benjarvis.org

Where Have I Been?

How is it that I haven’t updated in since October 22nd? Eight fucking days! Everyday I make plans to post something, I get out of work, I get home, and…nothing. Well not really nothing. I get home and I get comfortable. I check my email and see what happened on CNN.com. Then I scan LiveJournal and Facebook. By then, my shoes are off and I’m beginning to unwind. Then comes the clincher. This is where my afternoon seriously takes a nosedive, I get on Warcraft.

It starts off innocent enough; I just want to check my auctions. Ooh! I made some gold! And look at that, my spellcloth cool down has expired. Now I can go to Netherstorm and cook up another 2 spellcloth. Oh, but I need some motes of fire. Sure I could buy some, but if I just farm a few I save like 18 gold. So I take off to Nagrand to farm some motes. When I get to Nagrand I find that the Elemental Plateau is empty, no other farmers. So I can farm my 10 motes for the spellcloth and 10 more for after the cooldown. If I farm 10 more motes, then I can make 20 gold. So I farm the motes and on my way back to Shattrath I remember that I’m near the Blood Elves I need to grind to gain rep with the Scryers. And they drop netherweave! I could make a few bags and put them up on the auction house. It goes on like this. At some point, usually during griffin rides to various locales, I make dinner and eat it while I grind. Maybe someone I know logs on and we do a few quests. By this time it’s like eight o’clock and all I’ve done is pretend to be a Gnome that has a budding career as a fashion designer and part-time magician. I love all the gear and power you attain by leveling and killing creatures for experience points, but for some reason I really get in to the profession and trade aspects of the game. I spend a lot of time trying to get rare patterns and rare fabrics so I can make epic quality gear to wear or sell on the auction house. I get this feeling like maybe if I get good at balancing the cost of materials and selling them for a good price then maybe someday I can attain real wealth in my real life. Strange, I know, but this is what I do.

This weekend I met up with my buddy Craig from LA and his friend Amy, who lives here in Austin. Craig was in town to show his film When Zombies Attack! A Public Service Announcement at the Dismember the Alamo film festival. Do to a misunderstanding via email I didn’t make it to the film festival. We arranged to have dinner the following Sunday and it was awesome. We went to Stubb’s BBQ, but my dumb ass ate too large a lunch so I didn’t eat much. I just had a salad. Craig told stories about his recent trip to Africa. He toured the continent, meeting people, rafting, and seeing the sites. Craig is pretty amazing that way. He did the whole thing on his own and did it for the experience. I’ve always been impressed by Craig’s ability to do what ever he wants. He’s an entrepreneur and does various jobs when he’s not busy making films and taking photos. He really knows how to live, in that Kerouac sort of way. His friend Amy was pretty amazing too. She works for a major database company and makes music in her spare time. It’s funny because I spent the evening under the impression that Amy was Craig’s sister. I don’t know where I got that, but I could swear that Craig was staying with his sister and that she was coming to dinner with him. It doesn’t really matter I guess, I know now that she’s not his sister, but it’s a really embarrassing feeling of an almost Seinfeldian level. She was familiar with Linux and open source software and both of them appreciate board games. It’s pretty refreshing to not have to explain everything you mention. When I have to do that too many times I wonder if we really should be talking, I mean if you have no idea what I’m talking about how can that be interesting for you? Anyway, we talked about the internet, the election, movies, music, games, etc. I love conversation and I really miss having those 4 hour talks with friends over drinks or coffee or whatever. We ended up in an Irish bar just across the street and had a few beers. The whole evening was one of the most pleasant in recent memory. Thanks Craig and Amy, we need to do it again really soon. Since then, Amy and I have made plans to work on some music. I’ll post anything good here, I promise.

This whole thing reminds me that I need to visit LA as soon as I can afford it. It’s been way too long.

This weekend we have Halloween, which is still up in the air. Then Saturday, the in-laws are taking us to the Mediterranean buffet for my birthday. Then Sunday is my birthday proper. I think the main thing I want to do is go see Zack and Miri Make a Porno. Then next week we have the election and a new president. I have a bad feeling we are in for another round of recounts and it won’t be decided until after Christmas. I already voted, so I’m just waiting for the results. Get out there and vote folks.

Well, I guess this is a passable update. I’ll try to be more timely next time.