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Coffee With The Princess!
Posted 3 years agoCoffee With The Princess!
Overcoming Fear!
Mmm ...
There are a few things in life that are more trying than overcoming personal defects in themselves than fear. Fear in what they are about to face, whether it be a bully of sorts, bad news of a loved one or even self, or just simply of the unknown. We all have these sort of things that we have to deal with on a daily basis. Fear often leads to poor judgement, bad decisions, and certainly unwanted consequences. And we have all had these in our lives. We do the best we can with what we have and know.
"A pint can not hold a quart, Mr. Pizer. If it holds the pint. it's doing the best it can." V.I.N.CENT - The Black Hole 1979
The Black Hole is one of my all time favorite movies to watch and I can watch it again and again with the same child-like wonder that I had when I first saw it in the movie theatre with my Pop, who also loved good science fiction movies. The above quote is something that I have had in my brain much of my life and I keep it in mind when I hit my "limitations." That movie was also one of the first movies I watched when I got out of the hospital after being in there for fifteen days. It was one of those movies that was done with old school special effects and perhaps the last of its kind. Oh, there were others that did really groovy special effects, but they would be done more with computers as time went on, especially with the advancement of machines.
Medicine and medical procedures also have had a monumental jump since the 1970s and 1980s as well, that's another thought that gives me some comfort too as I face my fears when it comes to diabetes. I know that I talk about how my life was changed since the operation, amputation, and healing. Not only do I wish to work a lot of this out for myself, but to share with people. Telling people about the trails and tribulations of life may actually benefit someone. Hopefully that will happen.
On May 4th coming up in less than two weeks, I will have a "simple" procedure of having each eye shot with this medicine that is supposed to reduce the swelling of my retinas, which is another simpleton of diabetes. "No matter how well you take care of yourself, diabetes will cause this to happen, honey. The best you can do is the best you can do," the doctor told me, one of several who I have come to think of as my personal Avengers. Yes, I know ... very comic book nerd-like. But, it's me. "There is little to no pain," he reassured me. "We numb the eyes and inject some stuff to keep your eyelids from closing before we inject the stuff into your eye." I cringed! "I understand your hesitation, but this is the only way to treat this. There's no really hurry at the moment, but it should be treated within a reasonable amount of time." After shaking for a bit, I begrudgingly said, "Let's go for it, doc." 'Nuff said!
I will not lie. I'm scarred. But, I had less fear about my left foot and the infection and amputation of the dead toes and area to the joints and some of the foot. I knew I would be ok. I had faith. So, for this, I have to have fait that this will work out. I have talked to a few people and I know of one person who said that they have had this done. "Nothing to it, but I was afraid too. Look, you had an amputation, which I doubt I could handle, and so I know you will be ok."
I will be just fine! I have faith in that!
A few people over the past few years had asked me why I stopped drawing and a lot of it has to do with lack of time, but the truth of it is, I have lost some feeling on my fingertips as well as much of my feet, especially the left foot. But, I've also had some serious changes in my sight as I have gotten older too. I can see to drive, but drawing is harder since it's a combination of feeling and sight too. It's something I have to work on. I must. It will be a big step to gain what I have lost, what I have missed out on.
Fear and all of the symptoms caused by fear can be handicapping, but you have the strength within you to push forward. You just have to find it. Trust me, if I can do it, everyone can. But also, ask for help and encouragement. You do NOT have to do the alone.
BE Happy!
Love and Kisses,
Loonia
Overcoming Fear!
Mmm ...
There are a few things in life that are more trying than overcoming personal defects in themselves than fear. Fear in what they are about to face, whether it be a bully of sorts, bad news of a loved one or even self, or just simply of the unknown. We all have these sort of things that we have to deal with on a daily basis. Fear often leads to poor judgement, bad decisions, and certainly unwanted consequences. And we have all had these in our lives. We do the best we can with what we have and know.
"A pint can not hold a quart, Mr. Pizer. If it holds the pint. it's doing the best it can." V.I.N.CENT - The Black Hole 1979
The Black Hole is one of my all time favorite movies to watch and I can watch it again and again with the same child-like wonder that I had when I first saw it in the movie theatre with my Pop, who also loved good science fiction movies. The above quote is something that I have had in my brain much of my life and I keep it in mind when I hit my "limitations." That movie was also one of the first movies I watched when I got out of the hospital after being in there for fifteen days. It was one of those movies that was done with old school special effects and perhaps the last of its kind. Oh, there were others that did really groovy special effects, but they would be done more with computers as time went on, especially with the advancement of machines.
Medicine and medical procedures also have had a monumental jump since the 1970s and 1980s as well, that's another thought that gives me some comfort too as I face my fears when it comes to diabetes. I know that I talk about how my life was changed since the operation, amputation, and healing. Not only do I wish to work a lot of this out for myself, but to share with people. Telling people about the trails and tribulations of life may actually benefit someone. Hopefully that will happen.
On May 4th coming up in less than two weeks, I will have a "simple" procedure of having each eye shot with this medicine that is supposed to reduce the swelling of my retinas, which is another simpleton of diabetes. "No matter how well you take care of yourself, diabetes will cause this to happen, honey. The best you can do is the best you can do," the doctor told me, one of several who I have come to think of as my personal Avengers. Yes, I know ... very comic book nerd-like. But, it's me. "There is little to no pain," he reassured me. "We numb the eyes and inject some stuff to keep your eyelids from closing before we inject the stuff into your eye." I cringed! "I understand your hesitation, but this is the only way to treat this. There's no really hurry at the moment, but it should be treated within a reasonable amount of time." After shaking for a bit, I begrudgingly said, "Let's go for it, doc." 'Nuff said!
I will not lie. I'm scarred. But, I had less fear about my left foot and the infection and amputation of the dead toes and area to the joints and some of the foot. I knew I would be ok. I had faith. So, for this, I have to have fait that this will work out. I have talked to a few people and I know of one person who said that they have had this done. "Nothing to it, but I was afraid too. Look, you had an amputation, which I doubt I could handle, and so I know you will be ok."
I will be just fine! I have faith in that!
A few people over the past few years had asked me why I stopped drawing and a lot of it has to do with lack of time, but the truth of it is, I have lost some feeling on my fingertips as well as much of my feet, especially the left foot. But, I've also had some serious changes in my sight as I have gotten older too. I can see to drive, but drawing is harder since it's a combination of feeling and sight too. It's something I have to work on. I must. It will be a big step to gain what I have lost, what I have missed out on.
Fear and all of the symptoms caused by fear can be handicapping, but you have the strength within you to push forward. You just have to find it. Trust me, if I can do it, everyone can. But also, ask for help and encouragement. You do NOT have to do the alone.
BE Happy!
Love and Kisses,
Loonia
Coffee With The Princess!
Posted 3 years agoCoffee With The Princess!
Guilt?
**Giggles!**
I might be changing the title of this session of my morning ramblings to something else as I work on waking up and focusing on the day. Please bare with me.
Over the past year and a half, I have been trying to put my life back together after having a hard slap of bad health, life showing me that giving her the finger only hurts you and the people around you. And I didn't really realize just how far I fell until I hit bottom and spent two weeks in the hospital. But that was just the start of what was going to be needed. Lots of money, lots of time, lots of effort from both me and the people around me, and so much more. I have gotten a lot of help from the people around me, both from the Firm I work for and the people at Memorial Hospital, all involved want me to find that happiness that I had so many years ago and return to it. Now, I know the experience has changed me ... hopefully for the better. But that's where faith comes in.
Still, I cannot help the guilt I feel at times. Not that I hurt so many people with my actions (or inactions) of not caring about myself or what could happen, but it's something a bit more ... interesting and disquieting. It is the monstrous appetite that I have for food. Years ago, I damned sure did not care what I ate as long as I enjoyed it. Stress caused me to overeat and stupidity kept me from realizing or perhaps caring what could happen. Sure Pop taught me that "Actions have consequences!" a driving message to me. We have the right to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness, but there's one part of that realization that some forget and it is easy to forget ... "Only until it takes away the rights of someone else."
Over this past year or so as I have worked on getting my diabetes under control, I have had to fight with the monster of my hunger. Now, many of you have heard the stories about me killing twenty crunchy tacos in one sitting, going to the movies and having three buckets of hot, buttery popcorn and three massive mega-mugs of soda ... only to burp a few hours later and ask about hitting the Chinese Buffet down the street, or even the place down the street that used to serve all the food you could eat and they would cook it and you would eat it. I destroyed thirteen plates along with two pitchers of beer and the place asked my friends who were laughing to take me home. Oh yes. All true.
So, why the guilt? It might not make sense, but neither does the small things in life. There is a seriousness to diabetes that I never really thought about until it became real. The Witch Doctor made it seem like a blank check for them to squeeze money out of me. However, the new doctor, Doc Mac, has added knowledge and compassion that was lacking from the previous "doctor" and has woken me up. He's gotten me on a diet that's fairly simple and yet tight, but keeps on reminding me that each day is a start to something new. "One day at a time, honey," is what he's said few times and it sounds like the wisdom I used to get from Pop.
So, I keep on working at it.
Still, chaining up the monster, that raging appetite that I have within me, can cost me a bit of my sanity at times. The reminder of not buying junk food sometimes goes unheard and the destruction of a whole bag of Reese's Pieces cookies or a bag of Taco Bell food often is followed by the guilt and shame too.
Something that I have done a few times to keep me from doing the stupid things like that has been to take off my shoes and look at my feet, especially my left one. Something I don't talk about a lot is the nerve damage I have to both feet from not taking care of myself. My left leg from the knee down is pretty tingly-numb and both feet feel like I have on heavy boots all the time. The main thing that y'all know is that my left foot lost its four smaller toes and a good portion of it. The doctors shaped the foot to gain the greatest the potential of balance, but I still haven't gotten the full hang of it. Probably have about 60% at best. Looking at my feet remind me just how serious all of this is.
Remember, y'all ... life is precious. Treat it and yourself with respect.
BE Happy!
Love and Kisses,
Loonia
Guilt?
**Giggles!**
I might be changing the title of this session of my morning ramblings to something else as I work on waking up and focusing on the day. Please bare with me.
Over the past year and a half, I have been trying to put my life back together after having a hard slap of bad health, life showing me that giving her the finger only hurts you and the people around you. And I didn't really realize just how far I fell until I hit bottom and spent two weeks in the hospital. But that was just the start of what was going to be needed. Lots of money, lots of time, lots of effort from both me and the people around me, and so much more. I have gotten a lot of help from the people around me, both from the Firm I work for and the people at Memorial Hospital, all involved want me to find that happiness that I had so many years ago and return to it. Now, I know the experience has changed me ... hopefully for the better. But that's where faith comes in.
Still, I cannot help the guilt I feel at times. Not that I hurt so many people with my actions (or inactions) of not caring about myself or what could happen, but it's something a bit more ... interesting and disquieting. It is the monstrous appetite that I have for food. Years ago, I damned sure did not care what I ate as long as I enjoyed it. Stress caused me to overeat and stupidity kept me from realizing or perhaps caring what could happen. Sure Pop taught me that "Actions have consequences!" a driving message to me. We have the right to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness, but there's one part of that realization that some forget and it is easy to forget ... "Only until it takes away the rights of someone else."
Over this past year or so as I have worked on getting my diabetes under control, I have had to fight with the monster of my hunger. Now, many of you have heard the stories about me killing twenty crunchy tacos in one sitting, going to the movies and having three buckets of hot, buttery popcorn and three massive mega-mugs of soda ... only to burp a few hours later and ask about hitting the Chinese Buffet down the street, or even the place down the street that used to serve all the food you could eat and they would cook it and you would eat it. I destroyed thirteen plates along with two pitchers of beer and the place asked my friends who were laughing to take me home. Oh yes. All true.
So, why the guilt? It might not make sense, but neither does the small things in life. There is a seriousness to diabetes that I never really thought about until it became real. The Witch Doctor made it seem like a blank check for them to squeeze money out of me. However, the new doctor, Doc Mac, has added knowledge and compassion that was lacking from the previous "doctor" and has woken me up. He's gotten me on a diet that's fairly simple and yet tight, but keeps on reminding me that each day is a start to something new. "One day at a time, honey," is what he's said few times and it sounds like the wisdom I used to get from Pop.
So, I keep on working at it.
Still, chaining up the monster, that raging appetite that I have within me, can cost me a bit of my sanity at times. The reminder of not buying junk food sometimes goes unheard and the destruction of a whole bag of Reese's Pieces cookies or a bag of Taco Bell food often is followed by the guilt and shame too.
Something that I have done a few times to keep me from doing the stupid things like that has been to take off my shoes and look at my feet, especially my left one. Something I don't talk about a lot is the nerve damage I have to both feet from not taking care of myself. My left leg from the knee down is pretty tingly-numb and both feet feel like I have on heavy boots all the time. The main thing that y'all know is that my left foot lost its four smaller toes and a good portion of it. The doctors shaped the foot to gain the greatest the potential of balance, but I still haven't gotten the full hang of it. Probably have about 60% at best. Looking at my feet remind me just how serious all of this is.
Remember, y'all ... life is precious. Treat it and yourself with respect.
BE Happy!
Love and Kisses,
Loonia
Coffee With The Princess!
Posted 3 years agoCoffee With The Princess!
Happy Easter, Y'All!
**Giggles!**
Having been up for a few hours now has not only allowed me some time to do a drive out to Tybee Island and watch the sun rise and to also attend the sunrise mass at church to celebrate Easter, but it allowed me some light soul searching and reflection, something that I have been doing a lot lately. Between 2018 to 2020, I feel like I slid slowly into a hazy dream-like state where I was aware of what I was doing and not completely within the right frame of mind, which sounds like an excuse. Painkillers being used to deal with the start of the hole in my leg around this time and then later with things getting much worse with the inability to sleep just exasperated the situation into something that slowly pushed me deeper into madness, which got really bad around July of 2020. Those last few months were almost a blank, but I knew what was was doing. I just couldn't believe I had fallen that far. The day of the operation to remove the four smaller toes and a portion of the left foot was like a slap in the face after drinking for so long ... and when I awoke in the recovery room, my first thought was I was in the X-Men medical room, just no gorgeous redhead to greet me.
Or was she? I don't remember seeing anyone like my beloved Kaitlynn around, but perhaps she was. I know later she sat on the edge of my bed and watched over me while I rested through the haze of the drugs. I know that she stayed with me throughout the experience and has walked with me pretty much ever since.
That's what made me think this morning that it's a lot of things I had forgotten in my pain and misery that I had pushed aside. Kait's love, my faith, and generally everything that made me such a good person got tossed. I'm not sure if that is a second chance or a rebirth, but it does seem like it to me.
Easter is the resurrection of Jesus Christ after his self-sacrifice on the cross to die for mankind's sins, where even his father turned away from his son's suffering. A rebirth. A fresh start.
Mine is nowhere near as glorious or as some might say fantastical, but it is something to reflect on for the time being. I want to have faith that I have been given a second chance at life, to look at it and the people around me with a bit more clarity and fix all of the things wrong with myself and my life. I'm not trying the monumental heroic thing as to save th world, just myself. To prove that I'm worth of such a gift.
Isn't that what faith is all about?
Happy Easter, Y'All! BE Happy if nothing else!
Love and Kisses,
Loonia
Happy Easter, Y'All!
**Giggles!**
Having been up for a few hours now has not only allowed me some time to do a drive out to Tybee Island and watch the sun rise and to also attend the sunrise mass at church to celebrate Easter, but it allowed me some light soul searching and reflection, something that I have been doing a lot lately. Between 2018 to 2020, I feel like I slid slowly into a hazy dream-like state where I was aware of what I was doing and not completely within the right frame of mind, which sounds like an excuse. Painkillers being used to deal with the start of the hole in my leg around this time and then later with things getting much worse with the inability to sleep just exasperated the situation into something that slowly pushed me deeper into madness, which got really bad around July of 2020. Those last few months were almost a blank, but I knew what was was doing. I just couldn't believe I had fallen that far. The day of the operation to remove the four smaller toes and a portion of the left foot was like a slap in the face after drinking for so long ... and when I awoke in the recovery room, my first thought was I was in the X-Men medical room, just no gorgeous redhead to greet me.
Or was she? I don't remember seeing anyone like my beloved Kaitlynn around, but perhaps she was. I know later she sat on the edge of my bed and watched over me while I rested through the haze of the drugs. I know that she stayed with me throughout the experience and has walked with me pretty much ever since.
That's what made me think this morning that it's a lot of things I had forgotten in my pain and misery that I had pushed aside. Kait's love, my faith, and generally everything that made me such a good person got tossed. I'm not sure if that is a second chance or a rebirth, but it does seem like it to me.
Easter is the resurrection of Jesus Christ after his self-sacrifice on the cross to die for mankind's sins, where even his father turned away from his son's suffering. A rebirth. A fresh start.
Mine is nowhere near as glorious or as some might say fantastical, but it is something to reflect on for the time being. I want to have faith that I have been given a second chance at life, to look at it and the people around me with a bit more clarity and fix all of the things wrong with myself and my life. I'm not trying the monumental heroic thing as to save th world, just myself. To prove that I'm worth of such a gift.
Isn't that what faith is all about?
Happy Easter, Y'All! BE Happy if nothing else!
Love and Kisses,
Loonia
Coffee With The Princess!
Posted 3 years agoCoffee With The Princess!
I've Fallen!
**Giggles!**
Almost a lifetime away, I used to box. While I was never good at it, I had to go through a good bit to be able to do it. According to the college that I was attending at the time, I had to get permission from my folks and have that notarized and sent to the college so they had this on file. According to the college, they did this to ALL of the students because they were usually under the age of 21. I argued that I was eligible to drive a car, so I ought to be able to learn how to fight. Now, if you have been reading any of the author's or artists note or even any of these journals, you know that my Uncles Buck and Charlie taught me the basics when I was little, but that had been about a decade ago at this point in my life. So, I had to go around in the ring of red tape to do something I really wanted to do.
The coach, who was a Marine as well, said the the first lesson was about falling down. His reasoning is that when you are learning how to fight, you are going to get hit, you are going to get pounded on, and this was going to cause you to fall down. "Fighting is generally not what people are used to doing," he said after asking me how often did I get into a fight. I had to think about that. "Hardly ever," I admitted. He just nodded. "Then you need to learn how to take a fall and get back onto your feet." The lesson took a few hours because it was learning how to fall, which you have a second or two before you hit the mat and you are going to hit hard. This is after you have been pounded on. Once you are down, you have three seconds ... if you are lucky ... to get your brain rebooted and be back on your feet. Then and only then can you be ready for what comes next. I asked the why question and he said simply, "Any moron can get back up and charge into the fight, but the smarter person knows that IF you get into a fight and you do get knocked down, you need to get up and be ready for what comes next."
And with that, he asked if I was ready and I nodded. That is when I got the stuffing beaten out of me!
I hit the mat harder than I could remember happening to me and started to cry. I couldn't help it. My hazel eyes turned blue with tears and my face started to hurt and probably swell. I had surfed some, skateboarded, rode a bike, and climbed trees and even jumped out of trees and off of roofs. I thought I was pretty tough. But, I discovered that I wasn't.
This lithe Marine just waited for me to do whatever I was going to do. He was focused and yet I could see that he was concerned. But it wasn't until I just rolled over and sat there did he sit down across from me. We just looked at each other for a while and then he quietly asked, "Do you want to quit?"
"No."
And I got up and we started again. And again I fell. This happened for about two hours. Me being his punching bag ... now I had all of the gear on: pads, gloves, and the headgear. I looked like one of those deranged clowns you see at the carnivals that you hit with the hammer. And yet I was determined to at least score one hit on the coach.
It didn't happen. And it didn't happen for almost a year. He put me in the ring with other students and they beat on me, but I held my own. I could take a beating, but I had trouble dishing it out.
Before moving on, Kait saw me practicing with another boxer and I was getting trashed, but I never stumbled or fell. She was aghast! But, she said very simply that I didn't know how to throw a punch. And that afternoon, we stayed at the gym with all sorts of people watching ... and she, in her jeans and t-shirt, showed me how to fight. How to dish it out. But, the thing that she said later that she was impressed with is how quickly I got back to my feet and was ready for what came next.
So ... all of this has come back to me this morning. What started this is we are working on cleaning up the property and I had to get one of the many trucks we own to the shop. Coming back, I decided to get the bag and take it across the property next to us. A Vet's Center I believe ... and I tripped on the lip of the asphalt and got slammed onto the hard surface. Ohmygawd! It's been ages ... well, that's not entirely true. I fell down the stairs about a year before going into the hospital a couple of years back. Nothing was hurt outside of my pride. And here again, my pride was dented. But, all I could do is once I got up is laugh about it. I was so tickled. Yes, it took me a few minutes to get up, but I did get up. And I got back to work.
So, it's been a bit over an hour and everyone has been sticking their heads in my office door and asking if I'm ok. Even the Big Boss checked in with me. And each time, we just laugh about it.
Getting back up when you fall is my lesson for today ... and one I will hope you will learn from, especially from my example. Life happens. When it does, it CAN knock you around. It can be something simple or it can be something a bit more complicated. But, you need to be able to roll with the punches if you can. And WHEN you fall, all that matters is how you get up. Do you lunge at what caused you to fall and beat the living stuffing out of it? Or do you take a few seconds to assess the WHY and WHAT to do next? Each situation is slightly different, but it's my belief, especially after being in enough fights to know better, it's how you get back up when you do fall that matters.
But, here's a bit of a bonus. What you learn from the experience matters too. Not just that you got the stuffing beaten out of you. But how you dealt with the HOW and WHY. That is part of the learning experience. Trust me on that.
BE Happy!
Love and Kisses,
Loonia
I've Fallen!
**Giggles!**
Almost a lifetime away, I used to box. While I was never good at it, I had to go through a good bit to be able to do it. According to the college that I was attending at the time, I had to get permission from my folks and have that notarized and sent to the college so they had this on file. According to the college, they did this to ALL of the students because they were usually under the age of 21. I argued that I was eligible to drive a car, so I ought to be able to learn how to fight. Now, if you have been reading any of the author's or artists note or even any of these journals, you know that my Uncles Buck and Charlie taught me the basics when I was little, but that had been about a decade ago at this point in my life. So, I had to go around in the ring of red tape to do something I really wanted to do.
