2018

August Sales – Day 1

I thought I’d share my sales – they’re not huge, I’m not pulling in hundreds of thousands of gold a day, but I sell enough to afford a token a month (at least) and a bit extra. It might not be interesting to anyone other than me, but we’ll see.

Netherweave bags are a big seller in multiples for me, but the cash doesn’t add up to too much. Elixir of the Rapid Mind is a nice seller, and I only see this going up. I’ve started stocking up on some inscription items, we’ll see how that goes.

15/365 – Mitered Memory Blanket

Slow and steady progress is still progress! I may not have picked the best time to try to do 365 days of creative activities, but I’m still going to keep trying because doing these things keeps me grounded, reminds me I’m more than just a mother to my children that I’m also an individual with hobbies that I enjoy a great deal, and can help relax me when I’m feeling really stressed out (which right now, is all of the time).

Celestial Tournament – I’m coming for You

Thanks to the wonderful Xu-Fu’s Pet Battle Strategies site, I have a clear & comprehensive list of pets I’ll need in order to defeat the Celestial Tournament. It’s one of two pet battles that I’ve never been able to defeat (the other being Algalon the Observer). As you can see from the list, I own all of the pets that are needed, but they are n0t all optimized. I’m still leveling two of them, and 6 of them need to be boosted to rare quality. The fact that I can’t use the old pet battle charms and there’s no way to earn polished charms at the moment means trying to finish off this list and get going on the actual tournament has been difficult, to say the least.

I did find a few of the tradeable charms on the broker (15k each) if I REALLY want to spend the gold, at least it’s an option.

I have been leveling up the ones I could over on the water striders in Vale of Blossoms, I had 8 that I needed leveled up and in between real life managed to get it done. I’m pretty excited about being able to try this fight, it has always been one of my goals, but I just never had the pets required.

Lets see how this turns out!

Blaugust Reborn – Deciding to Blog

There are tons of reasons that people start blogging – and there’s no one right reason, there’s just the reason that is right for you. When I started 12 years ago (holy crap, it has been a while) I just knew I wanted a little space on the internet to get some thoughts out about EverQuest 2. At the time I was not playing anything else and blogging was becoming a popular way to get out there. I didn’t care about how many people read, whether they left comments, and I certainly didn’t think about where the blog would take me.

I stuck with it (obviously, I’m still writing) and have been incredibly surprised at how rewarding it is. For me, persistence has been key (despite the fact that I blog far less frequently now than I ever have).

I still don’t worry about how many people stumble into my little corner, I still write just for me. I do accept the occasional advertisement that emails me (more about the controversy of this in another post) but my base reasons for blogging have shifted slightly. I now write as a way to relieve some stress and create a record of memories that I can look back on. I no longer blog about EQ2 (or even keep my posts video game related) and instead embraced the fact that I’ve got multiple hobbies. All of this is perfectly fine. You can have one reason or a hundred reasons to get your thoughts out there but I do want to stress the fact that if you want to keep at it, and not just give up after the first week, or month, that you should set it into some sort of a routine. Getting a quick post out before work, or making a post on your drive with some voice technology, or even having a waterproof whiteboard in the shower to jot down those important ideas will all help.

If you’re not having fun with it, re-assess why you’re blogging and try not to berate yourself or stress yourself out. Some days you just may not feel like it – and that’s OK too! You don’t need to have it figured out right away, and your blog will certainly go through some changes over time. Just keep true to yourself and what you want from the experience.

If Reality Feels like a Game, Play Along and You’ll Get the Most of It

When you’re a gamer, it is really easy to get lost between reality and the virtual world. Especially in recent years, when games are becoming even more and more immersive each year. You can basically build a whole new virtual life and communicate with your virtual (yet real) friends. I’ve watched a movie not so long ago, called Ready Player One that really portrays what a life of a gamer may turn into and although it might seem a little bit crazy, it may really happen. The sooner you realize, the better.

The thing is, a regular person wouldn’t understand the life of a gamer, so in order to have a successful communication with that person, you as a gamer have to start thinking about life as a game.

Think about it… The moment you were born you became a random avatar, then you’ve spent years upgrading, learning and collecting skills, you’ve leveled up and now you can start strategizing. As simple as that. Life is a game strategy. The main goal, of course, is managing your time and resources and surviving the mini-games and challenges that life brings. Competing against opponents, sex, and school, learning to drive, dancing, dating… These are all the mini-games that come along the way, through which you lose or collect points and learn something.

But like in any game, be it an online battle royale game, a casino game at feedbackcasino.com, or a simple bowling game at the mall, what is the most important thing? Time. Time is of the essence. Planning and managing your time thoroughly and properly brings a lot of points.

Unfortunately, the main difference between most games (not all) and real life is that there is no second chance, no respawn. That is why you should drop whatever you’re doing and start strategizing and planning time and resources.

Think of it like starting a brand new game: you’re new to this, but you still have some background in it. You know how to play a game, so whatever this new game brings, you will know how to handle it. You might make mistakes, but you’ll learn from them. What has changed? Your point of view.

As a gamer, your real life will become significantly easier if you think of it as a game. Your family complains that you’re not spending enough time with them? Think of it as a mini-game where you collect points in your family’s eyes, and you collect energy. Your friends invite you to a pool party? Great, another mini-game. Go there, have the time of your life and remember you’re gaining skills, social skills.

Don’t feel confined or guilty if you need your space to actually play a video game. It is just a game within a game. You’re allowed to do that, you’re gaining skills again, a skill within a skill actually.

See? It is that easy. The sooner you start treating life like the one thing you know to do best, the life starts for you.