120437-122814-the-longest-day-edition

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It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.  Actually, I hate that quote...
 
WHEN HE WOULD HAVE HIS VERSES READ
by Robert Herrick
 
In sober mornings do thou not rehearse
The holy incantation of a verse;
But when that men have both well drunk, and fed,
Let my enchantments then be sung, or read.
When laurel spurts i' th' fire, and when the hearth
Smiles to itself, and gilds the roof with mirth;
When up the thyrse is raised, and when the sound
Of sacred orgies flies: "A round, a round;"
When the rose reigns, and locks with ointments shine,
Let rigid Cato read these lines of mine.
 
 
One of the sad things about being the guy that reads poetry in a family is that you're often the only guy that reads poetry in many families connected to yours.  Some of you may remember that, closer to launch, my father in law died, and I offered (since we were close) to read a selection of John Donne at his service.  Apparently that was a hit, since I was asked to read also at the funeral of my grandmother in law yesterday.  I didn't mind, necessarily; I do love reading poetry and she did essentially give us a condo.  However, I didn't get to choose my selection.  Instead, I read "Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep".  It's not a bad poem, but it is the Freebird of funeral poetry.  I feel that it's been used enough now that people don't feel its impact; it's essentially like a person dying saying, "I don't want anyone to be sad."  I think the Donne piece from earlier in the year went over better.
 
Normally, I wouldn't bring this up to this degree, but it's especially poignant this season because the will has come into dispute and, unfortunately, my in-laws are going at each others' throats over money.  Threats are being thrown around, veiled insults slung at each other, everyone's feeling hurt and ripped off.  It's not been a good scene.  Just remember, during this time of year, that you don't get to take any of it with you.  Material goods are an only temporary solace and they're not worth throwing away your friends and family over.  There are more important things that, if you sell them, you can't just buy new versions of.  So during the holiday season, remember what's really important.
 
Luckily, we went to my sister's house and partied a while, since my father came to town and we got to have Christmas with him.  We managed probably the most successful gift exchange (I got a pair of boots the day my shoes died, and we got him a plug-in warming coffee mug when his last mug broke).  Good times were had by all.  Speaking of good times being had by all...
 
 
I couldn't even log in here yesterday with everything going on IRL, but I don't feel Wildstar deprived.  The day before, I spent playing with my goodly wife Parthenia (pictured with Seeger at the first Thaydfest above).  We were leveling in Whitevale, and she's getting better at healing.  So good, in fact, that when we got enough Saddles on, we hit Hycrest and Parthenia got to see the inside of an instance for the first time!  She did pretty well too!  I also learned something.  If you're a Stalker, get ready to mitigate some damage if you tank on your own, because you can't handle any extra incoming damage.  Yes, I crashed and burned on my Stalker Tank.  We made it through Hycrest alright, and we did, in fact, then go to STL and clear that, but I have all the respect in the world for Parthenia and everyone else throwing in the heals to keep Herrick RedCoyote on his feet.  I stacked phys resist and armor hard on my runes and I hear stalker tanks scale better as they rise in level (I'm 26, so I'm a level short of Razor Storm and Steadfast, both of which I hear are necessary to be intense as a Stalker tank), but it felt like every melee swing I took was snapping a huge chunk off my HP.
 
This game shows what kind of player you are, though.  She wants to play again today, knowing how hard tanking is and knowing how hard this game is.  Some people wilt, cower, and cry under fire.  Some people go back for more.
 
In any case, I think we also may have made another, more interesting acquisition.  My brother, the Stack, was at our apartment watching us play on Friday.  Stack was the brother that was around for beta to try it out, but gave up MMORPGs before launch.  He never really specified why he did that, but he's been getting back into video games lately, mostly Nintendo games.  However, he got to watch us hitting Hycrest and STL and suddenly, I think he got what I love so much about this game.  It's a complete beast that doesn't coddle you, even in normal dungeons (we rally down and play at-level because we're boss in the Blazing Saddles).  He seemed really excited by that and Quantum State Radio, which had a surprisingly wide range playing at the time I showed him the channel.  If he starts playing Wildstar (which, hey, you never know), Stack has been a tank and healer in pretty much every MMORPG we've ever played together, and he's been insanely good at it.  I'm bouncing around just thinking about him wearing our flaming death head logo!
 
Today's going to be a blast, I think.  Parthenia is going to play with me, it's my last day of vacation before returning to work, and it seems like things are finally getting resolved.  Finally, a day on my vacation where I get to have a vacation.  Time to lean back, relax, and play some Wildstar.
 
