Out of Breath
Scene: Friday night, late evening. Dan Ravipinto and Michael O'Sullivan stand in a small crowd of gamers at a New Jersey-based Role-Playing game convention.
Michael: (looking concerned) How are you feeling?
Dan: Okay. You know...
Michael: Yeah.
Dan: (looking concerned) How are you?
Michael: Well, y'know... I'm fine. As long as I keep busy, as long as I'm doing something, then I'm fine. But when I stop...
Dan: (smiles) Yeah... I know.
Friday Went off to work a bit late. Not a big deal because 1) I don't care about work that much and 2) it was a pretty light morning and not a lot needed doing during opening. I listened to podcasts on the way in to work, people talking about comic books or role-playing games. I have a hard time listening to music sometimes. Strange, that, being the music snob that I am. Stopped off at Dunkin Donuts for an iced coffee and a breakfast sandwich.
Yes. I know. Iced coffee. Leave me alone.
Work was largely uneventful. Only had one angry customer that day, so it's becoming obvious that the post-holiday thrash is over. I am thankful. Still, work grates on me. Customers don't seem to care about anyone, and I am largely unsympathetic to their desires or predicaments.
I grab a copy of the World of Warcraft expansion for Zoe. I'm mulling over grabbing it for myself, though I'm not sure the expansion is needed. I'll not be getting my character up anywhere near sixtyeth level, let alone seventyeth, and I've no desire to play either of the two new races. I'm relly more excited about playing Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. I mean, an MMO set in the world of the Conan books? Do I need to say more.
After work it's a rush. Drive down to 19th and Spring Garden to pick up Zoe. Break across Vine and hit 8th and Walnut to grab Camden from work, then it's a trip over the Ben Franklin Bridge and up the 95s to central Jersey. Camden is visiting his family for the weekend, and Zoe and I are going to a gaming convention.
Star and I had made plans to go to the convention together. Big plans. It was supposed to be our first couple's vacation. We were going to go up there for five days. I was to run a couple of sessions of my game, Criminal Element, and she was going to play around the convention. Then there would be evenings and early mornings spent going into town and eating foods and doing things.
At first I couldn't bring myself to go. I cancelled all of my slots for Criminal Element. It was off the map. Then other things happened. I was trading some emails back and forth with a writer that I really respect and like and he was talking about going to the con. Then Dan said that he was still going to go. My psychology changed on it and I found myself needing to go. I was looking down the edge of a cliff and waiting to jump.
So I enlisted Zoe to be my spotter and we were off. Didn't get there until 7.45, just moments before the last games of the night sat down for play. I scooped up some books and found a Sorcerer table for Zoe and I to sit in on and play at. The session was entertaining, mainly because of the desire of the players at the table to make it entertaining. The GM threw out a good number of the rules that makes Sorcerer work. No kickers, he wasn't hitting us with bangs of any sort, he rolled initiative as a seperate roll from actions, yada yada. I wound up giving my character a kicker of his own, something that involved a missing former lover and a need for retribution. Jesus fucking Christ, I really need to stop being a player and just GM. I let out way too much of the personal shit when I've only got one character to control.
The session wrapped and it was time to go. I wound up running into game writer and all around nice guy Judd/
judd_sonofbert and we got to talking for a little bit. We don't really know each other that well. I'm a sort of satelite guy in the Indie Gaming system, and Judd's a bunch closer to the sun, as it were, but we met up at last year's Dexcon and he was a great cat. He had convinced me to bring Criminal Element to Dreamation this year, so I felt that I had to tell him why I wasn't running it. I wound up telling him about Star, and apologizing for having told him. He was incredible about it, very concerned and everything. I wound up also talking to him about the Star Fund auction and donating some signed books to it, which he was totally on-board for. Like I said, good guy.
Then it was a drive home at one in the morning. Zoe and I talked about all sorts of things: music, gaming, what have you. The topic eventually found its way to Star and we talked about her for a while. We stopped at Wendy's for food, the first I'd eaten since breakfast, and I smoked some cigarettes and I was in bed at around three in the morning.
Saturday I woke up at around nine o'clock, to be at work at nine o'clock. Yeah. Apathetic.
I got into work about fifteen minutes prior to opening, a chocolate muffin and a coke in hand. Opening routine done with, I simply sat around and waited for the customers. Of which there were more than a few.
Saturdays at work can be alright. The mornings aren't ever terribly busy, mostly mothers looking to but stuff for their kids. By the time the swing shift worker gets in it's just starting to get busy. Three thirty rolls around and I'm out the door. The day winds up being tiring but not exhausting. Throw in a late night and a ton of driving from the previous day though, and I'm dragging ass.
I get home at four o'clock, check the email, and call Neil. There were plans, you see, to sit around and watch the Alien trilogy (see what I did there?), or maybe play some board games. We talked, I told him I would be over shortly, then sat down for a minute to catch my breath.
It was six o'clock when I woke up. A second call was placed to Neil and I ran over his place. I'd already missed Alien and Aliens, but they had been kind enough to hold out on playing Alien3, my favourite of the set.
We sat, we watched, we talked about puppies and shaved pubes and herpes and other bad things. We laughed more than a little. We were there until midnight. I drove Sam home, all the while talking about music from our younger days. Again I was at home and asleep at three.
