# What's this guy's story?



## RangerWickett (Aug 2, 2005)

I want to meet every person on these boards. All 30,000+ of them.

Tell me who you are, give us a bit of your life story, and we can get to know each other.



For my own part, I'm a writer of fiction who has never had the patience for poetic forms. I prefer to experiment with prose structure and personal essays, though I admit I am jealous of those who have the restraint and artistry to create poetry under rigid rules.

I have a wide circle of friends I have met through my alma mater, Emory University in Atlanta. Many of them are leaving now, heading off to careers or graduate programs, but I intend to stay here as a librarian and writer, hopefully getting a break with Cartoon Network or a publisher, once I finally finish this novel I'm working on. I started just over a year ago, right before I graduated, and I'm nearly done, but I've never explored the difficulties of publishing fiction.

A lot of you also might be familiar with my gaming writing. With E.N. Publishing I have written or produced nearly a dozen D&D books, plus three issues of the short-lived EN World Gamer. If I'd chosen a more profitable niche to publish in, I'd be considered rather successful, but we don't have the capital to expand our operation. Still, I'm damned proud of my work, and I keep learning more with every book I put out. I'd love to expand to publishing fiction, but I'd hate to turn the company into a vanity press.

As to why I started this thread, it ties in with a conversation I had just today with a friend of mine who's leaving Atlanta. I've known him for five years, and we met thanks to gaming. This good friend of mine pointed out that if I have a persistent problem in my life, it's that I'm too friendly and casual with people. With strangers I can be amiable and casual, and with good friends I'm very comfortable and close, but with just casual acquaintances, I sometimes assume we know each other well enough that socially taboo topics of conversation are okay. I have to stop myself from discussing a weekend's drinking party with my 30- and 40-something coworkers, and with my friends I'm blunt about who I really am, including the things I'm a little ashamed of.

Now, I'm not trying to share naughty details of my life with you (but I have those, and heck, if you're curious, just ask). Rather, I'd like to get to know you on whatever level you're comfortable with.

So, who are you? What's your story?


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## Crothian (Aug 2, 2005)

I'm Batman!!


I'm the guy on the parkbench watching people.  I'm the kid at the back of the class that blows the grading curve.  I'm the guy at work that talks football and weather and little things but doesn't really make a lot of friends.  I'm 30 now, I have a good number of people I know but my friends are fellow gamers since it is my number one hobby.  

I come from a great family.  We are very traditional mid western.  Mom is a retired school teacher and dad is also retired now.  I went to a small elemtarty school but watched the local farms sale off for housing so by the time I got to High School we were over crowded.  I went to the Ohio State University and really learned a lot about how not to run things by working with some computer labs.  Wow, those were fun times and terrible managment.  

I have a good job, I'm single, I live on my own with no pets, but I have quite the gaming collection.  I am proud of it, it isn't the biggest on these boards by far, but I can honestly say I've read every book I own (minus a few PDFs that are still on my review to do list) and from what I know not a lot of people can make that claim.  

I'm a huge movie buff having worked at a local video place for many years and maxing out my free rentals the whole time I was there.  By the time I left I only had the latest new releases to watch having go through the whole old film section.  I like TV and I like movies and I'm not afraid to admit it.  I like books too and do agood amount of reading on the side.  

I hate talking about myself so this is all you're getting out of me at the moment though


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## warlord (Aug 2, 2005)

I'm a very bored 17 year old who is sleeping his way through high school(except english and drama classes). I also write fiction when I'm not watching Buffy/Angel or playing the respective rpgs. I'm one of those people who kinda just wants to be left alone. 'Course you would too if you could only find one person who has remotely similer intrests. Its just so hard to find RPGers/Aspiring writer/actors in St. Paul MN. Although most of you were introducved to me as the Anti-Tolkein guy I have since expanded my veiws and have become(i hope) a useful member of the online Roleplaying community.


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## RangerWickett (Aug 2, 2005)

Crothian, we all know you were actually born in 1995 and that you've just somehow managed to live at triple-speed. How else could you get so much done.  I mean, dang, I've tried to watch a single movie my roommate rented this week (Ghost in the Shell 2), but I keep on finding other things that are more pressing, like cleaning, or watching other TV. No writing, sadly.

Warlord, 17 was my best year, and my ex-girlfriend's worst. If you aren't already planning it, I heartily recommend you go to college. I had, like, 5 good friends in high school, and I've got about 30 now, just because college folks are 1337 and such. *grin*  What kind of stuff do you write (I don't have time to read it, but I'm curious what you're interesed in)?

Oh, and I would have never thought it at 17 (or 18, or even 22), but now that I'm 23, I've discovered that basketball is really fun. Especially when I'm playing with my gamer peers and not the athletic kids from high school. Not that that wouldn't have been fun too, but it's always good to feel like you're contributing.


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## Angel Tarragon (Aug 2, 2005)

I am a 29 year old male taking the time to discover myself by separating myself from the stress of of work and school. I enjoy listening to music while computing (mostly country lately). I do what I want within the confines of my parents rules, when I want. I have discovered that at the core I am a very loving person with the capacity to not wish harm on anyone and think everyone deserves the cahnce to redeem themselves. 

I have a very small circle of true friends and many acquaintances. I have developed the ability to read people quite well. My friends and my parents say that I am wise beyond my  years. I know it to be true. I let my heart guide my actions, not my head. I am a thinker but I truly believe that when you completely turn yourself over to a higher power, love fills your life and many wonderful things happen. I have determined that to make the most of my life and to best serve humanity, I should apply myself to psychology. I am going to be back to school in December to achieve this goal.

I want to have more of a spiritual life than most would care to have, possibly entering the ministry as well. There is no way I'd ever become a Father, as I have way too much love to give a potential mate, so if I do I'll defintely choose to become a Deacon. 

I also have much love for music and would love to have a few albums put out before I die. Either country, rock  and roll, Spiritual (or all of the above), as I definitely have the voice for it.


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## Crothian (Aug 2, 2005)

RangerWickett said:
			
		

> Crothian, we all know you were actually born in 1995 and that you've just somehow managed to live at triple-speed.




Ya, I wish I was ten.  I gamed a lot more when I was ten then I do now.


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## Renton (Aug 2, 2005)

Nice topic choice RW!

Lessee...

I'm 32 now, was born in England (Hackney), moved to Houston when I was about 12.  Moved out of the house at 17, and proceeded to spend way too many years in college,  interspersed with working full time.  Could never decide what I wanted to do for a living; my damn sense of ethics ruled out a lot of stuff.  Remember the scene at dinner in "Say Anything"?  That was me, but I can't kickbox.  Luckily, I found a good gig as a Young Adult librarian, so I can feel good about what I do, even if it doesn't pay oodles.

I'm a pretty quiet guy.  I spend most of my time in my own head, which some interpret as aloofness, but it's not. I have a few close friends, rather than a lot of casual acquaintances, which is the way I'd prefer things, given the chioce.  Married, no kids, one greyhound and a coupla cats.  Hope to have kids soon.

Aside from gaming, I'm a big music fan.  I play guitar, and some days I'd say I was pretty good, other days that I was crap.  If I got a solo gig it'd be playing folk/country blues, but if I was in a band I'd want to play power pop ala early who/kinks/the jam. You can't touch a well done 2.5 minuite pop song; they can hold their pwn against any other literary form.  I'll listen to anything and everything though, occasionaly to wifey's chagrin.


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## Teflon Billy (Aug 2, 2005)

I grew up in an Army family and dutifully did my hitch, narroly escaping Operation: Desert Shield.

I'm a Barber/Technical Writer/Private Investigator b trade(s)

My first marriage was an utter disaster. My second is phenomenal. 

I have cool tattoos

My hair went gray at age 9

I Killed a man in Reno, just to watch him die (wait, that was Johnny Cash)

No, I didn't kill Johnny Cash.

I've been playing RPG's for more of my life than I haven't now (since age 22 actually)

I've tried writing prose as well. I'm told it's allright.

I punched the lead singer of The Cult unconscious in a bar once. The guitarist for the band returned the favor.


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## kenobi65 (Aug 2, 2005)

I'm a 40-year-old man.  

I've got the ears of a 60-year-old (thanks to a Motorhead concert in 1985, where I was about 15 feet from the amps), but the eyes of a 20-year old.

I was born in California, grew up in Wisconsin, and have spent my adult life in Illinois.  Someday, I plan to move back to Wisconsin, and maybe teach.

When I was a kid, they very nearly skipped me ahead a grade in school; I think my mom talked them out of it.  For which, in retrospect, I'm grateful.

I was miserable in high school, but loved college, where I finally found people with whom I could fit in with my nerdy hobbies and interests.

I've got a bachelor's degree in marketing, and a master's in market research.

When I was 18, I was dating a 32-year-old divorcee.  My parents weren't happy, but it sure seemed like the thing to do at the time.

I've been Catholic, I've been an evangelical Christian, and now I'm a Lutheran, and comfortable with it, and my faith.

I've got a beautiful wife, with whom I've shared the past 13 years.  We weren't successful in starting a family, and we've finally come to terms with that.  We have a blind dog, and a cat who acts like a dog.

I'm an ENFP.

I spent the first 10 years of my career working in market research, for two different consumer-products companies.  I've spent the past 5 years working for an ad agency, doing much the same kind of work, but enjoying it a lot more.  I actually had an interview with WotC to be their director of market research, though it didn't pan out.

An estimated 86% of my brain matter is occupied with trivia.  My wife calls me "The Font of Useless Knowledge."  No one will play Trivial Pursuit with me anymore. 

I have Green Bay Packers season tickets, and a share of stock in the team.

I'm mostly Irish.  When I went to Ireland a decade ago, I ran into a man who looked like he could have been my identical twin brother.

I've been playing RPGs for the past 23 years.  Through the game, I've met more good friends than I can count on both hands and both feet, including the aforementioned beautiful wife, who loves RPGs, too.

And, yes, I recognize that I am one lucky S.O.B.


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## Tarrasque Wrangler (Aug 2, 2005)

I was born on a farm in Mendocino, CA in 1977.  My parents split up when I was 2-ish.  I've never lived in a conventional family, and yet somehow I've never done hard drugs, knocked anyone up, knifed anyone, or gotten into Satanism (although there was that brief flirtation with Cthulhuism in junior high, but it was destined to end in tears). 

I had a profound religious experience when I was 14, but I got over it.  

I started writing in high school, and for puerile 16-year-old drivel it rocked.  I took some classes.  I got a little better.  Now I write puerile 28-year-old drivel.

School and I never got along well.  I mostly thought it was a waste of time, and years and experience since then have mostly proven me right.  I managed to scrape out a high school diploma, a few quarters at a business college, and went right into the job market.  I recommend office work for anyone who enjoys having their personal comfort zone pre-defined for them with low walls.

What else?  My girlfriend's pretty cool.  She's always doing something to save the Earth, like separating recyclables and taking in unwanted puppies.  She assures me that the long-term survival of the global biomass is intricately intertwined with cutesy-wootsy puppies.

I've got two brothers, they're pretty solid.  My folks both married very nice step-parents who aren't at all like Terry O'Quinn.  I'm a little upset that I don't get to see them all more.

I hold friendship in high regard and am constantly let down by my friends, but I've never quite worked up the wherewithal to go the hermit route.  I enjoy cooking and eating, and I do too much of one and not enough of the other.  I'd like to roleplay more, but it's become too much of a social event for me and I haven't been able to bring myself to play with total strangers.  You can't talk about movies and music with me - that's pretty much my "politics and religion".  I'm opinionated and I ain't gonna change.  To wit:



			
				Teflon Billy said:
			
		

> I punched the lead singer of The Cult unconscious in a bar once.




Thank you TB.  I hate that guy.  Your check's in the mail.


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## TheGM (Aug 2, 2005)

I'm a 39 year old man whose ponytail is nicely balanced by a receding hairline 

I grew up in an Air Force family with four kids, and decided to be the black sheep - did four years in the Army straight out of high-school. Spent some time as an Xray Tech while paying for college (thanks Uncle Sam!), and moved to computer science as soon as I could. Got my Masters in CS with my wife about 5 years ago (more on her later).

I've played RPGs since I was 13, and had a wild imagination long before that. 

I went to work full time as a writer/reviewer for a major technology publication two years ago, and am well content with that work. 

My first two marraiges were nihilistic, and I could not be happier with my current wife and our three adopted children (well, the eldest was hers biologically and I adopted, the younger two we both adopted). She's a gamer/computer geek the same as I am, meaning we do pretty much everything together.

We write fiction (linked, along with our primary campaign world in my sig), lots of it. We think it's good, but we're a little biased.

I review games for my FLGS and occasionally for others, and am working on getting a rulebook published through one of the "alternative" gaming companies. Not for the money, but because well I wrote these rules for my world, and it would be cool if it was "official" rather than a book of "house rules"...

Enough. I live and breath gaming and technology. I have the perfect wife for me, and life is good. You get the picture.  But I am one of those "overachievers" that takes on a ton to get most of it done on time.


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## mac1504 (Aug 2, 2005)

I'm 30 years old, married to a beautiful woman, and father to a 3 month old son who has categorically changed the way I look at life.

I signed on to do a 3 year hitch as airborne infantry right out of high school. My ASVAB scores certainly did not restrict me to that job duty, but for some reason it called to me   

My wisdom thanks ex-President Jimmy Carter for brokering a deal with the Haitian rebels and providing me with literally a last minute reprieve from actually parachuting into combat in 1994. My machismo on the other hand hates the SOB for depriving me of my CIB and mustard stain   

After the Army I went on to college at UWMilwaukee and graduated with a business degree. I convinced some of my old high school buddies to start up a 3.0 campaign in the summer of 2000 and we had a great weekly game going for nearly 6 months. Then my best friend committed suicide and that put our group on permanent hiatus.

Looking for a fix for my D&D addiction I stumbled across ol' Eric Noah's website and through it, found a group of strangers that have become fast friends and we have been gaming together for almost 5 years now.


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## FireLance (Aug 2, 2005)

I was born in 1971, in Singapore. I was a quiet, introverted kid and took to reading at an early age. My first introduction to gaming was Choose Your Own Adventure and Fighting Fantasy game books, and I started table-top pen-and-paper games at around 13.

I studied for three years in London, and graduated with a degree in Economics from (this is going to sound repetitive) the London School of Economics. While in London, I discovered Terry Pratchett and I've been a fan ever since.

In the last five years or so, I met my wife, married her, and had two kids.

I would like to write more, but I'm not very disciplined at it. Work commitments, family commitments, gaming commitments and pure laziness always seems to get in the way. Despite this, I managed to write two Class Acts articles on paladins which were published in Dragon Magazine. I'm trying to get my act together and write some more.


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## Zander (Aug 2, 2005)

FireLance said:
			
		

> I studied for three years in London, and graduated with a degree in Economics from (this is going to sound repetitive) the London School of Economics.



Small world! I did an MSc in Social Psychology at the LSE and went on to teach there for a couple of terms, probably at the same time you were taking your degree.


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## Desdichado (Aug 2, 2005)

FireLance said:
			
		

> I would like to write more, but I'm not very disciplined at it. Work commitments, family commitments, gaming commitments and pure laziness always seems to get in the way.



Ain't that the truth.  

Since I don't write like I would like, I do lots of boring things instead, like go to school for too many years just so I can get this cubicle job and your typical suburban American lifestyle.  Whee!

I'm 33.  My wife is quite possibly the most beautiful woman in the world--we've been married 11 years.  I'm all about big families--five kids in the family I grew up with and four in the family I'm raising.  So far.  Not that we have any plans to add to that, but we haven't completely closed the door on the possibiliy of a #5 Little Dyal either.  We do promise not to name him Johnny Five Dyal, though, in the event that he ever arrives.

I live in Detroit, (well, suburban Detroit--halfway to Ann Arbor really) and although it's not nearly as bad as you'd believe from watching _Robocop_, neither my wife nor I really want to stay here.  She wants to move back to Texas, which is where we're from, but I'm not sure I want to deal with Texas weather again.  I could sure use some Texas food, though.  Mmmm-mmmm!

I like the Cult (well, I like _Love_ and _Electric_ anyway--never cared for anything more recent than that) but I wouldn't want to hang out in a bar with them.


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## diaglo (Aug 2, 2005)

the check is in the mail. i'm with the government and here to help you. and i won't .... in your mouth unless you want. 

i went across the street to see RW read some of his works out loud. and talked another in my gaming group to join me (howandwhy99).

i'm a fatbeard and happily married.


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## Nellisir (Aug 2, 2005)

I'm 33.  I was grew up in rural New Hampshire with a younger brother and younger sister, both of whom are pretty cool.  My brother teaches 7th-grade science; my sister is working at a sporting goods store/leading outdoor treks in central Vermont.  My parents seperated when I was 27; divorced when I was 29.  I found out some uncomfortable things about who my parents are.

I work for my father as a jack-of-all-things-house-related, except plumbing and electrical (both of which you need a license to practice in NH).  I've worked for him for almost 10 years in the custom homebuilding industry.  I can frame, roof, side, insulate, sheetrock, and finish your house.  I won't paint it.

I studied creative writing and stagecraft at Bennington College in Vermont, but have never done any illegal drugs in any form, nor do I drink much.

I've been married 2 years, and am extraordinarily happy.  We have no kids, but are trying (have actually passed "just trying", and moved on to "getting medical assistance").

I'm renovating my own home, and am heartily sick of it.  I live in the downtown of the capitol of NH, and would rather be in the country.

I didn't have a tv until I was 14, and then it was black and white and only got one station (ABC).

I was very shy, but have gotten better.  Am friendly.  Love animals; have two cats and two dogs.  My humor is mostly sarcastic and contradictory -- I'm working on that.