See you on Nexus, Cupcakes!
 
P.S.  did anyone else get those "Year in Review" facebook app things?  Was anyone else's completely dominated by Wildstar screenshots?	
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Haha I don't post screenshots to Facebook, but I did get one of those Year in Review things. It forgot that I got married in June (on the summer solstice!). o.o; Silly Facebook.
 
Yesterday, the other half and I returned from a short jaunt to San Antonio to see the Lion King touring show, which was amazing. And I'd never actually seen the River Walk all lit up for the holidays before! Only ever gone when it's god-awfully hot and humid in the summer. ;p I did joke to my Colorado-born other half how fun it was that we were walking around the day after Christmas in light pants and short sleeves, though.
 
When we got home, I knew I wanted to play some video games but couldn't decide what to do... ended up working on my main's housing plot a bit (added an entire new section), and then we tried to run Hycrest a few times to help the other half farm needed renown for a housing sky. That... didn't exactly go as planned, because the queues were stupid and empty, so we only got one run in. Oof.	
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My favorite poem of the moment is "Still I Rise" by Maya Angelou.
 
Did some dailies yesterday, not much else. My stomach hurts and I don't feel well. I could log in now, but I won't.
 
 
 
 
Posted from my iPad	
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The world is too much with us late and soon
getting and spending we lay waste our powers
little in nature we see that is ours
we have given our hearts away; a sordid boon.
 
This sea that bears her bosom to the moon
the wind that will be blowing at all hours
and are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers
for this, for everything, we are out of tune.
 
It matters not, dear God, I'd rather be
a pagan suckled in a creed outworn
so might I, standing on this pleasant lea
have glimpses that would make me less forlorn
 
Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea
or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn.
 
(Hears hoping for a bit of this in Wildstar for you).	
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Sad and refreshing all at the same time!	
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{| class="blockquote"
The world is too much with us late and soon
getting and spending we lay waste our powers
little in nature we see that is ours
we have given our hearts away; a sordid boon.
 
This sea that bears her bosom to the moon
the wind that will be blowing at all hours
and are up-gathered now like sleeping flowers
for this, for everything, we are out of tune.
 
It matters not, dear God, I'd rather be
a pagan suckled in a creed outworn
so might I, standing on this pleasant lea
have glimpses that would make me less forlorn
 
Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea
or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn.
 
(Hears hoping for a bit of this in Wildstar for you).
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Well I have the flu.
 
I know who I got it from because I remember staring and glaring at her until my eyes glowed and I said in a demonic voice "GO HOME" by Telepathy.
 
She did go home but not before infecting me which appears to have been her mission objective. 
 
Speaking of infections... Chua.	
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{| class="blockquote"
Well I have the flu.
 
I know who I got it from because I remember staring and glaring at her until my eyes glowed and I said in a demonic voice "GO HOME" by Telepathy.
 
She did go home but not before infecting me which appears to have been her mission objective. 
 
Speaking of infections... Chua.
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			That's pretty rich coming from the race that spread space bunnies to Nexus. :D	
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Chua never told bunny to leave planet.
Chua only borrowed wood. Bunny left on own.	
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{| class="blockquote"
Chua never told bunny to leave planet.
Chua only borrowed wood. Bunny left on own.
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I find the days between x-mas and the 28th to be longer for me than the 28th.  Dec 28 is my birthday, and I always find myself being very retrospective as the day nears, and once it hits, is kind of like a relief for me.
And yes, I had a very nice B-day.  Played Wildstar on my new Esper (I really enjoy playing espers, and wanted a scientist path one..and since you can't change path...new alt!	
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{| class="blockquote"
I find the days between x-mas and the 28th to be longer for me than the 28th.  Dec 28 is my birthday, and I always find myself being very retrospective as the day nears, and once it hits, is kind of like a relief for me.
And yes, I had a very nice B-day.  Played Wildstar on my new Esper (I really enjoy playing espers, and wanted a scientist path one..and since you can't change path...new alt!
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I'll grab this morning's coffee. Might take a few to get it posted. :)
 
(Also, I feel your pain on learning to stalker tank at low levels. Some friends and I went into STL at 20 when we first started playing the game just after release, and I think I bawled almost my whole way through because, for the life of me, it was hard to hold aggro and I was difficult to heal. Level 26/27 arrived, and I was like, "This is easy! Why did I ever cry?!")	
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