Girls Don't Game or "Are you a girl IRL?"

Since I was a little girl, I have loved playing games. Hide and Seek, Freeze Tag, Hopscotch, jump rope and jacks, chinese checkers, scrabble and rummy. Weekends of Risk and Monopoly marathons gave way to weekends of D&D and now we game once a month with friends playing D&D in a Dark Sun campaign. I don't know how to explain that this is a big part of my social life, but it is. I truly love it. Sitting around a table role playing and writing a story is hard to explain to someone - unless they have been there.

Another type of game that I have played (for as long as we had a system to play on) is video games, but I was not as good at the spinning fast, shooting and stunts that a lot of console games required. I found Morrowind and wandered there for a couple of years and have since played computer games like Skyrim, Rift, Diablo, and World of Warcraft. These I also have really loved playing, but mostly World of Warcraft. I've played most of the classes and in the end, played primarily a druid named Staar. For several years I played most days/nights and met a lot of really great people - many of which I keep in touch with now outside of gaming. For eight years we have logged in at various times - weekday or weekend - and found a place where people who have a variety of backgrounds and employment, age and location have become a very real part of my "real" life - many of which I might have never met in person. As people have married, had children and been hired into new jobs, or started new careers, we have shared in this together. To me, it is not any stranger than a room full of people who physically work together becoming friends and sharing life's experiences with each other.

For our birthdays in March, we ordered statues of our characters from Figure Prints and mine came this week. It's printed by a 3D printer and each is a custom made replica of the characters we play in WoW.

So Staar arrived on Tuesday =)  I fully expect that Warcraft will end one day and I wanted to have something to remember the character I have played.  It's so cool, and I don't know if the pictures will do it justice...

I have been writing a fantasy novel and posting in two blogs, working full time and establishing a perennial garden that incorporates the principles of Permaculture, but when I relax, I play games.  On Saturday our D&D group will get together and play. I love these friends, and they have become family to me. When I have free time in the next week, I will play Warcraft, and when Warcraft is done, someday I will play the new Elder Scrolls Online.  Have you seen it??  It looks amazing.

Something I have not shared with many people was the deep depression I was in - barely leaving the house and trying desperately to figure out what direction I wanted for my life. It was then that Rob starting playing and convinced me to try playing Warcraft. I remember telling him I didn't think I would like it...but, it's been eight years now, so I guess I ended up liking it. I met people that talked to me about things I had similar interests in - and it was like a jolt of lightening - the world wasn't full of people who were crappy, negative and had nothing in common with me. Here was a gathering place of people had a lot in common with me, enjoyed each other and were super creative and fun to be around. Would it be dramatic to say I don't know where I would be if this hadn't happened?

Maybe it is, but I'm not apologizing for the drama. As every event in life has the power to do - gaming has changed me and made me a more creative person, writer, friend.


I think of many cultures that have passed down mythology and lore for generations through the process of storytelling, and I have the desire to build stories with other people, and gaming gives me this outlet. Whether in person or in a fantasy setting MMO like World of Warcraft, it is fun to game together, and what may once have been an escape has now become an enrichment of my life and I feel very fortunate to have met the people I have met. I have learned so much from them.

To the people I have continuously had in my life - in person or not -when the days come that I don't feel inspired, I remember you and your friendship - you are the fuel of my life - the inspiration and help I need when I don't have access to the place of storytelling.

We are all writing a story every day - I feel fortunate to share mine with you... <3

Kindred Spirits

I can’t help but be reflective today. Yesterday it was my birthday, and when I look at the people I have in my life today, or have had in my life in the past, it really amazes me how fortunate I am.

My heart is tied to all of you, in so many places, and with many different reasons that we have met and known each other. I have been thinking a lot about this lately – why people come in and out of our lives and I really believe we can learn from everyone. I have been greatly hurt and greatly loved by people, and each of those situations has contributed to how I treat people and live my life today.

If I met you in childhood, grade school, or high school, band, chorus, or singing in a church group, recording albums, or singing in concerts across the US, born into your family or have become part of your family, gave birth to you, or married you, worked with you or for you, gamed with you, shared a chat on the bus, or in a restaurant, confided my whole life and secrets to you, or ventured to unknown places in far off lands with you, sang a song for you, or listened while you sang, wrote great stories with you, gave my heart to you, or took it back, was laughing, eating or drinking with you, or cried the hardest tears I have ever cried, hoped for you, spent hours in prayer for you,  have been offended by you, admired you, respected you, have been inspired by you to be a better person, looked up to you, danced on your feet when I was young, learned to cook, bake and clean with you, learned to garden with you, laughed at my mistakes with you, sat in a basement and rolled dice with you, celebrated at your wedding, comforted you in divorce, saw your children being born, shared your victories and defeats, watched you leave and move on. Met you gaming online, in forums or blogs, Shared your laughter and your tears, and sat quiet in the darkest moments, not knowing what to do, but just being there while you were hurting. Despised you or loved you with all of my heart.