I've been DMing since college, but reading about it since high school.  I DMed the first game I ever played, since I had all the books.  It was over a year before I ever played.  I've been published once in Dragon, done some fanzine work, and am resolved to get back into the grind of writing.  I WILL be published.

I am late for work.

Cheers
Nell.


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## reveal (Aug 2, 2005)

I was born a poor black child...   

Seriously, I'm a 30 year old (31 in October) male living in Council Bluffs, IA, right across the Missouri river from Omaha, NE.

I was born in Fayetteville, NC at Cape Fear Army Hospital (Robert Mitchum was my doctor ). My dad left the army shortly thereafter and joined the Air Force as an officer. I grew up an Air Force brat and have lived in Alabama, Ohio, Philippines (twice), Georgia, Florida, California, Alaska, Nebraska and Iowa.

I was in the Air Force myself from 1993 to 2000. I did computer repair/computer security/networking/training/communications security. Teaching is my art and I'm quiet good at it (if I do say so myself). I work for Kutak Rock, LLP (law firm) in Omaha as a trainer and I love my job.

I got married when I was 21, she was 19, and we've been together since (we celebrate our 10th anniversary next year). We got married for stupid reasons; I was being transferred and we "couldn't bear to be apart."  :\ 

And to add to that, our honeymoon consisted of a week long car ride from Seattle, WA, to Redding, CA, to San Francisco to Yellowstone to Disneyland to the Grand Canyon to Las Vegas to Omaha. Not recommended for young kids who just got married.

But we've helped each other a lot over the years and have one of the strongest relationships I have ever seen. We communicate with each other a lot, which is key, and love each other deeply. 

We have a 3 year old son, Duncan Scott Law. He's my pride and joy and is becoming a lot like me (the poor thing ). You can see him here: http://www.tonylaw.org

I've been playing RPGs since 1990. Not regularly, but off and on until 1997, when I started to play almost weekly. I now DM and I love it (it's a lot like being a teacher).

I'm the guy who's really quiet and shy but if I'm with a small group of people I usually get everyone laughing. Large groups make me uncomfortable, so I usually gravitate to select friends in a social situation. I am very smart but need to be kicked in the ass every now and then to get my butt in gear. A lot of things come naturally to me but that can make me lazy as I have come to expect things to continue that way and I know they won't always. It's something I've had to work on my entire life and I still struggle with it.

I'm pretty creative and can think quickly on my feet, which helps in DMing or just playing with my son.

I am a Buddhist who is constantly striving to find peace. I am open and honest (sometimes brutally) and I try to listen to those who wish to talk to me, which makes people open up to me, sometimes more than I would like. 

I'm a nice guy because I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and, gosh darn it, people like me!

Oh and I have 8 tattoos that are an important part of me.


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## Desdichado (Aug 2, 2005)

reveal said:
			
		

> We have a 3 year old son, Duncan Scott Law. He's my pride and joy and is becoming a lot like me (the poor thing ). You can see him here: http://www.tonylaw.org



So, are you the guy in that one picture with the snazzy red "heart jammies?"


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## reveal (Aug 2, 2005)

Joshua Dyal said:
			
		

> So, are you the guy in that one picture with the snazzy red "heart jammies?"




Oh ya. Those things are comfy!


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## Aeson (Aug 2, 2005)

Joshua Dyal said:
			
		

> So, are you the guy in that one picture with the snazzy red "heart jammies?"




If its not it should be. That is one sexy outfit reveal.


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## Belen (Aug 2, 2005)

I am 28 and I work as a managing editor for a major medical journal.  I used to be a writer, but have not written a word (ther than RPG material) since college.  I was born in Athens, Georgia and my father was a Marine Corps officier at the time.  I graduated from North Carolina University in 1999 and married a beautiful, young woman in February of 2004.

I am always the type of person caught in the middle.  I tend to be a focal point for my friends and family.  I have always been this way and cannot figure it out, but I realize that it is a very good trait to have as a GM.

At the moment, I am happily married, we're considering buying our first home, and I do marketing work for WOTC on the side.


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## reveal (Aug 2, 2005)

Aeson said:
			
		

> If its not it should be. That is one sexy outfit reveal.




I'm dead sexay.


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## Kanegrundar (Aug 2, 2005)

I'm 28 and work as a digitizing lab manager for the Farm Serivces Agency of the USDA.  It's boring work sometimes, but it pays the bills.  I do hate the fact that I have to drive over an hour to work everyday.  I work in the same small town in Missouri I was born and raised in, though I now live in Independence, MO.  It's a big change for an old country boy like me.  I don't really like living in the city, so I'm hoping to move further out on the edges of the growing KC metro area.  

I'm getting married to a beautiful middle school band instructor next year.  She's the best thing to ever happen to me...even if she let's the dog sleep on the bed.  (I hate where I sleep to smell like a dog, clean or not.)

My family is huge, as my fiancee has found out over the last year and a half.  I'm the oldest of 4 kids (2 brothers and 1 sister), but I have a lot of cousins.  My folks are a bit of a rarity in my area (in most areas by the sound of it) in that they've been married for 29 years with only the occasional bump in the road.

High school was OK.  I wasn't overly popular, but I had a core group of friends many of whom I'm still friends with now.  College was fun, but I never finished (something I'm working on correcting now).  However, I don't really talk to many of my friends from college since they only really knew the wild and crazy drunk that I was back then, and I'm not that guy anymore.  (I still enjoy a drink every now and then, but not to excess...except on the 4th of July.   )  I do talk to a few guys that I gamed with in college.  Too bad we're scattered to the fours winds.  

I got into gaming with The Legend of Zelda and the old Hero Quest boardgame.  From there I started playing Basic D&D, which got me into everything from AD&D to Alternity to Rifts and then into the whole D20 craze.  I don't get to game a lot nowadays, but when I do it's usually with my old group made up of a couple friends from high school, my HS science teacher (who is going to be one my groomsmen), and his wife.  My fiancee has resisted RPG's so far, but I have gotten her into playing boardgames like Zombies!!! and DOOM with me, so there's hope for her yet!  Beyond gaming, I'm into hiking, camping, fishing, hunting (mostly small game and deer), baseball (watching only, my knees are just barely good enough to liesurely hike a trail, so playing is out of the question), computer games, and reading.

I love my life, though this year has been rough so far.  I lost my grandfather (on my mom's side) a little over a month ago.  I was there when he passed, so I take solace that he didn't die alone, but it's been extremely hard.  I was blessed by having 9 of my grandparents and great-grandparents alive when I was born.  I'm down to 2 now.  It never gets easier letting go. 

There you have it.  My life overview in a few paragraphs!

Kane


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## der_kluge (Aug 2, 2005)

reveal said:
			
		

> I was born a poor black child...




Heh, that was on last night. Don't trust whitey! 


Let's see... I was born in El Dorado, Arkansas in 1972, but only lived there until I was about 4. I have vague memories of living there. We had a small house, and my family was not wealthy by any stretch. 

We moved to Dover, Arkansas, a little town in west/central Arkansas to be closer to my wife's family who also lived there. Subsequently, I attended that school from K-12. My dad worked as a car salesman, car mechanic, and then got on at a nuclear plant as a mechanic, and it paid decent money.

I was introduced to the red box by my sister, actually, who bought it because it looked interesting. She didn't know what to do with it, so she gave it to me. I didn't know what to make of it, either, actually. I played my first game of D&D with some friends at a birthday party in 5th grade. I didn't play again until I was a sophomore in high school. That was a 1st edition. I made a drow acrobat, because the GM thought that drow were cool. I named him after a city the GM used to live in - Delmar (California). For some reason, they believed that all drow names should start with "D".

I lived at home while I went to the local university (Arkansas Tech), and majored in computer science. I started out with a minor in music, but dropped it once I realized how futile that was. My school didn't recognize an official minor anyway, so it would have gained me nothing.

I did play clarinet all through college, and it paid for more than half of my tuition. I took a job my junior year at the local Wal-Mart, and paid for the remaining two years myself. I graduated from college in 1995 with a 2.97 GPA (debt free). I could have done much better, but just didn't apply myself very much.

Graduated from college, and transfered from the Wal-Mart store to the home office in Bentonville as a programmer. There, I did C and VB programming for 3.5 years. I eventually left Wal-Mart and moved to Kansas City working at Sprint.

In Kansas City, I met my wife Kelly, and were married in Jamaica in 2000. Next week we're celebrating our 5 year anniversary, and will be expecting our second child in November.

Last year, I moved to Virginia. I play in a weekly C&C game, and am active in the biggest and oldest community band in the area where I play Bb and Eb clarinets. I like to compose music in my free time, but admit that I have a lot to learn about music. I'm also pursuing my master's degree in computer information systems from an online degree program, and am currently stuck in the mire that is cost accounting. At my pace, I will hopefully finish at the end of 2007.

That sums me up in a nutshell, I suppose. Nothing too extravagent.


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## The Grumpy Celt (Aug 2, 2005)

I am 32, heterosexual, Caucasian male who is comfortably single and will probably remain a bachelor.

I was born a raised in Texas and deeply miss Austin as life took me to rural Alabama. On the up side, I have a very good job currently and might be able to go back to Austin someday.

Dyslexia and being left handed were issues in my youth, along with many unhappy education experiences. However, survival and success are their own reward and revenge on the naysayer.

Fantasy fiction and gaming in-general have been a part of my life for close to 20 years now - some of my best memories include watching Dr. Who with my dad as a kid. Writing the handful of gaming books I’ve written is a way for me to get some traction and credibility in my plans to have a novel published.

I also own a cat and hunt in the winter.


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## The Grumpy Celt (Aug 2, 2005)

Teflon Billy said:
			
		

> I Killed a man in Reno, just to watch him die (wait, that was Johnny Cash).




[singing]Hay there Molly, anch't you proud! I hate you one and all![/singing]


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## fett527 (Aug 2, 2005)

*Hi, my name is fett527, I mean Travis, and I play D&D.*

30 years old until Veteran's Day.  I was born raised and still live in the Dayton, OH area.  I have lived in just about every suburb South and East of Dayton at some point in my life.  My father is a Southern Baptist Minister and my mother has been an executive assistant at a local hospital for pretty much as  long as I can remember.  And I know what many of you are thinking, but our childhood (one brother, one sister, I'm in the middle) was a blast and my parents were no more strict, and in some cases less strict, than other parents.  I grew up hooked on Star Wars, G.I. Joe and Transformers as well as the other 80's cartoons (Silverhawks, Thundercats, etc.).  I loved high school and played trumpet, baseball and was in student senate.  The college thing was interesting.  I started out at a local community college but never latched to anything and dropped out.  I had gotten a job at a new lazer tag arena called Q-ZAR and I started working full time.  This was the most fun I had ever had in my life.  It was a great job and the game was a blast and luckily my two best friends and I worked together and we all eventually manged the stroes in Cincinnati and Dayton at one point.  I moved on to other various retail management jobs until I had a friend turn me on to computers.  I checked out a career path, went to a business school to get industry certifications and I have been working on computer networks for over 6 years now.
  I have been married for 8 1/2 wonderful years to my high school sweetheart (she was dead sexy in her cheerleader uniform and still is.) and we have one devastatingly cute son who is 15 months old.
  I didn't start gaming until high school and started right when 2nd ed was published.  We gamed a lot and the only hiatus I have taken was when I spent 4 nights a week for a year and a half at the business school when I returned and got into 3rd ed just after it came out.
  Currently I live in a great home with a wonderful wife (except for her low tolerance for gaming) and a son that I can't get enough of.  My friends (Enkhidu and dshai527) write a stroy hour here that is a blast to be involved with.  I am a baseball fanatic (love the Reds and own Dayton Dragons [minor league baseball] season tickets], play softball during the summer, love Star Wars and...I guess that's enough.


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## TheGM (Aug 2, 2005)

fett527 said:
			
		

> I have been married for 8 1/2 wonderful years to my high school sweetheart (she was dead sexy in her cheerleader uniform and still is.) and we have one devastatingly cute son who is 15 months old.




That's funny, my wife of 9 1/2 wonderful years is teh uber-geek and looked dead sexy in her cheerleader uniform and still is . Some guys are just lucky, I guess.


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## Ankh-Morpork Guard (Aug 2, 2005)

I'm a 19 year old Florida boy. Born here in Gainesville, but moved up to Woodstock, Georgia when I was 9...but now I'm back here. I've been a diehard Star Wars fan since my Uncle got me watching the movies when I was around 3 or 4. That got me into the WEG d6 Star Wars game around late middle school, and eventually into 2e D&D in its last couple of years.

I spent pretty much all my time in high school saving up cash and getting ready for a huge move to Britain to be with a girl I'd known for a long time. As many here already know, things didn't work out, and while I spent an amazing 3 months in Wales, I ended up coming back to the States. It took me a while to put myself back together, but I'm now taking classes at a local Community College in preparation for heading to a great school in St. Augustine, Fl(Flagler College) in the Spring of 2006, where I'll be working on either some kind of Art or History Degree.

Also, thanks to BrotherShatterstone here on the boards, I've gotten back into communication with a lot of old friends that I lost when I moved from Georgia in early 2004. And despite everything that happened while I was in Wales, I'd still love to go back there one day...preferably to live. But I figure I'll spend time here in the States and finish up school first.


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## Queen_Dopplepopolis (Aug 2, 2005)

I had this incredibly long post written up about my life and who I have become, but then I realized just how much it was like a bad Lifetime movie - so I'm retyping and editing and, hopefully, it'll be much shorter and less depressing!

The first 15 years of my life were terrible.  My parents were drug addicts and alcoholics.  They divorced when I was 10 and I spent 5 years dodging my mother's drug problems and abusive boyfriends.  I was raped, attempted to kill myself, and eventually diagnosed with bipolar.

My dad cleaned up, became very successful, but the backwards South Dakota court system would never let me go live in his stable, loving home.

But then something (well, two somethings) amazing happened: I had a religious awakening and became a Christian and I joined the debate team.  The combination of these two things helped me to remove myself emotionally and phsically from the horrible home that I lived in and I was able to become the happy, bubbling Liz that I am today.

At 17, I met the love of my life.  At 18 we were engaged, and at 19 we were married (he was 22 when we tied the knot).  Many of you know him as The Universe, I know him as Kennon.  He means the world to me.  People say we're too young, but I don't listen.

We moved away from small-town South Dakota just before we got married to experience the "big city".  We are learning *a lot* here in the DC Metro area.

I love pink, unicorns, and Dippin' Dots.

I'm finishing up my BA in History at American University and want to be a high school history teacher.  

Yay!


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## eris404 (Aug 2, 2005)

I am a 34-year-old girl (female? woman? none of those words sound good). I was a shy child who lacked confidence; I liked to read fantasy books and comics and play make-believe, so when I found out about D&D it was a natural fit. I was also a gymnast, though not a good one, and much of my early years were spent taking ballet and tap lessons at my mother's request. I loved dance recitals actually, because I like being the center of attention and was a big ham. I was a very sensitive child though, and I cried easily and was often the target of other kids' jokes.

In high school, I had a group of friends with whom I was very close. I was geeky and though I loved punk and alternative (though it was called "new wave" then   ) music, I was certainly not cool enough to be punk rock. I did become sort of a goth in college though. I am not friends with any of these people now; no story or big break-up, just a gradual growing apart.

My mother died when I was 17 and I haven't felt very comfortable around my large family since then - I don't have much in common with my brothers and sisters and I think they still see me as the shy, quiet, weird child I was as a kid and a teenager.

I've lived in Chicago since 1993, when I came here to attend college and majored in Film, and  I am now a web master for a department in a university here. I have three web sites under my complete control.   My fondest wish is to become a writer.

I've been in a relationship for the last 6 years with a beautiful guy who works for a video game company, but I still have crushes on two ENWorlders (I have met neither of them, but their posts make me smile). I met most of my current gaming group in 1997 (after I graduated from college) and we've been playing weekly ever since.


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## CronoDekar (Aug 2, 2005)

I'll be 23 next month (on Sept. 11 interestingly enough -- and no, it doesn't really bother me), and I just got my undergrad from the University of Kansas in Psychology in May.  I was born and raised here in Lawrence, Kansas, living with my parents, two younger sisters, and 3+ pets at any one time.  I'm mostly a loner and a homebody, though I do have a small loose-knit group of friends online.  Single, but not particularly concerned about finding a significant other.  To be honest, I'm really reluctant to share the few really personal things in my life with... well, pretty much anyone.  So there won't be any of that here!

As far as interests go, I like learning a hodgepodge of subjects, and rarely a day goes by when I don't look something up on Wikipedia.  And I think, a lot.  I do enjoy thinking.  I sporadically enjoy writing fiction as a hobby, but paradoxically I rarely ever read -- I'm a slow reader, and even with good books my mind starts to wander (that goes back to the "thinking" hobby).  I also have a tendancy to get ideas for projects I want to do, but eventually get bored and stop before completion.  I can get easily overwhelmed, so I rarely listen to music and I try to avoid big crowds when possible.

I've played video games since I was my dad got an NES for a Father's Day many years ago, and since have gotten... well, too many consoles.  I started a site revolving around console RPGs in '97, though it's been dead for awhile now.  I didn't actually get started with D&D until about... 4 years ago (I think), when the aforementioned group of online friends introduced me to it, and since became one of the most enthusiastic to D&D stuff.  Started three campaigns (the longest running being my first), before I recently kinda got bored with  P&P style RPGs.  Though, I do like keeping up with the community and recent books.

Currently I'm apathetically looking for a job, and I'm still trying to find out what I want to do with my life.


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## RangerWickett (Aug 2, 2005)

Frukathka, I had no idea you had so many interests. Why do you feel that psychology is the best way to serve humanity, instead of something like politics, research medicine, or building houses? Not trying to judge at all -- I think the best way I can be a good person is to write entertaining (and slightly inspirational) stories, because that's where my talents lie -- but I'm curious how one comes to decide what he'll devote his life to.


