Tag: Full Nerd

Making Plans for Growth

This summer was a very creative one for me; I’m happy to report as we enter into Fall. A couple months back, I conceived an idea to restart my blog in 2024. I’ve been listening to an absolute ton of music this summer, and it has completely revamped and evolved how I view my mental health and I can absolutely report that I feel a lot more fulfilled overall! I can’t stress enough the importance of being selfish sometimes when it comes to taking time for yourself but whenever you do, fill it with song!

I shit you not, it’s changed my life.

I’m looking forward to 2024, because I am planning to do a blog post a day sharing a song that I discovered this year (2023). A sort of look-back on my discoveries and my thoughts on them, but simultaneously being a daily discovery possibility for you!

Discovery-ception! (I debated cutting that the moment I wrote it, but screw it, you’re stuck with it. As I am. We are bound in this.)

Anyway, music has become such a huge part of my mental health, I can’t help but share the strategy. There is so much importance, I think, in pushing your boundaries in all things. What I mean is, constantly be stretching who you are. Reach. Grasp. INHALE new things. New music leads so seamlessly into new books, and new movies, and new games, and new experiences….and so on.

We are never the best version of ourselves, always growing, always learning from lessons….some really, really hard ones, right? I know you all have you’re own hard stories. I’ve seen some of my darkest times, but I can absolutely tell you if you’re going through yours, there is light at the end. The secret to life, I think, is to actively seek discovery.

Actively seek discovery

This can take shape in so many easy ways every day.

Not only in the ways I mentioned above, but even in something as small as a passing conversation.

Think of this interaction.

Walking past a coworker in the hallway/parking-lot/coffee-machine, whatever. You get it, simple moment.

Just ask the question…, “doing anything fun after (work, school, class, yoga, whatever)?

The amount of possibilities springing from this is huge! By asking this question, we’re creating a tiny little bond between the two of us. You could share something and it might be something I’m curious about! If we know another well enough, you might share a somewhat negative thing going on in their life to that question, either sarcastically or genuinely.

Innocent, pure, positive…even if something negative is shared, that person gains an outlet, and that’s a net positive in my book any day of the week!

Looking forward to sharing

I am super-stoked to commit to this! I mean…I listened to every song on the playlist at least once… Can’t wait to see my Spotify Wrapped at the end of the year!

I’ll try to drop a post or two in the meantime. I have a draft going introducing the “Project” or whatever we wanna call it. I don’t know. 🙂

Going full nerd

So, I already dropped a hint on being a bit nerdy with my World of Warcraft reference in my last post, but something I discovered today reminded me of a portion of time in my teenagerdom where I dabbled with Dungeons and Dragons, novels of the like, etc.  I even had the dice collection.  (Dusty might still have them somewhere).  s-l500

Like I said…full….nerd.

Funny part of all that, I didn’t really have anyone to play with, so, it was basically me delving into the books and using them to write stories and such.  (Hmmm, looking back, that’s incredibly sad.  I played Dungeons and Dragons with….myself.)

Today, I discovered an article on polygon.com that discussed how there are a group of video-game voice actors started a live stream of their D&D game.  I am embarrassed to admit that I watched their first episode published back in June….all three hours of it.

http://www.polygon.com/features/2016/1/11/10589378/how-the-voices-behind-your-favorite-games-and-shows-are-re-inventing

I’m not going to lie.  This is UBER-NERD territory, but by god is it hilarious to see these people do this and voice-act their characters.  Nicolette will attest to the fact that I am prone to burst out laughter quite a bit, but I’m telling you that I lost it quite a bit with the give and take between the Dungeon Master (NERD ALERT) and the players.

Part of me is A) jealous of the huge amount of creativity that is present in all of these people and B) jealous that I’m not actually AT that game watching these people all do their thing.  (I don’t feel I could contribute as I’m not THAT funny.

I kind of just lost track of time as I was watching this and ended up treating it like I just watched Lord of the Rings or something.

The striking thing about all of this for me is just the sheer imagination that goes into these people fully realizing their characters to life.  The mannerisms, even the unrelated snarky banter that occurs unrelated to what is happening at the time, just make me chuckle.

All that said, you don’t have to check out the three hours, but the huge battle they get in happens to be towards the last 15 minutes or so, and the true skill of the DM deftly handling all seven players is pretty fun to watch.