There are certain places in my life where I know that I would not have made it through had it not been for another person giving me a hand up. And there will never be anything that I could possibly do to pay those people back. Because honestly, had it not been for them, my life would be altogether different. And while part of me wishes that I could express to them just how much they were instrumental in me getting from one point in my life to next, another part of me wants to do the same for someone else.
But how? What could I possibly do? That is always the question that plagues me. What could I possibly do? There are others who are more brilliant, who are more talented, who just have more to offer. What could I have that they don't? What is something I have is absolutely worthless in comparison to everyone else? I would have wasted not only my time, but the time of the others that I was trying to help. So what do I do?
I suppose I just do something. Because that is better than nothing. And, honestly, can you ever really know how much you have affected the people around you? Honestly, I just want to give others a hand up like I was given. I know what it felt like to look at a situation and feel like you have no one but yourself. Just the thought that someone else has your back and is invested in your success changes things. And not just the lip service, the actual being there to help push that stone up the hill with you.
I want to be that. I want to let others know that it isn't over if things go wrong. And to prove it, I will help you up. Because the view from up here is beautiful and I want you to see it for yourself.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
More about what I do online
So for those who don't know, last month I was made Columns Editor at Unsung Heroes (www.the-ush.com). And while that might not have shocked anyone else, it was definitely a huge shock to me. In just about one year's time, I went from being no one to being an editor. I had my reservations about accepting the position. I have a pretty busy life and things are only going to get busier. However, I took this as something that would break up the monotony of what my every day life has to be bring me.
Speaking of the USH, I got another review up for this month. I took at look at Romantically Apocalyptic. You can click this link and see what my thoughts were on that particular webcomic. One thing that I will say, the art is really fantastic. I am hoping to get back to doing podcasts, but we will see how that goes. Life just got really crazy for both me and Frankie since April and things are just starting to settle back down. Hopefully we can crank out enough for summer time and wish for the best when fall comes. It would be so much easier if we lived in the same place. But, work with what you got.
I find it odd that the moment I become Column Editor, we get two new columnists. One of them debuted today and the other is still in the works. So if any of you happen to like DnD and want to learn how to make a rogue tank (I know, boggles the mind, right?) head over to the site and read the first installment of Natural Twenties. I can definitely say that I was hooked by it and I'm not saying that because of bias.
Brainstorming for UnSung is happening and I have no idea if I'm going to ride this train or watch it pull out of the station. My skeptic and my optimist are definitely at war with one another (again).I guess only time is going to tell on this one. For right now, I am going to sit on Team Skeptic and just do what it is that I'm in charge of. If I'm wrong, then I will switch sides.
Speaking of the USH, I got another review up for this month. I took at look at Romantically Apocalyptic. You can click this link and see what my thoughts were on that particular webcomic. One thing that I will say, the art is really fantastic. I am hoping to get back to doing podcasts, but we will see how that goes. Life just got really crazy for both me and Frankie since April and things are just starting to settle back down. Hopefully we can crank out enough for summer time and wish for the best when fall comes. It would be so much easier if we lived in the same place. But, work with what you got.
I find it odd that the moment I become Column Editor, we get two new columnists. One of them debuted today and the other is still in the works. So if any of you happen to like DnD and want to learn how to make a rogue tank (I know, boggles the mind, right?) head over to the site and read the first installment of Natural Twenties. I can definitely say that I was hooked by it and I'm not saying that because of bias.
Brainstorming for UnSung is happening and I have no idea if I'm going to ride this train or watch it pull out of the station. My skeptic and my optimist are definitely at war with one another (again).I guess only time is going to tell on this one. For right now, I am going to sit on Team Skeptic and just do what it is that I'm in charge of. If I'm wrong, then I will switch sides.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Daily Write - Welcome to the Struggle
For those who want to give up and throw it all away.
For those who want to lay it all down and whine
Why is everything so hard? Why do I have to fight so long?
For those who have stopped in the middle of the road,
Refusing to continue on the journey that is their life.
Here is what I have to say.
Welcome to the Fight.
Welcome to the Struggle.