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## fett527 (Aug 2, 2005)

Queen_Dopplepopolis said:
			
		

> ...At 17, I met the love of my life.  At 18 we were engaged, and at 19 we were married (he was 22 when we tied the knot).  Many of you know him as The Universe, I know him as Kennon.  He means the world to me.  People say we're too young, but I don't listen...





We got the same thing and we were 22 and 21.  Keep not listening and just love each other and have patience for the rough times.


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## Wyn A'rienh (Aug 2, 2005)

Hi. My name is Sarah.  I'll be 27 this month, on the 24th.

I grew up in a smallish town called Waterford in Michigan, about 45 minutes from downtown Detroit.  I have one older brother who tormented me from the time I was born until the time I was about 16 or so - then we became the best of friends.  My parents stayed unhappily married until my brother and I were out of the house, then divorced when I was about 20.  My childhood was pretty happy though, and pretty normal. 

I never participated in anything in school ... I had a good group of friends and knew a lot of people, but I wouldn't consider myself one of the popular kids.  My senior year, my peers voted me "most unique".  In fact, I was the only one nominated for the position.  I'm still not sure if that's good or bad.

Around 16, I discovered The Grateful Dead and became what most would call a hippy.  Though I was late into the scene, I did actually get to see Jerry play, 2 months before he died.  The next couple of years were spent with me working at a head shop for just enough cash to pay my rent and get me to as many shows as possible.  I stopped shaving, dreaded up my hair, got all kinds of piercings and tattoos ... my dad was so proud.

I was engaged briefly, at the tender age of 17, to a boy who broke my heart.  Immediately following the break-up, I discovered Ani DiFranco, who, honestly, changed my life.  Her music just spoke to me, gave me exactly what I needed at that point in my life.  I absolutely adore her, and in fact, just saw her live two weeks ago, for the 17th or 18th time.  

At 19, I met an older guy (28) who successfully wooed me into marriage.  I found out when I was pregnant with our first child (which was conceived on the honeymoon) that he was not exactly the man I thought he was.  We had our first child, a girl by the name of Lilith Rain, on June 30th, 1999.  In early 2001, I found out that I was pregnant again, this time with twins.  Anya Quinn and Kaia Blue were born on November 27th, 2001, after a very difficult pregnancy.  My husband and I seperated 8 months later.  That was three years ago. 

Since then, I have become involved, and live with, the man of my dreams.  He's also the person who introduced me to gaming and turned me into a full-fledged geek.  We play almost every week with a great group of guys that we met, in a round-about kind of way, through ENWorld.  

Currently, I am a stay-at-home mama, going to school full time to become a high school english teacher.  The dreadlocks are gone, the piercings are out ... but I still don't shave.  So nyah.


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## RangerWickett (Aug 2, 2005)

Renton, my mom's a children's librarian in Beaumont, TX. I owe her for my love of fantasy fiction (she got me the Chronicles of Narnia at age 7).

I'm a fan of Chicago blues, and one of my friends here in Atlanta, Myron McGhee is an acoustic musician sort of in the vein of Eric Clapton mixed with spirituals. My musical talents only extend as far as Karaoke Revolution, however.

Good luck on getting those kids you want.


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## Queen_Dopplepopolis (Aug 2, 2005)

Wyn A'rienh said:
			
		

> The dreadlocks are gone, the piercings are out ... but I still don't shave.  So nyah.




*laughing*  That made my day.


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## RangerWickett (Aug 2, 2005)

Teflon Billy? Private Investigator? Man, you _are_ a fiction character. You deserve a TV show.

Folks, if you don't know, I wrote a comic book script featuring someone frighteningly similar to Teflon Billy as he dealt with villainous spellcasters at Gen Con. TB, did you ever read that thing?


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## RangerWickett (Aug 2, 2005)

kenobi65 said:
			
		

> And, yes, I recognize that I am one lucky S.O.B.




A pleasure to meet you, kenobi65. Reading what you posted, I was struck by how much you've done that I'd be interested in. Then I realized you're nearly twice as old as me, so I suppose I shouldn't feel bad if I'm a bit behind. I think, though, that you might just be a conglomeration of my friends.

I personally was raised Lutheran, and now I'm a spiritual man who likes Christian iconography and morality, but who feels more fellowship toward his friends than toward strangers at a church. I've got lapsed Catholic friends, pious Catholic friends, Wiccan friends, Muslim friends, and a guy whose dad tried to convert him to Buddhism in high school.

I also know a guy who dated a woman fifteen years older than him. She was quite the sugar mama, but Shaka (my friend) apparently worked hard to earn his keep, if you know what I mean.

You're a complicated man, which means I'll probably not remember all the stuff you said. *grin*


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## RangerWickett (Aug 2, 2005)

Tarrasque Wrangler, nice writing style. Very catchy. I grew up with my mom and brother after my dad died of leukemia when I was 7. I thank Bilbo Baggins for keeping me on the straight and narrow as I grew up. Oh, and my brother, because he screwed up in pretty much every way that he could without getting arrested.

What is this The Cult band? I've never heard of them.

And man, everyone's opinionated about movies. The only reason you'd need to be touchy about the topic would be if you have bad taste.  *hides*


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## RangerWickett (Aug 2, 2005)

TheGM said:
			
		

> I'm a 39 year old man whose ponytail is nicely balanced by a receding hairline




Wow. I think I saw you at a con once.

I have a friend, Michael, who claims that he's not _losing_ hair. It's just migrating.

My dad was in the Air Force, but he left when I was too young to remember. But I was born on a military base in Monterrey, CA, 3:45 am on Christmas Eve, 1981.

Keep on writing, but . . . um, don't try to publish. I got enough competition already, and you're a lucky sumbish from the sounds of it.


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## Thornir Alekeg (Aug 2, 2005)

I'm a married white male 36 years old.  I've been married for 12 years this month.  I have two children ages 5 1/2 and 2 1/2 who are both my pride and joy, and a major reason I am currently enrolled in stress management program.  I am a microbiologist who never goes into the lab anymore.  I fly a desk for a major pharma company.  I have worked at many different companies over the past 14 years. I desparately miss my previous job, where I worked for 3 years before they ran out of $$$ and closed the doors.  It sounds cliche, but that place was really like a big family.

I am currently enrolled in a Master program in Project Management, in the hopes of making a slight career shift.  I want to leave big pharma and return to a nice startup biotech again.  

I was born in southern New Hampshire (which is really just a suburb of Boston). Went to college at the University of Rochester, and met my wife at our first job in the boondocks of NH.  She likes games, but is not into it like I am.  She is a scientist turned schoolteacher.

Our gaming group has scattered across the Northeast and, as a result, has broken up. I love to read and have infected my children with this addiction.  The only downside of that is that we are always needing to buy, and figure out where to place, new bookcases.  I keep thinking I need to buy an old library to live in.  

I get angry at the amount of intolerance and hatred in the world and at times wish I could do something that would have a large impact on that, but I'm too chicken to actually try anything.

I have many acquaintances, but not so many people I would call friends.  I tend to get along better with women than men.  I will go to great lengths for my friends (and now unfortunately have to do just that in order to get to most of them).


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## RangerWickett (Aug 2, 2005)

mac1504 said:
			
		

> I'm 30 years old, married to a beautiful woman, and father to a 3 month old son who has categorically changed the way I look at life.




It really is heartening to hear how many married folks we have here. Especially with my mediocre dating track record.



> Looking for a fix for my D&D addiction I stumbled across ol' Eric Noah's website and through it, found a group of strangers that have become fast friends and we have been gaming together for almost 5 years now.




That's why this place rocks.


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## RangerWickett (Aug 2, 2005)

FireLance, you certainly wrote well enough for the Ceramic DM competition. And I still have yet to get published by Dragon.

How was Singapore when you were younger? My latest ex-girlfriend grew up there, and mentioned they had to smuggle in gum, since it was illegal to buy in the country.


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## Desdichado (Aug 2, 2005)

RangerWickett said:
			
		

> What is this The Cult band? I've never heard of them.



Shh!  RW, you're embarassing yourself!


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## RangerWickett (Aug 2, 2005)

Joshua Dyal said:
			
		

> My wife is quite possibly the most beautiful woman in the world




Prove it. Photos.

And yeah, I've been finding it hard to stay concentrated on writing. Starting a thread like this and planning to actually reply to everyone is probably not helping. So apologies to those folks past this point in the thread, but I'm going to go write now.


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## The Grumpy Celt (Aug 2, 2005)

kenobi65 said:
			
		

> And, yes, I recognize that I am one lucky S.O.B.




I have an uncle who was crippled as a result on being attacked. The family has also learned he has H.I.V. While he is older than I am, prior to the incident that left him bedridden, he was healthier and in better physical shape than I am in. Now he looks like his father (my grandfather) when we burried him.

Everyday your can go to the can on your own is a good day.


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## Desdichado (Aug 2, 2005)

RangerWickett said:
			
		

> Prove it. Photos.



Here's some.  Only a few of her, though, and even less of me; mostly these are the kids.


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## The_Universe (Aug 2, 2005)

My name is Kennon, but there are times in real life when I actually do refer to myself as "The Universe." This stems from the fact that referring to myself as the Game Master can easily sound like I'm calling myself the Gay Master (not that there's anything wrong with that, I guess - it's just not my cup of tea)...and Dungeon Master sounds like I'm into bondage (which I am not). 

But I digress. 

I was born in rural South Dakota in late January of 1981, and spent most of my childhood life on the farm. My parents were (and are) married, and over time I gained a sister and a brother (both of whom I love dearly, and remain as close to as distance and schedule allow). Farm life wasn't really my bag, but I find myself missing the rural mindset more and more with every day I spend in a large metropolitan area. Basically, people are just less crazy at home - and I miss sanity. Because of my upbringing, I find myself (and others find me) to be unusually pragmatic, which is not to say that I don't have my flights of fancy. 

I was raised to value creativity, humor, and good common sense - in addition to life at home, I was involved in extracurricular activities from grade school through college, and most of them served to enhance the values my family had tried to engender in me. I was in Odyssey of the Mind (an intellectual/dramatic/creativity activity) for 10 years, and as the opportunities presented themselves, I was involved in sports (briefly), drama, debate, and oral interpretation. My fascination with RPGs began in Middle School (reading the ads for D&D on the backs of comic books) but I never really got to play until my Freshman year of High School. We played AD&D 1E briefly, and then moved on to the Star Wars RPG. I loved it. I still love it, in fact - but I've moved on to playing and running different things. 

I loved school in all its incarnations, and was a good student until college, when I pretty much stopped being a good student, and started getting better at slacking off - doing just enough to keep the GPA respectable (I graduated with a 3.6). 

On the personal relationship front, I had the same girlfriend for 5 years (through most of high school and half of college) who I was devoted to, but not in love with (in retrospect, I see the difference). We broke up at the end of my Sophomore year of college...badly. Fortunately, for the most part I kept the friends, and though I wish her no specific ill or harm, I don't think I could ever bring myself to even *like* her, again.  

I met my wife the following summer (no, she wasn't a mail-order bride. She wasn't my wife, then) and we became close as we learned more about each other over msn's instant messaging service. Despite coming from completely different familial histories (my family is close - like a 50's sit com family. Hers is like watching the aftermath of a train wreck for the most part; imagine that Megatron and Optimus Prime had been married, and the ensuing Cybertronian war was a result of their split) we had a lot in common. Common interests, common dreams, etc. Plus I thought she was a hottie. I still think she's a hottie. 

We started dating, and by the second date I knew that I wanted her to be my wife. She graduated, came to college, and we made it official - we got in engaged, and eventually married (12/27/03). As of the moment, we have no children, though we're going to try, eventually. We moved to the east coast, but we desperately want to move back "home." We're midwesterners through and through. 

Friendship is extraordinarily important to me, and through a strange set of circumstances I ended up with high school friends that are nearly as close as family. Most of us went to college together, and there's an (apparently) uncommon loyalty between us. A few friends of that caliber were added during college, but I've never found a friendship to compare outside of this core group. Of course, I tend to expect that kind of loyalty from other friends, but that kind of expectation had led to be getting burned badly by less than exemplary friendships. One of my chief flaws is that I often expect (and see) Gold in people where there's only Iron Pyrite. 

But slowly, I learn. 

I love to read, I love to GM RPGs. I like to write, and I hope to someday make a career out of it. I love family, I love friendship - but most of all I Love God, and I Love my wife. 

That's me.


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## RangerWickett (Aug 2, 2005)

Joshua Dyal said:
			
		

> Here's some.  Only a few of her, though, and even less of me; mostly these are the kids.




Hmm. Josh, you wouldn't by any chance be going on vacation in the near future, leaving your dear wife alone at home, by herself, in need of company, would you?


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## DungeonmasterCal (Aug 2, 2005)

I was born in Batesville, Arkansas in 1963.  I will be 42 this coming October.  I grew up on a small farm between Batesville and Cave City, which we sold in 1988 (my dad died in '85 and my mom rented it out until then).  I went from kindergarten to graduation at the same school (Cave City Public Schools, Home of the Cavemen and the sweetest watermelons in the world!).

I made many attempts at college, but never graduated.  Just never really knew why I was there.  I've worked many different jobs, most of them inconsequential.  I have worked in radio as on-air talent, projectionist in movie theaters, labor in agricultural factories, and the longest stretch, data entry for various organizations.  

I have been married for almost 15 years, though the last 3 and half my wife and I have lived apart.  We get along fine, even work for the same organization, but simply drifted apart.  I have hopes we'll get back together, but we'll see.  We have one son, almost 12.

I started playing D&D in 1985 during one of my forays back into college, and have never stopped (although there have been several dry periods).  The bulk of my gaming group has been together for almost 20 years.  It's odd, we started out in one town, moved to another town (we didn't plan to all move together), split up and went all over the world (except me), and now we're back together in central Arkansas.  It's just fate, I guess.  I'm doomed to game with these mugs the rest of my life.  Overall, though, they're a pretty good lot, and we're all friends to varying degrees.

Except for one disastrous year from August 2000 to August 2001, I've lived all my life in Arkansas.  The one year we didn't we lived in St. Louis, Missouri, and while that city has a lot going for it, it was just a disaster for us on a lot of levels.  So we moved back to where we live now. I've never traveled to speak of, the longest trips I've ever made have been to Loveland, Colorado and GenCon Indy last year.

I have one younger sister, and two half siblings much, much older than I.  My dad was 21 years older than my mom, so his two kids from his first marriage are in their 70's now. My older half sister is in fact a few weeks older than my mom (both my parents are gone, now).  I have great-nephews and great-nieces older than I.  I'm not really close to any of them, however.  

By and large I'm a homebody.  Living apart from my wife the last few years has shown me how much I enjoy my solitude, though I do miss spending time with my son (he stays with her during the week because of the school district he's in).  My wife and I both agree that we've gotten very accustomed to our own homes, and it'd be hard to give them up to move back in with one another, so it remains to be seen if we'll ever do that.

I go to church at a Nazarene church, a fairly fundamentalist denomination that grew out of the Methodist church.  The church I attend was started by my wife's great-aunt back in the late 1930's, and a large portion of the congregation are related to her.  I have a pretty strongly held belief in God, but am often in conflict with what I see and believe on a "worldly" level.  I hope to come to terms with that conflict one way or another someday.

Like a lot of gamers, I've considered writing, but I'm too lazy to really start and when I do get started I think I suck at it, so I let it drop.  Most folks think I'd be good at it, but I have to believe it myself, first.

And I love paleontology.  I should've gone to school for it, but like an idiot, I didn't.  To this day I'm fascinated by the latest finds, and a friend of mine who knows paleontologist Robert Bakker has warned him should the two of us ever meet, I'll probably punch in the mouth over one of his theories.

I suppose there's more, but I'll stop here.

Great thread, by the way!


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## Teflon Billy (Aug 2, 2005)

Joshua Dyal said:
			
		

> I like the Cult (well, I like _Love_ and _Electric_ anyway--never cared for anything more recent than that) but I wouldn't want to hang out in a bar with them.




Well, the incident occured during the chart-climb of _Love Removal Machine_.


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## Teflon Billy (Aug 2, 2005)

Queen_Dopplepopolis said:
			
		

> I love pink, unicorns, and Dippin' Dots.




I'm not so much with the Pink and the Unicorns, but Dippin' Dots...?

I'm right with you there


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## Teflon Billy (Aug 2, 2005)

RangerWickett said:
			
		

> Teflon Billy? Private Investigator? Man, you _are_ a fiction character. You deserve a TV show.




No one would watch, it would be a TV show about a barber who follows around cheating wives/girlfriends in his off hours.

Hours of footage of a guy sitting in a car, in the dark, with a camera as nothing happens 



> Folks, if you don't know, I wrote a comic book script featuring someone frighteningly similar to Teflon Billy as he dealt with villainous spellcasters at Gen Con. TB, did you ever read that thing?




Yeah, it was an enjoyable read (though I only saw a script, not a comic book)


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## Queen_Dopplepopolis (Aug 2, 2005)

Teflon Billy said:
			
		

> I'm not so much with the Pink and the Unicorns, but Dippin' Dots...?
> 
> I'm right with you there



 They're the ice cream of the future!!  Mmmm!!!


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## Desdichado (Aug 2, 2005)

DungeonmasterCal said:
			
		

> To this day I'm fascinated by the latest finds, and a friend of mine who knows paleontologist Robert Bakker has warned him should the two of us ever meet, I'll probably punch in the mouth over one of his theories.



D'oh!  Which one?  I'm a bit of a dinophile myself; I've trained myself to more or less read the technical literature even.  I know Bakker's theories pretty well.  His biggest fault is that he's too much of a showman and wannabe cowboy, but most of his theories are a lot more mainstream than he pretends.