The coach, who was a Marine as well, said the the first lesson was about falling down. His reasoning is that when you are learning how to fight, you are going to get hit, you are going to get pounded on, and this was going to cause you to fall down. "Fighting is generally not what people are used to doing," he said after asking me how often did I get into a fight. I had to think about that. "Hardly ever," I admitted. He just nodded. "Then you need to learn how to take a fall and get back onto your feet." The lesson took a few hours because it was learning how to fall, which you have a second or two before you hit the mat and you are going to hit hard. This is after you have been pounded on. Once you are down, you have three seconds ... if you are lucky ... to get your brain rebooted and be back on your feet. Then and only then can you be ready for what comes next. I asked the why question and he said simply, "Any moron can get back up and charge into the fight, but the smarter person knows that IF you get into a fight and you do get knocked down, you need to get up and be ready for what comes next."
And with that, he asked if I was ready and I nodded. That is when I got the stuffing beaten out of me!
I hit the mat harder than I could remember happening to me and started to cry. I couldn't help it. My hazel eyes turned blue with tears and my face started to hurt and probably swell. I had surfed some, skateboarded, rode a bike, and climbed trees and even jumped out of trees and off of roofs. I thought I was pretty tough. But, I discovered that I wasn't.
This lithe Marine just waited for me to do whatever I was going to do. He was focused and yet I could see that he was concerned. But it wasn't until I just rolled over and sat there did he sit down across from me. We just looked at each other for a while and then he quietly asked, "Do you want to quit?"
"No."
And I got up and we started again. And again I fell. This happened for about two hours. Me being his punching bag ... now I had all of the gear on: pads, gloves, and the headgear. I looked like one of those deranged clowns you see at the carnivals that you hit with the hammer. And yet I was determined to at least score one hit on the coach.
It didn't happen. And it didn't happen for almost a year. He put me in the ring with other students and they beat on me, but I held my own. I could take a beating, but I had trouble dishing it out.
Before moving on, Kait saw me practicing with another boxer and I was getting trashed, but I never stumbled or fell. She was aghast! But, she said very simply that I didn't know how to throw a punch. And that afternoon, we stayed at the gym with all sorts of people watching ... and she, in her jeans and t-shirt, showed me how to fight. How to dish it out. But, the thing that she said later that she was impressed with is how quickly I got back to my feet and was ready for what came next.
So ... all of this has come back to me this morning. What started this is we are working on cleaning up the property and I had to get one of the many trucks we own to the shop. Coming back, I decided to get the bag and take it across the property next to us. A Vet's Center I believe ... and I tripped on the lip of the asphalt and got slammed onto the hard surface. Ohmygawd! It's been ages ... well, that's not entirely true. I fell down the stairs about a year before going into the hospital a couple of years back. Nothing was hurt outside of my pride. And here again, my pride was dented. But, all I could do is once I got up is laugh about it. I was so tickled. Yes, it took me a few minutes to get up, but I did get up. And I got back to work.
So, it's been a bit over an hour and everyone has been sticking their heads in my office door and asking if I'm ok. Even the Big Boss checked in with me. And each time, we just laugh about it.
Getting back up when you fall is my lesson for today ... and one I will hope you will learn from, especially from my example. Life happens. When it does, it CAN knock you around. It can be something simple or it can be something a bit more complicated. But, you need to be able to roll with the punches if you can. And WHEN you fall, all that matters is how you get up. Do you lunge at what caused you to fall and beat the living stuffing out of it? Or do you take a few seconds to assess the WHY and WHAT to do next? Each situation is slightly different, but it's my belief, especially after being in enough fights to know better, it's how you get back up when you do fall that matters.
But, here's a bit of a bonus. What you learn from the experience matters too. Not just that you got the stuffing beaten out of you. But how you dealt with the HOW and WHY. That is part of the learning experience. Trust me on that.
BE Happy!
Love and Kisses,
Loonia
Coffee With The Princess!
Posted 3 years agoCoffee With The Princess!
Staggering Rambling!
**Giggles!**
If you have been following me for any length of time either on Deviant Art or FurAffinity, y'all know that I have a lot of passions in life. On top of my love for the sea and the beach, I love my favorites in animation and comic books. I have been a fan of cartoons since I can remember and Saturday Mornings were my thing. This was back when there were only four networks and the Cartoon Network was a dream of Ted Turner and his gang. I always wanted to have a cartoon that was fun, silly, and even inspiring, but I was also such an avid writer, thanks to my dear Mom, that I also wanted to do things like the "Pulp Fiction Novels!" like Conan, Doc Savage, and Red Sonja. So, with all of this in mind, I was stretched a little thin in my focus. And I was very hyper to say the least. You can say that I was stretching things quite a bit.
Back in 2007, I met my good and dear friend,
kecomaster , who had encouraged me to continue this level of work, so I reignited the fires of passion and started focusing on getting characters set up and developed slowly. It took about three years to get their physical appearances together in a better format and strengthen their personalities through a lot of long hours of fun and role-playing. But all of this was while I was working at the Firm, a place that kept my agile and hardworking soul going. Now, in 2022, I'm trying to get back to it and once again, Keco has been a great influence and supporter to happily push me forward. Thank you for that, honey!
Since 2018 and through 2020, I have had health issues. Y'all know it and understand it, so I will move on. Thanks for your support!
Over the past three years, I have been blessed with being able to not only commission some really fantastic artists to do the characters from both stories which are still in the Fires of my Mental Workshop, also known as Memory Awake Studios. These artists are aplenty to say the least and I keep on continuing to discover many, many more. One such artist is FurAffinty's own magnificent talented artist, Belise7! This artist offered up what is called "Ko-fi Commissions!" which I'm sure you are familiar with the term. The artist does have a Deviant Art page that I have had the devil of a time this morning to try and find, but I'm doing something wrong, so I will apologize now and keep on trying as the day goes on and I'm a bit more conscious.
Thank you for your love and attention! I appreciate it all!
Love and Kisses,
Loonia
Staggering Rambling!
**Giggles!**
If you have been following me for any length of time either on Deviant Art or FurAffinity, y'all know that I have a lot of passions in life. On top of my love for the sea and the beach, I love my favorites in animation and comic books. I have been a fan of cartoons since I can remember and Saturday Mornings were my thing. This was back when there were only four networks and the Cartoon Network was a dream of Ted Turner and his gang. I always wanted to have a cartoon that was fun, silly, and even inspiring, but I was also such an avid writer, thanks to my dear Mom, that I also wanted to do things like the "Pulp Fiction Novels!" like Conan, Doc Savage, and Red Sonja. So, with all of this in mind, I was stretched a little thin in my focus. And I was very hyper to say the least. You can say that I was stretching things quite a bit.
Back in 2007, I met my good and dear friend,
kecomaster , who had encouraged me to continue this level of work, so I reignited the fires of passion and started focusing on getting characters set up and developed slowly. It took about three years to get their physical appearances together in a better format and strengthen their personalities through a lot of long hours of fun and role-playing. But all of this was while I was working at the Firm, a place that kept my agile and hardworking soul going. Now, in 2022, I'm trying to get back to it and once again, Keco has been a great influence and supporter to happily push me forward. Thank you for that, honey! Since 2018 and through 2020, I have had health issues. Y'all know it and understand it, so I will move on. Thanks for your support!
Over the past three years, I have been blessed with being able to not only commission some really fantastic artists to do the characters from both stories which are still in the Fires of my Mental Workshop, also known as Memory Awake Studios. These artists are aplenty to say the least and I keep on continuing to discover many, many more. One such artist is FurAffinty's own magnificent talented artist, Belise7! This artist offered up what is called "Ko-fi Commissions!" which I'm sure you are familiar with the term. The artist does have a Deviant Art page that I have had the devil of a time this morning to try and find, but I'm doing something wrong, so I will apologize now and keep on trying as the day goes on and I'm a bit more conscious.
Thank you for your love and attention! I appreciate it all!
Love and Kisses,
Loonia
Coffee With The Princess!
Posted 3 years agoCoffee With The Princess!
Happy Saint Patrick's Day!
**Giggles!**
Mm .. as I start my morning with some more Blackbeard's Delight from Black Rifle Coffee and my cinnamon and spice oatmeal, I want to wish y'all a Happy St. Patrick's Day!
A commenter got me thinking of Kaitlynn this morning, my favorite Irish Leprechaun, this morning. I want to say that her "Dark Knights!" Dungeons and Dragon games back in the late 1980s were always awesome! With her own cigar in her mouth like she was hitting the craps table in Vegas, Kait would pull out the still crisp and yet used DM's Screen she had at her spacious apartment house in Atlanta and spin the continuing tales of the continued adventures of the group in Ravenloft. We had a Paladin, a slick Rogue or Thief, and myself as a Cleric ... which were the avatars of the Silver Shots, myself, Jake, and Jessica with Kaitlynn the Wildhearted Barbarian as an NPC. Kait's barbarian was like a mixture of the gorgeous Red Sonja and with the strength and power of Conan, an awesome character to be sure! One particular night of thunderstorms, we played since no one wanted to go out in the rain and do our bar-crawling that the gang liked to do. Kait was spoiling for a bar fight because she had had a bad day at work and yet was still in her whimsical mood. I was going to play Myrus Mysticstone, but Kait wanted me to be me. I was a bit taken aback, but she had a plan.
It was a lot of fun! Gothic horror, swords and sorcery, and lots of fun. Jake, being the only guy there got to watch us gals tease each other with Jessica, his soon to be wife, giggle and act like Kait and my shenanigans were not turning her on either. And yet, Kait was all business. She even did the vampire, Count Strahd von Zarovich, to the hilt, scaring me to death! While I was chilled and frightened by the change in her personality, a darker edge that she usually did not have, I kept on telling myself that this was part of the character and part of the alcohol. Seriously intense!
Kait later apologized without me prompting her, seeing that even after the fun was ended around 3 am. We were snuggled up on the couch and Jake and Jessica had gone back to their apartment across the hall. I want to say that Reiko, Kait's best friend and secretary, showed up and even played a bit with us as a shadowy figure, a ninja summoned up by Strahd's dark magics. Always, I was still shaken and still walking it off. So, Kait promised to sit and watch either cartoons or Godzilla movies later.
Still, groovy memories for me!
BE Happy!
Love and Kisses,
Loonia
Happy Saint Patrick's Day!
**Giggles!**
Mm .. as I start my morning with some more Blackbeard's Delight from Black Rifle Coffee and my cinnamon and spice oatmeal, I want to wish y'all a Happy St. Patrick's Day!
A commenter got me thinking of Kaitlynn this morning, my favorite Irish Leprechaun, this morning. I want to say that her "Dark Knights!" Dungeons and Dragon games back in the late 1980s were always awesome! With her own cigar in her mouth like she was hitting the craps table in Vegas, Kait would pull out the still crisp and yet used DM's Screen she had at her spacious apartment house in Atlanta and spin the continuing tales of the continued adventures of the group in Ravenloft. We had a Paladin, a slick Rogue or Thief, and myself as a Cleric ... which were the avatars of the Silver Shots, myself, Jake, and Jessica with Kaitlynn the Wildhearted Barbarian as an NPC. Kait's barbarian was like a mixture of the gorgeous Red Sonja and with the strength and power of Conan, an awesome character to be sure! One particular night of thunderstorms, we played since no one wanted to go out in the rain and do our bar-crawling that the gang liked to do. Kait was spoiling for a bar fight because she had had a bad day at work and yet was still in her whimsical mood. I was going to play Myrus Mysticstone, but Kait wanted me to be me. I was a bit taken aback, but she had a plan.
It was a lot of fun! Gothic horror, swords and sorcery, and lots of fun. Jake, being the only guy there got to watch us gals tease each other with Jessica, his soon to be wife, giggle and act like Kait and my shenanigans were not turning her on either. And yet, Kait was all business. She even did the vampire, Count Strahd von Zarovich, to the hilt, scaring me to death! While I was chilled and frightened by the change in her personality, a darker edge that she usually did not have, I kept on telling myself that this was part of the character and part of the alcohol. Seriously intense!
Kait later apologized without me prompting her, seeing that even after the fun was ended around 3 am. We were snuggled up on the couch and Jake and Jessica had gone back to their apartment across the hall. I want to say that Reiko, Kait's best friend and secretary, showed up and even played a bit with us as a shadowy figure, a ninja summoned up by Strahd's dark magics. Always, I was still shaken and still walking it off. So, Kait promised to sit and watch either cartoons or Godzilla movies later.
Still, groovy memories for me!
BE Happy!
Love and Kisses,
Loonia
Coffee With The Princess!
Posted 3 years agoCoffee With The Princess!
Creative Chaos and Mayhem!
**Giggles!**
Good morning, y'all! I do hope you are well and happy out there. Take a moment to take a pull off of your favorite beverage as I take a sip of Black Rifle Coffee's own Blackbeard's Dark Roast! It's super-effective as a friend of mine, DungeonHordes off of Deviant Art ... or just known as Murdock says! I've got "Dancing With Myself!" playing off off the iHeart radio this morning out of Jackson, Mississippi ... mot too far from my Big Sister's place in Gulf Port, which is probably about the same distance for me to go from Savannah to Atlanta here in Georgia. Mm ... it's so fascinating that Google can be such a great tool for the creative minds. About the same distance give or take about a hundred miles. Good enough for me this morning!
I just got a note from my gal-pal, the ever groovy lady herself,
kurama-chan who's got accounts on both Deviant Art and FurAffinity. She's one busy lady to say the least! With a laugh, she admitted to me that she hadn't updated her FurAffinity page ... and I get that. I often spend a bit doing mine on both sites, but that's because I have a whole bunch of stuff to share and even reshare. As I have said to many people, including my Big Sister who also keeps up with me on both pages, there's always something going on inside my head, especially these days!
Mm ... originally I meant to mention another topic Kurama-chan and I covered was that I had a groovy role-playing session to help ny "Drunken Hang-Over Morning!" I was having on Sunday, even though I had not had anything to drink at the Saturday Night Tabletop Game Group's get-together on Saturday. Damn Daylight Savings Time ... it snuck up on me again! Always, I got to play the Princess on The List (f-list.net) and I used the Princess's "Ballooning Ability Randomizer" to add that extra special touch to the scene. It was a lot of fun and reminded me why I love the character so much!
Her's the link in case you care to look at the page for the table:
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/41410321/
And this morning on John Boy and Billy's The Big Show, mentioned that super-model Fabio is 68 today. That made me think of Mom and her writing days. I don't remember if Mom was into him and his shenanigans, but I do remember the book publisher that she was working with created their own "Male Super-Model!": The Topaz Man! Very good-looking, but I don't think he made it to any superstardom.
Speaking of writing as I come back from refilling my third cup of coffee this morning, Kurama-chan and I were chatting about the Pathfinder Adventure Path, "The Council of Thieves!" which has a distinct "Game of Thrones!" feel to it. The character that I'm running along with the group of adventurers is the mysterious Tana Kayla, a dragon-touched sorceress and gunslinger, who's bookstore left to her by her father was burned to the ground by the government of West Crown. She is one of my very few characters that is totally Pathfinder, which I promised myself as I returned to the role of Dungeon Master. Israfel, Caitlynn, and even the Princess were created with the BESM d20 System, but they ran through the Pathfinder Adventures back in 2014, though they did start for a while in the second edition of Dungeons and Dragons and now are legends themselves having reached a 20th level status there in the game. They also traveled to Asgard and had adventures with the Mighty Thor as well, something extra special for the Bearded Lantern!
You might know Tana Kayla in her incarnation originally as my studio's mascot character, T'Kay from ages ago back when I was in SCAD, Savannah College of Art and Design. Originally, she was an android that Guy Vincent finds in a magical cabinet in the Lucas Theater in downtown Savannah, Georgia. With her dragging him through all of his chaotic adventures, Guy also discovers that she is the ancient sorceress, Tana Kayla, who was banished to have her mind trapped within the android shell by some unknown force. Mm ... I want to say that originally, this was going to introduce the Princess, but my failing out of SCAD caused me to shelve the project. I had gotten a few other ideas including the powerhouse, Kaitlynn Wildfire, a size-changing super heroine and her friends, Capricorn and Wendy Shadownight. That comic was going to be called "Project: Armegaddon! and that also ended up getting shelved. There were so many stories over the years that I tried to come up with, but with the girls, Caitlynn Wildfire, Israfel Vincent, and Princess Loonia Infinity, these three really have moved to the front of the line.
Talking to Kurama-chan, she had asked about how I wad doing this morning and I have to say that I'm feeling so much better than I was originally. Now, I wasn't feeling bad, just still waking up. My brain is often plagued with hectic dreams, not nightmares, mind, but my brain processing or digesting what I have been doing. Between watching a lot of the DC Hero stuff from the collection of blu-ray discs, the CW Network shows, and reading a lot of the X-Men, X-Force, and now Marauders comics from the Marvel site, it's a lot of inspiration to go along with the Pathfinder game stuff. Now, before anyone asks, the Saturday Night Tabletop Group prefers the 1st edition stuff as I do to be honest. Between the 3.5 Dungeons and Dragons books and all of the d20 Modern stuff to go along with the BESM d20 books too, we have more than plenty of stuff to go through, especially Pathfinder. We also like to do our own home-brew games using these books too. But for now, we are staying with Pathfinder as we get the newer players acclimated to the system.
Mm ... a fourth cup of coffee and the people in the office are starting to arrive as the day gets started for the rest of the mortals here at the Firm here in Savannah, so I guess I should put a bow on this journal and get to moving. Remember if you aren't having a good morning, find whatever it is or whomever it is and straighten it out. You have the power to make your life be whatever you want it to be.
BE Happy!
Love and Kisses,
Loonia
Creative Chaos and Mayhem!
**Giggles!**
Good morning, y'all! I do hope you are well and happy out there. Take a moment to take a pull off of your favorite beverage as I take a sip of Black Rifle Coffee's own Blackbeard's Dark Roast! It's super-effective as a friend of mine, DungeonHordes off of Deviant Art ... or just known as Murdock says! I've got "Dancing With Myself!" playing off off the iHeart radio this morning out of Jackson, Mississippi ... mot too far from my Big Sister's place in Gulf Port, which is probably about the same distance for me to go from Savannah to Atlanta here in Georgia. Mm ... it's so fascinating that Google can be such a great tool for the creative minds. About the same distance give or take about a hundred miles. Good enough for me this morning!
I just got a note from my gal-pal, the ever groovy lady herself,
kurama-chan who's got accounts on both Deviant Art and FurAffinity. She's one busy lady to say the least! With a laugh, she admitted to me that she hadn't updated her FurAffinity page ... and I get that. I often spend a bit doing mine on both sites, but that's because I have a whole bunch of stuff to share and even reshare. As I have said to many people, including my Big Sister who also keeps up with me on both pages, there's always something going on inside my head, especially these days! Mm ... originally I meant to mention another topic Kurama-chan and I covered was that I had a groovy role-playing session to help ny "Drunken Hang-Over Morning!" I was having on Sunday, even though I had not had anything to drink at the Saturday Night Tabletop Game Group's get-together on Saturday. Damn Daylight Savings Time ... it snuck up on me again! Always, I got to play the Princess on The List (f-list.net) and I used the Princess's "Ballooning Ability Randomizer" to add that extra special touch to the scene. It was a lot of fun and reminded me why I love the character so much!
Her's the link in case you care to look at the page for the table:
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/41410321/
And this morning on John Boy and Billy's The Big Show, mentioned that super-model Fabio is 68 today. That made me think of Mom and her writing days. I don't remember if Mom was into him and his shenanigans, but I do remember the book publisher that she was working with created their own "Male Super-Model!": The Topaz Man! Very good-looking, but I don't think he made it to any superstardom.
Speaking of writing as I come back from refilling my third cup of coffee this morning, Kurama-chan and I were chatting about the Pathfinder Adventure Path, "The Council of Thieves!" which has a distinct "Game of Thrones!" feel to it. The character that I'm running along with the group of adventurers is the mysterious Tana Kayla, a dragon-touched sorceress and gunslinger, who's bookstore left to her by her father was burned to the ground by the government of West Crown. She is one of my very few characters that is totally Pathfinder, which I promised myself as I returned to the role of Dungeon Master. Israfel, Caitlynn, and even the Princess were created with the BESM d20 System, but they ran through the Pathfinder Adventures back in 2014, though they did start for a while in the second edition of Dungeons and Dragons and now are legends themselves having reached a 20th level status there in the game. They also traveled to Asgard and had adventures with the Mighty Thor as well, something extra special for the Bearded Lantern!
You might know Tana Kayla in her incarnation originally as my studio's mascot character, T'Kay from ages ago back when I was in SCAD, Savannah College of Art and Design. Originally, she was an android that Guy Vincent finds in a magical cabinet in the Lucas Theater in downtown Savannah, Georgia. With her dragging him through all of his chaotic adventures, Guy also discovers that she is the ancient sorceress, Tana Kayla, who was banished to have her mind trapped within the android shell by some unknown force. Mm ... I want to say that originally, this was going to introduce the Princess, but my failing out of SCAD caused me to shelve the project. I had gotten a few other ideas including the powerhouse, Kaitlynn Wildfire, a size-changing super heroine and her friends, Capricorn and Wendy Shadownight. That comic was going to be called "Project: Armegaddon! and that also ended up getting shelved. There were so many stories over the years that I tried to come up with, but with the girls, Caitlynn Wildfire, Israfel Vincent, and Princess Loonia Infinity, these three really have moved to the front of the line.
Talking to Kurama-chan, she had asked about how I wad doing this morning and I have to say that I'm feeling so much better than I was originally. Now, I wasn't feeling bad, just still waking up. My brain is often plagued with hectic dreams, not nightmares, mind, but my brain processing or digesting what I have been doing. Between watching a lot of the DC Hero stuff from the collection of blu-ray discs, the CW Network shows, and reading a lot of the X-Men, X-Force, and now Marauders comics from the Marvel site, it's a lot of inspiration to go along with the Pathfinder game stuff. Now, before anyone asks, the Saturday Night Tabletop Group prefers the 1st edition stuff as I do to be honest. Between the 3.5 Dungeons and Dragons books and all of the d20 Modern stuff to go along with the BESM d20 books too, we have more than plenty of stuff to go through, especially Pathfinder. We also like to do our own home-brew games using these books too. But for now, we are staying with Pathfinder as we get the newer players acclimated to the system.
Mm ... a fourth cup of coffee and the people in the office are starting to arrive as the day gets started for the rest of the mortals here at the Firm here in Savannah, so I guess I should put a bow on this journal and get to moving. Remember if you aren't having a good morning, find whatever it is or whomever it is and straighten it out. You have the power to make your life be whatever you want it to be.
BE Happy!
Love and Kisses,
Loonia
Coffee With The Princess!
Posted 3 years agoCoffee With The Princess!
Cogitating Solutions!