Welcome to Life that is not and will not ever be fair.
Welcome to the place where everything worth something costs.
And the price is never cheap.
Most of the time it will be your blood, sweat and tears that is payment.
Welcome to toil and burning the midnight oil
And everything you have ever wanted will always be right over that next mountain.
Welcome to the tunnel that extends farther than you imagined
That makes you question whether you were sane when you started down this rabbit hole.
Welcome to where your dream is the only thing that keeps you putting one foot in front of the other.
And even that feels like it is slipping away every now and again.
This is life, it gets no easier.
You push, you cry, you scream
This is existence. Nothing more and nothing less
A constant battle with fate in order to scratch from one level to the next.
For those who complain and have given up, just lay there and die
Life has nothing left for you.
Don't talk about what is owed, what is deserved, or what you feel.
Life does not care.
For those who still have enough piss and vinegar in them to continue on.
For those who are not ready for this journey to end.
For those who are willing to fight a little longer.
Welcome to the Struggle.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
MoonGuard Twitter Project
There are some things you see and you view it with nothing but skepticism, not entirely sure how it is going to work or pan out. I can say that was exactly how I felt when I first heard about the MoonGuard Twitter Project. While it was a good thought, I was not exactly sure how well it was going to be executed. Let me explain what the Twitter Project is all about.
An idea that first started on Wyrmrest Accord found its way into the Moon Guard forums. You would make a Twitter account for your roleplay character. You could only follow other rp characters and all your tweets had to be in character. The in character explanation for this was that in the marketplaces of all the major cities of Azeroth, there are magic books for sale. If you write in it, all the other owners of the same type of book can see what you have written. It would be a way for a large amount of roleplayers to connect and expand the roleplay experience.
My inner Twitter nut went crazy over the thought of roleplaying via Twitter. But the skeptic side of me was in full swing. I wasn't sure who was signing up, who I was going to follow, would the tweets be any good, just lots and lots of doubts of how well this was going to go down. So I slept on it, fully expecting that within a month or so the whole project would be nothing but tumbleweeds and crickets.
Well several months later, when I went back to see how the project was doing, it looked like things were only getting bigger and people involved were really enjoying themselves. My skepticism still was not entirely gone, but I saw that some of the people that I roleplay regularly were signed up. So, I just closed my eyes and took the plunge. Worst thing that could happen...I didn't like it and I would delete the account.
Well now I see just why the project did not fold in on itself. I am able to converse with so many more roleplayers now. Had I been at home with my gaming computer, I would have looked them up and tried to rp with them all in game. And watching conversations between some of these characters is so entertaining! I can't believe that I was about to take a pass on this. I am having so much fun with this. Sure, I haven't filled my follow list with lots of people just yet, but I am still loving everything about this project.
Yeah, I know that it sounds so extra nerdy that I'm using Twitter in order to roleplay with other WoW gamers, but at this point, nerdy is kind of my middle name. So if you happen to be part of Moonguard (or Wyrmrest Accord) I would really recommend making a character account and joining in on the fun.
An idea that first started on Wyrmrest Accord found its way into the Moon Guard forums. You would make a Twitter account for your roleplay character. You could only follow other rp characters and all your tweets had to be in character. The in character explanation for this was that in the marketplaces of all the major cities of Azeroth, there are magic books for sale. If you write in it, all the other owners of the same type of book can see what you have written. It would be a way for a large amount of roleplayers to connect and expand the roleplay experience.
My inner Twitter nut went crazy over the thought of roleplaying via Twitter. But the skeptic side of me was in full swing. I wasn't sure who was signing up, who I was going to follow, would the tweets be any good, just lots and lots of doubts of how well this was going to go down. So I slept on it, fully expecting that within a month or so the whole project would be nothing but tumbleweeds and crickets.
Well several months later, when I went back to see how the project was doing, it looked like things were only getting bigger and people involved were really enjoying themselves. My skepticism still was not entirely gone, but I saw that some of the people that I roleplay regularly were signed up. So, I just closed my eyes and took the plunge. Worst thing that could happen...I didn't like it and I would delete the account.