----------



## Desdichado (Aug 2, 2005)

RangerWickett said:
			
		

> Hmm. Josh, you wouldn't by any chance be going on vacation in the near future, leaving your dear wife alone at home, by herself, in need of company, would you?



  No plans at the moment, sorry!  Besides, she'd kick your butt if you tried anything.  I've learned a long time ago not to mess with my wife.

At least not too much.   

One of the ways in which I'm an extremely lucky man is that my kids look a lot more like her than they do like me.

Oh, here's a picture I found of her and her grandparents.  It's a year old, and she's lost a little bit of weight since then, but it's still a hawt picture.


----------



## Crothian (Aug 2, 2005)

The_Universe said:
			
		

> My name is Kennon, but there are times in real life when I actually do refer to myself as "The Universe."




I always think of you as Universe Man.


----------



## Teflon Billy (Aug 2, 2005)

Queen_Dopplepopolis said:
			
		

> They're the ice cream of the future!!  Mmmm!!!




as far as I am concerned they are the ice cream or _right now_ 

but yeah..Mmmmm!!


----------



## Teflon Billy (Aug 2, 2005)

Crothian said:
			
		

> I always think of you as Universe Man.




Unfortunately, I am now incapable of thinking f him as anything but the _Gay Master_


----------



## kenobi65 (Aug 2, 2005)

RangerWickett said:
			
		

> I think, though, that you might just be a conglomeration of my friends.




Does this mean I qualify for a Gestalt character class? 



			
				RangerWickett said:
			
		

> You're a complicated man, which means I'll probably not remember all the stuff you said. *grin*




Heh...probably the first time that particular adjective has ever been applied to me.  Mostly, I've just lived longer, and wandered into more stuff.


----------



## kenobi65 (Aug 2, 2005)

The_Universe said:
			
		

> This stems from the fact that referring to myself as the Game Master can easily sound like I'm calling myself the Gay Master




I go to GenCon every year.  I used to tell co-workers that I was going to "a game convention."  After a few "say WHAT?" reactions, I now say "a gaming convention," and make sure I clearly enunciate.


----------



## The_Universe (Aug 2, 2005)

Teflon Billy said:
			
		

> Unfortunately, I am now incapable of thinking f him as anything but the _Gay Master_



 DAMMIT! My worst fears are coming true! 

Seriously, around here, it's just nice to be recognized.  Even if it is as "Gay Master." Sheesh!


----------



## Desdichado (Aug 2, 2005)

Teflon Billy said:
			
		

> Well, the incident occured during the chart-climb of _Love Removal Machine_.



Well, at least that was when their music was still pretty good.  That's gotta count for something.


----------



## Desdichado (Aug 2, 2005)

The_Universe said:
			
		

> DAMMIT! My worst fears are coming true!
> 
> Seriously, around here, it's just nice to be recognized.  Even if it is as "Gay Master." Sheesh!



I'd be willing to pitch in to buy you custom user title priviledges, as long as it reads Gay Master.


----------



## Raven Crowking (Aug 2, 2005)

I am a 38 year old male, though I will be 39 this Thursday.    

I have published a few speculative fiction short stories, a few essays, and some poetry (google "Daniel J. Bishop" and you may find something...not necessarily something _good_...but _*something*_  ).  I currently live in Toronto, Canada, although I was not born in Canada.  I was actually born in Norway (my mother was in Michigan at the time), and I was raised in Wisconsin.  I have lived on both coasts, at least for a while (Virginia and California, respectively).  I have two wonderful children, Michael (14, kicks a@@ on the guitar) and Heather (6, cute as a button).  They are both good kids; better than I could ask for.  Michael plays in my D&D group, and I plan on introducing Heather to D&D at 8.  She already shares my enthusiasm for Doctor Who!    

I co-own a comic book store (www.goldencitycomics.com), but still have to work days for the College of Physicians & Surgeons of Ontario.  I enjoy camping, hiking, and fishing.  About 16 years ago, I broke my back in four places, my left ankle, and my right heel into four pieces (severing the achilles tendon in the process).  It hurt a bit.  It still causes me some problems, but three titanium steel screws in my foot and a decent surgeon did wonders.  Like I said, I still enjoy hiking quite a bit.  While I am nowhere near as fast as I once was, I can at least still run.  So, woo hoo to my non-mutant healing factor!

I have been forced to write a number of these bios for various fiction & poetry sales, and if you read them you'll discover that I'm not that great at them.  As I have once again proven.

Cheers!


RC


----------



## cuteasaurus (Aug 2, 2005)

Hehe...Gay Master...I spse now is a bad time to remind you that you're a "colony of fairies?"


----------



## Bront (Aug 2, 2005)

I am a gamer, like my father before me.

I actualy am a second generation Roleplayer.  I got into it when I was 6 or 7, owned my own players hand book (Dad gave it to me for christmas, probably so I didn't distroy his 1E book signed by Gary Gygax), and was involved in an adult group at the age of 10.  At the age of 13, I went to gen con for the first time, and nearly made it to the second round of a tourny as an alternate.  At the age of 14, I was helping to run teams through the Tournoment (CoDMing with my father and others).  I ran rounds by myself at age 16, and took over scorekeeping (If you're wondering, these are the NASCRAG tournoments, lots of fun).  At the age of 28, I no longer run stuff for them, because I have branched off into writing my own con modules for living campagins I've helped build.  I do still help them playtest the modules.

As I said, I am 28, I work for a large bank in their IT deparment monitoring batch processing (Watching jobs and files move around).  I have an Assosiates Degree I earned in my second attempt at college, and have been in IT for almost 9 years now.  I've been a home owner for 2 and a half years, and am finaly comfortable in general with were my life is heading.


----------



## The_Universe (Aug 2, 2005)

cuteasaurus said:
			
		

> Hehe...Gay Master...I spse now is a bad time to remind you that you're a "colony of fairies?"



 I still don't know where that came from - Nikhil's fertile imagination nonwithstanding. I just want to point out that according to one of those internet Quiz websites (Spark?) I am the *least* gay person you know. By a wide margin.


----------



## Teflon Billy (Aug 2, 2005)

The_Universe said:
			
		

> I still don't know where that came from - Nikhil's fertile imagination nonwithstanding. I just want to point out that according to one of those internet Quiz websites (Spark?) I am the *least* gay person you know. By a wide margin.




"Not that there's antyhing wrong with that..."


----------



## The_Universe (Aug 2, 2005)

Teflon Billy said:
			
		

> "Not that there's antyhing wrong with that..."



 Of course! Just not my cup of tea.


----------



## Teflon Billy (Aug 2, 2005)

The_Universe said:
			
		

> Of course! Just not my cup of tea.




It's from a Seinfeld episode, sorry


----------



## The_Universe (Aug 2, 2005)

Teflon Billy said:
			
		

> It's from a Seinfeld episode, sorry



 I know - that's what I was referring to in the original post.


----------



## DungeonmasterCal (Aug 2, 2005)

Joshua Dyal said:
			
		

> D'oh!  Which one?  I'm a bit of a dinophile myself; I've trained myself to more or less read the technical literature even.  I know Bakker's theories pretty well.  His biggest fault is that he's too much of a showman and wannabe cowboy, but most of his theories are a lot more mainstream than he pretends.




He has this new theory that ceratosaurs were aquatic because he claims to have found fossilized fish scales in a ceratosaur nest.  I've googled for this, but haven't found it online.  But he told this to my friend (who went on a dig as a photographer) and swears it'll revolutionize the way we look at ceratosaurs.

And while he's quite a character, he at least makes stodgy old paleontologist think, if only to disprove him!


----------



## cuteasaurus (Aug 2, 2005)

I'm indecisive- it's taken me a couple hours before I could decide if I wanted to post on this thread and if so, what to say.  I typed up a bunch of different things and have picked a few "impt" points:

I get bored easily.  I read once that dolphins won’t perform the same tricks in the same way and the same order for very long before they refuse and that kind of boredom was a sign of intelligence.  My friends tell me it’s a sign of ADD.  

It takes me awhile to let ppl “close” to me.  Seriously, a long time.  It usually takes at least a month before I’m able to let my guard down, though ironically that doesn’t mean I’m at a lack for “friends.”  

I let myself get pushed around in my personal life but am a lot more assertive in the “professional” world.  I attribute this, at least in large part, to my “two personalities.”  Very few ppl have seen my “super-silly” side and those that have probably don’t know how “lucky” (or not as the case may be…) they are. 

I don't have a "type" when it comes to men, but even though I'm straight...I do have a "type" when it comes to females.  Angelina Jolie is my Favorite and Claudia Black, Adriana Lima, and Alicia Hall round out what I consider some of the most beautiful women in the world. 

In hindsight, I had all the makings of someone who would like RPGs.  I was the “DM” for my sisters when we would play Barbies (yeah, that’s right- the dolls).  And, in 4th grade, my friend Dan gave me this set of colored pens “to hold on to since he couldn’t fit them all in his box” that I would use to create colored maps of different worlds.  If only I had known then about DnD…

I didn't actually begin to play until college and when I did start it was because my then-boyfriend (now fiance) and our friends played.  I was pretty sure I wouldn't like it because the only other girl who hung out with us had tried it and quit. 

I’ve always been really successful at “school” and luckily (yes luckily) I turned down an offer to go to a prestigious college to go to a state school.  I met my fiancé at college, though I knew who he was previously since he was a “debating legend.”  We’ve been dating now for almost 4 ½ years.  We had hoped to get married this August, but medical school conspired against me.  Since we’ve started dating a LOT of our friends have met their SOs, gotten engaged, and gotten married.  It’s a little frustrating, but I count myself lucky to have found the person I’ll “end up with” so early in life.  

Ok, that's enough "personal babble" for awhile...


----------



## Desdichado (Aug 2, 2005)

DungeonmasterCal said:
			
		

> He has this new theory that ceratosaurs were aquatic because he claims to have found fossilized fish scales in a ceratosaur nest.  I've googled for this, but haven't found it online.  But he told this to my friend (who went on a dig as a photographer) and swears it'll revolutionize the way we look at ceratosaurs.
> 
> And while he's quite a character, he at least makes stodgy old paleontologist think, if only to disprove him!



Yeah, that's the showman and cowboy in him.  He does like to make outrageous statements from time to time.  His book _Dinosaur Heresies_ was kinda ironic, though--by the time he published it (1986?) his characterization of the paleontological stodgy "old guard" was 10-15 years out of date; he was railing against ideas that hadn't been accepted in a long time.  He also put words in some folks' mouths--the name of the bone histologist from Italy escapes me at the moment, but he notably did not agree with the details that Bakker attributed to him.

The idea of aquatic ceratosaurs sounds ludicrous to me; presumably by ceratosaurs he means _Ceratosaurus nasicornis_ as "ceratosaurs" is an extremely broad classification.  And if he does mean _C. nasicornis_ that's a bit ironic, as he used the fact that the Cleveland-Lloyd Quarry (and the Morrison Formation in general) were very dry climates as part of his argument that sauropods couldn't be the aquatic floaters that they were formerly assumed to be.  Now ceratosaurs in this same climate are supposed to be obligatory piscevores?  I have no doubt that if a big dead fish washed up on the bank of a river or wadi that a ceratosaur wouldn't mind having a bite of it, but that's not a particularly telling observation.

Lookit; I've slipped into lecturing mode.  Sorry.


----------



## cuteasaurus (Aug 2, 2005)

Joshua Dyal said:
			
		

> Lookit; I've slipped into lecturing mode. Sorry.




Don't be sorry...I LOVE dinosaurs.


----------



## Hijinks (Aug 2, 2005)

I'm a 30 year old woman who lives in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

I was born in Bangkok, Thailand and lived in Athens, Greece for 3 years, Monrovia, Liberia for 2 years, and Nicosia, Cyprus for a year and a half, all before I was 18.  I've been to Syria, Egypt, England, Germany, Guam, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa.  Now I'm in Iowa 

I took a while to get through college because there was no money coming from the parental units, and so I worked two jobs and went to school part-time to get my AA from a community college, then transferred to a private Catholic college, where they most definitely did not appreciate my writing a bachelor's thesis on _Dracula and Sex Role Anxieties of the Victorian Age_.

I play D&D with my boyfriend and his friends (well, my friends now too!).  I'm very much a homebody and I like to stay inside and watch movies and play EverQuest.  I broke my back 10 years ago, so my physical mobility is limited.  I'm terrified of boats and open water, and bees (don't know why).

I'd like to get married and have kids someday, and just be a boring midwestern soccer mom.  Till then, though, I'm just a crazy cat lady (I have two that are my closest friends).


----------



## DungeonmasterCal (Aug 2, 2005)

I have _Dinosaur Heresies_ and it's a good read.  You're a bit further up the technical knowledge scale than I am, but I agree with you 100%.  And yup, it's C. nasicornis and others in the genus he's referring to.


----------



## DungeonmasterCal (Aug 2, 2005)

cuteasaurus said:
			
		

> Don't be sorry...I LOVE dinosaurs.




GASP...a woman who likes gaming AND dinosaurs!  I'm in LUV!


----------



## cuteasaurus (Aug 2, 2005)

Oh...hehehe... we could run away and dig up dinosaur bones!


----------



## Desdichado (Aug 2, 2005)

DungeonmasterCal said:
			
		

> You're a bit further up the technical knowledge scale than I am,



Don't be so sure.  I can sure *sound* knowledgeable by tossing in quarry and formation names, the technical names of various parts of the dino-skeleton, and referring to the results of cladistics studies, and I can recognize most practicing dinosaur palentologists by name (and often by face) but that doesn't mean that I really know all that much.  

That said, I was always disappointed that people weren't more interested in this thread.


----------



## cuteasaurus (Aug 2, 2005)

Joshua Dyal said:
			
		

> That said, I was always disappointed that people weren't more interested in this thread.




To be fair, I hadn't joined ENWorld at this point


----------



## DungeonmasterCal (Aug 2, 2005)

Joshua Dyal said:
			
		

> That said, I was always disappointed that people weren't more interested in this thread.




GASP...I never saw it!  I'll read it more deeply later!



			
				cuteasaurus said:
			
		

> Oh...hehehe... we could run away and dig up dinosaur bones!




And at the end of a long day of digging up revolutionary new discoveries, we could play D&D under the endless Montana sky!  Woot!


----------



## Desdichado (Aug 2, 2005)

DungeonmasterCal said:
			
		

> And at the end of a long day of digging up revolutionary new discoveries, we could play D&D under the endless Montana sky!  Woot!



d00d!  You've just painted a picture of my perfect life.

Well, if paleontologists made at least $500,000 a year, anyway.


----------



## DungeonmasterCal (Aug 2, 2005)

Joshua Dyal said:
			
		

> d00d!  You've just painted a picture of my perfect life.
> 
> Well, if paleontologists made at least $500,000 a year, anyway.




Ok...hijack over...sorry, everyone!

We can pick this up later in your thread, JD.


----------



## Uzumaki (Aug 2, 2005)

I turned 22 on July 10th, and I've lived in San Diego, CA for my entire life. I really, really want to leave.

My school life was fairly miserable all the way through. I had no friends during elementary school, because I was 'the fat kid.' So during lunch and recess, while all the other kids were playing, and being bitchy and evil, I would hide under the librarian's desk, reading. In retrospect, I thank them, because they were jerks anyway, and I probably wouldn't be so smart today.

Junior high was uneventful. I was in all advanced classes when I started high school, (except Drama) and I kicked butt in all of them (except Drama, again ). In sophomore year, I flunked Adv. Algae-bra because of my burgeoning depression, and on the second day of junior year, I had a psychotic break which probably opened the floodgates on the severe depression I'm still wrangling with today. -_-

Graduated, took a year off, went back to college, had another p.break while at school, left school, left job, another p.break, got another job, hated it, went to chef school, got reemed by my teacher, had another p.break (violent this time), and that brings me to here. Currently on medication again, though it's magical powers are waning, so I need a new one.

Besides that, I love cats more than life itself, and have one lying on my arm as I type this. The animal I hate the most is people, and if I had the power, I'd exterminate us all, even babies and retarded people. I'd like to listen to "Let the Sunshine" while I do it.

I've never had a boyfriend, though I've gone on a date once to a Western Union bank and a grocery store. I'm largely asexual, but I'm still really pervy, because I like to get rises out of people. XD I've decided I want to lose my virginity to David Bowie, assuming he passes my screening test for potential partners, which is unlikely. Que lastima.

My favorite punctuation mark is the comma. Can you tell?


----------



## Desdichado (Aug 2, 2005)

Uzumaki said:
			
		

> Graduated, took a year off, went back to college, had another p.break while at school, left school, left job, another p.break, got another job, hated it, went to chef school, got reemed by my teacher, had another p.break (violent this time), and that brings me to here. Currently on medication again, though it's magical powers are waning, so I need a new one.



I feel a p.break coming on soon myself, but I'm guess a quick trip to the john will fix it.    



[size=-2]Sorry if that's inadvertently insensitive.  One thing I forgot to mention in my own profile is that I tend to try too hard with dumb jokes.    [/size]


----------



## DungeonmasterCal (Aug 2, 2005)

eris404 said:
			
		

> but I still have crushes on two ENWorlders (I have met neither of them, but their posts make me smile).




I recently found out that someone I've known online for awhile had a crush on me when we first "met".  We've never met face to face and likely never will...but it was a nice ego boost.


----------



## warlord (Aug 2, 2005)

In response to Corithian's question on what I write about its mostly a twisted hybrid of Stephen King and Buffy. Although it supposed to be a collection of short stories I've been told it reads more like a tv script or comic book. Also a quick question for all you happily maried men out there: what line did you use to get your wife to notice you?