**Giggles!**
Recently this week, I made a mistake regarding a known commenter for making a statement that was taken the wrong way and, while the error in judgement was corrected, it's still left me feeling thoughtful and careful. Last weekend at the Bearded Lantern's birthday party, I got turned around with the part of the second chapter of "The Council of Thieves!" where the adventurers are exploring the Asmodian Knot, a mysterious and magical prison in the mayor's manor. They are looking for clues to discover the keys or any information on the Pathfinder's Lodge in West Crown. Here's what I did:
Reading how the Asmodian Knot is, I kept the map and layout secret, just like I had the mayor's manor, so that the player's had to discover the secrets with some descriptions I would give. Now, this got on the player's nerves rather quickly, even with the Bearded Lantern getting annoyed with how one of the room's magics was making passage seriously troubling.and wanting to go to bed. I know it was a jest, but things slowly got more frustrating through the evening with me compounding mistakes. While most of the players just rolled with the punches, it didn't help that more comments were made. Even the Left Fielder said that he would sit back and just watch the story unfold. "Let me know when the action starts again and I'll join in," he commented tartly, having just come back to the game after being absent for after the first session. By the end of the game, I made the worst mistake of the night by getting confused on the map and then upset. I decided since someone had commented that it was getting to be 10:30 pm that this was a good place to stop. Looking at the tired players, I sighed, feeling like I had failed them. "I'm sorry for confusion and the night, gang, but I believe I have thought out where I can resume the game for next weekend," I replied, still smarting after the stack of comments and poor feelings. "I believe we will work through this and be able to move on. I'm sorry for the confusion for tonight and I will endeavor to be better." Mr. Scott mentioned that it's all we can do: learn from our mistakes. And that's what I plan to do.
Now, let me pose this to y'all out there. I had thought of a couple of potential solutions to the game for tonight. One was making extra copies of the map of the Asmodian Knot so they can see where they are going. Doing so is easy enough since I have access to color copiers. Starting the characters at the an intersection of where they haven't explored and need to go and one that they haven't, which also has two directions and lots of passageways to explore. Plus, this has some potential for action and intrigue, which has encouraged me to press on with renewed passion.
Here's the quandary. The part encountered a bearded devil imprisoned in one of the cells and they still have the main adversary to deal with. I had thought about the possibility of transporting them to the cells that they explored and having them escape, but I'm having second thoughts on that. We have had problems with Dungeon Masters screwing over the party and being unfair and inconsiderate to the story. The balance I was thinking is to have them be awarded a +1 magical item of either protection or a weapon of their choice. As I write this out, I have discovered that the cells would be a problem to get out of from the inside. How else could one hold a devil for so many years? So, having the adversary free him and make a deal for escaping the prison by helping her defeat the party, a rather hard thing to do since it's one against The Unlucky Eight!
Mm ... after writing this out and checking my notes, I feel that I'm going to go with the later since it's more fair and, while less rewarding at the start, it will keep the adventure fair and within the guidelines of the story. While I have "Phenomenal Cosmic Powers!" as the Dungeon Master, I also have the responsibility to the players to be just and entertaining. So, I sit here this morning having my breakfast of one package of Cinnamon Spice Oatmeal and one entire package of Jack Link's Bacon Jerky (Total of 500 calories, 36 grams of carbs, 35 grams of protein) and some bottled water while the coffee brews, I also watch the Dungeons and Dragons (the episode being one of my favorites, The Valley of the Unicorns!) cartoon.
Thanks for reading this, gang! While I'm still keeping my mind open and still cogitating ideas within the cauldron of my brain, I'm happy to listen to what you guys think. Part of the reason I write these journals is to work out my thoughts and straighten out my ideas. The first thought is not always the best, but it does allow a starting place for a better solutuion.
"Be part of the solution and not part of the problem," is the one saying Pop shared with me ages ago that I keep close to my bosom as I travel through life.
BE Happy!
Love and Kisses,
Loonia
Cogitating Solutions!
**Giggles!**
Recently this week, I made a mistake regarding a known commenter for making a statement that was taken the wrong way and, while the error in judgement was corrected, it's still left me feeling thoughtful and careful. Last weekend at the Bearded Lantern's birthday party, I got turned around with the part of the second chapter of "The Council of Thieves!" where the adventurers are exploring the Asmodian Knot, a mysterious and magical prison in the mayor's manor. They are looking for clues to discover the keys or any information on the Pathfinder's Lodge in West Crown. Here's what I did:
Reading how the Asmodian Knot is, I kept the map and layout secret, just like I had the mayor's manor, so that the player's had to discover the secrets with some descriptions I would give. Now, this got on the player's nerves rather quickly, even with the Bearded Lantern getting annoyed with how one of the room's magics was making passage seriously troubling.and wanting to go to bed. I know it was a jest, but things slowly got more frustrating through the evening with me compounding mistakes. While most of the players just rolled with the punches, it didn't help that more comments were made. Even the Left Fielder said that he would sit back and just watch the story unfold. "Let me know when the action starts again and I'll join in," he commented tartly, having just come back to the game after being absent for after the first session. By the end of the game, I made the worst mistake of the night by getting confused on the map and then upset. I decided since someone had commented that it was getting to be 10:30 pm that this was a good place to stop. Looking at the tired players, I sighed, feeling like I had failed them. "I'm sorry for confusion and the night, gang, but I believe I have thought out where I can resume the game for next weekend," I replied, still smarting after the stack of comments and poor feelings. "I believe we will work through this and be able to move on. I'm sorry for the confusion for tonight and I will endeavor to be better." Mr. Scott mentioned that it's all we can do: learn from our mistakes. And that's what I plan to do.
Now, let me pose this to y'all out there. I had thought of a couple of potential solutions to the game for tonight. One was making extra copies of the map of the Asmodian Knot so they can see where they are going. Doing so is easy enough since I have access to color copiers. Starting the characters at the an intersection of where they haven't explored and need to go and one that they haven't, which also has two directions and lots of passageways to explore. Plus, this has some potential for action and intrigue, which has encouraged me to press on with renewed passion.
Here's the quandary. The part encountered a bearded devil imprisoned in one of the cells and they still have the main adversary to deal with. I had thought about the possibility of transporting them to the cells that they explored and having them escape, but I'm having second thoughts on that. We have had problems with Dungeon Masters screwing over the party and being unfair and inconsiderate to the story. The balance I was thinking is to have them be awarded a +1 magical item of either protection or a weapon of their choice. As I write this out, I have discovered that the cells would be a problem to get out of from the inside. How else could one hold a devil for so many years? So, having the adversary free him and make a deal for escaping the prison by helping her defeat the party, a rather hard thing to do since it's one against The Unlucky Eight!
Mm ... after writing this out and checking my notes, I feel that I'm going to go with the later since it's more fair and, while less rewarding at the start, it will keep the adventure fair and within the guidelines of the story. While I have "Phenomenal Cosmic Powers!" as the Dungeon Master, I also have the responsibility to the players to be just and entertaining. So, I sit here this morning having my breakfast of one package of Cinnamon Spice Oatmeal and one entire package of Jack Link's Bacon Jerky (Total of 500 calories, 36 grams of carbs, 35 grams of protein) and some bottled water while the coffee brews, I also watch the Dungeons and Dragons (the episode being one of my favorites, The Valley of the Unicorns!) cartoon.
Thanks for reading this, gang! While I'm still keeping my mind open and still cogitating ideas within the cauldron of my brain, I'm happy to listen to what you guys think. Part of the reason I write these journals is to work out my thoughts and straighten out my ideas. The first thought is not always the best, but it does allow a starting place for a better solutuion.
"Be part of the solution and not part of the problem," is the one saying Pop shared with me ages ago that I keep close to my bosom as I travel through life.
BE Happy!
Love and Kisses,
Loonia
Coffee With The Princess!
Posted 3 years agoCoffee With The Princess!
The Black List!
Mm-Kay, gang. It looks like I'm going to have to do some more shuffling with both Deviant Art and FurAffinity pages that I really don't wish to do, but I'm still cogitating some solutions. To most of you, this doesn't surprise or haver to do with you. Most of the fans are mature and keep the ugly comments to yourself. And I have banned a few people for whatever ticks me off at that moment. Usually, that solves the problem. But, yesterday ... I made a mistake. On one the posts, there was one comment from a "Collector Kid!" who just shows up to collect artwork and porn, though he's got some stuff of his own posted. He put a comment in there about "Doing the Princess!" which really ticked me off. So, he got banned instantly and then I discovered that I could just delete the comment. Still highly annoyed, I noticed another smart-ass comment that came across poorly, but didn't do a sexual themed crack. I just was angry at this point and this person got banned from my page and then that comment was deleted. Now, forward to this morning ... I got a question about the DA page not allowing this one commenter from commenting on that post. I mentioned that here on DA I make sure the mature filter is on much of my work, so this might be what happened. The commenter mentioned the situation and even spoke about the comment. My heart went into my left shoe.
I had banned someone because the comment, which was meant to be funny, was taken the wrong way.
I accept responsibility for my actions and I have apologized to this person to which I will, if possible, correct. To this commenter, I offer my deepest and heartfelt apologies.
However, to those of you out there who have no filter on your comments, you are now put on notice from here on out. If I find the comment annoying for WHATEVER the reason, there's a good chance you might be banned. Now I will pause and re-read the comment and walk away from thew computer before doing anything first. I will try to be more gracious and understanding, but you now know better that I will NOT put with the off-color, crass, vulgar, and disparaging comments from here on out. If you cannot show any class, don't comment. If you don't like what I do, keep your opinions to yourself. Be constructive, not destructive when you comment. I make mistakes ... Gawd, knows I have made some HUGE ones and will keep on making them as time goes on. So, this is what I'm asking:
"BE nice and respectful and if you criticize, BE constructive and not destructive, please!"
If you cannot, you will be banned. But I'm not through here. Oh no. Now, if you have been banned from my page and "Talk one of your friends into contacting me to ask why you were banned, that user will be banned. Especially if you put this on my front page. Your comments will be deleted from my page. Both DA and FA have this ability to do so, but also know I'm not above in getting the moderators involved. I usually solve my own problems because they are my problems. However, if I'm angered ...
Often I do NOT care why you were banned from my page. The fact that you were, that's the end of it. This one mentioned above was the one where I felt I did wrong. A teachable moment.
Keep this in mind too, please. There are a lot of these 'bot accounts popping up on both places, some who steal artwork and information, or just watch. If your username is something bizarre and it looks like you have no comment about being just a watcher, you will probably be banned. I have over the past few years have paid great and groovy artists and friends for their services ... and people like kecomaster have gifted me work. Steal from ANY them (Especially KECO!) and I will ban you very fast. Repost work on these other sites without talking to me will get you banned AND reported. Perhaps a useless gesture, but there is one reason I keep the Deviant Art account: their protection system. It has cut back on the theft for me pretty well.
It's been a while since I have been in this sort of mood, thank goodness. Nope, not just making a mistake of poor judgement, but getting this annoyed. Oh, I'm not angry. Not yet.
The BalloonPrincess
The Black List!
Mm-Kay, gang. It looks like I'm going to have to do some more shuffling with both Deviant Art and FurAffinity pages that I really don't wish to do, but I'm still cogitating some solutions. To most of you, this doesn't surprise or haver to do with you. Most of the fans are mature and keep the ugly comments to yourself. And I have banned a few people for whatever ticks me off at that moment. Usually, that solves the problem. But, yesterday ... I made a mistake. On one the posts, there was one comment from a "Collector Kid!" who just shows up to collect artwork and porn, though he's got some stuff of his own posted. He put a comment in there about "Doing the Princess!" which really ticked me off. So, he got banned instantly and then I discovered that I could just delete the comment. Still highly annoyed, I noticed another smart-ass comment that came across poorly, but didn't do a sexual themed crack. I just was angry at this point and this person got banned from my page and then that comment was deleted. Now, forward to this morning ... I got a question about the DA page not allowing this one commenter from commenting on that post. I mentioned that here on DA I make sure the mature filter is on much of my work, so this might be what happened. The commenter mentioned the situation and even spoke about the comment. My heart went into my left shoe.
I had banned someone because the comment, which was meant to be funny, was taken the wrong way.
I accept responsibility for my actions and I have apologized to this person to which I will, if possible, correct. To this commenter, I offer my deepest and heartfelt apologies.
However, to those of you out there who have no filter on your comments, you are now put on notice from here on out. If I find the comment annoying for WHATEVER the reason, there's a good chance you might be banned. Now I will pause and re-read the comment and walk away from thew computer before doing anything first. I will try to be more gracious and understanding, but you now know better that I will NOT put with the off-color, crass, vulgar, and disparaging comments from here on out. If you cannot show any class, don't comment. If you don't like what I do, keep your opinions to yourself. Be constructive, not destructive when you comment. I make mistakes ... Gawd, knows I have made some HUGE ones and will keep on making them as time goes on. So, this is what I'm asking:
"BE nice and respectful and if you criticize, BE constructive and not destructive, please!"
If you cannot, you will be banned. But I'm not through here. Oh no. Now, if you have been banned from my page and "Talk one of your friends into contacting me to ask why you were banned, that user will be banned. Especially if you put this on my front page. Your comments will be deleted from my page. Both DA and FA have this ability to do so, but also know I'm not above in getting the moderators involved. I usually solve my own problems because they are my problems. However, if I'm angered ...
Often I do NOT care why you were banned from my page. The fact that you were, that's the end of it. This one mentioned above was the one where I felt I did wrong. A teachable moment.
Keep this in mind too, please. There are a lot of these 'bot accounts popping up on both places, some who steal artwork and information, or just watch. If your username is something bizarre and it looks like you have no comment about being just a watcher, you will probably be banned. I have over the past few years have paid great and groovy artists and friends for their services ... and people like
kecomaster have gifted me work. Steal from ANY them (Especially KECO!) and I will ban you very fast. Repost work on these other sites without talking to me will get you banned AND reported. Perhaps a useless gesture, but there is one reason I keep the Deviant Art account: their protection system. It has cut back on the theft for me pretty well.It's been a while since I have been in this sort of mood, thank goodness. Nope, not just making a mistake of poor judgement, but getting this annoyed. Oh, I'm not angry. Not yet.
The BalloonPrincess
Coffee With The Princess!
Posted 3 years agoCoffee With The Princess!
Enjoying Comics Once Again!
**Giggles!**
Back in the 1970s, I started with a lot of comics, which were often the gift from Pop as he traveled all over the United States, defending her within the ranks of the Navy. He was one of the pilots of the P3 Orions, the subhunter aircraft, which were also used to study weather patterns He also went to places like Antartica and Greenland as well as Japan, Germany, and even England during these time. He was gone a lot of the time, but always came back with tons of goodies for my Mom, my Big Sister, and myself ... I would imagine from the stuff he brought me, he had more fun shopping for these items. I don't remember getting any manga back then, but he did mention that he was familiar with it, but he bring me comics from all over the world, often comics that were sold here in the US and then traveled to the bases to be sold to soldiers and their families.
Move forward to the 1980s, which does cover some of the last years of the 1970s, I discovered the magic of convince stores a little more than when Pop would run to the store for cigarettes. Now, those trips were fun in the fact that I got to spend time with Pop and enjoy the top down on the AMC Rebel, the car he won in a poker game at Pax River. The trips that I took during the 1980s were far more fun since I had to ride my bike from East Beach to the Village on St. Simons Island to try and get the comics first and then candy and video games later. I would often find at least one day where there were lots of comics I didn't have, but then there were a few months where there wasn't that much there, so the money often went back into my Captain America bank to be probably spent later. Mon was often aghast at the fact that I enjoyed reading "Those horrible comics!" than read some of the books that she loved, though ... most of the books that she loved, I had already read. Some were a little over my head at the age of six, but I had lost interest in them. Books like The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, Treasure Island, Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer were lots of fun, though you had to work very carefully to get some of the details ... and I had to keep a dictionary near by to define the words and understand what you were reading. My mother was often too busy with her own work to deal with her precocious child. Pop wa a bit better and often read me stories like Sherlock Holmes, Tarzan, Doc Savage, and even Conan! Those times I enjoyed. But, since I craved high adventure for escape of boring classes, shallow and often thoughtless teachers, and rough rides on a crammed bus, comics were that quick and easy access to such realms.
Roll into the 1990s and you would find that this was the transition to the harshness of life, a good and hard slap in the face with Kait's passing, the trails and tribulations of the unfathomable educational system in both getting a job, teaching those same boring classes and dealing with the same bored kids, dealing with administrators and parents who had little time for the students or the teachers, and then the return to college to be later hoisted with a huge debt of student loans built on the promise of a job and little of anything else. A cracked foundation of life made by poor choices to be sure. It was no wonder I was broken, depressed, and suicidal.
Things changed radically into the 2000s, thanks to the Firm who gave me a good start in preparing that foundation. It took clearing away of problems, straightening out finances, taking responsibility for actions, and treating myself with love and respect again. It did not happen overnight and continued to be that sort of thing that had to be retaught again and again and even again. I had to learn about health as you know during this past couple of years, but also patching and repairing the holes in my spirit and soul. The Firm also helped me to repair the damage I thought I did with my family, to restore the love I had for my folks and yet even understand that much of the garbage of the mind was from my point of view and not theirs, so ... it might be best to toss that out and focus on the good times and discard the bad ones, though I do keep some of those times in mind as teachable moments of wisdom of the ages.
Comics has been a mainstay throughout these times, the good, the bad, and everything in-between. Over the last few years, I had been using Comixology to keep up with some of the classic comics that I grew up with, mostly Marvel since I had a lot of the collections in hardcovers of the DC comics I enjoyed. Stories of great heroism, fantastic realms, high adventure, and even romance with greats like Capitan America, Spiderman, the Fantastic Four, the Mighty Thor, Dr. Strange, the Incredible Hulk, and the Invincible Ironman to get me started in that universe, but later, I kept up with Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman too with some forays into the Challengers of the Unknown, Shade the Changing Man, Plastic Man, Justice League, and a few others in the DC realm too. Brave and the Bold, like Marvel Team-Up, allowed me to keep up with either Batman or Spiderman as he teamed up with some of the respected comics hero base, so I got to meet so many other heroes and heroines too. Marvel also had some comics that were wildly different like Rom: Spaceknight, Godzilla, Shogun Warriors, or the Micronauts to break the monotony for me, but DC also had a few I liked: Mystery in Space, Dial H for Hero, and House of Mystery, but those were hard to find as were the odd ones from Marvel. Unfortunately, Amazon recently bought out Comixology and decided that Kindle is the ONLY way to read their comics. Kindle for the Mac sucks in my opinion. While easy to use, reading some of the older panels is a pain in the butt. I also have a subscription to Marvel's Unlimited Comics, but you have to wait for the current stuff to be formatted and uploaded to the site. Much easier to read, but I think you can only read comics that are at least a year old or so. They encourage you to go out and pay about $4 per issue to read your favorites. Wow ... but not surprising to me at least.
Being a gal who still loves reading comics, especially in-between jobs at the Firm or needing a break from reading the Paizo's Pathfinder Adventure Paths to set for the upcoming Saturday Night Tabletop Game, Marvel's reader program works best for me. My eyes have changed quite a bit over the years and reading is still a pain in the butt for me. I do wear reading glasses and, while the eye doctor has not talked to me since last year, I have yet to be suggested or referred to have the corrective surgery, which makes my friends snicker when I'm trying to read the stuff at the tabletop game. At home, I have a pretty large monitor that I can zoom in and read much better and I tend to make the neighbors wonder what is going on when I'm reading the adventure paths and trying to pronounce some of the names to the NPCs, places, or monsters the players have to deal with as the heroes in the story. Or even better when I'm rehearsing lines and such for these characters to get a feeling for how best to present them. I'm sure that alone makes me an uncommon neighbor.
I still enjoy all the things I do these days, the good, the bad, and everything in-between.
BE Happy!
Love and Kisses,
Loonia
Enjoying Comics Once Again!
**Giggles!**
Back in the 1970s, I started with a lot of comics, which were often the gift from Pop as he traveled all over the United States, defending her within the ranks of the Navy. He was one of the pilots of the P3 Orions, the subhunter aircraft, which were also used to study weather patterns He also went to places like Antartica and Greenland as well as Japan, Germany, and even England during these time. He was gone a lot of the time, but always came back with tons of goodies for my Mom, my Big Sister, and myself ... I would imagine from the stuff he brought me, he had more fun shopping for these items. I don't remember getting any manga back then, but he did mention that he was familiar with it, but he bring me comics from all over the world, often comics that were sold here in the US and then traveled to the bases to be sold to soldiers and their families.
Move forward to the 1980s, which does cover some of the last years of the 1970s, I discovered the magic of convince stores a little more than when Pop would run to the store for cigarettes. Now, those trips were fun in the fact that I got to spend time with Pop and enjoy the top down on the AMC Rebel, the car he won in a poker game at Pax River. The trips that I took during the 1980s were far more fun since I had to ride my bike from East Beach to the Village on St. Simons Island to try and get the comics first and then candy and video games later. I would often find at least one day where there were lots of comics I didn't have, but then there were a few months where there wasn't that much there, so the money often went back into my Captain America bank to be probably spent later. Mon was often aghast at the fact that I enjoyed reading "Those horrible comics!" than read some of the books that she loved, though ... most of the books that she loved, I had already read. Some were a little over my head at the age of six, but I had lost interest in them. Books like The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, Treasure Island, Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer were lots of fun, though you had to work very carefully to get some of the details ... and I had to keep a dictionary near by to define the words and understand what you were reading. My mother was often too busy with her own work to deal with her precocious child. Pop wa a bit better and often read me stories like Sherlock Holmes, Tarzan, Doc Savage, and even Conan! Those times I enjoyed. But, since I craved high adventure for escape of boring classes, shallow and often thoughtless teachers, and rough rides on a crammed bus, comics were that quick and easy access to such realms.
Roll into the 1990s and you would find that this was the transition to the harshness of life, a good and hard slap in the face with Kait's passing, the trails and tribulations of the unfathomable educational system in both getting a job, teaching those same boring classes and dealing with the same bored kids, dealing with administrators and parents who had little time for the students or the teachers, and then the return to college to be later hoisted with a huge debt of student loans built on the promise of a job and little of anything else. A cracked foundation of life made by poor choices to be sure. It was no wonder I was broken, depressed, and suicidal.
Things changed radically into the 2000s, thanks to the Firm who gave me a good start in preparing that foundation. It took clearing away of problems, straightening out finances, taking responsibility for actions, and treating myself with love and respect again. It did not happen overnight and continued to be that sort of thing that had to be retaught again and again and even again. I had to learn about health as you know during this past couple of years, but also patching and repairing the holes in my spirit and soul. The Firm also helped me to repair the damage I thought I did with my family, to restore the love I had for my folks and yet even understand that much of the garbage of the mind was from my point of view and not theirs, so ... it might be best to toss that out and focus on the good times and discard the bad ones, though I do keep some of those times in mind as teachable moments of wisdom of the ages.
