The New Sage

I have nothing to

Write about that feels needed

This is what you get

Its easy to feel frustrated when you feel like it’s too late to go after your dreams. You hit a stumbling point or learn about the success of someone that you admire and how they went to their first E3 when they were 14 years old when you’re 27 and you’ve wanted to go to an e3 your entire life!

Patrick Klepek is a hero of mine, I don’t know how else to say it. I admire his work and strive to write as effectively and thoroughly as he does. As he recently mentioned in the new Vice gaming podcast hosted by him and Austin Walker (another personal idol of mine) he was already going to E3 as a minor media professional at the age of 14. 14! How does that happen!? Who informs you that that is an option!?

When I was 14 I legitimately still thought it was a possibility that I could one day get super powers, I was not going to E3. I knew about it and thought it would b super cool to go but never in my wildest dreams would I have thought it a possibility at that age. I have loved games since I was 2 and I have been writing creatively in some form or another since I was 10. I am not saying I have even a small amount of the talent that Patrick Klepek does but he’s not that much older than me and I didn’t know people could do that. Maybe it was already too late for that in the early 2000s but God what I would have given for the forethought of trying to get in when the getting was good.

Oh well now I have this and I am not giving up this time. I will publish something for some gaming website before I turn 30. That is my dream and that is my goal. 

Let’s fuckng do this

Today was my.annicersary with my gf…peace

When I first started writing for fun it poured out of me. I wrote in journals in highs school and wrote poems to express my “complex emotions”. When I got to college I started working on fictional stories written in play format because I wanted to concentrate on dialogue. The characters were all loosely based on people in my life and it ended up being very male focused and while there were plenty of female characters they all ended up being used as plot tools as opposed to being characters in their own right. The writing wasn’t good. It also doesn’t reflect the person I am now but it FELT good to write it at the time.

It felt good to write in general.

Maybe it was the environment and the abundance of new and interesting people and experiences that college life allows. But afterwards I got a job, bills, and a life. Now I have a 9-5 that doesn’t change all that much day to day, I see the same people everyday and I don’t really feel like doing a bunch of random stuff. Most of the time I’m tired and just want to engage in couch based adventures. In someways that is helpful to writing. You have the time to do it at the end of the day and the physical act of typing doesn’t take too much energy. The problem is I’ve never felt compelled to put down the written word the way I did when I was 18 or 20.

That is why I started this project of writing “every” day. I’m hoping to find that spark again and I think I’m getting there I really do. Simply putting my thoughts down has been therapeutic and leading me to come up with ideas for stories, one of which will be long form I hope. So here’s the deal, I’m going to keep the long form stuff for the weekend when I have time to write it. I’ll write something every day but the stories I actually put some effort into will be up Saturdays and/or Sundays.

Thanks guys

A Heroes Journey 

Fraught with danger, fear, and pain

Is always worthwhile 

The adventurers found themselves in the headquarters of the red bandits. After bungling a stealthy entrance they set the bandits inside on alarm and had to dispatch the lot of them before even entering the HQ. Upon entering they found the halls and hallways largely empty except for this large cavern in the middle of the building. Upon enter our four heroes notice a shadow darting behind the rocks, being promptly freaked out they moved north and now they stand in a storage room with no apparent exits…

“Well Buddies I’m flummoxed” says Cooster the high elf rogue in his patented Elfabama accent.

“I think I see something” Says Cora the sprightly half-ling ranger.

“Aye, me as well” says Anwyn the wise Cleric

A crack of light can be seen on both the east and west wall.

“Well which way should we go, Buddies?”

Cora peers into the crack on the right and Conan the outcast barbarian peers into the crack on the left.

“There is another door across the way and a hallway to the right” says Cora.

“A Wall” says Conan “and Wind”

“Lets head west” Says Anwyn.

Conan walks over to the cracked west wall and bashes into down with his bare hands.

“It was a secret door. Your could have just slid it open.” Cora points out.

“Whats done is done” says Conan.

They find themselves in a hallway and after trying the first door in front of them and finding it locked they moved on. Down the hall is a crypt with a large sarcophagus that has the words “Hear I lie. Say my name and go free” Cooster reads the words aloud and as he does thick granite slabs fall and block the two doors leading out of the room. 3 skeletons form from the dust on the ground and begin to encircle and attack our heroes. Anwyn smashes one into dust with his war hammer in quick order. Cora, dipping an arrow into her stash of flash powder, blows half of a second skeletons skull away. The 2 skeletons quickly reform, undamaged. Cooster in a bit of inspired thinking attempts to push the lid off of the sarcophagus, but fails limply. Conan immediately pushes the lid off with little effort.