----------



## reveal (Aug 2, 2005)

RangerWickett said:
			
		

> Frukathka, I had no idea you had so many interests. Why do you feel that psychology is the best way to serve humanity, instead of something like politics, research medicine, or building houses? Not trying to judge at all -- I think the best way I can be a good person is to write entertaining (and slightly inspirational) stories, because that's where my talents lie -- but I'm curious how one comes to decide what he'll devote his life to.




I'm not trying to speak for Frukathka, but I think psychology is an excellent way to serve humanity. A psychologist tries to help a person know themselves better. If one knows oneself better, then they can be at peace with themselves, which effects every one around them in a positive way.


----------



## reveal (Aug 2, 2005)

fett527 said:
			
		

> We got the same thing and we were 22 and 21.  Keep not listening and just love each other and have patience for the rough times.




I was 21 and my wife was 19 when we got married. No one told us we were too young but, looking back, we probably were. My brother-in-law got married when he was 19 and his wife was 21. We thought they were too young and it turned out to be true as ended up cheating on him and they got a divorce. I blame the cheating on the lack of life experience and wanting to "try something new." Everyone is different and I know it works for some, but not for most.


----------



## DungeonmasterCal (Aug 2, 2005)

warlord said:
			
		

> In response to Corithian's question on what I write about its mostly a twisted hybrid of Stephen King and Buffy. Although it supposed to be a collection of short stories I've been told it reads more like a tv script or comic book. Also a quick question for all you happily maried men out there: what line did you use to get your wife to notice you?




Well...I'm married... that's about it... (see my post)

I was actually dating someone she knew.  I met both of them the same day, and called her to find out how to get in touch with the other girl.  We dated about 4 months before my now wife and I started going out.  I don't recall there being any lines...we just bitched a lot about the other girl to each other..... lol


----------



## cuteasaurus (Aug 2, 2005)

DungeonmasterCal said:
			
		

> we just bitched a lot about the other girl to each other..... lol




Ohhh...that's so sweet.


----------



## kenobi65 (Aug 2, 2005)

warlord said:
			
		

> Also a quick question for all you happily maried men out there: what line did you use to get your wife to notice you?




True geek moment follows...

I actually met my wife 5 years before we started dating...and didn't see her again for those 5 years.  When we met up again, at an Independence Day party, there was much flirting going back and forth both ways...but the one thing I did which she still remembers was me standing on the other side of a box fan from her, and saying "Exterminate....exterminate..." through the fan (the distortion from the fan making it sound vaguely Dalek-esque.)


----------



## DungeonmasterCal (Aug 2, 2005)

cuteasaurus said:
			
		

> Ohhh...that's so sweet.




Is that sarcasm I smell?


----------



## Angel Tarragon (Aug 2, 2005)

RangerWickett said:
			
		

> Frukathka, I had no idea you had so many interests. Why do you feel that psychology is the best way to serve humanity, instead of something like politics, research medicine, or building houses? Not trying to judge at all -- I think the best way I can be a good person is to write entertaining (and slightly inspirational) stories, because that's where my talents lie -- but I'm curious how one comes to decide what he'll devote his life to.



Call it an epiphany. Since I have a natural knack (my talent) at being able to tell how a person feels, whether their feeling are directed at me or not, I figured that psychology would help me develop that ability further and also because I want to help people. Sure, I could help in other ways,like the ones you mention. For starters I really don't like politics and do not have an interest in it. As for medicine, I could do it, and its not like I won't have any help - my mother used to be a nurse. As for physical labor - its just not something I'd like to d, I'd rather expand my mind.


----------



## reveal (Aug 2, 2005)

DungeonmasterCal said:
			
		

> I recently found out that someone I've known online for awhile had a crush on me when we first "met".  We've never met face to face and likely never will...but it was a nice ego boost.




Dammit! You said you'd never tell!


----------



## DungeonmasterCal (Aug 2, 2005)

reveal said:
			
		

> Dammit! You said you'd never tell!




Crap..I'm sorry...  :\


----------



## cuteasaurus (Aug 2, 2005)

DungeonmasterCal said:
			
		

> Is that sarcasm I smell?




Just a little bit of good-natured teasing.


----------



## DungeonmasterCal (Aug 2, 2005)

cuteasaurus said:
			
		

> Just a little bit of good-natured teasing.




I know...tease away!


----------



## Uzumaki (Aug 2, 2005)

Joshua Dyal said:
			
		

> I feel a p.break coming on soon myself, but I'm guess a quick trip to the john will fix it.
> 
> 
> 
> [size=-2]Sorry if that's inadvertently insensitive.  One thing I forgot to mention in my own profile is that I tend to try too hard with dumb jokes.    [/size]




Har har har. <|/clap|>

I also play Final Fantasy 11. Brillig on Remora.


----------



## warlord (Aug 3, 2005)

RUN! Frukathka's an empath.


----------



## MadMaxim (Aug 3, 2005)

Time to put a little Scandinavian spin on this thread, as you Americans seem to be ruling it right now 

I was born in 1981 in a town near Copenhagen in Denmark. My father is a police officer and my mother is working at a factory. We moved to Jutland (the part of Denmark that's connected to Germany for those of you looking at a map) and have been living outside a city called Horsens since then (it's not that big, but by Danish standards it's pretty large). I have to little sisters who are 22 and 12.

I went to the local school and on to business school in Horsens and then on to University of Southern Denmark in Kolding afterwards. Unfortunately, I didn't get my bachelor degree because I got tired of studying. I'd been doing it since I started in school as a 6-year-old so then I just had enough. Now I'm working at a grocery supplier in Horsens to pay off the loan I got while studying and then I'll probably start getting myself a serious education.

As for my D&D experience, I'll have to admit that I first got on the train with 3.0 in 2000. I actually started back in 1988 with the Fighting Fantasy books which had been translated into Dansih and the Hero Quest board game. Then I moved up to Drager & Dæmoner (Dragons & Demons) which was a Swedish roleplaying game based more or less on D&D but with a different system. Then my roleplaying went on stand-by as there weren't really anyone to play with before 2000 when 3.0 came out and a friend of mine bought it and started a campaign. Now, I got my own group and an Eberron campaign going and that's just great.

Now, I'm 24, living at home, single and just enjoying life with roleplaying games and video games  I do, however, hope I'll get a married some day and have some children, but that's probably far, far away...

That should describe me pretty well.


----------



## Altamont Ravenard (Aug 3, 2005)

I'm a 29-year old french canadian male who spends waaaay too much time inside his own head. 

I'm realizing that I've been a clown all my life.

I've never really felt part of anything, and as I grow older, I feel like I'm growing apart from society in general.

I have bad habits and no drive.

I have very few, but very good friends. I've had a girlfriend for 8 years this month.

I write pornographic short stories (for (little) money and just the hell of it).

I've been playing D&D since I was 10 and fiddling with the rules since I was 10 and a half.

My life has been remakably easy and uneventful.

When I die, at about 90, I'll have accomplished nothing.

And this is the most depressing post I've ever made, ever.

Have a nice day!

AR


----------



## Rel (Aug 3, 2005)

_"I'm a piece of work.
I'm iron and lace.
I'm shy right up there in your face.
I'm all dumbfounded, stubborn as an ass.
I'm sharp as an arrow in a pile of glass.
I'm a sweetheart, genius, restless jerk.
Lord have mercy, I'm a piece of work!"_

Those right there are the Jimmy Buffett lyrics (the source, or at least illustration, of a great deal of the wisdom to be found in the universe - not to be confused with The Universe, Mr. Dopplepopplis or The Gay Master or whatever he likes to be called these days.) that describe me best.  I'm a walking contradiction.

I was born in the summer of '71, a seventh generation North Carolinian (kind of a 2nd rate 7th son, if you take my meaning).  I've lived here my whole life, visited all kinds of places from California to Europe and Mexico to the wilds of New York City, and never wanted to live anyplace else but here.  I grew up right outside Raleigh (the state capitol) in a town that started small and had one of the fastest rates of growth in the whole state.  Now the place is too damn big and I live "out in the county".

My parents were both "country folk" who moved to the "big city" to get off the farm.  Somehow despite this fact, I've got very little southern accent.  My folks got divorce when I was 11 but didn't move far away from one another and I was able to have a pretty "normal" childhood regardless of the fact.  Nowadays, they both still live within 15-20 minutes of me and I'm happy to say that I get along with both parents, my stepmother and my siblings (a sister and two stepsisters) great.

I met my wife when we were 6.  She was the friend of a sister of a friend.  There was absolutely no "love at first sight".  I saw her on rare occasion until we went to High School.  There I became her friend and later her boyfriend.  We somehow managed to stick together through our senior year of High School, made it through the rocky college years and got married when we were 23.  Our 10th wedding anniversary was in May.

I did ok in High School thanks to being smart and lazy instead of just lazy.  But college was harder to me because not giving a damn seemed to invoke a steeper price.  I quit after a year because I felt guilty spending my parent's money when I wasn't really trying.  I never went back and to this day I'm just about the only one of my group of friends without a college degree.  I don't feel like I'm missing out on much.

Instead I entered the work force and helped put my wife through graduate school as a physical therapist.  I started a career as a commercial real-estate appraiser but I never had much passion for it.  Eventually, during a slow period when there wasn't much work anyway, I got out of the business entirely and started my own company doing legal videography.  I love my job now.  If I can get just a little more busy then it will even be lucrative instead of barely getting us by.

I've got a lot of hobbies that I get to pursue on an irregular basis as funds and time allow.  I like the outdoors and particularly love to hike, camp and canoe.  I also scuba dive and have seen some pretty amazing stuff while doing that (also, because my dad's job since retirement from IBM is a scuba instructor, we get some good father-son time in on this hobby).  I love to read, play computer games and of course play RPG's.

But the truly great things I have in this life are my wife, my daughter and my friends.

My wife is funny, smart and I still think she's sexy as hell after 17 years together.  I chase her around the house and she lets me catch her often enough to keep both of us happy.  She plays a mean game of Scrabble, enjoys RPG's now and then (though doesn't get much time to game since our daughter was born) and is a vicious Cribbage player.  Every phone conversation with her ends with us exchanging "I Love You"'s and every night before we go to sleep we kiss and I say, "Goodnight sweet girl."  She is my rock and I know for absolute certain that we'll be together forever.

My four year old daughter is my greatest source of joy and fear and I suspect that I'm utterly typical as a parent in this regard.  I get to spend a lot of extra time with her due to the sporadic nature of my job.  I sometimes really wish that I was busier with work because it would mean a lot more financial stability for our family but I know that I'll always cherish the extra time I've gotten to spend with her in the pre-school years.  There will always be time for my wife and I to work more (and try to get out of debt) when she's in school all day long.  For now, every day is full of adventures (see .sig) and play and lots of love.

My friends are the best friends in the world.  We game together every week, go on vacations together in the summertimes and in between we are always there to help each other out when a hurricane drops a tree on somebody's house.  Most of them are accumulating kids in the same general age range as my daughter so we also see each other on the "Birthday Party Circuit".

And when I say "friends" I also would be remiss if I didn't mention how blessed I feel to have the ENWorld crowd to count among them.  You folks are the one stop on the internet that I make sure and take time for each and every day.  I very much look forward to meeting many of you in person at GenCon and future Game Days.

That's probably enough about me for now.  Nobody wants to OD on Rel on a Tuesday night.

Edit:  PS - I'm not mad at the world (at least not any appreciable percentage of it) but I AM horny.


----------



## jgbrowning (Aug 3, 2005)

After 33 years, I'm still thinking about what my story is.

I don't think I have a story, so much as a series of poorly-edited interludes meshed together with some BeeGees soundtrack music. Cut to some wacko, cut to me, back to wacko, back to me.

"How deep is your love, how deep is your love?"

joe b.


----------



## FireLance (Aug 3, 2005)

Zander said:
			
		

> Small world! I did an MSc in Social Psychology at the LSE and went on to teach there for a couple of terms, probably at the same time you were taking your degree.



I was there from Autumn 1990 to Spring 1993. Did we overlap any?


----------



## DungeonmasterCal (Aug 3, 2005)

jgbrowning said:
			
		

> After 33 years, I'm still thinking about what my story is.
> 
> I don't think I have a story, so much as a series of poorly-edited interludes meshed together with some BeeGees soundtrack music. Cut to some wacko, cut to me, back to wacko, back to me.
> 
> ...




Best post yet!


----------



## Renton (Aug 3, 2005)

RangerWickett said:
			
		

> Renton, my mom's a children's librarian in Beaumont, TX. I owe her for my love of fantasy fiction (she got me the Chronicles of Narnia at age 7).




Nice.  Narnia was the first "literachaw" i read too, probably at about 8 or 9.  Followed soon on by Tolkien.  

Trying to get the kids around here to read is like pulling teeth.  Too many distractions, I guess.   I have a lot more luck getting them hooked on manga and graphic novels.  I'm just hoping it's a slippery slope! 



			
				RangerWickett said:
			
		

> Good luck on getting those kids you want.




Thanks! I'm nothing if not dogged in my pursuit of the goal.  Which is not to say .... err never mind.


----------



## FireLance (Aug 3, 2005)

RangerWickett said:
			
		

> FireLance, you certainly wrote well enough for the Ceramic DM competition.



Thank you.  I still haven't managed to win one yet, though. I'll just have to keep trying, I guess.




> How was Singapore when you were younger? My latest ex-girlfriend grew up there, and mentioned they had to smuggle in gum, since it was illegal to buy in the country.



I would say that growing up in Singapore was no different from growing up in a family where the parents are strict disciplinarians. The restrictions may seem arbitrary (keep your room clean, no scary movies, no more than one piece of candy), but there are usually good reasons. Of course, since I never wanted to smoke, litter, chew gum, or do anything else that was frowned on by the authorities, I never felt restricted in any way.

To be fair, I think that we do have the tendency to over-regulate because of the inconsiderate actions of a small number of people. For example, the restrictions on chewing gum were put in place because some people would not dispose of them properly, but would spit the chewed gum onto the sidewalk, leave them on the seats of buses and trains, stick them onto sliding doors, etc. It caused a lot of trouble for the cleaners who had to deal with the mess in the course of their work. I guess if you looked at it from this perspective, chewing gum was a privilege, not a right, and the privilege was taken away because it was misused.


----------



## Renton (Aug 3, 2005)

Joshua Dyal said:
			
		

> She wants to move back to Texas, which is where we're from, but I'm not sure I want to deal with Texas weather again.  I could sure use some Texas food, though.  Mmmm-mmmm!




The weather is not getting any better.  If I had my druthers I'd be on  the next plane to Alaska.


----------



## Renton (Aug 3, 2005)

The Grumpy Celt said:
			
		

> [singing]Hay there Molly, anch't you proud! I hate you one and all![/singing]




_And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts, and I looked and Behold: a pale horse.  And the name that set on him was Teflon Billy.  And a bevvy of unnaturally enhanced exotic dancers followed with him._


----------



## Old One (Aug 3, 2005)

Still deciding if I want to join the party...but you folks are making me feel even more ancient than my avatar...I graduated from high school the same year a bunch of you bozos (that's tongue-in-cheek bozos ) were born (1981)   !

Either that, or I am tired since I just finished running 6.2 miles...

~ OO

EDIT: Hey...Post 2,000 for me...on this iteration of the boards, at least.


----------



## Psionicist (Aug 3, 2005)

An INTP from Sweden who likes photography, programming, Uma Thurman, and tomatoes.


----------



## diaglo (Aug 3, 2005)

jgbrowning said:
			
		

> After 33 years, I'm still thinking about what my story is.
> 
> I don't think I have a story, so much as a series of poorly-edited interludes meshed together with some BeeGees soundtrack music. Cut to some wacko, cut to me, back to wacko, back to me.
> 
> ...





you need ABBA in the background. might i suggest Dancing Queen.

everything goes better with ABBA.


----------



## Queen_Dopplepopolis (Aug 3, 2005)

diaglo said:
			
		

> everything goes better with ABBA.




*laughing*  Thanks for starting off my morning with a laugh, diaglo!

... mind if I put that line in my sig?


----------



## MrFilthyIke (Aug 3, 2005)

reveal said:
			
		

> I was born a poor black child...


----------



## diaglo (Aug 3, 2005)

Queen_Dopplepopolis said:
			
		

> *laughing*  Thanks for starting off my morning with a laugh, diaglo!
> 
> ... mind if I put that line in my sig?




have at it.

diaglo "who survived the days of disco" Ooi


----------



## Zander (Aug 3, 2005)

FireLance said:
			
		

> I was there from Autumn 1990 to Spring 1993. Did we overlap any?



Yes! MSc student from Autumn 1991 to Spring 1992. Teacher from Autumn 1992 to Spring 1993. Even though I was teaching Psychology to non-psychologists, I'm pretty certain that you weren't one of my students because there were no Singaporeans in my class AFAIK. It's a shame we didn't meet at the time.


----------



## DaveMage (Aug 3, 2005)

diaglo said:
			
		

> have at it.
> 
> diaglo "who survived the days of disco" Ooi





There's nothin' better than Jive Talkin' in the morning...


----------



## Rel (Aug 3, 2005)

DaveMage said:
			
		

> There's nothin' better than Jive Talkin' in the morning...




I would beg to differ.


----------



## Kanegrundar (Aug 3, 2005)

DaveMage said:
			
		

> There's nothin' better than Jive Talkin' in the morning...



 I don't know about that...I really like doing the Hustle to the coffe pot in the office every day!  

Kane


----------



## MonsterMash (Aug 3, 2005)

Add a bit about me.

I'm 39 years old, white male Londoner - lived most of my life in London, England not Ontario, apart from three years at college in Oxford (Oxford Brookes University) getting my BA in Publishing and Computing. Since then I've worked as a number of things, but now in my 11th year working in IT in various roles, mainly systems analysis or business analysis. 2002 I started doing a MSc with the Open University (distance learning) in Computing. 