The results are the same: I am changed by knowing you – all of the beautiful, wise, kind, brilliant, creative, genius, talented, amazing people that I have kept in my life.

There are no riches in this world greater than the community of kindred spirits that we gather to ourselves and live our lives with. Some we keep close and others move on, but all change us – even if it’s just a little, and I think we are better for it. Like fine wine aged in a barrel, we are aged along with the people we allow into our lives and develop a depth and flavor that we would not have otherwise accomplished.  I cannot take credit for who I am, but can be grateful for this day and show my appreciation for what I have been given. 

I don’t always express it well, but I am always grateful and humbled by you. I need every one of you to be who I am.

Thank you.

Choose Your Adventure

I haven’t written much about my health, or the incredible amount of time I have spent in the past few years figuring out why I just don’t feel well most of the time.

Fibromyalgia, food allergies, environmental allergies, asthma, bronchitis, various intolerances, etc. – It doesn’t matter what the name is, I will do anything at this point to be healthy and alert enough to enjoy my life, family, and friends and be able write every day.

After spending most of the last week with a wicked headache and generally feeling bad, I went to the doctor expecting to be told I had the flu or some infection. As with most of my visits, there is “nothing” wrong.  We decided that it is time to be lactose free. No dairy products, not a big deal really because I get sick almost immediately after eating anything with dairy now.  We also discussed being wheat free/gluten free eventually, cutting down on coffee to see if that helps, and a variety of other things along that line.

Rob and I decided last night to change our menu at home to shop and cook differently and start cutting out both lactose and gluten. I want to have a change now.  Coffee, I can easily cut back to a cup in the morning and drink tea when I want something hot to drink during the day. I don’t have a negative reaction to coffee, but I have been having trouble sleeping, so I see this as a smart move. It may change later.

As I finished talking about cutting down on coffee, our mail was delivered and there was a package from my friend Meg in Oregon. She sent me some great teas and a card for my birthday. Not only did it make me smile to get such a thoughtful gift, it was as if I had an instant reinforcement of my decision to drink tea instead of coffee. Sometimes life's gifts need to be really clear for me to see them!

Rob and I also went out for lunch at The Boynton and after staring at the menu forever, I was going to get a salad with grilled chicken, but Rob said, “Why don’t we each get a salad and split the order of ribs?” Brilliant idea! It made what seems to be a whole menu of “no” into something fun. It was a delicious lunch, and before we came home I bought a canister of ginger and licorice tea at the Wine Vine. This will travel easily and I can have something refreshing in the afternoon at work.

Ribs

Looking back at past posts, I realized I have never written about gardening to fulfill my desire to have a greater local access to foods that I can eat without feeling sick. Last summer it was so amazing to walk outside and have beauty and food right in our yard, and it changed me emotionally and physically to have that access. Until that time, I hadn’t realized exactly how much I personally, need to work outside in nature and grow food and plants.

I am choosing to look at this time of changes as an adventure. I will be healthy and won’t be feeling sick all the time. That’s the goal, so the path has to line up with that goal. This process is not impossible, but it does require a good amount of research, time and effort.

Most of us have something like this in our lives – it takes a bit more work to figure out and more effort to work through, but in the end these efforts are the bigger things that change the direction and add to the quality of our lives.

Even if I don't enjoy all of the details of what is happening now, I know it can change. I also know from experience that small steps or running, you get to the same destination. Sometimes a slower trip is necessary.

So here's to today ! =)

Teas

Birthday Month & Twisted Trees

March is the month of our birthdays. I am always a big fan of consumables like chocolate and alcohol, but this year, we both wanted something different.  

Renee is one of my co-workers who has an incredibly talented husband. His business is making walking sticks out of found wood. I wanted so much to get one for Rob for his birthday, and when I saw the variety to choose from, I knew I had to have one too!

Our new Walking Sticks

The one on the left is Rob's - there is a face in the knots near the top that is really cool. The one on the right is mine.  I really liked the way the vine wound around it - it reminded me of a druid staff I had once in game I played...

The most important thing is that these are super practical with the hiking that we will be doing this summer with the ranger work and reporting. And they are beautiful!

If you want one for yourself - here is the information....

The Man with the Twisted Trees

The surprise for my birthday came in the form of new garden tools that I really love. The quality of the Hori Hori (the dagger looking digging/cutting tool) and the Hand Saw make them beautiful and super easy to use.    

Japanese Hori Hori, Felco Hand Saw and Felco Pruners

Today I had a chance to test out the hand saw - cutting kindling from branches that we have gathered and need to clear out (and use)to make room for the next round of collecting wood.

Our gifts have become so much more practical and useful and the quality is very important. I have tested all three of the tools out that I got and they are amazing. I expect they will last a long time and help with many projects.

As always, we were spoiled by our kids with gifts of our favorite drink and gift card to our favorite coffee place/bookstore. 

Spring is here, and the flowers are blooming. Work is also here, in abundance.  The fruit trees arrive soon, and the herb spiral is built and waiting for herbs to be planted. With each project, we move steadily along to the next...

Stronger for the work and happier in the doing of it.