State of Mind
I should probably post an update so that people know I’m not dead.
So. Yes. Not dead. We’re in the middle of moving (officially next week), so if you have reason to want/need our new address, ping me and I’ll send it to you. For those that missed this news, our landlord sold the multi-family house we were renting an apartment in, and the new owners jacked the rent by $500. Even if they hadn’t raised the rent to lolwut levels, we would have moved anyway- we had a wonderful roommate moving in, and our place just wasn’t big enough for three.
So we found a stunningly beautiful 4 bedroom apartment just a mile away, and this scruffy looking guy that used to lurk around our couch eating cheesecake decided he was tired of his basement and claimed one of the bedrooms for himself. So now there are four of us, and it is good. (I am truly happy, J is like a brother to me, and C is just amazing.)
We cannot wait to get out of this apartment. Sometime in late July, early August, our landlord was having work done on the third floor. The contractors were, I suspect, a ‘friend of a friend’ type deal, and opened one of the water valves then left the premises. This flooded the third floor crawlspace, which then proceeded to flood the second floor, and… yep, you guessed it; it was raining indoors on the first floor, where we live. The landlord had us (Bren) crawling around in the crawlspace with its wet, exposed wiring to turn the valves off, then told us ‘just open the windows, it’ll be fine’. The water damage in the ceiling and walls is already molding. (this was during the 95+ degree heat wave Boston suffered this summer)
Those of you following along at home might remember that I have breathing problems. We’ve confirmed with some very thorough allergy tests that I am not actually allergic, but I apparently have a very high sensitivity to ‘unclean’ air. Even with an air purifier going 24/7 in our bedroom, I’m wheezing and coughing quite a lot, and it’s only getting worse. It will be a relief to be gone.
Secondly, I bit the bullet and called a therapist. It took some time to find someone, but I am seeing a very nice psychologist that reminds both Bren and I disturbingly of his mother. She is, I think, what I’ve always expected a therapist to be like; someone that asks very pointed questions, then digs down into the answers to get to the truth, not someone that accepts everything that is said as factual. I have several appointments lined up with her, and she is cool with Bren coming with me, which relieves a lot of anxiety.
Interestingly enough, she said that the bipolar II diagnosis may not be correct; that a lot of people are misdiagnosed because they are suffering from agitation, not true mania. I haven’t had any episodes of mania since I left Illinois, so… we’ll see! I liked that she actually wants to do some therapy first to get a solid diagnosis before we start talking medications. After last time, I’m all for that, although if my insomnia problems continue, I will probably ask for something to help me sleep.
I still play Warcraft. A lot. But we picked up Guild Wars 2-I had been hearing all sorts of great things about it, and the lack of a subscription fee meant that if I hated it, I was only out the purchase price of the game, which… given my Skyrim experience, wasn’t that big a deal to me. C and I absolutely love it. We play on Tarnished Coast, the RP server, and it’s enough like Warcraft that it was easy for me to pick up and play, and different enough that it’s holding my interest.
I liked it enough, in fact, that Bren and J went out last weekend and bought copies too. I think the massive difference between GW2 and Rifts (which I also tried) is that Rifts immediately started offering obscenely low prices on buying the game, which made me feel like they were desperate for subscribers. I mean, immediately after release they were offering it for $4.99. And while it was a neat game, I think it’s already on its way out-I’ve seen quite a few people that left WoW for Rifts are back to dancing to Blizzard’s tune, and part of the appeal of MMORPGs is the MM.
Do I think GW2 is going to be around for a while? It’s difficult to say, really. It seems to me that their launch was an immense success, and I like the stand the company has taken toward their player’s experience (they shut down sales so that the servers would not get overcrowded). I like the gameplay, I love. LOVE the world. It’s occasionally frustrating, and sometimes the quests make me rage, but I think I’ve already gotten my money’s worth out of it, and I’m excited about continuing to play it.