Started gaming in 1977, so well before a lot of you were born,   with OD&D(1974) - three books in a white box, which my brother got in September for his birthday. I played quite a lot of different systems round that time including Metamorphosis Alpha, Runequest2, Bunnies and Burrows, 1e AD&D, BD&D, and Traveller. By the early 80's I remember pretty much only playing RQ2, Call of Cthulhu, Toon, and some supers games. I pretty much dropped out of regular RPGing between about 1987 and 2003, but still played occasional games of CoC , CCG (Mythos, Illuminatii NWO) and tabletop wargames with minis and with games like Squad Leader. 

2003 got back into playing D&D with 3e and have now started playing regularly again, sometimes with my brother, other times with another group where S'mon is the DM. 

Been married for three years, but probably not much longer unless things improve a lot. No kids.

Main writing at the moment is either work stuff (reports, analysis docs, etc) or reviews, though I like to write RPG scenarios and may try submitting some for publication in the future. Also keen to try and write some fiction if I can find time.


----------



## mythusmage (Aug 3, 2005)

51, a navy brat.

Got my smarts, my sense of humor, my temper, and my singing voice from my mom.

Got my height, my build, my looks, my clinical depression, my anxiety disorder, and my tendency to normal serum cholesterol, sound heart, and clear blood vessels despite my atrocious diet from my dad.

Tonsils removed at the age of two. Massive infection at the age of seven. Introduced to science fiction (Sioux Spaceman by Andre Norton) by my mom at the age of ten. Mom also bought be my first wargame. Were that not bad enough she risked arrest in 1959 California to teach me to read using phonics.

Been hospitalized for depression, an apparent heart attack (anxiety attacks can be tricksy things) and a "minor, transient, ischemic event" (a mild stroke).

Been homeless. (Disability auditions in these parts is tough.)

Blog, rile folks on ENWorld, put off things, comment on other blogs, and am now awaiting the start of a new undertaking. (Called Pajamas Media. You can ask a guy name of Roger L. Simon {Yes, that Roger L. "Scenes From a Mall" Simon.} about it.)

Expect to croak around 2034. Hope to get another go around, but with better mental health. A wife and family (with kids who all outlive their dad) would be nice.

Need to apply myself. Need to start serious exersizing (weight related high blood pressure aggravated by the anti-depressant {Heart attack or suicide, such a choice.}). (BTW, have you been to a YMCA recently? Don't know about other locations, but the Downtown San Diego Y was not what  I expected.)

Like pizza, cheap beef, non-fat milk, 7-up, chicken noodle soup, clam chowder, dogs, cats, tasmanian devils, the Dave, Shelly, and Chainsaw show on KGB ("We had the letters first, the Russians can change."), kids, reading, pretty girls, pretty ladies, sunny days, the Moody Blues, the Beatles, the Who, Led Zeppelin, Gordon Lightfoot, Neil Diamond, The Monkees, Jethro Tull, Fleetwood Mac, Ludwig von Beethoven, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Johann Bach, Johann Sebastian Bach, and John Denver.

I can only hope the people who foisted broccoli, asparagus, and brussel sprouts on the world had children just like them. I am convinced the kiwi fruit is New Zealand's way of getting back at America for light beer.

I do tend to go on at grea ... think I'll end it here before I do.


----------



## der_kluge (Aug 3, 2005)

Uzumaki said:
			
		

> The animal I hate the most is people
> ...
> I've never had a boyfriend,
> ...
> I want to lose my virginity to David Bowie




I'm no psychologist, but I'm thinking maybe you're not mad at the world - you're just horny.


----------



## der_kluge (Aug 3, 2005)

Altamont Ravenard said:
			
		

> I'm a 29-year old french canadian male who spends waaaay too much time inside his own head.
> 
> I'm realizing that I've been a clown all my life.
> 
> ...




You know, this thing reads like the autobiography of a confessed serial killer! 

"He wa a loner, kept to himself. Wrote pornography, I believe. I never thought he'd be the kind of guy to murder all those people..."


----------



## Rel (Aug 3, 2005)

Rel said:
			
		

> ...That's probably enough about me for now.  Nobody wants to OD on Rel on a Tuesday night.
> 
> Edit:  PS - I'm not mad at the world (at least not any appreciable percentage of it) but I AM horny.




der_kluge has reminded me of important information that I should have added to my story earlier in the thread.


----------



## jgbrowning (Aug 3, 2005)

diaglo said:
			
		

> you need ABBA in the background. might i suggest Dancing Queen.
> 
> everything goes better with ABBA.




I could only wish it was ABBA. I could only wish.

"I can dance with you honey,
If you think it's funny,
but does your mother know that you're out?"

joe b.


----------



## Desdichado (Aug 3, 2005)

jgbrowning said:
			
		

> Cut to some wacko, cut to me, back to wacko, back to me.



How are we supposed to know which is you and which is the whacko?


----------



## punkorange (Aug 3, 2005)

Born in the historical town of Batesville AR, which isn't really all that historical, and isn't in the least bit interesting.  It is however the home of Nascar Driver Mark Martin.
My dad was a baptist preacher when I was younger so we ended up moving to Norman, OK in around 90.  It was cool, but we only stayed a year.  After that we moved around Arkansas for a bit, staying a year at a time at places.
I'm now 23 living back in batesville.  I am married (I met my wife on mIRC), with a child (www.geocities.com/sjedgin/ourbabypage.html).  I've always been a gamer in one form or another, and my roots are with the NES.  I started my role playing hobby with carrionfields, an online text-based telnet RPG, or more simply a MUD.  I was addicted to CF just like some are addicted to EQ, but it was free so It was all good.  MUDs are also how I taught myself what little C I know.  I started playing Magic:TG around 97 or 98 and that led me to my FLGS where I was introducted to D&D.  I never turned back.  My paren't didn't approve if it back then, my dad being a preacher and all, but when they realized I wasn't going to stop and saw that we weren't actually summoning demons or anything they are cool with it now.  I am also going to school at westwood college online to get a bachelors in game software development.

anyway, I'm not just introducing, I'm rambling, so I'll head out now.  Peace!


----------



## DungeonmasterCal (Aug 3, 2005)

punkorange said:
			
		

> Born in the historical town of Batesville AR, which isn't really all that historical, and isn't in the least bit interesting.  It is however the home of Nascar Driver Mark Martin.




Batesville is the 2nd oldest city in Arkansas, as well as the home of Lyon College...so that's something! As far as interesting goes, ya just gotta make your own fun.  That's what I did when I lived there.

(Gotta represent for my home town!)


----------



## eris404 (Aug 3, 2005)

DungeonmasterCal said:
			
		

> I recently found out that someone I've known online for awhile had a crush on me when we first "met".  We've never met face to face and likely never will...but it was a nice ego boost.




Was that weird for you at all, though? Sometimes I think, "damn, I'm weird - I've never even seen these people, let alone met them in person."  :\ 

On a different topic, I can't help but notice the number of writers or would-be writers on the forums. That's neat! Do you belong to any writing groups, share your work with other writers, etc.?


----------



## DungeonmasterCal (Aug 3, 2005)

eris404 said:
			
		

> Was that weird for you at all, though? Sometimes I think, "damn, I'm weird - I've never even seen these people, let alone met them in person."  :\
> 
> On a different topic, I can't help but notice the number of writers or would-be writers on the forums. That's neat! Do you belong to any writing groups, share your work with other writers, etc.?




No...I was actually kinda flattered!  My self-esteem-o-meter is usually on the low side, so it was nice.  

I don't belong to any writers' groups or share anything I write with folks...cuz I don't write it... lol...I never get more than two pages into something before I decide it's horrible and throw it away.


----------



## reveal (Aug 3, 2005)

DungeonmasterCal said:
			
		

> I don't belong to any writers' groups or share anything I write with folks...cuz I don't write it... lol...I never get more than two pages into something before I decide it's horrible and throw it away.




That's because all your stories begin with "Dear Penthouse, I never thought it would happen to me..."


----------



## DungeonmasterCal (Aug 3, 2005)

reveal said:
			
		

> That's because all your stories begin with "Dear Penthouse, I never thought it would happen to me..."




DAMN you, reveal!  Somehow, and so help me I will get revenge on you for this, but you just made me spit bacon out of my nose.

DAYUM this hurts!


----------



## reveal (Aug 3, 2005)

DungeonmasterCal said:
			
		

> DAMN you, reveal!  Somehow, and so help me I will get revenge on you for this, but you just made me spit bacon out of my nose.
> 
> DAYUM this hurts!




My work here is done.


----------



## Rel (Aug 3, 2005)

reveal said:
			
		

> My work here is done.




I doubt this very much.


----------



## megamania (Aug 3, 2005)

I was born and raised in Vermont but my entire family is from Long Island.  The school I went to is very small and very sports minded.  I did okay in sports but when I went to other schools as a visitor I discovered I was quite athletic afterall.

I had a talent for drawing and story telling that first emerged when I was three.  My life changed forever when I was about 7 years old and the Incredible Hulk show aired.  I got into comic books then.  Everything I owned was green and purple.

My brother (10 years my senoir) and I shared a room which lead to rough times when I was in Junior High and he in college.  My sister (6 years older than me) supported me and encouraged my art.  We played Risk every Sunday.  They always allowed me to camp my entire army on the Indonesia section.

High School sucked.  My father was a police officer and the bully's always targeted me to impress their own fathers.  These experiences and more has left me genberally jaded and cynical about life.  I always knew I just needed to get out of the area to prove myself.

My first opertunity came with our science class trip my senior year.  Everyone avoided me but after the trip was over my classmates discovered I was just like them.  I skinny dipped, drank and so on.  My popularity rose MANY notches when we returned but peer pressure ended that within two weeks.  Then i was once more something to be shunned.  The bastards.....  and my co-workers wonder why I sympathized with the Calobine shooters....

I went to a small college within Vermont.  I was introduced to DnD through a comic shop owner and friend.  The friend has gone elsewhere (mad at me since I wouldn't do Amway with him) but I stayed with the DnD.

In four years, I graduated with two degrees and if I took three more courses could have minored in English and Geology which I find very funny.  I can't spell for crap and my grammar is poor but I do enjoy story telling and world history (not ours but the formation of the world).

I met a girl there and married her three years later.  Two kids and too many bills later we are "contently" married.  Won't go into that one.

Jumped around with odd jobs as I found myself in a glut for ART teachers in Vermont and its near boundries.  Moved back home to house sit for parents whom were looking to move to Florida as Snow Birds. (6 months in the NE and 6 months in Florida)  Ended up buying the piece of crap for a dollar.  Worst investment I ever made I think too often.

I now work in a plastics factory in quality control and at a local stop/go store.  I do minium of 65 hours a week just to break even.

I am a great guy to talk to to work out problems as I will not judge you but if you cross me it takes forever for me to forgive.

I use EN World as my creative outlet.  At one time I had four active Storyhours going at once.  I have now only one active one but have many ideas for the others and new ones.  One thing I am looking to do is an Epic Epic Level storyline picking up where Strikeforce left off as the gods now become "adventurers" to combat this new force of planar destruction.  I am looking to do this in comicbook or comic strip form.  I hope to begin posting it this October but I am having a hard time of working out 40th level characters.

Now I just get by.  I work, write and plot storylines 24/7 and sleep every third Thursday unless the Honey-do lists cuts in on that.


----------



## kenobi65 (Aug 3, 2005)

DungeonmasterCal said:
			
		

> you just made me spit bacon out of my nose.




Things that do *not* go better with bacon: DungeonmasterCal's nose.


----------



## Queen_Dopplepopolis (Aug 3, 2005)

kenobi65 said:
			
		

> Things that do *not* go better with bacon: DungeonmasterCal's nose.



 As a general rule, I prefer my bacon booger free.


----------



## reveal (Aug 3, 2005)

Rel said:
			
		

> I doubt this very much.




You're so funny, Rel!


----------



## Rel (Aug 3, 2005)

reveal said:
			
		

> You're so funny, Rel!




I knew you were going to say that.


----------



## DungeonmasterCal (Aug 3, 2005)

Queen_Dopplepopolis said:
			
		

> As a general rule, I prefer my bacon booger free.




So do I.  And man...did that hurt!


----------



## megamania (Aug 3, 2005)

...and now all you can smell is bacon


----------



## Rel (Aug 3, 2005)

megamania said:
			
		

> ...and now all you can smell is bacon




Man, what a dream come true that would be!


----------



## megamania (Aug 3, 2005)

Lets hope it was not burnt bacon.  That has a smell that unnerves me.


----------



## fett527 (Aug 3, 2005)

Rel said:
			
		

> Man, what a dream come true that would be!





_"Dream, the impossible dream.."_


----------



## RangerWickett (Aug 3, 2005)

/me feels good.


----------



## Cthulhu's Librarian (Aug 3, 2005)

I was born in the small town of Pine Bush in upstate NY (upstate meaning "further north than New York City, but not by much) in 1972. My mom was an elementary school teacher, and my dad an antique dealer. I have a brother who is 3 years younger than me, and a sister 11 years younger. I spent my entire childhood, and a portion of adulthood in Pine Bush, living in a house that was in a constant state of repair and remodelling. I guess looking back on it, we were poor, but I never thought of it that way when I was growing up. 

One of my high school teachers once told me "There are two kinds of lazy students-good lazies and bad lazies. You are a good lazy. Now why didn't you do your homework?" I think that about sums me up for high school. I did very well in elementary and middle school, but by the time I got to high school, I was bored. I was in all the advanced classes, and still found them boring. All I wanted to do was read, go hiking, and play games. I also hung out with an odd mix of people-some gamers, some jocks, some nerds, some "undesirables", and a bitch of a girlfriend who drove my life into the ground for 3 years. 

In college, I had much the same experience as in high school, but with a really great group of friends (one of whom I ended up engaged to for a few years, but never married). I attended 3 different schools, and had 5 different majors. I ended up with a degree in Anthropology, which is useful if you want to be an anthropologist or archeologist, but not very useful for anything else. But it was the most interesting thing I could find that held my interest long enough to amass enough credits to graduate over 5 years. 

2 weeks after my 21st birthday, my very healthy and fit dad died at the age of 43 of a massive heart attack 2 days into what was to be a month long family vacation driving around the country. It was the worst day of my life. I still bounce back and forth being depressed and going on medication, then coming off the medication for a few years, then going back on. He meant the world to me, although most of the time living with him I was too blind to see it. He'd probably hate it, but I'm now paranoid that I'm going die of a heart attack at a young age as well, and I'm no where near as healthy as my dad was.   

I dated and was engaged to a neat goth girl for a while, but things didn't work out. If we had just remained friends instead of dating, I would have a much different circle of friends these days, as the end of our relationship broke up what had been a very tight circle of friends, some of whom I miss quite a bit, but will probably never see again. 

After college I bounced around through alot of jobs-bookstores, shoeshining, park ranger, and more. Eventually I ended up in publishing at HarperCollins Publishers, working in the science fiction imprint as an assistant editor for a few years until I decided I needed to move out of New York City and find something else to do. 

I had met a really, really cool girl in New York, and we dated for a while. When we were talkign about leaving NYC, we decided to move to her hometown of Charlottesville, VA. So move we did, and I lived with her parents for a few months until I found a job. Interesting, and I think it helped things quite a bit for the long run. Eventually, I proposed to her in a hot air balloon, and we got married May 30, 2004. We now own a house, have a dog, and both work in the University of Virginia library system. 

Oh, I also play roleplaying games.    My wife does not, but is happy to listen to me talk abotu them non-stop. She thinks that ENWorld is pretty cool too, but won't post, despite my repeated prodding. 


thats me in a nutshell, I suppose. I left out the parts about me being a metalhead, punk, deadhead, etc., but I don't really qualify as any of those anymore in image. In spirit, however, I'm the biggest damn pagan-punk-hippie you've ever seen.


----------



## Ampolitor (Aug 3, 2005)

*Ampolitor*

well I was born in 1972 in the Bronx NY, my family moved me to Lake carmel out of the city so I could grow up in a nicer setting. I got my first D&D set in like 8th grade around 1985 which I then got my younger brother involved in D&D. It wasnt soon after that through high school that we had a good solid group of players from the neighborhood to include Aurora gypsy who posts here.
After high school I joined the marines, went through the gulf war then 2 years in California in the mojave desert. After 4 years I got my discharge and left. I became a bodyguard for Vance international and worked in Detroit Michigan during the Detroit news and free press strikes. After a year I went home and went through the police academy in August 1986. I joined the NYC DEP Police where I worked in Yorktown NY, became a detective after a while in the Environmental crimes division was in life magazine for it. I then transferred to Yonkers NY and was promoted to Sgt around 2001, after 911 I almost lost some family members in the twin towers. I worked 7 days a week until i was taken to the ER for exhaustion (not fun).
I then got tired of goings on so I once again picked up my rifle and volunteered to go back overseas for a year with a Marine unit. I went to Kosovo (yes I packed a PHB and dice) then came back when my time was up.I met my wife in SC and I got married. We both returned to NY and I returned to my job, worked as a Sgt until I was promoted to the rank of LT and was put in charge of a entire Pct. I worked there until last December. I got tired of all the alerts and such and wanted a better life for my son (born Nov 3rd 2003) I packed us up and we moved to NC. I was offered a job at the police department in Gastonia. I bought a house in Lincolnton NC and we are living here happy and content for the past 8 months. Well thats me in a nutshell im a RPG gamer and I  LOVEEEEE halloween I build a haunted house for kids every year. I got to continue the tradition I did in NY so I will be doing it down here now.


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## Altamont Ravenard (Aug 3, 2005)

der_kluge said:
			
		

> You know, this thing reads like the autobiography of a confessed serial killer!
> 
> "He wa a loner, kept to himself. Wrote pornography, I believe. I never thought he'd be the kind of guy to murder all those people..."