Well now I see just why the project did not fold in on itself. I am able to converse with so many more roleplayers now. Had I been at home with my gaming computer, I would have looked them up and tried to rp with them all in game. And watching conversations between some of these characters is so entertaining! I can't believe that I was about to take a pass on this. I am having so much fun with this. Sure, I haven't filled my follow list with lots of people just yet, but I am still loving everything about this project.
Yeah, I know that it sounds so extra nerdy that I'm using Twitter in order to roleplay with other WoW gamers, but at this point, nerdy is kind of my middle name. So if you happen to be part of Moonguard (or Wyrmrest Accord) I would really recommend making a character account and joining in on the fun.
Monday, May 30, 2011
Fanfic, a waste of time?
I suppose it was the natural progression of things. I like writing. I like roleplaying. Then the worlds collided and I started writing stories about the characters that I was playing. Part of me feels very guilty when I sit down and craft out an entire story based on a roleplay character. Especially if that character is based in WoW. Every single time, I feel like I am wasting my time. I should be putting my energy into writing something "real". And by real, I probably just mean the story isn't based off of something that another person created. I'm not entirely sure why I feel like this. I mean, writing is writing and you can only get better at writing if you write, right? What does it matter if I am cutting my teeth on some fan fiction? Sure I can't land the latest bestseller with it, but does that really matter?
But no, there is this voice in the back of my head that keeps screaming that I am wasting time. That I should be working on things that could possibly be published and not mess around with things that really aren't going to matter in the long run. But writing for my rp characters is so much fun. I love fleshing them out and making them real. I love giving them side stories and backgrounds and adding dimensions to them. And what I love most of all is having other players see these stories and understanding my character a bit more.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Music changes everything
It amazes me how my mood can be so easily set by music. Sometimes, I think that I might be paying attention to it too much. No one should be that effected, right? But then I decide that at this stage in the game, I am the way I am and I might as well embrace it. Some people describe music as "having a nice sound" or "it has a beat I like" but for me, music is more than that. I blame my over active mind.
When certain songs come on, I just close my eyes and listen. Honestly, there are times where I feel like I'm flying. Well feel like what I imagine flying would feel like. I couldn't possibly have any other thoughts going through my head at this moment. The music has totally entranced me and for that 3-5 minutes, nothing exists in the world outside of that song and the feeling that I have attached to it.
There are times when I can be in a terrible mood and the music that I have playing can augment that mood or completely turn it around. Sometimes I wonder, am I the only person who reacts this way. I can be having the worst day, but the moment I put on some music that gets me hyped up, all that other stuff just seems to slide into the background.
Or I can do just the opposite. I remember being angry a lot as a teenager (wow, I was an angsty teen, who ever would have pegged that one) and the one thing I would do was play certain music really loud and just stand in front of the speakers. The best way I could describe what was happen was it felt like my anger was just burning itself out. I would just get more and more angry until finally I didn't feel anything anymore. I would just feel empty.
I suppose I should caveat this by saying that not every song I listen to has this effect. If it did, I would never be able to have the radio on in my car. But the amount of music that does is pretty high. I never admitted this out loud, because I thought people would think that I was crazy. Most of the time when I explain how things work in my head, I get that sideways glance. So I have learned to keep my mouth shut and continue to ride the rides that are in the carnival of my brain.
It's an inexplicable phenomenon, at least to me, but one that I constantly take advantage of.
When certain songs come on, I just close my eyes and listen. Honestly, there are times where I feel like I'm flying. Well feel like what I imagine flying would feel like. I couldn't possibly have any other thoughts going through my head at this moment. The music has totally entranced me and for that 3-5 minutes, nothing exists in the world outside of that song and the feeling that I have attached to it.
There are times when I can be in a terrible mood and the music that I have playing can augment that mood or completely turn it around. Sometimes I wonder, am I the only person who reacts this way. I can be having the worst day, but the moment I put on some music that gets me hyped up, all that other stuff just seems to slide into the background.