The rotting skeletal remains of a man lay within. The hands are adorned with 9 rings. As Cora runs toward the body to investigate she kicks something metal and hears it skip across the floor. Upon investigation its a loose somewhat uninspired copper ring. Anwyn grabs the ring and investigates finding an inscription that reads “To my first love, Ithaca”.

“ITHACA” Yells Anwyn!

The skeletons immediately fall to dust. After looting the body our four heroes make their way through large double doors and hear someone yelling “HElP! Help us!”

“How bad could it be, Buddie?”

To Be Continued

Yesterday I spent hours putting together cheat sheets full of numbers and names. A plan to help me deliver information as seamlessly and coherently as possible. Yes, I was planning a D&D Campaign.

My family have been playing D&D together infrequently for…lets call it a year. Tomorrow is a long awaited hours long session. I (being the control freak that I am) act as the DM (Dungeon Master), controlling the adventure the heroes find them selves in. My oldest brother plays the Dimwitted High Elf Sharpshooter, Cooster Rogburn from Elfabama. My 2nd older brother plays the Barbarian outcast, Conan Smashypants. My little sister plays the Half ling Ranger specializing in Dragon hunting, Cora Tealeaf. Rounding out the group is my father playing the Human Cleric with a cold violent streak, Alduin.

The party has seen…very little to be honest. They take for ever to make decisions and double back a lot. I going to get them as far as I can and plan to retell the story here sometime after Saturday so come back sundayish to check out the sweet fantasy stuff!

Sometimes I feel bad

Often writing is too hard 

Yeah I’m just lazy

Today I found out a coworker quit because she new she was going to be fired. I didn’t like her very much and as far as I know she doesn’t need the job so when I found out I celebrated internally.

I now feel bad about that…a little.

I mean its pseudo bad news for her and good news for me. Work will be slightly more comfortable now and that’s good. Ugh she was just not my type of person, OK? Perfectly decent human being but she had some old fashioned ways of thinking. I’m not going to insult the woman but that was my day and the way I feel has left me conflicted so there.

Run on sentences are hard.

Yesterday I went to an escape room as a test escapee. It was an interesting and fun event.

The business is being opened by Tiffany, a close friend of my GF’s and her business partner Joe. The front area was the definition of functional. The smell of fresh paint still clung to the walls. White walls devoid of decoration and freshly carpeted floors. A glance down the hall reveals a section of the rented or leased building still without carpet with a fold out table stacked with paint and tools. Cords fall from the wall behind the front desk that connect directly to a camera and small monitor in the other room.

The first test group is leaving and exchanging pleasantries with the two owners. All the test groups they have today are made up of friends, family, and close coworkers. The first group leaves and Tiffany runs down the scene. Apparently we are detectives and we visit our friend who is one of the greatest detectives in the city and has just been murdered.There were five of us in our scrappy detective group, Me and my GF the seasoned crime fighters that we are, Tonya a buxom no nonsense investigator, Nelva a go getting sleuth and her boyfriend the quiet and observant Jose. We have to follow the clues left in the room to get out and discover the identity of the murderer.

Tiffany mentions the camera and screen that will deliver minor clues as needed. “We’ll be watching” she leaves us with. We walk in to see the scene. I won’t be giving away any spoilers or clues so you can stop worrying about that but the scene was reminiscent of a low rent Film Noir. Minus a few locks that had gone askew or slightly confusing clue wording the whole thing worked pretty well. Our group worked together (something we were told the first group failed at) and the stress was tangible but exciting. Sometimes we over thought clues and skipped a few steps ahead of the planned course but we got out with about a minute to spare.

Afterwards we broke it down with the owners. We discussed what clues worked, what didn’t, what we would have changed and how little sleep they have gotten in the last couple days. Apparently to make sure they met the date of the scheduled tests they worked non stop for three days painting and scrutinizing the clues as best they could without fresh eyes. It’s interesting being part of a test group for something, especially something driven by passion that leaves one of the partner standing by will and red bull alone after days of work.

I think as a concept escape rooms are a fun and interesting afternoon. I think they can serve the purpose of team building as well, a fun corporate exercise if paintball is out of the question. I’d say the name of our friends’ new place but they are currently trying to come up with a new one since the one they chose has to be changed per a cease and desist order. Apparently a similar facility in North Carolina already has that name.

Can’t escape city hall I guess.