furiousg

Pretty good Foxtrot comic, like the punchline. So I’m here trying to browse the web for some voter information for the election coming up in 9 days. Been recently motivated to actually be a better practicing citizen, perhaps someday I’ll go to jury duty even though I’m not sure it’s a flawless system. Though I consider myself somewhat informed, I’m a bit lazy in going mostly to sources and viewpoints that I trust rather than trying to parse the truth. Truthiness is hard to cut through sometimes, and I need a little help. This is always sort of the question, who actually has time to be completely informed on all the issues in this world today? It’s almost as if “they” make it hard so we all work so hard to get by and then retreat into our little TVs and secluded lives, too tired to pay attention to all the ways things are going down the crapper, everything is hidden under such a mass-marketed layer of obfuscation and politicking.

Well, here’s where I’m starting:

http://www.smartvoter.org/

http://www.vote-smart.org/

…seems to remember this man. My heart cries out in anguish.

EDIT: He lives!

This has not been an easy few days. I find myself weighing many factors, personal issues, the guild and its leadership, the friendships I’ve forged with those who left and those who remain. Many of us have been looking at our time commitments to this game, as spawned by the recent reflective posts and links on the dangers of obsession with what is really a distraction. After months of raiding, I feel that the time I have spent leaving work early and away from my real life and friends need to be repaid. I do not intend to quit the game and lose even more friends, but I do look to an opportunity to reduce my commitment and responsibilities, and find somewhere to be where I respect all my comrades and can trust the leadership to act according to my own principles.

Stay and fight? I don’t have that kind of energy any more. In the limited amount of time I want to dedicate to this game, I would like it to be fun and reasonably carefree. To Monstro and Darquad, your responses in the General Forum have again shown me why I respect you. I may not agree with you, but your honest, thoughtful and thorough responses demonstrate to us all how to deal with such difficult issues in this faceless, impersonal medium.

I have not been enjoying this game as much I should be for some time. This recent drama has had me searching for the idea of what I really want, and the Canucks no longer represents the home I need, where I feel comfortable and at ease with myself and everyone around me. I think you all know what is coming.

I’d like to thank everyone for everything, it’s been a great run. I’ll make my exit quietly. Don’t be a stranger, I am happy to keep in touch in-game and group up now and when the expansion hits. Good luck with wherever you decide to take the guild.

Ben sings!

This is number two in what looks to be a continuing series of self-portraits. Every now and then the lighting looks great and I’m in an odd sort of mood to examine myself in the mornings before I head off to work. Today, I had the desk lamp on for a nice warm feel, and some cool sky-blue ambient light from the dawn began to filter in through the blinds, so it seemed like I could get some interesting shots off.

Yes, so it is a little bit narcissistic, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing every now and then. In the mornings, fresh out of my shower, I like to stop, take a little breather and spend some quality “me” time in front of the mirror. I reflect on recent events, where I am in my life, who I think I am and what I am doing. I look at myself and wonder how other people see me. I look and I make sure I’m just all there and everything is accounted for. It’s a sanity check against the whole rest of the day where you are driving yourself and your body from behind your own eyes, sometimes without a real conscious sense of who you are and where you fit in with the outside world. Sort of just placing things in the proper context.

I like to just have fun with the faces. Maybe I am getting this from my sister, who can’t pass up one of those photo booths without taking a set or two of herself. There is an aspect of self-admiration, and I can’t say that I don’t need the little ego boost at times, especially these times. Part of it is a little bit of exhibitionism, I know there are people reading my site and I hope certain individuals are and that they come away amused, comforted, reassured that things are OK, that I’m OK and that the world is not such a bad place if you take a little time for yourself.

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These are the pills I have been trying to swallow every morning (the dime is not a pill). Mega-multi-super vitamin supplement and an Omega-3 fatty acids/flaxseed oil pill. Those that know me know that, despite being the son of two pharmacists, I have never liked or been very good at swallowing pills. There is just something odd about not chewing things before they go down your throat. I’ve found that thick liquids, like juices, help me down these behemoths, and patience is a must.

I think it’d be a little too prosaic to try to create a metaphor between this and my life, so I’ll just stop here.

I think I may have done a stupid boy sort of something. >_<

Not my video, but the strategy we used. The song is “Hurricane” by Bob Dylan. By far one of the funnest encounters in the game (World of Warcraft if you didn’t know I played it).