Memory Walk 2007 Southern Maryland

I showed up at 0830 at the place designated on the website, found the parking lot and walked to the nice little reception area of what is a retirement home, from the looks of it, a very expensive retirement home.  There already was the buzz of people forming the line for registration and there was the usual coffee, donuts, etc, laid out for people to enjoy.

I got in line and registered myself and they gave me a little ticket for what I don’t know, I assume there was going to be a raffle, but I didn’t really care to win anything, I was there to support the fight against Alzheimer’s disease.

At about 930 someone gets on the loud speaker and says welcome everyone, please move out into the grass and face the building, it was sort of a large courtyard with the DJ and other tables set up along the doorway into the reception area.

Then, the middle eastern belly dancers started their show…that was pretty entertaining, I have to admit I wasn’t expecting that, and I don’t think I had ever seen a real life belly dancing show…the ladies were obviously local people who knew how to dance, they were all quite pretty, some were older and other younger, it was hard not to stare at their stomachs and hips as they twirled their brightly covered cloth covered sticks and spun around in the morning sun with the sounds of a middle eastern song playing in the background.  It was almost trance inducing, if it weren’t for the ladies sitting down in front of me I would have probably gone off into one of those daydream states, but they kept saying how they wouldn’t do anything like that telling stupid jokes and basically ruining the whole experience for everyone around them…but let me move on…oh yes,

Then after all that they of course had to thank all the sponsors, national and local, and then the president of the home got on the mic and spoke some words, then a lady from the Alzheimer’s Association from Chicago spoke, we did the usual clapping for whatever and whoever…finally the lady goes out into the grass and has everyone warming up…stretching and stuff…it was funny, the DJ starts playing YMCA…I really hate that song, I don’t know why…but then we get lined up at the start, but obviously everyone didn’t have a clue where we were supposed to walk, so everyone just started walking on the sidewalk, let me describe this place to you, it is probably a half mile across with houses, apartments and buildings all around, there are a lot of sidewalks for people to walk on and the view of the patuxent river was nice, I pretty much just followed the crowd until I started breaking a sweat then I slowed down and meandered around a bit until finally deciding to walk to my car and hit the road…I didn’t have any plans of sticking around watching who wins what prices and crap….overall the experience was pleasant, everyone there was volunteering and raised money for a good cause, goes to show the human spirit is strong and hope is still alive, thank God for belly dancers!

Everything must change

Where to start?  How about at the end and make our way back to the start…that type of journey is always easier to remember for me…

This morning I took Tryggr my level 30 hunter out to defend the shire against wargs attacking, it took me two tries to intercept the beasts before they laid waste upon the poor shirefolk, so I got a nice shiny new bow to slay beasts with now, yea!

I met a real nice person last night while messing around outside fornost, a level 50 hunter who helped me finish some quests and took me to rivendell and helped me quest there as well…it is always nice when you meet friendly folks who don’t want anything more than to help others…charming.

I got my last pages for my final book for Rekkr, my level 48 captain, grinding on Morrovals for the past week has gotten old, and I am so glad that is completed.

All Hallows is merging with Strength In Numbers, we began the process Sunday and slowly all the members of AH are joining SiN, it is an excellent move because we are at the point where we need more people around to help grow and when you reach the end of the leveling game, all that is left is grinding, reputation, gear, deeds, etc…

My real life friend, Dagfinnr and I spoke about the possibility and I thought it would be for the best, like my last post said I have found myself over-tasked with kinship duties, which isn’t anyone’s fault, but it takes away from the enjoyment of the game for me, so merging with my old kinship only makes sense.  It will help out everyone in the end.

