you pick them up. This has changed a little bit and even bind on pick up items are often tradeable to other players in the group for a certain period of time. Still, it’s always good to ask. There’s nothing more annoying than someone needing something that you really wanted. More than one person can need roll on an item and if two or more people really want something, that’s generally the way it’s handled.

If you’ve never been to a dungeon before, don’t hesitate to ask for advice about what to do. Most parties end up with one or more people who’ve run a dungeon several times and they’re more than willing to tell you what to expect during a boss fight or more generally. They’d much rather explain it to you than have your lack of knowledge cause everyone to die. Often, the tank will mark mobs in the dungeon, having everyone focus on one mob at a time. It’s a good idea to follow the order, again, so that everyone won’t die.

Group dynamics can get especially weird if things don’t go well. Personally, I’ve never had the experience of being the new person causing everything to go bad. Generally what I see happen is that someone in the group isn’t geared enough or is being haphazard about their play style (like not waiting until the healer has enough mana to heal or jumping into a fight when not everyone is ready) and causing everyone to die. If you’re lucky, the person will realize that and will quit voluntarily. Sadly, more often, I’ve seen people blame everyone but themselves and then quit in disgust. Good times. And sometimes, you just have a bad combination of people. You might really need a ranged dps to win a fight and all you have are melee. It’s okay to say, hey, this is working, I think we should call it. Because when you die a lot, you’re going to have to repair, and repairing costs money.

Group experiences are really fun, though, and it’s a great feeling to work together to beat a really complicated boss or make it through a long dungeon. Now that I’m at max level, I find group experiences, whether with my guildies or with a PUG, to be my favorite part of the game.

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Even a Vacation is about Learning

13. October 2009 · Write a comment · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , , , ,

Our trip to Monticello happened to coincide nicely with some of the work the kids are doing in school. Geeky Girl is doing a whole unit on colonial America. They visited a colonial cabin nearby, a trip I served as a chaperon on. Geeky Boy has been studying the French Revolution, a movement inspired by Jefferson’s words and work. We were able, then, to make concrete many of the lessons they’ve been learning in school. It’s one thing to read about slavery. It’s another to see the conditions under which slaves lived. The history of our nation is written as a kind of grass roots movement by people who wanted to be freed from royal tyranny. The truth is much more complicated and visiting Monticello brought that complexity home. There’s the matter of the land and house itself, which clearly show that Jefferson was a well off man. IMGP1572Though he considered himself a farmer, he was not like the farmers who scraped out a living on a borrowed piece of land. He grew a mass amount of fruits and vegetables. And, he had slaves to tend all of it. Another complication for a man who wrote “All men are created equal.”

It occurs to me that this kind of immersion into history is not something available to everyone. We didn’t go with the intention of the trip serving as an educational moment, but we were able to make it into one without, I think, taking away the fun. The reason we could do that were a) we knew what the kids were doing in school because we talk to them; b) we have the financial means to travel, stay at a hotel and pay the entrance fee; and c) we ourselves are educated and know enough about the period to connect the dots. The first reason is easy enough for anyone to do. The second is harder. Certainly, there are budget hotels, but the cost of entrance is quite high. It’s a trip that I think many would have to budget carefully for. Monticello The third reason may seem impossible to overcome, but I think a combination of the library and available online resources could even alleviate that. But still, it’s a lot of work for a small trip, and it was no work at all for us to manage. It just made me think about advantages I often take for granted.

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When I’m Sixty-Five

12. October 2009 · Write a comment · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags:

This weekend, the Geeky family went down to Charlottesville, VA to celebrate my father’s 65th birthday. We visited Monticello and Michie Tavern and skirted over to UVA Sunday morning and walked around a bit. Geeky Boy declared it too big a school for him to consider.

We celebrated pretty simply, having a late lunch at the tavern after a tour of Monticello. Instead of a big dinner in what would have been a crowded restaurant (given that it was homecoming weekend), we had cake and wine in our hotel room. We had a big brunch Sunday at the Boar’s Head Inn, where we had celebrated my grandparents’ 60th wedding anniversary about 10 years ago.

My dad does not seem 65 at all. Despite having an artificial hip and knee, he’s still very active, more active than me actually. He rides his bike and golfs. He’s still working full time as a lawyer and shows few signs of slowing down. Mr. Geeky declared that he hoped he made it to 65. I figure I’ll make it. I want to be like my dad when I get there.

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Talking about drugs to your kids

08. October 2009 · Write a comment · Categories: Uncategorized · Tags: , ,

Lisa Belkin discusses a survey about parents who used drugs in the past and what their kids know about that use. Do kids want to know? It turns out they do.

I have always been honest with my kids about my own drug use in the past. Yes, it was sometimes fun, but looking back at it now, I realize how much danger I often put myself and sometimes others in. And there were times even then where I scared myself and I knew that I’d gotten lucky. Drinking and doing drugs at too young an age cut me off from some opportunities. It definitely affected my school work. And it kept me from pursuing other activities like sports or student leadership.

By the time I was approaching college graduation, I had pretty much given up drinking heavily and doing any drugs. Yes, there were occasional escapades, but nothing like the crazy stuff I’d done earlier. And my work showed that. I was more focused. Having work outside of school, as well, meant I didn’t have time to pursue drugs or drinking.

The big question is, what effect will that have on my kids. It’s hard to refuse doing drugs or drinking when you’re not sure of yourself. I guess I’ve mostly tried to give my kids the confidence to refuse, and the knowledge that abusing substances can shut them off from opportunities that they’ll only have now. The activities I keep them enrolled in are designed in part to keep their minds and bodies busy, to help them feel good at something, so they don’t feel like they need to resort to altering their mood through drugs. I keep talking to them, keep tabs on their friends, but honestly, I also just keep my fingers crossed.

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