Warcraft is still my number one game, however, and with the new expansion looming, I’m not really anticipating that will change. I have bitten the bullet and faction transferred my beloved shaman to Horde and joined a raiding guild. Their hours are fantastic, and I really really like what I have seen thusfar of the guild. I’m not sure how they manage to give the feel of a purely social guild and still field 3 progression raiding teams, but they seem to do it!
The rest of my alts will stay Alliance; most of them have RP backstories and plotlines that are faction dependent, and I like the guild I’m in Blueside. It’s become, I think, difficult to find a good guild that doesn’t make jokes that are inappropriate and mean-spirited, and yet is still active and friendly and everyone more or less gets along. They’re certainly out there, but many of them are ‘friends and immediate family’ type guilds, and you’re lucky to have two people logged in at any given time. That could be due in part to the End-of-Expansion population slump. Cataclysm was underwhelming in many ways and outright terrible in others, so it’s unsurprising that MegaGuilds would form. And those are not for me.
I am feeling a bit of…angst? Anxiety? Uncertainty? About moving Enveri to Horde. I’ve been Alliance for the last 7 years, and I have never had a level-capped horde character. I am hoping that feeling eases. (Also, Blizz? Seriously, hate the totem changes. For reals.)
We have a tabletop Deadlands game starting up sometime after we’re settled in. Points is running it, and from all accounts, I should be afraid. I’m more excited than anything, even though I know diddly about the setting. I’ve missed tabletop gaming; not so much the game itself as the camaraderie and social aspects of gathering together with snacks and beverages and dice. I know I am going to play a Bounty Hunter, but beyond that my character is a blank slate.
I have a lot of writing brewing. I’ve been trying to do a daily drabble-y something, but with work getting stressful and busy I haven’t quite had time. But I am averaging 2-3 shorts a week, which pleases me. I have not yet figured out if I want to try broadening my audience. Perhaps I will post the stories to DeviantArt or something.
Anyway, that’s the state of things. Now back to work!
So. Yes. Not dead. We’re in the middle of moving (officially next week), so if you have reason to want/need our new address, ping me and I’ll send it to you. For those that missed this news, our landlord sold the multi-family house we were renting an apartment in, and the new owners jacked the rent by $500. Even if they hadn’t raised the rent to lolwut levels, we would have moved anyway- we had a wonderful roommate moving in, and our place just wasn’t big enough for three.
So we found a stunningly beautiful 4 bedroom apartment just a mile away, and this scruffy looking guy that used to lurk around our couch eating cheesecake decided he was tired of his basement and claimed one of the bedrooms for himself. So now there are four of us, and it is good. (I am truly happy, J is like a brother to me, and C is just amazing.)
We cannot wait to get out of this apartment. Sometime in late July, early August, our landlord was having work done on the third floor. The contractors were, I suspect, a ‘friend of a friend’ type deal, and opened one of the water valves then left the premises. This flooded the third floor crawlspace, which then proceeded to flood the second floor, and… yep, you guessed it; it was raining indoors on the first floor, where we live. The landlord had us (Bren) crawling around in the crawlspace with its wet, exposed wiring to turn the valves off, then told us ‘just open the windows, it’ll be fine’. The water damage in the ceiling and walls is already molding. (this was during the 95+ degree heat wave Boston suffered this summer)
Those of you following along at home might remember that I have breathing problems. We’ve confirmed with some very thorough allergy tests that I am not actually allergic, but I apparently have a very high sensitivity to ‘unclean’ air. Even with an air purifier going 24/7 in our bedroom, I’m wheezing and coughing quite a lot, and it’s only getting worse. It will be a relief to be gone.
Secondly, I bit the bullet and called a therapist. It took some time to find someone, but I am seeing a very nice psychologist that reminds both Bren and I disturbingly of his mother. She is, I think, what I’ve always expected a therapist to be like; someone that asks very pointed questions, then digs down into the answers to get to the truth, not someone that accepts everything that is said as factual. I have several appointments lined up with her, and she is cool with Bren coming with me, which relieves a lot of anxiety.