The life and times of a guild or kinship leader

I don’t post much here about the extra duties I do in order to keep my kinship alive and growing.  Lately I have found myself spending more time trying to manage the kin, which means I post a lot of information and questions in our forums trying to get ideas and feedback on different things in the game.  The foundation of our kinship is basically me, founded on the simple thought that I could create a group for players to join that would be casual yet at the same time functional in the sense that people wanted to stick around, creating the kinship was simple, but making it work isn’t.  Just getting members who actually play the game on a somewhat steady schedule has been one of the biggest obstacles, now that we are at around 50 players who login it has evolved and I am setting up events for our members to participate in that will at the same time finish some objectives for them and also help us start working as a team in fellowships.  Overall I really enjoy the whole experience and I have made some good friends in the process.
While trying to keep in mind that it is a game we are playing and something that is a hobby for fun, I sometimes get caught up in the whole leadership mentality and back off before I start getting upset about issues or things people do or don’t do…It is a fine line between fun and work when it comes to keeping a kinship intact and at the same time fun for everyone.  I learned a long time ago that you can’t please everyone so I do my best to try to keep things going.  Getting members active in our forums is something I have striven for, without actually making it a rule, I try to send out messages to the kinship telling them about things that are going on and always put in there check out the site for more information…I think it probably the most effective means of communication.  I have tried to have meetings in the past, but either people don’t show or don’t care enough to come out.  Once again keeping in mind this is a game and people will do what they want, I don’t let it upset me.

I figure slowly but surely we will get to a point in time where more members will realize the importance of being a part of something bigger than just one person, the achievements of the kinship will reflect upon the actions of each person working as a team.  The team concept has been something I have learned by being a member of the military and I am grateful for having the opportunity to learn all the tools and techniques to be effective as a leader.  I try to use whatever skills I can but sometimes I just have to relax and have fun, the social aspects of all MMO’s are pretty amazing and I am still learning something new everyday.

I guess I try to remember that what I put in is what I will get back, like all things in life, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, bad, good or ugly, you can’t deny it.  The many months of seeking new members and managing a group of people with the same interests and ideas has been a lot of fun and hard-work.  I wouldn’t trade it for anything, I have learned a lot about myself and others.  Thinking of the kinship as a weapon made of the highest quality metals only needing to be honed and sharpened the perfection is how I see All Hallows, each member is part of the strength of the metal, each of us is only a part of something greater, something better.

Whenever we reach the stage of our kinship life where we are raiding the end bosses, I hope I can look back at all the accomplishments in satisfaction knowing I did my best and I brought the best out of each player I made contact with.

You will know my name!

The path of the righteous man and defender is beset on all sides by the iniquity of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he, who in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother’s keeper, and the father of lost children. And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious anger, who poison and destroy my brothers; and they shall know that I am Sean when I shall lay my vengeance upon them!
[Ezekial 25:17]

Obviously this isn’t my writing, but I wish it was…I am a fan of Quentin Tarrantino and he is a fan of Sonny Chiba, who originally had this line in the movie Karate Kiba.  The line was used in the cult classic, Pulp Fiction when Samuel Jackson says the line before he executes one of his victims.  It think it holds more meaning when spoken with the loud and firm tone Sam Jackson so appropriately uses.

Today I am feeling a bit off, something is just not right, like I am half in this world and half out of it…hard to explain, I am so ready for some cooler weather…it hasn’t been below 50 yet I don’t think…which reminds me, I need to get the heater fixed in my car soon…yeah that will be important this month…

Should I stay or should I go?

I was having issues coming up with anything worthwhile to talk about today, so I spent most of the time here browsing the net catching up on my favorite blogs and other stuff, I came across this gem of a flowchart which makes it easy for those of us who are married to decide whether it is time to stop playing the game or go spend some quality time with the significant other…I chuckled..you can check it out here -BBspot – Should I Stop Playing this Game?
In LotRO news Rekkr is level 46 and I have found out that if I thought getting to the mid 40’s was a grind, I hadn’t seen anything yet…I was glad to actually see a handful of solo quests in Angmar, I thought they had all gone away and all I had left was fellowship quests, but I was mistaken, and I am glad. I am grinding on just about everything you can think of these days, reputation, pages for legendary traits, ore for crafting, xp for leveling, the list goes on and on…is this how games are doomed to be? There must be something better, I guess I have too high of expectations, oh well. Reason number one why I have 4 alternate characters to occupy my time for those sad drawn out periods of killing the same creatures over and over and over…

Floss is level 31 and made the run to Rivendell yesterday to turn in the last chapter of book 3, the trek across the Trollshaws seemed easier than before, possibly cause I have done it what 3 times now?

Sean is broadening his pipe-weed farming skills by learning every recipe known to hobbit or man, you never know when the party you are at might need some special smoke to keep it alive…

I am feeling a bit blah today, my sleep schedule hasn’t been right lately, and the pill I take to help me fall asleep doesn’t let me get up very easy…oh well, life goes on, and then there’s always Sam Adams…