 And now I know who'll I start with 

AR


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## Rel (Aug 3, 2005)

Ampolitor said:
			
		

> I got tired of all the alerts and such and wanted a better life for my son (born Nov 3rd 2003) I packed us up and we moved to NC. I was offered a job at the police department in Gastonia. I bought a house in Lincolnton NC and we are living here happy and content for the past 8 months.




Ampolitor, I'd like to welcome you to North Carolina.  And please allow me to extend a personal invitation to the North Carolina Game Day.  I promise if you come you'll have the opportunity to do some fun gaming and meet many other wonderful people who also frequent ENWorld.


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## Ampolitor (Aug 3, 2005)

*Thanx*

Thanks for the invite, so far i love it down here!
Im gona try to attend one of the game days in the near future. Thanks again!


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## Rel (Aug 3, 2005)

Ampolitor said:
			
		

> Thanks for the invite, so far i love it down here!
> Im gona try to attend one of the game days in the near future. Thanks again!




You're welcome.  And there are at least one or two people coming from the Charlotte area to attend the Game Day (it's on September 10th by the way) so drop in on the thread if you're free and maybe you can even carpool with somebody.

As I mentioned upthread in my own bio, I'm a native North Carolinian and I love it here too.  And despite some of the jokes we make to the contrary, I don't mind having you Yankees move down this way.   It keeps the place interesting.


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## fett527 (Aug 4, 2005)

Cthulhu's Librarian said:
			
		

> ...I had met a really, really cool girl in New York, and we dated for a while. When we were talkign about leaving NYC, we decided to move to her hometown of Charlottesville, VA. So move we did, and I lived with her parents for a few months until I found a job. Interesting, and I think it helped things quite a bit for the long run. Eventually, I proposed to her in a hot air balloon, and we got married May 30, 2004. We now own a house, have a dog, and both work in the University of Virginia library system...




My wife and I were very close to moving to Charlottesville.  We even took a scouting trip out there back in 2001.  My wife had been accepted to gradutate school at UVA in Art History, but they offered no money.  So, she was forced to decline enrollment as they did not have defferment as an option.  The dean said she had never seen anyone turned down the next year.  We bit the bullet, moved in with her mom and saved money.  Well, she applied again and they put her on an endless waiting list.  We went with plan B and built a house.


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## Uzumaki (Aug 4, 2005)

der_kluge said:
			
		

> I'm no psychologist, but I'm thinking maybe you're not mad at the world - you're just horny.




Are you volunteering? Are you David Bowie? *earnest look*


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## Aaron L (Aug 4, 2005)

Well, since you asked...

I am 29 years old.  I live with my parents, trying to save enough money to go back to college, for what I have no idea yet.  I was very good at psychology and philosophy and had my respective professors reccomend me majoring in thier fields.  I initially went for art, but was very disillusioned with the marketing path they were pushing me towards.  (should have gone to Penn State, when I went to the loca branch of Lock Haven they looked at my paperwork and said "very nice, why do you want to go here?!"  but I had friends going there, and I cant really function on my own...)  


My avatar is my step neice Lila, who has been keeping me sane for a while now. (I need gto update her picture, she is a lot cuter now!)


I have Tourette Sundrome, Attention Deficit Disroder, and Degenerative Disc Disroder (yes, I collect disorders apparently).  I also have sleeping problems, all of which contributed to my flunking out of college the first time (back surgery twice in 2 years in the middle of college when youre 19, combined with  complete inability to talk to people in positions of authority or ask for help, makes for a bad time of things.)  

I would like to describe myself as an artist, but I havent been doing very much drawing lately.  I like to write but I have a hard time finishing anything I start.  Mostly now I just make up histories and NPCs for my game world which Ill probably never get to run again.  I like to read comic books, but again I havent been doing much of that lately either.  I enjoy science fiction and my favorite movie of all time is Ghostbusters (sci fi, comedy, and horror all in one, how can you beat that?)  I like some anime, and Tenchi Muyo! is my all time favorite show ever.  (The original OVAs, nothing else comes close, and see my sig. for my favorite character)

I have... no experience at all with women.  (which is probably for the best considering my horribly faulty genetics)  While I wouldnt actually claim to have Aspergers Syndrome, I do fit the profile very well, but I think it mostly a combination of having odd tastes, a lack of social skills, and a very charismatic younger brother who took the lead in everything.

ENWorld has been a comforting and friendly community for me since it started, and has been providing me with my only source of "gaming comraderie" for a while now, and I value it and all of you here very highly.

I am pretty good looking (so I have been told, and not just by my mom... ) and am pretty intelligent; I was in gifted programs thoughout school and am consistently regarded as smarter than everyone else by my friends (even though I tell them not to mistake obscure knowledge and education for actual intelligence.)


[edit to add pikchur]







I am often mistaken for being much younger than I am, often assumed to be my brothers younger sibling (he is 4 years younger than I.  My friend and I have decided that I am lot more innocent, and I am about as meek as they come, which makes me seem a lot younger)

I have recently been abandoned by almost all of my circle of friends (my entire gaming group) and my very close and only brother moved away to Pittsburgh, and Ive been in a pretty severe depression for several months now.  Fortunately I have met a very nice young woman (who has a boyfriend who treats her like a doorknob) who actually gets me out of my house to socialize regularly for the first time in my 29 years of life, and to my amazement claims to enjoy my company and has become my best friend.  Ive made a few new friends, none of whom play D&D, unfortunately.  I have been drinking a lot lately however, but its both less fun and more expensive than gaming.  The last half a year has been the hardest time of my life, Ive been trying to change the direction of everything, and some of it isnt working out very well so far, but all I can do is try and hope, because it wasnt woring out at all the way it was going.  

Sorry, I didnt want to make one of "those" posts, but since the question was asked...  I just dont get to talk about myself very much (and Im a tad drunk to boot).  

Feel free to ingore.


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## Ashwyn (Aug 4, 2005)

I'm just some dood.


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## WizarDru (Aug 4, 2005)

I am the King of All Cosmos.

In a fit of Pique, I destroyed the entire known universe except for the Earth, and then forced my put-upon son to recreate the whole thing using a sticky-ball and common household items. I also play the guitar, fly and transform dancing pandas with magical rainbows. In other words, just a normal average everyday guy.


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## DungeonmasterCal (Aug 4, 2005)

Uzumaki said:
			
		

> Are you volunteering? Are you David Bowie? *earnest look*




I could turn out the lights and sing "Space Oddity" for you.


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## diaglo (Aug 4, 2005)

Ziggy played guitar....


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## Rel (Aug 4, 2005)

Aaron L said:
			
		

> Sorry, I didnt want to make one of "those" posts, but since the question was asked...  I just dont get to talk about myself very much (and Im a tad drunk to boot).
> 
> Feel free to ingore.




Why would I start ignoring you now?  Aaron L, I've always enjoyed your posts here at ENWorld and I'm sorry to hear about your troubles.  I hope you'll reach out to the people around you and tell them that you're having a rough time and could use a little extra help.  I wish you the very best of luck now and in the future and we're here for you at ENWorld any time you need us.


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## fett527 (Aug 4, 2005)

Rel said:
			
		

> Why would I start ignoring you now?  Aaron L, I've always enjoyed your posts here at ENWorld and I'm sorry to hear about your troubles.  I hope you'll reach out to the people around you and tell them that you're having a rough time and could use a little extra help.  I wish you the very best of luck now and in the future and we're here for you at ENWorld any time you need us.




Rel, you're the bestest ever.


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## Aaron L (Aug 4, 2005)

Rel said:
			
		

> Why would I start ignoring you now?  Aaron L, I've always enjoyed your posts here at ENWorld and I'm sorry to hear about your troubles.  I hope you'll reach out to the people around you and tell them that you're having a rough time and could use a little extra help.  I wish you the very best of luck now and in the future and we're here for you at ENWorld any time you need us.




Thanks, I dont know what to say, you are the bestest   Really thats the nicest thing Ive had happen for me in a while.


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## der_kluge (Aug 4, 2005)

Uzumaki said:
			
		

> Are you volunteering? Are you David Bowie? *earnest look*




That depends, are you my little China girl?


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## Rel (Aug 4, 2005)

Aaron L said:
			
		

> Thanks, I dont know what to say, you are the bestest   Really thats the nicest thing Ive had happen for me in a while.




I appreciate that but it also makes me a little sad to hear you say it.  Because I'd like to think that such small kindness is a common thing in this world.

I had a bit of a "down day" yesterday (despite some of my more jovial posts on ENWorld) because I was growing worried about our finances.  When my wife got home, she immediately sensed that something was a bit off with me and, as soon as our daughter was put to bed, she sat with me on couch and did what she could to comfort me and pick me up.  It worked and (combined with the fact that a couple of my clients paid their bills yesterday) I felt great by the time I went to sleep last night.  Mostly just because I knew someone cared.

It was no big deal, which is precisely my point.  I would hope that each of us has somebody in our lives who would take the time to try and help us when we're down.  I try and put my money where my mouth is on that one.  And recalling to you that you're a valued member of this community and reminding you that we'll help you if we can is the least I can do.

This has inspired me to change my .sig again.


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## Uzumaki (Aug 4, 2005)

der_kluge said:
			
		

> That depends, are you my little China girl?




You don't want a China girl! You want a young American.


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## kenobi65 (Aug 4, 2005)

Uzumaki said:
			
		

> You don't want a China girl! You want a young American.




Or perhaps just Fame.


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## DungeonmasterCal (Aug 4, 2005)

kenobi65 said:
			
		

> Or perhaps just Fame.




Crap..you beat me to it.  But I guess our reactions slow down in our Golden Years.


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## Thornir Alekeg (Aug 4, 2005)

Uzumaki said:
			
		

> Are you volunteering? Are you David Bowie? *earnest look*




Oh, this Modern Love!


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## Renton (Aug 5, 2005)

Thornir Alekeg said:
			
		

> Oh, this Modern Love!




It’s a god-awful small affair...


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## mhacdebhandia (Aug 5, 2005)

I'll be 25 in December, born on my mother's 29th birthday. I'm the first child my parents had; I have a younger brother born in 1982 and an older half-sister twelve years my senior, from my mother's first marriage. My father was also married before, but had no children with his first wife; my parents are still together despite serious money problems in the late 1980s and now the stress of running a company together.

I grew up in increasingly-more-rural suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria - by the time I started going to school we lived in Healesville, which being at the other end of the Yarra Valley from Melbourne itself was really as close to the country as we ever got. In 1990 we moved up to the northern suburbs of Sydney in pursuit of a job offer my father received from an old colleague in his industry - veterinary pharmaceuticals. That job eventually lead to my parents partnering with one of my uncles on my father's side, a colleague of *his*, and *their* wives and buying out the veterinary side of the company in the mid-1990s. My parents manage that company to this day, and I am in fact writing this post while covering the phones for them while they're interstate - they have other employees, but they're all heavily-accented, possess terrible phone manners, and don't know much about the products, whereas I absorbed a great deal of information about them through osmosis over the last decade or so.

I don't really much care for life in Sydney - if nothing else, they obsess about rugby league around here, which I can't stand - but I have too many roots here to ever leave. If nothing else, I have a handful of very close friends who never want to live anywhere else *and* my Californian girlfriend wants to move here (specifically, even if we weren't together, she loves it so) when she graduates from CalPoly in a few years, so I don't have much choice. 

I went to a selective high school, which was good, but it was also single-sex, which in hindsight was a mixed bag. I probably avoided a great deal of adolescent angst over my appearance and crushes and whatnot, but since I get along better with women than with men it meant I had the typical geek's experience in high school - long periods of time with either no good friends (though I never lacked for someone to talk to, at least) or "good" friends who weren't a good influence (though I never did anything I regretted, I wasted a lot of time trying to fit in with the "edgy" crowd one way or another).

Studying at the University of Sydney was much better. I had some problems stemming from an almost total absence of work ethic - which I'm slowly trying to correct - and I fell hard for someone who just wanted me to be her friend, but I resolved the second part of that to my satisfaction.

I did that by falling deeply in love with my current girlfriend. We spent about a year talking online, "together" after five months, before she came to study at the University of Sydney. We spent a frankly awful six months together, which have had a lasting impact on my emotional wellbeing and ability to really do much of anything at all. At the end of it she flew home, and pretty much didn't talk for two years.

During this period I (slowly and painfully) got my Honours degree in studies in religion. I do *not* recommend writing 10,000 words of your 13,000-word thesis the night before it's due, even if I did get a pretty good result. The next year, though, proved that I was in no shape to get a postgraduate degree, though I may go back in the near future depending on how successfully I can establish a work ethic for myself.

Anyway, about a year ago my girlfriend and I started talking again, and from "maybe we could be together one day when she's in Sydney" we progressed quickly to "hot damn we need to be together again." Last November she visited for five days on very short notice and we made it official.

We still have our problems, lots of them, but as you can probably tell she's the most important factor in my life even though she's only been a part of one-fifth of it. I have faith that one day we'll get everything working the way it should be.

I define myself partly as a typical geek but the thing I think that sets me apart from the stereotype is that I'm often (violently) disinterested in some of the typical geek phenomena like _The Lord of the Rings_, _Babylon 5_, conventions, anime, and European boardgames. It might just be that I'm unusual in the context of the geeks I know - not that I would trade being part of my university gaming society for the world.

I think that many of my friends would consider me a contradiction - I can be the best listener and advisor they have, but I can also be callous and refuse to take anything seriously. I tend to be liberal in my approach to social issues, bordering on libertarian when it comes to the issue of free speech and not paying mind to political correctness and conservative social mores, but at the same time I'm not actually as far from the mainstream in my personal behaviour as you might think someone with my opinions would be - I don't often drink (and I've never been *drunk*), I don't smoke, I don't use drugs. From one angle my life would *look* pretty conservative, which contributes to the "contradiction" thing.

There are other important things about me which I don't really know how to put into words.


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## Acquana (Aug 5, 2005)

*Acquana -- Artist and Sometimes Poster*

Well, might as well throw in a few cents since this is a Rangerwickett thread.  

I was born in 1981 in Bellingham, Washington, and was brough to my mother wheezing.  I have severe allergies, asmtha, and just plain bad luck which produced a novel-length medical record before I even moved to Texas by age 5.  

I've been telling stories all my life, secluded in my own world.  I have an older sister who was everything to me and probably still doesn't realize it even though I've told her point-blank.   

I may have a crappy CON bonus, but a killer Will save.  

I've always managed to have a strange sort of innocence about me, no matter what I'd actually been through, which to many people seems to mean it's okay to take advantage of me.  Thus I've experienced far, far more than most people, and I somehow still look as though I'm kinda new at this whole "life" thing. 

Possibly the best compliment I've ever had was from someone who had previously broken my heart and was trying to apologize years later:  "You know ... I've never seen anyone still be able to stand up after the kind of things you've been through."

On more happy notes, my first real boyfriend was Rangerwickett.  He got me into gaming, EN Publishing, and was the one who convinced me to at least try to make friends at my college's gaming club.  He and I didn't work out but we're still buddies, and his advice on gaming lead me to meet the man of my life, Wellstar.  I actually remember the exact moment I feel in love with him--that night that I opened the door, saw him there, and suddenly and inexplicably he was the most amazing person I'd ever seen in my life.  He's on the boards, but doesn't show up too often.  He's more of a goon than an ENnie.  

We currently live in a three-bedroom house in Savannah, Georgia, where we both recently graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design.  Both of us are sequential art majors, and attempting to make it as artists (check my sig).  Our best friends are also SCADies, and we game once a week.  Wellstar runs one Sunday, I run the next, and so on.  Although our life is extremely unstable right now (what with the guy who was going to room with us ducking out two days before the move and Wellstar having to quit his job because the bus fares were eating nearly 2/3 of his paychecks), I'm more happy than I've ever been in my life.  

I came from a family of geeks who have a lot of the problems I had through school even now:  They find their peers horribly boring, and prefer the company of geeks to those they supposedly have more in common with (ie church goers, coworkers, age or economic class).

Storytelling is my life, whether it be creative writing (though I haven't done it in a while), gaming, or especially comics.   

The most horrible of the 4 kids from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (the movie), was Mike Teavee.  People who can somehow look at the wonder and beauty of the world with such piercing, soulless eyes sicken and terrify me.

I can't stand movies and stories with lots of gore, death, and despair.  I watch Disney and Studio Ghibli movies, I wear pink on a fairly regular basis ... But the stories I write often have horrible scenes of unnerving death, shattered realities, and loss of innocence.  The man I'm in love with listens to heavy metal, wears nothing but neutral and cool colors, and loves zombie, action, and horror flicks.  He writes children's stories.

Figure that last bit out, and I'll bake you a heaping bowl of angst cookies.

The only line I don't like to cross in the stories I write ... I simply must have a happy ending.  I want to say that's how I look at life.  The horrible, horrible things that people do to each other, and happen to good people will eventually pay off with a ride into the sunset, a warm love scene, or the promise of something better.

And I think that's a happy enough to note this post on.  Thank ya, g'night.


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## fuindordm (Aug 5, 2005)

34, Male.

I grew up in Rhode Island and went to Brown University.  I had lots of geeky friends and a few amusing adventures, but didn't get into any serious trouble. I did a lot of technical theater as well as physics, almost double-majoring.  I joined a fraternity, something I swore I would never do, full of gaming and stroytelling geeks just like me (Delta Psi).

After college I took a year off to bum around in an all-too-dirty apartment with a couple of friends, and we played uan awful lot of RPGs.  Mostly we were slackers such as those immortalized in the card game Chez Geek, down to the Ramen Noodle Iron Chef cook-offs.

I missed learning physics, so I went to Ann Arbor, Michigan and started working on the PhD.  I made a lot of geeky friends there, too--the guy I stayed with when I came to visit the campus invited me to a game of Cosmic Encounter with his friends.  Score!

