Grief, Gaming and Michel Gagné

The word of the week is meandering.

March 7 -Fading Details

Tristan has been gone a week now, and I'm still not sure of how I'm feeling. On the one hand, I KNOW that he's gone... I can leave my bedroom door closed, and don't have to watch underfoot for him unexpectedly. It's damn hard though, knowing that he's gone; he's not there to greet me at the door, or compete for space on my lap with the keyboard, or wake me up in the morning with a purr and a spattering of happy drool. I have to fight to remember these things, even so soon after his passing, as he's NOT THERE to do them anymore. This is what it means to lose a part of your life: remembering the details that fade so fast with time, and realizing that the hole they've left can be painfully ignored, but never forgotten... because to forget means that all the richness Tristan brought to my life will have faded.

March 8 - Writing

Self-publishing my stories has never seemed like a viable way to make a living to me - until now. A friend sent me a link to a young author who has managed to sell several hundred thousand copies of her books in less than a year - an amazing record and allowing her to become fairly well-off in a short period of time solely from the scratching of her pen, albeit a digital one. A writer always wonders how and where people will pick up their work; you wonder if you'll stick in a reader's mind for a long time, or be relegated to their 'read later if I find time' shelf, so to speak. Either classification doesn't guarantee a decent income for the author, either.

March 9 -Shadow Puppets

A friend of a friend of mine, Michel Gagne, has released a gameplay trailer based on his amazing Shadow Puppet animations . It's called Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet, and it's incredibly cool! Have a look:

If that didn't make your brain spin around in giddy happiness, please seek professional help ASAP...

March 10 - Ultimate Bedroom

I had a fairly small and mundane bedroom growing up - albeit one with superhero wallpaper and toys covering every usable surface. I didn't spend a whole lot of time in there anyway; the world outside was my playground and I made a lot of use of the nearby ravine for many an adventure with my friends. However, if I HAD had my wish granted for an 'ultimate bedroom' then THIS would be it - I mean, seriously, who wouldn't want to live like a pirate in your own home? So cool!

March 11 - Quakes!

Living on the coast of BC, I was reminded again that unlike solid ol' ON, they have earthquakes here. Today Japan felt the same tectonic plate that I'm on shift - in a massive way. It really brought home the face that we live on a thin crust of solid matter floating ever so slowly over a molten ball of rock that is the core of this planet, and at any time it can shrug us around. A site that you might want to visit to prepare yourself and your family for such a quake( or other disasters )is 72hours.org - you can find sensible lists of supplies and disaster advice to ensure you know what to do when the lights are out and the world is not in a happy place.

March 12 - YADO( Yet Another Day Off )

I'm still feeling very blah, prone to bouts of 'meh' and the like, so I've been treating myself to long sessions with my sunlamp and finding time for naps on my days off - usually more than one, but not TOO long or it really messes with your energy levels. Today was a case in point: I spent some time online playing Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and not doing TOO badly... but I did it on and off all day, interspersed with a few naps, housework, moving the laundry machines around( don't ask )and some time at the Bean. Which has definitely been sold, and has its power turned back on again - it wasn't on either of my days off earlier in the week, which was very, very annoying. Especially when there's not much else in the way of places to go here on top of Bear Mountain when it's raining down and you've got cabin fever.

March 13 -  NWN bliss!

I took a half-day at work today, mainly to get the payroll done( yay! Money! )and to catch up on a few things. I was home by early afternoon, still feeling tired. I puttered a bit online, playing BF:BC2 on the Xbox for a bit with Dave and Simon but my heart wasn't in it. After dinner though, was NWN quest time! I fell into a gaming heaven for nigh onto 5 hours, running through a DM-led quest that had us travel back in time and NOT DIE once though we fought several fierce battles. The major turning point though, took place when my Nich character talked an evil emperor out of killing us all... and did it so well that said evil Bad guy let us go with a pat on the head. It was lovely, the people I gamed with were fantastic, and I didn't want the night to end, as it must... times like that make me yearn for the days when I could game at that level several times a week, years ago. Now, sessions like those are rarer and commensurately more precious for their rarity - all good reasons to work hard at keeping the Primordia gaming group alive!

There you have it... a week I thought dragged at points, but ended on an incredible high note. Hard to believe, but then again the best things tend to surprise you!