Interestingly enough, she said that the bipolar II diagnosis may not be correct; that a lot of people are misdiagnosed because they are suffering from agitation, not true mania. I haven’t had any episodes of mania since I left Illinois, so… we’ll see! I liked that she actually wants to do some therapy first to get a solid diagnosis before we start talking medications. After last time, I’m all for that, although if my insomnia problems continue, I will probably ask for something to help me sleep.
I still play Warcraft. A lot. But we picked up Guild Wars 2-I had been hearing all sorts of great things about it, and the lack of a subscription fee meant that if I hated it, I was only out the purchase price of the game, which… given my Skyrim experience, wasn’t that big a deal to me. C and I absolutely love it. We play on Tarnished Coast, the RP server, and it’s enough like Warcraft that it was easy for me to pick up and play, and different enough that it’s holding my interest.
I liked it enough, in fact, that Bren and J went out last weekend and bought copies too. I think the massive difference between GW2 and Rifts (which I also tried) is that Rifts immediately started offering obscenely low prices on buying the game, which made me feel like they were desperate for subscribers. I mean, immediately after release they were offering it for $4.99. And while it was a neat game, I think it’s already on its way out-I’ve seen quite a few people that left WoW for Rifts are back to dancing to Blizzard’s tune, and part of the appeal of MMORPGs is the MM.
Do I think GW2 is going to be around for a while? It’s difficult to say, really. It seems to me that their launch was an immense success, and I like the stand the company has taken toward their player’s experience (they shut down sales so that the servers would not get overcrowded). I like the gameplay, I love. LOVE the world. It’s occasionally frustrating, and sometimes the quests make me rage, but I think I’ve already gotten my money’s worth out of it, and I’m excited about continuing to play it.
Warcraft is still my number one game, however, and with the new expansion looming, I’m not really anticipating that will change. I have bitten the bullet and faction transferred my beloved shaman to Horde and joined a raiding guild. Their hours are fantastic, and I really really like what I have seen thusfar of the guild. I’m not sure how they manage to give the feel of a purely social guild and still field 3 progression raiding teams, but they seem to do it!
The rest of my alts will stay Alliance; most of them have RP backstories and plotlines that are faction dependent, and I like the guild I’m in Blueside. It’s become, I think, difficult to find a good guild that doesn’t make jokes that are inappropriate and mean-spirited, and yet is still active and friendly and everyone more or less gets along. They’re certainly out there, but many of them are ‘friends and immediate family’ type guilds, and you’re lucky to have two people logged in at any given time. That could be due in part to the End-of-Expansion population slump. Cataclysm was underwhelming in many ways and outright terrible in others, so it’s unsurprising that MegaGuilds would form. And those are not for me.
I am feeling a bit of…angst? Anxiety? Uncertainty? About moving Enveri to Horde. I’ve been Alliance for the last 7 years, and I have never had a level-capped horde character. I am hoping that feeling eases. (Also, Blizz? Seriously, hate the totem changes. For reals.)
We have a tabletop Deadlands game starting up sometime after we’re settled in. Points is running it, and from all accounts, I should be afraid. I’m more excited than anything, even though I know diddly about the setting. I’ve missed tabletop gaming; not so much the game itself as the camaraderie and social aspects of gathering together with snacks and beverages and dice. I know I am going to play a Bounty Hunter, but beyond that my character is a blank slate.
I have a lot of writing brewing. I’ve been trying to do a daily drabble-y something, but with work getting stressful and busy I haven’t quite had time. But I am averaging 2-3 shorts a week, which pleases me. I have not yet figured out if I want to try broadening my audience. Perhaps I will post the stories to DeviantArt or something.
Anyway, that’s the state of things. Now back to work!