Comics has been a mainstay throughout these times, the good, the bad, and everything in-between. Over the last few years, I had been using Comixology to keep up with some of the classic comics that I grew up with, mostly Marvel since I had a lot of the collections in hardcovers of the DC comics I enjoyed. Stories of great heroism, fantastic realms, high adventure, and even romance with greats like Capitan America, Spiderman, the Fantastic Four, the Mighty Thor, Dr. Strange, the Incredible Hulk, and the Invincible Ironman to get me started in that universe, but later, I kept up with Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman too with some forays into the Challengers of the Unknown, Shade the Changing Man, Plastic Man, Justice League, and a few others in the DC realm too. Brave and the Bold, like Marvel Team-Up, allowed me to keep up with either Batman or Spiderman as he teamed up with some of the respected comics hero base, so I got to meet so many other heroes and heroines too. Marvel also had some comics that were wildly different like Rom: Spaceknight, Godzilla, Shogun Warriors, or the Micronauts to break the monotony for me, but DC also had a few I liked: Mystery in Space, Dial H for Hero, and House of Mystery, but those were hard to find as were the odd ones from Marvel. Unfortunately, Amazon recently bought out Comixology and decided that Kindle is the ONLY way to read their comics. Kindle for the Mac sucks in my opinion. While easy to use, reading some of the older panels is a pain in the butt. I also have a subscription to Marvel's Unlimited Comics, but you have to wait for the current stuff to be formatted and uploaded to the site. Much easier to read, but I think you can only read comics that are at least a year old or so. They encourage you to go out and pay about $4 per issue to read your favorites. Wow ... but not surprising to me at least.
Being a gal who still loves reading comics, especially in-between jobs at the Firm or needing a break from reading the Paizo's Pathfinder Adventure Paths to set for the upcoming Saturday Night Tabletop Game, Marvel's reader program works best for me. My eyes have changed quite a bit over the years and reading is still a pain in the butt for me. I do wear reading glasses and, while the eye doctor has not talked to me since last year, I have yet to be suggested or referred to have the corrective surgery, which makes my friends snicker when I'm trying to read the stuff at the tabletop game. At home, I have a pretty large monitor that I can zoom in and read much better and I tend to make the neighbors wonder what is going on when I'm reading the adventure paths and trying to pronounce some of the names to the NPCs, places, or monsters the players have to deal with as the heroes in the story. Or even better when I'm rehearsing lines and such for these characters to get a feeling for how best to present them. I'm sure that alone makes me an uncommon neighbor.
I still enjoy all the things I do these days, the good, the bad, and everything in-between.
BE Happy!
Love and Kisses,
Loonia
Coffee With The Princess!
Posted 3 years agoCoffee With The Princess - Special Edition!
Happy Birthday To The Bearded Lantern!
**Giggles!**
If you have been following me for any length of time, you know about one of my best friends around, the Bearded Lantern. He's a two fisted fellow, often chomping a cigar at The Saturday Night Tabletop Game, often the Beleaguered Leader of the motley crew of best friends a gal like me could have. Through him, I have had the pleasure to know the Bionic Forearm and the Security Officer since 2002 and then later I got to meet the Left Fielder back in 2014. All three of these fine fellows helped me deal with the passing of my parents, Mom in 2011 and Pop in 2015, putting up with my mood swings and tears. The Bearded Lantern, like the both the Bionic Forearm and the Left Fielder had also spent time with me during those times and the Left Fielder kept up with me while I was in the hospital. There at least, I was so well and taken care of that I was not frightened. Also, of note, the Bearded Lantern was my "COVID Pandemic Friend!" I could only have one visitor and he was happy to do so, not just picking me up and getting me home from the hospital, but taking me the various doctors's appointments and helping me put my life together again. <3
I didn't realize until some soul searching that I had slid this far, but it was my good friend who on a Saturday Night, he and I were the only ones to show up and he sat down with me and told me that he was seriously worried about me. I had been without a doctor for a good while after telling the Witch Doctor to go to Hell. Her intern got pissy with me, saying "Without us, you'll die!" I snapped! Mm ... more like detonated. "Did I fucking squeeze your head for your shit, son?" I asked. "For the money that I was charged between the bullshit meds and this fucking office, I should be able to say and do pretty much anything!" IRaged for a good minute with the Witch Doctor, for the first time since I had her for a doctor, didn't say anything. I cannot tell you how many times she made me go back to work in tears or frustration fro being told off that I was not doing what she wanted. When I asked, there was no help, no teaching about nutrition, no talk about diet, just a little bitter lady screaming at me and making me feel like it was all my fault. I cannot tell you of the times I went in to the office there and heard similar griping from her to other patients as well as her staff. The Bearded Lantern had heard all of these stories and had stepped in to talk about me to my face, wanting to help.
But how do you help someone who doesn't want the help?
He stuck with it and when things finally went south back in October of 2020, he was there for me. He talked with both the office and I believe he spoke to my Big Sister ... now, there's a brave fellow! And that is my friend. <3
So, Happy Birthday, my dear friend! <3
Happy Birthday To The Bearded Lantern!
**Giggles!**
If you have been following me for any length of time, you know about one of my best friends around, the Bearded Lantern. He's a two fisted fellow, often chomping a cigar at The Saturday Night Tabletop Game, often the Beleaguered Leader of the motley crew of best friends a gal like me could have. Through him, I have had the pleasure to know the Bionic Forearm and the Security Officer since 2002 and then later I got to meet the Left Fielder back in 2014. All three of these fine fellows helped me deal with the passing of my parents, Mom in 2011 and Pop in 2015, putting up with my mood swings and tears. The Bearded Lantern, like the both the Bionic Forearm and the Left Fielder had also spent time with me during those times and the Left Fielder kept up with me while I was in the hospital. There at least, I was so well and taken care of that I was not frightened. Also, of note, the Bearded Lantern was my "COVID Pandemic Friend!" I could only have one visitor and he was happy to do so, not just picking me up and getting me home from the hospital, but taking me the various doctors's appointments and helping me put my life together again. <3
I didn't realize until some soul searching that I had slid this far, but it was my good friend who on a Saturday Night, he and I were the only ones to show up and he sat down with me and told me that he was seriously worried about me. I had been without a doctor for a good while after telling the Witch Doctor to go to Hell. Her intern got pissy with me, saying "Without us, you'll die!" I snapped! Mm ... more like detonated. "Did I fucking squeeze your head for your shit, son?" I asked. "For the money that I was charged between the bullshit meds and this fucking office, I should be able to say and do pretty much anything!" IRaged for a good minute with the Witch Doctor, for the first time since I had her for a doctor, didn't say anything. I cannot tell you how many times she made me go back to work in tears or frustration fro being told off that I was not doing what she wanted. When I asked, there was no help, no teaching about nutrition, no talk about diet, just a little bitter lady screaming at me and making me feel like it was all my fault. I cannot tell you of the times I went in to the office there and heard similar griping from her to other patients as well as her staff. The Bearded Lantern had heard all of these stories and had stepped in to talk about me to my face, wanting to help.
But how do you help someone who doesn't want the help?
He stuck with it and when things finally went south back in October of 2020, he was there for me. He talked with both the office and I believe he spoke to my Big Sister ... now, there's a brave fellow! And that is my friend. <3
So, Happy Birthday, my dear friend! <3
Coffee With The Princess!
Posted 3 years agoCoffee With The Princess!
A Dungeon Master's Job Is Never Done!
As I have been apt to say when I'm allowed the role of the Dungeon Master for our Saturday Night Tabletop Group, "Phenomenal Cosmic Powers ... itty-bitty living space!" My friends laugh at this from time to time, though the Bionic Forearm just grunts, at the truth of this statement. Unlike Israfel Vincent who owns a regal townhouse in Historic District of Crossroads, I live in a jokingly spacious 550 square foot apartment that goes for almost $900, mainly due to an uncalled for rise in the trash pick-up fees that the place is now charging for the rampant trash overflow back from last year. Oh, I knew this was coming and I have protested it, but it's fallen on deaf ears. Nevertheless, I stay since it is less than two miles from work and nearby everything that I love about Savannah.
Currently, I'm working on the set-up for tonight's game, the next part of the Adventure Path, "The Council of Thieves!" The party has gotten through the play, "The Six Trials of Larazod!" and are awaiting for Mayor Arvanxi to invite them to his manor for the party to celebrate such a noteworthy production. As you know the play, very violent and dangerous, was originally banned, but the mayor, using his own "phenomenal cosmic powers!", allowed the production to be done. And the party did rather well, even with my tweaking of the challenges a tiny bit to allow for more players to be on stage. Their fame is now growing and now they get to dine on the fruits of their labors.
But, as I scratch notes and cogitate some ideas and keep to the idea of the story, I have not begun using my own to keep the story much alive and the dark forces within Westcrown growing and prospering. We will have eight players tonight, though I had hoped the Left Fielder would be returning ... but the poor guy has to close tonight. However, never fear ... we have a new player joining us at the Bearded Lantern's and my own approval, so this will be even bigger than before. Personally, I relish the thought of getting back to a larger group. I have done a few large games like this in the past and yet, this is not the largest gathering at the garage of the Bearded Lantern. I think we have had twelve or even thirteen before and my trailer back in the days of SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) did fifteen. I do even remember a 1st Edition Dungeons and Dragons game through the "Village of Homlet!" we had at least eight and possibly as many as twelve!
So, let me get back to it ...
Love and Kisses,
Loonia The Dungeon Master!
A Dungeon Master's Job Is Never Done!
As I have been apt to say when I'm allowed the role of the Dungeon Master for our Saturday Night Tabletop Group, "Phenomenal Cosmic Powers ... itty-bitty living space!" My friends laugh at this from time to time, though the Bionic Forearm just grunts, at the truth of this statement. Unlike Israfel Vincent who owns a regal townhouse in Historic District of Crossroads, I live in a jokingly spacious 550 square foot apartment that goes for almost $900, mainly due to an uncalled for rise in the trash pick-up fees that the place is now charging for the rampant trash overflow back from last year. Oh, I knew this was coming and I have protested it, but it's fallen on deaf ears. Nevertheless, I stay since it is less than two miles from work and nearby everything that I love about Savannah.
Currently, I'm working on the set-up for tonight's game, the next part of the Adventure Path, "The Council of Thieves!" The party has gotten through the play, "The Six Trials of Larazod!" and are awaiting for Mayor Arvanxi to invite them to his manor for the party to celebrate such a noteworthy production. As you know the play, very violent and dangerous, was originally banned, but the mayor, using his own "phenomenal cosmic powers!", allowed the production to be done. And the party did rather well, even with my tweaking of the challenges a tiny bit to allow for more players to be on stage. Their fame is now growing and now they get to dine on the fruits of their labors.
But, as I scratch notes and cogitate some ideas and keep to the idea of the story, I have not begun using my own to keep the story much alive and the dark forces within Westcrown growing and prospering. We will have eight players tonight, though I had hoped the Left Fielder would be returning ... but the poor guy has to close tonight. However, never fear ... we have a new player joining us at the Bearded Lantern's and my own approval, so this will be even bigger than before. Personally, I relish the thought of getting back to a larger group. I have done a few large games like this in the past and yet, this is not the largest gathering at the garage of the Bearded Lantern. I think we have had twelve or even thirteen before and my trailer back in the days of SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) did fifteen. I do even remember a 1st Edition Dungeons and Dragons game through the "Village of Homlet!" we had at least eight and possibly as many as twelve!
So, let me get back to it ...
Love and Kisses,
Loonia The Dungeon Master!
Coffee With The Princess!
Posted 3 years agoCoffee With The Princess!
Being Old School In A Modern World!
**Giggles!**
Over the past few years now, I have discovered I don't know as much as I thought I did or even as much as I should. Can you relate to that? Back when I was younger, my mother fostered and fed my eager brain with all sorts of knowledge, whether I wanted it or not. But, I wanted to make her happy and, much to my delight, I found that I loved discovering new things and even learning things that I never knew about. Or even just the stuff that makes life better. Pop also stepped in from time to time, teaching me the basics of problem solving like car mechanics, how to read AND follow directions, and that old school wisdom that was handed down by the man he called Pop and his uncles that he had in his life growing up. Both Mom and Pop came from varied family, Mom's being more teachers and thinkers and Pop's being more movers and shakers. Both had soldiers and healers in their families and both sides did great things.
Now, you bring me in, an adopted kid who is blessed so many times with being introduced to this family to whom I have the honor of calling my own. This family, including my wild Big Sister too, has given me so much over the years, a lot I've had to learn and relearn over the span of my fifty plus years on Earth. I don't know much about my biological folks and honestly I don't want to know. I feel like I would be disrespecting my family by looking, wondering about what could have been or even might have been. For me, that family did what they thought was right and I can respect that. Now, I'm doing what's right for me.
Looking back to the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s, I always thought my technical prowess was pretty good, better than the average nerd and redneck with the ability to learn, adapt, and overcome any problems that will occur. I remember that I learned how to program a VCR, hack into computer programs and rewrite them, how to draw fairly well, and write even better. Mom and Pop thought there was so much potential to my life ... well, things changed for me in the early 1990s unfortunately, and, while it took a while to get things back on track, I have pulled myself up and gotten on my feet. Throughout the 2000s, I have worked at the Firm as the best version of the person I am now with my own failings unfortunately, but able once again to get up and stride forward once again. I'm still sought out through the Firm to handle things that people don't want to deal with and usually don't have the time for. That's fine. That's why I have a job here at the Firm!
And I love my job!
Yes, you heard me right! I love my job. I get up around 4-5 am every day and I'm at work before 6 am, ready to go. I have about an hour and a half before most of the staff arrives and I tackle all of the tasks that need to be done so that things are ready to go for the staff. Things like checking out the administration cars, which there are three of them, the plethora of printers and copiers to make sure we have what's needed to accomplish any task, set up the conference rooms as needed, restock what might be needed or at least make the shopping lists if we don'r have the stuff in stock, and just about anything else that is need. But, I'm also here in case there is an emergency. An employee breaks down on the way in? I gotcha! A company or even an employee's car needs to go to the shop? I can pick them up and get them to the office. Breakfast first thing for a meeting? No problem. An emergency morning delivery? Ha! Easily handled!
However, with the upgrades to a good portion of the machines that we have ... like cars, coffee machines, computers, and copiers, I have found that I know less and less about them. Well, other than the old saying that Pop used to encourage: "When in doubt, check it out!" which I have always told my students back when I was a teacher, "If you don't know, ask!"
Recently, a minor hiccup to my enjoyment of my mornings is ... not the recent upgrades with Deviant Art ... but Amazon buying Comixology. This was the move that I cringe about at this time. Comixology had groovy reader to which made reading so much easier for comics. A zoom function. That is lacking with Amazon's Kindle. Now, before y'all start telling me about an iPhone or iPad having no trouble with it, I will tell you I know. But, with the computer, it sucks. The best you can do is either have a HUGE screen or you can click on the panel and hope to heaven that the image will be big enough to read. So far, I have better success in navigating the changes with Deviant Art. Marvel does have Comics Unlimited to which I have a subscription, but theirs only covers back issues and I'm still learning how far back that goes. I do love their reader since theirs allows an enlargement to where I can read without wishing I had a glass of Gentleman Jack for the migraine I'm going to suffer through. Reading digital comics, while thought of by me a while back was a pain in the butt, has won me over with not having to worry about carrying around my favorite issues, but the general ease of accessing them and reading them.
Thank you, Amazon ...
Nevertheless, I'm trying to adapt as I would to most painful situations. Learning newer and hopefully better ways to do things. I did get the e-mail spam from the guy in charge of PR for Amazon, talking about how he understands the pain that people go through when things change, but ... well, the bottom line between tie sugar-coated crap was "Suck it up, Buttercup!"
I know I will get through it, but here's me also trying something a bit different. Do any of y'all out there know of any reader programs that work better? Kindle is pretty easy to use, but doesn't work well with comics as I have said and I seriously doubt that Amazon will change things. However, if they do, I will be thrilled once again to be proven wrong.
Thoughts, anyone? :)
BE Happy!
Love and Kisses,
Loonia
Being Old School In A Modern World!
**Giggles!**
Over the past few years now, I have discovered I don't know as much as I thought I did or even as much as I should. Can you relate to that? Back when I was younger, my mother fostered and fed my eager brain with all sorts of knowledge, whether I wanted it or not. But, I wanted to make her happy and, much to my delight, I found that I loved discovering new things and even learning things that I never knew about. Or even just the stuff that makes life better. Pop also stepped in from time to time, teaching me the basics of problem solving like car mechanics, how to read AND follow directions, and that old school wisdom that was handed down by the man he called Pop and his uncles that he had in his life growing up. Both Mom and Pop came from varied family, Mom's being more teachers and thinkers and Pop's being more movers and shakers. Both had soldiers and healers in their families and both sides did great things.
Now, you bring me in, an adopted kid who is blessed so many times with being introduced to this family to whom I have the honor of calling my own. This family, including my wild Big Sister too, has given me so much over the years, a lot I've had to learn and relearn over the span of my fifty plus years on Earth. I don't know much about my biological folks and honestly I don't want to know. I feel like I would be disrespecting my family by looking, wondering about what could have been or even might have been. For me, that family did what they thought was right and I can respect that. Now, I'm doing what's right for me.
Looking back to the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s, I always thought my technical prowess was pretty good, better than the average nerd and redneck with the ability to learn, adapt, and overcome any problems that will occur. I remember that I learned how to program a VCR, hack into computer programs and rewrite them, how to draw fairly well, and write even better. Mom and Pop thought there was so much potential to my life ... well, things changed for me in the early 1990s unfortunately, and, while it took a while to get things back on track, I have pulled myself up and gotten on my feet. Throughout the 2000s, I have worked at the Firm as the best version of the person I am now with my own failings unfortunately, but able once again to get up and stride forward once again. I'm still sought out through the Firm to handle things that people don't want to deal with and usually don't have the time for. That's fine. That's why I have a job here at the Firm!
And I love my job!
Yes, you heard me right! I love my job. I get up around 4-5 am every day and I'm at work before 6 am, ready to go. I have about an hour and a half before most of the staff arrives and I tackle all of the tasks that need to be done so that things are ready to go for the staff. Things like checking out the administration cars, which there are three of them, the plethora of printers and copiers to make sure we have what's needed to accomplish any task, set up the conference rooms as needed, restock what might be needed or at least make the shopping lists if we don'r have the stuff in stock, and just about anything else that is need. But, I'm also here in case there is an emergency. An employee breaks down on the way in? I gotcha! A company or even an employee's car needs to go to the shop? I can pick them up and get them to the office. Breakfast first thing for a meeting? No problem. An emergency morning delivery? Ha! Easily handled!
However, with the upgrades to a good portion of the machines that we have ... like cars, coffee machines, computers, and copiers, I have found that I know less and less about them. Well, other than the old saying that Pop used to encourage: "When in doubt, check it out!" which I have always told my students back when I was a teacher, "If you don't know, ask!"
Recently, a minor hiccup to my enjoyment of my mornings is ... not the recent upgrades with Deviant Art ... but Amazon buying Comixology. This was the move that I cringe about at this time. Comixology had groovy reader to which made reading so much easier for comics. A zoom function. That is lacking with Amazon's Kindle. Now, before y'all start telling me about an iPhone or iPad having no trouble with it, I will tell you I know. But, with the computer, it sucks. The best you can do is either have a HUGE screen or you can click on the panel and hope to heaven that the image will be big enough to read. So far, I have better success in navigating the changes with Deviant Art. Marvel does have Comics Unlimited to which I have a subscription, but theirs only covers back issues and I'm still learning how far back that goes. I do love their reader since theirs allows an enlargement to where I can read without wishing I had a glass of Gentleman Jack for the migraine I'm going to suffer through. Reading digital comics, while thought of by me a while back was a pain in the butt, has won me over with not having to worry about carrying around my favorite issues, but the general ease of accessing them and reading them.
Thank you, Amazon ...
Nevertheless, I'm trying to adapt as I would to most painful situations. Learning newer and hopefully better ways to do things. I did get the e-mail spam from the guy in charge of PR for Amazon, talking about how he understands the pain that people go through when things change, but ... well, the bottom line between tie sugar-coated crap was "Suck it up, Buttercup!"
I know I will get through it, but here's me also trying something a bit different. Do any of y'all out there know of any reader programs that work better? Kindle is pretty easy to use, but doesn't work well with comics as I have said and I seriously doubt that Amazon will change things. However, if they do, I will be thrilled once again to be proven wrong.
Thoughts, anyone? :)
BE Happy!
Love and Kisses,
Loonia
Coffee With The Princess!
Posted 3 years agoCoffee With The Princess!
President's Day Special Edition!
**Giggles!**
Back years ago when I was still in high school on St. Simons Island, I would thrill to watching some of the President's Day "Star Trek Marathon!" off of one of the TV stations out of Jacksonville or perhaps it was the company that sponsored this event. Nevertheless, Star Trek was one of my favorite shows growing up and this was before the advent of VCRs and VHS tapes. I think Beta tapes were around, bit not many people had those. One friend did, but not too many tapes if I remember right. So, you looked forward to this day where you could sit back and watch Star Trek, the classic show with Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, and Doctor McCoy getting into all sorts of trouble and having such a grand series of adventures. Years later, when I started working for the Firm, days like this and Martin Luther King Jr's Birthday would close down the banks, the post office, and many of the clients like the government buildings. That killed about two-thirds of why I worked at the Firm and left me sitting around and waiting for something to happen. So, with a month of vacation time in the que, I often took these days off. I still get a thrill having President's Day off ... and these days I especially remember the times of watching lots of Star Trek on my bed in my bedroom on the little TV set that I got for Christmas ages ago.
**Giggles! again!**
I know this has so very little with the piece of work being posted today and here on FurAffinity, but I'm back to taking the time off and enjoying life once again. I got a good look at myself in the mirror this morning as I was walking about my place and working on waking up, a bit of coffee to warm me up in the cold apartment. Looking at myself in the full length mirror, I noticed that a good bit of the fat on my torso has gone, though I still have a pillowy tummy. I'm probably smaller and thinner than I have been in years and I'm happier too. Slowly I'm getting back to the things I love in my life as most of y'all have probably read in my journals. And I want to thank y'all also for the love and support too.
BE Happy!
Love and Kisses,
Loonia
President's Day Special Edition!