Or I can do just the opposite. I remember being angry a lot as a teenager (wow, I was an angsty teen, who ever would have pegged that one) and the one thing I would do was play certain music really loud and just stand in front of the speakers. The best way I could describe what was happen was it felt like my anger was just burning itself out. I would just get more and more angry until finally I didn't feel anything anymore. I would just feel empty.
I suppose I should caveat this by saying that not every song I listen to has this effect. If it did, I would never be able to have the radio on in my car. But the amount of music that does is pretty high. I never admitted this out loud, because I thought people would think that I was crazy. Most of the time when I explain how things work in my head, I get that sideways glance. So I have learned to keep my mouth shut and continue to ride the rides that are in the carnival of my brain.
It's an inexplicable phenomenon, at least to me, but one that I constantly take advantage of.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
It has been an entire year!!!
So, shameless plug. But I figure if you are looking at my blog, it is all about me anyway. May marks one year of me writing Click Here For Comics over at UnSung Heroes. Honestly, I never really expected it to go for this long or for it to be as welcomed on the site as it is. Writing about webcomics had been something that I wanted to do for several months before I was introduced to the site. I was looking for a platform to stand on and they gave me one.
Honestly, I was expecting to be looked over since I didn't really have that strong of a background in print comics. Sure I knew about them, but I had just started reading some of the larger name in print comics and had a lot of learning to do when it come to super heroes and all that. However, that didn't seem to matter. I knew webcomics, knew what I liked and what I didn't like and people seemed to be pretty receptive to that.
If I had time to write more than just one article a month, I would. Doing this had sent me searching for other things to write about, different genres to look at and consider, and giving me the ability to say "Yeah, this is a good comic, however, I'm just not the target audience.". I have a lot of fun writing these. I have yet to sit down in front of a blank screen and say "Oh good Lord, I have to do this again.". I always have a feeling of, "Which one on this list am I going to do this week!"
I think the icing on this cake was given to me a few weeks ago when someone suggested a webcomic for me to look at review. Me handing out thoughts on a topic is one thing. Someone actually wanted to hear my thoughts is definitely something different. Makes me feel like I have built somewhat of a re pore and that's pretty cool.
So now that I have made it a full year, how long do I plan on keeping this up? Honestly I don't know. I guess I just ride it out until it's over. And I have no idea when that will be. But, webcomics is always going to be something that is near and dear to my heart. And I will probably be talking about them from now until forever as long as there is someone to listen.
On that note, let me plug the lastest edition of Click Here For Comics where I review the comic, Fey Winds.
http://www.the-ush.com/ucomic-reviewsu/click-here-for-comics-13-fey-winds/
Click and enjoy!
Honestly, I was expecting to be looked over since I didn't really have that strong of a background in print comics. Sure I knew about them, but I had just started reading some of the larger name in print comics and had a lot of learning to do when it come to super heroes and all that. However, that didn't seem to matter. I knew webcomics, knew what I liked and what I didn't like and people seemed to be pretty receptive to that.
If I had time to write more than just one article a month, I would. Doing this had sent me searching for other things to write about, different genres to look at and consider, and giving me the ability to say "Yeah, this is a good comic, however, I'm just not the target audience.". I have a lot of fun writing these. I have yet to sit down in front of a blank screen and say "Oh good Lord, I have to do this again.". I always have a feeling of, "Which one on this list am I going to do this week!"
I think the icing on this cake was given to me a few weeks ago when someone suggested a webcomic for me to look at review. Me handing out thoughts on a topic is one thing. Someone actually wanted to hear my thoughts is definitely something different. Makes me feel like I have built somewhat of a re pore and that's pretty cool.
So now that I have made it a full year, how long do I plan on keeping this up? Honestly I don't know. I guess I just ride it out until it's over. And I have no idea when that will be. But, webcomics is always going to be something that is near and dear to my heart. And I will probably be talking about them from now until forever as long as there is someone to listen.
On that note, let me plug the lastest edition of Click Here For Comics where I review the comic, Fey Winds.
http://www.the-ush.com/ucomic-reviewsu/click-here-for-comics-13-fey-winds/
Click and enjoy!
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