One Hundred and Three, Mythical Creature

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One Hundred and Two, Begin: Endgame

Looking back, luck had a lot to do with it. I imagined having to work really hard at a couple of places before accomplishing my objective, but instead Fortune smiled upon me and gave me the people I needed. We blazed forward through difficulties others quailed before. Rarely had a group this efficient been seen thrown together by the random LFG channels. Yes, Shattered Halls became my peon. During the glorious fight with Kargath, I reached the peak, the pinnacle of the low man in the game: Level 70.

I did it with my friend the Engineer beside me shooting fire from his fingertips and next to the Beatnik who was on the phone with him during the process. Earlier Lord Chaos had given me The Talk about reaching this state of being and how not to take it lightly but I scoffed.

"It's just another goal, what of it?!"

The second it dawned upon me, as one of my groupmates typed, "Congrats!" that it wouldn't happen again, I was floored. This was it for me. I glanced down at the experience bar and it was gone, a figment of my imagination perhaps except for the 480+ hours (over 20 days) where I slogged through, hour after hour, keeping close tabs on that bar. Excitement imminent when the bar was reaching the end and satisfaction when I *dinged* to the new level. The simple reward system was quite gratifying. What began with a level 1 dwarf paladin named Valin in January 2005 has followed a long and bumpy road to this point. In one sense, he even died for 2 years only to be resurrected by the enticement of spending time together with my friends.

My character reached level 70 during a furious battle with Kargath Bladefist at 12:45 AM February 11th, 2008. No one is exactly sure when the event happened during the battle. But the victory was unforgettable as well as the extremely smooth run through that dungeon.

Oddly enough, I was more proud when my friend complimented me on how well I accomplished my role of Main Tank.

One Hundred and One, Inexorable Grades Coming In

I don't get nervous/stressed out when preparing for huge exams, but I do when planning evening outings with friends.

I also get nervous post-exam as the grades start rolling in...

One Hundred, 100 - Actually It's 101

I just felt an urge really to number these. I tried it out using digits but "0" just didn't look that impressive plus some people would inevitably wonder why I typed "o" or "O" without the actual letter next to it to compare. Some organized part of me enjoys a linear or proper pathway for things I interact with regularly. Thing A happens and that causes Thing B to occur. While I try my mind isn't able to keep track when Thing A makes B, C, & D happen. Each of which, in turn, cause E, F, & G; H, I, & K; and Orangutan, Bubbles, & Somatotropin to happen. You see how confusing it can get?

Three digits now. My titles will be nice and long thanks to just the number. Depending on how it makes everything look when I post longer titles, I might modify the look/layout of this place to better accommodate the new length. For those who've been reading since Entry Zero, I hope you've had an interesting ride.

I went to an improv show tonight for the first time in something close to a year. I almost volunteered for one of the skits where someone from the audience provides the details of their day so that the improv group can act it out onstage. Granted I was going to use Monday as my day rather than what actually happened today. Monday, if you glance back at entry Ninety-six, was the day where I practiced a male genital/rectal exam. Hilarity would have ensued!

Ninety-nine, Six Word Memoir

Jovial Reader and Lover of Food.

Thanks to Heather Anne! (see blog links on side) for the idea.

Update March 18th, 2008: Heather Anne is changing her blog so it's not available :( But know that she provided me with this idea!

Ninety-eight, Dog Birthday!

I got Crazy Blonde's dog a birthday card. His name is Lucius. He is adorable. You should love him too!

Note: I missed posting on the 6th again!

Ninety-seven, Methods of Communication

I imagine at one point, like the one-year-old niece of the Beatnik and Lord Chaos, I burbled a lot to people and possibly smiled as they "oooo-ed" and "aaaaah-ed" me. Later on I found I could talk to people about games of various types with different rules (TV Tag rules rocked although we had to specify what TV show names to use since not everyone knew everything--cartoons were a mainstay). Ultimately I entered the close friend era where face-to-face deep conversations would occur. Then came the age of the Instant Message. That proved a mainstay in my repertoire for the past 8-10 years. Of course face-to-face was still present, just not as prevalent as IMs. Now it isn't much of a surprise that I'm entering the era of the phone. Oddly enough most people on this planet with regular access to one have been using them since day one of high school. But due to the proximity of my close friends, I never felt the need to learn how to communicate on it that well beyond, "Yeah, ok, I'll see you in a minute." Nowadays I can hold hour-long talks with people, whether it's the Engineer, Lord Chaos, the Beatnik, the Amish Girl, or the Alaskan.

I wonder what method will come to me in the future!

Ninety-six, Prostate

I just felt a prostate a half hour ago. Felt like a bump on the inside of the fleshy tube. Nothing that gross, nothing that amazing. Just was.

Ninety-five, Auras, Moods, and Emotions Oh My!

Do I reflect those around me? Or do I create my own aura that infects others as well? People can argue both ways. I like to think that I can be a ground for other's emotions when they need it and can be a well of availability for those who want some sunny cheerfulness. But then would that be true or just the truth I want known?

Ninety-four, My Family(ies)

I have two families. I have my family, the Indian one from which my roots come from and I have my American family where by this time I also have planted many roots (Beatnik and Lord Chaos' family). I end up going through the good and the bad with both to some degree. I won't say it isn't hard at times. It's great having these two sources of familiarity and safe-ness but it can also really push me around with the normal demands of upkeep on those relationships. Time to time I feel bad because when I'm home, I'm usually just trying to get some home errands completed that I can't do at any other time. Other times I feel bad because there is some important event that I can't be home to enjoy with them. This is true for both my family and my American family. Having these people in my life is great, but I do have twice the responsibilities (in my head) of other people I know.

These days, the things that brighten my day the most when I'm with either family tends to revolve around the youngest. In my family, there's Valiben, my 3.75 year old cousin, who makes me light up when I hear her yell out my name in joy. In my best friends' family, it's hearing about how the little boy in the family (my buds' nephew) has faith that I'll show up for gatherings to see his little boy. In the past I took for granted both groups of people being there. Now I treasure the encounters I have with each. Whether I'm drilling my grandmother on English or I'm helping out my American family by having fun with Pops while the Mothership is out for the evening, it's worth it. The physical hardships of getting to point A or point B become meaningless in the face of the mental joy that bubbles up from encountering my family--both Indian and American.