**Giggles!**
Back years ago when I was still in high school on St. Simons Island, I would thrill to watching some of the President's Day "Star Trek Marathon!" off of one of the TV stations out of Jacksonville or perhaps it was the company that sponsored this event. Nevertheless, Star Trek was one of my favorite shows growing up and this was before the advent of VCRs and VHS tapes. I think Beta tapes were around, bit not many people had those. One friend did, but not too many tapes if I remember right. So, you looked forward to this day where you could sit back and watch Star Trek, the classic show with Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, and Doctor McCoy getting into all sorts of trouble and having such a grand series of adventures. Years later, when I started working for the Firm, days like this and Martin Luther King Jr's Birthday would close down the banks, the post office, and many of the clients like the government buildings. That killed about two-thirds of why I worked at the Firm and left me sitting around and waiting for something to happen. So, with a month of vacation time in the que, I often took these days off. I still get a thrill having President's Day off ... and these days I especially remember the times of watching lots of Star Trek on my bed in my bedroom on the little TV set that I got for Christmas ages ago.
**Giggles! again!**
I know this has so very little with the piece of work being posted today and here on FurAffinity, but I'm back to taking the time off and enjoying life once again. I got a good look at myself in the mirror this morning as I was walking about my place and working on waking up, a bit of coffee to warm me up in the cold apartment. Looking at myself in the full length mirror, I noticed that a good bit of the fat on my torso has gone, though I still have a pillowy tummy. I'm probably smaller and thinner than I have been in years and I'm happier too. Slowly I'm getting back to the things I love in my life as most of y'all have probably read in my journals. And I want to thank y'all also for the love and support too.
BE Happy!
Love and Kisses,
Loonia
Coffee With The Princess!
Posted 3 years agoCoffee With The Princess!
Finding The Love In Tabletop Gaming Again!
**Giggles!**
If you have been following me over the past few years, you know that I'm a really big tabletop gamer! If you are one of those rare followers or fans of my stuff since about 2010 or so, being a lover of journals, stories, and artwork, both commissioned and my own, you know that I often put journals out about the various adventures that I either go through or put the players of the Saturday Night Tabletop Group through. The most infamous one is "The Trouble With Hard-Headed Halflings!" which features the crew, especially the Wiz-Kid and the Security Officer getting into the epic shouting match, "What did you do?!" which was recently laughed about again with the new foursome who have joined our group. They are a good crew of well-balanced people with just enough knowledge to understand the ins and outs with the game and yet are new enough to not be more of the "Know It Better Than You!" like one player we had a while back ... who drove me away from the game a few years back. You are always going to run into people like that ... it's part of the social experience and something that I needed to re-learn and come to grips with to allow me to be not just a better Dungeon Master, but better person.
The current adventure path being run by using the Pathfinder 1st Edition System, which is still my personal favorite thanks to all of the books available, is "The Council of Thieves!" which is the first path that Paizo got the wrinkles ironed out and got fully under their rules, which is a smooth-lined version of 3.5 Edition of Dungeons and Dragons. Since I'm only aware of 3.5 through buying a few of the books and learning the boxset back in 2000, I cannot say that I'm totally right about the earlier statement. This is based on my discovery on how the BESM d20 (Big Eyes and Small Mouth) game is from Pathfinder. Nothing that I cannot deal with, mind, but it does make the Pathfinder characters a bit tricker. Many of you know that I had been using BESM d20 to go along with Pathfinder since 2012 or so, which was done for my girls: Israfel Vincent, Caitlynn Wildfire, and Loonia Infinity. Recently with my return to the group, I have been doing nothing but Pathfinder save for the adventure path the Bearded Lantern started back in 2014, "The Wraith of the Righteous!" which was the game that he allowed me to play the characters as is, which was gracious and generous to say the least. Now, returning to Pathfinder wholly has allowed me to focus on other characters for the story, to develop them and make them better as well. Ideas that I have forgotten about over the years, especially with the illness and poor health I suffered through the last few years. Clarity of my mind has allowed me to return to the story ideas and yet with some common sense, I have also incorporated some of the ideas that are brewing in the back of my head. The group has asked me to keep this adventure path nothing but straight up and down Pathfinder and I have found that, not only do I have much to learn about the system, but the thrill of learning the ins and outs of the system has made it all new all over again!
The Council of Thieves follows the adventures of the characters, "The Unlucky Eight!", as they have been dubbed by the Bionic Forearms and picked up by me, which makes sense. With the character played by The Left Fielder being pulled due to work and life related stuff, the number was in danger of being dropped to seven players, but I had my character, the mysterious Tana Kayla who knows Hans Icelander, played by the Bearded Lantern (and the Bionic Forearm has "Sensed Shenanigans!), added even before the game started, but she doesn't take anything away from the characters. They get all of the experience and none of the coins, which did make a few of the new people curious, but I assured them this is how I wanted it to be. Just for me to be there to have a bit of fun as a player and yet let them be the stars of the show!
The second book, started last weekend, "The Sixfold Trial!", starts off with the characters meeting an actual Pathfinder, Ailynn Ghontasvos, who asks them for help. There's the Pathfinder Lodge that's in the town of Westcrown where all of the action is taking place and she needs help getting inside the place. The Mayor of the town has secured the place with the help of the Hellknights with three keys and some sort of magic seals to keep people out. There is a mystery surrounding the place about something terrible having happened there many years ago and the government of the town is not taking any chances. To get the keys, the players have to search the mayor's home, while also looking for any other information. Now, to do this task, they have to join an acting troupe performing "The Six Trials Of Larazod!" which is a production that was banned by the government of the town because it is too violet, even though blood sports are now the cultural norm for the performing arts in this deranged town. Furthermore, none of the actors have managed to finish the production. Ever. So, the casting call is generally attended by the riff-raff of society and certainly not fighters and explorers such as the eight assemble heroes and heroines. So, the mission is survive the play, attend Mayor Arvanxi's cast party, which is probably going to go on for days, perhaps even a week or so, and get both the keys and the information back to the rebels, The Children of Westcrown.
Simple, eh? Well, I have to be fair. It was a tremendous bit of srt-up to get to the last few days before the performance to which will be the final and uncut version of the play, which also means it will be seriously dangerous. The characters are only 3rd level, but the story writers assure that they should be ok. Personally, not only do I believe they will do the game justice, but they will probably blow the session off of the map! Paizo often designs these adventure paths for four characters, but it can easily be adjusted to suit the needs of the tabletop group. Plus, I have been doing this sort of thing since the summer of 1980 and have done some seriously complicated sessions, including getting the players to be ready for the infamous "Test of the Warlords!" which took us through some of the more fun games of Dungeons and Dragon's 1st edition with the Bionic Forearm making his infamous lich potion AND drinking it! They have done the Temple of the Elemental Evil a number of times as well as so many others ... and they have survived my long nights of Dungeon Mastering! Not a small feat considering at one session they took on an army of frost giants who's bones now make up the Bionic Forearm's standing army. And that kingdom is still growing!
This is the best group of people I have had the pleasure and honor of being their Dungeon Master and fellow gamer for since the summer off 2002, though I think there might have been some more months before that since I'm sure of the year that I joined, but not of the month. We have had lots of players come and go over the years, the Wiz Kid being the one I really miss these days, but he might come back ... and, like my nephew, he's got a standing invitation to show up. At eight players, I think this is my limit for these days, but I have gamed with as many as fifteen people before! And that was with me drinking ... that was back in my days of SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design!) But, now at 53, I think I will pass on such a gathering! At least as a Dungeon Master. Honestly, while I hate turning people away, I prefer the smaller groups. Four people is my comfortable amount, though I do love the eight people there ... provided they can stay focused. :)
With all of that being said, I'm looking forward to gaming this weekend as I always am these days. I have asked that no more people be added to the group since I feel like eight is more than enough people showing up. We are also starting to run out of room at the Bearded Lantern's garage too.
No matter what you do, BE sure to have some fun this weekend!
BE Happy!
Love and Kisses,
Loonia
Finding The Love In Tabletop Gaming Again!
**Giggles!**
If you have been following me over the past few years, you know that I'm a really big tabletop gamer! If you are one of those rare followers or fans of my stuff since about 2010 or so, being a lover of journals, stories, and artwork, both commissioned and my own, you know that I often put journals out about the various adventures that I either go through or put the players of the Saturday Night Tabletop Group through. The most infamous one is "The Trouble With Hard-Headed Halflings!" which features the crew, especially the Wiz-Kid and the Security Officer getting into the epic shouting match, "What did you do?!" which was recently laughed about again with the new foursome who have joined our group. They are a good crew of well-balanced people with just enough knowledge to understand the ins and outs with the game and yet are new enough to not be more of the "Know It Better Than You!" like one player we had a while back ... who drove me away from the game a few years back. You are always going to run into people like that ... it's part of the social experience and something that I needed to re-learn and come to grips with to allow me to be not just a better Dungeon Master, but better person.
The current adventure path being run by using the Pathfinder 1st Edition System, which is still my personal favorite thanks to all of the books available, is "The Council of Thieves!" which is the first path that Paizo got the wrinkles ironed out and got fully under their rules, which is a smooth-lined version of 3.5 Edition of Dungeons and Dragons. Since I'm only aware of 3.5 through buying a few of the books and learning the boxset back in 2000, I cannot say that I'm totally right about the earlier statement. This is based on my discovery on how the BESM d20 (Big Eyes and Small Mouth) game is from Pathfinder. Nothing that I cannot deal with, mind, but it does make the Pathfinder characters a bit tricker. Many of you know that I had been using BESM d20 to go along with Pathfinder since 2012 or so, which was done for my girls: Israfel Vincent, Caitlynn Wildfire, and Loonia Infinity. Recently with my return to the group, I have been doing nothing but Pathfinder save for the adventure path the Bearded Lantern started back in 2014, "The Wraith of the Righteous!" which was the game that he allowed me to play the characters as is, which was gracious and generous to say the least. Now, returning to Pathfinder wholly has allowed me to focus on other characters for the story, to develop them and make them better as well. Ideas that I have forgotten about over the years, especially with the illness and poor health I suffered through the last few years. Clarity of my mind has allowed me to return to the story ideas and yet with some common sense, I have also incorporated some of the ideas that are brewing in the back of my head. The group has asked me to keep this adventure path nothing but straight up and down Pathfinder and I have found that, not only do I have much to learn about the system, but the thrill of learning the ins and outs of the system has made it all new all over again!
The Council of Thieves follows the adventures of the characters, "The Unlucky Eight!", as they have been dubbed by the Bionic Forearms and picked up by me, which makes sense. With the character played by The Left Fielder being pulled due to work and life related stuff, the number was in danger of being dropped to seven players, but I had my character, the mysterious Tana Kayla who knows Hans Icelander, played by the Bearded Lantern (and the Bionic Forearm has "Sensed Shenanigans!), added even before the game started, but she doesn't take anything away from the characters. They get all of the experience and none of the coins, which did make a few of the new people curious, but I assured them this is how I wanted it to be. Just for me to be there to have a bit of fun as a player and yet let them be the stars of the show!
The second book, started last weekend, "The Sixfold Trial!", starts off with the characters meeting an actual Pathfinder, Ailynn Ghontasvos, who asks them for help. There's the Pathfinder Lodge that's in the town of Westcrown where all of the action is taking place and she needs help getting inside the place. The Mayor of the town has secured the place with the help of the Hellknights with three keys and some sort of magic seals to keep people out. There is a mystery surrounding the place about something terrible having happened there many years ago and the government of the town is not taking any chances. To get the keys, the players have to search the mayor's home, while also looking for any other information. Now, to do this task, they have to join an acting troupe performing "The Six Trials Of Larazod!" which is a production that was banned by the government of the town because it is too violet, even though blood sports are now the cultural norm for the performing arts in this deranged town. Furthermore, none of the actors have managed to finish the production. Ever. So, the casting call is generally attended by the riff-raff of society and certainly not fighters and explorers such as the eight assemble heroes and heroines. So, the mission is survive the play, attend Mayor Arvanxi's cast party, which is probably going to go on for days, perhaps even a week or so, and get both the keys and the information back to the rebels, The Children of Westcrown.
Simple, eh? Well, I have to be fair. It was a tremendous bit of srt-up to get to the last few days before the performance to which will be the final and uncut version of the play, which also means it will be seriously dangerous. The characters are only 3rd level, but the story writers assure that they should be ok. Personally, not only do I believe they will do the game justice, but they will probably blow the session off of the map! Paizo often designs these adventure paths for four characters, but it can easily be adjusted to suit the needs of the tabletop group. Plus, I have been doing this sort of thing since the summer of 1980 and have done some seriously complicated sessions, including getting the players to be ready for the infamous "Test of the Warlords!" which took us through some of the more fun games of Dungeons and Dragon's 1st edition with the Bionic Forearm making his infamous lich potion AND drinking it! They have done the Temple of the Elemental Evil a number of times as well as so many others ... and they have survived my long nights of Dungeon Mastering! Not a small feat considering at one session they took on an army of frost giants who's bones now make up the Bionic Forearm's standing army. And that kingdom is still growing!
This is the best group of people I have had the pleasure and honor of being their Dungeon Master and fellow gamer for since the summer off 2002, though I think there might have been some more months before that since I'm sure of the year that I joined, but not of the month. We have had lots of players come and go over the years, the Wiz Kid being the one I really miss these days, but he might come back ... and, like my nephew, he's got a standing invitation to show up. At eight players, I think this is my limit for these days, but I have gamed with as many as fifteen people before! And that was with me drinking ... that was back in my days of SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design!) But, now at 53, I think I will pass on such a gathering! At least as a Dungeon Master. Honestly, while I hate turning people away, I prefer the smaller groups. Four people is my comfortable amount, though I do love the eight people there ... provided they can stay focused. :)
With all of that being said, I'm looking forward to gaming this weekend as I always am these days. I have asked that no more people be added to the group since I feel like eight is more than enough people showing up. We are also starting to run out of room at the Bearded Lantern's garage too.
No matter what you do, BE sure to have some fun this weekend!
BE Happy!
Love and Kisses,
Loonia
Coffee With The Princess!
Posted 4 years agoCoffee With The Princess!
Special FurAffinity's Special Edition!
**Giggles!**
Slowly enjoying my first cup of coffee, Black Rifle Coffee's "Blackbeard's Delight!"
According to my front page, this will mark the 200th journal for FurAffinity, though I cannot say how many journals I have done for Deviant Art. But, I will make this as a special edition for just this place.
Over the past decade and then some years of being here, I have had the ups and downs that most artists and writers get here. Most of the people are very nice and respectful when it comes to making comments, asking questions, and showing their appreciation for the artwork that I post, whether it be mine or commissioned work by other artists both here on FA and some on DA.
Although a furry themed place, I have noticed the acceptable too of the human characters here, which I was hesitant to post here over the years, seeing Deviant Art as more of my older and manga-like style and designs of Destiny's Daughters! which still has the story ongoing and fleshing out, especially after all of these years. Stretching Things!, the furry story that Israfel Vincent draws off and on during the downtimes of the adventures mentioned in her story, got posted more and more here, though I did post a lot of the furry work on Deviant Art since I did a lot of the mix back when I was first getting started back after failing out of SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design), which was a mixed bag of cats of ups and downs, but mostly downs during those last days of the 1990s, thanks to my drinking. During those times of roleplaying on the various mucks and mushes I frequented, I managed to develop Kaitlynn Wildfire, the PlastiCat ... her name's spelling changed to have a C instead of the K, like my Kaitlynn in real life. I still mourned her passing in 1991, but the drinking and the nightmares that I went through due to guilt over what happened and my own bad decisions took their toll ... and I almost committed suicide. I'm not sure how I managed since I don't remember much of those days between when I hit bottom and started to rebound. My thought was something pulled me back ... though I think of it as me doing the heavy lifting, proving I was far stronger than I thought I could be.
However, getting a few better jobs and away from the liquor store started the healing process, it would be the solid job at The Firn that allowed me a good decade of getting my life straightened out, including the reforging of my relationship with my family. The sad part was it was all in my head, the realm where my personal demons still reigned supreme. Pop and I sat down before he passed and talked about this at length. He wanted to straighten a lot of this out before too long. He had felt that over the years that I had stepped back from both Mom and himself, but didn't really put the dots together until my Big Sister scolded him about what they did to me back in July of 2007. Both Mom and Pop were horrible to me, which was a series of sharp slaps in the face! I had disappointed them in the past, but we always worked it out and they even listened. That weekend, neither one wanted to listen! They had their opinions and they let me have it over the three days I was there, trying to spend time with them. Pop honestly said that neither he or Mom remembered this and I nodded, remembering the apology when I mentioned it to them in the following year back in 2008, where I snapped and blew up at them. I'm not entirely sure what happened during that phonemail, but I think both had their say and I just felt that was enough. But it cleared a lot of air with us. Pop came really close to an apology, something I had NEVER! heard him say before, but Mom did indeed apologize for both of them, which I was happy to accept. It was later through tears that I managed to deal with my Big Sister's phonemail. Mom had called her and asked what was going on and they had it out themselves. My Big Sister called me to check on me, figuring that was enough drama to send me back to drinking. But, surprisingly, it did not. The two of us, my Big Sister and I, have always been pretty close, so she knew more than I gave her credit for, but I was glad she stepped in.
During all of this family drama, which I make sound worse than it actually was since it was like flatulence ... a well-needed passing of gas ... to allow the stomach and heartache pass, I kept on drawing and writing, a lot of it through story ideas I either developed through online or tabletop roleplaying. There was also the friendship of kecomaster who really helped make my characters even more popular to which I have my deepest thanks for the friendship over the almost a decade and a half! I probably would have had such the run on both sites if not for him! Keco helped design the PlastiCat's new costume and also helped me get the PlastiCat into some better clothing for a more normal life and even a lot of various outfits for Ricochet KaBoom! including adding the cartoon bomb to both girls's costumes and clothing. Keco used to laugh all the time when I would say that I'm not really an artist, but I'm more of a character designer with the ability to write pretty good. He gave me a smile and another laugh, saying that I was selling myself short. With art, its like most things in life: practice, practicer, practice! You have to do that every day to build up the discipline and to keep the dream alive!
After 2010, I managed to get the character designs for the primary characters in both stories and last year, I even posted what I had stored on the internet computer. There are some changes and touch-ups that I need to do, especially with Taffy the Impossible Tigress and that's ok too. Both Israfel and Taffy, meta-human or mutant and transforming tigress, have really become very popular over the past decade, a lot of that due to the fantastic artists like
tragicfame , 
leonifa , 
pizhma, and 
adorableinall just to mention a few. Keco's also been adding artwork when he can and when we both have time to work together, but he's one of my longest-duration friends of all time and still near and dear to my expandable heart!
**Giggles!**
Sorry! I had to make another pot of coffee of Black Rifle Coffee's "Blackbeard's Delight!" And there was only a small bit left at the bottom of the bag after putting the scoops in, so this batch was going to be stronger!
Oh hell yeah!
Most of y'all know about the recent history of the fall from grace with the health and depression that followed the amputation, so I'll only mention it here for the moment, just because it's a defining moment for me, perhaps the largest one since Kaitlynn's passing.
There needs to be a special Thank You! to all of the friends and artists who have either gifted me artwork or done commissions and/or Your Character Here Commissions over the past three years with more still coming. There are so many of these wonderful people that it would break the buffer to mention them, so I will just encourage people to go through my gallery and check out what's there ... there is almost two decades of work to be checked out.
I'm still working on ideas, some of it thanks to returning to the online community like The List (f-list.net) which I did some this weekend and even used their newest chat program through the browser. Tapestries, my first muck, is still a main stay for me, having so many friends and even a ton of newer friends. Through at least three characters, I have been there since November of 1998, Caitlynn being the oldest and Israfel being the second. Most of the other characters have fallen by the wayside, though I still try to keep them active.
And, as most of y'all know, I have returned to the Saturday Night Tabletop Group at the Bearded Lantern's garage, especially as the Dungeon Master, thanks to the Bionic Forearm's request to pick up the robes again after the Security Officer announced that he had added FOUR more players! So, for the first time since 2015, we have a large group again ... I think we originally had about seven people with the gang from the 2014, though I know a few people left by 2015 and we were down to five consistently. The Security Officer loves to talk about his friends wanting to join ... and most often, they don't, which can be maddening. Now, with this new crew, I think we have more than enough!
All I need to do is get back to writing and drawing to make me whole again, to which I keep on taking hesitant steps towards. I actually turned on the Studio Dell two weekends ago for the first time since 2016 when the motherboard was shorted out due to a lightning strike. I had been doing less and less drawing, though I did a bit in 2018, which was fun. With me starting to get sick with the infection of damage to my left leg's ankle, I stopped and started focusing on work. The Firm was going through some serious cleaning up and archiving which was finished, for the moment, as of the last day of 2021! Whew!
So, my only excuses for not doing what needs to be done? The apartment needs a major overhaul to which I'm going to do slowly so I can keep from wearing myself out more. A storage rental is very possible too now that I have a car and much of my debit gone. With the apartment cleaned up and better managed should encourage me to get on with life and return to my artwork and writing ... at least I hope.
So, to those of you who have been watching, thanks for staying with me ... to you new fans/followers, you also have my thanks. People like y'all have made this place fun for me.
Love and Kisses,
Loonia
Special FurAffinity's Special Edition!
**Giggles!**
Slowly enjoying my first cup of coffee, Black Rifle Coffee's "Blackbeard's Delight!"
According to my front page, this will mark the 200th journal for FurAffinity, though I cannot say how many journals I have done for Deviant Art. But, I will make this as a special edition for just this place.
Over the past decade and then some years of being here, I have had the ups and downs that most artists and writers get here. Most of the people are very nice and respectful when it comes to making comments, asking questions, and showing their appreciation for the artwork that I post, whether it be mine or commissioned work by other artists both here on FA and some on DA.
Although a furry themed place, I have noticed the acceptable too of the human characters here, which I was hesitant to post here over the years, seeing Deviant Art as more of my older and manga-like style and designs of Destiny's Daughters! which still has the story ongoing and fleshing out, especially after all of these years. Stretching Things!, the furry story that Israfel Vincent draws off and on during the downtimes of the adventures mentioned in her story, got posted more and more here, though I did post a lot of the furry work on Deviant Art since I did a lot of the mix back when I was first getting started back after failing out of SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design), which was a mixed bag of cats of ups and downs, but mostly downs during those last days of the 1990s, thanks to my drinking. During those times of roleplaying on the various mucks and mushes I frequented, I managed to develop Kaitlynn Wildfire, the PlastiCat ... her name's spelling changed to have a C instead of the K, like my Kaitlynn in real life. I still mourned her passing in 1991, but the drinking and the nightmares that I went through due to guilt over what happened and my own bad decisions took their toll ... and I almost committed suicide. I'm not sure how I managed since I don't remember much of those days between when I hit bottom and started to rebound. My thought was something pulled me back ... though I think of it as me doing the heavy lifting, proving I was far stronger than I thought I could be.
