Tuesday, December 05, 2006

Dear Buddah, I want a pony...

And to find more time to keep on top of my Blog!
I know, I think I'm only slightly worse keeping up with my journal as opposed to keeping up with my Blog. Hopefully, I'll be better with things since I've just changed jobs.
Where I was once working in the high stress world of finance with E*Trade (A pretty cool company, with a pretty witchy supervisor), I now work in the similarly stressful world of IT. This is where I want to be, though. This is what I'm going to school for. It's funny how the Lord provides windows when you think you see a door shutting.
I've been on my back, side and belly for the last little bit, due to a back injury that flared up something awful. I've been out of the office for two weeks recovering. After going to the doctor, and then the chiropractor, I laid in the living room, playing Jade Empire on the X-Box, wondering what I was going to do to make bills meet. Turns out I didn't need to worry. The phone started ringing off the hook with interview requests all for IT jobs. Now, I work for an IT web hosting company. I am very happy.
Thanksgiving on your back, though, is not easy to handle. Fortunately, I have a good wife.
She's been great during all this. She's really enjoying her new job for Dell, and my hopes to have a notebook (since apparently laptop is a bad word there) sometime in the near future, is a possibility. She's been just as stressed as I have, but she's been pretty good about keeping things together through this time of change (even if she hasn't seen it that way).
So, time for me to let my opinion be known on a few things. Being laid up, barely able to walk, one gets the chance to do a lot of unimportant things to try to forget that one is in exquisite amounts of pain. Among the top of my list of things to do during this time are such things as watch Inuyasha, Full Metal Alchemist, and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig. Ah... the classics. Anyone who knows me knows I'm all about the story, and these three beautiful bits of moving artwork are more than worth the time. Also, on that list is games, more particularly RPGs. This time around I did some X-box gaming with Jade Empire, as I mentioned.
Jade Empire is a decent follow up to the original Knights of the Old Republic. I loved that game. My friend Bob will admit (after a long gaming session) that there's even a part where he cried. Jade Empire is in the same vein. I didn't cry, but it follows great with the Chinese mythological flavor that it sets out to do. Now, that being said, sadly, it is pretty much a remake of KOTOR if you're looking for something earth shattering, you'll be disappointed. I will say, the ability to level your abilities was nice, but it was pretty similar to force powers. Still, a fun game, and I recommend getting it, if you have the chance to sprawl out on your couch for over a week.
The other thing I've had a chance to do during this time is take a look at Cityscape the new "environmental" book for D&D from Wizards of the Coast. I'm a big fan of the environmental books myself. I'm really hoping that they decide to do a jungle themed one. This one, though, has left me feeling a little let down. The previous editions of this series had some difficulties (never ever ever ask Bob about the ship sinking rules in this book), but this one just seems rather unimaginative. Some of the information seems more of a reprinting and expounding from Race of Destiny. Also, the creatures seem somewhat forced. Maybe I've just not had a long enough time to fully digest this tome, and let it settle in my DMing stomach, but what I'm tasting just seems to be McDonald's when I've gotten used to at least Wendy's. Hopefully, Fiendish Codex II doesn't let me down. I've got to figure out some book to put on my Christmas list. Of course, now that I think of it... putting the Fiendish Codex II on my Christmas list may be a little... sac religious.
I've got a lot of things to think about. Bob's running his play test again. Oh, I do so love those. Now, if only our group can work out S.W.A.T. gaming, we may actually manage to survive the next few levels. That, or we just keep up the luck with the accidental major critical hits. I'm also starting a Friday night game, where I'm running for my wife and two mutual friends. Of course, it's a bit odd. It's an all female gaming group. No "Captive Elven Princess of the Temple of the Succubus Demon Whore" for this group, no sir. Hmm... though, I think I should make a "useful" Elan (see Order of the Stick NOW! if you don't know who Elan is) for this group. That could be fun. Hehehehe...
Well, until next time... which should be sooner than last.
Don't go too far into the 'Verse without a backup air supply.

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