Sunday Today I get another tattoo. I also drive back out to Jersey to pick up Camden, then it's off to go see Smoking Aces.
Keeping busy.
Michael: (looking concerned) How are you feeling?
Dan: Okay. You know...
Michael: Yeah.
Dan: (looking concerned) How are you?
Michael: Well, y'know... I'm fine. As long as I keep busy, as long as I'm doing something, then I'm fine. But when I stop...
Dan: (smiles) Yeah... I know.
Friday Went off to work a bit late. Not a big deal because 1) I don't care about work that much and 2) it was a pretty light morning and not a lot needed doing during opening. I listened to podcasts on the way in to work, people talking about comic books or role-playing games. I have a hard time listening to music sometimes. Strange, that, being the music snob that I am. Stopped off at Dunkin Donuts for an iced coffee and a breakfast sandwich.
Yes. I know. Iced coffee. Leave me alone.
Work was largely uneventful. Only had one angry customer that day, so it's becoming obvious that the post-holiday thrash is over. I am thankful. Still, work grates on me. Customers don't seem to care about anyone, and I am largely unsympathetic to their desires or predicaments.
I grab a copy of the World of Warcraft expansion for Zoe. I'm mulling over grabbing it for myself, though I'm not sure the expansion is needed. I'll not be getting my character up anywhere near sixtyeth level, let alone seventyeth, and I've no desire to play either of the two new races. I'm relly more excited about playing Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures. I mean, an MMO set in the world of the Conan books? Do I need to say more.
After work it's a rush. Drive down to 19th and Spring Garden to pick up Zoe. Break across Vine and hit 8th and Walnut to grab Camden from work, then it's a trip over the Ben Franklin Bridge and up the 95s to central Jersey. Camden is visiting his family for the weekend, and Zoe and I are going to a gaming convention.
Star and I had made plans to go to the convention together. Big plans. It was supposed to be our first couple's vacation. We were going to go up there for five days. I was to run a couple of sessions of my game, Criminal Element, and she was going to play around the convention. Then there would be evenings and early mornings spent going into town and eating foods and doing things.
At first I couldn't bring myself to go. I cancelled all of my slots for Criminal Element. It was off the map. Then other things happened. I was trading some emails back and forth with a writer that I really respect and like and he was talking about going to the con. Then Dan said that he was still going to go. My psychology changed on it and I found myself needing to go. I was looking down the edge of a cliff and waiting to jump.
So I enlisted Zoe to be my spotter and we were off. Didn't get there until 7.45, just moments before the last games of the night sat down for play. I scooped up some books and found a Sorcerer table for Zoe and I to sit in on and play at. The session was entertaining, mainly because of the desire of the players at the table to make it entertaining. The GM threw out a good number of the rules that makes Sorcerer work. No kickers, he wasn't hitting us with bangs of any sort, he rolled initiative as a seperate roll from actions, yada yada. I wound up giving my character a kicker of his own, something that involved a missing former lover and a need for retribution. Jesus fucking Christ, I really need to stop being a player and just GM. I let out way too much of the personal shit when I've only got one character to control.
The session wrapped and it was time to go. I wound up running into game writer and all around nice guy Judd/
judd_sonofbert and we got to talking for a little bit. We don't really know each other that well. I'm a sort of satelite guy in the Indie Gaming system, and Judd's a bunch closer to the sun, as it were, but we met up at last year's Dexcon and he was a great cat. He had convinced me to bring Criminal Element to Dreamation this year, so I felt that I had to tell him why I wasn't running it. I wound up telling him about Star, and apologizing for having told him. He was incredible about it, very concerned and everything. I wound up also talking to him about the Star Fund auction and donating some signed books to it, which he was totally on-board for. Like I said, good guy.
Then it was a drive home at one in the morning. Zoe and I talked about all sorts of things: music, gaming, what have you. The topic eventually found its way to Star and we talked about her for a while. We stopped at Wendy's for food, the first I'd eaten since breakfast, and I smoked some cigarettes and I was in bed at around three in the morning.
Saturday I woke up at around nine o'clock, to be at work at nine o'clock. Yeah. Apathetic.
I got into work about fifteen minutes prior to opening, a chocolate muffin and a coke in hand. Opening routine done with, I simply sat around and waited for the customers. Of which there were more than a few.
Saturdays at work can be alright. The mornings aren't ever terribly busy, mostly mothers looking to but stuff for their kids. By the time the swing shift worker gets in it's just starting to get busy. Three thirty rolls around and I'm out the door. The day winds up being tiring but not exhausting. Throw in a late night and a ton of driving from the previous day though, and I'm dragging ass.
I get home at four o'clock, check the email, and call Neil. There were plans, you see, to sit around and watch the Alien trilogy (see what I did there?), or maybe play some board games. We talked, I told him I would be over shortly, then sat down for a minute to catch my breath.
It was six o'clock when I woke up. A second call was placed to Neil and I ran over his place. I'd already missed Alien and Aliens, but they had been kind enough to hold out on playing Alien3, my favourite of the set.
We sat, we watched, we talked about puppies and shaved pubes and herpes and other bad things. We laughed more than a little. We were there until midnight. I drove Sam home, all the while talking about music from our younger days. Again I was at home and asleep at three.
Sunday Today I get another tattoo. I also drive back out to Jersey to pick up Camden, then it's off to go see Smoking Aces.
Keeping busy.