However, getting a few better jobs and away from the liquor store started the healing process, it would be the solid job at The Firn that allowed me a good decade of getting my life straightened out, including the reforging of my relationship with my family. The sad part was it was all in my head, the realm where my personal demons still reigned supreme. Pop and I sat down before he passed and talked about this at length. He wanted to straighten a lot of this out before too long. He had felt that over the years that I had stepped back from both Mom and himself, but didn't really put the dots together until my Big Sister scolded him about what they did to me back in July of 2007. Both Mom and Pop were horrible to me, which was a series of sharp slaps in the face! I had disappointed them in the past, but we always worked it out and they even listened. That weekend, neither one wanted to listen! They had their opinions and they let me have it over the three days I was there, trying to spend time with them. Pop honestly said that neither he or Mom remembered this and I nodded, remembering the apology when I mentioned it to them in the following year back in 2008, where I snapped and blew up at them. I'm not entirely sure what happened during that phonemail, but I think both had their say and I just felt that was enough. But it cleared a lot of air with us. Pop came really close to an apology, something I had NEVER! heard him say before, but Mom did indeed apologize for both of them, which I was happy to accept. It was later through tears that I managed to deal with my Big Sister's phonemail. Mom had called her and asked what was going on and they had it out themselves. My Big Sister called me to check on me, figuring that was enough drama to send me back to drinking. But, surprisingly, it did not. The two of us, my Big Sister and I, have always been pretty close, so she knew more than I gave her credit for, but I was glad she stepped in.
During all of this family drama, which I make sound worse than it actually was since it was like flatulence ... a well-needed passing of gas ... to allow the stomach and heartache pass, I kept on drawing and writing, a lot of it through story ideas I either developed through online or tabletop roleplaying. There was also the friendship of
kecomaster who really helped make my characters even more popular to which I have my deepest thanks for the friendship over the almost a decade and a half! I probably would have had such the run on both sites if not for him! Keco helped design the PlastiCat's new costume and also helped me get the PlastiCat into some better clothing for a more normal life and even a lot of various outfits for Ricochet KaBoom! including adding the cartoon bomb to both girls's costumes and clothing. Keco used to laugh all the time when I would say that I'm not really an artist, but I'm more of a character designer with the ability to write pretty good. He gave me a smile and another laugh, saying that I was selling myself short. With art, its like most things in life: practice, practicer, practice! You have to do that every day to build up the discipline and to keep the dream alive! After 2010, I managed to get the character designs for the primary characters in both stories and last year, I even posted what I had stored on the internet computer. There are some changes and touch-ups that I need to do, especially with Taffy the Impossible Tigress and that's ok too. Both Israfel and Taffy, meta-human or mutant and transforming tigress, have really become very popular over the past decade, a lot of that due to the fantastic artists like
tragicfame , 
leonifa , 
pizhma, and 
adorableinall just to mention a few. Keco's also been adding artwork when he can and when we both have time to work together, but he's one of my longest-duration friends of all time and still near and dear to my expandable heart! **Giggles!**
Sorry! I had to make another pot of coffee of Black Rifle Coffee's "Blackbeard's Delight!" And there was only a small bit left at the bottom of the bag after putting the scoops in, so this batch was going to be stronger!
Oh hell yeah!
Most of y'all know about the recent history of the fall from grace with the health and depression that followed the amputation, so I'll only mention it here for the moment, just because it's a defining moment for me, perhaps the largest one since Kaitlynn's passing.
There needs to be a special Thank You! to all of the friends and artists who have either gifted me artwork or done commissions and/or Your Character Here Commissions over the past three years with more still coming. There are so many of these wonderful people that it would break the buffer to mention them, so I will just encourage people to go through my gallery and check out what's there ... there is almost two decades of work to be checked out.
I'm still working on ideas, some of it thanks to returning to the online community like The List (f-list.net) which I did some this weekend and even used their newest chat program through the browser. Tapestries, my first muck, is still a main stay for me, having so many friends and even a ton of newer friends. Through at least three characters, I have been there since November of 1998, Caitlynn being the oldest and Israfel being the second. Most of the other characters have fallen by the wayside, though I still try to keep them active.
And, as most of y'all know, I have returned to the Saturday Night Tabletop Group at the Bearded Lantern's garage, especially as the Dungeon Master, thanks to the Bionic Forearm's request to pick up the robes again after the Security Officer announced that he had added FOUR more players! So, for the first time since 2015, we have a large group again ... I think we originally had about seven people with the gang from the 2014, though I know a few people left by 2015 and we were down to five consistently. The Security Officer loves to talk about his friends wanting to join ... and most often, they don't, which can be maddening. Now, with this new crew, I think we have more than enough!
All I need to do is get back to writing and drawing to make me whole again, to which I keep on taking hesitant steps towards. I actually turned on the Studio Dell two weekends ago for the first time since 2016 when the motherboard was shorted out due to a lightning strike. I had been doing less and less drawing, though I did a bit in 2018, which was fun. With me starting to get sick with the infection of damage to my left leg's ankle, I stopped and started focusing on work. The Firm was going through some serious cleaning up and archiving which was finished, for the moment, as of the last day of 2021! Whew!
So, my only excuses for not doing what needs to be done? The apartment needs a major overhaul to which I'm going to do slowly so I can keep from wearing myself out more. A storage rental is very possible too now that I have a car and much of my debit gone. With the apartment cleaned up and better managed should encourage me to get on with life and return to my artwork and writing ... at least I hope.
So, to those of you who have been watching, thanks for staying with me ... to you new fans/followers, you also have my thanks. People like y'all have made this place fun for me.
Love and Kisses,
Loonia
Coffee With The Princess!
Posted 4 years agoCoffee With The Princess!
A Simple Request!
Hey, gang! Yesterday, I got couple of shouts from a user who is obviously a bit unhinged to say the least. He popped onto my page and whined about a decision to be banned from FurAffinity, saying that it was unjust or wrongly done, take your pick. Now, I did respond with a "Why are you telling me this? I don't know you." And that is when he said, "You don't know me? That's a fucking lie!" I had +watched him and I no longer do. I honestly did not remember +watching him. Usually when I'm online either here or on Deviant Art, I'm chatting with friends and people I do watch. Here on FurAffinity, I find myself sometimes checking the main page to see what's going on ... and there's always something new that was just recently posted. Or if someone favorites a piece of work I have commissioned or just simply +watches me, I check them out. That's what happened in this case.
I did get a person who explained to me that this guy has a lot of extra accounts all over the place and that doing this "I'm hated!" spiel is very common to a level of being disturbing. Now, I have not posted his name yet, but I'm betting that some of y'all know off this person. I will leave it at that.
My simple request is can you leave me one +shout on my front page, please? I would like to take that pair of comments off of the front page. Please, don't talk about what happened. Just something nice.
Thanks for taking a moment to read this.
BE Happy!
Love and Kisses,
Loonia
A Simple Request!
Hey, gang! Yesterday, I got couple of shouts from a user who is obviously a bit unhinged to say the least. He popped onto my page and whined about a decision to be banned from FurAffinity, saying that it was unjust or wrongly done, take your pick. Now, I did respond with a "Why are you telling me this? I don't know you." And that is when he said, "You don't know me? That's a fucking lie!" I had +watched him and I no longer do. I honestly did not remember +watching him. Usually when I'm online either here or on Deviant Art, I'm chatting with friends and people I do watch. Here on FurAffinity, I find myself sometimes checking the main page to see what's going on ... and there's always something new that was just recently posted. Or if someone favorites a piece of work I have commissioned or just simply +watches me, I check them out. That's what happened in this case.
I did get a person who explained to me that this guy has a lot of extra accounts all over the place and that doing this "I'm hated!" spiel is very common to a level of being disturbing. Now, I have not posted his name yet, but I'm betting that some of y'all know off this person. I will leave it at that.
My simple request is can you leave me one +shout on my front page, please? I would like to take that pair of comments off of the front page. Please, don't talk about what happened. Just something nice.
Thanks for taking a moment to read this.
BE Happy!
Love and Kisses,
Loonia
Coffee With The Princess!
Posted 4 years agoMeh ... Internet Is Down For Me!
Mm ... noting more than a mild inconvenience that happened over the weekend and right in there middle of me chatting with friends and doing some work that was at least saved. Now, this does not happen often ... oh, sure, the F-List or Tapestries disconnects or kicks me off, making for some moments of frustration, but I cannot remember the last time I had it down to where I had to call Comcast. The thought is that the wifi-box or modem went out and I needed to get a new one. I was told that they usually only last 3-5 years and that I got 5+ years on mine was pretty damned good. So, I got the Arris Surfboard, the larger and heavier duty one that I originally had, costing $330. So, at least until Comcast comes out to check out the connection, I'm down and dependent on the Firm's systems.
In a way, this was a good thing, but it also made the weekend feel that much longer. The Tabletop Game was canceled due to the cold weather ... being down in the low thirties is pretty damned cold for us here in Savannah, Georgia. I got a lot of laughs from people before I lost my connection on Saturday afternoon and that's what I expect. With my health back to a better level, it makes me more susceptible to cold weather and more durable to the warmer weather. Last year, I was worn down with the cold and yet surprisingly durable for the summer. Groovy, right? I did get some work done both on writing and tabletop stuff, but my mood was soured. I never mind disconnecting from the internet and doing something else, but I'm never happy about it when it's out of my control and not my choice. Spoiled? You bet!
Now that you stopped laughing ... or if you are, continue, please. <3
Mm ... I did turn on the studio computer, the big monster I have in the bed room for the first time in three years and I should try the studio Apple desktop at some point this week. I'm just making sure that things are working and while I still have some cash available. This year I'm hoping to try and get back to my own creative processes, but it depends on available time and energy.
Please, be patient with me. <3
BE Happy!
Love and Kisses,
Loonia
Mm ... noting more than a mild inconvenience that happened over the weekend and right in there middle of me chatting with friends and doing some work that was at least saved. Now, this does not happen often ... oh, sure, the F-List or Tapestries disconnects or kicks me off, making for some moments of frustration, but I cannot remember the last time I had it down to where I had to call Comcast. The thought is that the wifi-box or modem went out and I needed to get a new one. I was told that they usually only last 3-5 years and that I got 5+ years on mine was pretty damned good. So, I got the Arris Surfboard, the larger and heavier duty one that I originally had, costing $330. So, at least until Comcast comes out to check out the connection, I'm down and dependent on the Firm's systems.
In a way, this was a good thing, but it also made the weekend feel that much longer. The Tabletop Game was canceled due to the cold weather ... being down in the low thirties is pretty damned cold for us here in Savannah, Georgia. I got a lot of laughs from people before I lost my connection on Saturday afternoon and that's what I expect. With my health back to a better level, it makes me more susceptible to cold weather and more durable to the warmer weather. Last year, I was worn down with the cold and yet surprisingly durable for the summer. Groovy, right? I did get some work done both on writing and tabletop stuff, but my mood was soured. I never mind disconnecting from the internet and doing something else, but I'm never happy about it when it's out of my control and not my choice. Spoiled? You bet!
Now that you stopped laughing ... or if you are, continue, please. <3
Mm ... I did turn on the studio computer, the big monster I have in the bed room for the first time in three years and I should try the studio Apple desktop at some point this week. I'm just making sure that things are working and while I still have some cash available. This year I'm hoping to try and get back to my own creative processes, but it depends on available time and energy.
Please, be patient with me. <3
BE Happy!
Love and Kisses,
Loonia
Coffee With The Princess!
Posted 4 years agoCoffee With The Princess!
Happy Birthday, Dolly Parton!
**Giggles!**
Hearing that Dolly Parton's birthday was today, I had to give a shout-out to her. Being 76 today, it is quite the accomplishment to say the least. Happy Birthday, Honey!
My Mom was the lady who introduced me to Dolly along with a lot of country western singers overt the years, especially traveling all over the United States. We listened to mostly country because ... I think ... it was mostly AM radio stations back then or at least the only radio stations that Mom and Pop recognized. I was a little kid back then and was just happy to be traveling with Mom and Pop and my Big Sister, though I think she wanted to be elsewhere.
The main movie I remember of Dolly's being the first one I saw was 9 To 5 back in the 1980s and then later with Best Little Whore House in Texas and Steel Magnolias. These three were some of my favorites, 9 To 5 ... my go-to movie for a lot of my college days when it was raining and I needed something to relax to. I often got scolded by the resident administrator for watching "Such trash!" and I would just close the door and put on my headphones to keep from having to listen to her. My roommates would often laugh, teasing me about my passion for cartoons and were glad I would break it up with something else. Then again, that was why I started hanging out with the nerds, especially my crew watching classic Star Trek or Star Trek: The Next Generation.
I kept some of Dolly's music on cassettes and a few CDs, but I have to admit that I listened more to her Pop songs during the 1980s and into 1990s. Mom and I argued a few times about the change of venues, Mom insisting that she was a better country singer than Pop, but I told her that you have to be flexible and shake things up or else you risk being forgotten. Mom originally scoffed, but later admitted that she could understand the change. That was as close to Mom saying that she was wrong that I ever would get with her.
During a summer stay up at Cumberland College, I got invited to stay with some friends down in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee and visit Dollywood, something that I squealed about! Mom and Pop originally took me there when we made our trips up to Cumberland College, first when we were checking out the college and then the August of 1987 when they were dropping me off at the college. It's a lot of fun and a cherished memory. But, what was awesome is that my friends on the summer trip got me to meet Dolly Parton herself! Ohmygawd! She is such a classy lady and such a delight to hang out with. She liked to sit with the employees of the park on either one of the old-times sets or it was an actual place of residence. I cannot be sure. I just tagged along and actually got to spend time with them. One of the guys who was playing actually got me to pick up his fiddle and ... ah fiddle around with it! Gawd, I hadn't picked up a violin in ages and was so bad, but the fellow was such a delight and was happy to give me some pointers. I guess I didn't do too bad, but I did get to do a quick warm up with the guys and Dolly even sang for us. It was incredible!
I did try to get a summer job there, basically begging to do anything and work for even free, but I wasn't able to stay. Pop was willing to fund me for the two weeks up there, but I was asked to come home. I want to think it was because of Gee and Major's passing, but it could have been something else. I remember a lot of the older generation passing during my time up at college. Mom hated that I choose to be so far away, but Pop understood.
Today, I often wonder about my days on stage and what I could have been. Perhaps working at Dollywood might have been the start of something grand. While I might never know, I can dream. I know Dolly herself would understand.
Happy Birthday, Honey! BE Happy!
Love and Kisses,
Loonia
Happy Birthday, Dolly Parton!
**Giggles!**
Hearing that Dolly Parton's birthday was today, I had to give a shout-out to her. Being 76 today, it is quite the accomplishment to say the least. Happy Birthday, Honey!
My Mom was the lady who introduced me to Dolly along with a lot of country western singers overt the years, especially traveling all over the United States. We listened to mostly country because ... I think ... it was mostly AM radio stations back then or at least the only radio stations that Mom and Pop recognized. I was a little kid back then and was just happy to be traveling with Mom and Pop and my Big Sister, though I think she wanted to be elsewhere.
The main movie I remember of Dolly's being the first one I saw was 9 To 5 back in the 1980s and then later with Best Little Whore House in Texas and Steel Magnolias. These three were some of my favorites, 9 To 5 ... my go-to movie for a lot of my college days when it was raining and I needed something to relax to. I often got scolded by the resident administrator for watching "Such trash!" and I would just close the door and put on my headphones to keep from having to listen to her. My roommates would often laugh, teasing me about my passion for cartoons and were glad I would break it up with something else. Then again, that was why I started hanging out with the nerds, especially my crew watching classic Star Trek or Star Trek: The Next Generation.
I kept some of Dolly's music on cassettes and a few CDs, but I have to admit that I listened more to her Pop songs during the 1980s and into 1990s. Mom and I argued a few times about the change of venues, Mom insisting that she was a better country singer than Pop, but I told her that you have to be flexible and shake things up or else you risk being forgotten. Mom originally scoffed, but later admitted that she could understand the change. That was as close to Mom saying that she was wrong that I ever would get with her.
During a summer stay up at Cumberland College, I got invited to stay with some friends down in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee and visit Dollywood, something that I squealed about! Mom and Pop originally took me there when we made our trips up to Cumberland College, first when we were checking out the college and then the August of 1987 when they were dropping me off at the college. It's a lot of fun and a cherished memory. But, what was awesome is that my friends on the summer trip got me to meet Dolly Parton herself! Ohmygawd! She is such a classy lady and such a delight to hang out with. She liked to sit with the employees of the park on either one of the old-times sets or it was an actual place of residence. I cannot be sure. I just tagged along and actually got to spend time with them. One of the guys who was playing actually got me to pick up his fiddle and ... ah fiddle around with it! Gawd, I hadn't picked up a violin in ages and was so bad, but the fellow was such a delight and was happy to give me some pointers. I guess I didn't do too bad, but I did get to do a quick warm up with the guys and Dolly even sang for us. It was incredible!
I did try to get a summer job there, basically begging to do anything and work for even free, but I wasn't able to stay. Pop was willing to fund me for the two weeks up there, but I was asked to come home. I want to think it was because of Gee and Major's passing, but it could have been something else. I remember a lot of the older generation passing during my time up at college. Mom hated that I choose to be so far away, but Pop understood.
Today, I often wonder about my days on stage and what I could have been. Perhaps working at Dollywood might have been the start of something grand. While I might never know, I can dream. I know Dolly herself would understand.
Happy Birthday, Honey! BE Happy!
Love and Kisses,
Loonia
Coffee With The Princess!
Posted 4 years agoCoffee With The Princess!
Cogitating Ideas For 2022!
**Giggles!**
If you read the earlier journal, thanks for taking the time out to do so. Just like most of my journals, it's me just using them to gather my thoughts and put them into some sort of order, even if it's nothing more than a sounding board. Something that I do in real life too, by the way. Since I have been able to kick back a bit at work while letting the Office Bunnies do their thing and the Bosses deal with the Big Decisions and Meetings, I've been doing some more cogitating, trying to come up with ideas on what I can do for this year. Here's some of the ideas ...
The Saturday Night Tabletop Group has me back to doing the Dungeon Mastering once again, this time with the Council of Thieves, which has also allowed me to keep the introduction of different characters to the group. One of them is Tana Kayla, an older character from way back when, but with a bit of a twist. She is an elven sorceress who had one parent being a red dragon of immense power, but also a well versed character in various character classes too. While for the current adventure path, Tana Kayla is starting out as a sorceress, she will also delve into gunslinger and rogue as well, possibly alchemist. That means if I go three or four classes, the best she can hope for in all the classes being of equal level, she will be 4th or 5th levels in each. That's fine. Usually, if I remember the thinking of class level versus life experience, a 5th level character is pretty seasoned. Perhaps not professional, but rather good to say the least. Also running the game has gotten me back in the mode of writing too, even though I have been tinkering with a few stories over the year or so. One I started and left for a good cliffhanger was "Greetings, Daughter" and then there's one that's slowly coming together, mainly because of focus and violence. Not something I like doing, but it's part of the story. Hopefully it won't be this time next year when I post it.
A few friends of mine are hoping I will get back to artwork, but it's been hard to do. Not just lack of time, but my eyes have a bit of a hard time focusing when I'm drawing. I can sit back and type pretty well without my glasses, but reading books can be a problem. Now, I have reading glasses which I have discovered are not really helping any more. It seems like there's a point where my eyes straighten out. I sometimes can watch TV at a distance without too much problem and often do so without my glasses. Typing now is easy on my laptop or even the internet computer, but reading a character sheet up close or something out of a book is a serious pain in the butt. The eye doctors have said that my eyes are working fine for their age, but I know something is wrong. I hope when I go back to the main doctor, I can talk to him and see what can be done. Surly there is something that can be done.
Now, one of my friends, while at my place, saw some of the "Choose Your Path!" books that TSR did back in the 1980s and thought this might be doable. Something with some groovy ink-works for artwork to help the story move right along. Another said something about trying to get back to cartooning and sequential art. She's like me: an inflation/expansionist. But, also like me, she adores a good story and she's been reading what I have been doing for the last few decades too. She's also come by the place and offered to play some tabletop games with me while I was healing, so that's the sort of groovy friend she is. Personally, I like the choose your path ideas, but I'm not sure how many people still read ... plus, after hearing one of my friends suggest doing a video game, I sort of thought, "Well ..." though it's going to take some serious work to get into all of that.
I mentioned before the writing. While the Princess and Caitlynn are pretty good and set with what they do in the fantastic world of "The Flip Side!" Israfel is still a work in progress, along with the first part of her story. Somehow the copper top lands in the Mystic Woods, the haunted forest outside of Crossroads, where a lot of the story is centered, and is saved by Alyce Majestic, the local sheriff of the town from the creatures of the woods. They originally were the funghouls, but it was suggested to put in the goblins, a bane of the town. It's got me thinking: "What would happen if a funghoul got ahold of one of these little mischievous monsters?" Mm ...
Also, originally I was going to have Israfel learn how to use alchemy to help stabilize or even restore her elasticity, which is still a focus too, but I had thought with the loss of her powers, what should she do to learn how to defend herself? Archery was one of my favorite sports next to target shooting back when I was a kid and I was pretty good at both. So, Israfel learning how to be a ranger? I thought to originally make Alyce Majestic a gunslinger, but a ranger is also possible too since the Princess is the gunslinger. Mm ... the ideas just are slowly coming along.
My friend also saw my notes on using a color wheel for the potions to help make them look a bit more believable, but that also means that I'm going to need to do the artwork in color or at least the potions. She really liked that! "The heroine having to use potions to use her powers ... especially in a fantasy setting like Dungeons and Dragons or Pathfinder," she said. I nodded and told her that is where I was going with this.
Mm ... for the moment, I think that's all I have, but there are going to be more journal entries.
I hope.
BE Happy!
Love and Kisses,
Loonia
Cogitating Ideas For 2022!
**Giggles!**
If you read the earlier journal, thanks for taking the time out to do so. Just like most of my journals, it's me just using them to gather my thoughts and put them into some sort of order, even if it's nothing more than a sounding board. Something that I do in real life too, by the way. Since I have been able to kick back a bit at work while letting the Office Bunnies do their thing and the Bosses deal with the Big Decisions and Meetings, I've been doing some more cogitating, trying to come up with ideas on what I can do for this year. Here's some of the ideas ...