I met my wife there at a party that both of us were dragged to, and my future changed forever.  Sandrine was from Marseille, and I began studying French and rediscovered a love for foreign languages that had been misplaced after high school.  After I graduated we moved to California to follow my research career, which for various reasons was rather disagreeable.  Not enjoying CA very much, I landed a research contract in Paris and we moved here last year.

We've got a 3-yr old daughter, are loving life in France, and I'm sick of research and looking for some other career.  Life is good, and I still game.  I found my current Parisian group on EN World (through Turanil), and they're a lot of fun.

I enjoy the conversations I read and sometimes join on this board, and value it highly.  It's been fun reading these resumés.

Cheers,
Ben


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## Blue_Kryptonite (Aug 5, 2005)

Everything I would bother telling has been condensed into this.


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## nyrfherdr (Aug 5, 2005)

Enjoyable thread.  I don't think I've ever ventured into Off-topic before.
Anyway: I sometimes think we're defined by numbers

Age: 39
# of brothers: 4
# of sisters: 0
# of States of residence:6
# of countries of residence: 2
# of times watching Star Wars IV in the theater: 1
# of times watching Star Wars IV since: 210
Years playing D&D: 26
Years of Marriage: 21
Number of children: 1
Years at current job: 6
Number of miniatures in collection: 1500+ (stopped counting... sorry)
Years sculpting miniatures: 2
# of threads I've started on ENWorld: 2
Interesting life experiences: 0

Game ON!
Nyrfherdr


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## LogicsFate (Sep 5, 2005)

Most things I do, I do only to entertain myself
-J.M.-

Here I lie jotting down pieces of my life with a golf pencil. Moments ago 7 short blasts followed by 1 long one sounded through the ships horn. I lie wearing a bulky life vest, and I wait, and write.
I look over and instruct my grandmother on donning here own vest, I look back. I can't find the paper i was writing on. How did I lose it that fast, where'd it go? I check my pockets, the the bed, the my pockets again, under the pillow perhaps, the pockets twice more...
O, on the floor, I pick it up and continue writing, Nana's ready, we exit the room following the push of the crowds. 
Soon enough we end up at our assinged letter, we're f's. 
Then we wait for further instructions.
We wait.
We wait...
-A moment in the life of LogicsFate-

Hi, I saw this a few weeks ago and decided to save my reply till post 999, I have a flair for the dramatic  
I'm 20 years old, no college education, I work as a teacher's aide/dorm work at a school for the multi handicapped vision impaired. I recently moved to Daytona Beach, FL. U.S.

As for my past, the best word for it would be varaity, I've lived in Preconstructed houses, and trashy apartment, I've lived in huge lake front homes and condo overseeing the beach. 
I've been a strait A student and I've gone years without passing any classes. I've been the guy everyone thought would be president, and I've been in jail. 

I'ts been a hell of a twenty years.

Born early 85 I was a happy-go-lucky kid for about 8year then my mother died of cancer, then my grandmother died of cancer, then my grandfather just died. I moved in my my father and a real live wicked step mother(I'm geussing she's in jail now) and evil step sister(recently had a baby by an illeagal Canadian immagrant), but that all hearsay. It this point I was longer asked to do homework, people said he's depressed. So I failed all classes, no one cared, expecially not me. Years later the keep letting me go along with school now citing that I had a learning diability. Even in highschool enough teachers just let me pass, as I still did reasonably well on tests, even with the lack of homework, class work or projects.
For eight long years, I lived with an imbalanced step family, had many experience I won't related, because I have put that period behind me. 

Since the I have had stints living with my father and his girlfriend, living alone, and with a jerk of a room mate.

I am a creature of habit, so if i start something, I tend to keep doing it till something comes along and makes me stop. I'm lazy and procrastinate to a literally criminal level. 

The greatest moments in my life have been with friends, doing what friends to.

But here I am in the latest year of my life, content with with what's going on and how I turned out. Many times I think towards the future, which of course is very uncertain...


On a later and interesting note, I dislike writing stories, the appeal PbP holds for my is not in the stories but the interaction

So excuse the poor, slightly disjointed ramblings
(I'm also paranoid!  )
this computer can't cut and paste for some reason


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## GentleGiant (Sep 5, 2005)

30-year-old "Viking" from the beautiful country of Denmark.
Grew up in a mid-sized (by Danish standards) city where I, finally, in '99 got my high school degree (well, the quivalent anyway - it's separate from elementary/middle school over here and I did some other high school equivalent studying before that but never finished). Moved to the second largest city here in Denmark in 2000 to attend university... but so far hasn't been able to finish a whole year.
Not that it's intellectually difficult (that's never been a problem, finished my high school exams with a very good GPA without ever opening a book - oh, and our last year of high school is equivalent to the first year of college in the US ), but I've been suffering from depression for quite a while now, which has made a lot of things difficult (plus it's not exactly contributing to improving my abysmal financial problems). 
Was planning on becoming a teacher, but not so sure about that now... not so sure about what I want to do at all, actually.  :\ 
Much more active before I moved, though. Started gaming in '89. I was the chairman of a local roleplaying club since '93 (about 50 members, sometimes more), started 3 different courses at a local youth school/center (a special thing we have here in Denmark, courses are for 14-18-year-olds, they're free, usually happen in the evening (7 - 9.30) and there's a huge selection of courses to choose from (from learning to play guitar, motorshop, woodshop, math, English, potterymaking etc... and my 3 courses: Roleplaying, Live-Action Roleplaying, and Painting Miniatures for Wargames)) and arranged a small con at the youth school too (all of which, the con and the courses, are still going strong today ).
I also play football (American football) and have played semi-pro football in LA in 2004 (Inglewood Blackhawks - they've invited me back but I can't afford the travel expenses).
I've had two stints to the US, one in late 2003/early 2004 to visit a ladyfriend at the time (managed to visit my cousin and her American husband down in Florida too... and experienced a tropical storm, an ice storm and a snow storm on the way back up to WV) and then my trip later in 2004 to visit another ladyfriend and play football. 
My parents are recently divorced (this year). My brother is a trained carpenter and is currently living on his own, with his beautiful daughter staying at his place every other week (planning to move in with his new girlfriend as far as I've heard, though - well "new" in the sense that they've started dating again, which they've done before).
Currently dating a girl in London long distance (sigh).
Got a couple of close friends (about 4), all roleplayers, but haven't really made a lot of new friends in the last 5-6 years.
Had some difficult years in elementary school where I was bullied a lot, most likely because of my vicious temper, but the temper seemed to dissipate about the same time that I started roleplaying... interestingly enough 
Now I'm 6'6" and 300 lbs, so noone has bullied me for quite a while now  - I'm also the most down to earth and calm guy you'll meet, so it's not exactly as if I'm instigating fights, despite of my (as I've been told) at times fairly fearsome appearance (because of my size I think).


Phew, I think those are the major points in this sad story. 

Oh, and my name is Claus... and yes, I've heard pretty much all the Santa jokes out there


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## Darmanicus (Sep 5, 2005)

Steve - Male, fat sized human.
Alignment - Varies.
Strength - 10, (Waning).
Dexterity - 8, (Used to).
Constitution - 24, (Alcoholic).
Wisdom - ???
Intelligence - Varies.
Charisma - 8, (Ran away with me liver years ago).
HP's - No thanx, don't like to be hit.
Initiative - Not too sure, I rolled it, like, 31 years ago and I still haven't had a go yet!?   
AC - 19, (base 10, dex -1, natural armour: beer gut 10).
Movement, 10, (on foot), 60, (bicycle), 240, (running away from fight on bicycle).
BAB,  +0 melee, (won't fight), +15 ranged, (unless I have an UZI 9mm).
Gropple +50, (vs my fiancee).

The rest to follow when I can be arsed, if ever!


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## fusangite (Sep 5, 2005)

Well, I debated whether to post to this thread at all. But, at this point, anyone who wanted to find the real me from my handle would have about 40 seconds' work. So, here's my Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuart_Parker


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## ForceUser (Sep 5, 2005)

Man, TB, you're my hero. I hate that guy from The Cult. And the one time I saw their show, they sucked.

My story. Hmm. Joining the party late. Do I bother?

Nah. It's way too much to get into; I'm with JGB on this one. Here's a poem I wrote for my ex-girlfriend.

Santa Cruz
_For Britt_

Ancient trees huddled 
like a church choir, belonging
to bare feet and Birkenstocks,
long skirts and gnarled tresses 
untainted by chemical fashions. 
A green river of life
swelled around me as I stood 
in the parking lot at Hahn, 
a crescendo rippling down from old Europe,
a vertical mass I inhaled while treasuring fading 
transmissions about rock star professors,
the McMillan house, and Stevenson College. 
The squat buildings atop that bluff 
impressed me less than my memories 
of your wistful reminiscing. 
I saw it all: the deer too pure to run,
the quarry village where it floods 
in a storm, with its communal kitchen and
driving quiet, an alien nation far removed 
from the center of heaven. 
I imagined you there in those small halls, 
young and lovely in your room, 
serene, gentle, sad—
dreaming endlessly
about your icons, 
about bright mornings,
about flying over Santa Cruz, free.
—June 13, 2005


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## Ralts Bloodthorne (Sep 6, 2005)

*Tim Willard*

Some of you know me. Tim Willard.

Actually I've gone under several names, including Raymond McNeal and Michael Briggs.

I just 35 last week, and frankly, am surprised to still be around.

I was raised in a military family and did 10 years, only leaving the military when I was too busted up to be of service any more. The military career cost me an eye, part of my jawbone, and full use of the right arm.

I've been married 3 times, divorced once, happily married to the 3rd. Four kids, 3 girls with the current wife, and a son from a previous relationship. My son just finished Basic Training two weeks ago, something I'm really proud of.

I've been gaming since 1978/79, when my dad brought home a book for me to check out. I started doing piddly little designing with 3.0 in 2000, and have done a few things here and there since.

I don't post here often, as I have a rather abrubt and coarse manner.

Last year I suffered serious medical problems, and while I'll never recover, I still keep on going with life.

My claim to fame is: I once blew a .291 on a breathalyzer when I was hauled down to the MP station after punching out my room-mate. And didn't get in trouble.


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## CarlZog (Sep 7, 2005)

*the first 40.*

Born at Cape Canaveral. Raised on the beaches between Fort Lauderdale and West Palm.

Started sailing at age 6. Surfing at 11. Wargaming at 12. RPGs at 14. Started writing for newspapers at 16.

Went to University of Florida. Spent my student loan money on beer at the Purple Porpoise.

Ran a great 1e campaign. Went to a lot of game cons.

Got out of college. Went to work full-time as a newspaper reporter. Wrote about environment and the outdoors in Florida. Got paid to go diving.

Quit the newspapers and ran away to sea on a tall ship.

Found a bunch of other old sailing ships to live and work on. Got a captain's license. Missed out on most of 2e.

Met a cool chick on a boat. Sailed with her. Moved to Boston with her. Took a land job editing marine navigation books.

Moved to Providence, Rhode Island with the cool chick. Married her.

Found a dog. Bought a little boat. Started playing 3e/d20. Finally went to GenCon.

Turning 40 next month. Gonna have a party.


Carl


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## Hair Wax (Sep 7, 2005)

I’ll give this a shot even though I’ve not lived that long.  

I’m Daniel and I’m a mere twenty years of age.  I was born in Edinburgh Scotland whilst my parents were visiting my dad’s parents.  My dad was currently at Queen’s Belfast and was only twenty at the time of my birth, my mum was 18.  My dad stuck out his final year of Uni. So I lived in Belfast for that time.  My parents then moved to a village between Nottingham and Derby where I lived for most of my life until now (well we moved house within the town when I was about 11 but not a big deal).  The only break from this was when my parents divorced.  My dad went to live in Oslo for a few years and I spent summers with him there, interfered with the 6 week holiday bonding sessions with friends but mine were close enough that it didn’t really matter 

I was bullied for preferring to read rather than play sport and in particular for not liking football (soccer to most of you I guess) which has made me associate the game with brutish behaviour and idiocy.  Which is quite accurate considering the amount of hooliganism involved with it. (I particularly like this article from the Guardian about the stupidity of fans: http://football.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,9753,1551650,00.html).

My dad introduced me to gaming when I was about 9/10 and took me to his gaming groups and put together easy to understand adventures in 1e for me and my friends until we got the hang of it.  I never played 2e or really looked into any extra things beyond my dads books until I got to college and started playing 3e with friends I met there.  Good times!

I was one of the kids that put no effort into school work, missed most assignments and homework and still came out with top grades.  I think my mum and dad’s emphasis on me reading as much as I could as a kid and asking any questions I wanted to helped me in that although if often interfered with teaching methods.  I’ve found that academia has agreed with me more and more as I go through the different levels and amoffered more freedom in your learning, no longing learning by rote and being spoon-fed what you’re needed to pass exams and nothing more.  I left my school to go to a college rather than the 6th form.  (College here is different to college in America, it’s from 16-18 and you study A- [advanced] levels and it’s optional to go.)  Came out with 4 As and a B which I was proud of but it wasn’t necessary as I got a few unconditional offers for University.  I applied to Cambridge and did well in my entry tests, although was rejected on the grounds of their study course being ‘more focused on analytic philosophy than we think would agree with you’ or words to that effect.  Sigh; considering that I live in bloody England and not France I knew I that their course would be analytic, there’s not a course that offers ‘continental’ philosophy as it’s main component although most have an element.  That decision is going to rile me to the end of my days.

During college my hedonistic side began to show, I indulged my urge to drink more and start trying drugs which I found I very much enjoyed and still do.  I don’t regret that.  I do regret how far it went though.  In the first term of Uni. I realised that I wasn’t ready to leave home that soon, I missed my close friend group and family, especially my youngest brother and sister (there are four of us).  The accommodation I was put in was vile and overpriced.  I began to indulge heavily in drugs and drink and also in buying as many records as I could.  In that first term I think I spent upwards of 4grand.  My family aren’t wealthy and so this came out of my student loan, my savings and my bank account.  My dad bailed me out for some money and I tried to sort myself out.  The next term I couldn’t afford to stay in Uni. so I quit with a concession to be allowed back when I wanted.

The Christmas before I left I got together with a girl who for the past two years had adored me and who I’d been an abysmal person to.  It took me two years to realise how wonderful a friend and a person  she was although I’d always recognised her beauty.  When I quit Uni. I went and worked full time for my aunt who runs a modelling agency hiring and booking people for events, photo-shoots etc.  It was the PERFECT job.  I was also working in a bar if for no other reason than to get experience for when I came back to Uni. So I could get a job.  Michelle (my then girlfriend) was working alongside me.  Eventually the dream job began to become degrading.  The modelling world made me feel ill.  I told my aunt and she hired someone else.  No big deal.  I then spent every moment I could with Michelle and it was perfect.  When time to go back to Uni. came around it wasn’t so perfect.  We broke up after my first month there because she couldn’t handle not spending the time with me and the long distance (170 miles seems a long way in the UK, we’re only a small place).  I still haven’t got over her.  Wah wah.

Uni is now great though.  I’ve started putting out records independently with one of my friends, mainly on tape and vinyl as we love them so damn much.  I put on gigs as Durham has little going for it in terms on bands coming to visit.  I’m running for treasurer of the RockSoc and after the amount of trouble with finances I had before I’ve began adept at juggling them now! I’m also doing well at my course which is the main things.

Crikey talking about yourself is addictive.  It also makes you feel slightly dirty and arrogant.  Sorry if I come across that way, I mean I am slightly but I’m also quite nice person even if it has taken some work and hard lessons to get me there. 

So there we have it, me tying to make the little crises that effect youthful life seem like major events and a goodly long life story when they’re not really.

Small points:
I’m vegan but miss haloumi and feta with an almost painful intensity
I play drums
My favourite area of study is Gender
I wear glasses and like it
I get drunk too often

Over and out,

Daniel x!


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## FickleGM (Sep 8, 2005)

*My Story*

Well, where do I start?  Ah yes, the beginning...

It was a hot summer day in 1972 (well, I can only assume it was hot as it was July and I was not yet born) in Monroe, Wisconsin when I came kicking and screaming into the world.  My parents named me Gabriel (it was the halo, wings and trumpet that I was born with) and took me home to Brodhead (a small town about thirty minutes south of Madison).

The years went by without many memorable events (I had mono when I was two...I ran into a house trying to flee the police when I was eighteen).  I am the oldest of five boys.  When I was twenty my dad had a heart attack and passed away (two days before my brother graduated from high school).  During my second stint at technical college, I met my current (and only) wife.  We started dating on April 19th of 2003 (the day of the Waco disaster) and were married on April 19th, 2005 (the day of the Oklahoma bombing).  I graduated with an Associate's Degree in Computer Programming in 1996 after my third stint with technical college.

I am currently a computer programmer for The Swiss Colony (a catalog company best known for cheese and chocolates) and have returned to college to pursue a Bachelor's Degree in Management (hopefully to be followed by a Master's Degree).  I have three daughters aged 15, 11 and 7 (the fifteen year old is my wife's biological daughter, although I adopted her years ago - she is also two weeks older than my youngest brother...they are in the same grade in the same high school) and a dog.  I live in my home town of Brodhead, Wisconsin.

Through the years I have been a grocery store stockboy, a Pizza Hut employee, a college computer lab assistant, Telemarketer, a factory line worker, an order corrections seasonal employee, a Kirby Vacuum Cleaner salesman, a system administrator, a contract programmer and my current position.  I was a freak injury away from being a kickboxer (when I was sparring once, I had a rib kicked free from my spine and after it healed I decided that I would be a responsible family man and change career aspirations).

I have been playing D&D since 1990.

I enjoy reading fantasy fiction, listening to hard rock, playing basketball, watching football, playing fantasy-football and of course RPGs...

That's me in a nut shell.


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