The Saturday Night Tabletop Group has me back to doing the Dungeon Mastering once again, this time with the Council of Thieves, which has also allowed me to keep the introduction of different characters to the group. One of them is Tana Kayla, an older character from way back when, but with a bit of a twist. She is an elven sorceress who had one parent being a red dragon of immense power, but also a well versed character in various character classes too. While for the current adventure path, Tana Kayla is starting out as a sorceress, she will also delve into gunslinger and rogue as well, possibly alchemist. That means if I go three or four classes, the best she can hope for in all the classes being of equal level, she will be 4th or 5th levels in each. That's fine. Usually, if I remember the thinking of class level versus life experience, a 5th level character is pretty seasoned. Perhaps not professional, but rather good to say the least. Also running the game has gotten me back in the mode of writing too, even though I have been tinkering with a few stories over the year or so. One I started and left for a good cliffhanger was "Greetings, Daughter" and then there's one that's slowly coming together, mainly because of focus and violence. Not something I like doing, but it's part of the story. Hopefully it won't be this time next year when I post it.
A few friends of mine are hoping I will get back to artwork, but it's been hard to do. Not just lack of time, but my eyes have a bit of a hard time focusing when I'm drawing. I can sit back and type pretty well without my glasses, but reading books can be a problem. Now, I have reading glasses which I have discovered are not really helping any more. It seems like there's a point where my eyes straighten out. I sometimes can watch TV at a distance without too much problem and often do so without my glasses. Typing now is easy on my laptop or even the internet computer, but reading a character sheet up close or something out of a book is a serious pain in the butt. The eye doctors have said that my eyes are working fine for their age, but I know something is wrong. I hope when I go back to the main doctor, I can talk to him and see what can be done. Surly there is something that can be done.
Now, one of my friends, while at my place, saw some of the "Choose Your Path!" books that TSR did back in the 1980s and thought this might be doable. Something with some groovy ink-works for artwork to help the story move right along. Another said something about trying to get back to cartooning and sequential art. She's like me: an inflation/expansionist. But, also like me, she adores a good story and she's been reading what I have been doing for the last few decades too. She's also come by the place and offered to play some tabletop games with me while I was healing, so that's the sort of groovy friend she is. Personally, I like the choose your path ideas, but I'm not sure how many people still read ... plus, after hearing one of my friends suggest doing a video game, I sort of thought, "Well ..." though it's going to take some serious work to get into all of that.
I mentioned before the writing. While the Princess and Caitlynn are pretty good and set with what they do in the fantastic world of "The Flip Side!" Israfel is still a work in progress, along with the first part of her story. Somehow the copper top lands in the Mystic Woods, the haunted forest outside of Crossroads, where a lot of the story is centered, and is saved by Alyce Majestic, the local sheriff of the town from the creatures of the woods. They originally were the funghouls, but it was suggested to put in the goblins, a bane of the town. It's got me thinking: "What would happen if a funghoul got ahold of one of these little mischievous monsters?" Mm ...
Also, originally I was going to have Israfel learn how to use alchemy to help stabilize or even restore her elasticity, which is still a focus too, but I had thought with the loss of her powers, what should she do to learn how to defend herself? Archery was one of my favorite sports next to target shooting back when I was a kid and I was pretty good at both. So, Israfel learning how to be a ranger? I thought to originally make Alyce Majestic a gunslinger, but a ranger is also possible too since the Princess is the gunslinger. Mm ... the ideas just are slowly coming along.
My friend also saw my notes on using a color wheel for the potions to help make them look a bit more believable, but that also means that I'm going to need to do the artwork in color or at least the potions. She really liked that! "The heroine having to use potions to use her powers ... especially in a fantasy setting like Dungeons and Dragons or Pathfinder," she said. I nodded and told her that is where I was going with this.
Mm ... for the moment, I think that's all I have, but there are going to be more journal entries.
I hope.
BE Happy!
Love and Kisses,
Loonia
Coffee With The Princess!
Posted 4 years agoCoffee With The Princess!
Surfing Dreams And Cogitating Ideas!
**Giggles!**
Once again, Happy New Year, y'all! Sorry that I haven't been posting anything much of late save a few journal entries and a status update, but it's one of the crazier times of the year for me. If you are an Administrative Assistant or just work in an office or whatever, you probably know what I'm talking about. It's cleaning up from the previous year and starting the March of Mathematical Madness with The Government. Yes indeed, my friends ... it's tax time! That means the Office Bunnies in Accounting are working hard to try and get things organized and running smoothly since they have to have the W2s and other tax-related matter ready for you and yours to put things together before April 15th ... or as I call it "Judgement Day!" A friend of mine had gotten a posted from Independence Day with the aliens destroying the White House with a tactical strike with the caption at the bottom reading, "The Day The People Get Even!"
Gang, having been a teacher so many years ago still leaves me with the education of how the system works and I cannot escape it, no matter how hard I try. I know the fundamentals of economy and the process of how things work in Government, stuff like that. I even worked in the election of offices of the Republicans, the Democrats, and even this odd third party that tried to gain some traction in Brunswick, Georgia back in the 1980s ... it didn't, but the idea was they were unhappy with both parties and I just wanted to hear what they had to say. Pop encouraged me as a teacher-in-training, just to know what was going on at least in current topics and events. While I didn't vote for Mr. Ronald Regan back when he ran in the late 1970s or early 1980s, I probably would have because I loved his message. I did vote for Mr. George Bush senior because I honestly thought he might continue the legacy, but I got turned off fairly quick. Later I would vote for Mr. Bill Clinton because, once again, I thought I loved his message. It wouldn't be too much longer into his second run, I would be thoroughly turned off. Since, I have gone about my own business and keep to my own values. But I also had long since left the education system, having been turned off by the way the teaching is pushed. It felt like that there was no teaching any longer, but just pushing the students through the system.
That pretty much covers things from the 1970s through the 1990s, though most of the 1990s was a lot of drinking as you probably already know or may have guessed. But that's not why I wanted to write this journal entry this morning. Just been thinking of how things were and how things are going ... for me, I feel like I'm at a crossroads of my life. There are many choices, but no clear direction to go or any desire to be adventurous these days. Still for change to work, one must have the courage to strive forward. Last year was pretty much looking into the mirror and seeing what damage I had done to myself and then working on the clean-up and repair ... healing and such ... and now that I'm good and solid on that path, things are getting slowly clearer and yet potentially more confusing.
Does that sound like you at this moment?
Mm ... let me get the day started with a bit more coffee and I will return later to hopefully continue this threat. But, as always, feel free to share your thoughts. All I ask is be polite and nice to me and each other, please.
BE Happy!
Love and Kisses,
Loonia
Surfing Dreams And Cogitating Ideas!
**Giggles!**
Once again, Happy New Year, y'all! Sorry that I haven't been posting anything much of late save a few journal entries and a status update, but it's one of the crazier times of the year for me. If you are an Administrative Assistant or just work in an office or whatever, you probably know what I'm talking about. It's cleaning up from the previous year and starting the March of Mathematical Madness with The Government. Yes indeed, my friends ... it's tax time! That means the Office Bunnies in Accounting are working hard to try and get things organized and running smoothly since they have to have the W2s and other tax-related matter ready for you and yours to put things together before April 15th ... or as I call it "Judgement Day!" A friend of mine had gotten a posted from Independence Day with the aliens destroying the White House with a tactical strike with the caption at the bottom reading, "The Day The People Get Even!"
Gang, having been a teacher so many years ago still leaves me with the education of how the system works and I cannot escape it, no matter how hard I try. I know the fundamentals of economy and the process of how things work in Government, stuff like that. I even worked in the election of offices of the Republicans, the Democrats, and even this odd third party that tried to gain some traction in Brunswick, Georgia back in the 1980s ... it didn't, but the idea was they were unhappy with both parties and I just wanted to hear what they had to say. Pop encouraged me as a teacher-in-training, just to know what was going on at least in current topics and events. While I didn't vote for Mr. Ronald Regan back when he ran in the late 1970s or early 1980s, I probably would have because I loved his message. I did vote for Mr. George Bush senior because I honestly thought he might continue the legacy, but I got turned off fairly quick. Later I would vote for Mr. Bill Clinton because, once again, I thought I loved his message. It wouldn't be too much longer into his second run, I would be thoroughly turned off. Since, I have gone about my own business and keep to my own values. But I also had long since left the education system, having been turned off by the way the teaching is pushed. It felt like that there was no teaching any longer, but just pushing the students through the system.
That pretty much covers things from the 1970s through the 1990s, though most of the 1990s was a lot of drinking as you probably already know or may have guessed. But that's not why I wanted to write this journal entry this morning. Just been thinking of how things were and how things are going ... for me, I feel like I'm at a crossroads of my life. There are many choices, but no clear direction to go or any desire to be adventurous these days. Still for change to work, one must have the courage to strive forward. Last year was pretty much looking into the mirror and seeing what damage I had done to myself and then working on the clean-up and repair ... healing and such ... and now that I'm good and solid on that path, things are getting slowly clearer and yet potentially more confusing.
Does that sound like you at this moment?
Mm ... let me get the day started with a bit more coffee and I will return later to hopefully continue this threat. But, as always, feel free to share your thoughts. All I ask is be polite and nice to me and each other, please.
BE Happy!
Love and Kisses,
Loonia
Coffee With The Princess!
Posted 4 years agoA Subscription To Marvel Comics?
Off and on over the past couple of years, I have been returning more and more to check out Marvel ... well, the new Marvel. Most of y'all know I'm an old, out-of-date comic book wannabe. I enjoyed reading the classic titles like the Avengers, X-Men, and the Fantastic Four, but I have found I love some of the newer titles like Ms. Marvel, the Champions, and even some of the wilder Avengers and certainly the Fantastic Four. I have tried to keep up with some of the other stories like the Savage Avengers, which is almost a guilty pleasure, and the X-Men, which seems to have taken this really bizarre leap of story-telling that makes me go, "What?" and yet it's like watching a trainwreck ... I cannot stop reading completely and yet, it's just so intense.
Maybe I'm just out of touch ...
So, with what's been happening in my life with "fixing" things, it's made me stop and pause. Should I continue? Certainly, but how?
Perhaps I'm living too much in the past. Back in the early 1990s when I graduated from Cumberland College ... and that was the same time that Kait died ... I came to a crossroads. I didn't know what to do, so I started a novel which fattened up to over 500 pages of just this girl having madcap fun! Mom wanted to help, but I shut her out. I started drinking. I even tried teaching and, when that turned me off, I actually signed up for the Navy, but my history of high blood pressure gave me a medical discharge. Pop saw me spinning my wheels and took me down to Disney to spend some time with just him and I. It was so grand!
And I saw what I wanted to do ... I wanted to be an artist! Oh, gawd! I went to SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) to try and be a comic book creator and an animator, but I failed miserably. Oh, I had the drive and the work down pat, but I barely could focus and get past the need to pay for a life here in Savannah and make going there work as far as being to pay for it. I had fun, don't misunderstand it, but I felt ... like I had bitten off more than I could at that time.
But, as hard as I got knocked about, I got up. I started drinking and making an ass of myself. I was not a good person and I lost a lot of myself over the next decade. It was not surprising that I lost friends, my drive, and my way. Later, I would come here and try again and I did do pretty well for myself, but I found that I liked being popular ... something I damned sure was not in high school or college. I just existed. Gawd, almost twenty years after signing up here, things have changed so much ... and I'm back to the crossroads with my life. Work is solid. My health is getting better, but still needs work. And I miss being an artist and a writer. I didn't realize as I'm sitting here, sipping my coffee and waking up, the simple thought of signing up and keeping up with Marvel now ... it's made me stop and seriously think.
Where do I go from here?
To any who have read this, thanks for taking a few minutes of your day to do so.
I'd love to hear your thoughts. <3
Love and Kisses,
Loonia
Off and on over the past couple of years, I have been returning more and more to check out Marvel ... well, the new Marvel. Most of y'all know I'm an old, out-of-date comic book wannabe. I enjoyed reading the classic titles like the Avengers, X-Men, and the Fantastic Four, but I have found I love some of the newer titles like Ms. Marvel, the Champions, and even some of the wilder Avengers and certainly the Fantastic Four. I have tried to keep up with some of the other stories like the Savage Avengers, which is almost a guilty pleasure, and the X-Men, which seems to have taken this really bizarre leap of story-telling that makes me go, "What?" and yet it's like watching a trainwreck ... I cannot stop reading completely and yet, it's just so intense.
Maybe I'm just out of touch ...
So, with what's been happening in my life with "fixing" things, it's made me stop and pause. Should I continue? Certainly, but how?
Perhaps I'm living too much in the past. Back in the early 1990s when I graduated from Cumberland College ... and that was the same time that Kait died ... I came to a crossroads. I didn't know what to do, so I started a novel which fattened up to over 500 pages of just this girl having madcap fun! Mom wanted to help, but I shut her out. I started drinking. I even tried teaching and, when that turned me off, I actually signed up for the Navy, but my history of high blood pressure gave me a medical discharge. Pop saw me spinning my wheels and took me down to Disney to spend some time with just him and I. It was so grand!
And I saw what I wanted to do ... I wanted to be an artist! Oh, gawd! I went to SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) to try and be a comic book creator and an animator, but I failed miserably. Oh, I had the drive and the work down pat, but I barely could focus and get past the need to pay for a life here in Savannah and make going there work as far as being to pay for it. I had fun, don't misunderstand it, but I felt ... like I had bitten off more than I could at that time.
But, as hard as I got knocked about, I got up. I started drinking and making an ass of myself. I was not a good person and I lost a lot of myself over the next decade. It was not surprising that I lost friends, my drive, and my way. Later, I would come here and try again and I did do pretty well for myself, but I found that I liked being popular ... something I damned sure was not in high school or college. I just existed. Gawd, almost twenty years after signing up here, things have changed so much ... and I'm back to the crossroads with my life. Work is solid. My health is getting better, but still needs work. And I miss being an artist and a writer. I didn't realize as I'm sitting here, sipping my coffee and waking up, the simple thought of signing up and keeping up with Marvel now ... it's made me stop and seriously think.
Where do I go from here?
To any who have read this, thanks for taking a few minutes of your day to do so.
I'd love to hear your thoughts. <3
Love and Kisses,
Loonia
Coffee With The Princess!
Posted 4 years agoCoffee With The Princess!
Kicking Off The New Year!
**Giggles!**
Happy New Year, y'all! I do hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas holiday and New Year or however you celebrate this most wonderful time of the year! For me, this is the first year in many years where I was able to get the most out of the holiday season. I was able to help out more around the Firm with the decorating and the enjoyment of the time plus hang out with the Saturday Night Tabletop Group, which was an extras blessing that I have sorely missed. If you had read the previous journal ... I think it was the previous one ... I ran the New Year's Day Saturday Night Tabletop Game. This is the one where originally the Bionic Forearm, who wanted to go out drinking the night before and celebrate his wife's birthday, sort of sucker-punched me into this. Now, I'm being a bit rough on my good friend, but it's typical of him. He's worn out with running a game that he was so excited about playing and then discovered that with seven people, that was too much for his nerves. So, he calls in The Marshmallow Dungeon Master, which is me. Oh, but to further add the comedy to the moment, he did not tell his grandfather, the Bearded Lantern, what was happening until Christmas Day, which gave the Bearded Lantern and myself a week to get set up. Oh, and before I forget, the Security Officer decided to invite another person! So, the Bearded Lantern is frustrated and I'm laughing and shaking my head!
Now to be honest, I have run huge groups before. Back at SCAD, Savannah College of Art and Design, we often ran Teenagers from Outer Space games with at least twelve people. If you have had the fun time in playing this game, you know how outrageous this can get. If you are a bit lost on how this works, check out the cartoon, "Galaxy High!" It's not a long series, but it wraps up nicely and ends very well. It's one of the few 1980s cartoons that actually closes out the series nice and neatly without leaving the fans hanging. Back at Cumberland College, I used to run at least 10 people through various dungeons and high adventure games of both Dungeons and Dragons 1st edition, Villains and Vigilantes 2nd edition, still the best version, and even Ghostbusters too! All of these games were lots of fun, lots of work, and yet I had the most fun setting them up. The difference between SCAD and Cumberland settings is was I was drinking a bit and seriously strung out on caffeine at SCAD, so my games were wilder and farther outside the norm, at least for me. Also having my place out off of Dean Forest at Nassau Woods meant that we could have over lots of people and make all of the noise possible!
At the garage of the Bearded Lantern, we can still be noisy and rambunctious, but I have to be careful as I discovered. Two of our older members are former soldiers who react poorly to lots of loud noise. It hadn't been a problem in the past, but a I was told by the Security Officer, he said that there had been times he bit his lip and dealt with my exuberance. Big Jay, one of the four new-comers, got really shaken when I pounded the table to surprise the audience with the Hellknights knocking on the door. Wow! I still feel bad about this, but Big Jay, after collecting his wits, told me not to worry about it and just try better next time.
Oh? You are asking about the Hellknights? Well, y'all ... I'll started to explain.
The adventure path for New Year's Day's game session was the "Council of Thieves!" which is the fourth or fifth adventure path for Pathfinder, which you should be aware of how much this group prefers Pathfinder to Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition. And to add a bit more of my dislike for Wizards of the Coast because of their 4th Edition which I spent a fortune on, they are working on a 6th Edition! Now, I get it. They make games to make money, but dammit, you fools! You took forever to release 5th Edition after the train wreck of the 4th Edition, further cementing my dislike for the newer games. Now, after ... I'm not sure how long, but they are about to release a new one?! Pass ...
Anyways, Council of Thieves does the same thing that Skull and Shackles, another one of my favorite adventure paths does, and drops you right in the middle of the excitement. A meeting at Vizio's Inn with concerned citizens starts innocently enough with Janiveer explaining about wanting to get the city of West Crown back to better security and less corruption. Very treasonous to be sure! Talk like this somehow has attracted the attention of the Order of the Rack, a maniacal mass of malevolent members of this anti-rebellion Hellknights, who kick in the doors and try to put this gathering to an end. Eight players who are running a wide range of classes and races and three NPCs, Janiveer the organizer who is a ranger, Morrisario, a youth who wants to help, and Tana Kayla, my mysterious maiden of magic who runs the local bookstore and has been having problems with the Dottarri, the local security forces, and the Hellknights as well. So fifteen of these knights bust through the front and back doors and a few windows too to squash the rebellion! Two of our members run to the back door to escape, but are cut off by the knights and the rest are collared in the main room. So, there's the start of the game ... one of my mainstays of gaming: find a tavern or inn and get involved in a bar fight! Good times!
However, Janiveer and Morrisario take off for the hills, leaving the rest to deal with fifteen very eager Hellknights!
Well, knowing about running big groups, I got help from the Security Officer to keep up with the various combat for me so I can stand there and continue to weave and orchestrate the battle. He's a good fellow, but he often gets bored with the big groups ... as does a few of the players as I was reminded and even discovered. I get it ... this many people is quite the crew to keep moving forward. So, I had reminded them that the reason I stand is to get around to people and make sure that they are aware that all of this is happening within six seconds! When I ask people what they are doing in the surprise round, I made sure to remind them that I will get to everyone, so please be patient with me.
Mm ... so, who started the fight? Well, let me take a moment to explain. The Left Fielder and Lady Dark, the daughter of Mr. Scott, had tried to run out the back door, only to be stopped by the knights breaking through that entrance and read to kick ass. Most of the others were trying to play it cool since they were sure that they had not done anything wrong. That is when I told them that the two who had gotten them into this mess ... Janiveer the organizer and Morrisario who warned them what was coming by a few seconds ... had beaten feet and got the hell out of there. So now, the knights are sure they hit the right place! Well ... to answer the posed question above, I wonder how many of you would guess correctly. The Security Officer is the usual culprit! But you would probably not have guessed the Bearded Lantern, right? Well, as cleric of Thor, Hans Icelander is not one to shrink from a fight ... so he throws a lightning bolt at the leader, knocking her on her ass!
And the fight is on!
Now I'm going to pause here and let the madness sink in. A cliffhanger journal entry? Oh, I haven't done one of these in a while ... I think back since the journal entry of The Trouble with Hard Headed Halflings!
If you don't tabletop game and are interested in one, look around. There are a few of us old schoolers who run one in a very social gathering. Personally, I have invested a lot of cash over the past forty years into tabletop gaming and have mostly enjoyed it. Like with like, you have to take the bad with the good ... meaning you are going to have problems with players, especially the ones who are attention-whores, anti-social beings, or the over-achievers. But, when you run into a groovy crew like we have had at the Bearded Lantern's Garage, where I have been a member off and on for twenty years, it is more than worth it!
Until the next journal, BE Happy!
Love and Kisses,
Loonia
Kicking Off The New Year!
**Giggles!**
Happy New Year, y'all! I do hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas holiday and New Year or however you celebrate this most wonderful time of the year! For me, this is the first year in many years where I was able to get the most out of the holiday season. I was able to help out more around the Firm with the decorating and the enjoyment of the time plus hang out with the Saturday Night Tabletop Group, which was an extras blessing that I have sorely missed. If you had read the previous journal ... I think it was the previous one ... I ran the New Year's Day Saturday Night Tabletop Game. This is the one where originally the Bionic Forearm, who wanted to go out drinking the night before and celebrate his wife's birthday, sort of sucker-punched me into this. Now, I'm being a bit rough on my good friend, but it's typical of him. He's worn out with running a game that he was so excited about playing and then discovered that with seven people, that was too much for his nerves. So, he calls in The Marshmallow Dungeon Master, which is me. Oh, but to further add the comedy to the moment, he did not tell his grandfather, the Bearded Lantern, what was happening until Christmas Day, which gave the Bearded Lantern and myself a week to get set up. Oh, and before I forget, the Security Officer decided to invite another person! So, the Bearded Lantern is frustrated and I'm laughing and shaking my head!
Now to be honest, I have run huge groups before. Back at SCAD, Savannah College of Art and Design, we often ran Teenagers from Outer Space games with at least twelve people. If you have had the fun time in playing this game, you know how outrageous this can get. If you are a bit lost on how this works, check out the cartoon, "Galaxy High!" It's not a long series, but it wraps up nicely and ends very well. It's one of the few 1980s cartoons that actually closes out the series nice and neatly without leaving the fans hanging. Back at Cumberland College, I used to run at least 10 people through various dungeons and high adventure games of both Dungeons and Dragons 1st edition, Villains and Vigilantes 2nd edition, still the best version, and even Ghostbusters too! All of these games were lots of fun, lots of work, and yet I had the most fun setting them up. The difference between SCAD and Cumberland settings is was I was drinking a bit and seriously strung out on caffeine at SCAD, so my games were wilder and farther outside the norm, at least for me. Also having my place out off of Dean Forest at Nassau Woods meant that we could have over lots of people and make all of the noise possible!
At the garage of the Bearded Lantern, we can still be noisy and rambunctious, but I have to be careful as I discovered. Two of our older members are former soldiers who react poorly to lots of loud noise. It hadn't been a problem in the past, but a I was told by the Security Officer, he said that there had been times he bit his lip and dealt with my exuberance. Big Jay, one of the four new-comers, got really shaken when I pounded the table to surprise the audience with the Hellknights knocking on the door. Wow! I still feel bad about this, but Big Jay, after collecting his wits, told me not to worry about it and just try better next time.
Oh? You are asking about the Hellknights? Well, y'all ... I'll started to explain.
The adventure path for New Year's Day's game session was the "Council of Thieves!" which is the fourth or fifth adventure path for Pathfinder, which you should be aware of how much this group prefers Pathfinder to Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition. And to add a bit more of my dislike for Wizards of the Coast because of their 4th Edition which I spent a fortune on, they are working on a 6th Edition! Now, I get it. They make games to make money, but dammit, you fools! You took forever to release 5th Edition after the train wreck of the 4th Edition, further cementing my dislike for the newer games. Now, after ... I'm not sure how long, but they are about to release a new one?! Pass ...
Anyways, Council of Thieves does the same thing that Skull and Shackles, another one of my favorite adventure paths does, and drops you right in the middle of the excitement. A meeting at Vizio's Inn with concerned citizens starts innocently enough with Janiveer explaining about wanting to get the city of West Crown back to better security and less corruption. Very treasonous to be sure! Talk like this somehow has attracted the attention of the Order of the Rack, a maniacal mass of malevolent members of this anti-rebellion Hellknights, who kick in the doors and try to put this gathering to an end. Eight players who are running a wide range of classes and races and three NPCs, Janiveer the organizer who is a ranger, Morrisario, a youth who wants to help, and Tana Kayla, my mysterious maiden of magic who runs the local bookstore and has been having problems with the Dottarri, the local security forces, and the Hellknights as well. So fifteen of these knights bust through the front and back doors and a few windows too to squash the rebellion! Two of our members run to the back door to escape, but are cut off by the knights and the rest are collared in the main room. So, there's the start of the game ... one of my mainstays of gaming: find a tavern or inn and get involved in a bar fight! Good times!
However, Janiveer and Morrisario take off for the hills, leaving the rest to deal with fifteen very eager Hellknights!
Well, knowing about running big groups, I got help from the Security Officer to keep up with the various combat for me so I can stand there and continue to weave and orchestrate the battle. He's a good fellow, but he often gets bored with the big groups ... as does a few of the players as I was reminded and even discovered. I get it ... this many people is quite the crew to keep moving forward. So, I had reminded them that the reason I stand is to get around to people and make sure that they are aware that all of this is happening within six seconds! When I ask people what they are doing in the surprise round, I made sure to remind them that I will get to everyone, so please be patient with me.
Mm ... so, who started the fight? Well, let me take a moment to explain. The Left Fielder and Lady Dark, the daughter of Mr. Scott, had tried to run out the back door, only to be stopped by the knights breaking through that entrance and read to kick ass. Most of the others were trying to play it cool since they were sure that they had not done anything wrong. That is when I told them that the two who had gotten them into this mess ... Janiveer the organizer and Morrisario who warned them what was coming by a few seconds ... had beaten feet and got the hell out of there. So now, the knights are sure they hit the right place! Well ... to answer the posed question above, I wonder how many of you would guess correctly. The Security Officer is the usual culprit! But you would probably not have guessed the Bearded Lantern, right? Well, as cleric of Thor, Hans Icelander is not one to shrink from a fight ... so he throws a lightning bolt at the leader, knocking her on her ass!
And the fight is on!
Now I'm going to pause here and let the madness sink in. A cliffhanger journal entry? Oh, I haven't done one of these in a while ... I think back since the journal entry of The Trouble with Hard Headed Halflings!
If you don't tabletop game and are interested in one, look around. There are a few of us old schoolers who run one in a very social gathering. Personally, I have invested a lot of cash over the past forty years into tabletop gaming and have mostly enjoyed it. Like with like, you have to take the bad with the good ... meaning you are going to have problems with players, especially the ones who are attention-whores, anti-social beings, or the over-achievers. But, when you run into a groovy crew like we have had at the Bearded Lantern's Garage, where I have been a member off and on for twenty years, it is more than worth it!
Until the next journal, BE Happy!
Love and Kisses,
Loonia
Coffee With The Princess!
Posted 4 years agoCoffee With The Princess!
Godzilla, Doughnuts, and A Cop!
**Giggles!**
What should have been an easy jaunt down the street turned into a hilarious encounter with Savannah's finest on this morning. Sit back and let me fill you in while I enjoy my third cup of coffee ...
The Big Boss came in this morning, driving his new car, The Beast as he calls it ... a 2020 Yukon with all of the bells and whistles that he could get for his family this year. He's planning trip up to the mountains later this afternoon and wanted to take the gang in style. However, the wife took a bunch of her gal-pals out for a girl's night out and the Beast was super hungry. So, he came in and asked me to go and fill it up for him. I mentioned that I was going to get some Baker's Pride doughnuts for the skeleton crew that was here this morning and he offered to pay for the breakfast. I already had some of the Black Rifle Freedom roast going, so we were going to have a great start for the morning.
Well, as I started to get prepared, I hooked up my iPhone to the sound system, which is one of those I would have killed for back in my teenager days, especially with the crisp and rich sound that you get now instead of that hissing sort of scratchy sound you got from a 1970s or a 1980s sound system. Well, unless you were like Kaitlynn who bought one for her trans-am. Anyways, as I got belted up and started to pull out, one of the coolest songs came up through the current running of the song shuffles: Godzilla! This was the new version that goes with the movie Godzilla: King of the Monsters! It's already fantastic song, but you play it on this system ... ohmygawd!
Now, I'm going down the street and thoroughly enjoying this run to the gas station to fuel up. Pumping the gas took a bit, but that's part of why I do these sort of things for the gang at the Firm: so they can focus on other things. After finishing up and getting all secure, I get smoothly out into traffic and get ready to head to Baker's Pride, a bakery off of DeRenne Avenue to get the doughnuts. As fate would have it, the next song that played was the original version of Godzilla! done by Blue Oyster Cult. So I listen to that and start to wonder about the difference.
Before I can start to switch it over to the previous version, I smoothly pull up into the parking lot to the bakery, so I unplug the iPhone and get out to get the doughnuts. The visit to the doughnut shop is fun and uneventful. I got to talk with some of the fantastic people who work there and a few who just are like me, coming in for breakfast or a pick up for the crew they work with, and we are all having fun.
Now, I get into the car and plug in the iPhone once again and start up the car before smoothly pulling out into the light scattering of traffic. The newer version of Godzilla! starts off and I'm in heaven! I start to drive and groove with no traffic around me as I take the lesser traveled road back to the office. The next version of the song kicks in about ten seconds before I notice the red and blue lights of a traffic cop flashing. Now, I glance at the console to see the speed is well within the safe range of the speed limit, so I should be ok, right? Pulling securely off as smoothly and quickly as I can, I pause to wait for the officer to do his or her thing. Her gets out of his car and pauses for a moment, tilting his head to the side if he hears something ... that's when I realize that I have the stereo system blasting!
Ohmygawd! I'm doing the thing that I hate with the teenagers!
Feeling my face flush bright red like I got caught doing something stupid ... which I was ... I turned the stereo off and he came over and lightly knocked on the window. He blinked a few times to see me sitting there ... apparently I was NOT the sort of person he would expect to see doing something this stupid! So, he nicely asked for license and registration to which I had already had in hand when I waited for him to come up to the window. Very pleasantly, he asked "Do you know why I pulled you over?" I honestly said that I did not and yet had the smarts not to say anything more. He started laughing and said very honestly that he recognized the car ... he was the officer of one of the girls who went out with the Big Boss's eire the night before and he was worried that one of those girls was driving the car. I started laughing to the point where I thought I was going to start to tear up from the laughter. He smiled and said that he remembered me from the Christmas party and was glad to see that I was off of the cane ... and next thing I know, we are merrily chatting for a few minutes.
What stopped the chat was a call he got from dispatch about a problem elsewhere and he smiled this really dazzling smile. "I'll catch you later," he said with a wink and a nod before going back to his car. I wisely let him for first, but he took off with a flourish of squealing wheels and flashing lights.
I stayed there for a few minutes, laughing and then composing myself before heading back to the office, just smiling and shaking my head. When one of the office bunnies saw me, she asked what had happened and honestly at that moment, I didn't feel like sharing, so I told her that it was nothing ... but I just went on to drop off the keys to The Beast and then the doughnuts for the office.
As I sit here and sip my coffee, I still am not sure what I feel, but I'm tickled by the encounter. Innocent enough to say the least and yet enough to make me wonder ...
BE Happy!
Love and Kisses,
Loonia
Godzilla, Doughnuts, and A Cop!
**Giggles!**
What should have been an easy jaunt down the street turned into a hilarious encounter with Savannah's finest on this morning. Sit back and let me fill you in while I enjoy my third cup of coffee ...
The Big Boss came in this morning, driving his new car, The Beast as he calls it ... a 2020 Yukon with all of the bells and whistles that he could get for his family this year. He's planning trip up to the mountains later this afternoon and wanted to take the gang in style. However, the wife took a bunch of her gal-pals out for a girl's night out and the Beast was super hungry. So, he came in and asked me to go and fill it up for him. I mentioned that I was going to get some Baker's Pride doughnuts for the skeleton crew that was here this morning and he offered to pay for the breakfast. I already had some of the Black Rifle Freedom roast going, so we were going to have a great start for the morning.
Well, as I started to get prepared, I hooked up my iPhone to the sound system, which is one of those I would have killed for back in my teenager days, especially with the crisp and rich sound that you get now instead of that hissing sort of scratchy sound you got from a 1970s or a 1980s sound system. Well, unless you were like Kaitlynn who bought one for her trans-am. Anyways, as I got belted up and started to pull out, one of the coolest songs came up through the current running of the song shuffles: Godzilla! This was the new version that goes with the movie Godzilla: King of the Monsters! It's already fantastic song, but you play it on this system ... ohmygawd!
Now, I'm going down the street and thoroughly enjoying this run to the gas station to fuel up. Pumping the gas took a bit, but that's part of why I do these sort of things for the gang at the Firm: so they can focus on other things. After finishing up and getting all secure, I get smoothly out into traffic and get ready to head to Baker's Pride, a bakery off of DeRenne Avenue to get the doughnuts. As fate would have it, the next song that played was the original version of Godzilla! done by Blue Oyster Cult. So I listen to that and start to wonder about the difference.
Before I can start to switch it over to the previous version, I smoothly pull up into the parking lot to the bakery, so I unplug the iPhone and get out to get the doughnuts. The visit to the doughnut shop is fun and uneventful. I got to talk with some of the fantastic people who work there and a few who just are like me, coming in for breakfast or a pick up for the crew they work with, and we are all having fun.
Now, I get into the car and plug in the iPhone once again and start up the car before smoothly pulling out into the light scattering of traffic. The newer version of Godzilla! starts off and I'm in heaven! I start to drive and groove with no traffic around me as I take the lesser traveled road back to the office. The next version of the song kicks in about ten seconds before I notice the red and blue lights of a traffic cop flashing. Now, I glance at the console to see the speed is well within the safe range of the speed limit, so I should be ok, right? Pulling securely off as smoothly and quickly as I can, I pause to wait for the officer to do his or her thing. Her gets out of his car and pauses for a moment, tilting his head to the side if he hears something ... that's when I realize that I have the stereo system blasting!
Ohmygawd! I'm doing the thing that I hate with the teenagers!
Feeling my face flush bright red like I got caught doing something stupid ... which I was ... I turned the stereo off and he came over and lightly knocked on the window. He blinked a few times to see me sitting there ... apparently I was NOT the sort of person he would expect to see doing something this stupid! So, he nicely asked for license and registration to which I had already had in hand when I waited for him to come up to the window. Very pleasantly, he asked "Do you know why I pulled you over?" I honestly said that I did not and yet had the smarts not to say anything more. He started laughing and said very honestly that he recognized the car ... he was the officer of one of the girls who went out with the Big Boss's eire the night before and he was worried that one of those girls was driving the car. I started laughing to the point where I thought I was going to start to tear up from the laughter. He smiled and said that he remembered me from the Christmas party and was glad to see that I was off of the cane ... and next thing I know, we are merrily chatting for a few minutes.
What stopped the chat was a call he got from dispatch about a problem elsewhere and he smiled this really dazzling smile. "I'll catch you later," he said with a wink and a nod before going back to his car. I wisely let him for first, but he took off with a flourish of squealing wheels and flashing lights.
I stayed there for a few minutes, laughing and then composing myself before heading back to the office, just smiling and shaking my head. When one of the office bunnies saw me, she asked what had happened and honestly at that moment, I didn't feel like sharing, so I told her that it was nothing ... but I just went on to drop off the keys to The Beast and then the doughnuts for the office.
As I sit here and sip my coffee, I still am not sure what I feel, but I'm tickled by the encounter. Innocent enough to say the least and yet enough to make me wonder ...
BE Happy!
Love and Kisses,
Loonia
Coffee With The Princess!
Posted 4 years agoCoffee With the Princess!
Donning The Robes Of The Dungeon Master!
**Giggles!**
Kicking off the New Year of 2022 with a new game for the Saturday Night Tabletop Group has been one of mixed blessings for me. Let me try to better explain. Please, bear with me.
While I often call myself either the "Bench-Hitting Dungeon Master!" or the "Marshmallow Dungeon Master!", I have found that I like running things for the Saturday Night Tabletop Group, as my gathering of friends are known now. For those of you who have been reading these journals since 2012 or so, you know that the membership has changed over the years. The Bearded Lantern, the eldest and longest playing gamer of the group, hosts the games out of his garage and his grandson, the Bionic Forearm who I met through my friendship with the Bearded Lantern are my two oldest friends since my gathering at SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design.) We three are the core group from the original cast of characters who have been gaming together since 2002, twenty years as of this August I believe. You add the Security Officer, who I met when I returned one year after being gone to get my life straightened out ... and I had become burned out by weekend after weekend of gaming, and he makes the second survivor of the second core group. Now, starting this year, which might as well be 2022, we will be establishing a new gathering. To us four who have been gaming for over a combined 80+ years ... though the Bearded Lantern has suggested the it's probably more like a hundred, you add the Left Fielder, one of my best male friends ... though as he and a few others have laughed and said that "All of your friends are your best friends!" ... and now new comers, IT J, the tech-wizard who does a lot of wiring from the sports complexes around the varied cities, Mr. Scott and his daughter, and another guy who I have yet to meet. So, add me to the cast and you have nine players total.
Having that many friends is truly a blessing, right? And having them all at the garage will be extra fun too I'm sure. But ... here's where it gets a bit crazy. Well ... it's been at least five years since I have run anything with this many people and I haven't been teaching classes since the 1990s either, so this will be a challenge for me. The last time I did a big group for Pathfinder, it was the first game of Skull and Shackles, where one guy ... who I learned later felt snubbed by me because he got ignored. I did apologize to him later, but he told me that if tabletop gaming was that chaotic, he was not interested. While a slap in the face since I thought I did a pretty good job, I'm trying to even now take it like a teachable moment. We also had another large group where one player was such an ass-hat that I did NOT like him. It got ugly through text messages which he started right before my birthday party was going to happen and his being there made me tell the rest of the crew that I was done with tabletop gaming for the time being. Possibly forever. Even to this day, that still stings, especially since the guy is a friend of the Security Officer, who keeps on inviting his friends over to "share the joy of tabletop gaming!" I never want to be the one to turn people away, but I cannot help feeling as I do ... and it also didn't help that the Bionic Forearm, who wad the original Dungeon Master, balked because he needed to take some time with the wife for her up and coming birthday. That's fine. So I stepped in to help out. And that was when I was told that we were getting another player. Once again, I said that was fine, but I told the rest of the group, that I didn't want people to go out and find more people. So far, so good.
Like I said, a mixed blessing to be sure.
I also found out that originally the Bionic Forearm was going to be able to make the game which made me feel like I got set up. But, if you knew the guy, this is par for the course. :)
After talking with the Bionic Forearm, I selected a game that would work for this group ... an earlier edition adventure path known as The Council of Thieves! I have been reading it over the past few days, especially since I was just told this week that I was needed to be Dungeon Master ... "I forgot to tell you!" was the excuse ... natch. The Bearded Lantern has already been working on Wraith of the Righteous and the Left Fielder was stressed out from work this holiday season, so ... you see how this goes. Anyways, it looks like it's going to be a good session. One of the things that the Bionic Forearm asked of me was to run it straight by the book, not as in rules per say ... he knew that wasn't going to be a problem, but he wanted no side adventures or anything added. I told him that with this many people and half of them being mostly unknowns, I had already planned to stick to the path as much as I could to keep me from having to work overtime on it.
It does seem to be nice to start this on January 1st of 2022 and I do hope that I'm up for the challenge. While I do like running the game, it can be problematic as you can guess. Most of the people are mature enough to handle about all topics, but we do have a focus problem from time to time ... and that was brought to my attention. "I used to teach, honey," I commented. "I still have some of my old tricks to handle things with an unruly mob, especially with nerds." That got some laughter!
Perhaps I'm making this more to do of nothing, but I won't know for sure until after the game on how I did, perhaps even into that week. Half the group knows my style and the other half doesn't. I have showed at least that I have no problem with keeping the group informed, save for the new guy ... I don't have his phone number for text messages. But, we should have all of the cast assembled on Saturday evening for the game to start. Someone else is providing dinner, which is good. Fellowship over food is also a good way to start a night like this. So, the rest is left up to me ...
Hopefully I'm up to the task.
BE Happy!
Love and Kisses,
Loonia
Donning The Robes Of The Dungeon Master!
**Giggles!**
Kicking off the New Year of 2022 with a new game for the Saturday Night Tabletop Group has been one of mixed blessings for me. Let me try to better explain. Please, bear with me.
While I often call myself either the "Bench-Hitting Dungeon Master!" or the "Marshmallow Dungeon Master!", I have found that I like running things for the Saturday Night Tabletop Group, as my gathering of friends are known now. For those of you who have been reading these journals since 2012 or so, you know that the membership has changed over the years. The Bearded Lantern, the eldest and longest playing gamer of the group, hosts the games out of his garage and his grandson, the Bionic Forearm who I met through my friendship with the Bearded Lantern are my two oldest friends since my gathering at SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design.) We three are the core group from the original cast of characters who have been gaming together since 2002, twenty years as of this August I believe. You add the Security Officer, who I met when I returned one year after being gone to get my life straightened out ... and I had become burned out by weekend after weekend of gaming, and he makes the second survivor of the second core group. Now, starting this year, which might as well be 2022, we will be establishing a new gathering. To us four who have been gaming for over a combined 80+ years ... though the Bearded Lantern has suggested the it's probably more like a hundred, you add the Left Fielder, one of my best male friends ... though as he and a few others have laughed and said that "All of your friends are your best friends!" ... and now new comers, IT J, the tech-wizard who does a lot of wiring from the sports complexes around the varied cities, Mr. Scott and his daughter, and another guy who I have yet to meet. So, add me to the cast and you have nine players total.
Having that many friends is truly a blessing, right? And having them all at the garage will be extra fun too I'm sure. But ... here's where it gets a bit crazy. Well ... it's been at least five years since I have run anything with this many people and I haven't been teaching classes since the 1990s either, so this will be a challenge for me. The last time I did a big group for Pathfinder, it was the first game of Skull and Shackles, where one guy ... who I learned later felt snubbed by me because he got ignored. I did apologize to him later, but he told me that if tabletop gaming was that chaotic, he was not interested. While a slap in the face since I thought I did a pretty good job, I'm trying to even now take it like a teachable moment. We also had another large group where one player was such an ass-hat that I did NOT like him. It got ugly through text messages which he started right before my birthday party was going to happen and his being there made me tell the rest of the crew that I was done with tabletop gaming for the time being. Possibly forever. Even to this day, that still stings, especially since the guy is a friend of the Security Officer, who keeps on inviting his friends over to "share the joy of tabletop gaming!" I never want to be the one to turn people away, but I cannot help feeling as I do ... and it also didn't help that the Bionic Forearm, who wad the original Dungeon Master, balked because he needed to take some time with the wife for her up and coming birthday. That's fine. So I stepped in to help out. And that was when I was told that we were getting another player. Once again, I said that was fine, but I told the rest of the group, that I didn't want people to go out and find more people. So far, so good.
Like I said, a mixed blessing to be sure.
I also found out that originally the Bionic Forearm was going to be able to make the game which made me feel like I got set up. But, if you knew the guy, this is par for the course. :)
After talking with the Bionic Forearm, I selected a game that would work for this group ... an earlier edition adventure path known as The Council of Thieves! I have been reading it over the past few days, especially since I was just told this week that I was needed to be Dungeon Master ... "I forgot to tell you!" was the excuse ... natch. The Bearded Lantern has already been working on Wraith of the Righteous and the Left Fielder was stressed out from work this holiday season, so ... you see how this goes. Anyways, it looks like it's going to be a good session. One of the things that the Bionic Forearm asked of me was to run it straight by the book, not as in rules per say ... he knew that wasn't going to be a problem, but he wanted no side adventures or anything added. I told him that with this many people and half of them being mostly unknowns, I had already planned to stick to the path as much as I could to keep me from having to work overtime on it.
It does seem to be nice to start this on January 1st of 2022 and I do hope that I'm up for the challenge. While I do like running the game, it can be problematic as you can guess. Most of the people are mature enough to handle about all topics, but we do have a focus problem from time to time ... and that was brought to my attention. "I used to teach, honey," I commented. "I still have some of my old tricks to handle things with an unruly mob, especially with nerds." That got some laughter!
Perhaps I'm making this more to do of nothing, but I won't know for sure until after the game on how I did, perhaps even into that week. Half the group knows my style and the other half doesn't. I have showed at least that I have no problem with keeping the group informed, save for the new guy ... I don't have his phone number for text messages. But, we should have all of the cast assembled on Saturday evening for the game to start. Someone else is providing dinner, which is good. Fellowship over food is also a good way to start a night like this. So, the rest is left up to me ...
Hopefully I'm up to the task.
BE Happy!
Love and Kisses,
Loonia
